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Show Sevier County Contest Has Severe Problems By Laura Reeves Letter to the Editor Some of our countrymen and women have Incredibly little faith In nature's ability to remedy her own problems. In Sevier County, Utah, the Sevier Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a contest to see which group and Individual can kill the most "pests.". Folks there aren't talking about mosquitoes. They are offering prizes guns and ammunition) for dead magpies, starlings, coyotes, skunks, (i.e raccoons, and pocket gophers. In a show of democracy, this "wildlife federation" has chosen to Include eggs and young animals in the point total. What the well-intention- and ed group neglects is that most of the animals SWF wants killed are themselves Integral parts of a natural pest control cycle, even without the help of men with guns. The magpies and starlings feed on flies and other Insects, thereby reducing the number of disease carriers. Coyotes feed on carrion, birds and pocket gophers as well as snakes and other animals which might be considered pests, even dangerous pests. Skunks and raccoons are herbivores which can be humanely trapped and released in an area which has no crops for them to damage. For that matter, though Ive lived In a rural farming and ranching community most of my life. I've never seen or heard of skunks causing damage to crops. Picture this: A full page ad runs in the "Richfield Reaper" calls "Scout troops, civic organizations or other clubs" to Join in the fun, killing the animals for prizes. This contest not only asks children to kill animals and raid their nests, but does so in a manner similar to a carnival pot-shhit the goal and win a stuffed animal (or In this case, a .22 rifle with a scope). Numerous studies have demonstrated a very strong link between childhood disregard for animal life and subsequent irresponsible behavior toward human above-mention- ed ot beings. In addition to this harmful effect on the children, when young people, or for that matter most people, are confronted with a competitive situation, they often lose what little control they may have. What average person can make the distinction between a magpie or starling and their eggs and the rest of the bird world? How many people will stop to positively identify a coyote or skunk as separate from a dog or cat when they Just need a few more points to win a steak dinner or some other trinket? How many animals will suffer and die needlessly through an ignorant or careless mistake? How many pets or "non-pest- " animals will die for the cause of control?" "pest Before the NRA comes after me for denying the right to bear arms, let me acknowledge that I come from a family whose greatest pride is the number and quality of the guns in the cabinet, a whole family of sportspcoplc who hunt during each regularly-schedule- d hunting season. I know the need some people have to keep a gun at their sides. What I find revolting here is the total lack of respect for wildlife which would promote wholesale waste, and blatant Ignorance of nature's own system of population control. In Sevier County, this kind of "pest control" has been going on as long as anyone can remember. According to Paul Niemeyer, SWFs spokesman, "We Just want to bring their (the animals) numbers to a point that we can live with." For some reason, no one has noticed that the problem hasn't gone away. Someone should tell the good old boys and girls that this little carnival of theirs is only prolonging the problem. They have sponsored contests to rid the area of Jack rabbits, and now wonder why the coyotes are pestering their livestock. Could there be alternatives to county-wid- e slaughter parties? Recently a local educational station sponsored a program spotlighting a rancher in eastern Oregon who has reversed this destruction of natural controls. He has turned his 1,000 acre ranch into wildlife habitat. He has returned much of the land to marsh, thereby encouraging birds like magpies and starlings to live there and control the Insect population. Subsequently, because the marsh grows such tall, rich grass, his beef tonage has increased exponentially. He encourages coyotes on his land to eat carrion by leaving dead animals in the brush. In a dozen years, he has not had a single animal killed. Sheriffs and animal management officials come from hundreds of miles away to release predators such as bobcats on his land where they know the animals will be safe, and will find their places in a healthy ecosystem. There are more examples of this type rwi WAT' me popcoau Maciiin For ? To the Editor, After the apple, grape and potato panic hopefully we are more aware of the EPA and media which would alarm the public and threaten whole sectors of our economy and trade before the facts are in. These liberals running amuck??? Now in its lead article the April NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC takes similar outrageous distortions into 10 million homes and the nation's schools about radioactive contamination which could also cripple the marketing of Idaho agriculture: "In one of the worst cases, at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, radioactive contamination has fouled the Snake River Aquifer." Sounds like the ugly misrepresentation of the Snake River Alliance, Green Peace, etc. have found a listening ear and are coming home to roost Truth is, workers drink water below the INEL and its radiation is near normal background levels. Minor tritium traces are no threat to health and are not even detectable nor are they expected to be by federal or state monitors. off-sit- e, In contacting an area TV station proclaiming INEL's supposed aquifer I radiation, was told their source was "TIME" magazine. I suggested to them that if the sources of their information were not put straight, Idaho's Potato Crop could be threatened. Instead, they stood by their sensationalizing reporter. Such fabrication by a few "liberal" activist scientists has existed since the days of Oppenheimer. They tried to kill the "H" bomb developmment while the Soviets surged ahead, halt weapon production and cripple the economy for political reasons and have had considerable success. "Earth Day" was also Lenin's 100th anniversary. Likewise with the "JOURNAL" fron page "USGS To Check For Water Contamination" and its ominous figures, suggest a better title would have been "Independent Laboratory and State Health Dept. Affirm No INEL Radioactivity In Rupert Water." I called them both and this Is what the foreboding measurements meant Mos don't know the difference between a a million picocurie and a megacurie trillion. This same media disinformation was used when that Psycho with six previous felonies shot the children in California. He could have done more damage with a kitchen knife, ball bat, single shot .22, a bucket o gasoline or a car. The junked communist automatic AK-4- 7 had been and was no longer an "assault rifle" (typically classified by BATF and regulated as "machine guns"). The media barrage mesmerized people into thinking that it was the weapon that was responsible for this instead of the criminal behind it. About half the sporting arms in this country are semi-autand It is disheartening to see how fast we let gurus on the tube stampede us. We need to control criminal use by enforcing the laws on the books, not by going after sportsmen and the Constitutional right to have arms and the inherent right of self defense. semi-automat- ic os RD.Vesser of progressive thinking which have succeeded beyond expectation. Unfortuately, they are too few and far between. Too many people seem to believe nature can't survive without their help. 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