00:00:09 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Kel's we can review with Ryan kel Kell in now Here's Kel. If you are in Iowa, you unfortunately have a lot to cry about, including spilt milk. A High V employee reportedly dumped some eight hundred gallons of sour milk into a storm drain in Ankeny, Iowa, Iowa. DNR was called to investigate an odd color in four Mile Creek and reports of fish struggling to swim. D n R officers followed the discoloration from four Mile Creek to a small creek that connected to the storm drain, which connected essentially to the High V in Ankeny. High v as responded by hiring a disaster mitigation company that is setting up dams to hold back the milk and vacuums to literally suck it out of the stream where it backs up at the dams. Careful, folks, those aren't cookies in that milk, they're dead fish. This week, we've got w P Squared, Alaska v Fed, and our first ever Gator round Up. But first I'm gonna tell you about my week. My week, as you know, is sponsored by Steel Power equipment and on behalf of both steel and myself. I am taking my week to tell all of you folks who just experienced the oddly not all that talked about Dray Show that occurred to August seven. You know that we're thinking about you folks know about formed relief efforts and where to send aid. Please let me know and I'll make sure folks know about it. A Dray Show, for you folks who don't know, is an inland hurricane. People in the Midwest experience sustained winds of one miles per hour. They're still facing horrific crop and personal property damage, and as I write this, they're an estimated seventy thousand people without power. That is a full ten days without a fan or swamp cooler and the humid Midwest August heat again, and I feel for you. A rough estimate of about fourteen million acres of crop damage has occurred. Iowa alone is seeking four billion in disaster relief. Speaking of crops and getting back here to home, my crops have struggled as well as you long time listeners know. I have a deck top garden, which is all I can muster in my highly urban living situation. I use earth boxes, little mobile raised beds. Last year they kicked, but this year it's been tough. I just whipped up the first batch of pesto out of the garden and I'm hoping to get one really good haul of tomatos over the next week or so, you know. And and here in Montana it's kind of back to win her from there. Lots of folks have written in asking for a puppy update. I'm not sure if you can hear her in the background, but she's raising. Holy hell. I picked up a new puppy eight or nine weeks ago, and it took me a while to figure out a name that I liked. I learned in the interim that people will not stand will not stand for an unnamed puppy anyway. Her name is Snort. Snort is in the children's book Are You My Mother, which is by P. D. Eastman, which could have been where I dusted the name off from. But it is also what my old outfit or buddy used to call all of his grandkids. So maybe that's it. Unless you're just a twisted son of a gun, you fall in love with these dogs so fast it's wild. I was just sitting on the floor the other day and Snort walked over and dropped almost on top of me. We're still in that phase of like being full go or full stop energy uncontained or asleep. And her head was in my lap, and it dawned on me that this was exactly how I spent the last night with my last lab the Big Fish, five or six years ago, when she was going through the process of dying, which kind of makes you think, like man, just a glutton for punishment, or you know, I'm stupid. I guess we're working together, very slowly down the path towards bird dog. She has the look. I can see the traits. It's just kind of up to me now to bring those out and balance the discipline and fun and know what the appropriate level of demand is. She's got a lot to live up to. I have just met you, and I love you. Moving on to the politics and policy desk. In a surprising move, that Trump administration pulled their official nomination of William Perry Pendley, or as I like to call him WP squared. His nomination was for the position of Director of the Bureau of Land Management, you know that agency that oversees two million surface acres and some seven hundred million subsurface acres of our public lands. If you're thinking, but wait a minute, isn't w P Squared to already the director of the BLM, Well, you're not technically right. He's only the acting director, as he had never been nominated until just a couple of weeks ago. This is a move the Trump administration has been using for some of their controversial figures in a high office, put them in the role unofficially in order to avoid the potential speed bump of a Senate confirmation hearing. The Senate confirmation hearing is essentially an open to the public job interview, something you should want out of your officials if you, as I do, spend an incredible amount of time on BLM round. W P Squared has an interesting background, as he has been an open opponent to federal land and federal land agencies