# Hatch is Wasting MN Money !!!!



## prairie hunter (Mar 13, 2002)

Hatch is an idiot.

Hard to believe that Pawlenty fell into his spell.

The people of MN should be embarassed.

Money drives politics and political motives 
I would guess that there is pure, hard money "hidden" behind this lawsuit. There must me a couple of very wealthy MN "gentlemen" that want to hunt ND more and thus have decided to finance the lawsuit via the state of MN.

MN taxpayers should be damn ****** off that THEIR money will be spent fighting for about 15K MNs who hunt in ND. We are talking less than 0.5% of the population being represented by this lawsuit. F***'n stupid.

Not sure how you could find out who these big time money people are. Maybe run a cross-search between DU "life or donor" supporters / chairmen in MN and top financial supporters of Hatch and Pawlenty.


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## widgeon (Jan 13, 2004)

prairiehunter-

you are right-- the guy who is conserving land in your state probably supports ducks unlimited.

He is the enemy alright-- putting money back into the resource. Surely guys like that need to be stopped!


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

Instead of complaining about how other states take care of their natural resources, why doesn't MN try to fix problems in their own state. Where are the DU revitilization projects happening in Minnesota? I spent my freshman year of college at SSU in Marshall. It reminds me alot of my home area, except for the lack of potholes. Why can't DU do something in that area? I don't really think ducks like those little four foot wide ditches full of water. What is DU doing in MN? I honestly have no idea. Why can't something be done to help the quality of hunting there? Does no attacking on the home turf equal more votes next election? Limiting hunters is managing a natural resource. Fighting to let more hunters into a neighboring state because they feel thats the best way to win the home state over, thats political.


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## widgeon (Jan 13, 2004)

limiting hunters is managing a natural resource?

true, maybe. But deciding who is allowed to hunt and who is not allowed to hunt based NOT on bird numbers but on "North Dakota hunter preference" has more to do with greed than natural resource management.

As for your questions T-shot, it is far cheaper to conserve a pothole that is already there than to revitalize an impacted one. The most bang for the buck...


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

I dont see much conserving going on over there either. So there must be alot of bucks floating around with no bang anywhere.


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## ND decoy (Feb 1, 2003)

Why should they try to get there wet lands back they have always had ND to go to. But now that things have changed, there poor managment of the land is really showing and the politicians in MN have no one to blame for it but themselves.


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## Quackhead (Mar 10, 2004)

Hey guys,

The plain simple truth of the matter is that DU does not spend it's money in MN on the same scale they do in ND because land is a lot cheaper in ND. More bang for your buck.

I'm a Minnesotan and I think this lawsuit is ridiculous, but I do have some concerns about the direction things went and are going in ND. Yes I agree it is your state and you need to manage it properly. I'm for that. I'm a 27 year old freelance hunter and I want to be able to hunt both MN and ND for years to come. I understand the need for proper management. My biggest concern is that if I am going to spend money on a federal duck stamp and contribute to DU and if a majority of that money is going to be spent in ND, I at least want to be afforded the opportunity to hunt there. For the last 5-6 years I've been able to do that and I appreciate that. If you add on top of that the license fees I pay each year and the amount of money I spend in the small towns I visit I think I make a pretty decent contribution to the system. Does that afford me the exact same rights as a North Dakotan? No! There is better balance to be found and this lawsuit does nothing to get us to that point.

My idea? 20,000 non-resident license @ $100 and the license is good for the entire season when the populations of ducks is high. 15,000 when the population is low. Odds are that when the population is lower you would not sell 15,000 anyway. The system needs to be based in biology if we are going to manage the resource properly.

Quack! Quack!


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Quack,
I'm not trying to sarcastic but as a lifelong resident of ND I'd really like to know where all the money that DU spends in ND is located. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thnk you have the same, uncorrect, opinion that many MN residents have, that DU dumps a lot of money into ND. If you can show me where all the DU projects are I will admit that you are right. However, you'll also have to prove to me that if there are one or two projects that have been done (which I doubt) that they had any significant effect on the duck hatch. I'm not a DU member but I'll let you enlighten me.


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Widgeon is that sort of like MN's legislature trying to pass a bill limiting NR fisherman?


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## Quackhead (Mar 10, 2004)

Field Hunter,

http://www.ducks.org/community/states/2 ... Dakota.pdf


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## Quackhead (Mar 10, 2004)

And for reference:

http://www.ducks.org/community/states/2 ... nesota.pdf


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## Quackhead (Mar 10, 2004)

And more....

http://www.ducks.org/conservation/Proje ... County.asp


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## prairie hunter (Mar 13, 2002)

Not sure you get it widgy. The upper crust of DU is often big, big money with big money power. This may or may not be true in ND - but across the DU inner circle it is real.

Trent Lott (MS Senator) does not fight for extended duck seasons and late January seasons because he thinks it is the right thing to do - he does this because big money supports Senator Lott and they want more duck hunting.

Sure there are many hard working DU chairpeople and members. I am one of them. DU does make _some_ impact especially in drought years.

Again, this was not an attack on DU, where DU spends it money, or the goals of DU, 
it was just a way to determine if financial supporters of Hatch are also interested in ducks/duck hunting.

The idea was to look through the DU money and power list to see if they are also big financial supporters of Hatch or Pawlenty. It is called cross referencing in research. Trying to equate money, politics, and ducks is not that easy.

Why is Hatch doing this? For the common MN hunting man? 
 or is he doing this for a few big players in MN politics that own land in ND, lease land in ND, or want to hunt there without restriction?

Regarding MN read my post to Dick and Dan. MN would like to add a lot of walk-in access land ASAP. Will be great if it flies.


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## dosch (May 20, 2003)

http://www.tonydean.com/issues2.html?sectionid=4842


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## Goldy's Pal (Jan 6, 2004)

Thanks for posting that dosch; It's a good feeling to know these types of reactions are out there. :roll:


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Quackhead, 
I guess you're right for now. Questions. 
What are the "conservation projects that show so nicely with all the stars on the map. Where can I see a listing of those projects. And how many $$$s were involved in these projects. Call me a skeptic but I still have a hard time believing there are that many DU projects in ND. You'd think they would have a sign or two showing what projects they were involved with in the state....I've never seen one.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

FH, about 5 years ago DU had a program for new CRP signups that had drained welands. If the farmer agreed to dike the ditch, he received an extra payment. These created a host of shallow ponds. I put in two and I know many other guys did the same. Doubt they show up anyplace as they are unsigned. They are usually dry by mid summer.


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Quack,
While I'm happy that DU was able to come up with added dollars for what Dick mentioned above, I'd have to say that if that is what the "stars" represent, it's a little misleading to post that on the ND DU web site and call them a significant amount of projects in ND. What else might DU have done in ND, besides the Montreal County project? I guess I can see that an uninformed NR, on the scope of DU (actual) contributions to ND, (not unlike myself) would think that DU is a major contributor to projects in ND. I did notice that they mentioned their major projects in Canada. Which doesn't really suprise me, as I've heard they spend the majority of their money on the Canadian prairies.


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## Capt. Kevin (Mar 1, 2004)

:******: look you guys DU has their regional headquarters here in bis and my dad just happen to work there and throught the Missouri Coteau there are many thousands of projects.
If DU handed out a big map showing every project theyve built every minnesotan and would be shis neighbor itting thier essentially not leaving any place for the ducks to stop and the migration would pass right over us just like many minnesota. I know guys who work 6 days a week out on the road doing projects from ice out to snow fall and they dont get paided any extra they do it because they love ducks. DU does more for this state and our waterfowling than anything else besides as good snofall.


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