ROAR Rapid Outdoor Advocacy Report Happy Holidays! With news reports about shopping and consumer confidence now part of the daily faire, it's worth noting that U.S. hunters continue to spend more than $20 billion a year on trips into the great outdoors we all enjoy. Their legal hunting activities foster an annual direct investment of more than $1 billion to maintain wildlife populations and habitats, conduct wildlife research and enforce wildlife laws. We wish you every happiness this holiday season and throughout 2001: Jim Brown, Director of Public Relations Nikki Langer, Public Relations Coordinator David Nagore, Public Relations Writer Robb Brown, Webmaster Roy Doty, THE WILD LIFE Safari Club International & Safari Club International Foundation Growing LYME Disease Risk The Centers for Disease Control, alerts that Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread to unsuspecting people primarily by the deer tick, has increased 25 fold since 1982 and now accounts for 95 percent of all vector-borne illness. Children and adults are at risk in their yards, at parks and on golf courses because overabundant deer populations increasingly bring this parasite into suburban areas. The five states with the most reported cases of Lyme disease are New York (4,262), Pennsylvania (2,623), Connecticut (2,302), New Jersey (1,300) and Massachusetts (1,040). Yet, during the past 10 years increased Lyme disease cases have been reported all over the United States. In Wisconsin, officials are so concerned about the socioeconomic impact of deer overpopulation that the state has given away hunting tags to entice hunters to harvest more of the herd. The Wisconsin deer population was estimated to be 1.7 million in Nov. – "the most ever and about 600,000 more than what wildlife experts want" according to an Associated Press wire story. Safari Club International urges hunters to assist wildlife management professionals calling for increased harvesting of deer in states where large deer populations create health risks for people and damage property through over grazing in suburbia. Hunter Awareness Survey The Jan. 15, 2001 Sports Afield Magazine reports on a survey of licensed hunters and anglers commissioned by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Alliance. It shows that six strongest sportsmen organizations in terms of top-of-mind awareness are the National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited, North American Hunting Club, Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, Buck Masters and Safari Club International. "We're delighted to be included in such excellent company," said Rudy Rosen, Ph.D., SCI Executive Director. "It just goes to show that the hands-on conservation projects of our Chapters, and the aggressive advocacy effort by our members are well appreciated by the tens of millions of hunters and anglers in the United States. We'll keep raising the bar." Governor Helps Hungry On Sunday, December 17 Blake Katchur, 13, of Littleton, Colo., joined General Chuck Yeager (USAF-Ret.), the first person ever to break the sound barrier, at the Cullen Ranch near Dallas, Texas to hunt deer and boar. With the help of his guide he harvested a 16-point Fallow Deer. Katchur won the honor to hunt boar and deer with Yeager at SCI's 2000 Hunters Convention in Reno, Nev. The 2001 event, which is the industry's largest, will take place January 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He's a member of the Safari Cubs youth program that helps parents safely introduce their children to the rich hunting tradition. Since its creation in August 1999, the program has grown to more than 2,200 members across the US. Safari Club International advocates teaching future generations about sport hunting, both as a tradition and as an effective tool for wildlife management. States Make Hunters' Rights Constitutional In landmark decisions that received scant national attention due to coverage of the presidential election, voters in North Dakota and Virginia revised their constitutions to include language making hunting and fishing constitutional rights. They joined voters in Minnesota and Alabama, in validating and protecting outdoor traditions by constitutional amendment. The explicit state measures offer valuable legal protection to hunters from harassment by animal rights extremists. For example, hunting, fishing and trapping are now "a valued part of our heritage," and will "be forever preserved for the people" of North Dakota. "We see what's happening in the rest of the US, and we don't want that to happen here," said North Dakota State Senator Bob Stenehjem (Rep.). "We like to hunt and fish." Crime Against Wildlife ? On Nov. 14, Vern Ross, Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director, announced a reward of $4,850 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the senseless killing of perhaps the largest bull elk in Pennsylvania. The bull weighed over 800 pounds with an antler spread of over six feet, unofficially scoring 387 2/8 on the Boone & Crockett scale. A Game Commission employee found the body October 16 near the Clinton/Cameron county line. A necropsy indicated it was shot between Oct. 14-15. Ross said, "...The killing of this elk isn't just a slap in the face to hunters ... It's a crime against all Pennsylvanians who care about wildlife." Nearly half the reward was put up by Pennsylvania Safari Club International Chapters. The Blue Mountain Chapter, Delaware Valley Chapter, Lehigh Valley Chapter and Pittsburgh Chapter each raised $500, while Susquehannock Chapter raised $250 to help bring the poacher or poachers to justice. SCI condemns this blatantly unethical behavior, and urges anyone with any information on the killing to call his or her local Game Commission office immediately. Safari Wish for Terminally Ill Boy ? David Franklin, a 17-year-old boy with terminal leukemia, had his lifelong hunting dream granted on December 9, 2000, when he harvested a 13-point buck at the Whitetail Dreams game ranch near Fulton, Mo. David hunted through Safari Wish, a Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) program to fulfill the hunting dreams of terminally ill children. A resident of Poplar Bluff, Mo., David gave most of the harvested meat to another SCIF humanitarian program, Sportsmen Against Hunger, so that it would go to local soup kitchens and food banks. SCI's Central Missouri Chapter sponsored the event. 29th Annual SCI Hunters Convention When the 29th annual SCI Hunters Convention opens in Las Vegas, Jan. 10, sharing nature's bounty will take center stage. SCI President Mike Rogers will host an educational forum where chefs from Las Vegas soup kitchens will learn recipes for using nine tons (more than 29,000 meals) of salmon and venison hunters are giving to the Salvation Army that day. They'll also hear about the first institutional cook book for wild game. It's being produced to help relief organizations make greater use of the harvest from 45 million sportsmen worldwide. Of course, you're also invited to attend what will be SCI's largest convention to date, with over 400,000 square feet of exhibit space and some 20,000 exhibitors and hunters. If you or a colleague would like credentials to attend this convention as a representative of the working media, please contact: Jim Brown Director of Public Relations Safari Club International & Safari Club International Foundation 4800 W. Gates Pass Road Tucson, AZ 85745 520-620-1220, ext. 477 520-618-3565 (fax) jbrown@safariclub.org ROAR Contact: Jim Brown, SCI/SCIF Director of Public Relations (520-620-1220, ext. 477; jbrown@safariclub.org) More on Safari Club Founded in 1971, Safari Club International is a 501(C)(4) nonprofit association dedicated to protecting the rights of 45 million hunters worldwide. With some 200 chapters around the globe, SCI is a tireless advocate for these sportsmen and sportswomen who, through their legal hunting activities, represent the single largest source of money necessary to maintain wildlife populations and habitats, to conduct wildlife research and to enforce wildlife laws. For more information about SCI, visit www.safariclub.org or its government relations Web site at www.sci-dc.org. The Safari Club International Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes wildlife conservation, education about the outdoors, and humanitarian services for people in need. For more information about SCIF and the hundreds of projects it funds each year call 1-800-377-5399; visit http://safariclubfoundation.org/ or its International Wildlife Museum Web site at www.thewildlifemuseum.org.