# Richard P. Smith Article



## thehuntingauthority

Just because somebody feeds wildlife for recreational viewing only isnt a reason to label them an anti hunter(my wife Lilly).Some folks love to view wildlife but dont want to kill the animal themselves(my wife Lilly).Most of us like me fully understand that the animal population needs to be controlled .FYI...... I have killed many deer and bear in Michigan but I dont have to kill everything I see to be called a hunter and just because I sometimes just enjoy viewing animals dont make me an anti.

So what if Richard P Smith fed deer in the park .I fed those deer myself. I also feed the Bears and Deer for viewing purpose . I feel I have the right too. I will put out a little somthing for the animals always! I put up 500 bales of 2cnd cuttiing(clover /alfalfa hay for the deer this winter .They LOVE IT ! I put it out in my feild for my animal but lol I gues I forgot to put the cows in that pasture lolololololololol

FEED THEM DEER AND BEAR YEAR AROUND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## throttle

J. Wicklund for Director


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## Rooster Cogburn

Throttle,

I'll second the nomination for Jason Wicklund.


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## JWICKLUND

I have received several messages for details of the case and without reading the article, I can only give my condensed side of the story. Hopefully this will let people understand what we did and why we did it.

I received several complaints of an individual feeding bears near his camp the past several years. Sgt. Marc Pomroy and I went out to find the camp in question and located the camp behind a gate in the Northwest part of Iron County. When we pulled into the yard I could see the bait pile next to the camp. The bait consisted of Granola, Corn, Dog Food and Bird Seed. Several Salt blocks and Molasses containers were also in the vicinity. I spoke with the camp owner who told me he was feeding bears and has been doing so for awhile. Richard Smith was also there photographing the bears that day. 

We explained to the camp owner that he could not bait bears yet and he said he was not baiting bears, but recreationally feeding them. We showed him the law and explained to him that it was illegal to attract bears until 31 days prior to the bear hunting season regardless of what his intentions where for placing the bait. 
I asked the camp owner if he ever applied to hunt bears and he said he didn't hunt. A check with the retail sales system (RSS) showed he applied one time several years ago and that he had also applied and was successful for this years hunt. When asked about this, the camp owner stated that he was going to kill a problem bear that kept him trapped in his camp for several hours the year before. When asked if he was going to hunt the "problem bear" at his bait pile, the camp owner said that he was going to hunt 100 yards away. 

In court the camp owners attorney argued that recreational feeding of bears was legal and both the judge and the prosecutor both agreed that the recreational feeding law applied to deer and elk and not bear. The law in fact strictly prohibited attracting bears outside the open season. 

Richard was photographing me while I was doing my investigation. He also said he was going to write a story on me. Without reading the story, It sounds like he wrote the article in defense of his friend and painted us in a negative light. I hope that you all will understand that baiting bears outside the open season is illegal and for good reason. Nothing good comes from bringing bears into your yard and they end up causing a considerable amount of damage. They also show up at your neighbors yard looking for a free meal and we have to ultimately end up trapping and relocating them.


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## Gary A. Schinske

thehuntingauthority:
The post said: "He put in for and got a bear tag, having no intention of actually purchasing the tag, just so someone else could not get it. That is what antis do." Nowhere did I find anyone referring to someone who feeds wildlife an anti as you referenced. Although the 20 people you know that do the same could fit that description. A few years ago they found TB on a farm just west of you on Campbell Road. That farm has some strong opinions on deer feeding and is no longer in the same business. 
Your Biography says: "I am the best outdoorsman ever!" I guess that pretty well tells the story especially when you write: "I also feed the Bears and Deer for viewing purpose . I feel I have the right too." A rather interesting comment for a 52 year old about breaking the law. Perhaps Mr. Gutierrez in your area will find your comment also interesting if your comment is true.
I feel there is more here than meets the eye, but I have seen and wrote all I care to on this thread.


