Hunter confrontations could escalate, critic says
Matthew Kruchak
The StarPhoenix
Monday, January 28, 2008
There's been a battle brewing in the boreal forest over the past few hunting seasons. But the conflict isn't pitting hunter versus beast -- but rather hunter versus hunter.
Saskatchewan outfitters say they've experienced a growing problem with out-of-province hunters and if the government doesn't set regulations on the firearm-wielding foreigners -- bloodshed is likely.
Government officials and others in the hunting community, however, say the conflict isn't a major problem -- what is sizable are the tourism dollars crossing the border and into the rural economy.
Many Canadian hunters coming from outside of Saskatchewan aren't obeying the law -- and even more important -- aren't following the unwritten rules of the woods, outfitter Barry Samson said.
They don't care if an outfitter hunts in a certain part of the woods and they won't ask land owners for permission to pursue animals on their property, said the owner of Safari River Outdoors in Meadow Lake.
Non-residents of Canada must use a licensed outfitter while hunting white-tailed deer and bear in the province. But when Canadian hunters from other provinces are allowed to take aim at Saskatchewan big game, there are no restrictions forcing them to use a licensed outfitter.
For the most part, these out-of-province hunters aren't respecting local protocol, Samson said, and when guns are involved, he fears the worst.
"We have a group of people coming into the province who don't seem to care too much about anything or anybody -- it's kind of a wild west scenario," he said. "My main concern is, when you see that much emotion out in the forest, if someone doesn't take it seriously I'm afraid that there's going to be more and more incidents where people are going to get hurt."
Sharon Ebery, an outfitter in the Hudson Bay area, has seen blood boil on both sides. It was two hunting seasons ago when her late husband had a run-in with unruly hunters from Quebec, she said.
Ebery and her husband had their bait set in the bush. The group from Quebec set up lawn chairs at the side of a nearby road. When deer crossed the open road to locate the bait the hunters had a clear shot, she said.
"I spend months and months maintaining the baits, hauling feed out there, working with it to set it up for my clients and basically (the out-of-province hunters) cash in on it," she said.
While driving by the roadside hunters, her husband honked his horn at the hunters -- scaring off deer in the area, she said.
The Quebec hunters were upset and claimed her husband tried to run them over, she said.
Dave Harvey, Saskatchewan Environment chief of enforcement and investigations, said he's seen an increase in the number of hunters from British Columbia and Quebec in the past few years.
"We have had quite a few problems with those guys," he said.
His conservation officers have caught hunters hiding dead deer just in case they bag a bigger one and if they do, they'll leave the smaller ones behind to rot.
Hugh Hunt, executive director of fish and wildlife branch of the Ministry of Environment, said he's aware of the misbehaviour and the physical altercations that have occurred and is monitoring the situation.
"We are not hearing these kind of reports from resident sport hunters or others in the forests. We hear them regularly from the Saskatchewan Outfitters Association," he said
It's a territorial dispute, he said, adding that non-native hunters will observe the techniques used by local outfitters and sport hunters and then adopt them.
The out-of-province hunters are becoming quite successful, he said, and are now seen by outfitters as competitors for the fruits of the forest.
"There's competition out there," Harvey said. "That's part of the problem with outfitting. You end up tying up part of Saskatchewan and the outfitter gets a sense of ownership on that land. So if another hunter comes along and is hunting that area then sometimes there's a conflict in the field that our officers encounter where they kind of have to become a mediator between people trying to hunt in the same part of Saskatchewan so there's really no ownership when it comes to that land," he said.
But there are no more altercations between out-of-province hunters and outfitters as there are with Saskatchewan residents and the professional guides, he adds.
To solve these problems, Samson would like to see regulations put in place -- like those placed on American hunters -- that force any nonresident of Saskatchewan to use a licensed outfitter when on the prowl for big game.
Alberta has a similar regulation in place. If a hunter from outside of Alberta wants to hunt big game in the province, they have to book a hunt with a licensed outfitter or be accompanied by a hunter host. The hunter host program allows an Alberta resident to invite up to two out-of-province or non-Canadians to join them on a hunt as long as they don't charge a fee to accompany them.
Alberta doesn't have an open hunting season for out-of-province hunters like Saskatchewan does. The regulations in Alberta have been successful in helping solve the province's nonresident hunting issues, like the ones Saskatchewan is experiencing, said Dave Ealey, spokesperson for the Government of Alberta's department of Sustainable Resource Development.
"It gives hunters the chance to hunt with their buddies from elsewhere," he said. "If it improves the resident hunter's experience -- it's a good thing."
Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, isn't sure if a Saskatchewan hunter host program would work, but said it's worth looking at. What he does know is outfitters aren't addressing the problem.
"I think what they're trying to do is get more people to have to utilize an outfitter."
And there's big money to bag.
According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, in 2005, hunters spent $107.5 million in the province, or eight per cent of the amount spent by all tourists. Most of the money generated was spent in rural areas which resulted in more than 1,000 full-time jobs.
Out-of-province hunters (including Americans) spend $2,000 to $4,300 per trip (not including airfare), which is 13 to 22 per cent more than other tourists, Tourism Saskatchewan reports.
The money generated in rural communities from hunting is one reason the government isn't creating a regulation to force out-of-province hunters into the hands of outfitters, Hunt said.
According to the Ministry of Environment, of the 70,000 people who hunted in the province, 22,000 came from other provinces or countries and most were Americans.
Brian Hoffart, president of the outfitters association, declined to comment on the issue.
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstar....html?id=bb7ef850-c3d6-46ae-b5ca-f4850894dc60
Matthew Kruchak
The StarPhoenix
Monday, January 28, 2008
There's been a battle brewing in the boreal forest over the past few hunting seasons. But the conflict isn't pitting hunter versus beast -- but rather hunter versus hunter.
