Subject: Is Bigfoot Real?  Part 2. 
Dec. 30, 2011.

This states that it's against the law in certain areas to shoot a Bigfoot.
Most people here in Sonora, Calif. love the Bigfoot and wouldn't harm him 
for
anything or any amount of money.

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In a Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service news release
dated December 21, 1977
http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/fwsgov/news.fws.gov/historic/1977/19771221.pdf
the following is stated:

What if they really did find the Loch Ness monster or the legendary
Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest?

Most scientists doubt that these creatures exist, but thoughts of the
discovery of a new species that might be the closest living relative to
man, or the possibility of finding a leftover dinosaur, excite the
imagination of scientist and nonscientist alike. It also poses another
question: Would such a creature be subjected to the same kind of
exploitation as the giant movie ape, King Kong?

Scientists generally believe there are still many species of birds and
mammals that have not been discovered because they live in remote areas
and their populations are limited. After all, the gorilla and giant
panda were only legends until the late 19th century when their actual
existence was first confirmed by scientists. The komodo dragon, a
10-foot-long lizard, wasn’t known to science until 1912. The coelacanth,
a deep-water prehistoric fish, was known only from 65 million-year-old
fossils until 1938 when a specimen was caught alive off the Madagascar
coast.

Just last year a Navy torpedo recovery vessel dropped a sea anchor into
500 feet of water off Hawaii. But instead of a torpedo, it hauled up a
15-foot representative of a new species of shark. The dead shark, named
megamouth after its bathtub-shaped lower jaw, had an enormous,
short-snouted head and 484 vestigial teeth.

To be sure, no remains of today’s legendary “monsters” have ever been
found. There are no living specimens in zoos or dead ones in museums.
Most certainly, many “sightings” of these creatures are exaggerated or
misinterpreted reports, and some are downright hoaxes.

But finding a Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot is still a possibility, and
the discovery would be one of the most important in modern history. As
items of scientific and public interest they would surely command more
attention than the moon rocks. Millions of curiosity seekers and
thousands of zoologists and anthropologists throughout the world would
be eager to “get at” the creatures to examine, protect, capture, or just
look at them.

What would the U-ited States G-vernment do?

Keith Schreiner is Associate Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. The service is the Go-ernment agency with responsibility for
protecting endangered and threatened species. Schreiner says “At least,
we have the laws and regulations on the books to deal with newly
discovered species.”

Schreiner acknowledged, however, that a good deal of international
cooperation would be needed if extremely rare species were found abroad.
And finding one on U.S. soil would pose serious problems too, Service
officials agree.

Undisputed proof of a Bigfoot might cause an immediate, short-term
problem no law could handle. Word of its discovery would be flashed
around the world within hours, Hysteria, fear, or panic might accompany
the news in the area where the creature was located. The throngs of
curiosity seekers, would-be captors, and others wishing to find Bigfoot
would not only create a serious threat to the animal itself, but to
public safety as well. Some officials doubt whether any State or Federal
action short of calling out the National Guard could keep order in the
area within the first few hours or days of the creature’s discovery.
This could be essential until a team of scientists could do the
necessary things to ensure the creature’s survival.

The key law in preservation of a species is the Endangered Species Act,
which pledges the Un-ted States to conserve species of plants and
animals facing extinction. This broad, complex law protects endangered
species from k-lling, harassment, and other forms of exploitation. The
Act prohibits the import and export of, and interstate commerce in,
endangered species. American citizens cannot engage in commercial
traffic in endangered species between nations, even when the Uni-ed
States is not involved. Scientists wishing to study endangered species
are required to have a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

But before a creature can receive protection under the Endangered
Species Act, a number of actions normally must occur which involve
recommendations from the public, scientists, and State and foreign
gover-ments where the species exists.

The first of these would he the species’ formal description and naming
in a recognized scientific publication. In addition, if it were a U.S.
species, the Governor of the State where it was found would be
contacted, as would the officials of foreign govern-ents if it were
found outside the Unit-d States. Only after much information was
collected could the Service make a formal determination as to whether
the species should be afforded endangered or threatened status…

Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is purported to be an 8-foot,
900-pound humanoid that roams the forest and wilderness areas of the
Pacific Northwest. One “eyewitness” described an obviously female
Sasquatch as a “tall, long-legged, gorilla-like animal covered with dark
hair and endowed with a pendulous pair of breasts.” It, too, has been
described in publications and given a scientific name. In fact, so many
people were stalking Bigfoot with high-powered rifles and cameras that
Skamania County, Washington, is prepared to impose a fine of $10,000 and
a 5-year jail term on anyone who ki-ls a Bigfoot. The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers even lists Bigfoot as one of the native species in its
Environmental Atlas for Washington. This year the Florida and Oregon
legislatures also considered bills protecting “Bigfoot” type creatures.
A Bureau of Indian Affairs policeman has 18-inch plaster cast footprints
of the “McLaughlin monster,” a Bigfoot-type creature he saw last month
in South Dakota.

Under U.S. Law, the Secretary of the Interior is empowered to list as
threatened or endangered a species for 120 days on an emergency basis.
For endangered species in the Un-ted States, the Secretary can also
designate habitat that is critical to their survival. No Federal agency
could then authorize, fund, or carry out any activities which would
adversely modify that habitat.

So long-term Federal protection of Nessie or Bigfoot would basically be
a matter of following the same regulatory mechanisms already used in
protecting whooping cranes and tigers.

“Under normal situations,” Schreiner said, “we must know a great deal
about a species before we list it. How big is the population? Does it
occur anywhere else? Is the population in danger of decline? Is its
habitat secure? Is the species being exploited? What is its reproductive
rate? Obviously, if a Bigfoot really were found we could use emergency
provisions of the Act to protect it immediately...”/

The news release details what the U.S. Gov-rnment would do in the event
Bigfoot was proven to exist. The fact that the Loch Ness Monster was
added to the statement is somewhat curious but it may have been done in
order to give the Bigfoot a 'status' equal to the legendary lake monster
at the time. The statement does seem to suggest that provisions to
protect Bigfoot, regardless of the hominid's actuality, were already in
force.

Nick Redfern's account does add another piece to an already complicated
Bigfoot puzzle. Will there ever be proof of its existence that most
people can agree on? How did it evolve...are these creatures
terrestrial, extraterrestrial or interdimensional? The answers to the
questions remain a quandary.

*NOTE: you may want to read a narrative I wrote for the /The 'C'
Influence/ - The Bigfoot Paradox
http://thecinfluenceblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/bigfoot-paradox.html
...Lon*

There's Something in the Woods
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933665327/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=phantomsandmonsters-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1933665327

Strange Secrets: Real Government Files on the Unknown
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743469763/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=phantomsandmonsters-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0743469763

Bigfoot! : The True Story of Apes in America
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743469755/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=phantomsandmonsters-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0743469755

Part 2.

John Winston.  johnfw@mlode.com