The Lion and the Buck

The tree-stand was located in a multiforked oak tree about 30 yards from the pond. The opening day of archery season would most likely be the best chance to arrow a nice buck. It doesn’t take long after the first disturbance before the bucks shy away and only does continue to drink at the water’s edge by daylight.

 Rob, my brother and hunting partner, sat in the stand as a four-point buck cautiously approached the pond and began to drink. As he ranged the distance to the buck, Rob was surprised that it took the buck so long to drink his fill. The buck’s antlers were unusual, as four by four bucks are rare in the hills of the East Bay where Columbia black-tailed deer live short lives in habitat limited in size and quality. 

The buck stood at fifty yards – a longer shot than Rob wanted to take. He waited to see if the buck would move closer to the stand. Unfortunately, the buck simply reversed his path and exited the same way he arrived. Rob hoped the buck would return another night, but it did not. The buck remained unseen for the rest of the archery and rifle deer seasons. 

As the last weekend of the rifle deer season descended upon us, neither Rob nor I had bagged a buck. I was on our ATV driving slowly along our canyon road, checking culverts on my way to pick up a guest, who was still-hunting the road ahead of me in one last attempt to find a buck. 

A mountain lion appeared in the road ahead of me at 20 yards – a very large cat, as large as any I’ve seen. He saundered across the road in front of me, fully aware of my closeness, but seemingly unimpressed. Off the road and into a narrow wash he passed – still very close. 

He was so close I could not only see him, but also feel his arrogance. If this event had taken place in almost any other western state, I might have had a permit to shoot this lion, but all mountain lions are protected in California. 

He showed distain for me and I didn’t like him either. It would have been so easy to grab my rifle and shoot. He’s eating our deer, I thought to myself. 

He stood motionless in that crevice for maybe a minute, took two more steps and then vanished.  The interaction had been a special event. He was a magnificent animal, a symbol of wildness and I had been fortunate to have the opportunity to interact with such an elusive creature at close range. 

The season passed without further ado. Rob returned to the ranch a week later to work on the culverts we’d been concerned about. As he passed the pond where he’d seen the buck during archery season, he noticed something floating on the surface – and an antler. 

(Caption: Rob and the lion killed buck.)

With a rope he removed the buck carcass from the pond. It was the fine four-point he’d hunted for all season. Cougar-inflicted tooth marks on the buck’s neck belied its fate. In Rob’s mind he envisioned the struggle as the lion rode the buck into the pond. In the heat of the rut, the buck must have exposed himself to danger while following a doe in estrus as she drank at the pond.

Most likely the buck had leaped into the pond with the lion on his back. Struggling in the water, life had left the buck before he could discourage the determined cat. But, the lion accomplished only half his mission.  The deep water had prevented the cat from enjoying the fruit of his labor, leaving the buck to float while awaiting some other fate.  

(Caption: After the cat passed, I photographed his track in the dusty road. It’s not a perfect track and it appears that the rear foot slightly blurred the print where his front foot stepped, not typical practice for a wild feline walking. Maybe he was nervous, but it didn’t show in his eyes.)

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Mule Deer Tracks

I few years ago I took some notes in my notebook about the set of tracks described above. Later I transfered my sketch to piece of paper. The track was interesting because it showed more than just a set of tracks.

 The size of the animal’s stride indicated to me that it was a buck. The variation in stride indicated to me that the animal was either injured or had been injured in the past. In my notes I indicated that I thought it was probably a left shoulder injury. Now, in looking at this sketch, it seems that it could also have been an existing injury to the right shoulder.

As the buck stepped forward with it’s right foot on the ground the weight of it’s body would be shifted to the right shoulder. The pain of the injury caused it to limit the extention of its left leg. However if it was an old injury to the left shoulder, its possible that the injury limited extention of the left leg meaning to me it could also be a healed injury to the left shoulder.

Each species of animal has a distinct method of walking. Walking deer register their tracks indirectly to the same spot. Meaning that each track I sketched is actually the print where two feet hit the ground. If I had sketched the track in more detail you would be able to see that the edge of the tract shows where each foot hit. Left rear foot falls nearly on top of the track of the left front foot etc.

Canines are also indirect register when walking, but cats are direct register – meaning that the rear foot falls directly on top of the front foot and you cannot usually see any sign of the rear print.

