Yukon collecting license

[Todd Redhead]

Hi Ron,

I'm not sure that your 'pro' is any more that a detailed description of your 
con #2.  You seem to be asking your government to take even greater control 
of your 'parks' areas by allowing them to licience you to collect in those 
parks.

I believe that govenment regulation leads to government restriction.  In my 
opinion (as far as insect collecting goes) there is little need for 
restriction other than in the case of identified threatened species.  (How 
we make the distiction of a 'threatened species' is another discussion.)  
Will licencing lead to special collecting 'seasons'?  Or maybe to some sort 
of fee charged to collect insects (just to support the licencing, of 
course)?  What's next?

As an aside - I've had some fun in trying the US export laws when it comes 
to collecting in the US and bringing insects back into Canada.  First of 
all, the customs officials (on the US side) for the most part seem to have 
no interrest in exporting insects, in fact, few have ever seem to have seen 
the US government forms that we have to submit.  However, the US Fish and 
Wildlife people are a lot more difficult.  Six months after my last 
collecting trip (July 1st weekend) I recieved notice in the mail that the US 
F&W would like to speak to me about the insects that I took out of the US.  
They wanted to know the purpose of my collecting, the reason for going to 
the particular area that I did, the reason for the large number of insects 
(about 800 individuals), what I planned to do with those insects, etc.  In 
some ways I felt that I had done something that was just barely inside the 
law.  One step further somehow and I would have been breaking the law.

Anyway, these are my opinions based on my experience.  I am just a beginner 
to entomology and collecting; maybe my feelings were just because I was not 
used to dealing with this type of thing.

Todd


From: "Ron Gatrelle" <gatrelle at tils-ttr.org>
Reply-To: "Ron Gatrelle" <gatrelle at tils-ttr.org>
To: <cguppy at quesnelbc.com>, "Leps-l" <Leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: Yukon collecting license
Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 08:53:52 -0500

I actually like the idea of "licenses". Here are my pros and cons. There
are two basic cons. One is simply that allowing government to have power
(control) will inevitably mean more control which will become too narrow
and restrictive. The second is simply that allowing government to have
power (control) will ditto. (By the way, I agree with Cris that this is a
miss application of this statute. But what is worse is if it is allowed to
stand it will stick.

The pros (in US). First, the point mentioned below by Cris that this could
help US collectors in our screwy import/export mess. Second, and this is my
main reason for jumping in, is that I have long felt that it is unlawfully
discriminatory against butterfly "hunters" to not even have the opportunity
for a "bug hunting" license for National Parks and Refuges where animal,
bird and fish hunters all have that opportunity - and many refuges (like
_our_ National Forests) are managed (operated) mostly for the sake of the
lumber industry.

Why is it not a violation of my civil rights to be discriminated against
just because my "game" of choice is bugs? The only reason the fisherman,
duck, bear, and elk hunters are not poachers is that they have a license.
Bug hunters are relegated to the back of the bus. This water fountain is
not open to us. EITHER LET ALL HUNTERS IN OR KEEP EM ALL OUT. These areas
belong to the people not the government. Are not bug hunters just as much
the people as duck hunters? (Government is the caretaker as the people's
representative - not the owner.)

Ron

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