Working For An American Tradition

Photo by John R. Ford
Debut Issue
An official publication of Whitetails Unlimited, Inc.
WTU Hits the NASCAR Track!
Through the generous financial support of
Southern Racing and Galaxy Marketing Company, Whitetails Unlimited made its racing debut this past summer at Talladega Raceway
in Alabama. The WTU race car bears the #28
and is driven by NASCAR Busch Series driver,
Brad Baker. After its debut in Talladega, #28
also hit the track at Bristol, Tennessee and
The Milwaukee Mile in southern Wisconsin.
While the NASCAR sponsorship is cost-free
to WTU, it provides the catalyst for Baker
Racing Team to secure additional corporate
sponsors and benefit from the sale of #28
race team merchandise.
NASCAR #28 owner, Gary Baker, as well as
his entire racing staff are true outdoor enthusiasts and Whitetails Unlimited is proud to
be associated with them. Although 2001
marks Brad’s rookie season in the NASCAR
Busch Series, he competed in Busch Series
events at Pike’s Peak in 1999 and 2000, and
Memphis Motorsports Park in 2000.
The #28 WTU car leaving pit road
after the first pitstop at Talladega.
Pit crew during National Anthem at Talladega.
WTU Joins FHFH
Whitetails Unlimited recently joined
Farmers and Hunters Feeding The
Hungry (FHFH) as a $12,000 national
sponsor. Our contribution will be
used to offset venison processing
and distribution expenses. FHFH is
a nonprofit organization with the mission of
operating and funding a national “outreach
ministry of God’s people transforming a renewable God-given resource into food for the
hungry among us.” The average deer yields
50 pounds of meat and about two hundred
servings. Since the program’s inception in
September 1997, FHFH has processed 750
tons of venison, totaling over 6 million individual servings. Currently 36 states have affiliated programs with FHFH.
For more information, write to FHFH, 216 N.
Cleveland Avenue, Hagerstown MD, 21740,
visit their Web site at www.fhfh.org, or call
(301) 739-3000.
Working For An American Tradition
Inside …
PENTAX Whitetail
Series Scopes
Winchester
Ammunition
Whitetail Watch
Program
Wildlife Conservation Partners
CDM Program
Universal Scoring
Products Partnership
PENTAX Develops
New Whitetails Unlimited Series
PENTAX Corporation joins WTU to offer a new
and exclusive Whitetails Unlimited line of rifle
and shotgun scopes. Available in the following models: 2X-5X, 3X-9X, 3.7X-11X and 4.5X14X, these scopes promise to deliver the
reliable quality that consumers have come
to expect from PENTAX in an
affordable package.
The Whitetails Unlimited
Series was designed with onepiece tube construction; these
scopes are manufactured with
the highest quality optics and feature PENTAX’s exclusive sevenlayer Super-Multi-Coating on all lens surfaces
to reduce glare and increase light transmission. Hunters will appreciate the friendly eye
positioning in these scopes providing more
forgiving eye positioning both fore and aft,
left and right.
The Whitetails Unlimited scopes are supersealed throughout and nitrogen-filled to prevent moisture penetration. They are
lightweight and easy to mount thanks to an
adjustment system that is positioned further
back on the tube.
They feature the
PENTAX Twilight
Plex
reticle, which is specially
designed for extreme low light conditions and rapid target acquisition, excellent
for dark timber, bean field and other dawn
and dusk hunting situations. As with all
PENTAX scopes, the Whitetails Unlimited Series is protected by a limited lifetime warranty. For more information call (800)
709-2020, or visit www.pentaxlightseeker.com.
Winchester Ammunition New Corporate
Sponsor of Project POLITE
The legendary Winchester name has always
represented a long and responsible heritage
of commitment, pride and high-quality products. A name that will always take a leading
role in advancing
and supporting
conservation,
hunter education
and our country’s
proud shooting
sports heritage.
As an example of
their commitment
to conservation,
Winchester Ammunition recently contributed $9,000 to
W h i t e t a i l s
Unlimited’s newly
developed Comprehensive Deer Management
Program (CDM). The contribution was used
www.whitetailsunlimited.com
to help offset printing and distribution costs of WTU Project POLITE
(Permission Of Landowner In order
To Enter) components — Hunter/
Landowner ID Cards, tyvek
holders, and Hunting with
Permission signs.
Since 1987, Project POLITE
has been instrumental with facilitating positive hunter/landowner
relations and opening the doors to
millions of privately owned acres for
regulated hunting. To obtain a free
supply of WTU Hunter-Landowner ID
Cards or Hunting with Permission
signs, please call (800) 274-5471 or
send an e-mail to [email protected].