 By studying and sketching many tracks and comparing them, one can develop a feel for the size of the animal and unique features of each animals tracks. This can be done for each species and eventually one develps the ability to read the ground and visualize what animals are doing. The ability to do this is called the art of “seeing”.

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The Largest Boar Ever Killed in the Livermore Hills?

 

Over the years, I’ve heard about some very big boars killed in the hills near Livermore, but the largest boar I know of was taken in 2000 near Williams Gulch. Since that time, pigs have nearly disappeared in this area.

 

The reason? I believe it’s primarily depredation hunting by contract pig hunters who use many different means to remove pigs. Trapping is very effective. Sometimes as many as 40 pigs can be trapped in one baiting. I’ve witnessed over 20 in one trap myself. What a ruckus that was.

 

It could be that disease has played a part and it’s also likely that liberalization of the pig regulations has played a role.

 

The largest pig I ever personally got involved with was taken by a guide from Alaska named Robert Nelson. He was in town for a few days while participating in the International Sportsman’s Exposition at the Pleasanton Fair Grounds.

 

Robert had an off day before he could fly, so I offered him a chance to hunt pigs. We arrived at daylight, but didn’t see anything at all for the first couple hours. While sitting on a knob overlooking a lot of pig territory, a boar appeared moving fast.

 

 

“There’s a giant pig comming,” I nearly hollered, “follow me.”

 

I bolted off the knob as fast as my legs would carry me (not very fast actually) with Robert right behind. He was carrying my Ruger M77 in 7mm Mauser which he’d never fired, but after all he was an caribou, moose and sheep guide.

 

We caught the boar as he crossed a ridge and the big pig appeared to be very uncomfortable as he manuvered to get out of the open as soon as possible. As the boar trotted past at about 100 yards, Robert raised and fired. It appeared that the shot was good, but the big boar kept running. Robert ejected the empty and fired again. This time the boar went down and skidded to a stop. As you can see he was a very impressive creature.

 

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Ducks, Deer and Wildlife Conservation in Alberta

 

On a recent hunting trip in Alberta, I was surprised to learn that in Alberta, the government does not permit land owners to lease hunting rights to other people, in other words the hunting rights cannot be segregated from the land and sold to somebody else on a periodic basis. However, my guide could hunt on any landowner’s property by gaining permission and, because the landowner had no way to generate income from hunting, the likelihood of getting permission was (unlike California) very good.

Some landowners would turn down requests for access because somebody had abused them in the past and others were apparently opposed to hunting. In some cases people just didn’t want outsiders on their property. However, many of the landowners where open to letting us hunt and I was able to see many great mule deer bucks on private farms. I failed to bag the trophy I was looking for – but that’s another story.

(Caption: This young four-point buck walked by within archery range, but I couldn’t use my tag on this one.)

It appears the lack of hunting leases works in favor of the blue-collar hunter who cannot afford to pay for access to land. However, I had to wonder if it wasn’t working against the wildlife. For example, if hunting leases were in place, the financial incentive would create motivation to improve or maximize wildlife habitat.

One of the main incentives for draining potholes and plowing every possible square foot of land is to maximize farm income. If, on the other hand, if farmers could generate income through hunting leases, the potholes and bush patches would be a source of revenue via the expansion of wildlife populations and hunting opportunity.

I recall this issue coming up at some point in the past when a waterfowl hunter explained to me why Ducks Unlimited invests so much money in protecting potholes on the Canadian prairie. DU works to encourage landowners to place conservation easements on the land and in some cases purchases conservation easements and develops potholes. After traveling in Alberta, the value of DU’s habitat work is much more clear to me.

One of the likely ways to overcome the lease issue would be for hunters to purchase Alberta ranches to gain the right to hunt and also improve the hunting conditions with habitat improvement. Unfortunately, non-citizens must have a guide while hunting big game in Alberta, limiting another avenue for wildlife habitat improvement.

When I mentioned this to my Outfitter in Alberta he suggested that there is a way to form a partnership between non-resident alien hunters and outfitters. Such as partnership might be one way to own land in Canada and create a way to hunt there on land that you improved for wildlife yourself. Although possible this type of arrangement would require a great deal of thought, legal research and expert council. I found out later, discussing this issue with an Alberta real estate agent, that hunting waterfowl and upland game does not require an outfitter and also that there are many ways to set up trusts so that non-resident aliens can enjoy the benefits of land ownership.

