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TRCP News
- A Big Step and a Big Win for TRCP Energy Initiative
- 2007 Farm Bill Passed in House
- Sportsmen Set Sights on Mining Reform
- Escape to the Wild Marathon Labor Day Weekend
- Give This Month, Get Next Year
- Orvis Launches New Season of Roosevelt Collection
- A Big Step and a Big Win for TRCP Energy Initiative
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TRCP Sues Interior Department over Wyoming Drilling Plans
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The Atlantic Rim is a place where sportsmen from across the country come to fulfill hunting and fishing dreams on public land.
Photo: Dwayne Meadows |
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) filed suit Friday, August 17 in U.S. District Court against the Department of the Interior for its mishandling of a process that cleared the way for rapidly accelerated energy development on public land in south-central Wyoming.
Contending that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is not addressing the needs of sportsmen and fish and wildlife, the TRCP is protesting the BLM’s authorization of 2,000 new oil and gas wells, along with 1,000 miles of road and 1,000 miles of pipeline, in an area known as the Atlantic Rim. This region is primarily used for hunting, wildlife viewing, grazing and pleasure driving, all of which will be greatly hindered by development.
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TRCP staff and partners during a field trip to the Atlantic Rim region of Wyoming, viewing an unnatural “mud pot,” likely a byproduct of coal bed methane wells.
Photo: Len Carpenter. |
Under the recent BLM action, energy development would come despite the federal government’s admission that “the natural setting would be converted to an industrialized setting by development” for multiple generations and that “implementation of the [project] would have adverse impact to suitable habitat for many wildlife species,” including iconic big game species such as mule deer, elk and pronghorn antelope. (See Final Environmental Impact Statement, Atlantic Rim Project Area.)
“In these actions, we see a federal agency acting on behalf of only one user group, the energy industry,” said TRCP Energy Initiative Manager Steve Belinda. “The BLM is not fulfilling the multiple-use mandate it is legally obligated to follow. The time has come to hold the agency accountable.”
The TRCP suit states that the BLM has failed to fulfill its obligation under the National Environmental Policy Act and has committed numerous violations. Among those violations are BLM failures to evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives to intensive development, including a more measured approach that would allow development to proceed while maintaining fish and wildlife populations.
The approved plan allows for maximized development with no assurances for fish and wildlife for the future. The BLM also failed to define how losses in fish, wildlife and outdoor recreation will be mitigated if development proceeds as planned.
The TRCP further asserts that the BLM failed to properly analyze the cumulative impacts of both the project and nearby expanded development. It also points out that the agency ignored new scientific data and recent experiences in other well fields concerning the effects of energy development on populations of mule deer and sage grouse.
Additionally, the suit contends that BLM violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which requires the agency to balance the concerns of the many users of America’s public lands and to assure long-term sustainability of non-mineral resources.
“This suit is a major step for our organization and not one that we took lightly,” said TRCP President and CEO George Cooper. “We reached this point only after years of exhausting every other avenue, including direct contacts in Washington and in the field and formal administrative appeals. But we at the TRCP strongly believe that, in the case of the Atlantic Rim, the evidence speaks for itself. And that evidence compels us to pursue all remedies available under the law. America’s sportsmen deserve as much.”
“The federal government must honor its commitments to protect fish and wildlife resources and the hunting and fishing opportunities they support,” said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe, a Wyoming resident and founding board member of TRCP. “We know development can be conducted in a manner that balances fish and wildlife needs with resource extraction – the Atlantic Rim plan makes no attempt to achieve such balance.
BLM Withdraws Energy Leases on 42 Parcels in Utah
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Aug. 15 that it deferred 42 parcels for its Aug. 21 oil and gas lease sale because of wildlife concerns related to mule deer and sage grouse. Of these 42 parcels, the TRCP had officially protested 29 only days earlier. The BLM’s reversal closely follows a similar decision made by the agency in Montana, in which 73,000 acres were pulled from auction after they were protested by the TRCP due to concerns over planning for sage grouse populations. TRCP’s Utah protest covered 46,000 acres in the Deep Creek Range, southern West Tintric and Sheeprock Mountains, and along the Canyon Mountains, Pahvant Range and Valley Mountains.
