HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE

Today is shortest day of the year

Gentrification in Denver

I love High Country News
Gentrification in Denver: Transformation in Denver
and I love  the Light Rail

How a Fine Shotgun is Crafted

Fine Art of Shotgun craftsmanship
You can't really appreciate the feel and use, AND THE PRICE, of a great shotgun until you see how it is made...

Browns Canyon Nat'l Monument...Udall's Last Call

What do you think? Should Browns Canyon become a National Monument? Senator Udall and Senator Bennett have written to the President to ask him to designate it under the Antiquities Act.
Groups to show in force today for Brown Canyon

What is the Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area and Who is Louis Bacon?

Louis Bacon is blessed and so is Colorado and the nation for having him as a landowner.
This happened 2 years ago and where are we today:
http://www.cclt.org/cclt/component/content/article/1-news/588-sangre-de-cristo-conservation-area-created-with-donation-of-easement.html

WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE OUR PUBLIC LANDS

If you value your public lands as I do, be a part of the process that manages those lands and keeps them available for us all in perpetuity. Our PUBLIC LANDS are in place for the benefit of us all. Oftentimes I hear comments that "these lands are locked up", "why does the Federal Gov't have to own all these lands", "I should be free to drive my atv wherever I want (speaking about public lands here) and no one should shut me out from using this trail", and on we go.
Do you think our public lands should be for sale?
What exactly ARE public lands?
I encourage you to support/join at least one conservation organization to you believe is worthy of your support.

Bob Morgan Leaves a Legacy in North Dakota...

Our friend and colleague Bob Morgan, passed away on November 17. He will be MISSED.
Here's to a lasting influence on the Outdoors of North Dakota, in memory of Bob Morgan:
While working with the Bismarck, ND Forestry Dept. in the 1970'2 and 80's, I had the pleasure of working with Bob. He was a valued Advisor to our Dept. His knowledge of forestry and natural resource management was inspirational. He was one of my mentors in the field of forestry and natural resources. He inspired me to pursue a career in the forestry/natural resource field that today continues to inspire me.
Bob Morgan Leaves a Legacy for North Dakota

I thought the Black-Footed Ferret was gone!!??

Wow, the Black-Footed Ferret is alive and thriving...thanks to that pesky ole Endangered Species Act...
reintroduction of the black-footed ferret

Land and Water Conservation Fund...Congress Must Reauthorize

Land and Water Conservation Fund What Is It?

We all need this program...but we all do not fund it...find out more...

Emerald Ash Borer in Colorado and America

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is racing across America. Another exotic pest gone wild in the North America. It is very important that we have a handle on managing this pest that is killing millions of ash trees in North America, especially the U.S. Urban foresters are on the offensive to protect this valuable urban resource. Our native stands are also being ravaged.
See this important message on managing the pest: Fighting the EAB with a predatory wasp

EAB in Colorado...Significant

Emerald Ash Borer in Denver Area has significant impact on urban forests for Colorado

Koala Bears...they're huggin' cute...and Smart!

Those little, smart, and adaptable Koala Bears...they're Chillin'
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/06/trees-become-refrigerators-koalas?utm_source=WIT060614&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees

Missoula Montana Doing Great Things!

My compliments to Tracy Stone-Manning for convincing the City of Missoula, Montana to plant this poplar forest to help filter wastewater discharge....agroforestry at its best.
http://ravallirepublic.com/news/state-and-regional/article_36209d76-a7e4-56ea-85bd-252a66026e16.html?utm_source=WIT060614&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees

MORE HONEYBEE SUPPORT

It usually takes Oregon to lead the way.
After last year's massive "killing" of honeybees by spraying in an Oregon parking lot, Oregon took some action.
Be careful with pesticides in any case:
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/oregon-moves-to-help-disappearing-honeybees?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email

