Re: BCWF to push for CROSSBOW BAN
And good posts Willy - nice to hear from an expert
HaHa! I'm hardly an expert, just another guy like any other on here that chose to get involved.
Which brings me to my next point. The BCWF is not some anonymous entity....it is a collection of members. The folks who end up sitting at the table with the ministry are not "experts", they are everyday folks like you and me that were elected from the membership. Quite often, they come directly from local rod and gun club members. Now, if you've never been to your local rod and gun club meetings, or regional BCWF meetings....from my experience a lot of times you're lucky to have a dozen people show up. These dozen people are formulating proposals to suggest to the ministry....why?.....BECAUSE THEY SHOWED UP!!!!
now, please don't interpret my post above as me being pissed with those gentlemen who sat across the table from me, they had my utmost respect for the simple reason that they were willing to take it upon themselves to GET INVOLVED!!! which is something 97% of hunters in this province do not do. Was I disapointed they didn't share the same vision or objectives that I did...sure....but I don't believe it was malicious. While I believe it may have been misguided or short sighted, I do believe they felt they were doing what they thought was best.
So, given that the BCWF is "the" most recognized "voice of the resident hunter" by our gov't.....if you want to effect change, and are not happy with the direction it is taking.....I strongly urge you to GET INVOLVED. If enough like minded individuals from just the HBC membership started to go to their local BCWF meetings, and standing for positions, you could quite rapidly change the direction of the BCWF. I can't stress this enough.... the BCWF is a collection of members, and any member who WANTS TO, gets to have a say.....BUT YOU GOTTA SHOW UP!!!
Final thing I will say for now, the BCWF does not drive changes in our seasons or opportunities. Like every other user group at the table, all they can do is make suggestions to the ministry staff. And I can tell you from experience, the only suggestions taken are those that align with what the ministry was allready going to do. Consultation with user groups is very often little more than window dressing.
JMO
"Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Emerson