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Photo: Karen Nichols. |
“This is positive news for the Utah hunting community,” said TRCP Field Representative Joel Webster. “The BLM was pursuing energy leasing on some of Utah’s finest mule deer habitat without the planning needed to develop that resource in a way that minimized impacts to mule deer and sportsmen. It’s time to formulate an approach to energy development that reduces impacts to fish, wildlife and public uses before lease parcels are sold.”
“We hope the BLM takes this opportunity to start managing for multiple uses and begin upfront planning for wildlife in advance of leasing our nation’s public lands,” said William Geer, a TRCP initiative manager and former director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “As we’ve seen in other states, poorly planned energy development can disastrously impact big-game hunting opportunities.”
The TRCP’s namesake, Theodore Roosevelt, stated in 1910, “Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife. Sportsmen who support the FACTS approach are invited to join TRCP’s grassroots campaign, Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development, which provides a voice for hunters and anglers so that our values are integrated into energy development on public lands. |
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- 2007 Farm Bill Passed in House
On Friday, July 27th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2419, The Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007, commonly called the Farm Bill. Representing the single greatest federal investment in conservation on private land, this legislation heads next to the Senate's Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee for consideration and further debate.
Because of the importance of the Farm Bill, the TRCP and the members of its Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group (AWWG) began preparing for the 2007 Farm Bill debate in Congress over two years ago. Aiming to develop a set of sound recommendations that would enable our community to speak with one voice, the AWWG released a consensus report entitled, Growing Conservation in the Farm Bill: Recommendations of the Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group. This report captured the attention of congressional leaders including House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson early on when he referenced our coalition and commented on the impressive nature of so many groups speaking as one.
Throughout the legislative process we called on you, our partners, to engage in the debate and speak out on the importance of conservation in farm policy. Your letters to Congress, Op-ed articles, and letters-to-the-editor from across the country helped to shape the bill and ensure that it included many strong provisions to benefit fish and wildlife and conserve habitat.
Considering the current tight budget climate, we were fortunate to see many conservation programs reauthorized at previous levels and even see some increases and new funding. Positive elements in the House Farm Bill include:
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"Open Fields" Included Open Fields is now included in a Farm Bill for the very first time and is one step closer to becoming a reality. This provision provides $20 million in funding to states, enabling them to enhance or create state public access programs. It directly helps fight the problem of lack of access, the number one cause of decline in hunting and fishing activity.
Photo: Denver Bryan |
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WRP & GRP Restored Both Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grasslands Reserve Program enter this new Farm Bill debate with no baseline funding. The House Farm Bill restored funding for WRP at 3.6 million acres and GRP at 1 million acres. |
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Increased funding for EQIP The Environmental Quality Incentive Program is the USDA's primary cost-share program for assisting farmers and ranchers seeking to meet conservation needs for soil, water, wetlands and wildlife on working lands. The House bill increases EQIP by $1.1 billion over the next five years. |
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Increased funding for the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) FRPP funding was increased by $205 million over five years for purchase of conservation easements. FRPP promotes agreements with farmers and ranchers to not convert their land to nonagricultural uses and to develop and implement a conservation plan for any highly erodible land. |
The 2007 Farm Bill now moves to the Senate's Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, where efforts are already under way to draft its own version. The same budgetary challenges present during the House process will also heavily influence the Senate. TRCP and the members of its AWWG are looking forward to working closely with the senators and their staff to improve upon the good foundation for conservation laid in the House, and we are counting on you, our partners, to continue to raise your voices for strong conservation in the Farm Bill.
