Wisdom from the Woods XI

Wisdom from the Woods is an occasional column that outlines complex issues.


What the hell is President Obama going to do about employment issues this country is facing? Today I am bringing my class to a favorite spot in the woods to discuss recreation and the problems associated with maintaining public lands. You see; governments are not providing the human resources required to maintain the millions of acres in the conservation system. My favorite spot is a great place to demonstrate the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from the 1930s.

In today's world nobody seems to want to get their hands dirty. Nobody wants to foul up the keyboards of their computers. We do need to have people working in our woodlands as the CCC infrastructure that is still providing services to this day is now starting to fail. Our public lands are in deplorable shape and Governor Nothing (Carcieri) could care less. So we have a problem maintaining our conservation lands and we have a severe unemployment problem. Can't we put the 2 things together again.

I'm not suggesting that we recreate the CCC; but I do believe that there is a ready resource of talented people that could lend a hand to conservation agencies across this country. I think people can be put to work without spending much money. Today's unemployment benefits are continually extended as they should be. I contend that the first 6 months of benefits should remain as it is. After 6 months, why not utilize that unemployed work force to improve conservation infrastructure and to assist natural resource agencies collect data for critical monitoring programs. In other words, keep providing unemployment benefits but require individuals to work 3 days a week for those benefits. The remaining 2 days a week could still be used for employment search. There are many other areas of government that could use a helping hand.

Some will say that searching for work is a full time job. In a normal economy I would argue; yes. Today we do not have a normal economy and let's be realistic, many unemployed folks don't want to find that job until the benefits run out. In my former role I could have put dozens of people to work and I did during the downturn through the Carter years. The Emergency Job Unemployment Act(EJUA) as well as the CETA program provided multiple opportunities to get conservation work done. If the unemployed are getting paid anyway, let's find a way to utilize their talents.

tomtoak

Grasping at Windmills

As this country struggles to find ways to deal with our dependence on foreign oil, we continue to grasp for alternative technologies without doing much thinking. The non-stop talk about the development of wind energy is great; but stop talking. Before this country actually moves ahead with pending proposals, somebody needs to start thinking.

Off shore proposals have been getting all of the press and political support. How stupid are we? Does anyone realize the excessive costs of developing our energy off shore? Building windmills that can live through 150 MPH winds is one thing; but what additional costs are needed to engineer wind energy facilities that can live through a 50 foot wall of water from a storm surge or rouge wave? Now you build them so you have to maintain them. How do you do that? You build a fleet of ships to service all off shore facilities. Now you need to build infrastructure to get transmission lines out to sea; I'll bet you that's not cheap! Of course you've made your decision to build your electrical grid and energy generators in the most corrosive environment on earth. That's right you giants of industry, didn't anyone ever teach you that salt water corrodes? I'm not saying that you engineering geniuses can't solve the problems; but at what cost?

While traveling in Austria a few years ago I marveled at the miles and miles of wind farms adjacent to the train traveling from Vienna to Saltsburg. You see, the windmills were growing in all of the agricultural fields. There was still plenty of room for crops and the land was serving multiple purposes. We are always looking for ways to help our farmers. Why can't our turf farmers in Rhode Island be growing windmills along with their grass. Why not line the median strips of major east coast highways (Route 95 - Maine to Florida - Route 195 in Rhode Island and Massachusetts) with windmills. The highway is close to the ocean, energy infrastructure is readily available along the way, maintenance can be accomplished using trucks from GM, Ford and Chrysler, windmills do not have to be able to withstand 50 foot waves, corrosion is of less concern because of inland locations, infrastructure to fuel electric cars will be roadside and construction costs have to be a fraction of the costs of developing off shore.

Building the future wind energy infrastructure needs to be done on shore. Some will tell me that there is a problem with wind. Yes you may lose a few turns on the generator, but east coast highways are all close to sea level. Build the structures high enough and you'll save billions on construction costs. And you know what? Our electric bills will be a lot cheaper and the construction can occur a lot faster.

Please start thinking!

tomtoak

Consolidations - bigger is not always better!

Having lived through consolidations in government, I think that leaders have to re-evaluate the efficacy of such actions. As we look at the current state of the economy; ask yourselves, is bigger really better? Was it better to have AIG so big that it could not fail? Is it better to have GM so large that it can't function in the down economy? Was it wise to split AT&T into multiple companies a few decades ago?