For more information regarding
Winchester Ammunition, please visit
their Web site at www.winchester.com or call
(618) 258-3692.
Debut Issue
Wildlife Conservation Partners
Wildlife for the 21st Century
In addition, a companion strategy addressing fire-adapted shrub/grassland
ecosystems at risk should be prepared. Agency funding recommendations should be based on the new
strategies and a high priority
should be placed on their preparation and implementation.
Photo by John R. Ford
During August, 2000 in Missoula, Montana,
and this past August in Cody, Wyoming, 36
hunting/conservation organizations came together as the Wildlife Conservation Partners
(WCP). Whitetails Unlimited’s president, Jeff
Schinkten, was given the honor of serving on
the WCP Steering Committee responsible for
organizing the Wildlife Conservation Partners.
This unique coalition of national wildlife organizations represents 4.5 million hunters
who are committed to work collectively to
help chart the future course of wildlife management and conservation in the United
States.
The WCP participating organizations represent a collective knowledge base on conservation policy unprecedented in our
nation’s history. Whitetails Unlimited strongly
believes that by working cooperatively with
WCP, the Bush Administration can make significant strides toward making these recommendations a reality.
As a key member of WCP, Whitetails Unlimited is proud to have presented the following Wildlife for the 21st Centur y
recommendations to President Bush and his
Administration.
T
he Administration should establish a
budget plan that would return Function
300 (Natural Resources and Environment) allocations to the 1980 level of 2.6% of total federal funding.
We strongly believe that
by working cooperatively with
WCP, the Bush Administration
can make significant strides
toward making these
recommendations a reality
T
he Administration should support a
new or updated (2001) management
strategy to restore the millions of acres of forest identified by the USFS as currently at risk.
www.whitetailsunlimited.com
T
he Administration should clearly state
a high priority for proactive management of national forests for wildlife purposes.
It should also direct the Washington office of
the USFS to work closely with regional and
forest-level offices to reduce the likelihood of
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
based lawsuits. Language should be developed within the NEPA process that reduces
the likelihood of litigation. The Department
of Justice and the USFS should be directed to
aggressively defend management project proposals that are consistent with the plan objectives and science-based management
methods from challenges that are primarily
obstructionist in nature.
T
he Administration should encourage
volunteer efforts of interested publics to
propose science-based, packaged solutions
Debut Issue
T
he Administration should support
efforts to secure the intent of CARA Title III (Conservation and Reinvestment Act)
in legislation, in the 107th Congress.
T
he Administration should provide
increased funding to enhance hunter recruitment, retention, education, and public
outreach on behalf of hunting, trapping, and
wildlife management.
Photos by John R. Ford
to public land management dilemmas. For example, projects could be packaged together
as compatible practices such as road repair
or removal, erosion control, and modern forestry practices to restore native vegetation.
The most effective encouragement would be
to ensure that projects resulting from these
volunteer efforts are analyzed, modified
where necessary, and expeditiously implemented by the appropriate agency(ies). Such
volunteer efforts could test
better ways of expanding and
streamlining “stewardship
contracting” within the letter
and spirit of the NEPA.
T
he
Administration
should reduce the loss
and continue the employment
of seasoned professionals and
fully train those assuming new
agency leadership. It is imperative that appointed Department Secretaries, Directors
and agency leaders have comprehensive
knowledge of natural resource conditions, the
U.S. conservation system and the outdoor cultural heritage that has prevailed for more
than 100 years. This includes demonstrated
commitment to multiple use management and
to sport hunting.
T
he Administration should identify and
support conservation provisions for inclusion in the 2002 reauthorized Farm Bill and
any “emergency” addendums to the existing
or future Farm Bill.
T
he Administration should adopt a
policy that requires federal agencies, to
defer as a general rule, to the authority of the
states in fish and resident wildlife matters.
The Administration should direct agency
heads to review discretionary NEPA processes and eliminate those that unnecessarily limit state wildlife management programs.
The Administration should also act with restraint, acknowledging the authority of the
states in fish and resident wildlife.
www.whitetailsunlimited.com
T
he Administration
should seek the repeal
of Federal Estate Tax and institute tax policies to encourage wildlife habitat
conservation as top conservation initiatives. Programs
to expand purchase of conservation easements and
development rights should
be explored.
T
he Administration
should initiate an assessment of federal land
laws. It should be conducted by well-qualified natural resource
management and legal professionals. They
should be directed to conduct a rigorous,
technical assessment of the compatibility between federal land management laws and
regulations.
