by David E. Petzal

As 2011 lurches into history like a smelly old wino, I take MAC in hand to review some of the lows of the year.

You Can’t Get it Right All the Time: In the 1960s the Department of Defense decided that all future combat was going to take place at 300 meters or less and, now that the distance has increased again to 500 meters and over, is scrambling to come up with guns and ammunition that can hack it at long range. We, of course, are paying for all this.

What’s next? Tac Nukes? Some weeks ago, Mayor for Life Bloomberg referred to the New York City Police as “my private army.” People assumed he was joking. I don’t. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has coyly announced that the NYPD has the technology to shoot down airplanes, presumably to avoid a repeat of 9/11. Commissioner Kelly did not say what kind of armament was involved. It could be missiles, or it could be 30mm cannon on Mayor Bloomberg’s private jet. The NYPD averages one hit per 72 rounds expended with its handguns, so the mind reels at the havoc it can wreak with this kind of firepower.

by Kirk Deeter

It's time to gaze into the crystal ball and and make my predictions for the sport of fly fishing in the coming year. 2011 was a challenge for some, with lingering sluggishness in the economy, unusually high water throughout much of the country, and only a few really great new products to drive the market. Still, we saw some records fall, fishing in the Gulf Coast rebounded nicely from the oil spill, many guides I know reported boom seasons (once the water was right), and holiday sales seem to have added some year-end cheer for many in the industry.

Looking downstream, here's what I see in 2012:

--Chad Love

Some conservation groups are blasting new proposed federal guidelines for protecting sage grouse habitat as critically flawed.

From this story in the Billings Gazette:

Conservation groups across the West expressed disappointment Wednesday in a federal document that will guide the management of sage grouse habitat over the next several years. The Bureau of Land Management's new Instruction Memorandum, released Tuesday, recommends policies needed to mitigate the threats to sage-grouse habitat until long-term protection measures are developed.

--Chad Love

Hot on the heels of New jersey's contentious, litigious and largely successful bear season comes the Garden State's first special nighttime coyote hunt.

From this story on newjerseynewsroom.com:

First it was the black bears, now it’s coyotes. Beginning next Monday, New Jersey will permit hunters to shoot the wolves on the spot for a special hunting season. The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife estimates more than five thousand coyotes are running wild around in the Garden State. Biologist Andrew Burnett says they usually prey on rodents and rabbits, but can easily attack small pets, alarming many residents and pet owners.