The following history is important because it defines our enemy. In 2004, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) tried to use Maine’s citizen referendum process as a mechanism to ban bear hunting. Maine citizens, in a statewide vote, rejected the ban. Then in 2014, in an act of incredible arrogance and breathtaking audacity, HSUS again tried to ban bear hunting and failed. For the second time in a decade a majority of Maine’s citizenry said, “no.” Then, HSUS, unchastened by its rebuff in the court of public opinion, tried an end run through the Maine legal system and were rejected.

HSUS lost at the ballot box twice, they lost before our state legislature and they lost in our state courts. Mindful of this, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, who helped us defeat the bear ban, raises a good question: “How many times are we going to have to debate this?”

It looks like we have an answer.

In a stunning development, HSUS recently announced that it will be back to try yet again, not ten years from now, but next year, in 2016! This decision by HSUS extends far beyond even the bounds of audacity. It is said that there is a fine line between audacity and idiocy. Actually, HSUS’s almost pathological unwillingness to accept the outcome of, not one, but two citizen referendums on this same issue speaks volumes. It illustrates the kind of hollow, one-dimensional ideologues we are dealing with and the unbridled cynicism that seems to be the hallmark of this animal rights organization.

In some causes, audacity can be laudable. But not when you are driven to win at any cost, and in so doing utterly fail to demonstrate any respect for the very democratic process that allowed your organization’s viewpoint to be debated and seriously considered by fair-thinking citizens in the first place.

There can be only one explanation for HSUS’s strategy, notwithstanding its stunning gall and apparent contempt for Maine’s way of life. Policymakers in this organization have determined that they can eventually wear us down, that we, sportsmen and outfitters, will run out of money before they do. And they may be right.

Never mind ethics. Never mind integrity. Never mind fair play. Never mind the public will. Winning is all that counts, so spend money willfully and wear down the opposition. Bury it with piles of greenbacks! Buy a victory. To hell with what the people want. Impose your values on those who don’t see it your way. Shove it down their provincial throats!

In historical context, HSUS’s recent decision and behavior toward Maine citizens and our state can only be described as malicious and abusive.

Enough is enough. Before this recent bombshell from HSUS, state lawmakers and sportsmen’s organizations, anticipating another eventual battle, had been making plans for an offensive. Suddenly, time is of the essence. The needed silver bullet is an amendment to the State Constitution that builds a firewall around Maine’s wildlife management process protecting it from the vagaries of the citizen referendum process. Other states have done it; so should Maine. It will not be easy. Since statehood, there have been 1,200 attempts to amend the state document. Less than 100 have been successful. But it can be done if two-thirds of the state legislature can be convinced of the urgency of the matter. There are at least two curative legislative bills pending, one sponsored by State Rep. Steve Wood and one by State Rep. Michelle Dunphy.

Mainers of all stripes and political persuasions, even the Portland voting bloc that supported the bear hunting ban, need to rally as a common citizenry and support the constitutional amendment.

Why is this an issue that should concern anyone who lives and works in Maine?

Truly, HSUS’s intervention in Maine, and shoddy political tactics, goes far beyond simply bear politics. Abuse of our citizenry at the hands of these people cuts to the core of who we are as Mainers and how much we should be expected to endure. There have been times before when Mainers, sick and tired of being bullied and pushed around by moniedout-of-state special interest organizations, have found solidarity in a common cause and risen to the moment. In this case, the common thread is our love of state sovereignty and a deep-running distaste for those who would stick their foot in the door and impose their values on us.

As with so many other animal rights extremists, HSUS worships a dogma that places higher value on bears than fellow human beings.

Isn’t it time, once and for all, to send these misguided zealots back to Washington, D.C. where they came from?

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected]. He has two books “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook” and his latest, “Backtrack.” Online information is available at www.maineoutdoorpublications.com.