In the meantime I’ve heard stories about some great sounding waterfowl hunting trips to Canada at a reasonable price. Maybe next time I’ll try a combo trip – mule deer and ducks. For now, it looks like you don’t need to own land in Canada to go and have a great hunting experience.

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Fair vs Fare Chase

Joined the B&C Club today. For some time, I’ve been thinking about Fair Chase, what it means to me. The Boone and Crocket club defines fair chase as: “…the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild native North American game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.”

(Caption: No fences here where my friend Keith holds the horses while my guide scans for stone sheep.)

Apparently the Boone and Crocket Club thinks that fair chase only applies to North America, but most of us who believe in fair chase would disagree. The words North American are irrelevant. B&C apparently didn’t want to get into the politics of other countries where fair chase has been largely overlooked.

In Africa, for example, I found little thought being given to the chase. Most of the energy was centered on procurement of the physical trophy. In fact, I could have had anything delivered to me for a fee. Africans are closer to their subsistance hunting roots than we are. (The old phrase, all’s fair in love and war could be changed to love, war and subsistance hunting. Native Americans chased buffalo herds over cliffs.)

(Caption: Kudu bull taken with bow and arrow at a waterhole blind.)

However, it’s North America where fair chase has its roots and we should be proud of that. It’s the North American system of wildlife management that has created an environment where fair chase is been embraced and practiced by hunters.

The part of the B&C club statement that has wide ranging implications is the last 15 words, “in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.”

What is improper?

I don’t believe that all hunting must be by the rules of fair chase to be valid and honorable, so long as hunters know the difference.

Call a spade a spade so to speak.

One thing is very clear to me. My most meaningful hunts are the ones where fair chase is the medium. Know the difference!

In Africa, I participated in a week of archery hunts that were not fair chase. Why not? To begin with, all the hunts took place in enclosed hunting areas. I do not know how large the enclosures were and I didn’t ask, but they restricted movement of game.

I cannot determine how much impact the fences had upon the ability of the game to escape. Probably none, however, the fences did have an impact upon my psyche. In the dense thorn-bush country, I knew that if I were patient while still hunting into the wind, eventually, I would find game because I was guaranteed that certain animals were inside the fences. I could cover much of the area in a morning. Therefore, I hunted with extra conviction – a tremendous psychological advantage if compared to hunting an area that might have been void of game.

 

Animal behavior can be manipulated even in extremely large enclosures. The most common method is to control water supplies so that animals are forced to enter the danger zone to survive. Is it wrong, or just intellegent behavior?

I enjoyed the hunt very much. And, I enjoyed success, a prize to take home definitely improves one’s attitude. I will display my African trophies proudly, but not quite like I would the mule deer buck I didn’t get on the fair chase archery hunt that took place in Alberta Canada this fall. If I ever succeed at taking one of those huge mule deer bucks with my bow, or rifle, it will be the trophy that hangs over my fireplace.

Unfortunately fair chase “corruption” did come into play on my deer hunt as well. Here are a couple items to watch for:  Radios: These should only be used to organize the hunt, not to monitor game while the hunt unfolds. Automobiles: These should be used as transportation, not as mobile blinds. When looking back at Alberta, I can see that we went over the line a couple times, something that I will work hard to avoid in the future.

The key difference between fair chase hunting and other hunting is that fair chase hunters pay for a hunt, not a trophy. When one pays for the trophy, it creates a conflict between the Professional Hunter/Guide and the rules of fair chase. This conflict cannot be resolved. If you want fair chase, pay for the hunt. If you must be guaranteed a trophy then pay a trophy fee. I’ve done it. And, I like my trophies, but a trophy fee hunt will never be the best hunt money can buy.

The rules of fair chase are designed to make hunting more rewarding, not less.

     

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Cat Fight

The racket emanating from the quarter-mile away brush patch was drawing attention from flocks of crowing crows joining in the ruckus like a Las Vegas crowd at an Ali -Fraser boxing match, but the seats were free. Screaming and growling two big cats were having it out.

