This is California;Not Arizona.

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billboard
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This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by billboard »

Hey people, we all love herping Az.; but perhaps we should keep this board strictly Ca, and post our Az. exploits on the main forum, or on the Arizona chapter. What do you think? Posts in season are seeming to be creating a negative wave right about now. Have fun in Az; but leave it Az. This message board is for data and observation of native California reptiles and amphibians. Just a thought.
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

Would it be OK for me to post a mega, ultra-huge post from Borrego? It'll be my (believe it or not) 1st trip there, and I'm gonna shoot EVERYTHING that moves... and probably a few things that don't... :lol: :lol: 8-) jim
Or should I wait till Dec. to post... :roll: :D
billboard
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by billboard »

Post it now. We need to see more banded geckos and leaf nose right about now!
Eimon
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Eimon »

Hey Hooks, when ya plan on being 'round there? And Bill, you're right on. Those posts really belong on "The Forum", y'all know, the one about field herping, unless it's an AZ trip :shock: Sourcing ID's for animals found probably makes sense here, because of all the NAFHA members and their experience with vouchers and data. Hey, get El Presidente off the couch and do some moddin', or better yet, get Lemm to kick some kids out :lol: :D :lol: :D :lol: :D
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

I'm gonna help man the booth at reptilemania Thurs/Fri... and herp that/those? nights... can't wait! Mid Sept... good chance for seeing some neos... hopefully... :thumb: jim
billboard
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by billboard »

I'll be working the booth on sat and sunday. Lets ses a post about the reptilemania gig at the zoo. Steve? Kent? Jeff?
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RockRatt Rich Morgan
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by RockRatt Rich Morgan »

Retilemania t the Zoo...That ound Cool. Is NAFHA having a booth there? If so do you guys need ny help? PM me or give me a call if you could use me Saturday or Sunday. Rich
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Steve Bledsoe
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Steve Bledsoe »

Wish I knew what to post about Reptilemania. All I know is we've got an opportunity to set up a NAFHA booth at one of the best venues we could ever ask for, so we're goin' for it!

Jeff said that they show lots of herps there for the kids and general public to get up close and personal with the animals. I think someone also said that the DFG and USGS or Forestry Service were also setting up booths. Our plan is to take this opportunity to let people know who NAFHA is and what we do. Should be interesting.

Here's a link to the announcement on the Zoo website. It doesn't offer much detail. Hopefully Jeff can tell you more about it.

http://calendar.sandiegozoo.org/events/ ... l&eID=1977
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ricrabt
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by ricrabt »

I may try to get down there for this one. Do you guys need any help?...John
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

ricrabt wrote:I may try to get down there for this one. Do you guys need any help?...John
You can carry my camera bag, and other stuff, while I show you how to herp... :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: OGR... jim
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Jeff Lemm
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Jeff Lemm »

HI guys,
Reptilemania was huge in the 90's. It is a fun-filled, busy 4 days. I will get an announcement up soon. We are very lucky to have a booth there. The next ZooNooz mag will have a full write-up as well.
Aaron
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Aaron »

Helli, why not just post it now(or whenever you want) and simply not be specific with the time or place? For example you could just say something like "So Cal desert herping this summer" or "I love summer nights in the So Cal desert." Remember Rocky and Bullwinkle? They always had a couple different titles for every news story. It doesn't get much more entertaining than Rocky and Bullwinkle does it?

Another thought, not neccesarily related to your post, is instead of saying something like "It was X degrees, the barometer was X and rising/falling/steady, etc., etc.", one could just say something like "Recently the weather conditions seemed great for a certain desert area I have become familiar with, so I decided to get out of the house(or I decided to meet so and so, etc,) and look for some herps."

There are any number of ways one can make a post at virtually any time of the year, without having to give out specifics on locations, microhabitats, dates and/or weather conditions, and still have it be an interesting post.
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

Aaron wrote:Helli, why not just post it now(or whenever you want) and simply not be specific with the time or place? For example you could just say something like "So Cal desert herping this summer" or "I love summer nights in the So Cal desert." Remember Rocky and Bullwinkle? They always had a couple different titles for every news story. It doesn't get much more entertaining than Rocky and Bullwinkle does it?

Another thought, not neccesarily related to your post, is instead of saying something like "It was X degrees, the barometer was X and rising/falling/steady, etc., etc.", one could just say something like "Recently the weather conditions seemed great for a certain desert area I have become familiar with, so I decided to get out of the house(or I decided to meet so and so, etc,) and look for some herps."

There are any number of ways one can make a post at virtually any time of the year, without having to give out specifics on locations, microhabitats, dates and/or weather conditions, and still have it be an interesting post.
I HAVEN'T GONE YET... :lol: I'm PLANNING my first trip to Borrego... :thumb: I'm actually more open about locality than most people...I only become obtuse out of respect for others. Borrego's a state park where no collecting is allowed... so I'll have no qualms about saying where we were... Anyone stupid enough to collect at Borrego deserves to get caught.... and I hope they do! :D jim
billboard
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by billboard »

Jim,
I'll give you the grand tour of the entire Borrego region the weekend of Reptilemania. You are more than welcome to stay at my house that weekend as well. Give me a call and we can hash out the details.
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Kyle Dickerson
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Kyle Dickerson »