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- Sportsmen Set Sights on Mining Reform
More than a century of hard rock mining on American’s public lands has left its mark on fish and wildlife populations. It also has set the stage for a new effort by TRCP aimed at correcting the problem.
The 1872 Mining Law, which governs hard rock mining – for minerals such as gold, silver and copper – on public lands, is a relic of an era long past and overdue for reform. Under the law, more than 270 million acres of federal land are open to hard rock mining, mostly in the Rocky Mountain West. Mining companies may freely strip and degrade the landscape, all without paying royalties to taxpayers, and may purchase public lands for as little as $2.50 per acre. Many of America's most treasured public lands are at risk, including important wildlife habitat and hunting areas, valuable fisheries, popular recreation sites, vital municipal water supplies and sensitive roadless areas.
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Stream ruined by mining runoff. |
This issue is especially important to hunters and anglers, as public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service harbor some of our country’s most important fish and wildlife habitat and provide some of our finest hunting and angling opportunities. America’s public lands contain more than 50 percent of the nation’s blue-ribbon trout streams and are strongholds for imperiled trout and salmon in the western United States. More than 80 percent of critical habitat for elk is on lands managed by the Forest Service and the BLM. Antelope, sage grouse, mule deer, salmon, steelhead and countless other fish and wildlife species, as well as the nation’s hunters and anglers, are similarly dependent on public lands.
America’s sportsmen are not opposed to mining, but want to limit its lasting detriments to fish and wildlife. They realize that the 1872 Mining Law, which has changed little since its original passage, allows much of the damage. As such, they have set their sights on reforming the 1872 Mining Law.
July saw the launch of Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining, a campaign representing millions of hunters and anglers, fish and wildlife professionals and citizens who recreate on and enjoy our public lands. TRCP, National Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited are spearheading the effort, with 18 other hunting, angling and conservation groups joining in. A letter dated July 25, 2007, jointly signed by these groups, was sent to members of Congress urging them to take action and modernize this archaic law.
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Click Here to view our full-page ad in Congress Daily.
Click Here to read the perspective of new TRCP Staffer William Molini, the former head of Nevada's Department of Wildlife. |
HR 2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007, was proposed by House Natural Resources Committee Chair Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and addresses sportsmen’s concerns about hard rock mining. HR 2262 would prohibit the continued forced sale or “patenting” of public lands; eliminate the issuance of patents for vein, lode, placer and mill site claims; and protect special places by declaring that certain types of lands shall not be open to the location of mining claims, subject to valid existing rights. The proposed legislation was considered at a House hearing on July 26, where noted outdoorsman Tony Dean testified on behalf of sportsmen’s concerns. To be informed of breaking developments, sign up for the Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining Campaign and join TRCP’s online community of hunters and anglers in protecting and restoring America's fish and wildlife resources.
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- Escape to the Wild Marathon Labor Day Weekend
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As a special tribute to America’s working men and women, VERSUS Network will host an Escape to the Wild Labor Day marathon on Monday, September 3, 2007.
Escape to the Wild, a union-sponsored television program of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), surprises dedicated union members with all-expense-paid trips to world-class hunting and fishing destinations where the monsters roam, the fish are fierce and the birds fly by the hundreds.
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Rocky Raimondi lands a marlin. |
Tune in to VERSUS Network (formerly OLN) for seven hours, 8am-3pm (EST), and watch the excitement unfold as lucky winners travel to Africa’s plains, the Great White North, the rugged Rocky Mountains, tropical ocean waters, the endless fields of the Great Plains and other incredible locations to fulfill their dreams.
“The whole experience was something I’d never get to do on my own…It was the ultimate adventure experience – unbelievable,” said IAMAW member Scott Karelson after winning a trip to hunt caribou in Quebec in season one. “I will always remember this and am truly thankful I had the opportunity to participate.”
