KENNEL TALK

by

Ken M. Blomberg  

"New Year Wishes"

     The older I get, the less excited I am over New Year's Eve.  They say that know you're getting old when you forget that New Year's Day was meant for recuperation.   Instead, you spend the day recollecting the past and making plans for the future.

     I found myself daydreaming about what's in store for 2001.  As a new year approached, I looked into my crystal ball and daydreamed.  Here's a few New Year's wishes from my kennel to yours.

     Let's hope for an easy winter for man and beast.  Our deer herd can always use a break and a mild winter will help production come next spring.  Deep snow not only puts stress on wildlife, but increases the chances of flooding when it melts.  The dogs in the kennel would benefit with less sub-zero nights.   And an early and dry spring would be nice, as our farming neighbors could use a break with an ideal growing season.

    Another wish for the New Year is for a dry and mild summer, without sweltering heat and hungry mosquitoes.  I'm sure that nobody would miss either.  And dog training comes easier in those conditions.

     Wish number three, revolves around the fact that our kennel's whelping box has been less than overflowing in recent years.  For various reasons, our dogs have failed to produce large annual litters of puppies that our family's become used to.  Let 2001 become the turning point in the quest for the next generation of bird dogs in our breeding program.  And may the New Year bring you the gun dog you’ve been dreaming of.

     Another wish of mine is an end to urban sprawl.  While that might seem like a tall order to fill, there's no reason that more controls can't be made over the unrestricted development of Wisconsin's rural landscape.  That is, without county and state government getting too big for their britches and setting too many regulations.  But I’m tired of seeing urban-style houses springing up everywhere, destroying upland habitat in the process.

     Last month I noticed that someone was clearing brush along the banks of the Big River east of our kennels.  Late last fall surveyors were staking out a lot in that same location for yet another oversized riverside home.  I fail to see how that home-site will do any better than the corn that was subject to flooding each spring.

     And the colonial style home that someone planted on a deer trail that followed an oak ridge east of town.  Like scores of other similar structures that dot the landscape, they are turning rural forestland into a patchwork of smaller parcels.  Foresters call it the beginning of the end for timber harvesting in this part of the state.  After all, which of these new landowners would cut down their backyard?  So, if you feel the need to move to the country, look at buying and renovating an existing home.  There's plenty to choose from.  And leave the sensitive areas to the frogs and ducks.

     Speaking of waterfowl, don't you think it's time that the DNR allows Horicon zone goose hunters a chance to use their tags in the exterior zone?  It's another new year’s wish of mine.  I love to hunt on a farm near Montello, but the scores of geese that fly over our kennels are sure inviting.          

     Here's a wish for the demise of animal right activists.  I respect animal lovers, but have no time for extremists.  Especially those that have never seen an eagle pluck a fish from icy waters, witness a skunk destroy a duck nest, or come upon the scene of a coyote pack kill.  May the anti's continue to stumble into the next year.

     Lets dedicate this upcoming hunting year to our kids.  It’s my wish that we work together to influence our youngsters.  If we promote and educate the youth of today, we can insure the health of hunting for tomorrow.  Buy your kid a new puppy and train them both at the same time.  There’s nothing like giving a youngster the responsibility of caring for and training of a puppy.

           And finally, here's wishing that you have a wonderful year in the outdoors, no matter what side of the creek you find yourself on.  May your fishing poles bend under the strain of many fish and your days afield with your gun dogs bring you joy.  Happy New Year!

*****

     To me, hunting grouse and woodcock without a dog is like fishing without bait, toast without butter, or summer not followed by fall.  

     Many bird hunters go dog less, but after following a good bird dog, they understand what they've missed.   I can't imagine going into the uplands without my dog.  I'd rather leave home without my shotgun.  That's why I shuddered at the thought that some persons would like nothing better than to take our right to hunt with dogs away.

     In the past, while roaming Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I noticed billboards and signs urging sportsmen to oppose pending anti-bear hunting rules.  Bankrolled by a wealthy anti-hunter, the referendum was soundly defeated.  But, only after well organized and concerned sportsmen groups acted.  Wisconsin hunters took a look at Michigan's experience as they faced similar situations in the Badger state.

     A proposed bill from Rep. Frank Boyle (D-Superior) would have ended bear hunting in Wisconsin with trained hounds.  Conservation Congress members warned that this bill could have also limit field trials and small game hunting with beagles, retrievers and pointers.

     Trespassing complaints from landowners against bear hunters and their dogs led to this proposed legislation.  Hearings were held across the state.  Department of Natural Resource game managers have always contended that harvesting bear by baiting and using hunting hounds was the most effective way to manage bear populations and have a history of supporting the use of trained dogs to hunt upland, waterfowl and small game.    

     Taking away our right to hunt with dogs may seem far -fetched, but we need to keep an eye on this issue.  Because hunting grouse and woodcock without a bird dog is like a date without a kiss!