Federal duck stamp question

[eckum54]

So due to our current state government fiasco I haven't been paying to much attention to the federal government, and I'm wondering if they don't resolve there problems by august 2nd am I going to have to worry about getting federal duck stamp before that day or risk waiting to see how long they are shut down for since I do want to hunt early goose.

[Finlander]

Buy now just in case! I'm going to!

[Superduty]

Anybody get one recently? They weren't available when I got all my licsence this spring.

[Scott M]

Good points. Might be a good idea. I'll check the post office.

[skee0025]

When you get it, get it from the post office. I always bought mine with plenty of time for it to arrive in the mail. Until last year I had no problems. I got a few days out and still no stamp, went to the post office and bought another one, good thing too because the one they mailed out didnt arrive until a week after the season started.

[brittman]

The money would be poorly spent - so no they do not need any more $$. Use what they have more efficiently. Eliminate middle management layers. One refuge manager per state ...

The only real way to change MN wetlands is to stop adding more drain tile and modify other agricultural practices that damage the watersheds. Unfortunately, the USF&WS has no authortiy over such things agricultural.

[EJ_Mac]

Quote:

The money would be poorly spent - so no they do not need any more $$. Use what they have more efficiently. Eliminate middle management layers. One refuge manager per state ...

Have you ever worked on a refuge and seen what goes on to keep it sustainable?

One manager per state? I don't think so.

BTW, almost all of the money you spend on duck stamps goes to buy more land. Kind of a no-brainer.

[brittman]

Have you ever worked on a refuge and seen what goes on to keep it sustainable?

One manager per state? I don't think so.

BTW, almost all of the money you spend on duck stamps goes to buy more land. Kind of a no-brainer.

Yes. I did spend a summer on one a long time ago.

The US government does not need to be purchasing any additional land ... especially to create more wildlife refuges.

Hamden and Rydell are absolute wastes of money.

The reservoir refuges in northen ND could be trimmed way back on staff.

[EJ_Mac]

Quote:

Yes. I did spend a summer on one a long time ago.

The US government does not need to be purchasing any additional land ... especially to create more wildlife refuges.

Hamden and Rydell are absolute wastes of money.

The reservoir refuges in northen ND could be trimmed way back on staff.

Can't speak to the ND refuges, but why are Hamden and Rydell wastes of money? Because there's no/limited hunting?

Refuges serve a much broader purpose than hunting activities: critical habitat for certain species where there might not be much elsewhere, breeding and feeding areas for wildlife (not just game animals, but ALL wildlife), real-time classrooms for kids and schools, etc.

There are only 4 employees currently at Rydell. Not sure where that can be cut any further. Hamden is similar. These refuges have lost positions when people transferred or retired and have been told that won't be re-filled, had their fire budgets cut nearly in half, and are just trying to keep their heads above water.

I can think of better and more effective ways to save government money other than cutting ANY conservation programs, all of which have been stripped to the bone already. Since 9/11 - and the subsequent creation of the TSA and the concept of Homeland Security, a couple of wars, etc - the Fish & Wildlife, Park Service, Forest Service, BLM, and anyone else with a mission invovling wildlife and natural resources have been faaaaaar removed from the budget table and have been making do with far less.

And a lot of it rightly so: I am certainly not saying that National Wildlife Refuges are more important than Homeland Security or our defense budget. But there's a ton of waste there, too. There's also waste that's been going on since pre-9/11, like ongoing Medicare and Social Security fraud, huge tax subsidies to big oil companies, etc.

There aren't too many more cuts that federal natural resource agencies can endure without laying off a ton of people, killing some hard-fought-for programs, closing public facilities, etc. And once you give that stuff the axe, it's 10 times as difficult to get it all back.

[strait-meat]

Just a small point but "big oil" does not get subsidized from the gov't and no I don't work for oil or own any stock in them either. Don't confuse "business expenses" with "subsidies"--two very different things and the people on the left try to pull this one all the time on "big bad oil" but when it comes to some other big liberal company like GE then it is ok for them to have "business expenses" and "subsidies". I am sure you really meant the huge tax subsidies that are given to windmills and other so called "green energies" where they are actually getting a check from Uncle Sam.

But there is a ton of waste across the board that is why all these programs need to be cut and when I say cut I don't mean reducing the rate of growth from lets say 8% down to 5%, I mean negative territory.

What about this added sales tax that I am sure a lot of you guys voted for a couple years back, how is that going? What a waste! I am just glad I can say I didn't vote for it even though I am a huge sportsmen.