I stood by the ranch gate, a witness to something I’d heard before, but not at this magnitude. Two mountain lions were fighting like giant back-yard tomcats, but with more volume and power. They also have reasons to do more than just growl. Imagine your back yard catfight with the sounds moderated to the roar of a lion. And, as with your pet, these cats can go at it so viciously that it makes you feel like your hair is standing on end – and maybe it is.

This battle I’m speaking of took place at 9:00 AM on a sunny Saturday in May, almost two years ago. We were on our way to picnic, fish and shoot varmints at our ranch. I was driving my truck at the rear of a five or six truck caravan. The other vehicles had passed without noticing the battle.

As had been the case with my previous mountain lion screaming-roaring experiences, I never saw the cats, but there was no doubt about what it was.

I have watched bobcats having this type of encounter. While deer hunting a few years ago not very far from where the big cats fought, I observed a pair of bobcats approach each other cautiously about 50 yards away. They stalked towards each other slowly until they were face to face only a few inches apart. With backs hunched and back hair vertical, they began to growl, wine and moan making sounds similar to the big cats, but at a much higher pitch. The sound of cats fighting is unnerving.

Most people never hear or see a mountain lion, but these big cats live in our East Bay oak woodland, oak grassland and chaparral habitat in healthy numbers. We place trail cameras on our ranch to monitor wildlife activity and mountain lions are photographed regularly.

As long as we have healthy Columbia black-tailed deer populations, we’ll also have healthy mountain lion populations. Unfortunately for the cats, deer habitat is dwindling and the fate of the lions is tied to the deer. It seems ironical to me that our wildlife agencies have shifted much of their wildlife management efforts to protect endangered species without assurance that our large predators are included in the safety net.

More and more endangered species mitigation is taking place in and around urban areas where the habitat is fragmented and impacted by human activities. Too many agendas are being created and pursued in the wildlife arena and they conflict.

Habitat is much more effective for protecting wildlife, endangered or not, if it is maintained in large chunks with diverse qualities. It’s time to see the forest.

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Lola Dioji on Opening Day

The purchase of a bird dog is planned to meet the opening of hunting season. Can’t purchase a dog in January, it would interfere with the end of duck season. Can’t purchase a dog in June, it wouldn’t be ready to hunt on the October opener for ducks.

That leaves, February, March and April as the prime months to purchase a lab pup. At least that’s the way I looked at it. Decision time? That’s during the summer or early fall when you know you’d better get in line with the breeders to and find out what’s coming. The sooner you pick a bitch and litter the better your chances of having an early pick.

Early pick is good, but not great. If you don’t know what to look for, being first has no value. The rookie dog buyer will probably pick the wrong dog anyway. Linda, my wife, and I had a tough time picking out Lola Diogi, our 2007 lab pup. The breeder believed the largest female was the best dog. I tended to agree with her but Linda was stuck on one of the smaller pups.

In the end, Linda was probably on target. Lola (the small dog) is even tempered, easy to handle, loves to please and she loves to hunt. Now all I have to do is get the point across.

She spent a month and a half at the trainers last summer, but we couldn’t bear to leave her there longer. We were eager to assimilate her into our household and continue her training ourselves. It’s worked out, but I know she’d be more advanced, hunting wise, if I’d left her with the trainer for a couple more months. On the other hand she’d probably be socially stunted – so it’s a double-edged sword thing.

The opener of duck season was a let down as Lola was completely confused and dazed by the activity and the other dogs. She was left in their wake. Basically she was a companion. I tried to accept that situation and remain patient, but it was trying.

As pheasant season approached, I had hopes that Lola would show signs of the bird-dog greatness I knew she could have, but I didn’t want to build up expectations. She was familiar with the property as I’d taken her on many walks and she had raised one rooster – right under her nose – a couple weeks earlier.

Getting a bird up under hunting conditions is a different story and to make matters worse, it appeared that our pheasant population was at an historic low.

Opening day started slow. Lola was looking good, but producing no results. As expected she was distracted by the other dogs, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it so I let her do her thing and called her back occasionally when she strayed too far away or took too long to return.

I could see the instincts in her.

I thought to myself, “Will she do something to show me her true potential before the end of the weekend? Or, will I go home continuing to wonder where we were heading?”