The World's Forests on Fire....see the Map

If you think we're the only country with forest fires,
check out the map in the News_References at the end of this blog...Up in Smoke


that of course doesn't mean that just because there is a fire that it is all bad...learn more...
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/forests/howwework/integrated-fire-management.xml 

Honey Bee Loss Update

 

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE NEWS AND REFERENCES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG

ESPECIALLY THE LATEST ONE ON THE

HONEY BEE ISSUE

 

 

REMEMBER THAT HONEY BEES

SHOULD NOT BE KILLED!

unlike the Africanized Honey Bees...nasty little creatures

 

YES, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT HAVE ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO THEIR STINGS

(They sting if they get pinched in your clothes or whatever. They don't aggressively attack you like the hornet or wasp will do)

 

THEY ARE THE MAIN REASON WE EAT SO WELL IN THIS WORLD

Enjoy the Now (says Drake magazine Editor, Tom Bie)

When a trout chooses to prey upon what he thinks is weaker than himself, the angler ought not to be blamed for it!
George Washington Bethune (1847)

The Legacy We Leave

Our Association of Consulting Foresters, Executive Director, Lynn Wilson, wrote this quote (by Jim Rohn, author and philosopher) last year in the CONSULTANT magazine:

"The legacy we leave is part of the ongoing foundations of life. Those who came before leave us the world we live in. Those who will come after will have only what we leave them. We are stewards of this world, and we have a calling in our lives to leave it better than how we found it, even if it seems like such a small part."

...and don't forget: "...planet earth, it's our only home"

Why Natural Gas Flares on Oil Rigs?

Ever wonder why the oil rigs are "wasting" the natural gas coming from the pumping of oil? You know, you've seen rigs where the gas is being burned off at the top of the rig. Well, Emily Guerin, The Goat Blogger reports:
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/north-dakota-blm-look-to-curb-natural-gas-flaring

HUNTING IS CONSERVATION...One of America's few sources of funding for wildlife conservation!!

Why Hunting is a contributor to Conservation and Stewardship:
http://www.rmef.org/Conservation/HuntingIsConservation/25ReasonsWhyHuntingIsConservation.aspx

A Hunter and a Killer...

What makes a hunter a true sportsman and a conservationist?
This is a must read:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/a-caretaker-and-a-killer-how-hunters-can-save-the-wilderness/284416/

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Tis the day for "Recognition of the Irish Culture and Heritage"...NOT A DAY OF DRINKING!

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-st-patricks-day?m=528e38969e64d





I dedicate this post to my good friend...Jimmy McGannon (recently deceased) from Wirral (Liverpool area), UK...he was one of England and Ireland's best!

Why I Fly Fish...It's so much more than that...

Fly fishing is so much more that just swinging a rod and pulling fish in...it is a natural high that brings nature in a surround sound, holistic approach...
watch this: http://www.orvis.com/news/fly-fishing/video-damsels-in-distress-on-a-new-zealand-stream/

Maple Syrup, Nature's Sweetener Unsurpassed

I pay the extra price for maple syrup, knowing it comes from a very unique source. The process to collect the syrup also inspires me to pay for that extra effort and quality control. The taste is like none other and one of the best sources of sweetness that nature can offer.
 http://gizmodo.com/a-discovery-that-literally-turns-the-maple-syrup-indust-1506172450

Time to Cull the Herd...Critter Counteroffensive...America Gone Wild...(recent headlines in Time and Wall St. Journal)

