Is it Time to Disband the "NRC"?

[daappleknocker]

Is it Time to “Disband” the NRC?

I ask this question because recently it seems that the Natural Resources Commission, NRC, is deaf to the cries of the average Joe, non-affiliated hunters that make up the vast majority of Michigan’s deer hunters. Deer hunting in Michigan is the bread and butter of Wildlife Division’s budget, and yet the NRC seems to only listen to the vocal members of “sportsmen’s” clubs along with the QDMA and the MUCC. These clubs represent less than 90% of Michigan stakeholders and yet they are responsible for the majority of regulation changes. If you add in the non-hunting population, then they represent less than 1% of the resource owners in the state.

The NRC was originally created to act as a firewall or watchdog over the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. In many respects they do a great job in most of their areas of responsibility, but when it comes to wildlife resources they are a dismal failure in areas of key concern. When they let manipulation and corruption invade wildlife management under the guise of “social science” at the direction of the Wildlife Division, they have gone too far. Instead of a watchdog they have become a lapdog because they do not have the courage to stand up to their “friends” in the MDNR-WD or their political “special interest” clubs and groups.

The NRC has allowed an ideology to invade the management of deer and bear hunting. The main idealog is Dr. Russ Mason, who backed by the politics of “special interest” to create a utopia of trophy deer hunting and record book bears, has diminished the activity of bear and deer hunting in Michigan that if not reversed immediately may never recover.

Just as one example of this corrupt manipulation, is the forced “hunters choice” regulations imposed on Upper Peninsula deer hunters in 2008. After U.P. hunters rejected MAR’s in a survey conducted in 2004, and a moratorium placed on future MAR’s surveys in 2006 because of the divisive nature of these extreme restrictions, there were four Commissioners that conspired to manipulate the process to achieve what has become a disastrous “social agenda”. Through private meetings and phone calls, they decided amongst themselves that hunter’s choice was NOT an antler point restriction and promoted a “social agenda” being pushed by U.P. “sportsmen” and shoved it down the throats of U.P. hunters. How has that worked for them? One only has to study the Annual Deer Harvest Survey Reports for the U.P. to see that it has been a disaster. Hunter participation has tanked as well as antlered deer harvest. They blame it on the weather and predation, but MAR’s in the name of hunter’s choice bears a big responsibility for the declines as well.

But, they say, hunter approval of HC in the U.P. is going up. That is a simple application of mathematics. As hunter participation drops, response rates to the ADHSR has hit an all-time low. Last year the response rate to this survey barely reached 50%. As the average Joe and non-affiliated hunters leave the woods, they are no longer afforded the opportunity to respond to this important data collection process. Those avid and passionate hunters, whom the regulations were designed for, are more apt to respond to these surveys, and drive the approval ratings up. Again, a designed result of their agenda. I do not believe that the NRC are so distracted not to notice this. I believe they are part of the deception.

This manipulative agenda has been disastrous for many towns and villages in the U.P. Where I hunt, Champion and Michigamme have all but become ghost towns with no commercial activity today. Once thriving communities during Oct. thru Dec., the gas stations and party stores, bars and restaurants are all closed. I was once told by a MDNR biologist that 40% of U.P. hunters came from down state or out of state, I bet that number is under 20% now. Thank you hunter’s choice.

Maybe we should do some shuffling and get rid of the NRC and just call the MDNR the MDNRC, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Commission. They could still have their monthly meetings where the MDNRC would just tell us how they are going to put it to us. Just what they do now, but without the false oversight which is just for show. No public comments would be necessary as they do not listen to the average Joe, non-affiliated hunters anyway. They could have secret meetings and phone calls with their “special interest” friends before the meeting and inform us which orifice to cover.

Not much would change, we will still be falsely educated by being taught “untruths”, or by definition deception. Proof of this is the language promoted in the NW-12 MAR’s survey, which the MDNR created and the current NRC “stood behind”. That survey process taught me one thing, if you lie with authority, people will believe you, and even some people IN AUTHORITY!

The current NRC has been manipulated into approval of the flawed agenda of MAR’s, and are now in search of a justifying principle. It does not exist. And to those pushing for MAR’s, it shows a total lack of ethics and character when you have to force change on others because you lack the courage to follow your own convictions. Many hunters practice voluntary antler point restrictions, but would never lack the character or ethics to force them onto another hunter.

This is a wake-up call to the “special interest” groups pushing the agenda of extreme MAR’s, to the MDNR-WD and to the NRC. When these extreme agendas are brought to light in a public way, it will not be a pretty sight. You have failed the people of Michigan, who have relied on a process that has been intentionally manipulated for the personal gain of a few, at the expense of the masses.

A Concerned Wildlife Resource Advocate
Curtis Stone
3-22-16
[e-mail]