Lola’s predecessor, Valentine, (currently 14 and retired) was a slow learner on pheasants. She used her eyes and ears to hunt, but not her nose. That made her quick to retrieve, but slow to track. Lola seems to be the reverse, slower to retrieve, but quick to hunt and track.

By the end of day one, I had a bird in the bag, but Lola hadn’t been very involved. Half way through the last field of the day, with light fading and clouds overhead, Fred dropped a cockbird near the center of the field. With three other dogs in the vicinity, I continued to watch Lola as she was showing signs that a bird might be in my area.

A few minutes passed and Lola cooled off while the others were still searching for Fred’s bird and it was beginning to look like it might be lost. I reversed course and called to Lola with the intent of helping find the lost bird. Lola immediately began to work back towards Fred and the others. Unexpectedly a rooster shot out of the grass in front of me and Lola. My first shot missed and the second came at a long range. I threw the barrel out in front of the bird as it canted and turned to the right at 45 yards.

When I pulled the trigger, the rooster dropped as if dead, but that seemed unlikely. Lola ran and I walked quickly to my mark. Dropping my hat near the spot where the bird hit, I began to follow Lola. It appeared that she was following scent. She dug into a bush pressing forward as bird dogs do when they know there’s something there. The rooster popped out the far side of the bush and Lola and I pounced on it at the same time. What a rush.

At that point I was satisfied that we were on our way. The next day she caught a scent trail and tracked down a rooster in heavy cover, getting it airborne in range, but leaving me without a shot as the smart rooster managed to put a tule patch between him and I. Despite not getting a shot, the event confirmed what I thought I knew already. Lola has the right stuff. I can hardly wait for her to develop.

P.S. I wrote this entry after the first weekend of pheasant season, but didn’t post it because the web log wasn’t ready. Since that time Lola has proven her skill as a pheasant tracker, both in finding birds before and after the shot. I expect big things from her next season.

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A Lifetime Hunter Reflects on the Hunt of a Lifetime

 A couple months after the 2006 Buck-O-Rama, I purchased a northern BC Stone Sheep hunt. Having hunted mule deer since I was 21, I wasn’t sure exactly how I’d be getting all the value out of the hunt, because a great mule deer hunt could be purchased for less than one third the price of the sheep hunt. However, I wanted to find out for myself what was so good about hunting sheep. As you’ve probably figured out, sheep hunting is very much like hunting remote-country mule deer with that one major exception. And, if you like, you can hunt great remote-county mule deer on a self-guided hunt for less than a couple thousand dollars. 

The out-the-door cost of my two week 2006 BC stone sheep hunt was almost exactly $25,000, not including equipment costs. My typical mule deer hunt costs between $100 and $2,000. This last fall, I archery hunted mule deer in Alberta for a week and paid about $7,000 including all costs.

Although I’ve never paid for a two-week pack trip to hunt trophy mule deer, I’d imagine that a exceptional two week wilderness deer/elk hunt could be had for $10,000 including travel. Not all sheep hunts cost $25,000 either, but that is a good representative number. I’ve had many questions asked since the returning from the hunt, most of them from my spouse, Linda. 

“What did you get for your $25,000?” 

“Was it worth it?”  

“Would you do it again?”  

Worthy questions, but difficult to answer, because I didn’t want to endanger my future hunting options and I can honestly say that I didn’t attempt to compare hunts from a financial perspective. Why not? Because that’s what the hunt cost and I decided to do it.  In retrospect, I’m now much more prepared to evaluate the situation than I was before the hunt.

 What did I get for my $25,000?  I got travel from my front porch to a remote wilderness camp at the base of a BC mountain where several legal stone sheep rams resided. To get there I traveled in a limousine (one hour), 737 commercial jet (five hours), pickup (two hours), float plane (half hour) and on horseback (four hours). After that came the hiking and there was plenty of that as well. Naturally, the process was reversed for the return trip. There were many meals, about 50 of them, ranging from steak and eggs to moose meat sandwiches with great home baked bread, rolls and pies. But, I didn’t go there to eat.  

My entourage included outfitter, guide, wrangler, cook and assistant – not to mention the concession owner who tagged along and helped out for about half the trip. I’ve never had so much attention. And, with the four hours a day of horseback riding for eleven days in a row, I needed all the help I could muster to get on and off my pony. What did this entourage do? They did everything, but dress me and wash me.

