Dave3006,
Glad you found your forever home.
I asked about your CA time, because I wondered if you had spent any time, while here, working for conservation efforts, and efforts you may have spent time on regarding hunting rights etc.
Not because you would have had to do those things, just curious if you did.
There are a lot of things in CA I am very mad about. Born here 72 plus years ago. Have hunted from Wister to Tule, and hit about every refuge in the state during that time. There are some amazing hunting opportunities here. We still kill a ton of birds each year in this state.
You continue to claim there have been zero hunter rights wins here, we are doomed, the end of life at we know (tongue in cheek)... ha
But, there are fights we have won. And there are fights we continue to win. Who would have ever thought Swans could be killed in CA? And ,just this year, after four years of litigation, California finally conceded that their law about youth firearms marketing was unconstitutional. It was members of Conservation and Sports Organizations that fought that battle and won.
With hunters support and involvement, bills were passed that expanded hunting access on public lands (AB3030), Strengthened protections for hunting (SB11730), increased funding for habitat restorations, stopped a petition to close waterfowl hunting in a portion of the delta, got the state to support initiatives that encourage youth hunting......
There is a bill now (AB 1987, that we have gotten bipartisan support for - to ensure that all revenue generated by the sale of duck reservation apps, and daily or season passes will be deposited into an Areas Operation and Maintenance account...so those funds can ONLY be spent on that, and politicians stop taking that money and using it for general expenses of the state.
These are more, and I see these as Wins.
Have hunted waterfowl for over 6 decades, and have worked as hard as I can to support our hunting rights. Spend a lot of hours each year working to help CA hunting. And I know of others on this web site, that do as well. Hunters need to stay in touch with the issues, and join organizations like CWA that are watching out for the pitfalls.
You are entitled to your view that CA is a lost cause. But, I view it differently, and will continue to fight for what is right, and continue to enjoy some of the best duck hunting available anywhere.
Good luck this season in ID
