By Chad Love

Olympic shooting sports are suddenly hot. In the wake of Kim Rhode's amazing and historic gold in women's skeet she's getting a lot of much-deserved love in the press. But skeet is not the only feel-good story. The US men's archery team brought home our first medal of the games, winning silver in a dramatic, down-to-the-last-arrow match against Italy. Apparently, the excitement of the shootout has some sportswriters wishing the Olympics had more archery events.

From this story on slate.com:
Today’s tremendously exciting men's team archery finals—Italy over the USA with a bull’s-eye on the final arrow!—brought to mind a question that’s long been nagging at me: Would Olympic archers be any good at bow hunting?

When Kim Rhode, then 17, stood on the podium at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta with her first gold medal hanging from her neck, she never dreamed 16 years later she would make history in London at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but that's exactly what happened Sunday morning.

Rhode, 33, set a new Olympic record in qualifying for Women's Skeet with 74 hits out of 75. She went on to match her own world record with a perfect 25 in the final for a total of 99 out of 100, winning the gold.

She is the first U.S. athlete in history to medal in an individual sport at five consecutive Olympic Games.

--Chad Love

Would you be comfortable with a corporate sponsor for your state wildlife agency? That's what the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is looking into...
 
From this story in the Houston Chronicle:
 
In a first for the state, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking corporate partners to use the agency's well-known logo and brand in exchange for hard currency, the agency announced this week. The move provides a much-needed revenue stream as the department grapples with major budget cuts coupled with devastating droughts and wildfires. While other state park agencies have dabbled with similar ideas or struck corporate sponsorships deals for specific projects, industry officials believe this would be the first time a department that oversees a state's natural resources actively seeks contract-based partnerships.

By Chad Love

If you had 640 acres of land--one square mile--what would you do with it? For one Colorado man the choice was easy: donate the property to Pheasants Forever as a way of honoring his father's legacy.

From this press release on the Pheasants Forever website:
Rob Peterson, 53, of Colorado Springs, Colo., has donated his 640-acre property near Cimarron, Kans., to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever as part of the organization’s Grassroots Conservation Campaign, furthering PF’s habitat mission and generously providing a place for future hunters and outdoorspeople to enjoy forever. Peterson, a long-time PF member and Pikes Peak Colorado Pheasants Forever chapter co-chair, noted that his father’s passion for the outdoors and the time they spent hunting and fishing are the main reasons to make Pheasants Forever the recipient of his major gift.