It seems like every time there is a financial crunch in government or business, administrators react by insisting on larger organizations. The argument is always the same; by consolidating operations, we all become stronger. I want to be diplomatic in my response; but I think I need to say, bull shit! While leaders of institutions are well intentioned when devising new, larger organizations, they need to fully comprehend the consequences. Administrators need to look beyond quarterly results, annual results and even bi-annual results. True leaders need to look at a longer time horizon; perhaps decades. I'll go as far as saying, bigger is almost never better!

I lived and supported a reorganization that consolidated environmental functions within the State of Rhode Island. In the late 1970's, the Department of Natural Resources was combined with the environmental regulatory functions housed within the Department of Health. The new agency was named the Department of Environmental Management (DEM). The arguments all seemed to make sense and the leaders behind the change were the most dedicated professional I have ever known. In retrospect, the change was disastrous.

In the new agency, financial pressures did not disappear. Over time, fiscal issues took an exhausting toll on one side of the agency. The new DEM, when faced with mandates from the EPA and others, struggled to find resources to accommodate the needs of everyone. The consequence of the merger resulted in the draining of financial and personnel resources from the natural resource areas and shifted those resources to the environmental regulatory areas. In 1986, I became the chief of the forestry agency that had 65 full time positions, coupled with dozens of part time summer positions. When I retired in 2005; a retirement fostered by the frustration of dealing with management needs, I had 29 full time positions. Today, my successor has only 17 full time positions. Responsibilities have been amended, but the public generally requires the same service.

This is not the end of the story. When I retired in 2005, the DEM had roughly the same total number of employees as when I started as chief. Emphasis and power changed the allocation of resources. The legislature, fed up with the regulatory burdens imposed on businesses and citizens, continually limited the financial resources of the department. The natural resource areas; the white hat side of the department, was devastated by the continual shifting of money and personnel towards the other side of the agency. The regulatory areas; the black hat side of the department, kept on growing and growing at the expense of natural resources.

Today, natural resources areas at DEM have been decimated, eviscerated, castrated and left to struggle with an almost impossible job. I feel for the employees that are trying to do their best for the people of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is not better off because of the shifting financial dynamics within the larger, "more powerful" agency. The larger agency has lost status in the eyes of the legislature and the struggle to correct the lack of fairness will take generations.

Bigger is not better!

Tomorrow, I will discuss another pending reorganization that will have lasting negative consequences for years to come. This story will involve the consolidation of two colleges at the University of Massachusetts.

tomtoak

Mouth Pieces, Blue Jeans, Arrogance and George Will

If you haven't heard by now, Mr. Mouthpiece himself, George Will, wrote a column for the Chicago Tribune last Friday, April 17, entitled; "You look absolutely ridiculous in jeans." Mr. Arrogance; we could never take you too seriously on any issue, but now you have gone too far. While the article largely paraphrases author, Daniel Akst, Will makes it clear he supports every word.

How about this line from Will's article; "Jeans come prewashed and acid-treated to make them look like what they are not - authentic work clothes for sons of toil and soil." Will, later confesses that he does own a single pair of jeans that he wore once. He needed a pair to attend a birthday party for the former U.S. Senator, John Danforth's 70th birthday (jeans were required dress). Let's put these two statements together and you can understand that the privileged Mr. Will, never did a day's work in his entire life. I can see him trimming his hedges now in a zoot suit. Oh; but that's right Mr. Will, that's manual labor and that's for other folks to do.

George Will; you pompous stuffed shirt!! You have just insulted every working American and you're too stupid to understand that conservative, working class people just lost a lot of respect for you. As for me; a left of center liberal, I lost respect for you a long time ago. You have just strengthened my case in the debating circle of my friends.

Will, further insults with the following; "Denim is the carefully calculated costume of people eager to communicate indifference to appearances." Let me tell you something, Mr. Will; I live in denim and I'll be buried in denim. Yes, I wore a suit when I had to testify before the legislature, or meet Congressional representatives or give talks to various interest groups. Most of my days as a forester were spent in blue jeans as I needed to connect to the people I was serving.

