I agree 100%.... but we (The Reptile Nation) are not a big enough entity to affect any future outcome of any elections. Therefore we don't really matter. The ones who make the laws know this...one bad apple (Florida) spoiled the bunch and it wasn't their fault...they just happen to have the perfect environment. We lost 4 species and there will be more to come. I just wonder if it is worth the funds to chase the 4 or focus on the rest to hit the list. I know that overturning the ruling of the 4 would be a major victory but very expensive.
The Ball Python nation is the largest there is in the snake market and probably in the reptile industry all together....but the only ones interested in overturning the ruling are the BP breeders that have something on the list.
There are thousands of BP breeders in the US and if they all came together and donated the price of a pastel female ($100.00) then you would have enough to fight....but it is not going to happen until they see a list from the Gov't listing them as an invasive.
You would not believe the number of breeders and collectors and owners of reptiles that I have contacted in the last few days that had no idea about the ban and really didn't give a crap because they didn't own any on the list.
I am not saying I am giving up...never was that type of person...but I feel like we are playing a game of chess with very few pieces fighting a full board on the other side and all I keep hearing is "CHECK".....
Sorry to rant so long...
Travis
Lair of Dragons
Travis:
Without going into too much detail, I have to deal with getting yearly permits from the CDFG and USFWS to maintain roads, levees and drainage systems for a very large and environmentally "sensitive" area.
The Feds wear you down. You jump through one set of hoops to get a permit to vactor out a culvert that has become riparian habitat and then they change their rules and set the hoop on fire and ask you to backflip through it.
http://www.sparselysageandtimely.com/blog/?p=8739
7 years to get a permit to restore critical salmonid habitat that turned into red-legged frog habitat. The last three years which resulted in severe flooding cutting off a whole community for days at a time and causing thousands of dollars of damage.
They delay decisions so long that a habitat for one endangered species declines and when you go to restore it, you can't because a threatened species has moved in. Their policies are haphazard, their studies are flawed and I have watched whole communities from Counties to Cities to State Agencies to State Senators bump up against them and lose.
We have taken them to commissions and we have taken them to court. Things never get resolved. The process of debunking their studies is difficult because the judges that hear the cases are laymen and often don't know good science from bad science.
The whole processing of challenging their rules and regulations is time consuming, frustrating and they know it. They beat whole communities down with it.
I guess I'm looking for USARK to chime in here, on their subforum, with the best course of action. I suspect it will be on the lines of hiring a lawyer and challenging their data - but what we all have to be prepared for is a lot more frustration, a lot more rage and long periods where nothing happens.
That's why, in my opinion, it is vital to have some positive direction at this point. Everybody is mad. Everyone wants to do something positive to make a change. I just think we run several risks both with maintaining our focus and in the eyes of those who would take more from us, by engaging in acts which may get us nowhere.
The reptile nation may not be huge, but when you add it to the invertebrate nation, the freshwater fish nation, the saltwater fish nation and all the other exotic pet "nations" and the companies that supply them I think we can muster up quite a voice.
I've danced around the edges of criticizing USARK because aside from their propaganda blasts, we don't hear a lot about strategy. Aside from their controversial "model legislation" I see a group that is perhaps forced to be more reactive than proactive.
Maybe I'd feel better if they outlined exactly where we go from here and how they are building a coalition to get us there. Their lack of presence here, when people are itching to act, concerns me.
