Reintroduce Grizzles to the Sierra - Petition Link

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 90 of total 90 in this topic
couchmaster

climber
Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 11, 2016 - 08:43am PT


Is it time to reintroduce the Grizzlys to California and MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN!!!

PETITION HERE is 98 short of the goal of 65,000--> http://www.thepetitionsite.com/633/040/295/reintroduce-the-grizzly-bears-to-californias-sierra-nevada/

BRING IT BEYOTCHES!!



News outline:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/06/grizzly-bears-in-california-reintroduction-push-ignites-strong-emotions/

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Oct 11, 2016 - 08:55am PT
Never gonna happen.
Batrock

Trad climber
Burbank
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:03am PT
I thought the California Grizzly was a unique species and extinct?
Would they introduce another species, if species is the right term.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:09am PT
It was a geographic sub-species: Ursus arctos californicatus.
Kind of like Homo sapien stuportopoensis.
Chaz

Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:12am PT
Capt.

climber
some eastside hovel
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:16am PT
Fully in!
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:20am PT
A wonderful Idea! I just signed the petition!


Where's a petition to re-introduce wolves?

We'll give you some.

c wilmot

climber
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:32am PT
Horrible idea. The ca griz used to winter in the Central Valley feasting on salmon. That way of life is OVER. the habitat has radically changed. The Sacramento isnothing like it was after the hydraulic mining of the gold rush and the salmon runs are equally pathetic.
High Fructose Corn Spirit

Gym climber
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:36am PT
No.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:42am PT
Already got 'em.
You're kidding on a Giant scale.

The bears would be wiped out again in short order.
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:49am PT
Fritz, we had a wolf. His girlfriend lives in Oregon though, so he keeps going back up there. You know how hard those long distance relationships are.

There used to be grizzles all the way into the mountains of Baja California Norte. So why not? It is on our state flag. I'll just be carrying a sidearm and bear spray in the Sierra if this does happen.


edit; I do really wonder how they are going to survive now days.
Ricky D

Trad climber
Sierra Westside
Oct 11, 2016 - 10:43am PT
Another great idea from people who don't live in the Sierra. Pardon me while I mount a 50 on my Jeep just in case it passes.

John M

climber
Oct 11, 2016 - 10:46am PT
Maybe we could feed them on the annual Idahoans winter run to warmer weather.
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Oct 11, 2016 - 10:57am PT
Lol. So dumb on many many levels...
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Oct 11, 2016 - 11:15am PT
How about the reintroduction of Californians into Oregon urban areas... with open season and unlimited tags?

Was implemented ten years ago with the net effect of tripling rents and home prices and driving homelessness to unprecedented levels. One could argue a cull is warranted.
Ken M

Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
Oct 11, 2016 - 11:20am PT
Something that should be very carefully considered, before moving on it.

Something that really changed my thinking was reading "Up and Down California" by Brewer. It described the efforts of the Whitney survey to survey the state, and involved traveling it's length.

BY FAR the thing they most feared, was Grizzlies.

Remember that they are ABOVE US on the food chain. You would want to seriously think about it before camping in a tent. The end of Camp 4?
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
Oct 11, 2016 - 11:28am PT
That explains their extinction!

Actually, it does.


Seriously though, this is a waste of taxpayers money. We have far larger fish to fry at the moment.
Ricky D

Trad climber
Sierra Westside
Oct 11, 2016 - 11:34am PT
If I planned to build and live in active Grizzland...I would know going in what my limits on freedom would be.

Very different from having some do-gooder show up and dump one in my yard.

canyoncat

Social climber
SoCal
Oct 11, 2016 - 12:01pm PT
It would help to reduce the coyote problem in the urban areas wouldn't it? Plus baby bears are so cuddly.
Spider Savage

Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
Oct 11, 2016 - 12:18pm PT
I've read that the reason the Grizzley Bear is on the California flag is because it was the most annoying possible image they could wave at the Mexicans living here.


Can we bring back sabertooth cats as well? It would be great for tourism.
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Oct 11, 2016 - 12:18pm PT
Who could possibly think this is a good idea?