As each surprise unfolds, you’ll get a glimpse into the lives of each winner, like Rocky Raimondi, a fire fighter who lost union brothers and friends in the 9/11 attack, Todd Heustis, a sheet metal worker who hunts on the same land his great-grandfather homesteaded in the early 1920s, and John Demers, an electrical lineman who got his first hunting experience as a kid through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
Between the episodes, you’ll discover some of the amazing destinations winners are headed to in season two of Escape to the Wild, beginning in January 2008. |
| To locate the VERSUS Network on your TV dial, simply visit http://www.VERSUS.com/findVERSUS and enter your zip code. |
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- Give This Month, Get Next Year
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 The TRCP is celebrating its fifth birthday! To mark the occasion, we are unveiling our first-ever TRCP calendar, “Hunting and Fishing in America 2008.”
In September, when you donate $25 or more to the TRCP, you will receive a copy of this calendar before it is available to the general public. Featuring the brilliant images of Dušan Smetana, “Hunting and Fishing in America 2008” is a fantastic way to simultaneously bring the great outdoors and T.R. into your home.
To learn more about outdoors photographer Dušan Smetana, see the Featured Conservation Leader section below.
Click Here to donate now. |
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- Orvis Launches New Season of Roosevelt Collection
Now you can look a little more like Teddy Roosevelt while working to keep his conservation legacy alive. The Orvis Company recently introduced their new season of the Roosevelt Collection, a line inspired by the man who set aside more than 280,000,000 acres of land and reflecting the clothing he himself wore. Actual items of Roosevelt’s clothing were examined at his Long Island home during the preparation of these designs. The resulting items combine the best materials from TR’s times with the best modern outdoor fabrics, just as they unite flair and function.
Orvis donates 5% of the pre-tax profits of the Roosevelt Collection to the TRCP, and since the September 2006 launch the TRCP has received over $22,000.
To see Orvis’s Roosevelt Collection please go to www.orvis.com/roosevelt.
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Updates from TRCP Partner Organizations - News from the National Conservation Community
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American Sportfishing Association
In support of its mission to teach young people to fish, the Future Fisherman Foundation received more than $8,000 in cause-related marketing contributions from members of the sportfishing industry. More>> |
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Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
The Landowner Incentive Program, which supports cooperative efforts with private landowners interested in conserving natural habitat for species at risk, may be in its last year. More>> |
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BASS/ESPN Outdoors
The 2007-2008 Costa Del Mar/BASS Conservation Scholarship Program will lend a financial hand help fund the studies of seven future natural-resource professionals. More>> |
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Coastal Conservation Association
The most recent summer flounder stock assessment brought some unwelcome news and will almost certainly result in additional catch reductions for recreational fishermen. More>> |
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Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is partnering with the Wildlife Habitat Council to create the Wings Over Wetlands award to recognize companies that protect and manage wetlands. More>> |
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Federation of Fly Fishers
The FFF Harley Reno's book ondrift boats and drift fishing in serial form. More>> |
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Izaak Walton League of America
The Izaak Walton League of America supports a watershed restoration and education project located in central New York. More>> |
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Mule Deer Foundation
The Mule Deer Foundation announces their new Vice-President of Marketing and Director of Merchandise. More>> |
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The Nature Conservancy
Virginia executive director of The Nature Conservancy applauds Sen. John Warner for his bold leadership on climate change. More>> |
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Pheasants Forever
Shooting Sportsman is reintroducing its "Bonus for the Birds" program. From now through September 15, 2007 they are offering a special Pheasants Forever affiliation rate of just $29.00. Additionally, for each subscription or renewal they will donate $2 to Pheasants Forever. More>> |
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Quail Forever
Quail Forever celebrates its second birthday. More>> |
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Quail Unlimited
Quail Unlimited announces the Quail Unlimited Canine Lifetime Hall of Fame™ honoring the substantial contributions dogs make to our lives. More>> |
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Trout Unlimited
In a major victory for the McCloud River, Nestlé Waters North America has asked Siskiyou County to conduct additional environmental analysis and prepare a new Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the company’s proposed water bottling plant in McCloud, CA. More>> |
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Trust for Public Land
Join the Trust for Public Land for National Park(ing) Day on September 21, 2007. More>> |
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Whitetails Unlimited
Whitetails Unlimited is proud to announce Miller High Life is supplying every Whitetails Unlimited banquet with a Miller High Life Conservation Partner Print. More>> |
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Wildlife Management Institute
Read the latest issue of the Outdoor News Bulletin. More>> |
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The Wildlife Society
The Wildlife Society’s latest technical review, "Baiting and Supplemental Feeding of Game Wildlife Species," which examines the biological and social impacts of these to practices, is now available online. More>> |
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Grassroots Action
We had a encouraging 7% response rate to our message asking Wyoming sportsmen to contact Senator Barrasso about their opinions on energy development. Thank you to those of you who spoke up for responsible energy development.
