Media Article # 115
Article submitted by Richard Noll

Friday, July 28, 2000

Don't Shoot That Bigfoot

By Bob Ellison
Focus on Agriculture, American Farm Bureau

For the week of March 4 1996

A rarely seen creature reportedly living in the U.S. Northwest
has government protection. King County, Washington officials
have listed this famous beast as a protected species and placed it on a wetlands inventory list.

Is this creature a rare snake, rat, bird or fish? No, it's not, and
don't bother looking it up in the encyclopedia. You would have
better luck finding information on this animal in a supermarket
tabloid. The scientific name for this government protected entity is "Bipedus Giganticus," otherwise known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot.

That's right. According to King County, Washington officials the mighty Bigfoot is a protected species. And why not?
Sasquatches are so rare that no one has ever managed to
catch or kill one. Why, red cockade woodpeckers and kangaroo rats are in plentiful abundance compared to the elusive Bigfoot.

Mythical creatures need protection too. Goodness knows how
many unicorn and leprechaun habitats have been disturbed by
thoughtless property owners. And will we ever make contact
with our intergalactic brothers and sisters if governments don't
take action to protect possible UFO landing sites from human
use?

You might be thinking this whole Bigfoot thing is a not-so-clever spoof to poke fun at government regulators. But you would be wrong. CBS Evening News reported in early February that when King County Farm Bureau member Jim Baum tried to sell his small dairy farm, he discovered that 13 acres of his 17-acre farm were designated as wetlands.

There were 350 species of endangered plants and animals that called Baum's property home and one of those species was Bipedus Giganticus, or Bigfoot. Sasquatch was on the list along with beaver and bobcats.

King County officials say they have no idea how Bigfoot got on
the list. One official interviewed by CBS guessed it might have
been a joke. Furthermore, Baum says he has been telling King County officials about the Bigfoot listing, yet the list has not been changed. This is funny at first glance, but upon further consideration it is an example of what farmers have long been saying about many government bureaucrats.

Farmers maintain that many regulators sit in their offices making seemingly arbitrary rules and regulations without regard for the people affected. Environmental protection and private property rights are both very serious issues, but practical jokes like putting Bigfoot on a protected species list can only confirm the feelings of many farmers who have felt the sting of government regulations.

Meanwhile, now that Sasquatch is a protected species, strike
that Bigfoot fur coat off your gift lists. But if you act fast, you
might still get your hands on Loch Ness monster-skin belts and handbags or unicorn-horn billiard balls.

Assistant director of Information/Broadcast Services
for the American Farm Bureau's Washington, D.C. Office.

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