and an open proponent of folks like the Bundy's whose steel resources and services from public land. That makes sense to me. All that aside, Let's say, for argument's sake that he's got a great head on his shoulders, smart as a will, and he's willing to put his outspoken personal agenda to the side in order to answer his president and his nation's call to manage one of the things we increasingly hold dear our public lands. Wouldn't you, as an employer want and expect that the person that you put in this position your number one pick? Wouldn't you expect them to stand up in front of a Senate confirmation hearing and prove that you were right for selecting them, prove that they are not only the right person for the job, but the best. I sure Wood instead, though in a truly bizarre move, WP squared has been stripped of his nomination but retains the role of acting director. Not exactly a straightforward move and not exactly a move that would inspire confidence as an employee, big title or not. It's almost like William Perry Pendley's role as acting director is a reflection of the BLM itself. What he's doing there may be represented more in subsurface acreage than surface acreage. Moving on, but sticking with the BLM kind of or in part I guess right now, there is quite the fit going on in Alaska. Alaska is an oddball state when it comes to how state regulation and federal regulations overlap. In part because Alaska is a giant chunk of America, some six hundred and sixty three thousand, three hundred square miles. According to Alaska dot org, you can fit the square mileage of Texas, California, and Montana into Alaska and still have room left over all that room, and the population is still less than a million people. In order to even get relatively so few people to relatively so much of Alaska, the US government found ways to promote the homesteading of Alaska and provided several concessions to those brave and lucky souls that live there, subsistence living being one of them, allowing the population of your state the right to live off the land. Every resident in the state of Alaska, according to their state constitution, is entitled to subsistence rights to hunt and fish. Furthermore, all citizens are to be treated equally. Imagine that novel concept. Quick example, I just ate a one quart bag of spot crawn tails from southeast Alaska, delivered me by one Stephen Ronnella. A nonresident is allowed to harvest three quarts of shrimp per day, So, in other words, I ate a third of a daily limit, whereas a resident is allowed to harvest for personal consumption without limit. In nineteen eighty, something called a NILKA was passed, which is Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and NILKA created the Federal Subsistence Board and tasked it that board rather with protecting subsistence opportunities for federally qualified kind of like rural subsistence users. All sound well and good, all right, So here's the rub. The Subsistence Board for the first time just mandated that all BLM land and Unit thirteen will be closed to those that do not qualify under the federal subsistence designation, which is a murky definition in itself. Murky as it may be, it will still effectively close hunting on BLM lands in Unit thirteen to non locals, keeping in mind that non locals would include the vast majority of Alaska's population folks that live in Anchorage, was Stilla, Palmer, etcetera. That's a bum deal for you, folks, but a real good deal for you folks who live in or right near the nel China Basin. The State of Alaska has filed suit against the U. S Government for what it sees as an overstep. Here is a statement made from a Commissioner on the Alaska Ficient Game and the Anchorage Daily News quote the state believes that actions of the Federal Subsistence Board represent an unnecessary and unjustified bureaucratic intrusion into state management that is providing for the subsistence needs of both local and non local Alaskans. Now doing my own research using my handy day the on X mapping software, I found that there is an absolute gobsmacking amount of state land in the Nel China Basin, some of which I assume holds some game, and all of which remains open despite this closure, both to those who do not fall under the federal subsistence designation and those that do. The state land will just need to be accessed in a lot of cases via BLM ground, which is legal as the state ground does not touch a lot of roads or rivers despite it being legal. I know Alaska hiking, and this option can be very tough going. The other point I would like to make is it seems the Subsistence Board was petitioned to make this change. They were petitioned to make this change in spite of the fact that moose numbers are at objective in the area, meaning there are plenty of moose and caribou numbers are over objective. Important to note that the Subsistence Board has been petition and in the past, yet this is the first time they have ever taken this type of exclusionary action. So while we all are very tempted to participate in the ever