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## Sportdog

JWICKLUND said:


> I have received several messages for details of the case and without reading the article, I can only give my condensed side of the story. Hopefully this will let people understand what we did and why we did it.
> 
> I received several complaints of an individual feeding bears near his camp the past several years. Sgt. Marc Pomroy and I went out to find the camp in question and located the camp behind a gate in the Northwest part of Iron County. When we pulled into the yard I could see the bait pile next to the camp. The bait consisted of Granola, Corn, Dog Food and Bird Seed. Several Salt blocks and Molasses containers were also in the vicinity. I spoke with the camp owner who told me he was feeding bears and has been doing so for awhile. Richard Smith was also there photographing the bears that day.
> 
> We explained to the camp owner that he could not bait bears yet and he said he was not baiting bears, but recreationally feeding them.


Was the "camp" on private property or public ground?


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## jmc

to co wickland,a big thumbs up,thanks for your dedication of our natural resources.


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## Rooster Cogburn

Good job Jason. Its good Mr. Smith is getting exposed for what he is.

I am in total agreement with you on the "feeding for viewing/baiting" issue. You might recall the dangerous situation taking place at the Rainbow Motel & Ice Cream Store in Silver City. I recall one incident where a young kid was walking out the door with an ice cream cone in his hand...and there stood a bear about 6 feet away. As I recall, the owner eventually had to put up a chainlink fence to seperate tourists from the bear, but somehow they got away with feeding the bears.


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## JWICKLUND

Sportdog said:


> Was the "camp" on private property or public ground?


The camp was on private property and the gate was open. We had "good information" as to the location of the camp. We don't make a habit of pulling into camps looking for violations unless we have a pretty good idea something illegal is going on. In this case, the information was correct and we did find a violation.


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## peva4me

JWICKLUND said:


> I didn't get to see the article, but I was the officer who wrote the ticket. The guy went to court and was found guilty of feeding bears. Anyone know where I can find a copy of the article? I would like to compare what was written to what actually happened.


Please see my original post. I know its in the this months Porcupine Press and thanks for not bowing into his pressure.


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## JWICKLUND

Rooster Cogburn said:


> I am in total agreement with you on the "feeding for viewing/baiting" issue. You might recall the dangerous situation taking place at the Rainbow Motel & Ice Cream Store in Silver City. I recall one incident where a young kid was walking out the door with an ice cream cone in his hand...and there stood a bear about 6 feet away. As I recall, the owner eventually had to put up a chainlink fence to seperate tourists from the bear, but somehow they got away with feeding the bears.


I would go there and see people holding ice cream cones over the fence trying to get the bears to come closer. We had shut both the Rainbow Motel and Konteka's baiting down but they never stopped. It was a business draw for them and they made more in sales from the bears being there than what the fines/cost would set them back. We even relocated some bears from the area but they never stopped. I believe the Rainbow Motel is closed now. The guy that bought it from the Tomlinson's had big ideas and small pockets.


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## peva4me

I thought I would take all kinds of grief for bringing this up against a well known author. However, it looks like most people are in agreement on this one.

What really got to me was putting in for a license that he was not going to purchase. When, in fact, he was going to purchase a license to kill a problem bear that he created by feeding all year at his camp. While, basically hunting over the very same early bait. 

Thanks, J. for the additional info and the other side of the story. This gives more reason to place Mr. Smith's articles next to the hole in the old outhouse.


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## richardpsmith

Hi all!

richardpsmith here. I'm amazed at all of the attention one of my articles has received and the amazing comments. My ears have been ringing this evening. Now I know why. Some of you fellas are way off base.

Here's a quote from one of officer Wickland's posts: In court the camp owners attorney argued that recreational feeding of bears was legal and both the judge and the prosecutor both agreed that the recreational feeding law applied to deer and elk and not bear. The law in fact strictly prohibited attracting bears outside the open season.

My question is where is the law that says it is illegal to recreationally feed bears in MI? I can not find it.

I have a copy of the law that says it is legal to recreationally feed deer. Anyone who recreationally feeds deer corn or apples in the UP is also potentially feeding bears because they eat the same foods. Are you telling me as well as everyone else on this forum that if you are recreationally feeding deer and a bear eats the food, you are breaking the law and subject to being ticketed?

