A FEW BEST READ TWICE, AT LEAST

Comments Worth Repeating, 2008

By Bill Schneider, 1-17-08

As I’m sure many of you have noticed, NewWest.net has engaged readers who take the time to make excellent comments that frequently add value to stories. And they keep coming in. The hardest part was narrowing down the list to a manageable size. Even though there are obviously many more comments worth repeating, here are some of my favorites. For more comments, check out the Comments Worth Repeating Chronology. Enjoy.

Cabela’s Desecrating its Own Brand

“Seems to make business sense for folks who make their money from hunting and fishing sales in the mass market to start getting aggressive about alleviating risks to that market.... and get some good press in the process.” (Mark)

“As for Cabela’s, I think they are killing themselves overall. I remember when the Pilgrimage to Sidney was a big deal, after years of ogling at catalogs. It was not a disappointment. But this last spring, on a transcontinental road race, a buddy and I stopped in Mitchell. It was neat, but sort of a letdown from Store Numero Uno. Like the first time is always the most memorable, right?” (Dave Skinner)

“Inevitably, more conflicts arise and there are less opportunities for those ‘Montana’ experiences we shared with our parents and grandparents. That’s the sad trend, and it seems most folks can’t see this or aren’t really willing to do a thing about it except gripe about how it’s somebody else’s fault.” (Mark)

“Cabela’s or Orvis certainly have the right to do business any way they see fit, but I also have the right to spend my hard-earned paycheck where I’m most appreciated.” (Larry)

“Cabela’s and Orvis are just easy targets...Sure, your group can go after big business and try to force them to be responsible through boycott and legal extortion; environmental groups do this every day...I hope that this matter does finally get to the right state officials that can effectively produce the change that will be fair for everyone.  And maybe David will face the right Goliath.” (Indiana)

“WOW! I don’t know where to start except to call it like it is!  I’m a backcountry hunter, a wildlife conservationist, a family man and foremost a red blooded American….Here’s a newsflash for you folks. We live in a country based on capitalism, not socialism….I reside in Oregon…Oregon is the state of the Spotted Owl, radical environmental movements and continuous anti hunting controversies….Several years ago I personally witnessed a group of anti hunting eco-terrorists running through the woods smashing metal trash can lids together to scare away the game near my public hunting land. Welcome to America!” (Thomas)

Orvis, Don’t Be Another Cabela’s

“Why not make this a positive? Rather than jumping on these ‘easy target’ companies to get out of the bad property selling business, why not nudge them towards getting into the good property business? Why not suggest that you will continue to support Cabelas, Orvis, etc. once they choose only to endorse property sales that reflect a certain set of values? I sure would think twice about where to buy that next gizmo if I knew my purchase was going to support smart, private sector driven land conservation and hunting/fishing access. Rather than alienate these potential powerful allies (and I know personally that Orvis is a very sincere supporter of fisheries conservation all over the world), why not create a solution?” (Mark)

“Castigation of Cabelas or Orvis or Sotheby or whoever is just another glass of white whine.” (bearbait)

“James Hathaway offers concrete examples of how Orvis makes money and leverages conservation. Orvis starts by donating 5% of pre-tax profits to conservation and then screens properties, buyers, and sellers in an attempt to maximize conservation and market value….This isn’t about private property rights; that’s a legal issue. This is about corporate responsibility.” (Mark MT)

Cabela’s Reacts to Land Sales Debate

“I can live with greed as long as there is access.” (Ed)

“I plan to shop at Sportsmen’s Warehouse until I hear some real commitments...We all are in this process together, and I want to see more before I come to any conclusions, however, it seems we’re on the road to progress...I do believe it’s more difficult to waffle in the light of day, and that’s where we are now.” (Larry)

“I suppose it comes down to, as we have stated before, how much ‘little guy’ business companies are willing to lose.” (Jerry)

“Guys, let’s give it time to jell… I’m encouraged but I can also be naive on occasion. One thing for sure, if they don’t live up to the agreements, they’ll really hurt their business with the everyday guy.” (Larry)

“A simple three point legislative agenda would dramatically change the current trends towards privatization while having absolutely no impact on ligitimate private property rights. These would be disallowing any exchange of renumeration for access as a condition of hunting and fishing licences, adressing the refuging of wildlife through legal sanctions, and basing the harvest of the male component of wildlife populations on the degree of public accessibility to the resource.” (Bill Orsello)

Baucus, Crapo Introduce RAT Repeal

“In 1981 I did a private Grand Canyon trip and the park service fee for the whole trip was $25. We just finished another private river trip this fall on the Grand Canyon where six people hiked out and seven hiked in and the ‘fee’ was $2,300!” (Jim Fuge)

“The fee retention that Jay is a fan of is the root of the problem. When every local District Ranger is encouraged and expected to raise his or her own budget through user fees, a perverse incentive is created to overdevelop the more popular sites, and abandon the less popular ones. At the upper levels, the incentive is to starve the Districts of appropriated funding and divert it to other uses, chiefly administrative overhead.” (Kitty B. Benzar)

What the Baucus-Crapo Bill Does

“Most environmentalists don’t want us all to go back to living in caves. They simply want to find better, more efficient and sustainable ways to maintain our standards of life. Just as all ranchers are not the ‘shoot and shut up, kill all the wolves, burn down Washington, run the feds off my land’ radicals that a few make it look like they are….As for the fees, good for Max on this one. Can you imagine the Utopia we might have if we had all the money that has been spent (and misplaced!) in Iraq and Afghanistan? Maybe NO FEES on public lands. Maybe health care for all Americans. Maybe no hunger. Maybe fix social security. We can only dream.” (Frank N)

“They (Forest Service) are run like a dope cartel when you look at it.  All the people on the ground locally are to collect the money, and then the boys up the line take it all for management fees.” (bearbait)

Cabela’s New Policies Promote Stewardship, Preserve Historic Uses

“Cabela’s cannot serve 3 masters--Buyer, Seller, and the Public field sportsman without getting tangled up and sued. Obviously, they know this. The first loser out will be the Public no matter what posturing positions they take.” (Craig Moore)

The Baucus-Crapo Bill, Afterthoghts

“The agency (Forest Service) made a bargain with the devil when it signed on to Fee Demo, and many of its top managers have long since gone over to the dark side. It’s a hard bargain to break, but it must be done if we are to save the Forest Service’s soul. Any self-respecting Forest Service employee who takes seriously his or her responsibility to the American people needs to do what they can to promote S2438. 
We need to return to a situation where the Forest Service and the People are allies, not adversaries.” (Kitty B. Benzar)

For more, chlick on Comments Worth Repeating Chronology.

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