January 31, 2007 "In The Crosshairs"

In The Crosshairs Newsletter

January 31, 2007

SCI Lion
Recognition for SCIF


Safari Club International Foundation has recently received recognition as a non-government organization (NGO) by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). The ECOSOC is the only part of the United Nations that has a program for formal recognition of NGOs. This recognition gives SCIF rights and privileges elsewhere in the UN system. For one thing, it will help SCI to participate in the gun control discussions taking place under the mantle of the General Assembly. This new NGO recognition should also enhance SCIF’s credibility as a conservation organization and may in turn help with a new application for admission to the IUCN in a few years. Special thanks go to Tom Mason for his assistance in this process.

SCI Lion
New Alliance in Conservation



“In a first-of-its-kind alliance that could fundamentally reshape the environmental movement, 20 labor unions with nearly 5 million members are joining forces with a Republican-leaning umbrella group of conservationists -- the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership -- to put pressure on Congress and the Bush administration. The Union Sportsman's Alliance, to be rolled out in Washington ...after nearly three years of quiet negotiations, is to be a dues-based organization ($25 a year). Its primary goal is to increase federal funding for protecting wildlife habitat while guaranteeing access for hunters and anglers. The unlikely marriage of union and conservation interests comes at a time when the Bush administration, with its push for oil and gas drilling in the Rocky Mountain West, has limited public access to prime hunting and fishing areas on federal land. This has triggered a bipartisan backlash from sportsmen and conservation groups, as well as from Western politicians in both parties.” (Source: Washington Post)

SCI Lion
Wolves to Finally be Delisted



“Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett announced [on Monday] that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the western Great Lakes population of gray wolves from the federal list of endangered species and is proposing to remove the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves from the list. The two separate actions are being taken in recognition of the success of gray wolf recovery efforts under the Endangered Species Act. “Wolves have recovered in the western Great Lakes because efforts to save them from extinction have been a model of cooperation, flexibility, and hard work,” Scarlett said. “This same spirit of collaboration has helped gray wolves in the Northern Rockies exceed their recovery goals to the point where they are biologically ready to be delisted. Gray wolves were previously listed as endangered in the lower 48 states, except in Minnesota where they were listed as threatened. The separate actions...affect the western Great Lakes wolf population, which has been delisted under the ESA, and the proposed delisting of the Northern Rocky Mountains population. Wolves in other parts of the 48 states, including the Southwest wolf population, remain endangered and are not affected by actions taken today.” The western Great Lakes delisting will be effective 30 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register. The FWS will consider the northern Rocky Mountain delisting proposal over the next 12 months and will accept public comments for 60 days after publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register. SCI has been involved in this process from the beginning and we will continue to keep you posted on its progress. (Source: FWS)

SCI Lion
SCI/SCIF Support North Carolina Regulation of Mute Swans



Consistent with its involvement in successful litigation that supported the States' ability to manage the invasive and destructive mute swan, SCI and SCIF have submitted comments in support of North Carolina's proposed regulation of the species. The State proposes to carefully regulate the use and possession of mute swan to minimize the possibility of mute swan populations being established or increasing in the wild. Mute swans harass native waterfowl favored by hunters and can destroy aquatic environments. SCI will continue to monitor this situation.

SCI Lion
Gunpoint Robberies Soar in U.K.



“The number of robberies involving firearms jumped 10% last year, including a 9% rise in street robberies at gunpoint, official figures have revealed. Home Office statistics also showed a 46% leap in residential robberies involving a firearm in 2005/06. Criminals used guns in a record 645 cases of residential robbery in England and Wales – up 204 on the previous year and four times the level recorded in 2000/01.The number of street robberies at gunpoint increased from 1,311 in 2004/05 to 1,439 last year. The overall number of gun robberies - including those which took place outdoors or targeted shops, garages, post offices, banks and homes - was 4,120 compared with 3,674 in the previous 12 months. Handguns were the most commonly used firearm in robberies, reported in 2,888 cases.” For more info, visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6370387,00.html (Source: The Guardian)