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February 29, 2008

Discussion Topic: Is Lower Hunting Age a "Band-Aid"?

The editorial board of the Rapid City Journal thinks so. They write:
The road to Pierre is paved with good intentions, and no bill exemplifies that as much as the one by Rep. Mike Buckingham, R-Rapid City, to lower the legal hunting age from 12 to 10.

Buckingham and supporters of HB1263 say the bill is needed to preserve interest in hunting and the great outdoors for the generations of South Dakotans to come. While we wholeheartedly support the lawmakers’ goal of getting kids off the couch and out the front door for some old-fashioned recreation, they miss the mark with this bill.

The truth is, most hunters begin their love of nature well before the age of 10, alongside their family, friends and mentors while actively hunting, fishing and honing skills to become a true outdoorsman.

. . . HB1263 is little more than a politically popular Band-Aid that will do little to address the real problem.

What do you think?

February 29, 2008 in Discussion Topic | | Comments (37)

Operation Catchfish Stages Tournament in Iraq

From the Orlando Sentinel:
Ray Combs thought he'd witnessed the wildest fishing action that the world had to offer.

But that was before the Orlando videographer hopped a military cargo plane to Baghdad. . . .

"I have been on boats shooting video as an 18-foot hammerhead ate a 200-pound tarpon mere feet away from me," said Combs, 32. "But . . . it doesn't compare to the surreal feeling of watching soldiers fish while holding their rifle in one hand and a spinning reel in the other. . . .”

Operation Catchfish was staged on Lake Z . . . about 15 minutes from downtown Baghdad. The tourney drew 357 entrants, including servicemen and women from the U.S., South Korea, Tonga, Australia and Great Britain. . . .

In the end, Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Carter Jr., of Smith, Ala., caught the winning fish using a rattletrap tipped with pizza crust. His prize was a $600 watch.

Be sure to check out the full article, plus video and slide show.

February 29, 2008 in Fishing | | Comments (1)

Gourmet Magazine Cooks Up Varmints

Creamed woodchuck, anyone? How about some roast raccoon, squirrel in cider, or the pièce de résistance, roast beaver Michigan?

It’s all on the menu at Gourmet, as they dig into their past:
These exclusive recipes are pulled directly from Gourmet's archive. They have not been re-tested by our food editors since they were published in the magazine, but they're a pretty good indication of the kinds of things we once cooked—and ate—with great pleasure.

 

February 29, 2008 in Hunting | | Comments (9)

February 28, 2008

Discussion Topic: The Case of the Missing Venison

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
A deer processor in Butler County faces 28 violations of the state Game and Wildlife Code related to the alleged illegal taking of deer and the theft of legal game from private hunters and meat designated for the poor.

“This man stands accused of stealing from hard-working hunters - both their venison and their money - and sadly, people in need,” [Wildlife Conservation] Officer [Randy] Pilarcik said.

Mr. Kielty faces penalties of up to $22,700, and the possible loss of his hunting and trapping privileges for up to 65 years . . . .

I don’t want to suggest for a minute that most game processors are crooks. The vast majority I’ve dealt with have been great. But I’ll be honest: There’s been a time or two when my box of white packages seemed a little light, and I’ve wondered—right or wrong—what the butcher was having for dinner that night. You?

February 28, 2008 in Discussion Topic | | Comments (34)

February 27, 2008

Discussion Topic: Carrying On Campus

Here’s the latest on a familiar topic, from The Arizona Republic:
Legislation that would allow people to carry guns on Arizona community-college or public-university campuses advanced Monday, 11 days after a gunman killed five people and himself in an Illinois university lecture hall.

Members of the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee passed the legislation along a party-line 4-3 vote.

Senate Bill 1214, which would allow concealed-weapons permit holders to carry a gun at community colleges and Arizona's three public universities, next heads to the Senate Rules Committee.

Your reaction?

February 27, 2008 in Discussion Topic | | Comments (87)

Celebrated Chinese Antelope Photo Is A Fake

An award-winning photo that appeared to depict the harmonious coexistence of man’s ultra-modern progress and Nature’s timeless rhythms smacked a bit too much like government propaganda to sharp-eyed critics, who have now revealed the image as a Photoshopped fake. Turns out, as this as this Wall Street Journal article puts it, “train tracks in Tibet aren't where the antelope play.”

Lopes

February 27, 2008 in Outdoor Oddities | | Comments (6)

Doctors Say Fishing Writer Was Infected By Fish

All fishermen hope to get a bite, but not like this. We wish Mr. Millichamp and his family all the best.

From Yahoo News:
Fishing writer Ross Millichamp remains in a serious condition at Christchurch Hospital with a flesh-eating disease -- apparently after being bitten by a fish. A hospital spokeswoman said tonight the author of the 1997 guide, Salmon Fever, was "still seriously ill".

Doctors are reported to have suggested that he may have been bitten by a fish while fishing for barracuda and blue cod off the coast of Stewart Island last week.

February 27, 2008 in Fishing | | Comments (3)

February 26, 2008

Discussion Topic: Is This Arkansas Cougar Real?

Here’s the latest Internet cougar candy. These photos popped up in my inbox with an unaccredited message reading, This lion was hit between Prescott and Ashdown Arkansas, by a car. Fish and Game had to come and put him down. He charged at the Fish and Game guy in the process. Look at his PAWS!

What do you think? Are these photos real or doctored? Does anyone have more information about this claim?

Paws1

Paws

February 26, 2008 in Discussion Topic | | Comments (56)

Austrian Diver Dies In Shark Attack Off Florida

Diving near the Bahamas with Riviera-based Scuba Adventures, whose website advertises the “unique” opportunity to get “face to face” with sharks, vacationing Vienna lawyer Markus Groh, 49, was bitten by a shark and airlifted to a hospital where he died, according to this New York Times story.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Shark-Bite.html?ex=1204606800&en=0d6e1ebd7a14e91b&ei=5070&emc=eta1

February 26, 2008 in Animal Attacks | | Comments (11)

Illinois DNR Chief Gets $10K For Commute

Fish and wildlife agencies around the country are financially strapped. Hmm . . . .
From the Herald & Review:
The acting director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is on pace to collect nearly $10,000 in travel reimbursements from taxpayers this year, simply for going to work. . . .

The travel money is on top of his $120,000 salary and the use of a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria from the state motor pool. . . .

[An IDNR spokesperson, however,] said the arrangement is saving the state money because Flood is serving both as an assistant director of the agency, as well as acting director.

Be sure to check out the full story.
http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/02/20/news/state/1030228.txt

February 26, 2008 in Conservation | | Comments (4)

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