Totally confused!!!!!!

richardpsmith


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## Steve White

Mr Wicklund- You don't need to respond to that as we both know it could cause problems for you. So I will answer,as others may.


Mr Smith,

Since you are assumed to be educated. One would think that you would read all the rules pertaining to the activity at hand. So in case you can not find the rules here is a link for you to find them.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10856_10890-26045--,00.html

Now I will further direct your attention to the baiting outline under section 2. It clearly states:

[SIZE=-1]It is unlawful to establish a bait station that attracts bear prior to August 10 in Bergland, Baraga, Amasa, Drummond, Carney, Gwinn and Newberry management units or prior to August 11 in the Baldwin North area andAugust 18 in the Baldwin, Gladwin and Red Oak management units. It also is illegal to tend or establish a bait station for the purpose of attracting bear after September 24 in the Baldwin and Gladwin units, after October 8 in the Red Oak Unit and after October 26 in the Upper Peninsula.[/SIZE]

It is very obvious to anyone the intent was to ATTRACT bear, not deer. So trying to play that card after the fact, well is just stupid!!

This is not my opinion, but fact!

Mr Wicklund, You did your job, did it well, and to the letter of the law. My hat if off to you!


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## richardpsmith

Steve,

Thanks for the response, but you must have misunderstood the questions. I checked out the link you provided and it deals with baiting for hunting purposes, not recreational viewing.

There's a DNR document on their web site that defines the differences between baiting and feeding. 

On page 15 of a document that is on the DNR web site titled recommendations for bear management in MI, one of the recommendations of a Bear Consultation Team, which consisted of a conservation officer, was that recreational feeding of bears be made illegal. Why would the team make such a recommendation if recreational feeding of bears is already illegal?

If the judge and prosecutor felt so strongly that recreational feeding of bears is not legal, why was the person who Mr. Wickland ticketed for illegal baiting not found guilty of that charge?

The answers to these questions are very important to this discussion.

richardpsmith


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## Macker13

Blueump said:


> Thanks for all you do!


 Thanks from me to!


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## hubbarj

richardpsmith said:


> Steve,
> 
> 
> On page 15 of a document that is on the DNR web site titled recommendations for bear management in MI, one of the recommendations of a Bear Consultation Team, which consisted of a conservation officer, was that recreational feeding of bears be made illegal. Why would the team make such a recommendation if recreational feeding of bears is already illegal?


 It is funny how you want to use these recommendations for bear management as gospel but you are totally oppssed to the recommendation of regulating and licensing commercial guides. I know it effects some of the people that give you hunt with for advertise for in your articles and on TV and we couldn't let well dry up. If you are going to use the recommended bear management document use it all the same 18 user groups voted unanamously on each recommendation.

John


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## Steve White

Mr smith- Like Hubar said. Why would you proposed law as the law. When the law is clearly written. Your friend/client was issued a ticket and found guilty of it in court. Are you saying that he should have also had more tickets issued to him because other violations were made and not ticketed. At that point it would seem that the CO was being nice, and your friend/client should be upset with you. For wanting him to have more fines to pay.

Even in almost all zoos they do not allow you to feed the bears. It causes problems and puts lives, and property at risk. This is a proven fact. Why would you want to condone such an activity.
[/I]


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## Bearboy

Mr. Smith do think the bear population in the Upper Pennisula is increasing or decreasing!


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## throttle

After reading this thread Mr. Smiths opinion means nothing to me :rant:


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## richardpsmith

John,

Like most of the other people on the site, you do not have your facts correct. Did I say I do not support regulation of bears guides? No. In fact, I do support regulation of bear guides and articles I have written have stated that. I'm glad to clear up that fallacy as well as many others.

The guy who officer Wickland ticketed was not found guilty of illegal baiting in court. So far, no one has provided information about a law that states it is illegal to recreationally feed bears in the UP. I'm still waiting. The information I have indicates it is legal.

And, according to recent research findings published by black bear expert Dr. Lynn Rogers in MN, recreational feeding of bears can be beneficial when natural foods are in short supply. Those who provide food to bears when natural forage is scarce reduce the chances of nuisance bear activity.