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Featured Conservation Leader
Featured Conservation Leader:
Dušan Smetana, Outdoors Photographer
The TRCP has been fortunate to forge a friendship with outdoors photographer Dušan Smetana, whose ability to capture the natural world is surpassed only by his love for it. Raised in a small village in the Carpathian Mountains, he spent his boyhood following in the footsteps of his father in a quest for trout, red deer and wild boar. Smetana studied both forestry and photography in Presov, Slovakia and now makes his home in Montana.
What was your first experience in the field?
Hunting wild boars with my dad and little terriers.
When did you first begin to photograph fish and wildlife?
When I was a little kid in Slovakia.
What made you decide to move to Montana?
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Dušan and son Misa go hunting. |
The name and lots of cowboy books, James Fennimore Cooper and other Western genre novelists. They got me from the word go.
What was your biggest surprise in moving to Montana?
Indians had changed since James Fennimore Cooper, but the open country and wildlife were breathtaking, more than I had even imagined.
What is your most memorable experience afield?
Being close to big game animals in central Alaska never stops being new and literally awesome.
When did you first become aware of the need for conservation?
European forests are more heavily managed than here in the west, both for forestry and for wildlife, so it’s something that I grew up with. For good and bad, they’ve maintained vital forests and landscapes there for centuries of human occupation and use. I’d like to see a little more of that here to balance out the development.
What do you believe to be the most pressing conservation challenge(s) we face today? Increasing education and awareness, primarily, and I think this needs to happen by getting kids (and more adults) out, not hammering them with ecology first off, but letting them be out and come to their own relationships with wild land. You have to see details first for yourself before you can care.
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Dušan and his wife, Lorca, chose the names of their two children, Misa and Natalia, by pigeon race. The birds are each assigned a name, taken hundreds of miles away and released. The pigeon who returns home in the shortest time carries the child’s name and is retired for life.. |
To learn more about Dušan Smetana’s photography, please visit his website.
To learn more about the TRCP 2008 Hunting and Fishing in America Calendar with photography by Dušan Smetana, please visit our website.
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Bookshelf
 What Fly Fishing Teaches Us by Denver Bryan (Photographer)
What Fly Fishing Teaches Us features the photos of Denver Bryan and was written by Willow Creek Press editors. Each photo has a theme word on the facing page with quotes from notable authors addressing that theme. Some of the subjects touched upon are jealousy, abstinence, and frustration, relating the lessons of fly fishing and Denver Bryan’s stunning photographs. Those who have found utter enjoyment and terrible frustration of fly fishing will recognize themselves in this delightful book
For more information, click here.
 Longbows in the Far North: An Archer's Adventures in Alaska and Siberia by E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
In this entertaining collection of memoirs, Don Thomas takes readers to places few will ever have a chance to explore. His deep respect for the wildness of nature is ever-present as he recounts the country, people, and animals he encountered during archery expeditions in Alaska and Siberia. Whether pursuing open-country caribou, stalking Russian rams, or quietly observing black bears on the coast of Alaska, Thomas’s vivid descriptions of the Arctic wilderness convey the wonder inherent in the hunting experience. 16 stories of bowhunting adventure in the Far North including exciting encounters with bears, moose, wolves, rams, and deer. For more information, click here.
