conservation

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The Pursuit & Prestige Gala

December 20, 2024 by 0 Comments

As some may know, I am on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Safari Club – Carolina Foundation. It is the DSC chapter covering North Carolina and the Upstate and Piedmont of South Carolina. We are a 501(c)3 charity dedicated to conservation, education, and advocacy. We got started in late 2023 and have been working, bit by bit, to get up and going. It is not easy starting a new organization from essentially scratch though we have had lots of help.

We are finally at the point where we will have our first fundraising banquet. It will be March 1, 2025 at Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina. Founded by NASCAR legend, former NRA 1st VP, and current Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation Richard Childress, the winery features 30 different wines made from grapes grown on 70 acres of vineyards. The vineyard is part of the Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area. The winery features a very nice event center for corporate and private events which is where the gala will be held.

The event will feature both live and silent auctions. These auctions will be accessible for online bidding by those unable to attend in person. A link to that will go in February. I know we will have many firearms, donated hunts, and other fine items up for bid or raffle. Indeed, I just secured a donation of a 10-day cow Cape buffalo hunt in the North-West Province of South Africa from Bos en Dal Safaris.

If you are interested in attending, ticket sales have begun and will continue until February 15th. Either go to our website or use the QR code in the image above. Likewise, if you are interested in donating an item for the auction or raffle – and it need not be firearm or hunting related – please contact us at dsccarolinas@gmail.com.

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Registration For SCI Convention Opens

September 19, 2022 by

The registration for the 2023 Safari Club International Convention is now open. The even will be held February 22nd through 25th in Nashville at the Music City Center. This is the convention center where the NRA has held their annual meetings in the past.

This will be the first SCI Convention to be held outside of Nevada since 1993. In their earliest years, they held some conventions in cities like Atlanta and Orlando. However, they were not a great success when compared to Las Vegas and Reno. I am hoping this year will be prove to be different.

The 2022 convention was fun in Las Vegas and we split our time between it and the SHOT Show. I enjoyed the exhibits as well as attending some of the seminars. Not wanting to be tempted, I skipped the auctions and banquets. All of that said, I’m excited that it will be held in a location to which I can easily drive and where I know my way around. I also like the timing of it as it won’t make the month of January jam-packed with events.

More information on the convention is below in their press release:

SCI’s preferred hotels for the 2023 Convention include Grand Hyatt Downtown, Hilton Nashville Downtown, Hyatt Place Downtown, JW Marriott Nashville, The Westin Nashville, Renaissance Nashville, and Omni Nashville. Please mention “SCI2023” or “Safari Club room block” when booking hotels over the phone to receive discounted pricing. 

The Convention will showcase unique hunting opportunities on six continents, world-class taxidermy and art, and give manufacturers their first opportunity to demonstrate new products directly to consumers. Considered the “Ultimate Sportsmen’s Market,” the Convention also plays host to dozens of topical seminars presented by subject matter experts. Several hundred hunts, fishing trips, firearms, works of art, jewelry, and other items and services are offered at live and silent auctions, helping SCI raise hunter advocacy and conservation funds. Finally, you won’t want to miss out on the nightly banquets and world-class entertainment starring country music celebrities, hunting superstars, and much more!  

Whether attendees are looking to book their dream hunt, scope out the latest firearms and gear, or find taxidermy inspiration, the SCI Annual Convention will impress with many exhibits and something for everyone! 

To register for the 2023 SCI Annual Convention, visit https://showsci.org. To contact a registration agent, please dial 520-620-1220 or call toll-free at 888-746-9724.

UPDATE: I came across this teaser video on the 2023 SCI Convention. It is definitely well done.

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A freaking one-day fishing license, really?

August 17, 2022 by

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) wants you to believe he is a fisherman, outdoorsman, and conservationist. That is why he posted a campaign commercial of himself fly fishing in Colorado with a guide. The guide, a supposed independent but in reality a county commissioner who has voted Democratic in several election cycles, endorses Bennet. Commissioner Greg Felt asserts that Bennet is always focused on Colorado.

Interestingly, the video of his commercial on YouTube doesn’t allow any comments.

According to Axios, Bennet only bought a Colorado resident one-day fishing license for the filming of the ad. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, that license costs $14.46. I am a great believer in frugality but I also believe in supporting wildlife and fisheries conservation.

I am not a multi-millionaire with a large campaign budget but I am certain I could have afforded to pay $36.71 to get a resident’s annual license. That money would have gone to help support that which he says he supports. I guess he believes it is better to support it with your money and not his own personal money.

Years ago, I served multiyear terms as both treasurer and president of the Land O’ Sky Chapter of Trout Unlimited. One of the service projects many of us volunteered to help with was Casting for Recovery. Their events were meant to assist survivors of breast cancer in their recovery. Most of these women had never held a fly rod nor cast a fly before that weekend. Nonetheless, they were more skillful in casting a fly than the good senator in this ad.

This ad is the 2022 equivalent of John Kerry going pheasant hunting when he was running for president.

I hate politicians and their damn photo ops!

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Trophy Hunting Helps African Animal Populations

June 2, 2021 by 1 Comment

The British publication The Economist just produced a very interesting video on trophy hunting in Namibia. It makes the point that hunters and their money pays for conservation, provides meat to local communities, and provides an economic incentive to stop poaching and overgrazing.

You may not agree with trophy hunting and that is your right. However, bans on trophy imports, public shaming of hunters, and calls for banning it outright will eventually lead to the extinction of many species. Putting an economic value on wild animals, regulated hunting, and hunter-funded anti-poaching efforts have been shown to work.