As far as how the UP bear population is doing; it is doing great based on my observations and many hunters I've spoken to as well as the DNR. DNR information shows that the UP bear population is increasing at a slow rate of one or two percent per year.

richardpsmith


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## Biggbear

thehuntingauthority said:


> Just because somebody feeds wildlife for recreational viewing only isnt a reason to label them an anti hunter(my wife Lilly).Some folks love to view wildlife but dont want to kill the animal themselves(my wife Lilly).Most of us like me fully understand that the animal population needs to be controlled .FYI...... I have killed many deer and bear in Michigan but I dont have to kill everything I see to be called a hunter and just because I sometimes just enjoy viewing animals dont make me an anti.
> 
> So what if Richard P Smith fed deer in the park .*I fed those deer myself. I also feed the Bears and Deer for viewing purpose . I feel I have the right too. *I will put out a little somthing for the animals always! I put up 500 bales of 2cnd cuttiing(clover /alfalfa hay for the deer this winter .They LOVE IT ! I put it out in my feild for my animal but lol I gues I forgot to put the cows in that pasture lolololololololol
> 
> FEED THEM DEER AND BEAR YEAR AROUND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This will be the next guy on this site ranting and raving because he gets a ticket, and how wrong the CO was for giving it to him!! I'm sure that when he gives the CO the excuse ".... I forgot to put the cows in that pasture" the CO will be completely fooled and just go away in shame for even suggesting there was a violation.


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## Bearboy

Why does the MBHA and the UPBHA want tag reductions in the UP? All of the bear hunters I talked to find the opposite conclusion. I think you better check with the biologists again....not quite the same information I have. Your observations? I am interested in that. Are you finding more bear when your running your hounds....Oh yea..you don't have hounds. Its quite different when "tag along" versus when your out training. The same is true when you run your own baits versus using the services of a commercial bear baiter. It would be pointless to feed pre baiting period to photograph bear if the natural food sources contained sufficiant amount of bear. So are you talking to bear hunters, or commercial bear baiters? Are you looking at natural food sources or someones mass baiting site(s). Just curious. I think its irresponsible to promote a booming population considering that you are portraying yourself as an "expert". 

I don't mean to be critical. I care about the "declining bear population". I also care about hunting bear with bait and hounds using responsible baiting and hound hunting techniques. Responsible harvest quotas and responsible hunting methods will save our sport and the resource. Perception of bear hunters and bear hunting is at stake as well. From the piles of juvenile bear being photographed and posted on the internet to some hound hunters promoting hog pens. In the hog pens your dogs can either injure or kill a hog while you watch. Another form of dog fighting, you bet! It did a whole lot for Mike Vick and his career....it has the same affect on bear hunting. Would you like a link to that site?


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## malainse

Mr. Smith,

I noticed that you said "not found guilty of that charge" ? Was the individual found guilty of anything and if so what ?? 



richardpsmith said:


> The law in fact strictly prohibited attracting bears outside the open season.
> 
> My question is where is the law that says it is illegal to recreationally feed bears in MI? I can not find it.


 :idea:

As you are VERY aware that language is nowhere in Michigan law. Why do you keep asking the question ? Or maybe like you others want to twist the current rules. Thus we need to add more. Then people will come on the Internet and complain about "The Man" infringe on our rights...bla bla bla

3.205 Bear; unlawful acts

(2) It shall be unlawful to establish or tend a bait station that attracts bear prior to 31 days before the bear hunting season in any management unit. It also shall be unlawful to tend or establish a bait station for the purposes of attracting bear after the close of bear season in any management unit. For the purposes of this section, "bait station" means a site where food or lure is placed that may attract bear. 

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Wcao_134367_7.html


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## richardpsmith

Who ever wrote that they feel the bear population is declining is entitled to their opinion. You certainly are not the only one who feels that way. the facts do not bear that out, however. According to DNR estimates, far more cubs are born every year than the number of bears harvested by hunters. I did not say the bear population is booming. It is slowly increasing at a rate of 1 or 2 percent per year, according to DNR data. Bears are secretive animals. They are good at staying out of sight and avoiding hunters.