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Photo Gallery
Check out How Your Fellow TRCP Partners Fared this Season
We need your photos. We are working to expand the photo gallery on our Web site and would love to include your photo. Please send the photo with information on how and where you got what’s in the shot. If we pick yours for our next newsletter, we’ll send you a TRCP hat too. Send photos to photos@trcp.org. Electronic photos only please.
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Matthew Gifford and Andrew Gifford with two beautiful
Lake Erie, PA tributary steelhead. |
View the rest of the TRCP Partner Photo gallery here.
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Roosevelt Reflections
Teddy Would Support Open Fields
by Ken Barrett
“Open Fields” legislation, when passed, will help expand access to hunting and fishing opportunities for millions of sportsmen and sportswomen. It will be a shot in the arm for existing “walk-in” and access programs in the states where such programs already exist and will help establish new programs in states where they are not yet present.
Open Fields will help create a bridge between the private and public sectors. Its funding will support purely voluntary programs, and, if past experience is any guide, it will result in a real win-win situation for all involved.
 Theodore Roosevelt was born with a silver spoon in his mouth; when his grandfather died the New York City Obituaries called him “the richest man in New York.” Young Teddy spent more on his freshman year wardrobe at Harvard than the average American made in a year. But taking a lead from his father, an early social reformer known in New York social circles as Greatheart, TR went on to become a champion of the workingman and workingwoman.
Roosevelt once said that his father was the greatest man he ever knew. There is no doubt that the spirit of Greatheart guided many of his actions as our 26th president, especially the particularly important decision to set aside public lands. Summing up reasons for establishing our invaluable public lands estate, he said, “It is in our power to preserve large tracts of wilderness and to preserve game for all lovers of nature, and to give reasonable opportunities for the exercise of the skill of the hunter, whether he is or is not a man of means.”
Open Fields will help provide access to hunting and fishing for all hunters and anglers. Teddy would have liked that, and you can bet your bottom dollar he would sign that legislation in a heart beat. So let’s all work together to get Open Fields passed; it’s what Teddy would do.
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Special September Feature
Biologists and Brittanys – A Love Story
Nancy Derey Riley
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Nancy and Brett in South Dakota. |
This is a story of love – human and canine love. I have always loved animals, especially dogs, being raised in a family that always had dogs. We also liked to explore the outdoors, and it was almost inevitable that I would become a wildlife biologist.
Until 1993, I had never seen a Brittany. At that time, my future husband, Terry Riley, was the upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and an avid hunter. His companion on upland bird hunts was Abby, his Brittany.
When I met Abby, she was a lovely three-year-old Brittany. For my part, I knew what English springer spaniels looked like and felt that she was a skimpy, short-eared version of a springer. Abby did not hold this against me, being quite a forgiving breed, and soon had me thinking Brittanys were quite elegant.
Abby gladly accepted my daughter, Anna, and me into her family pack when Terry and I married. My four-year-old daughter loved having a pretty doggy to pet. Abby was gentle, tolerant and completely devoted to her hunter, Terry.
First, I fell in love with the hunter and then I fell in love with the hunting dog. Terry took me hunting and there I was mesmerized watching Abby work a field. Pheasant hunting in Iowa is great fun and some work. Corn stubble is lumpy and the stalks are sharp. Grass pastures are a mass of tangled grasses, especially switchgrass – great cover for pheasants, but the stems grab your boot laces and trip you up. Did I mention I whine a lot?
The great fun is watching a bird dog work. Being in the field with a cerulean blue sky above, wheat-colored fields underfoot and a brisk breeze in your face gets your blood pumping. It gets a bird dog’s blood pumping too. Abby would bound over the fields and I could see only her nose and ears rise and fall above the tall grasses. Her eyes would be bright and shiny, tongue hanging out and you knew she loved to hunt. She would run along the edges of harvested fields and patches of likely cover. Suddenly, she would stop in mid leap, turn her head and lock into a staunch point; her keen nose pointed in the direction of the hidden bird.