popular game of blaming things on the FEDS, I need to ask the question as well as you will ask your residence due too, who petitioned the Subsistence Board in the first place, and why, for the first time ever, has the Subsistence Board chosen to listen to that petitioning group. If you live in Alaska, it's a neighbor of yours. I know we all hate to hear this, but when we talk about the FEDS, we're kind of talking about ourselves. Onto the responsible recreation desk. Remember all those times that I've told you to get outside more often, appreciate those wild places well as you know you can appreciate those places to death commonly referred to as loving a place, sir, our parks or trails to death. Canada right now is experiencing just that, as mandated lockdowns have driven Canucks to camp browns beaches and back country trails at an alarming rate. Vacationers are booking campsites solid from Quebec to British Columbia, and the overflow is causing major concerns. Side country or back country scenes are seeing keg parties, weddings and barbecues. Hard to reach spots have suddenly been inundated with tents and you know, folks probably drinking lebat blue or moose head. The victims in this scenario are the things that we claim to love, right the wild flowers, the vegetation, the shoreline, all of which is getting trampled and destroyed. Chris Ludwig, president of back Country BC, said, the wildlife, black bears, wolverines, deer, they're getting displaced and bothered by these large numbers of people. In Quebec's Gasp Region, out of town campers have piste off the locals and left beaches full of trash and human feces. In Alberta, the Big Horn, over three thousand square miles of wilderness, has been hit really hard. Tens of thousands of campers are suddenly pouring into the area and are ending up literally on top of each other, some even putting up tents and roadside ditches. Hundreds of cars can be seen circling trying to find a parking spot. New trails are being cut, old ones are getting spread out and braided, left over, fire pits doped the landscape. Bags of trash you're piling up, and animals are enjoying the new found meals. This isn't only happening in Canada either, takes Santa Paulitcanyon and Ventura County, California. The popular spot, just ninety minutes outside of l A, was hit hard this spring as coronavirus raged, trash piled up, rocks were covered in graffiti, and hundreds of people swam in nearby pools. I can't tell you how much p and feces were littered along the trail. Frequent visitor Ellie Mora told Time, Oh, it's everywhere. Ah, it's in my raccoon wounds. It's disgusting. It got so ridiculous that the U. S. Forest Service shut down the trail in mid May. There are reports of similar closings from across the country. It turns out if you lock people indoors, their natural reaction will be to get out of doors, which is not surprising. Nobody in this country wants to tell anyone to stay inside, whether it's because of a pandemic or because we just can't keep our wild places clean. We all want to enjoy the great privilege of our parks and forests, canyons and rivers, but if you're gonna be a hosier about it, we'd all prefer you to screw up your own backyards and not the back country. It seems like common sense not to trash a place or be so lazy as to leave baby diapers and broken glass behind after a camping trip. However, this type of ants isn't as common as you'd think. With an influx of visitors to these fragile environments, They're simply needs to be an adjustment. We need to hold each other accountable and practice what is essentially basic human decency as although Leopold once said, don't freaking litter. Okay, I'm making that one up, but I believe he'd appreciate the sentiment. Moving on to the don't at the animal's desk. Iowa the Hawkeye state. Everyone knows Iowa not because of the aforementioned racho, but because it ranks number one nationwide and beef, pork, soybean, corn, and grain production. If that's not enough, it's our only state bordered by not one, but two navigable rivers, the Missouri on its west side the Mississippi on the east. Not to mention, Iowa has a population of three million people and over twenty one million hogs, meaning they're about four pigs to every person. And one of those persons is Ashton Kutcher. This is Iowa. They should put that on a bumper sticker. But what you probably don't know is Iowa has alligators. Well they could have alligators, as reported in the Daily Non Perreal Andrew O'Dell listen if I messed up that name, probably not you, Andrew, but the Daily Non Perreal right into ask cal at the meteor dot Com. Anyway, Andrew is a Florida native who's calling Iowa home these days. He just recently also called the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to report a sighting of not one, but possibly as many as six, several babies and a big mama. According to Odell, alligators Iowa d and our officials investigated but couldn't turn anything up other than some good looking semi submerged logs. Of course, gators in Iowa are not the