Here's a valuable piece of information regarding hunter success on bears. A total of 17 bears were marked (collared and ear tagged) in Menominee co. this year as part of a fawn predation study. About 71 percent of those bears survived the season in spite of heavy hunting pressure. Only 5 of the 17 were shot by hunters.

I have spoken to many hunters who have hunted on their own as well as bear guides. As long as bears continue to be managed wisely like they are now, we will have plenty of bears for the future.

Regarding the guy who was ticketed for baiting bears when he was recreationally feeding them; the prosecutor offered him a lesser charge of feeding more than 2 gallons because they knew he would not be found guilty of illegal baiting. He pled guilty to feeding more than 2 gallons to settle the case rather than spend more time and money on it.

Thanks you for finally admitting there is now law currently on the books prohibiting recreational feeding of bears! I already knew that, of course.


richardpsmith


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## Rustyaxecamp

richardpsmith said:


> Regarding the guy who was ticketed for baiting bears when he was recreationally feeding them; the prosecutor offered him a lesser charge of feeding more than 2 gallons because they knew he would not be found guilty of illegal baiting. He pled guilty to feeding more than 2 gallons to settle the case rather than spend more time and money on it.


Kind of like pleading down a DWI. Bottom line, the law was still broken. If he was innocent, free and clear, why not fight it? Counter sue for court costs if $$ is an issue. Counter sue for hunter harassment if he was in the right.

The fact he drew a tag with no intention of using it really ticks me off. That is PETA crap. IMHO if the tags aren't purchased within a week of the selected hunt, I'd dump them into a pool for public purchase.

Mr. Smith - I was a big fan of yours and have most of your books, even gave them out as groomsmen gifts at my wedding. I won't be purchasing any more of your books and will be writing WnW a letter complaining of your writing in their magazine. The fact you are so adamantly standing behind a violater and are finding loopholes in the Game Laws to stand on really dissapoints me. I don't agree with all the laws out there currently, but they are just that, laws, we have to follow them. If everyone did what they thought was right with regards to Conservation in MI and threw the laws to the wind, it would be a heck of a lot worse than it is already....


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## malainse

richardpsmith said:


> Regarding the guy who was ticketed for baiting bears when he was recreationally feeding them; the prosecutor offered him a lesser charge of feeding more than 2 gallons because they knew he would not be found guilty of illegal baiting. He pled guilty to feeding more than 2 gallons to settle the case rather than spend more time and money on it.
> 
> 
> 
> richardpsmith


Lesser charge ?? They are both Misdemeanors. You make a big deal that he was "NOT FOUND GUILTY OF THAT CHARGE". Like he got away with nothing. When in-fact he plead guilty to a DNR violation.

Ahh, my guess is that is "Your opinion" and not that of the Prosecutor ? They offer lots of plea deals everyday to people that are guilty of the original charge. Thus the reason suspects jump on the deal. But, they tell others it was to save time and money..................:16suspect


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## FredBearYooper

richardpsmith said:


> Thanks you for finally admitting there is now law currently on the books prohibiting recreational feeding of bears! I already knew that, of course.
> 
> 
> richardpsmith


And that attitude right there Mr. Smith that makes me skip your articles and save them for the Outhouse!!!:lol::lol:


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## Bearboy

(and I have that letter in my possesion because it was written to me). He says "I generally agree with your assesment of the bear population in the Western UP, stable and declining slightly". That was written to me in 2009. If the population is growing a 1-2% why do the major bear hunting organizations want tags cut? According to the reports I have....the bear model may be behind a few years...and flawed... Part of the reason....data collected at some of the private MDNR check stations are falsified....Gasp!!! Population estimates have been very wrong in the past. Remember Drummond Island? A small sample such as tagged bear in Menominee County mean nothing from a scientific prospective. A county that is mostly private property. Looking at the UP as whole most bear hunters noticed less bear.....My observations are quite different than yours....less tracks, less damage to fruit trees, less scat, and my dog(s) and others strike far less than a few years ago. I understand that the MBHA and UPBHA would like the UP tags cut 50% or more....don't you think they might have some first hand knowledge?


