News that matters to hunters and anglers
It's hard to have much faith in the lame-duck congress, but there's still hope our soon-to-be-departed representatives might do something useful, such as passing a reauthorization bill for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, on their way out the door.
Effective, useful legislating. I realize that's a big haul. My fingers are crossed.
Harvests were down across the northwest region, at least in terms of what passed through FWP check stations. At check stations in west-central Montana the numbers were about the same as recent years.
My latest Out of Bounds column about turkeys, America's favorite bird, for one day at least.
My latest Out of Bounds column on pheasant hunting, and cooking.
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was conceived on a float trip on the Middle Fork Flathead River in the 1950s. Thanks in part to the Act, the Middle Fork remains wild, and scenic.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here's my most recent column on catch-and-release fishing and a potential new line of attack on angler conservationists.
It's no secret that animal rights zealots hate hunting. Catch-and-release fishing, on the other hand, has been heralded as a great conservation tool in Montana and anyplace sport fishing is popular. But new, and stunningly myopic research hints at a new line of attack: it's bad for fish.
Healthy trout populations in heavily fished Montana rivers and streams say otherwise.
In a recent column I outlined my preference for beer over stronger spirits after a day spent afield. But when I do reach for the strong stuff, bourbon is my beverage of choice.
I also outline my specs for a proper bourbon Manhattan.
Montana FWP officials have received reports from folks in the far northwest corner of the state that rare woodland caribou have been wandering across the border from Canada.
Woodland caribou were once permanent residents of Montana, Idaho and Washington, but changes in the old-growth forests that are the animal's preferred habitat have rendered caribou just occasional visitors today.
Here's my latest column Out of Bounds column in the Flathead Beacon. I made it back to my favorite chukar spot recently, and managed to find a few birds.
Doll, who doesn't always care for having her picture taken, otherwise had a great day.