Hunters and fishermen listen to the national anthem
10/10/07 07:48
before Tuesday night's heated meeting at the Mullica Hill Grange.
By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff
HARRISON
Upward of 300 men crammed the Mullica Hill Grange on Tuesday evening, while an additional 200 or so crowded around doors and windows to listen to the proceedings within.
Hunters and fishermen all, they were there to demonstrate that they are "mad as hell" at their treatment by Trenton and don't plan to take it anymore.
"For a long time we've waited on the sidelines," said Ed Markowski, president of the N.J. Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. "We no longer have that luxury."
"Ladies and gentlemen," rally organizer Ed Cuneo said at the start of the meeting, "you are making N.J. sportsmen's history tonight."
The sportsmen contend they are under attack from animal-rights activists. They pointed with particular ire Tuesday night at legislation that would change the way hunting and fishing in the state are regulated.
That bill, sponsored by two Monmouth County Democrats, would change the way members of the state's Fish and Game Council are appointed, depriving sportsmen of the control they are now guaranteed.
It would also change the language describing the council's mission in ways troublesome to the sportsmen, replacing references to "game" with the word "wildlife."
The bill also would delete a provision that refers to "development of fish and game for public recreation and food supply," while adding provisions designed to encourage "eco-tourism" and "nonlethal alternatives for dealing with wildlife conflicts."
"What a stupid bill," Assemblymen John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, told the rally. "Something that's been working for 60 years and we're going to fix it?"
"This has been brewing for some time," said Bill Riestle, a 70-year-old hunter and fisherman from Logan. "Now it's coming to a head."
After allowing bear hunts in 2003 and 2005 to cull the growing population of black bears in the northwestern part of New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection last year canceled a scheduled hunt and has no intention of resuming it this year.
Sportsmen consider this a foolish policy motivated more by an anti-hunting bias than any scientific approach to wildlife management.
Tuesday's rally attracted a number of state legislators from South Jersey and their opponents in next month's election. The rally was organized by the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen and the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance.
State Sen. Nick Asselta, R-Cumberland, said he is a sportsman himself. "Growning up in Vineland I understand how important our way of life is," he said.
Asselta accused North Jersey politicians of trying to "erode our way of life in South Jersey."
"This is where we need to draw the line," Asselta said.
State Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, made it clear he would oppose the change.
"I promise you tonight, if that bill comes up we're going to kill it in the Senate," Sweeney said.
State Sen. Ellen Karcher and Assemblyman Mike Panter see their bill as an attempt to bring broader representation and a wider mission to the fish and game council.
Under current law, the Fish and Game Council is composed of 11 members, six of whom are appointed on the recommendation of the Federation of Sportsmen, and three of whom must be farmers.
Under the Karcher-Panter proposal, all seven members would be appointed by the governor, with two of the appointments reserved for farmers.
Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071 ...