Over the weekend, the country observed a day to honor, "the many contributions of America's hunters and anglers, who add to our heritage and keep our wildlife populations healthy and strong." That's how President George W. Bush's proclamation declaring Sept. 27 National Hunting and Fishing Day starts off.
     The history of the commemorative day began in Pennsylvania (shout out to Pa.! I grew up near Philly). In 1970, Pa. Governor Raymond Shafer adopted the idea of a local sportsman (Ira Joffe, owner of Joffe's Gun Shop in Upper Darby) to create Outdoor Sportsman's Day. Through the efforts of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the concept made it to the floor of the United States Senate. In 1971, Sen. Thomas McIntyre (N.H.) introduced a resolution calling for a National Hunting and Fishing Day on the fourth Saturday of each September. Rep. Bob Sikes (Fla.) then introduced the same measure in the House. Congress passed both bills and on May 2, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the first proclamation declaring National Hunting and Fishing Day, which read, "I urge all citizens to join with outdoor sportsmen in the wise use of our natural resources and in insuring their proper management for the benefit of future generations."
     Over the years, many celebrities have helped to spotlight National Hunting and Fishing Day by serving as Honorary Chairs: Arnold Palmer, Hank Williams Jr., Travis Tritt, Tracy Byrd, Jeff Foxworthy, and -- in 2008 -- Michael Waddell.
     It's fitting that this year's National Hunting and Fishing Day (an event so focused on the future of outdoors sports) should fall so close to the first debate between the 2008 presidential candidates (one of whom will be steward-in-chief of our natural resources). Of course, that debate didn't delve into conservation, so this week, I'll be posting the two candidates' energy and conservation policies. We'll talk about what gives you hope, what makes you nervous, and who you'd rather have writing next year's National Hunting and Fishing Day proclamation. - K.H.

     After a brief break in our interview schedule, I'm excited to start back up with a series of conservation officer interviews. I'd initially contacted the Pennsylvania Game Commission, asking if they could put me in touch with a few women on their force. When they suggested a number of names, instead of choosing between them I figured I'd run as many as possible.

     So we're starting off with Beth Fife, who has been with the Pa Game Commission for 11 years, and is now a full time Wildlife Conservation Officer in Allegheny County, which is in the Pittsburgh area. Beth took the time to provide some great answers that certainly helped me better understand what goes on behind the scenes. Thanks, Beth! - K.H.

FSHuntress: What made you want to work for the Game Commission?
Beth Fife: I've always enjoyed being in the outdoors, and I love wildlife. I also believe in hunting and trapping and the hunting and trapping tradition.

FS: What are your job duties?
BF: Law Enforcement, servicing nuisance wildlife complaints, public relations and conservation education at all age levels, administration of Hunter-Trapper Education classes, and protection of wildlife and threatened/endangered species. I'm also in charge of the Peregrine Falcons in the Pittsburgh area.

FS: What's a typical day like?
BF: I check incidents, and go and handle incidents if there are any (wildlife complaints, phone calls, scheduling programs, etc.) If it's hunting season, I will go patrol my district, checking hunters and answering any calls that involve hunting issues.

FS: Are you a hunter yourself?
BF: Mostly I enjoy pheasant hunting.

FS: What's the best thing about your job?
BF: Being in the outdoors just about every day, teaching different age levels about wildlife, teaching hunter education classes, and getting the opportunity every chance I get to watch and observe wildlife.
     Plus, there's having the Game Commission family across the state of PA -- and it is a tight family. I can also get permission to take my kids with me so they can experience some of my job.

FS: What's the most challenging thing about your job?
BF: I love the challenge of a good investigation. I love the challenge of outsmarting and trapping a bear (they can be a little tricky to trap if I'm in an area that has food sources to attract them, and they won't go into my trap).
     I love the challenge of dealing with the Peregrine Falcons every year: climbing out on building ledges 40 floors above the ground, scurrying under bridges 70 feet above the water to band chicks while dealing with mom and dad trying to keep me away and knock me off. I'm proud to be a part of that information and to find that the Peregrine's are increasing in numbers every year. I'm proud to go from 2 building nesting sites to an additional 4 bridge sites in the Pittsburgh area. They are really liking the Pittsburgh area!
     I love the challenge of being a part of a turkey trapping team, to help reduce the increasing turkey populations in the Pittsburgh area and move them to other sites that do not have a great turkey population. We were involved with a project with South Dakota, where they had a decrease in their turkey population in a section of the state, and they wanted to try our Eastern turkey. We wanted to try a project (with the help of the Turkey Federation, the Pheasant Federation, and California University) to trade our Eastern turkeys for some of their over abundance of pheasants. With the help of some farms, and Consol Coal, we were able to have wild pheasants brought back to place in these areas that wouldn't be hunted, and to let the population naturally build to hopefully spread out and re-establish the wild pheasant in Pennsylvania. The challenge of trapping turkeys (which you should experience) is hard, dirty, physical, but extremely rewarding.
     I also love the challenge of figuring out how to get wildlife out of the trouble they can get themselves into: a hawk out of a building, tranquilizing a bear up a tree and getting them out of a situation they shouldn't be in.