The entire 4-color booklet of recommendations is available by contacting Whitetails
Unlimited, Inc.
Debut Issue
WTU Seed Money Aids
Whitetail Watch Program
Wisconsin conservation wardens in the westowners can also display signs, distributed
ern part of the state have joined forces with
through the program, informing potential
Whitetails Unlimited and other ethical outpoachers that their land is part of the Whitedoor enthusiasts to curb poaching.
tail Watch program, and that citizen volunSteve Dewald, warden supervisor in
teers monitor it for violations. With this
La Crosse, WI launched the state program in
opportunity available, Whiteails Unlimited
September of 1999 to deal with increasing
chapters can purchase signs and “adopt”
poaching activity in western Wisconsin counties, including Goose Island
County Park, south of La Crosse
which is closed to hunting.
The poaching of large western
Wisconsin bucks is a growing problem since high price tags are paid for
fairly typical Coulee Region racks.
Antler appraisers offer written assessments of racks and their value,
complete with a comparable sales
list of other racks. Trophy antlers
with more than a 20-inch spread are
worth thousands of dollars on the
open market.
To curb this activity, the WisconFrom left:Wisconsin conservation wardens Roy Zellmer,
sin Whitetail Watch enlists the supRon Nerva and Russell Wilson pose with deer racks
confiscated
from a group of poachers who illegally killed
port of citizen volunteers who serve
eight bucks in Goose Island County Park during the last
as a neighborhood watch for wildlife
three years.The entire county park is closed to hunting.
It is important for
nonhunters to know
that ethical hunters
don't condone poaching
violations. Volunteers receive a wallet information card that explains the proper action
to take when a violation is witnessed. A Whitetail Watch decal is also given to volunteers
that they can display in their vehicle, which
acts as a visible deterrent to potential poachers in the area.
To date, Whitetails Unlimited has expended
over $5,000 on a state level to make the program materials available on a no-charge basis. Beyond its effect on poaching, the
program also serves as a conduit toward better hunter/landowner relationships. Land-
www.whitetailsunlimited.com
landowners in their local area. In turn, this
gesture should help open up hunting opportunities on private land for ethical hunters participating in the program.
Dewald hopes the program can
build a bridge between hunters and
nonhunters. “We are trying to draw
a very clear line between poachers and ethical hunters,” he said.
“It is important for nonhunters to
know that ethical hunters don't condone poaching. All ethical outdoor
users can support ‘Whitetail Watch’
whether they hunt or not.”
So far the program has been well
Sponsored by
received from the hunting fraternity.
Whitetails Unlimited is considered a founding sponsor of the program and invites others to get involved.
Debut Issue
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
P A I D
Whitetails Unlimited, Inc.
TM
Stevens Point, WI
Permit No. 193
National Headquarters
P.O. Box 720
1715 Rhode Island Street
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
WTU Introduces New CDM Program
WTU is proud to introduce our newly developed Comprehensive Deer Management
(CDM) Program. Its aim is to provide hunters with: • a background on the history
of whitetail deer management, • a basic
understanding of white-tailed deer ecology and habitat, • a general overview of
deer management principles, • a variety
of strategies and techniques to improve
wildlife habitat on both public and private land.
Our CDM program focuses on the whitetailed deer, and its intent is to encompass
aspects of traditional, quality, and trophy
deer strategies. Our first in a series of educational booklets explores the
definition of Quality Deer
Management. Author, Dr.
Mike Tonkovich, takes a
closer look at the pros and
cons of managing deer using
the QDM technique. Over
eighty thousand copies of our
premier QDM booklet were published through the generous financial assistance of Olds Seed Solutions.
Universal Scoring Products
Signs WTU Licensing Agreement
Universal Scoring Products of Waco, Texas,
the producer of the U SCORE’M Kit, is excited
about signing a two-year licensing agreement
with Whitetails Unlimited.
The scoring kit contains all the tools and
information required to score your whitetail,
gross or net, Boone & Crockett or Pope & Young.
The kit also provides trophy entry directions
for either record book. The Whitetails Unlimited U SCORE’M Kit can be purchased for $20
on our Web site or through our magazine.
www.whitetailsunlimited.com
Based on the licensing agreement, Universal Scoring Products and Whitetails Unlimited will combine marketing forces to
promote the education, conservation and
management of white-tailed deer.
An immediate goal of the program is to
enhance education efforts that provide
America’s youth with a greater appreciation of our natural resources.
The kick off of the new program will be
announced at the 2002 SHOT Show.
Debut Issue