I thought this was Sparta?
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

billboard wrote:Jim,
I'll give you the grand tour of the entire Borrego region the weekend of Reptilemania. You are more than welcome to stay at my house that weekend as well. Give me a call and we can hash out the details.
Thx Bill... Ill send you a pm. j
Aaron
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Aaron »

I knew I was asking too much. What's that saying? It takes 1,000 nuts and bolts to put a car together but only 1 loose screw... nevermind.
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

Aaron wrote:I knew I was asking too much. What's that saying? It takes 1,000 nuts and bolts to put a car together but only 1 loose screw... nevermind.
Not sure what you're getting at Aaron... you don't want me to say we are going to/were at Borrego? Frankly, if a stated Borrego post entices a poacher to go there... good. He stands a much greater chance of getting busted, than if he goes and poaches some un-protected area, and the penalties would be much more severe.
If, on the other hand, you were just trying to inform me that there are more discrete ways of saying things... well, thanks. I am however, an English tutor at the University level, a published Author and Poet, and write Philosophy at a graduate level, so I kinda already knew that. That said, I may in fact have a screw or two loose... :crazyeyes: :lol: :lol: jim
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Brian Hubbs »

Education doesn't always equal common sense.

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...and a locality, and temps, and barometer, and humidity, and dates, and species...

Aw, but that trick never works... :shock:
Mike Kolb
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Mike Kolb »

Hey! I was giving the grand tour of borrego haha!
Aaron
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Aaron »

Just a few years ago Borrego was not mentioned on the forums. Nor was Cabazon(how is that working out - remember the kids day fiasco?). About the only place in CA ever mentioned by name was Whitewater. TOS says you're not supposed to mention localities unless they're common but those are two places that used to not be commonly mentioned. You asked a question and I answered it by suggesting a friendly way in which one could post without having to draw any attention to specific locations, since I do respect peoples desire to socialize there herping adventures. You pretty much mocked me for it. My following reply was from a bumper sticker that says, essentially "It takes 1000 nuts and bolts to put a car together and only one loose screw to scatter it all over the road." The implication is that many people can work to keep a spot from becoming forum fodder but it only takes one person to ruin it for everbody else. Yeah it was a little harsh but I did try to take the high road first. It may take a few years but I think most of the people being so cavalier with localities will one day regret it.
billboard
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by billboard »

Anza Borrego has been mentioned by name the entire time this site has been up. It's the largest state park in California, and mentioning it by name is not going to hurt anything. People mention Joshua tree here all the time as well, and as Jim said, if you are dumb enough to collect on a State park, you are dumb enough to get caught. Locations and spot names are given up here all the time, and I think that very few, if any, lurking poachers are waiting to see what spots get named, so they can rush out there and bag snakes. I'd wager there are more law enforcement people watching these boards than poachers and over collectors. Just a thought.
hellihooks
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by hellihooks »

Aaron,
I wasn't trying to mock you... i thought you actually thought I had gone on the trip, and was just waiting to post. And if you can't mention a state park, where NO Collecting is allowed... why even bother. Lets face it... 'new' poachers are very well mentored... they don't JUST fall into it, cause #1 they don't have the connections to move the stuff. As a matter of fact, it's probably the guys buying the stuff that give them detailed lists of where to go and what to get, and how to do it. OTHER THAN 'seasonal' info... there's very little info they need from a forum.
Meanwhile, the up-standing novice herper gets very little help, other than broad generalities. The LEAST we can do is say..."here is a STATE PARK, where you can take all the pictures you want."
And yeah... I've seen negative effects from revealing locality... what was once a great rd up here in the HD is now basically the WW of the HD, and there has been some flipping damage. So I am more selecive about who I take and who I tell about certain localities.
Truth is... I don't mind at all if they all go to known spots... keeps them from accidentially finding the better spots, which I still have to myself.
Thank you for caring enough to weigh in on a divisive subject... and sorry if I seemed flippent... I try to keep things on the light side, with humor, but can't help being a fan of sarcasm... :roll: :beer: jim
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rosy-man
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by rosy-man »

LOL borrego springs is hit harder than south az and you can quote that :beer:
Aaron
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by Aaron »

Helli I apologize for my attitude now after reading(edit: re-reading) you're post. I see you were not mocking me. I took it that way because with the recent AZ thread some people seemed to make a point of posting right after being asked to tone it down. I mistakenly took you're second post as sort of rubbing it in. Like me saying don't say Borrego then you saying Borrego 50 times just to get my goat. I guess I was sort of expecting a flippant reply and read too much into it.

You do have some valid points in that Borrego is a State Park and it is frequently mentioned. I was not really thinking much about poachers. Rather I was remembering a time about 4 or 5 years ago, well before NAFHA existed, when Borrego was indeed taboo to mention. It was always refered to as San Diego desert or So Cal desert. Most southern Californians new exactly where those desert posts were from but alot of other people didn't. I just see it as an escalating problem when places that used to not be mentioned become openly spoken about on a regular basis. Although I agree that Borrego is a great place to send newbies and out of staters to, I still think it is best to do that off the forums. In this case it's more about crowds, not so much about real worries about poaching. I guess we will agree to disagree but I sense that on truely lesser known spots we at least agree somewhat and I hope that my first post provides a good example of how one could post without mentioning very many details.
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billboard
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Re: This is California;Not Arizona.

Post by billboard »

I didn't understand a single word you just said.
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