You have never experienced the smell of a logger coming through your door wearing denim; have you Mr. Will? It's really a manly smell of chain saw and sawdust; something that you will never know anything about. You can always tell what the logger was harvesting, pine or oak, as the smell is easy to differentiate if you've worked in the woods. You can't get respect from the men and women of "toil and soil" if you dress like "Fred Astaire" all of the time. You will never have the experience of enjoying the odors emanating from yourself and your work crew, both men and women, returning from a forest fire smelling of ash, smoke and sweat! You will never enjoy the same sense of accomplishment or struggle with the aches and pains at the end of the day.

What does one of my favorite authors have to say about all of this? Here's a little Henry David Thoreau thrown right back at you; "Kings and queens who wear a suit but once, though made by some tailor or dressmaker to their majesties, cannot know the comfort of wearing a suit that fits. They are no better than wooden horses to hang the clean clothes on." Thoreau continues; "No man ever stood the lower in my estimation for having a patch in his clothes; yet I am sure that there is greater anxiety, commonly, to have fashionable, or at least clean and unpatched clothes, than to have a sound conscience." Wear your zoot suits all you want, Mr. Will; I prefer to carry with me a "sound conscience".

You wonder why as life goes on, certain literature sticks with you? I have been stuck on Thoreau since my days of fishing on Walden Pond. One day while in the middle of the pond with a friend, a thunder storm seemed to come out of nowhere and the wind became so fierce, it drove us to shore. A lightning strike split a tree before our eyes and we escaped without injury. Thoreau was with me then and he's with me now. I'm sure I was dressed in jeans on that day. Reading Will's column brought me right back to Walden Pond and the wisdom of true men and women. By the way George, I like women in jeans! I'll leave you with this to chew on, Mr. Will!

"We don garment after garment, as if we grew like exogenous plants by addition without. Our outside and often thin and fanciful clothes are our epidermis or false skin, which partakes not of our life, and may be stripped off here and there without fatal injury; our thicker garments, constantly worn, are our cellular integument, or cortex; but our shirts are our liber or true bark, which cannot be removed without girdling and so destroying the man." (Henry David Thoreau, Walden)

tomtoak

Challange to Readers II - Impact of Cars in the U.S.

Today's post is just a simple challenge. If you saw Yesterday's, Random Reasoning's X, I talked about automobiles in the United States and the world. It is estimated today that there are 300 million cars in the U.S. and 600 million world wide. It is expected that this number will double in 30 years.

Cars are taking up a lot of room in this country and the resulting pollution with today's technology is causing environmental concern planet- wide. Global warming is becoming more problematic because of our love of the automobile. This does not mean that 30 years from now we can't have clean burning, energy efficient cars that will help to sustain our environment.

Here's the question: If we parked every car in the United States in one big parking lot, with each parking space 10 feet by 20 feet (200 square feet), which state or portions of states would be required to house all 300 million cars?

I wouldn't mind charging Logan Airport parking rates for this fun little game. Feel free to do some math, take a guess or multiple guesses. Just a short note: don't included the inundated areas of states in the calculation. You shouldn't park a car under water.

tomtoak

Wisdom from the Woods VII

Wisdom from the Woods is an occasional column that outlines a complex issue.

Today's picture is of a single stone cairn that originated from Native American burial rituals. Throughout New England, these heaps of stones were placed in strategic locations. It is strongly believed that the placement of these stones was to honor the dead. Oral traditions relating to the practice seem to have been lost, but there is documentation from the early settlement period that indicates that these sites were burial sites or actually sites to honor the departed. At the center of most authentic cairns is usually found a single piece of quartz. Click on the picture to expand it and you can view the quartz. This cairn is one of hundreds discovered at this particular site. To learn more about the stone cairns click here; but please, if you ever find a site do not disturb it as it should still be considered sacred.

Today I'm thinking about Cuba. Having been alive during the Bay of Pigs invasion and being frightened by the possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union because of their Cuban missile program, I've thought a lot about Cuba over the years. Barack Obama is seeking a new beginning with this rouge state. Cuba has a long way to go when you talk about civil rights. Is Barack Obama walking into a mine field here? Certainly John Kennedy did. I guess that you have to start somewhere; after all, our world is too small to ignore a nation or nations that could help us stabilize our economy here.

How could Cuba do that you ask? One product and one word; sugar cane and ethanol. The United States has stood idly by while a South American country, Brazil, has lead the world in sustainable energy. Brazil is home to the world's first sustainable bio-fuels economy. Their innovation with flex fuel cars and dedication to become the worlds leader in the production of Ethanol renders them free of Arab oil. Can you imagine a day when the United States could tell the Arab nations, we don't want your oil; we don't need your oil? That day would be comparable to Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon.