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## JWICKLUND

richardpsmith said:


> Thanks you for finally admitting there is now law currently on the books prohibiting recreational feeding of bears! I already knew that, of course.
> richardpsmith


If you want to argue that there is no law currently on the books to prohibit recreational feeding of bears, I would like to see where it says you can? How do you suppose you will be able to get around the part that makes it illegal to attract bears to a food site? The law doesn't distinguish between hunting, or feeding. Attracting bears before the 31 day limit established in law is illegal regardless of what the reason for putting out the food is. You can get the judges opinion from the 95th district court. I am sure he will be happy to explain it to you as he did to all of us that day in court.


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## peva4me

I believe another point that Mr. Smith has failed to address is that the "gentleman" in question told CO Wickland that he intended to purchase a license and shoot a bear that been a nuisance around his camp. He was going to hunt this bear 100 yards from where he was currently feeding. A little common sense would go a long way in telling you that if you continue to feed bears, they will pose problems sooner than later. A bear "EXPERT" should know this and not approve of causing a situation that may turn into a problem. This of course was not in the article, because it didn't fit into dramatic journalism.

The COs and the courts viewed it as against the law, the is little ride left in a dead horse.


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## Nwing

JWICKLUND said:


> If you want to argue that there is no law currently on the books to prohibit recreational feeding of bears, I would like to see where it says you can? How do you suppose you will be able to get around the part that makes it illegal to attract bears to a food site? The law doesn't distinguish between hunting, or feeding. Attracting bears before the 31 day limit established in law is illegal regardless of what the reason for putting out the food is. You can get the judges opinion from the 95th district court. I am sure he will be happy to explain it to you as he did to all of us that day in court.


You got that in just ahead of me(and given that you were the officer writing the ticket, that's not surprising!) The entire point is that it's illegal to feed/attract bears for ANY reason prior to the dates defined in the law. The law does not say "illegal to bait for the purpose of hunting" any more then is says "illegal to bait for the purpose of recreational viewing". 
Now..as to the Mr. Smiths comments...
Mr. Smith, if your logic were to be followed by the rest of us, we could all go ahead and break the law and just claim "show me in the DNR regulation a statement clearly using the term "for the purpose of hunting" in making pre-season baiting or attracting illegal. Of course..we can't do that, any more then we can do what YOU are asking(showing a law addressing recreational viewing specifically) because the law was written I'd guess purposfully so that it covered BOTH reasons to bait.
You know...I don't even bear hunt in Michigan(yet...building my points for Baldwin!), but I'd LOVE to put up bait in summer so as to get photos of bear and such. Indeed, several years ago I did just that by accident before I knew about the law...but once I knew it was illegal to attract bear on purpose for ANY reason, I stopped immediatly. Had a DNR officer come upon my game camera with the pork chop wired to the tree, and fined me...I'd have been unhappy but certainly would not have tossed a hissy fit and tried to wiggle out of it.
Mr. Smith...the way you wrote here, it's clear you and your friend were simply looking for a loophole to continue to break a law that's placed for a good reason. As a public figure, one who, rightly or wrongly, in the public eye represents ALL outdoors folks in our state...I think that taking that attitude shows a complete lack of class, and more to the point a lack of consideration of what outside groups(PETA and their ilk) might do with such information("Hey, look guys, even this outdoor writer is willing to flaunt the law...lets use that to further discredit hunters as a whole").
Anyway...in truth, it just burns me when someone such as yourself, who is has CHOSEN to become a public figure, not only screws up(THAT happens to us all), but is not man enough to admit it and try to do the right thing(your friend falls right into the latter catagorie also).
Bottom line is that the law clearly states that it's illegal to attract bear before the dates described. He did. He got caught. 
Deal with it, man up, and quit whining.


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## solohunter

RP smith would have a great time writing fiction for CNN. part of the story,, all of the time,, 24/7!!!