As our homes, towns, suburbs, cities, anywhere we live, have built out into the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), we have created millions of acres of "wildlife refuges" in this country. Throughout my life I have observed wildlife, hunted them, avoided them, studied them, worked with professional wildlife biologists, and dealt with "problem" wildlife. When I first started my forestry career with the City of Colorado Springs, we had a publication, Wildlife for your Backyard. The theme of this publication was how to "attract wildlife" to your backyard with the right kind of plants. Well, it's working. In addition, the WUI has become a safe, secure, and luscious place for the "once wild" animals of all types. In my lifetime, I have seen an evolution and transformation of the "wild animals" I have hunted, and observed in my neighborhoods. It isn't that often anymore that we see animals in the "wild". They are in/under our houses, in the backyards, in the open spaces, and on the roads of America. Like many of other Americans, I have run into animals on the roads and know others that have and gotten seriously injured or died. It's horrible to see how much wildlife we kill on our roadways alone. In Colorado for example, we kill an average of 514 animals on roads (reported kill: http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/environmental/wildlife/data/2012-roadkill-data-completed) annually. I bet we can double that figure if we add the "unreported" animals killed.
One year not too long ago I drove from Colorado to the Dakotas and stopped trying to count how many dead deer, raccoons, badgers, birds, cats/dogs, and everything else along the roads.
Even though at times I have been scoffed at for "killing innocent animals...hunting that is", I have stopped to console drivers and wounded wildlife on roads I've traveled. The compassionate side of me weeps to see especially the deer "smashed" by our vehicles everyday. One day long before sunrise, I was on the passenger side of a friend's vehicle. We were driving a mostly wooded roadway on the west side of Colorado Springs. Without any warning AT ALL, out jumps a beautiful buck!! We slam into him and I don't want to give the details of what happened to that poor animal. It was scary and very sad. Not only was his life ended, there was significant damage to the vehicle.
Vehicles are like magnets to deer. If you are unlucky enough to hit an elk, say your prayers you won't be killed or seriously hurt. Not to mention what happens to the animal you will hit. I may "kill" animals, I prefer to consider it "harvest" animals, as a hunter, but seeing these animals killed and maimed on our roadways makes me sick and sad. There is hope. Colorado has a project in the works that other states have already adopted. This project will become the norm, in my opinion: http://dnr.state.co.us/newsapp/press.asp?PressId=8646. Some examples of wildlife over/underpasses:

 

   The high dollar damage tally and the killed and maimed tally is HUGE across this country.
See TIME magazine, December 9, 2013:
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2158676,00.html . David Von Drehle does an excellent job of covering the very controversial dilemma we face in America as to "how to" and "why to" deal with wildlife that are now living "with us".
Other headlines (Wall Street Journal: AMERICA GONE WILD and CRITTER COUNTEROFFENSIVE).
Yes, we have built our homes and cities into the wilds of America, but now we have created "refuges" that in general are "hands off". This is not management, it is blind mismanagement.
Where I live, it is against our COVENANTS to hunt any animals. To boot, we live in the woods and still NO HUNTING!! The elk roam around the mountain and destroy countless trees/shrubs each year and the deer the same. As each year passes, there are more and more animals. As they say in wildlife management circles: we have surpassed the "carrying capacity" of the land with these animals.

  In my career as a natural resource professional, I have dealt with beavers chewing down the urban forest with no or little control; mountain lions and bear; raccoons in the home; pocket gophers destroying the roots of trees/shrubs; woodpeckers hammering away at the side of the house; and much more. Pest control in America is big business and highly regulated.
What to do? That is not only the question, it is the start to action.

Emerald Ash Borer and Burning Forests in Colorado

The recent Polar Vortex hopefully decimates EAB larvae: http://blogs.mprnews.org/updraft/2014/01/extreme-cold-may-wipe-out-high-percentage-emerald-ash-borer-larvae/?src=s._20140107_16687924

and of course more fire information for Colorado...insect-killed trees=more expected fires:
http://durangoherald.com/article/20140108/NEWS06/140109633/-1/s

 

Why Manage Our Forests?...see what Al Murray has to say...

Al Murray, forester out of Wisconsin, has prepared an opinion on why we "manage", or at least "need to manage" our woodlands.
I too, as an avid outdoorsman, hunter, fisher, etc. share this observation.
Thanks for the thoughts Al!
http://www.forestbusinessnetwork.com/31836/opinion-we-must-see-the-trees-for-the-forest/#comments