Cuba could become the most important trading partner with the U.S. if we could find a way to thaw the relationship. I think that this is what Obama is thinking about. You see, we have very little land that supports the growing of sugar cane. Brazil, Cuba and India are among the world leaders in the production of sugar cane. These countries have the climate and suitable ecosystems for sustaining long term production. The United States fumbles around with the production of ethanol from corn, but using corn is highly inefficient. Sugar cane is estimated to be 10 times more efficient for producing ethanol than corn.

While Obama's step towards thawing relations with Cuba is a small step, it does sound like the Cuban regime wants to come to the table and open discussion. I think we need to strike at the opportunity; but be careful, there could be some treacherous turns in the road ahead. Regardless of our immediate future with Cuba, the U.S. needs to become the leader in alternative fuels. For once; I guess you can say that we have to follow the leader, Brazil.

tomtoak

Tea Party Tax Nuts Have it all Wrong

Today is the day of the Republican Tea Parties to be held throughout the land. I know; some of you may be saying it's not the Republicans, but it is. In city after city, dozens of people will show up to scream at the Obama administration because of their taxes; taxes by the way, that were just lowered for 95% of the population. OK, you're mad as hell and you're going to do something about it; right?

Today on Republican radio and on the news tonight, we will hear citizens saying that government is at fault and is always in the way of business. Truth be known; we are actually in the mess we are in because government was not in the way of business, and I mean big business (I'm not talking about small business here). We will hear talking heads try to educate us about the importance of growing the economy, lowering business taxes and personal taxes, so freedom and liberty is saved. What most people still don't understand is that whenever the economy grows and businesses grow, so do your taxes.

If you are thinking that Donald Carcieri in Rhode Island has it right by eliminating corporate taxation, and if you think that this will improve your personal economic situation, you are sorely mistaken. I think most people attending the tea parties live by this creed as if it were a religion. They are wrong.

Around the year 2000, the Southern New England Forest Consortium, Inc. (SNEFCI), commissioned a study to address common misconceptions regarding commercial and industrial development and the impact it has on community taxation. The study took all Rhode Island communities, ranked them according to fair market value of commercial and industrial taxable property and divided the state into 4 equal-sized groups. The effective tax rates were then calculated for these groups and compared to commercial and industrial tax base.

As you can see in the graph from the report (Figure 5.), the communities with the smallest commercial and industrial tax base had the smallest effective tax rate of $15.62. As the commercial and industrial tax base grew, so does the effective tax rate. We all want to see business flourish and we need jobs for our children. I'm not arguing this point. I just want people to stop fooling themselves. As communities grow and business grows, so do your taxes. People need to stop making claims that turning this economy around and growing business will lower our taxes. It never has and it never will.

From the same report, SNEFCI compared open land in the aggregated communities and compared that percentage with the effective tax rate. As you can see from the graph in the report (Figure 8.), communities with very little open land had the highest tax rate of $26.02, compared to the communities with the most open space, that enjoyed an effective tax rate of $18.11. Think about it logically, the highest taxes in this country are found in New York City, the most populated business capital in the world. I don't know where the community is that enjoys the smallest property taxes in this country, but I'm sure it's a rural community that has been able to avoid the infrastructure costs associated with commercial and industrial development. We need business, we need jobs, we want our kids to have a secure future, but stop dreaming of a world with no taxes. As the economy grows, your taxes will grow.

SNEFCI commissioned another well known study, The Cost of Community Services study that won regional awards as well as a national award. The Executive summary explains the details. If you want to track back to my March 10, 2009 post, please do so. In this post I describe in detail exactly why costs in communities increase with commercial and industrial development. Enjoy the tea parties, but understand that you have diminished the history of the country. The Boston Tea Party was all about, "taxation without representation". You all have plenty of representation; that we don't need more of. (You can click on the graphs to expand them)

tomtoak

The North Woods Issue at URI in the News

In Today's Providence Journal, there is a front page story about the controversy surrounding the construction of a new Research Park within the North Woods. The article entitled; "Their fight to save a forest at URI", by Peter Lord, discusses the issues concerning both sides of the decision to site new research facilities. The Providence Journal has also posted a video on their web page. (you may have to sign up to view the video)

As a forester who has studied the area in question, I'll give you my impression of the controversy and explain why I think the research facilities need to be located a few hundred yards away.

