Here's something you don't see every day ...

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Yesterday we linked to a report about how encounters between humans and black bears are way up in the eastern U.S. And as if you needed an example:

From the Ashville Citizen-Times:

Gaynell Lumsden was in her garage at Great Aspen Lane when [a mother bear and two cubs] came into her yard about 8:30 p.m. Her small dog went after the bears, and when Lumsden tried to get her dog away, she was swatted by the mother bear.

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With black bear numbers exploding in the East, encounters with humans are up significantly, according to the latest survey. But there’s an upside: This is a heck of a time to take up bear hunting (if your state allows it—sorry New Jersey).

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From the National Post:

What began as any other trek through the woods north of Grande Cache, [Alberta, to collect moose antlers] quickly turned into a pitched battle between a protective mother bear and an equally resolute father determined to defend his son. . . .

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It’s been a while since we’ve discussed climate change, and it seems the winds of, well, change are swirling around that very topic in Washington. So the question is, are you ready for a National Climate Service? Actually, it’s probably coming, ready or not.

From the Washington Post:

The House Science and Technology Committee is scheduled to consider legislation . . . that would establish a "National Climate Service". . . that would head up the government's efforts to provide policy-relevant information about climate and climate change . . . .

Eric J. Barron, the director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, told the House Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment at a hearing earlier this month that the country's current climate services are a "patchwork" that are ill-suited to help society prepare for and respond to climate change.

"Currently, there is no single source of authoritative, credible and useful information that will allow society to span such important topics as the physical aspects of sea level rise, temperature and precipitation, the resource implications of failed crops, anticipating adverse human health outcomes, robust water supply, managing changes in ecosystems, or the social implications... [ Read Full Post ]

Think the last restaurant bathroom you were in was scary? Check out this footage. Said manager Erin McGough to First Coast News, "I think if it would've been bigger than 3 feet I would've soiled my britches." (And as an employee, she would have been required to wash her hands.)

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When it comes to camping at Colorado’s Conundrum Hot Springs, whether or not to go may depend on whether or not you’ll need to go--and whether or not you’re willing to carry it out after you go.

From The Aspen Times:

The Forest Service will place a dispenser full of human poop bags at the trailhead this month and urge backpackers to use them, according to Kevin Warner, wilderness crew supervisor for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. . . .

Warner hopes the program doesn’t present a conundrum for backpackers. He hopes the concept appeals to backpackers’ environmental ethic.

“Two thousand people, two thousand poops — they start thinking, ‘Definitely something should be done up here,’” Warner said.

So what do you think? Good idea? Would you use the bags? [ Read Full Post ]

I recently had the chance to check out Motorola’s newest Talkabout two-way radio.  I’ve always been skeptical about the claims made by all walkie-talkie makers…”50 Miles Capability”…stuff like that. Then I take them up to my hunting camp in New York’s Catskill Mountains and they won’t reach a buddy who’s a mile away. These things work when you’re on flat ground, but in heavily forested, rolling mountains and hills? Nah.

So, when I took out the new Talkabout (Model MR355R – catchy, huh?) and tried calling my turkey hunting buddy Bill, who had walked out of the cabin five minutes earlier, I got no response. So much for this unit, I thought. But then I remembered that the new model has a Power Boost button. I pressed it, and damn! There was Bill on the other end, telling me he wasn’t hearing any turkeys. The company claims it has a 35-mile range, and while I didn’t try to contact Bill 35 miles away, I will say it is definitely more powerful than its predecessor.

Another feature I like is the 11 weather channels, including 7 from NOAA. (It said it was going... [ Read Full Post ]

From the Jackson Hole Daily:

Wyoming Game and Fish officials have reported a grizzly bear feeding on a moose carcass in the Snake River Canyon, miles past what is normally considered the southern boundary of occupied grizzly habitat in the region. . . .

“It was a pretty bad situation there,” said Mike Boyce, a bear management specialist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “The bear was acting fairly agitated towards several motorists who had stopped.”

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The legend goes something like this: Ernest Hemingway and a companion were sitting in a bar somewhere (As Hemingway was wont to do) when a bet was made. Hemingway's companion, the story goes, challenged him to write a complete story in six words (or ten, the details vary with the telling) or less.

The result was a masterpiece of brevity that reads thusly:
 
For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

It's a brilliantly crafted bit of writing that in six terse words manages to capture the entire arc of the human experience, but did Hemingway really write it? The jury is still very much out on that one and probably always will be but the story itself is a classic of the "flash fiction" genre.
 
This got me thinking: Is it possible to write a hunting or fishing story that captures the essence of the experience in six words or less?
 
Let's find out. Here's a chance for all you aspiring Twitter-length novelists out there to show the world your literary style. Six words. One story. Try it.
 
The winner will receive... [ Read Full Post ]

F&S is the best magazine of its size on the planet. Okay, I’m a little biased on that point--but it’s not just me who thinks so. Last night, the country’s top magazine editors representing the country’s top magazines met at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the 44th Annual National Magazine Awards. Known as Ellies, these are basically the Oscars of the magazine industry, and “General Excellence” is “Best Picture.”

The 2009 General Excellence nominees for magazines with a circulation of 1 to 2 million were: Field & Stream, Bon Appetit, The New Yorker, Vogue, and Popular Science. And the winner is, from the American Society of Magazine Editors website:

Field & Stream: Anthony Licata, editor, for May, June, December/January issues
From tips on becoming a total outdoorsman to profiles of veteran amputees reentering the world of hunting, Field & Stream respects its readers enough to challenge them. Like all great magazines, this one is much more ambitious than it needs to be and delivers the goods, but also provokes with content that is consistently savvy, witty and large-hearted. Nominated 14 times, this is Field & Stream’s first Ellie.

I know all of you have been waiting for an opportunity to heap... [ Read Full Post ]

We've talked a lot in the past about the dangers of shark fishing. While lots of people have close calls boating threshers and makos, you don't often hear stories that result in hospitalization or bloodshed. I'd say that's because while sharks may have a mouth full of teeth, those teeth don't extend four feet out in front of their heads.

Marlin, on the other hand, need but thrash or jump, swinging that needle-nose around and damage to boats and anglers becomes relatively common. Take the photo above. That man is getting speared through the back by hot blue marlin that decided to fly over the transom during the fight. If you need more proof, I suggest you check out this gallery I just put together of seven marlin attack videos, including the one from which I grabbed the still shot you see here.

But I warn you: some of these videos are not pretty, so watch at your own risk.

Now I give plenty of credit to catfish noodlers who get cut up by fin spines and the occasional muskie man that gets a clamp-down on his hand. But you tell me what's more dangerous than a... [ Read Full Post ]