Say they let some Grizzlies loose. It's only a matter of time before one mauls someone. What then? One agency or another will go out and kill the bear.

chill

climber
The fat part of the bell-curve
Oct 11, 2016 - 03:32pm PT
From the Car Talk guy's list of 'Famous Last Words':
"Isn't that cute. I wonder where the mamma bear is".
life is a bivouac

Trad climber
Bishop
Oct 11, 2016 - 03:44pm PT
Dear eKat, I could not agree with you more... The planet is only getting smaller... control our population on this beautiful marble.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Oct 11, 2016 - 03:55pm PT
What can we do to impress this concept on people? Somewhere, they have been indocrinated into believing that having children is IMPORTANT. . . NOT HAVING CHILDREN IS MORE IMPORTANT. . . WAY MORE IMPORTANT!

Tell that to the catholic culture and Hispanic population.
paul roehl

Boulder climber
california
Oct 11, 2016 - 04:17pm PT
Why not make everybody leave the state if their mother wasn't born here... then build a wall and make Nevada pay for it. At that point reintroduce the Griz and Wolf and force everyone remaining to eat a steady diet of acorn meal and also make their cars and computers out of obsidian. It has the sound of utopia. I'm actually weaving baskets as I write this.
Escopeta

Trad climber
Idaho
Oct 11, 2016 - 04:45pm PT
What could go wrong? It worked so well with the wolves.....

<eye roll>
BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Oct 11, 2016 - 05:12pm PT

I'm actually weaving baskets as I write this.

Hahaaaaa. i bet you are
BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Oct 11, 2016 - 05:15pm PT
This hole idea is as absurd as silicone titties!

Both of which are the perverbreal root definition of the meaning "Queer"
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 11, 2016 - 05:28pm PT
In LA Black Bears are wondering into back yards and trash bins more and more all the time for lack of food and water.

That will happen in the Sierra if Grizz are brought back.

The Buttermilks will have more than bad landings to worry about!
Ricky D

Trad climber
Sierra Westside
Oct 11, 2016 - 08:04pm PT
Howzeboutdis;

We reintroduce them into the communities that support them.

I'm thinking the Marin Highlands would be perfect.

Beautiful bear friendly landscaping and all the Trouser Trout and Poodle Puffs they can eat.
Jan

Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
Oct 11, 2016 - 08:38pm PT
Actually, I think this is a plot by activists in the Rocky Mountain states to wreck havoc on the California environmentalists for their gift of wolves. Perhaps when the Californians have as many problems with grizzlies as we do with wolves, we'll be able to make a truce all around. I also think I hear Rokjox laughing in the background.
Mark Force

Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
Oct 11, 2016 - 08:40pm PT
We should send a few up to Mars. I've hear said it's going to be some really plush real estate in a few years.
WyoRockMan

climber
Grizzlyville, WY
Oct 11, 2016 - 09:11pm PT
I fully support it as long as the CBD, Sierra Club and others continue to fight delisting of grizzly bears in the rest of the lower 48.
Jan

Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
Oct 11, 2016 - 11:21pm PT
I believe the human population density is less and the amount of natural food available for grizzlies is more in Canada?
apogee

climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
Oct 11, 2016 - 11:31pm PT
"Never gonna happen."

Three in the ass, and two in the head?
mudrock

climber
Eastside
Oct 12, 2016 - 12:16am PT
The notion of a grizzly infested California should *always* be on the table.

It teaches us about ourselves, past present & future.

Let's bring back *all* the North American megafauna of 20,000 years ago. If that were achieved in a way that was compatible with a reasonable degree of human happiness it would say more for our species than any billionaire's play at living on Mars.
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
Oct 12, 2016 - 06:23am PT
Grizz are great, but in the Sierras? Are you out of your mind? Such a stupid idea it beggars the imagination. Okay, I'll vote for it on one iron-clad condition: Everyone who votes for it goes to prison for life after the first person is killed by a grizz in the Sierras. With the super-heavy use these mountains see, it would only be a matter of time, and probably not very long.

Jeez.

BAd
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:18am PT
I'm with other that do not feel the habitat in the sierra can support a grizzly population and it would not be long before they move into the local communities.

Also, the things scare me.
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:24am PT
I think it will work....
If they only introduce them into major urban centers, suburban shopping malls, that sort of thing.
Could take care of a lot, of problems....

I'm in!
skitch

Gym climber
Bend Or
Oct 12, 2016 - 01:58pm PT
I'll sign the petition if they clear out the most destructive invasive species first..…........................






































Caucasians.
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:03pm PT
Reintroduce polio as well.
Makes about as much sense.
apogee

climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:10pm PT
The ideal introduction ground would have been the RNC.