Last year, my Forest Management class studied the North Woods for the entire semester. We learned that the forest adjacent to the road (an area of approximately 20 acres) was the oldest forest stand in the 100 acres that we studied. This stand; as luck would have it, serves as the footprint for the proposed research park. The proposed facilities will require the construction of many buildings and new parking facilities.

The forest is approaching 100 years of age (95-100 years) and this was determined by taking a number of increment cores from trees on the site. There are trees that are actually older than the main stand. These trees most likely served as shade trees for cattle during the agricultural past, or they were border trees. A study of the oldest aerial photography from 1939, showed that this stand was an estimated 30 years old at that time. In 1939, this young pole timber stand was resilient enough to withstand the 1938 hurricane. The stand comprised largely of Red and Black Oak is located on very productive soils for growing trees. There is virtually no sign of coppice regeneration (coppice means emanating from stumps or roots). This is an important factor in determining past logging history. Most stands in Rhode Island have a significant amount of coppice regeneration. As logging occurred, the next forest would start from the stumps of the trees that were cut. In the North Woods, it is apparent that trees got their start from seed (acorns in this case). A forest like this is very hard to find in Southern Rhode Island.
I want to note that there are many other areas in the North Woods where logging has been quite significant. These areas are not currently being considered for the research facilities.

The class studied the timber in this stand and determined that there is an estimated 170,000 board feet of timber on this 20 acres and almost 130,000 board feet was Red and Black Oak. What does this mean? I've had a lot of people ask me the question; how much is the timber worth? If the economy was going strong and the mills were looking for some high quality oak, the timber could command a very high price for the region ($400 - 600 per 1000 board feet). This could place the value of the oak timber at $75,000. As you all know, the economy is in the tank and consequently, wood is not moving. Timber sales are a lot like stock sales; you want to sell when the market is up, not when the market is down. Today's prices would only bring in an estimated $25,000. URI is not going to get rich by cutting the trees in either case; this is the point I want to make.

The more important use for this stand is its value as a living laboratory, its proximity to the students and its aesthetic values for this beautiful campus. It seems to me that the research park could be placed a short distance to the west. Perhaps a short walking trail could be developed through the North Woods to connect directly the buildings that would link to the facility.

I'm no expert on research parks; but I do understand the forests of the northeast, and I can tell you that the North Woods is a special place. The URI administration has an idea to grow the University and elevate its stature around the country and the world. The idea is a good idea and should be pursued aggressively. Compromise on the footprint is an essential consideration in this debate.

I do have one question for the administration though. It seems to me that a successful research park will require a place for visiting scientists to live when they travel here. I have not seen a recommendation for siting an on-campus hotel as part of the plan. It just seems to be an important question.

I want to personally thank the students who have shown me they really care. In the left hand column is a slide show on the North Woods. You can click on it to expand it.

tomtoak

Global Warming is Real - Like it or Lump it!

Ever feel like taking Rush Limbaugh to the beach; bury him in the sand, (it would take a very large hole) and wait for the tide to come in. It probably won't take long for Limbaugh to be in over his bloated head. Global warming is real and I'm glad we have a President that accepts science instead of the rantings of a lunatic.

Each year I discuss this issue with my class because there are a few folks that get a lot of media attention who claim that scientists are just alarming us all. Well; I'm alarmed, and I'm also appalled by the ignorance of a Rush Limbaugh.

I like to show this chart to my class that is based on very solid science which outlines the level of CO2 in the atmosphere during the past 420,000 years. If Rush Limbaugh or anyone else wants to question the reality of global warming, I challenge them to prove to me that CO2 does not cause a greenhouse affect. What's incredible about the chart displayed is the level of growth in CO2 since the Industrial Revolution. You don't have to be a climate scientist to understand the connection.

Yes; the Earth goes through periods of warming and cooling. This is natural and we are in the portion of the cycle that leads to warming of the planet. Take a close look at the chart. Our last ice age was some 10,000 years ago and was part of a natural cycle of warming and cooling that occurs every 100,000 +/- years. Please note that historic levels of CO2 in the atmosphere never exceeded 300 ppmV until the last 100 years. Since the Industrial Revolution, our planet has coincided with the natural warming cycle but CO2 levels have spiked to unprecedented levels (380 ppmV). CO2 levels have far exceeded previous spikes during the past 420,000 years. If Mike Huckabee or Sarah Palin is listening, this is a little more than your 7,000 year old history of the planet.