Abby was a hard-hunting, brush-busting Brittany. She hunted so hard one day that when she tore her belly on a barbed wire fence, she would not let Terry kennel her until she had one rooster in the bag. But, she had one fault, she refused to retrieve. She wasn’t without compassion for her hunter, for Terry occasionally shot roosters that fell into deep water. Abby would wade out to the bird and carry it back to dry land. There she would drop it and sit until her hunter found her. Their hunting success was enough for Terry to forgive her this fault.
After a year and with Abby nearing five, Terry and I discussed breeding or spaying her. By this time, I was fully engaged in the greatness of Brittanys and I pushed to breed her. We asked Al Berner, then the pheasant biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Brittany breeder, to find a stud dog. We wanted puppies that would retrieve and, as I put it, “low on the Brittany hyper-scale.”
There was much anticipation in the early summer of 1995. I speculated on the number of puppies and then worried that Abby was even bred. She didn’t appear pregnant until about two weeks before her due date. Then, on July 16, 1995, I woke up early on a Sunday morning and jumped out of bed to go check on Abby. Instead of using her state-of-the-art whelping box Terry had constructed, she had torn up her old cushion and was lying in the middle of it. I could hear little squeals and there in her nest were four puppies.
The immediate joy was tempered by a puppy lying unmoving on the concrete floor. After I examined everything, I found another puppy crushed under the nest. I moved her and the remaining puppies into the whelping box and ran into the house nearly giving Terry a heart attack by screaming that Abby was having her puppies. The litter wasn’t complete until she had delivered a total of ten puppies.
Now there were more Brittanys to love, eight more to be exact - five boys and three girls. Originally I was going to keep a female, however, finding good homes took precedent. My husband asked if I sold the last female, which male would I keep. Without hesitating I pointed to “Spot” and said, “that one.”
Spot was registered as Riley’s Beginner’s Luck, but his call name was Brett. Brett because his sire was from the Maverick Kennels and Brett Maverick was name of the gambler on the 1960s television Western. Brett quickly became the canine love of my life. Some people complained that I had more pictures of my dog than my daughter in my wallet.
Terry, ever the hunter, took Brett, at the tender age of almost four months, on a late October hunt in South Dakota with Wildlife Management Institute staff, his new employers. As the story goes, the rest is history. Over the course of four days, Brett went from chasing bugs to retrieving dead birds tossed out in the parking lot. Two months later he had his first official point on a rooster that couldn’t possibly have been in that mown hay field. My husband and his brother saw the pup locked on point knowing nothing could be there until that rooster flushed. They have always underestimated my dog.
As a member of the Iowa Brittany Club, I was introduced to hunt tests. Hunt tests are field events where the dogs are judged individually on a list of hunting skills. Since I wasn’t a hunter, it was like play hunting and a good way for me to be involved in the field. Then we moved to South Dakota and there was more time to hunt and less time to hunt test. Plus, Brett would give me a disgusted look when I fired a blank pistol and the bird did not fall. He seemed to say, “What, I do all that work and you can’t even hit the bird?”
I became a hunter so my dog would respect me. I’d also once been asked how I could call myself a wildlife biologist if I didn’t hunt. I always thought that two college degrees were enough, but they weren’t enough for Brett. To his credit, like his mother, he was patient with me and loved to be out in the field. I loved to watch Abby and Brett cover the ground, working the field, and leaving no possible spot unchecked for birds.
South Dakota is a wonderful place for a Brittany to grow up into a great bird dog. Brett hunted pheasant, quail, sharp-tailed grouse, greater prairie-chicken, mourning dove, ducks and geese. Terry was continually amazed at Brett’s willingness to retrieve anything, anywhere. Brett took his job seriously; the day Terry shot a Canada goose, Brett swam out to the bird, retrieved to hand, and then wasn’t satisfied until he was allowed to carry the big bird back to the truck.