Sigh...opportunity lost.
thebravecowboy

climber
The Good Places
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:16pm PT
ST could use some grizzer bears.

I'd be into it for Cali if they'd be introduced in the strip-mall, suburban hell, whitebread kinda spots mentioned above. But only if they were armored and furnished with lasers, high-potency cannabis, etc.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:20pm PT
Pardon me, but I'm still laughing at this ridiculous cause.

The height of folly, totally ludicrous, it serves no one.

Boondoggle is written all over it.

Grizzlies doing what they like best.

Eyore, beware.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:23pm PT
it serves no one.

False assumption - it serves whoever is pushing it. Lemme guess - the Center For Biological Perversity. Or maybe PETA.

There ain't no free lunch!
dirtbag

climber
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:30pm PT
Grizzlies?

Kalifornia?

Rokjox would sign it.
ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Social climber
SLO, Ca
Oct 12, 2016 - 07:55pm PT
Probably the only place it would work is up in the Trinity Alps and Marbles. Maybe the Middle Eel Wilderness?? Modoc NF?? It would definitely spice things up for the illicit pot farmers!! No way in the Sierra.
Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
Oct 12, 2016 - 08:14pm PT
This must be the greatest troll pulled off on Stupor Turgid, or as Werner would say--Stupid Americans!!!
GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Oct 12, 2016 - 08:25pm PT
GREAT IDEA WHAT NEXT MAKE A COUPLE VELOCIRAPTORS AND LET THEM LOOSE IN PRESCHOOLS????







BUILD THAT WALL!
BUILD THAT WALL!
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Oct 12, 2016 - 09:48pm PT
pud, pud, pud!

Re your thought that reintroducing Polio would be better than Grizzlies.

You said:
Reintroduce polio as well.
Makes about as much sense.

That's just sick & negative on your part.

Polio killed & crippled many people.

However, when we, or as happened in Idaho, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife folks, reintroduce wolves (in your case Grizzlies (&/or wolves) to the Sierra, it will make for a much more aware & alert & in the long-run, more appreciative Sierra visitor base.

Folks will be appreciative, because they haven't been mauled or killed during their Sierra experience, just like those of us in East Idaho, NW Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, & Canada enjoy our Grizzly hikes & climbs.

And the U.S. Fish & Wildlife management folks will be very grateful for this expansion of their careers.
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
Oct 12, 2016 - 09:51pm PT
Fritz...All it takes to get malled in Mammoth is a 3 foot dump and the weekend warriors go shopping...
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Oct 12, 2016 - 09:53pm PT
RJ? But what about the Mammoth assault rifle maulings?
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
Oct 12, 2016 - 09:55pm PT
Heard it was hit...? Poor guy left a wife and 2 kids behind...
GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Oct 12, 2016 - 09:59pm PT
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Oct 12, 2016 - 11:40pm PT
Best I can do for ya, Sprock.
fear

Ice climber
hartford, ct
Oct 13, 2016 - 07:15am PT
For the little time I've spent in the Sierra's I'm wondering what the park service thinks will support the caloric needs of 1,000+ pound bruins in that landscape...

Doesn't seem particularly lush to me. Anywhere.

Once they exhaust the obvious food sources arriving by bus with the puffy red faces and big bellies there's nothing else. Am I wrong? Garden of eden somewhere in the Sierra?
Ricky D

Trad climber
Sierra Westside
Oct 13, 2016 - 07:43am PT
^^^In my neck of the woods in SoYo we do have free-range cattle and Hmong weed farmers. I suppose they count as food of a sort.

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Oct 13, 2016 - 08:12am PT
Well, it boils down to who runs faster, the cows or the Hmong?
The Hmong prolly climb trees better.

My best friend in Anchorage, when a cow moose thought he had longings for her calf,
found he was able to climb a tree better than he expected while wearing XC skis.
Fossil climber

Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
Oct 13, 2016 - 08:52am PT
Some problems with the idea. The habitat is now fragmented and is not as rich in natural food sources as it was when the CA griz thrived. They'd have to work a lot harder to eat. And a griz in a poor habitat tends to be a lot crankier than a well-fed one - witness the difference between coastal salmon-fed griz and the smaller inland ones.

There's a helluva lot more potential for human/bear reactions and conflicts now. And the griz is a lot more formidable camp raider than the already competent blacks. As well as being more likely to launch a defensive attack when you unexpectedly encounter one.

