A Tip of the Hat for a Successful Tarheel Hunter

Today Tom Higgins from Charlotte Observer had brief note about a successful hunter that I think is noteworthy;

Accomplished outdoorswoman Katie Barringer Watson, who lives near Richfield, has struck again.Watson, who celebrated her 91st birthday in September and was featured in an Observer outdoor column, bagged a 6-point buck this week while deer hunting with a rifle in Stanly County.
It’s unofficial, but she’s thought to be the oldest woman ever to harvest a deer in North Carolina. Watson drives to her favorite hunting spot in a camouflaged ATV and shoots from a tree stand 15 feet up that she built a couple of years ago. — TOM HIGGINS

It’s great to see young people getting out and enjoying the great outdoors.

The Dismal Swamp Hunt is a Go

Despite the last minute efforts of Animal Rights Groups the hunt will take place. In an earlier post I told you about the letter writing campaign and petetion that they engaged in to sidetrack the hunt.

John Stasko, a refuge supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the department will review the letter but go forward with the hunt. He said the department followed federal law and has provided information to the groups regarding its environmental assessment studies.

Stasko also said the groups had an opportunity over the last three years to raise objections but launched a final-week attempt to stop the hunt.

Good Luck to the hunters Friday will be warm but a front will come through late in the day and the temperatures will drop Saturday should be ideal.

Daily Press

Elk in Cataloochee Valley A Popular Draw

Whether elk will permanently roam Great Smoky Mountains National Park is still undecided, but according to Park biologist Kim DeLozier, there have been some surprising rewards reaped during the six years of an experimental release program.

One of my favorite places to visit in North Carolina is the Cataloochee Valley part of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I was up there in September and got to hear my first elk bugle. The Mountain Press has a story about the elk in the valley and the boom to the area they are.

The herd in the Cataloochee Valley on the North Carolina side of the Park now numbers 65 to 70 elk. Biologists have loved learning how they live and their impact on other animals and plants in the Park.
But the biggest bonus, according to DeLozier, may be how people have reacted to the presence of elk in the Smokies.

“The (elk release) has become a people project, and the reaction of both the local and visiting public has been very positive,” said DeLozier, noting that thousands more people visit the valley each year than ever before, and they come to see the elk. Additionally, initial concerns among residents surrounding the Park about the elk spreading diseases and damaging property have all but evaporated.

I hope that the herd continues to grow and although I understand the risks with bringing more in but I wish more from a disease free area could be brought in. Some other posts I’ve had on this topic.

Jul 06 Elk Update / The Births

Aug 06 Elk Update

Pennsylvania Deer Hunter Robbed at Gun Point

A Pennsylvania deer hunter claims that 3 men held him at gun point, forced him to empty his gun, and then they took the doe he had just killed. This story seems far fetched to me; there is no doubt more to this story then what has been reported. I find it hard to believe that anyone would rob someone at gun point to steel a doe, trophy buck maybe but not a doe. If the story pans out to be accurate as reported our fellow man has stooped to a low I can’t believe.

I’ve had treestands stolen, gates and chains cut, and hunt clubs broken into and even a snowshoe hare taken out of the back of my truck after a hunt but I’ve never had someone pull a weapon on me and rob me while hunting. We’ll continue to follow this story and see what happens.

The Meadville Tribune

Cancel that Trip to the Post Office

Yesterday I brought you the story about how a passport may be needed for your next off shore fishing trip but now it seems that’s not the case.

Offshore anglers need not worry, as such is not the case. The story apparently was misreported by the Associated Press and is no longer being circulated on the wire.

The ESPN Outdoors News Hound has gotten to the bottom of this issue.

Aigen stressed that as the Act relates to offshore travel by anglers and boaters, passports will be required — beginning in January 2008 — by U.S. citizens only when their craft has docked at a foreign port after departing from domestic waters.
The department spokesman also said the Associated Press was notified of its reporting error and was asked to print a correction.

For WS Journal Readers and Anyone Else who Missed Dan Kibler this Past Sunday

WS Journal fired Dan as we talked about in an earlier post. Since then the outcry from sportsmen has gotten the WS Journal to continue an outdoor section minus the local connection. This week’s stories came out of Virginia and another one out of New York, both fine states but it seems to me that during the height of the hunting season that some local stories would have been included. I’m sure the local advertisers are happy to see stories from those states and can expect orders from Virginia and New York to pour in over the coming days but I digress. Dan did have a story in the Fayetteville Observer about Fox Squirrels and I hope you follow the link and read it. I’ve yet to see one and would love the chance to hunt them sometime.

You May Need More Then A Tackle Box for that Next Fishing Trip

Starting in January anytime you go 60 or more miles out into the ocean fishing you’ll need a passport to reenter the United States. Of course swimming the Rio Grand will still not require any documentation. I’m all for tightening up the borders but this rule seems to be a bit ridiculous when I bet I drive by more illegals’ in a morning on my way to work that crossed a river then all of those who snuck in on a local fishing boat.