From South Dakota, we moved to northern Virginia for jobs in Washington D.C. Abby was nine and easily adapted to being a suburban Brittany. Her greatest accomplishment was winning the pet costume contest at my daughter’s elementary school where we dressed her up as a “bird dog,” complete with felt beak, cardboard wings and a pheasant tail.
Brett was able to go on annual hunting trips to Kansas to chase birds once a year. He gave it his all, returning tired and sore, but content. I lived all the hunts vicariously through Terry’s tales of Brett’s prowess. Terry claimed that on one of these hunting trips Brett not only retrieved every bird shot, though other bird dogs were present, he retrieved them to the hunter who shot the bird. This story was corroborated by others on the trip and not just the idle boasting of a hunter proud of his dog.
In 2003, we moved to New Mexico and on August 16, 2004, at 14 and a half, Abby died. Terry was out of town the week she started having health troubles, but just like in human stories, she waited until her hunter returned to say goodbye. The day after his return, she quietly fell asleep in the side yard in a sunny spot with a view of the mountains. She lies now near that same spot.
Since then, Brett added blue grouse, scaled quail, and white-winged and Eurasian collared dove to his list of birds pointed or retrieved. My husband began working for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and for two years flew Brett to Montana to be one of the bird dogs for hunting trips there with TRCP staff. My dog garnered much praise from the hunters who shot over him.
Brett was everything we bred for, short of a show champion. He even achieved that in a way winning Best In Show at the Brown County Fair fun show in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1999. He was a big-running, bird-finding fiend. He retrieved every bird he found. At home he was a mellow, low on the Brittany hyper-scale family dog. His favorite snacks were popcorn and apples. He loved to give me hugs (Terry called it jumping up) and liked to sing (I still don’t consider it whining). His nicknames included: Spot, Fuzz Butt, Buster, Moose Ears, Hoover, Woof, Big Dog and Handsome. His favorite game was, “Go Fetch Me Something.”
Terry has many tales of Brett’s and his adventures in the field, too many to relate here. There were incidents with minks, raccoons, skunks, and even a bobcat encountered during bird hunts. At home there are tales of pointing the parakeet, stalking the chickens and a need for Cashmere goat sensitivity training.
I said this was a love story and I loved my dog with all my heart and soul. I had to say goodbye to him on January 18, 2007. At eleven and a half, he was too young, but sometimes you have to make hard choices. In the fall Brett dropped weight, but I attributed it to more hunting, since Terry had a new Benelli 12-gauge shotgun to use. After New Year’s I increased his food to get a little weight on him. Instead of putting on weight, he suddenly bloated. My vet suspected a tumor. The results of the blood tests were inconclusive, and I was advised to have an ultrasound done.
On the eighteenth, I took him for the ultrasound, praying for no tumors and hoping for something treatable. When the vet called my heart sank when he said that the pericardial sac around Brett’s heart was filled with blood, and that he would not last the day. In fact, the vet was surprised that my dog was even able to walk into his office. I was crushed and left with the decision to either try an emergency procedure that might or might not work or to end his suffering. It seemed from the information the vet provided that he was indeed suffering.
I spent an agonizing afternoon on the telephone with Terry who was on business out-of-state trying to decide what to do. Terry said Brett had noticeably lost stamina during the fall hunting, something I did not know before. In the end, based on all the information I had and a gut feeling that there was more going on, I decided to end his suffering. This is the hardest decision I have had to make. My daughter and I held Brett, stroking and petting him until the end. There were tears and there still are, but I know he is in a better place.
Happy hunting in those heavenly fields my handsome boy, I will always love you.
Nancy Derey Riley, who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is married to TRCP Vice President of Policy Dr. Terry Z. Riley. |
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