Also, hard to say exactly what the effects would be on existing fauna and flora. Will they dig out marmots, ground squirrels? What plants and roots will they dig out in the meadows? What wildlife will they affect?

And there are the inevitable conflicts with neighbouring agricultural activities, and they can really trash an unoccupied building - more thoroughly than a black. And there are the management problems.

Lots of questions that don't have good answers. Of course, it would probably reduce the number of people running the trails - which maybe wouldn't be a bad thing!
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
Oct 13, 2016 - 09:28am PT
I say give them SUP's and reintroduce them to San Diego first.
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Oct 13, 2016 - 06:07pm PT
pud:
Reintroduce polio as well.
Makes about as much sense.

Fritz:
That's just sick & negative on your part.

Polio killed & crippled many people.

Brown Bears would never do that.
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Oct 13, 2016 - 06:39pm PT
Of course, it would probably reduce the number of people running the trails - which maybe wouldn't be a bad thing!

Trail runners are a bad thing? I'd say that all the fat f*cks sitting on their couches eating themselves into diabetes and driveing up the cost of health care for the rest of us while it's harder and more expensive to get specialized care for less common conditions are a bad thing.
Fossil climber

Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
Oct 13, 2016 - 07:41pm PT
You're right, KS - I should have said crowding in general, didn't mean just trail runners or speed hikers. Poor choice of words. Sorry.
i-b-goB

Social climber
Wise Acres
Oct 13, 2016 - 07:51pm PT
MassiveD

Trad climber
Oct 13, 2016 - 08:37pm PT
The people proposing this are unlikely to think the human uses of the countryside take priority. Should promote simul climbing first pitches.
WyoRockMan

climber
Grizzlyville, WY
Oct 13, 2016 - 09:08pm PT
The people proposing this are unlikely to think the human uses of the countryside take priority.

There's an understatement. They are the same ideologues that are continually fighting the delisting (from the ESA) of the grizzlies from the Yellowstone and Glacier areas. The function of the Endangered Species Act is to provide the protections necessary for a species to recover to sustainable and reasonable levels. The grizzly recovery has been a major success. Their definition of recovered won't be met until the bears occupy their entire historic range. An unrealistic goal at best.
chainsaw

Trad climber
CA
Oct 13, 2016 - 11:01pm PT
Gee, while were at it let's reintroduce polio and syphilis into Calfornia. They are natural too. Perhaps there can be a mechanism to force those who sign petitions for silly things to pay for the consequences of the actions they support. I have a friend who was mauled by a Bear in Tuolumne. Check out Norm's scars before you sign a petition. This was probably dreamed up by big govmint people who will get paid alot of money to start another absurd feel good govmint program to divert more money away from important causes like roads, housing and healthcare. Just how well off does one have to be to vote for such waste? Are you rich enough to pay for it?
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Oct 14, 2016 - 07:13am PT
Pseudo hippy lawyers getting rich under the guise of saving our environement have a vested interest in this effort.



http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/grizzly_bear/bring_back_the_bears.html
Chewybacca

Trad climber
Kelly Morgan, Whitefish MT
Oct 14, 2016 - 08:01am PT
Petition signed. (We could send Cali all of our problem bears) ;^)
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Oct 14, 2016 - 08:05am PT
CHEWY THE GRIZ WHISPERER! Did you get yer trousers cleaned from that last
encounter or did you have to toss 'em? ;-)



Too skeered to poop my pants...

Chewybacca

Trad climber
Kelly Morgan, Whitefish MT
Oct 14, 2016 - 08:12am PT
At this point I'm used to soiled trousers, so I kept wearing them.

I had a couple of surprise encounters this year that made me question my sanity. Maybe I'll do a bear trip report this winter and share my stupidity with ST.

This family came a little closer than I like.



Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Oct 14, 2016 - 09:18am PT
Great shot, but I fixed it for ya...

Chewybacca

Trad climber
Kelly Morgan, Whitefish MT
Oct 14, 2016 - 10:33am PT
Nice one Reilly.

Are those huckleberries in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?



I mentioned this grizzly reintro plan to our local grizzly management specialist and he broke down in a fit of laughter. Rest easy folks, this plan is not going to happen.

