Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, for the first time in several years I won't be making my normal herping trip to the Trans-Pecos in September. I'm tired of the harassment, tired of being treated like a criminal (especially since all I want to do is PHOTOGRAPH herps!)...and just tired in general.

My wife and I are heading to Taos for a week of mountain fly fishing. So the couple thousand bucks I normally spend in Alpine will now enrich the residents of northern New Mexico. I know a lot of others have been making the same kind of decision.

Good job, Texas.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

Have fun Brad. For the last three years I've done other things as well.
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Steve W.

the se been getting my $$$.....til this past year....next year....too soon.....

I can sense and sympathize with your frustrations...but maybe you should reconsider. It seems to me that since you're not collecting you SHOULD be out there doing what's legal for you to do. If you get pulled over and if they want to search, simply decline and tell them that you're eager to continue herping. Is this too unrealistic? I'm sure you've already made plans to go to NM but I thought that I might see what your thoughts are.

My thoughts on this are the following: If I decline a search, I'll no doubt be stuck at the roadside for a couple of hours while they roust their close friend the local magistrate to rubber stamp a quick warrant. If I let them search I still have to stand there for 10-30 minutes while they fire idiotic questions at me. Then I get to climb back in my truck and continue on my way, only to have the whole sequence repeated a half hour later. The last time I was on River Road ( in June) I was stopped three times in two hours!

If I go to NM I spend that time on a wild mountan stream, drifting an elk hair caddis over a feeding cutthroat...

No contest.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

Brad is right. I for one am not going to spend a ton of money for ten nights of harrassment. Especially since I will not be going to take pictures anyway. They have this ill conceived notion that we go there to make money. Maybe my math isn't what it used to be but my cost for the trip averages about $1,800.00 and if I'm lucky enough to find a snake it sure won't be worth the cost of my trip. We do it for fun, not profit.
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Steve W.

Brad is right. I for one am not going to spend a ton of money for ten nights of harrassment. Especially since I will not be going to take pictures anyway. They have this ill conceived notion that we go there to make money. Maybe my math isn't what it used to be but my cost for the trip averages about $1,800.00 and if I'm lucky enough to find a snake it sure won't be worth the cost of my trip. We do it for fun, not profit.
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Steve W.

Just so you know, the rumors flowing out of TP&W still imply that we pick up every animal we come across and sell them out of state, and that some of them are worth thousands of dollars. It only makes sense to them because after all why else would anybody want to go looking for snakes?

Now we all know that they are 100% off the trail on that line of reasoning, but have not been able to convince them that we are much more like fisherman who often do catch and release, and that we do not sell off what we keep, it is for personal consumption. Truth is I know far more people that give away alterna that they find than I do that would sell them.
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___________________________
Herp Conservation Unlimited

If people really learn from their mistakes, I should be like the smartest guy in the world

I agree with what you say about their thought process. They think that way because all politicians are business men or think like one. Maybe they should concentrate on worrying about their borders and illegal drug trade instead of a few people looking for a snake with their kids.

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Steve W.

That picture looks like the fabled Langtry Golden Leopard
Frog. I bet you took that picture in Eagle Nest Canyon near that pond of water just north of Highway 90. If it is so, I bet there will be a ton of guys out there looking for them. I heard that they may be worth as much as $2500 on the black market. Better hurry though, I hear that they may be put on the protected list now that they have been rediscovered.

Great pic by the way.

ECTimaeus

LOL. that was a introduced species that I found on 277 courtesy of Mr.Shannon Brown and Aaron. Bob A. found a few of mine that trip also.
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Steve W.

thought you didn't do pics?????

That was my son's pic. ha ha so there.
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Steve W.

do the guys who spend $1000s to fish amistad.....get searched or do people think thet sell their catch outta state for big $$$$....how 'bout dem birders....ohhh...them birders....why are they lookin' for those birds????......they must be doin' sumptin wid dem......why else would they pay all that $$$??.....for a picture????......THERE SUMPTIN GOIN' ON WID THEM BYRDERS!!!!!!!

I've never been herping in W. Texas before, but always wanted to. What I think would be really fun is to spend all the money a trip would cost to hire a pitbull lawyer to ride shotgun. Then when you get stopped...
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http://www.mikefoux.com
http://snakerack.blogspot.com

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