This data is built on solid science and can't be refuted. If you want to try, let's hear it? We also know that CO2 is a greenhouse gas. If you want to dispute that, let's hear it? We know that greenhouse gasses trap heat on our planet; if you want to dispute it, let's hear it? If you want to dispute any of this argument, you need to watch "Extreme Ice", a PBS special on the melting ice around the world. If after watching this PBS special, you want to take Rush Limbaugh's side, let's hear it?

While some debate the reality of global warming; we continue to lose precious time, and Rush Limbaugh's gas continues to make this planet warmer and warmer.

Pay attention America; this is a serious problem.

tomtoak

URI Students Work to Save the North Woods

Times sure are different; as bad as this economy is, things are better than when I went to college. I have had the pleasure of working with a group of students at the University of Rhode Island that are dedicated to saving an area of campus known as the "North Woods". The University would like to construct a new Research Park that would utilize almost 30 acres on the north side of campus. Unfortunately, this proposed park would land right on top of a 100 year- old forest that has been largely undisturbed.

Students have started to do all of the right things. They have gathered information, asked to meet with professors, sought advice from a number of sources and developed a plan to approach the Administration. Nobody is trying to make headlines here. These students believe that a research park is a good thing for the University; they are just concerned about URI losing rural character and an important teaching tool that they are all familiar with. When concerned about how to handle any press, a group prepared a press release to focus the discussion appropriately.

I have had the honor to work with so many of these students that truly care about their University and the North Woods. They understand that URI needs both a research park and this natural laboratory.

When I attended UMass (1968-1972) student grievances were handled a little differently. On my first day at UMass, student orientation, June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. This happened just 3 months after the loss of Martin Luther King. I remember a visit to the campus by Hubert Humphrey after he lost the election to Richard Nixon. Humphrey actually came to our dorm. A group of disgruntled students surrounded him and demanded that they meet with him privately. The scene was very tense but he handled it well. He never got to speak to the student body that evening because an obnoxious professor took over a microphone and would not stop his rant against the war in Vietnam. Humphrey had to walk off stage. Strom Thurman, Senator from South Carolina, came to campus to speak one time and was greeted by students dressed in KKK garb. As they approached the stage, Thurman exited through a back door and got into his limo. I stood and watched in horror as students tried to turn the vehicle over. He managed to escape without anyone getting hurt. When UMass announced a hike in tuition from $50 per semester to $150, a group of student protesters had a sit-in at the Administration building.

Times have changed. Students have changed and it's all for the better. Let's hope that there is a win-win for everyone here. Can you imagine one of these dedicated students arriving at the University 40 years from now and taking a walk through the North Woods on their way to a meeting at the Research Park? They would be proud and they should be proud.

I still wish tuition was $50 per semester though!

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A New Job For Dick Cheney

Well, a story on MSNBC today discusses a proposed law in Texas that would allow hunters to shoot feral pigs from helicopters. I guess they like the fact that hunters in Alaska can hunt from the air. That's real sporting. I've been a hunter all of my life, but I have to tell you, shooting an animal from the air is just chickenshit.

The story informed us that at least 2 million feral hogs were tearing up crops, ripping down fences and eating everything along the way. Have you ever been to Texas? I have visions of sage brush, tumbleweeds, cactus and rattlesnakes. I think they must have been eating for a long time because there just doesn't seem to be much left of the state; at least that's what I remember. In Alaska, brave hunters can shoot bears and wolves from the air. There is certainly no dedication to conservation or sportsmanship here.

This brings me to a great story about Aldo Leoplold my favorite conservationist, as he wrote about an incident when he shot and killed a wolf. He writes: "We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes - something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."

My Dad was a huge inspiration in my life. We shared many days in the field and I would not trade that for anything. He taught me that when you take an animal's life, it is your responsibility to clean it and eat it. I live by that creed.

A few years ago, I read a story about Dick Cheney hunting at a shooting preserve in Pennsylvania. It seems that their party shot 450 pheasants on this one day. Cheney was quite pleased; if my memory serves me correct, he had shot 75 of the birds. What do you want to bet that he never cleaned one?

I have a new job for Dick. Send him to the sage brush of Texas and let him shoot all the feral pigs he wants to. Just don't go hunting with him!

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