Saskatchewan outfitters say they've experienced a growing problem with out-of-province hunters and if the government doesn't set regulations on the firearm-wielding foreigners -- bloodshed is likely.
Government officials and others in the hunting community, however, say the conflict isn't a major problem -- what is sizable are the tourism dollars crossing the border and into the rural economy.
Many Canadian hunters coming from outside of Saskatchewan aren't obeying the law -- and even more important -- aren't following the unwritten rules of the woods, outfitter Barry Samson said.
They don't care if an outfitter hunts in a certain part of the woods and they won't ask land owners for permission to pursue animals on their property, said the owner of Safari River Outdoors in Meadow Lake.
Non-residents of Canada must use a licensed outfitter while hunting white-tailed deer and bear in the province. But when Canadian hunters from other provinces are allowed to take aim at Saskatchewan big game, there are no restrictions forcing them to use a licensed outfitter.
For the most part, these out-of-province hunters aren't respecting local protocol, Samson said, and when guns are involved, he fears the worst.
"We have a group of people coming into the province who don't seem to care too much about anything or anybody -- it's kind of a wild west scenario," he said. "My main concern is, when you see that much emotion out in the forest, if someone doesn't take it seriously I'm afraid that there's going to be more and more incidents where people are going to get hurt."
Sharon Ebery, an outfitter in the Hudson Bay area, has seen blood boil on both sides. It was two hunting seasons ago when her late husband had a run-in with unruly hunters from Quebec, she said.
Ebery and her husband had their bait set in the bush. The group from Quebec set up lawn chairs at the side of a nearby road. When deer crossed the open road to locate the bait the hunters had a clear shot, she said.
"I spend months and months maintaining the baits, hauling feed out there, working with it to set it up for my clients and basically (the out-of-province hunters) cash in on it," she said.
While driving by the roadside hunters, her husband honked his horn at the hunters -- scaring off deer in the area, she said.
The Quebec hunters were upset and claimed her husband tried to run them over, she said.
Dave Harvey, Saskatchewan Environment chief of enforcement and investigations, said he's seen an increase in the number of hunters from British Columbia and Quebec in the past few years.
"We have had quite a few problems with those guys," he said.
His conservation officers have caught hunters hiding dead deer just in case they bag a bigger one and if they do, they'll leave the smaller ones behind to rot.
Hugh Hunt, executive director of fish and wildlife branch of the Ministry of Environment, said he's aware of the misbehaviour and the physical altercations that have occurred and is monitoring the situation.
"We are not hearing these kind of reports from resident sport hunters or others in the forests. We hear them regularly from the Saskatchewan Outfitters Association," he said
It's a territorial dispute, he said, adding that non-native hunters will observe the techniques used by local outfitters and sport hunters and then adopt them.
The out-of-province hunters are becoming quite successful, he said, and are now seen by outfitters as competitors for the fruits of the forest.
"There's competition out there," Harvey said. "That's part of the problem with outfitting. You end up tying up part of Saskatchewan and the outfitter gets a sense of ownership on that land. So if another hunter comes along and is hunting that area then sometimes there's a conflict in the field that our officers encounter where they kind of have to become a mediator between people trying to hunt in the same part of Saskatchewan so there's really no ownership when it comes to that land," he said.
But there are no more altercations between out-of-province hunters and outfitters as there are with Saskatchewan residents and the professional guides, he adds.
To solve these problems, Samson would like to see regulations put in place -- like those placed on American hunters -- that force any nonresident of Saskatchewan to use a licensed outfitter when on the prowl for big game.
Alberta has a similar regulation in place. If a hunter from outside of Alberta wants to hunt big game in the province, they have to book a hunt with a licensed outfitter or be accompanied by a hunter host. The hunter host program allows an Alberta resident to invite up to two out-of-province or non-Canadians to join them on a hunt as long as they don't charge a fee to accompany them.
Alberta doesn't have an open hunting season for out-of-province hunters like Saskatchewan does. The regulations in Alberta have been successful in helping solve the province's nonresident hunting issues, like the ones Saskatchewan is experiencing, said Dave Ealey, spokesperson for the Government of Alberta's department of Sustainable Resource Development.
"It gives hunters the chance to hunt with their buddies from elsewhere," he said. "If it improves the resident hunter's experience -- it's a good thing."
Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, isn't sure if a Saskatchewan hunter host program would work, but said it's worth looking at. What he does know is outfitters aren't addressing the problem.
"I think what they're trying to do is get more people to have to utilize an outfitter."
And there's big money to bag.
According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, in 2005, hunters spent $107.5 million in the province, or eight per cent of the amount spent by all tourists. Most of the money generated was spent in rural areas which resulted in more than 1,000 full-time jobs.
Out-of-province hunters (including Americans) spend $2,000 to $4,300 per trip (not including airfare), which is 13 to 22 per cent more than other tourists, Tourism Saskatchewan reports.
The money generated in rural communities from hunting is one reason the government isn't creating a regulation to force out-of-province hunters into the hands of outfitters, Hunt said.
According to the Ministry of Environment, of the 70,000 people who hunted in the province, 22,000 came from other provinces or countries and most were Americans.
Brian Hoffart, president of the outfitters association, declined to comment on the issue.
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstar....html?id=bb7ef850-c3d6-46ae-b5ca-f4850894dc60
Where did you get this from? 
what they do is put a big sign up at the start of the road that says "No Motor Vehicles Allowed" now I know you could walk in 10 miles or so & carry your moose out but outfitters are allowed to fly customers right to the shore of the lakes!