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## 6inchtrack

I just now became an anti Smith!


.


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## FredBearYooper

Nwing said:


> You got that in just ahead of me(and given that you were the officer writing the ticket, that's not surprising!) The entire point is that it's illegal to feed/attract bears for ANY reason prior to the dates defined in the law. The law does not say "illegal to bait for the purpose of hunting" any more then is says "illegal to bait for the purpose of recreational viewing".
> Now..as to the Mr. Smiths comments...
> Mr. Smith, if your logic were to be followed by the rest of us, we could all go ahead and break the law and just claim "show me in the DNR regulation a statement clearly using the term "for the purpose of hunting" in making pre-season baiting or attracting illegal. Of course..we can't do that, any more then we can do what YOU are asking(showing a law addressing recreational viewing specifically) because the law was written I'd guess purposfully so that it covered BOTH reasons to bait.
> You know...I don't even bear hunt in Michigan(yet...building my points for Baldwin!), but I'd LOVE to put up bait in summer so as to get photos of bear and such. Indeed, several years ago I did just that by accident before I knew about the law...but once I knew it was illegal to attract bear on purpose for ANY reason, I stopped immediatly. Had a DNR officer come upon my game camera with the pork chop wired to the tree, and fined me...I'd have been unhappy but certainly would not have tossed a hissy fit and tried to wiggle out of it.
> Mr. Smith...the way you wrote here, it's clear you and your friend were simply looking for a loophole to continue to break a law that's placed for a good reason. As a public figure, one who, rightly or wrongly, in the public eye represents ALL outdoors folks in our state...I think that taking that attitude shows a complete lack of class, and more to the point a lack of consideration of what outside groups(PETA and their ilk) might do with such information("Hey, look guys, even this outdoor writer is willing to flaunt the law...lets use that to further discredit hunters as a whole").
> Anyway...in truth, it just burns me when someone such as yourself, who is has CHOSEN to become a public figure, not only screws up(THAT happens to us all), but is not man enough to admit it and try to do the right thing(your friend falls right into the latter catagorie also).
> Bottom line is that the law clearly states that it's illegal to attract bear before the dates described. He did. He got caught.
> Deal with it, man up, and quit whining.


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## FireDoc66

3 whole posts and neither one of them worthwhile....:lol:

How about we *NOT* let him go for a fourth.


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## Fishdog

I don't understand? Why as Americans do we allow to be pushed around? Wether it be by the Federal Government or a outdoor message board? There was nothing offensive or threatening in the Northshore guys posts. Just opinions that as free Americans should be allowed to express. 

This is a prime example of the empowered Liberal Left's trying to silence any opposition to their beliefs. (Liberals & Fox News)

When someone is no longer allowed the freedom of speech....then we truly have lost our freedom!

If it was not for Fox News, we would never hear what is really going on with our country. The one that is being given away day by day.

God help us!

P.S. I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying "GOD"


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## Rustyaxecamp

Fishdog said:


> I don't understand? Why as Americans do we allow to be pushed around? Wether it be by the Federal Government or a outdoor message board? There was nothing offensive or threatening in the Northshore guys posts. Just opinions that as free Americans should be allowed to express.
> 
> This is a prime example of the empowered Liberal Left's trying to silence any opposition to their beliefs. (Liberals & Fox News)
> 
> When someone is no longer allowed the freedom of speech....then we truly have lost our freedom!
> 
> If it was not for Fox News, we would never hear what is really going on with our country. The one that is being given away day by day.
> 
> God help us!
> 
> P.S. I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying "GOD"


Problem with your post is that this is a privately owned website.


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## Fishdog

Privately owned for the whole world to join!

I get what your saying.....if the private owner don't like or agree with what people post.....then it's bye bye?


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## northshorefisherman

I suppose there is some obligation to the advertisers to keep the post civil, but private site or otherwise, one clearly defined purpose of this site is post opinions. It doesnt say the mod's have to agree or like them.
(or be treated to threats of sanction if you challenge their authorita)

you like teddy do ya??

*"This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country." *

*TR.*


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