FS: What do you think most hunters might not realize about your job?
BF: Our job doesn't end with hunting season. We go all year round with hunter education classes, school programs, boyscout/girlscout programs, Youth Field Days, investigations, court hearings, and wildlife complaints. Spring time is very busy with wildlife being born all over the place.
     We do wildlife surveys of many types of wildlife and habitats for biological information.
     We do a fawn study, where if we find a doe that has been killed by a car in the spring, we remove any fetuses, sex them, measure them (this all gives information on the breading timeline of the does, when the doe got pregnant, and when the fawns would have been born). We also remove one of her lower jaws to be aged later to give the ages of the doe having fawns.
     When we trap a bear, we tranquilize them and do a full work-up for biological information. We weigh them, measure them, remove a tooth for aging, and put tags in their ears so they can be identified later (which is further information if they get in trouble again, or to determine how far they traveled from the last time they were tagged or recorded). We also tattoo them under their gums with a number from the tags in case their tags are at some point removed from their ears. Then we relocate them to an area that is more conducive to a bear population, make sure they come out of the drug safely and go on their way.
     We cooperate and assist other officers from other states on investigations of theirs and ours.
     If needed, we can go anywhere in the state of Pa and assist other officers if the extra help is needed.

     I don't injure myself all that frequently (knock on wood), but last week, I did a number on my right toe. I don't want to overhype it -- no emergency room visit or stitches required. But it was a good reminder that one absent-minded little misstep can lead to trouble.

     I wasn't hunting or really doing anything all that active at the time. I was setting the self-timer for an outdoors family photo (very athletic, I know). I got everything set up, and -- thinking I was being smart -- I kicked off my flip flops so I wouldn't fall when I ran into place. I hit the shutter button, made my mark, the camera clicked, and the photo was a lovely tribute to home and family.

     After our successful little shoot, I slipped back into my flip flops while shutting down the camera and headed back to the house with a few cousins. A few minutes later, I realized my foot felt wet. I looked down, and my flip flop was soaked with blood which was also squishing up between my toes. I figured I must have stepped on something when I ran into place for the photo, but I coulndn't understand why I hadn't felt anything. It was a long walk back (this photo was in a specific location), and by the time we got there, the blood was overflowing my flip flops.

     What I ended up with after a very pleasant cleaning session at the bathroom sink was a deep cut on the underside of my now very-swollen right big toe (I took a picture -- I figured the camera was handy!) And the next few days of family fun was made a little more complicated by the fact that I could only walk on my right heel, which is to say, not very fast. I was a total nerd about cleaning it every morning and night and keeping it bandaged all day. On about day three a little black fleck in the wound surfaced as a piece of gravel that I was finally able to clean out -- cool!

     Now my toe is well on its way to recovery. But how silly that a one-second, four-meter dash would result in all that inconvenience. I have to say, though, despite the boring circumstance, I'm quite proud of my little injury and the little scar I'll be able to show off as proof of my sacrifice for the family album.

     I'm sure many of us have suffered much more heroic injuries than this -- maybe while actually out in the field doing something actually active. Cuts, sprains, broken bones, what's your best story? -K.H.

     I missed blogging this past week! But you've certainly been busy volleying over Gov. Palin -- talk about divisive!
     I'm also glad to hear about all the great hunts that are starting up -- I really can't wait to hear updates and see pictures. Unfortunately, my trip wasn't hunting-related, so I'm really looking forward to hearing about yours.
     I see that while I was gone Olympian Kim Rhode had her custom 12-gauge Perazzi stolen from her pick up Thursday. Talk about the wrong thing to take from the wrong person. According to this Los Angeles Times story story, Rhode was in Lake Elsinore, Ca., shopping for her upcoming wedding at an outlet center, when she came out to discover the window of her truck smashed and her gun -- locked in its case -- missing. It was the only thing taken. A surveillance video showed two men in a Ford Expedition driving slowly past her truck minutes before the theft occurred.
     Rhode is apparently offering a $5,000 reward for the gun's return. "There's just no words to describe what that gun means to me," Rhode told reporters shortly after the incident. No kidding! I can't imagine what a theft of that magnitude must feel like.
     On a happier gear-related note, I'll be posting more on the Giveaway in the early part of the week -- I'm still finalizing how it's all working this year, but I'm very excited about starting it up! -K.H. 

     I'm about to be traveling for a week with limited Web access, so there's a chance I won't be posting for a few days. BUT, to announce something to look forward to when I'm back, I'm very happy to say that starting later this month, the Gear Giveaway will return to FSHuntress!
     For those of you who were reading the blog last year, you know that the Giveaway includes prizes from packs to field jackets, and that winners are announced on Fridays. With our sponsorship this year, the Giveaway is even better, with some great gifts from Filson, ready to find a good home.
     I'm looking forward to starting up with prize distribution shortly after I'm back. In the meantime, I'm sure there will be plenty to discuss this week among yourselves with the Republican convention and the spotlight on Gov. Palin alone! K.H.