Lawmaker wants members of huge, private hunting club to buy hunting licenses, just like everybody else - Concord Monitor
Lawmaker wants members of huge, private hunting club to buy hunting licenses, just like everybody else - Concord Monitor |
| Posted: 13 Jan 2020 09:02 AM PST  Monitor staff Published: 1/13/2020 12:02:15 PM A huge private hunting preserve near Claremont with a membership fee that runs into the tens of thousands of dollars is being targeted by a proposed bill that would require its members to buy a new class of hunting license. "Every other hunter in the state, who doesn't have access to Blue Mountain, ends up subsidizing the hunting in that reserve," said Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, who sponsored the bill. "They have managed to exempt themselves. … We shouldn't have hunters that get to freeload." Cushing's bill, HB1573, would give the Fish and Game Department authority to require "any person wishing to take exotic game including wild boar or elk from a hunting preserve" to buy a special "safari hunting license," with the cost to be determined by the commission. It targets Blue Mountain Forest Association, also called Corbin Park after the man who established it in the 1880s, which is the state's only private hunting preserve. The roughly 25,000-acre site covers parts of five towns: Newport, Cornish, Croydon, Grantham and Plainfield. Cushing said members currently don't have to buy any state license when hunting in the preserve, which is surrounded by a 26-mile-long fence, but that Fish and Game incurs some costs overseeing the site. In particular, he pointed to the 2004 incident in which one hunter shot and killed another inside the park, requiring an investigation by the state. "Those that go on safari for exotic game aren't really paying their fair share to underwrite the Fish and Game Department at a time when Fish and Game is destitute for funds," he said. While details about the park are scarce, its membership is said to be quite small, limited by design and the five- or six-figure cost of joining. Another cost associated with the park comes from wild hogs that were imported into the park for hunting decades ago. These animals are a massive nuisance in other parts of the country, causing literally billions of dollars in agricultural and other damage, but cold weather has kept them from migrating to the Northeast – except around Corbin Park. Reports of loose feral hogs doing damage or getting hit by cars occasionally show up on police reports or in lawsuits, including one that made it to the state Supreme Court in 1956. The high court deferred a decision and sent the case back down. The bill is slated to be the subject of a hearing at the Fish and Game Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Corbin Park was established by Austin Corbin, a 19th-century railroad tycoon and banker who built a mansion in Newport. Corbin is remembered today both for his business accomplishments and for extreme anti-Semitism, including leadership of a group called American Society for the Suppression of Jews. That history led Brooklyn to change a street that had been named after him. Because people living there didn't want to alter their address, the change was subtle: From Corbin Place to M. Corbin Place, honoring Margaret Corbin, who became a Revolutionary War hero when she replaced her husband in helping defend a New York fort from the British. (David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.) |
| Good Trip, Bad Trip: Gentleman's Dub Club | Features - Clash Magazine Posted: 13 Jan 2020 06:26 AM PST  All-star dub reggae outfit Gentleman's Dub Club hit the road about a decade ago and have never stopped. A phenomenal live experience, their dexterous fusion of dub exploration and jazz-leaning horns has bowled over crowds on virtually every continent. Releasing a series of acclaimed LPs, the band will pack up their things next month for a full nationwide tour. A massive slate of UK shows have been confirmed, with Gentleman's Dub Club set to entrance crowds at every turn. Toby Davies AKA The Landlord will be holding it down on bass duties, and he spoke to Clash about the band's experiences on the road... - - - - - - Best Trip… We went to the Reunion Islands a couple of years ago, that was insane. Our hotel was right on the beach so we could get up in the morning and go snorkelling with tropical fish! The food was amazing, there was a great market there and we ended up seeing an active volcano – how the hell did we manage to wangle that one?! Worst Trip… During the early days we played Electric Picnic in Ireland. Everything was going swimmingly until Harry got punched in the face by a guy on mushrooms. It was just before our set so we ran away. Harry's lip ballooned up during the set: he looked completely different when he came backstage after the show, and the whole experience kind of freaked everyone out. It started hammering down with rain so we were knee deep in mud, and we were staying for a few days, so it was endless trudging around the site all weekend. Then again, on the Monday we managed to hijack a golf cart and an old guy in a pub gave us some hash, so maybe it wasn't the absolute worst... Our favourite foreign venue… Pula Amphitheatre in Croatia is stunning. We're surprisingly popular in… We just went to Dover not expecting much and people turned out! Big shout to the Kent massive! Best or worst exotic foodstuff… The best exotic foodstuff is obviously curry. Worst on-tour injury, or infection, or accident… Nick (guitar) once jumped off a riser onto his guitar pedal board. He went to hospital the next day and it turned out he'd broken his ankle. Absolute soldier! My essential travel item… I was gonna say eye mask but you can always tie a t shirt round your head, so probably noise cancelling earphones to drown out Matt's (trumpet) insane ramblings. My essential travel tip... I cannot stress this enough: if you're going abroad, make a list of things to pack before you start packing, otherwise you'll always be wondering whether you've forgotten anything. Unfortunately, I never do this so I nearly always forget something… - - - - - - Catch Gentleman's Dub Club at the following shows: February March Join us on the ad-free creative social network Vero, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak peeks, exclusive content and access to Clash Live events and a true view into our world as the fun and games unfold. |
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