Meals were all prepared and coffee brewed constantly. When I needed a horse, it was ready. These people made sure that I had all the support necessary to make sure I would have my best chance to bag a ram when the opportunity presented itself. That’s all I could have asked for. To be valid, the outfitter had to provide me with a legitimate chance to bag a ram.

That was the case. In fact, we found a legal ram the first day out of camp. We spent the first four days attempting to get in position to stalk the ram and take him with archery equipment. On day four, it looked as though we would finally get into position for a chance with my bow. However, the legal ram and six younger rams with him moved off before I could get into position. I spotted them at 100 yards, staring in my direction as I stalked the spot where they had been. 

After four days of failure, I reconsidered my prospects for taking a ram with bow and arrow and elected to switch to the 300 magnum. On day six, I connected with a beautiful ram. On the remainder of the hunt I searched unsuccessfully for a mountain caribou to shoot with my bow. I think that answers the first question.  

“Was it worth it?” 

My best answer for that came from my mother who told me she never regretted the things she’d done, only the things she’d not done. That statement covers it for me, but there is more. Each activity or action we undertake becomes part of the richness of our life. If you can find a way to afford a trip like this, by all means take it. There’s nothing that can replace the first-hand experience of a wilderness hunt for sheep. 

For those who decide they don’t think the product justifies the price, go mule deer hunting and don’t look back. In my opinion, mule deer are every bit the quarry that sheep are. Hunting mule deer is not sheep hunting, but it’s very similar and can be every bit as satisfying, challenging and exciting. 

Mule deer are sheep with a little less sizzle. 

And the last question,

“Would you do it again?” 

Since my return, people keep referring to my sheep hunt as “the trip of a lifetime.” Mistakenly, I used to think that meant that I could go only once. Lately I’ve realized that “trip of a lifetime” only means it’s the trip of a lifetime so far.

    Caption: The first ram was the smallest, the second was almost legal and the third is the one I eventually shot. The photo was taken from about 600 yards about two hours before the shot.   

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Uncommon Sense

 I knew LR Teeken for two hunting seasons before I ever questioned the source of his name. I’d heard a few of his close friends refer to him as “Lightning.” and I’d mistakenly assumed it was a sarcastic expression as LR never responded to anybody very quickly.  

Upon learning of my misunderstanding, and that his real first name was Stephen, I had to ask where the initials LR came from. He got a sheepish look on his face. I knew he’d tell me, but first I had to earn the right to hear the story. Eventually LR began to talk and this is what he told me.

 

LR liked to hunt from a tree stand, and one of his favorite stand locations was in a hell hole over the top of backbone ridge. Each season, LR would carry his tree stand several miles up hill to the highest point on the ridge, and then drop down for about a half mile to a small group of beaver ponds and elk wallows. I never figured out exactly where the stand was located, in fact I always stayed away from that side of the ridge because I knew if I heard an elk bugle down in the bottom, I might go down and kill an elk in a spot where I’d have to eat it rather than carry it out.

 

Anyway, LR kept on talking. It turns out that a few years back, he hunted in that stand on the next to last day of the season. Although there had been a bunch of elk in the area, previously, the end of the season had brought on a series of fruitless hunts, and LR decided to carry the tree stand out that evening rather than come back after the season. As LR unbolted the eight-foot chain that attached his stand to the tree, he took note that a storm was brewing. Rather than still-hunt through a patch of timber, as he had originally planned, LR decided to head straight over the mountain and to avoid the brunt of the storm.

 

LR was always in good condition, but with it being nearly the end of elk season he was in top shape. He hiked up the mountain with that ten-pound tree stand strapped to his back pack as though he were on a Sunday morning stroll. He wasn’t even breathing hard as he came to the clearing near the top of the ridge. Per LR, it was at this point that he heard the thunder that made him feel a bit uneasy. Now LR was no dummy, and he had enough experience in the woods to know that lightning was no laughing matter, especially with a ten-pound metal tree stand strapped to his back.

 

The thunder was a ways off though and he figured that the chances of making it over the ridge before the storm arrived were good. He had only a couple hundred feet to climb, and maybe a quarter mile to go before he’d be over the summit. The wind was picking up considerable and the rain started to fall in large drops. Before LR knew it, he was hit by driving rain that soon turned to hail. Now he had to choose – sit it out or push on into the brunt of the storm. The lightning was closing in. As the time intervals between thunder and the flashes of lightning grew shorter and shorter, LR made the decision to move on over the top of the ridge and get to his truck before total darkness hit.

