Field Notes

According to this PR Newswire press release, the “hunt for the High Life” begins tomorrow, as a limited offering of Miller High Life with new hunter-themed packaging hits store shelves in select markets. Proceeds will contribute to the brewer’s continued support of Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and the National Wild Turkey Association.

What do you think of the new look? Will it make you more likely to enjoy this particular brand of beer after (AND ONLY AFTER) the hunt?

Forget to get your duck stamp for this weekend’s resident goose opener? No worries if you live in one the nine states below.

From a USFWS press release:

This new program, debuting September 1st, allows the fish and wildlife agencies of Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin, to sell stamps electronically through their individual automated licensing systems, providing a special receipt as proof of purchase. This proof of purchase -- a unique code given to the purchaser instantly -- will be accepted as evidence of a Federal Duck Stamp purchase for 45 days -- time enough for the printed stamp to arrive in the mail.

This aquatic algae is already a problem in southern and western US waters; now it’s turning up in New England rivers, including the Connecticut, White, and Battenkill. Didymosphenia geminata, as it’s officially known, threatens aquatic insect and fish populations. Says one Connecticut River fishing guide: "Growth [of young fish] is slowed at best, and at worst they could starve to death." Check out the full story here.

We are, by far. According to a new report, the US has 90 guns for every 100 citizens. But could you have guessed that Yemen, Finland, and Switzerland would round out the top four most heavily armed citizenry per capita?

From Reuters:

U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.

On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38.

The owners of North Dakota’s Sheyenne Valley Lodge, along with seven guides and 94 hunters, are charged with a host of federal game violations primarily related to chronically shooting well over the legal limit of upland birds and waterfowl. According to their plea agreements, lodge operators Theodore Mertz and Orlan Mertz will each get 18 months probation and loss of hunting privileges in North America for 18 months. Together, they will pay an total of $90,000 in fines and restitution and never again guide or outfit hunters in the US. Read the full story here.

Gawker, a blog that dishes out Manhattan media news and gossip, wonders how effective this visually stunning British anti-gun ad is, especially in a country where firearm possession is already illegal. The spot makes its writers want to go out and shoot stuff, and as they put it, “the first 50 seconds . . . would make a perfect opening for an NRA PowerPoint recruitment presentation.”

Check it out and tell us what you think.

From the Denver Post:

The U.S. Forest Service has begun imposing travel restrictions on ATVs and other off-road vehicles nationally, ending their long-standing permission to go almost anywhere.

"People would say, 'Well, look, there's a two-track there, and it's been there for a long time,"' said Paul Cruz, recreation staff officer for the Arapahoe National Forest. "That won't work anymore. Now, the burden is on the user to have a ... map and to follow it."

What do you think? Is this the right policy?

If you’ve been following along on this one, you know that Pennsylvania’s plan to freeze gun sales over Labor Day weekend to allow an upgrade of the state's computerized background check system has not gone over well with the outdoor community, especially as it coincides with the openers of dove and Canada goose seasons. On Friday, a group of gun dealers filed suit to block the plan. Now, the Gov. Rendell has announced that the state will move forward with the freeze, but for 18 hours less than originally scheduled. Here’s the latest.

The bear showed up as Amy and David Raiche rode horseback to a remote cabin in the Alaskan wilderness near Rainy Pass. At about 35 yards, and after two warning shots fired by David, the grizzly finally seemed to figure it out: Three’s a crowd on a couple’s honeymoon. It wheeled and ran off. Read it here.

Too bad they don’t do this every time they encounter a vehicle.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dkuehY-Hh44