Passport to be required for offshore fishing

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Air and water travelers from abroad aren’t the only people who will need passports next year _ deep-sea anglers who go more than 60 miles from shore will, too.
That’s increased business significantly at the Moss Street post office in Lake Charles.
Postal Service employee James Coleman said he issued about 40 passports a day last month, compared to a total of 40 in September. Nationally, more than 1.4 million passports were issued in October.

KATC TV 3

It will be interesting to see how this is enforced and I bet it will catch a lot of folks off guard.

Wackos Get Organized Against Dismal Swamp Bear Hunt

As noted in an earlier post out here Virginia is having a limited draw hunt for bear permits in the Dismal Swamp. 100 permits were drawn but only 20 bears will be taken. Today’s News and Observer has a story about how the wacko’s have started a letter and petition campaign to get the hunt canceled.

Two animal rights groups have launched a campaign to cancel a black bear hunt in the Great Dismal Swamp scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
In Defense of Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute argue that the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, on the Virginia-North Carolina border, did a shoddy job of studying the refuge’s bear population, upon which the hunt is based.
“The foundation for the hunt is extraordinarily fragile,” said D.J. Schubert, a wildlife biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute.
The number of bears killed is capped at 20. One hundred hunters selected in a lottery can participate. Each paid $50 for the privilege.
“The only reason to allow the slaughter is to appease a small minority who take pride and pleasure in killing defenseless animals, and it’s just not right,” said Kristie Phelps, a member of In Defense of Animals.
The groups have started a letter-writing campaign and petition online.

As the population of any animal expands towards the capacity of the land population controls must be taken. Hunting is still the most effective and traditional method to keep animals in check. I’ll keep you posted on the hunt and what if any impact the wacko’s have on it.

Newsweek’s Story on Hunting in America and its Decline

I was surprised when I stumbled across this story that is fairly balanced from a national media source.

There aren’t that many boys today who grew up the way I did—kids who are willing to put down their Gameboys, pick up a rifle and head out into the field. Hunting in America has entered a long twilight. The number of license holders—roughly 15 million through 2004—has actually shrunk by about 2 million people since 1982, when the population was 230 million (versus 300 million today).

There is no doubt that our numbers are shrinking and surprising at a time when deer populations in many areas are higher then they ever been. Land access is a big barrier to those who want to hunt. I know across North Carolina the cost of leases for hunting land has steadily climbed as more and more land gets developed.

The writer’s conclusion is an accurate one.

what I learned from hunting is that things in life aren’t always black and white, and that they’re not always easy, but the effort put in has a direct correlation to your success. You have to do it right. You respect the gun, you respect the animal and you respect the rules, and that translates to real life. It’s hard to kill something, but you develop deep appreciation of animals and the outdoors when you do it regularly. I know nonhunters think that’s absurd logic, and I understand why. But if it’s part of your culture and part of the road to being a man, you find a way to face up to the hard parts and the raw emotions of it and you do it honorably. Shooting an animal is often a gut-wrenching act, and not one that’s taken lightly by anyone I know. You respect it, you honor it and you never waste it. Most of all, you just give thanks for it.

In a day when hunting is often viewed in a bad light it was good to see that Newsweek has run a story that is a balanced report and I hope you read the rest of the story. The way you can help preserve our traditions is to introduce someone to the sport of hunting.

More of a Great Day

What a great day we had, the park was wonderful and it was a full day starting well before daybreak. Yesterday I shot over 400 photos so it takes me a while to go through all of them so here are some more. If you haven’t seen the others check out my earlier posts A Day and of course The Fight.

Buck in the Woods

Monarch in the Field

I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos.

The Fight

In My earlier post I showed you some of the photos I took early morning in GSMNP but some of the most excitement I’ve ever had as a photographer happened late in the morning. I was thinking the morning was winding down when I stumbled onto a buck fight. I heard the unmistakable sound of antlers clashing about 250 yards from me. I could barely make out the bucks because the weeds were so high. I covered the ground and got within about 30 yards of the fight but they were even less visible because of the weeds. The next thing I realize I have does running towards me from just about every direction. I had some does within about 15 feet of me. The buck fight covered some ground and other then the sounds I couldn’t really see it to well.

As a photographer you got to be ready for the unexpected and I certainly found myself in a situation where I had no idea what was going to happen next. The quality of many of my photos were not all that great some because the does were so close to me and the lenses I had on the camera was better suited for shots at more of a distance then 15 feet.

The buck fight lasted about 10 minutes and then all the deer melted back into the woods out of site. I kind of sat there for a minute in awe of what I had just experienced.

A Day In Great Smokey Mountain National Park

Frosty Morning: Sun shining on the frost made the entire valley look like crystal coated.

Weeds & Bucks : Came across a group of Bucks in these tall frosted weeds, there was at least 3 bucks in here two big boys and a spike.

Does

I’ll be adding some additional photos soon. It was a spectacular morning in the park.

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