 

As he cleared the top of the ridge, LR debated about whether to stay out on the open ridge top or travel in the cover of the timber. It was at this point he took a direct hit. The jolt of the lighting bolt knocked LR out cold. He awoke a few minutes after the lightning strike – laying face down in the muddy trail.

 

Now comes the part of the story that demonstrates just how clever LR was. He would probably not have survived the direct hit, but in preparation for such an electrifying event, LR had loosed the chain of his tree stand and had let it drag in the muddy trail. The lightning bolt actually melted the last two links of the chain together, an indication that the strike would surely have finished LR off if he hasn’t used some uncommon sense.

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Time to Open Lands to Hunting

My brother spotted a deer in Mocho Creek last week. It was a doe. Having lived along Livermore’s Mocho Creek for much of our lives, we know that spotting a deer in the creek is unusual. So unusual that the last deer we saw in Mocho Creek was over 40 years ago.

Our previous deer sighting occured on a warm day, probably in the fall of the year when Rob and I were hiking in territory outside our normal haunts. In what seemed like a remote area southeast of town, we found a dump where the landowners were leaving yard trimmings, old furniture and miscellaneous stuff.

As we approached the dump, a young buck blacktail jumped from cover along the trail. My best guess is that I was about 11 at the time, so that makes it 47 years ago and even then deer were scarce that close to town. The site of that deer observation was where the Livermore Rodeo grounds have since been built.

  (Caption: Deer numbers are constantly declining due to loss of and fragmentation of habitat.)

Unfortunately deer habitat in our area is in serious decline. Housing projects, vineyards, and small-lot rural development have fragmented habitat. Habitat that may have been good for deer fifty years ago has been rendered less healthy by an inability to manage habitat with prescribed fire.

With an inability to manage the mountain lion population, hungry predator populations are trimming the remaining numbers of deer to the point where lions are forced out of their habitat and into the edge of town where they may find alternative food sources.

(Caption: This lion was photographed on private land adjacent to EBRPD lands.)

For hunters, matters are even worse as more and more land that is deer habitat comes under ownership of public agencies that don’t allow hunting. The East Bay Regional Park District is one, and the City of San Francisco via its watershed lands is another.

(Caption: The turkey and deer in these photographs were bagged on land adjacent to EBRPD lands.)

 

And, the future is not bright for hunting opportunities in the East Bay. As time passes more and more land will secede to land-owning agencies that do not allow hunting. Why? Pressure from the anti-hunting groups is only part of the problem. The bad public image of hunting is also a factor. Safety and liability issues contribute as well.

However, hunting makes tremendous sense as a viable and compatible use with much of the land owned by these agencies. Hunting produces revenue. Hunting leaves a minor footprint on the land. Hunting is strictly limited to open seasons, which occur during brief time frames. Hunters are licensed and trained in firearm safety. Restrictions on method of take can be used to create safe conditions. Game animal populations need to be managed – currently problems exhist with wild pigs and Canada geese.

Thousands of acres of public lands are sitting out there wasting away. Yes there are a few cattle out there and some of our local ranchers are making ends meet while keeping up their rodeo skills, but why not get some tangible additional benefits from the land?

Now, as mitigation for loss of wetlands and impacts to endangered species escalates, more land will be placed into conservation easements or turned over to agencies. If the current trend continues, these new conservations lands will be removed from private ownership and placed under management of people who do not wish to see hunting continue. It’s time for a change to this trend.

(Caption: Protection of endangered species like the California red-legged frog is causing lands to be transfered to agencies.)

Hunters need to look for new avenues to insure that lands will continue to be hunted. Those that own land can help create solutions by looking for future owners who will continue to see that land is hunted.  If park distircts continue to refuse to allow hunting, the State of California can be called upon to purchase lands through the Wildlife Conservation Board or new land owning non-government organizations can be established to replace the East Bay Regional Park District as a recipient of conservation properties outside the urban limits.

It’s time for hunters to create a roadmap.

     (Caption: Herd of tule elk bulls on unhunted East Bay Public lands.)

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