Tales from the Steppes

2005-11-16

11:37 a.m.
Wednesday, November 16

It's just an empty space where something used to be;
Now he guards the gate, but he's lost the key.
- Mary Chapin Carpenter

There are some things I love about my job. I get to feel like I am contributing positively to society. I can actually make a difference in people's quality of life. I get to go outside more than most office workers. On a nice fall day, fieldwork can be glorious.

And then there are the downsides. Pissed off citizens. Pissed off developers. Pissed off engineers. Pissed off attorneys. Pissed off planning board members. A hefty, hefty workload. Mosquitos the size of chickens. High potential for Lymes disease. Barbed wire and poison ivy.

But until yesterday, I did not consider being shot at a real possibility with this job. No, I did not actually get shot at. But it was close enough that I was uncomfortable.

In the course of reviewing a development plan, I saw some conditions that aroused my suspicions of a headwater stream on a property. I was not at all dressed to go out, which in retrospect, was a good thing, but my timeframes were such that I had no choice but to go research my suspicions. So I drove out to the property, announced my presence to the property owners whose land I had to walk across to get to the property, and set off to find the stream. I guess it is also fortunate that I always announce my presence, even though I do not have to, it just seems polite, as I suspect the residents radioed or called the hunter to tell him I was on my way back to the property.

After hiking through the woods and fallow fields (in office wear), I finally came to a suspicious open field. It was surrounded by woods, had a truck parked in it, a small pile of corn, and an abandoned portable toilet. While this doesn't sound too wierd, given the strange things I often find, my radar was set off. I took a picture of the truck, with it's license plates showing, so that if anything happened to me (and the person was not smart enough to take my camera), I would have some sort of record. I picked my way through the high grass, avoiding piles of deer spoor, so that I could reach the far woods that contained what I suspected would be a stream. As I walked I was scanning the area and finally I saw what had set me off - a treehouse with a man with a rifle in it. Ok, rifle, shotgun, I don't know my guns. Long stick that goes boom and causes big owies. Whatever.

Perhaps if I had grown up around hunters, I would not find this so uncomfortable. I could have turned around and left but I really really wanted to find that potential stream. On general principle, I do not let dicey things get in my way when I have work to do - bad weather, poison ivy, dogs (unless they are frothing), and unhappy homeowners can all just wait in the bar if I have things I need to get done on a property. This guy was smart, as well as being illegal - it is not rifle hunting season here yet. He did not shoot the deer I startled as I walked through. Good for him, as well as me.

Well, I found my stream, yay me, and got out of there about as fast as I could reasonably go in a long skirt. But now I am left with a quandry about what to do. Do I call DNR and report this? After all, I have his license plates, I know the location of the deer stand. Do I call the property owner and inform them of the presence of the deer stand and the usage of their property? I know that the developer that owns this property would not be happy with this usage. He needs to keep his hands clean if he is expecting to get this through the development process. Besides, it is a giant liability.

I am disturbed by hunting, especially with the baiting involved. But I am not sure that is a rational response. Is it any less ethical to shoot an animal as it comes out of the woods to eat than it is to clamp it's legs and slit it's throat, or whatever the current procedure is. Perhaps I am disturbed because this forces me to confront my own hypocracy. I eat meat yet I consider our practices of obtaining meat cruel and inhumane. So I am mired in indecision and a more than a bit of unhappiness with myself. I am not sure why I do such a poor job of following my principles in this area.