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  • February 8, 2012

    Report: Radioactive Fish Found in VT Linked to Weapons Testing, Not Nuclear Plant

    --Chad Love

    Two years ago the discovery of radioactive fish near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant caused an uproar (and some "Simpsons" jokes. Sorry, Vermont...)

    At the time there was speculation that proximity to the power plant was the cause, but in a nod to the old saw that "correlation does not necessarily mean causation" a new batch of radioactive Vermont fish have been discovered - 150 miles away from the power plant.

    From this story on wptz.com:

    A new report finds fish in the northern part of Vermont are radioactive like the fish living in the waters near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The significance of this finding is not just that these fish have radioactive elements in their bones, it's that the ones found up north have no physical connection to those in the Connecticut River by Vermont Yankee.

  • January 6, 2012

    KS May Nix Hunting and Fishing License Exemption for Seniors

    --Chad Love

    In an age of reduced funding sources, declining hunter participation, and increases in the average age of hunters, can cash-strapped state wildlife agencies afford to continue offering exemptions to hunting and fishing licenses? That's the issue facing Kansas as its wildlife department prepares to ask the state legislature to eliminate the state's senior citizen exemption for hunting and fishing licenses.

    From this story in the Wichita Eagle:
    Kansas senior citizens could be required to buy hunting and fishing licenses after this year. For decades, residents 65 and over have been exempt from the annual permits that currently sell for about $18 each. Chris Tymeson of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission said Thursday that the agency will ask the Legislature to remove the exemption.

  • January 3, 2012

    Tis The Season for Sporting Expo's

    by Kirk Deeter

    When I can't actually be out on the river fishing, the next best thing is to be with thousands of like-minded outdoorsy people talking about fishing. And that's exactly what I'll be up to in the next few days, when the International Sportsmen's Exposition rolls into Denver January 5-8 at the Colorado Convention Center.

    I'll actually be hosting the Fly Fishing Theater, introducing the likes of Pat Dorsey, Kelly Galloup, Landon Mayer, and April Vokey. I'm going to be giving a couple talks myself, focused on "Stillwater Fishing for Trophy Trout" at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

  • December 21, 2011

    Virginia to Begin Charging Non-Hunters, Anglers for Access to Public Land

    --Chad Love

  • December 6, 2011

    Disabled Missouri Angler Loses Livelihood When Burglar Steals Fishing Tackle

    --Chad Love

    No-good heartless bastards recently stole a disabled, wheelchair-bound St. Louis, Missouri angler's entire inventory of fishing tackle from his van.

    From this story on kplr11.com:

    "...Someone apparently targeted Willie Vickers because he was an amputee who didn`t always have the stamina to bring his gear in from his van in the 4500 block of Ashland in North St. Louis, after hours of fishing. The water at Fairgrounds Park in North St. Louis and all that swims beneath the surface have been calling to Vickers since boyhood. 'I remember my first fish,' he said, recalling how a kind neighbor couple took him fishing for the first time more than 40 years ago. He was the only one of them to catch a fish that day.

  • September 14, 2011

    New NY Law Allows Anglers to Fish With Three Rods At Once

    --Chad Love

    New York anglers looking to up their odds of catching fish just got a boost from a new law that allows them to have three rods in the water at once.

    From this story on democratandchronicle.com:

    Tom Bishop described it best. "Finally a stimulus package that doesn't cost the taxpayer anything," the avid fisherman from Rochester said. Bishop, 60, was referring to legislation signed recently into law and effective immediately by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that allows anglers to have three rods, instead of two, in any body of freshwater in New York. Being able to use an additional pole will increase a fisherman's chances of catching a fish.

  • August 3, 2011

    Study: Hunting, Fishing in Rockies Proven to be Recession Proof

    by Chad Love

    In the current political climate it's fashionable (on both sides of the aisle) to cut programs and legislation that "doesn't pay its way." Not surprisingly, conservation and environmental programs and legislation are currently under attack because we "can't afford it any more." But what if, as many of us have been arguing for years, not only can good conservation and environmental programs pay their way, they also pump money into the economy even in the depths of a recession?
     
    That's the gist of a recent economic study from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks department that revealed hunting and fishing activity along the front range of the Rocky Mountains is a remarkably recession-proof activity and an important regional economic engine. And that's a very good reason, argues one sportsmans's group, to encourage further environmental legislation to protect the area.

    From this story in the Great Falls Tribune:
    The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front said that based on economic indicators from recent Fish, Wildlife & Parks studies of hunting's impact, the Front needs further legislative protection. Five Montana sportsmen said in a teleconference call Tuesday that the hunting industry is a rare economic bright spot in the current recession, and called the Front a poster child of this sustainable economic engine. "The remarkable thing we are seeing here is stability," said Randy Newberg, an accountant and host of the hunting television series "On Your Own Adventures." "The numbers along the Front show public land hunting has not been as susceptible to the broader economic challenges facing other industries during the recent recession," he said.

  • August 1, 2011

    Evironmental Groups: Some PA Forest Land Leases for Gas Drilling May Be Illegal

    --Chad Love

    The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is leasing more state forest land for gas drilling to make up for budget cuts, but environmental groups say some of those leases may be illegal.

    From this story in the Pocono Record:
    Despite a $27.2 million, or 33 percent, cut in state funding this year, DCNR's overall budget increased from $282 million to $284 million. The increase was made possible by $65 million from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund, which is up from $35 million last year. The fund was created in 1955 to maintain revenue from DCNR's leases with natural gas drilling companies for portions of the state's 2.1 million acres of forests. Thanks to a surge in revenue from the leases, the state has cut funding to DCNR, which has been trimming its budget. Among the cost-saving efforts are shortening camping and swimming seasons, closing some restrooms and improving maintenance. However, department spokesman Terry Brady said there will be "no state park closures." But, some natural gas drilling leases may violate a federal law requiring that land purchased with federal funds must be available for public use, according to the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club. Since natural gas drilling requires closing at least a portion of the land to build gas wells, the public does not have full access, the club argues.

  • July 29, 2011

    Construction for Arkansas River Art Project to Begin Next Fall

    --Chad Love

    You may recall a few weeks ago, the almost universal comment panning that Field Notes readers gave a proposed art project over the Arkansas River. Alas, there obviously were no Field Notes readers in the "deciders" division of the Bureau of Land Management, because the BLM just approved artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff's plan to cover around six miles of water on the Arkansas River with sheets of fabric that look like water. Because it's...art.
     
    From this story in the Pueblo (CO) Chieftain
    The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Thursday released the final environmental impact statement for New York artist Christo's Over The River project, paving the way for the plan to proceed if final approval comes this fall. After 2 1/2 years of study, the approved form is much how Christo envisioned the grand-scale artwork. It will allow for the suspension of eight silvery, luminous fabric panel segments totaling 5.9 miles over portions of the Arkansas River between Salida and Canon City.

  • July 27, 2011

    Idaho Angler Lands Huge Rainbow Trout, New State Record

    By Online Editors

    The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says Mark Adams, a 41-year-old man from Pocatello, has landed a new Idaho state record rainbow trout.

    From this story on therepublic.com:
    Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials say a 41-year-old railroad engineer has shattered a state record with this 34.74-pound rainbow trout.

    Union Pacific Railroad locomotive engineer Mark Adams caught the lunker in American Falls Reservoir Monday morning. It took Adams 15 minutes to bring in the trout, which broke old state record by 14.72 pounds.

    Adams tells the Idaho State Journal that he and his fishing buddy first thought the fish was a carp because it didn't have a lot of color. Adams called another friend who advised him to get his catch to a certified scale.

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