That said, I would like to see grizzlies expand into the N Cascades and the great wilderness areas of central Idaho. Another place I'd like see more grizzlers is the gap between the Greater Yellowstone population and the Northern Continental Divide population. This would allow for the exchange of genes from Yellowtone to Canadia and beyond.

thebravecowboy

climber
The Good Places
Oct 14, 2016 - 10:38am PT
....in the larger sense, too, not just with grizzly bears, but with wild animals that we live with all up and down the Rockies, probably in other parts of our country and other countries, the best thing I think we can do to help save wild animals is protect as much habitat as we can.
- A. Peacock
couchmaster

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 18, 2016 - 09:21am PT


Interesting, but their goal had been 65,000. The petition site makes no note of having reached that goal, currently they list the goal as 70,000 registered voters to sign the petition, and they are at 65,580. Hmmm, it's running neck and neck with the petition to "Stop Lowes from killing birds in their lawn and garden section" which has 61,754 signatures.


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/633/040/295/reintroduce-the-grizzly-bears-to-californias-sierra-nevada/
couchmaster

climber
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 2, 2016 - 11:09am PT

Well you all missed out on the chance to sign the petition. They filled it up and closed it. 65,567 signed it final-final. Guess some folks had a change of heart.

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Nov 2, 2016 - 11:13am PT
So you're telling us that only 2/3 of the good people of Compton saw fit to sign this? WEAK!

And of those signees I really wonder how many have seen one up close and personal
outside of a zoo? Or seen how fast one can walk through a 1-3/4" entry door?
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Nov 2, 2016 - 01:44pm PT
OK, maybe it would be alright to reintroduce them...

[Click to View YouTube Video]


I thought this was faked until the end.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

LOL! That line ALWAYS works!
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Nov 2, 2016 - 01:45pm PT
Two hikers are wandering along a trail when they realize they're between the momma grizz and the kids. Without a moment to spare one of the hikers drops his pack, pulls off his boots and puts on running shoes. His partner is confused. "You can't outrun that bear." "No, but I can outrun you..."
HJ

climber
Bozeman, Montana
Nov 2, 2016 - 02:52pm PT
Only real hope for saving Yosemite is to breed some of the Yosemite bears with grizzlies from Montana. The result would be bears that are both smart and mean...the resulting tourist deaths would likely drive down visitation numbers.
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Nov 2, 2016 - 03:36pm PT
I tried signing and the petition wuz clozed.
I'm for reintroducing Griz, wolves, marmots, and weazels everywhere.
NOW!
Sula

Trad climber
Pennsylvania
Nov 2, 2016 - 03:56pm PT
... the resulting tourist deaths would likely drive down visitation numbers.
I like this plan. But I think it may need some help if it's expected to show good results promptly.

I suggest that at the Yosemite entry stations, anyone driving a car with California plates be smeared with jam and forbidden to shower or swim for 2 days. Bears have a great sense of smell and would figure this out quickly.
Reeotch

climber
4 Corners Area
Nov 2, 2016 - 06:40pm PT
Fuk the petition. We should just go up to Yellowstone with a homemade bear trap and a horse trailer and do it our selves.
I say we release em in SEKI somewhere. Yosemite is a bit too crowded, but maybe that's the point . . .
Bill

climber
Petaluma
Nov 2, 2016 - 06:51pm PT
Let's start with Golden Gate Park and see how that goes.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Nov 3, 2016 - 09:34am PT
DMT, how about Sacrabearlyfunctionaltoe?
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Nov 3, 2016 - 09:47am PT
HaHaHa! Ya know, I drive by that Hipster HQ all the time. Ya know what's sad? They're too
chickenshite to even have the smallest sign up in front. Guess they don't want disgruntled
old bitties bringing back out of date pralines.
rwedgee

Ice climber
CA
Nov 30, 2016 - 09:00am PT
Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
Nov 30, 2016 - 03:07pm PT
Is it time to reintroduce the Grizzlys to California

Are you fukking retarded?

The two best things I love about the High Sierra:
(1) No glacier worry
(2) No griz angst
the albatross

Gym climber
Flagstaff
Nov 30, 2016 - 06:15pm PT
It's cool that folks are tossing around the idea of reintroducing Grizzlies to CA. It seems far fetched, yet what a wonderful idea. Having camped in Grizzy country many times over the last few decades it adds a certain depth to the experience knowing there are creatures hunting me.


Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Nov 30, 2016 - 06:17pm PT
That's cause Sly knows he can outrun you!
Messages 1 - 90 of total 90 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta