HCU-TX.org..please read and support

[LadyViper]

This organization has been formed to fight for our herp rights These are well known Texas herpers getting organized. The following is what's needed to make this work.

Tim Cole
(512) 83-SNAKE
www.DesignerAtrox. com
www.AustinReptileEx po.com/
www.AustinReptileSe rvice.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~<><
Conservation through Education




HCU-TX.ORG needs your help and support to garner an amendment for Reptiles, Amphibians and Invertebrates.
We have a Legislator that will sponsor the amendment during the next legislative session, but we need two things
to insure that the amendment passes.

1) We need the support of as many Representatives and Senators as possible to make sure the amendment is passed into law.
2) We will need Money to get it done.

HCU-TX.ORG urges anyone and everyone that wishes to see the amendment passed into law to do two things
1) Join HCU-TX.ORG www.hcu-tx.org
2) Keep contacting every Representative and Senator to garner their support.

Membership Information

Section 1: Membership in HCU shall be open to any individual interested the conservation of reptiles and amphibians or those interested in recreational opportunities involving reptiles and amphibians:
(a) Associate members shall constitute the general membership of HCU, with a membership rate of $25.00 per year
(b) Student membership shall be made available to full time students enrolled in a public school (grades K-12) or a university (including undergraduate and graduate students) at a discounted rate of $5.00 per year
(c) Professional memberships shall be made available to those individuals employed by Universities, Museums, Zoological Parks, or Wildlife Agencies with a membership rate to be set by the Executive Board of Officers
(d) Lifetime membership shall be made available at a rate of $250.00.
Lifetime memberships may be conferred upon individuals in recognition of their contributions to the Conservation of reptiles and amphibians or to the promotion of recreational opportunities involving reptiles and amphibians.
(e) Affiliate members are those members of affiliate organizations which are counted for the purposes of representation (see Article 2, section 3), with no dues payable to HCU
(f) Voting membership of HCU is limited to Associate, Student, Professional, and Lifetime members.
(g) Dues are payable to the Treasurer on an annual basis (excepting Lifetime Members)
(h) Members are encouraged to adhere to the "responsible collecting ethics" (see Resolution 3)
(i) Repeated violation of this constitution and its resolutions may result in expulsion from HCU, with the following provisions: a. Written warning must be given to the individual in violation on two separate occasions
b. After two warnings have been issued, and should further violation occur, the Board of Officers may vote to expel the violator from the membership of the HCU (permanently or temporarily) or the Board of Officers may vote to continue issuing warnings
c. Warnings may be issued with a simple majority vote of the Board of Officers
d. A vote to expel must be carried by a 2/3 majority vote of the Board of Officers

Checks or Money orders for membership dues may be mailed to:
HCU-TX.ORG
C/O ROBERT KLOCKMAN
107 Hackberry
DEL RIO, TX 78840

All checks and money orders should be made out to Robert Klockman.

HCU-TX.ORG can accept Credit Cards through PayPal only. PayPal funds should be sent to info@hcu-tx. org

--
Joseph E. Forks
President
Herp Conservation Unlimited
810 Firefly
San Antonio, TX 78216
210-349-1246 210-860-0594
joe.forks@gmail. com

[ocotillo64]

Hello All,

I just wanted to let everyone know that HCU does not support the sale of wild caught animals. I would be very careful about joining an organization that is willing to give your rights away and divides the herp community. HCU's basic agenda and energy has been to remove the road collecting ban. This is so the officiers of HCU (check out Ksnake grayband and herp laws forum) can continue to collect graybanded kingsnakes in west Texas from Texas public roadways. I support the rescending of the road ban but I do not support the language in HCU's Constitution, Resolution 2, that states that HCU does not support the sale of wild caught animals.

HCU stands for more then the road ban and people need to relaize that. There are other laws and regulations that have passed in Texas this year including the permits for venomous and big constrictors, 24 hour notice to TPWD on all imports and exports, the "White List" and the "Black List".

The ability to sell wild caught herps is a very important right that we should all hold dear. While over-harvest maybe a problem in some cases in most cases it is not. Our right to collect, possess, keep, breed, transport and sell herps is under attack. Herps are a renewable resource thus they can be harvested. The number that can be harvested is the question. Herps are expensive to collect, keep and raise. Money is necessary in this hobby, business and for herp research. To deny the money only at the wild caught end is ridiculous. We need wild caught for founder animals, new blood, research, new localities and almost all imported exotics are wild caught animals that are sold. If you buy or sell wild caught, or you want that right, you should not support HCU. They are dividing the "recreational" herpers from the commercial herpers. We need to band together not split up into splinter groups. With all the new laws I mentioned above we need an inclusive group not an exclusive group. We are going to need everyone that is into herps (pet owners, breeders, dealers, importers, collectors, pet stores, etc.) in the same group to have the resources ($) = political clout, to get these new laws recended. Many of the "recreational" herpers catch wild caught, breed them and sell CB babies thus they are profiting directly from wild caught animals so should we call them Hypocritical Conservation United (HCU)? Oh and by the way one of the vice presidents of HCU was selling wild caught animals on Ksnake a couple months ago. They don't follow thier own Constitution?

I tried to to get the founders of HCU to form an inclusive group but I failed. I just wanted the members of this forum to be aware of what they are signing up for should they go for HCU.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

[ocotillo64]

All,

Some big questions are: What amendment? What is the wording? What will it do? How much money is needed and for what?

Some other questions: What is HCU going to do about the "White List" and the "Black List"?

What about the 24 hour notice on imports/exports?

How is HCU going to deal with Resolution 2 of its Constitution and the fact that wild caught herps are legal to sell and buy?

What about the ban on captive breeding of box turtles and many other turtle species?

These are some important questions. The problem is that you have to be a member to find out.

Take Care,

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

[LadyViper]

Copied from the website:

Herp Conservation Unlimited
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 19 August 2004
Constitution

Resolution 1: Recreational reptile and amphibian enthusiasts recognizing the need for an organization dedicated to:
(a) the conservation and management of Reptiles and Amphibians while simultaneously recognizing
(b) the importance of recreational reptile and amphibian watching, photography, and collecting as a means of forging a love for these animals and a deep understanding of their conservation needs in order to
(c) ensure the security of these animals and their populations for their own sake and to
(d) ensure the availability of these animals and their populations for the enjoyment of future generations
hereby form Herp Conservation Unlimited (HCU) to be governed by the following
Constitutional Articles:

Article 1: The purpose of HCU shall be:

Section 1: To promote the conservation and management of reptiles and amphibians by:
(a) promoting research focused on creating a deeper understanding of the biology and natural history of reptiles and amphibians;
(b) advocating for sound management practices by federal, state, and local agencies in order to conserve reptile and amphibian populations and their habitats;
(c) encouraging charitable donations to fund reptile and amphibian research, habitat acquisition and restoration, and recovery efforts;

Section 2: To promote recreational opportunities for private individuals to interact with wild populations of reptiles and amphibians by: (a) securing access to federal, state, and private lands for recreational reptile and amphibian watching, photography, and collecting;
(b) advocating for reasonable regulations governing the activities of recreational reptile and amphibian watching, photography, and collecting;
(c) advocating for responsible collecting ethics (see Resolution 3)

Section 3: In order to accomplish the above purposes of HCU, the organization shall forge partnerships between recreational reptile and amphibian enthusiasts and (a) national, state, and local professional and amateur herpetological societies; (b) national, state, and local conservation, environmental, and sportsmen organizations;
(c) national, state, and local land-owner organizations
(d) federal, state, and local wildlife agencies

[forks]

Folks,
Mike Welker is a commercial collector that has sour grapes. We will not support his raping and pilaging of Reptile and Amphibians populations. We support captive breeding and sale of captive bred animals.

Resolution two makes it clear that we do not support the collection of Reptiles and Amphibians for the purpose of sale. However, it is not a violation of the constitution to sell a wild-caught herp or two, provided they were not collected solely for the purpose of sale.

Welker can't handle the fact that he can't get that resolution changed so he spends all his time online forums bashing HCU.

Mr Welker asks about Box Turtles and the White List? HCU supports both the white and black lists (the idea). Each animal listed on each list warrants individual attention, and the application of species is not perfect. Some species shouldn't be listed and are, and vice versa. But what Mr Welker doesn't tell you is that he alone is one of the biggest threats to west Texas Box Turtle populations. He picks up every Box Turtle he finds to sell. It was not uncommon for Welker have 8 box turtles for sale at a time during the summer and fall of 2007 on Kingsnake.com

HCU favors Black listing Box Turtles. We do not support trade in Wild caught Box Turtles. We do support a captive breeding permit that will allow Box Turtle breeders to sell C.B babies.

Mr Welker is not welcome in our organization, not now, and at no time in the future will HCU choose to be associated with folks like Mike Welker. He does not represent responsible Herpers, and his actions along with those like him are solely responsible for the legislation that we face today.

Each voice in HCU carries weight. HCU is a democaratic organization fighting to protect the rights of recreational Herpetologists - not commercial collectors.

WHY JOIN HERP CONSERVATION UNLIMITED?

1) Help fight unjust legislation
2) Protect the species that NEED protection, and support reasonable and sustainable take on other species
3) Daily and Weekly lease access to land in south and west Texas including:
a. Over 60 square miles in the Sierra Vieja Mountains of Presidio co.
b. Over 54 square miles near Pandale in Val Verde co.
c. Over 330 acres off Hwy. 277 south of Del Rio adjacent to the Rio Grande
d. Over 3,200 acres off FM 2523 in Edwards co.
e. Over 10,000 acres in Dimmit county near Carrizo Springs
f. Over 2,000 acres south of Alpine in Brewster co.
g. Over 8,800 acres north of Dryden in Terrell co.
h. More lease agreements pending in Brewster, Culberson, Dimmit, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kenedy, Terrell and Val Verde counties




Herp Conservation Unlimited – www.hcu-tx.org
1801 Veterans Blvd
PMB #201
Del Rio, TX 78840
210-860-0594 ● [e-mail]

[antelope]

Thank you Lady Viper and Tim Cole. I would only like to say that I am supporting HCU because I believe that we all have a part to play in the fight to come. As a field herper foremost, and a breeder specializing in Texas native snakes, it is in my best interest to join an organization that promotes field herping and wants to see viable and fair regulations put into law. We do not need to collect some species and should be able to collect a fair number of others. We would like to see good bag limits set in place backed up with science on the known populations of said species. We would like to see the state herpetologist work in conjunction with the MANY field herpers in Texas to come up with viable limits, not blankets. In this day it is known that the Asian turtle market is depleted toall time lows, some species thought extinct, and many in peril. It is known that some Texas turtle collectors are selling turtles that will and have ended up in Asia for the food market. We have to do something about these issues NOW, before we mismanage our own non game animals into extinction. I am not a tree hugger, but I am a naturalist. I would see the animals managed with our input rather than without. I have no beef with Mike other than he wants to bash HCU because he wouldn't pay 5 bucks for a student membership to find out what we are all about, and would rather make accusations to discredit some members without getting all the facts. Good luck to you Mike in your efforts to stem the tide! ;D
Todd M. Hughes

[ocotillo64]

All,

I did have some box turtles for sale on Kingsnake. You see the TPWD had the bright idea of banning the sale of captive born box turtles thus my breeders were useless to me so I decided to sell my breeding group which is quite legal. I do not collect box turtles so Joe Forks is telling lies about me.

If any of you are not familiar with me I use to run the Herp Department at the Central Florida Zoo. For the past five years I have been working in academia on many herp and wildlife research projects. I have worked with Perran Ross, Ray Ashton, Dan Smith, Reed Noss and others. I will have several publications coming out this year.

Joe Forks is not intelligent enough to debate the issues. Every time I come on a herp forum I like to inform people about some of the negative aspects of HCU. They are a very ignorant group and as you can tell from the lies spread by Joe Forks, the President, not a group I want to get tangled up with. Joe has spread lies about me on many forums because I tell the truth and I stand for ALL herpers rights not just recreational folks. If you would like to contact me please feel free.

Take Care,

Mike Welker
Ocotillo Herps & Inverts
[e-mail]
915-595-8831

[lbenton]

Mike,

I know you have a bone to pick with HCU and have taken a personal interest in trying to hurt the organization and its membership. But what I really can not grasp is why? I know Joe, in fact I have known him for some time and he is a very intelligent person with a great deal of experience with herps. I value not only his opinion and experience but also his efforts to further the interest of herpers in TX.

Also just for the record the only aspect you do not seem to line up with compared to the HCU is the side of commercial collecting. As we all know HCU supports the recreational collector and the private breeder… In fact we would even get behind people that want to try a hand at larger scale breeding projects.

For a long time I expected better from you… I even still hope for better, it was even suggested that you start your own organization to promote the rights of commercial collectors such as yourself since the HCU did not seem to “fit your needs”. But here we are, over and over again, with you trying to paint a strange picture that looks very little like the truth.

I would like to ask you one question… We have all seen how much effort you put into attacking the HCU and Joe Forks, but how much have you done to change the bad legislation that is impacting us all?

Lance

[swwit]

I ve said this before and I'll say it again. Welker is raping the countryside with his commercial collecting. He claims to only collect what he has orders for but that's been proven a lie by his for sale postings in the classified section of kingsnake.com. He defends his collecting by saying he needs the money. Well Mickey, maybe it's time to get a real job. One that won't impact nature in a negative way. I've been visiting west Texas every year for the last 20 years and would be willing to bet that you have taken more animals out of the wild in a week than I have in my time there. If you don't support HCU that's fine. But it does you no good to bash us. Especially since you get nothing out of it.