norm, but this is a good opportunity to recap some notable gator sightings and captures from other places where alligators do not live. Two thousand thirteen alligator shot and killed in Goose Lake outside of Scandy in Minnesota. Two thousand sixteen. Alligator found in Brainerd, Minnesota. Two thousand nineteen alligator found in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Two thousand nineteen. Alligator spotted wandering down side of road near Osceola Township, Michigan. That was one of six gators sided in two thousand nineteen. That's right, six gators spotted in just July of two thousand nineteen in Michigan. Ultimately, seven gators were captured in Michigan, one of which was shot by a landowner when the gator lunged at him. We'll jump one more border to Illinois gator Bob, the Humbolt Lake alligator Chicago police attempted to capture for quite some time, also made headlines in two thousand nineteen. And that's in Chicago, and that is also where I'm stopping. Rest assured the list does not so when Iowa d n R says, a gator in the lake is highly unlikely. You don't take that with a grain of salt. O'Dell had this to say, quote, and now everything is blowing up, and now they are saying it's a hoax and that we saw a log and all this other crap. I'm gonna try and get two of them, but usually when you catch one with the mama around, she'll come after you, so hopefully I can get at least one of them. Uh. From Cow's we can review good luck. Mr Odell looking forward to adding Iowa to the two thousand twenty gator round up. For those of you considering an alligator as a pet, don't They are expensive, they are a liability, and eventually they grow to an unmanageable size. If you happen to have one on your hands, don't release it into the nearest lake or parking lot or roadside eat it. Next up from the Wildlife Encounters Desk, a fifty four year old Iowa woman was gored by a cow bison. One of the bison's horns hooked the woman's pants and she is flung about until her pants ripped off. The incident occurred in Custer State Park, South Dakota. The woman was returning from attending the annual and infamously rowdy biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. The Iowa biker said, wouldn't you know what, the first time I wore pants in four days and this happens. I'm just kidding about that. But how often do you need to hear me say don't approach the wildlife? The biker's injuries were considered non life threatening. She got lucky, moving on to our seldom visited Australia desk. A beautiful and welcoming place is Australia. However, it sometimes wants to kill you. From saltwater crocs, two great white sharks to one of the world's most deadliest snakes. It could be pretty nerve racking down Under if you think about that stuff. But here's some things that you're probably not even considering. The stinging stone fish found on us I'll use reefs. The stone fish produces a sting that comes with unbelievable agony, shock, and eventual death. I'd also guess you haven't thought of the southern blue lined octopus. The octopus doles out one of the most toxic venoms in the world. It bites you and within minutes causes paralysis, leading to respiratory issues and heart failure. But anyway, let's talk about the real dangerous stuff, snakes and spiders. Thanks to the wonders of artificial intelligence, a new Australian app called critter Pedia allows anyone with a smartphone to identify the slithery or creepy crawley. The app will also make it easy to learn which species live where, and even how to take precautions against unwanted run INDs. It's even equipped with emergency services and some soon to be revealed virtual reality elements. I knew we were living in the future when I found out about Shazam, an app that identifies any music playing around you in seconds, or Cuddler, a day eating app in which folks meet up to cuddle. Well, this tech might help anyone who simply can't stomach walking around in a place that has two thousand species of spiders and a hundred and seventy species of snakes. It's important to remember the reality here in Australia anyway, there are only two types of spider and twelve species of snakes that are venomous enough to kill humans, and there are only one hundred reported snake bite cases in Australia each year that actually require anti venom. Furthermore, only are reported two people die from snake bites every year, So be cautious, get educated, and use your smartphone if you must. But you know, just remember this. If you have time to open an app and take a picture of a snake or spider, it's not that dangerous. But if you feel like touching something in that same situation, touch your phone or get on cuddler. I guess that's all I've got for you this week. Thanks for listening as per usual, let me know how I'm doing, what I got right, what I got wrong, and more importantly, what's going on in your neck of the woods. By writing in to a s k C. A L. Let's ask Cal at the meat Eater dot com. If you're loving what you're hearing, tell a couple of friends. I'll talk to you next week.