Fellow Bloggers Sing The Praises of The Camo Coalition
July 29, 2008
Dick Hamilton NC Camo Coalition
The Camo Coalition is an advocacy group for outdoor sportsmen assisting with organizing us to speak with one voice on the issues that really matter. The Hog Blog & The Outdoor Smorgasbord both did stories about this recently and that is great. Anything to help us get the word out and get more sportsmen to participate. North Carolina is not alone in this type of organizing there are a number of states that I’m aware of that have Camo Coalitions; SC, MS, and GA I know have them. If your not in one of these states check to see if your state has a Camo Coalition and if not you need to do what you can to organize one. The anti’s are organized and have a strong voice we need to organize to protect the heritage we believe in.
Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Award Winning NC Wildlife Resources Commission
July 29, 2008
With an appeal to all ages, the exhibits at the Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education were judged the best.
Photo Courtesy of NCWRC
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has a good showing in national competition bringing home 3 first place awards, two second place, and one third place award. The awards were given out last week at the annual convention for Association for Conservation Information a national organization for Conservation Leaders & Educators.
ACI, the Association for Conservation Information, is a non-profit association of information and education professionals representing state, federal and Canadian agencies and private conservation organizations.
ACI was organized in 1938 and incorporated in 1984. ACI member professionals play a major role in providing natural resource, environmental, wildlife and other information and education to the public through a variety of means, many of which are continental in scope.
ACI does not prepare or provide information directly to the public. Instead, ACI trains and informs the staffs of member agencies and provides forums to exchange ideas, new concepts, and to improve skills and craftsmanship.
The Awards NCWRC won;
FIRST PLACE
• Exhibits and Dioramas category, for the Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education in Raleigh. This state-of-the-art exhibit uses historic and contemporary displays, a large satellite map and murals, touch-screen monitors and joystick-operated, high-magnification video cameras for an interactive experience.
• One-time Publications (Books/Reports) category, for the 2007 Biennial Report. Titled “Building a Stronger Foundation,” this report covers accomplishments and activities from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2006 for all six division of the agency.
• Video (other) category, for “The North Carolina Piedmont: Our Changing Habitats.” This 20-minute video is shown daily at the Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education and presents a historical timeline of changes in the Piedmont landscape, from natural areas to suburban sprawl.
SECOND PLACE
• Magazine (4-color) category, for Wildlife in North Carolina. The agency’s monthly magazine features the best outdoors writers, artists and photographers, covering the diverse natural and recreational opportunities of North Carolina,.
• Education and Outreach category, for “Wildlife Profiles.” These fun and factual looks at native species are found online at www.ncwildlife.org in the “Outdoors Kids” section, but are useful for any age.
THIRD PLACE
• Communications Campaigns category, for “Blue Light = No Wake” boating law awareness. This year-long effort included a 30-second video broadcast spot, poster distribution, news releases and wallet-sized informative cards, as well as outreach and public appearances by wildlife officers.
Here is a list of all the award winners and a big thankyou for working so hard to educate everyone on the importance of conservation.
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Rain a Blessing and A Curse For Fire Fighters Fighting Evan’s Road Wildfire
July 28, 2008
3 days of rain helps suppress the Evan’s Road Fire in Eastern North Carolina but it also makes the roads treacherous to drive on. The Evans Road wildfire started back on Jun 1 and although the ground fire continues to burn the surface fire does not. The fire remains 75% contained, WRAL reports firefighters have gone high-tech and are utilizing an inferred camera to identify the hot spots to help them decide what areas they need to flood.
We Will continue to follow this story.
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Big Buck Expo Not Very Big On Numbers
July 27, 2008
I plan to do a more in depth story about it this week but I’ll give you a bit of an overview. The show was small but had a lot of vendors that I haven’t seen at the Dixie Deer Classic. I’m not sure what the overall attendance will be but it will be considered light I’m sure. I went up today and unlike the Buckmasters show there was no line waiting to get in. You could get free admission if you test drove a Toyota Tundra and with four of them cruising around a course laid out in an empty parking lot there wasn’t even a line to do that. I took the test drive and got my free ticket and headed into the show.
The show reminded me of the Scope Show that came to Raleigh a few times years ago. Had great speaker line up but for some reason just couldn’t pull in the crowds. The Big Buck Expo had some great hunting celebrities and overall I really enjoyed myself. Now to tell you how small the crowd was I did not run into a single person I know… well except for Larry Weishuhun who remembered me from the Dixie Deer Classic. 
Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Big Buck Expo In Greensboro This Weekend
July 23, 2008
The Big Buck Expo is a new show coming to the Greensboro Coliseum filling the void left by Buckmaster’s. The Big Buck Expo is being sponsored by Southern Trophy Hunters and they have done a number of shows across the southeast. I’m hopeful that I’ll get up to the show and check it out. With hunting season coming up rather quickly the timing of such a show is good for those who need to pick up a last minute treestand or a bottle of doe pee.
Like many shows I go to I don’t have any plans to buy anything but who knows. For those that are wondering Buckmasters has moved back to Alabama they were only temporarily here while the show venue was being renovated.
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Brain Abscess, Realtree, and Outdoor Smorgasbord
July 22, 2008
Gabe over at the Outdoor Smorgasbord and a deer scientist has a great article about brain abscess in deer that has been picked up by Realtree. This is not a growth that I’ve seen in any deer I’ve harvested but by the sound of it we may see this more and more as the deer population ages. Check the article out as well as his blog I bet ya can’t visit it without learning something.
Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Evans Road Wildfire Update
July 21, 2008
Tropical Storm Cristobal brushed the North Carolina Coast this weekend bring much needed rain to the wildfire. The Evans Road Wildfire has been burning since June 1st inside of Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge when it was ignited by a lightning strike. Fire officials have been hoping for a tropical storm or a hurricane to help knock this fire out. Unfortunately Cristobal did not pack much of a punch when it came to rain so only about a 6 tenths of an inch was dropped. While it will take much more rain then that to extinguish this fire the surface fire is basically out and only the ground fire continues.
The fire is still only 75% contained and is still a threat and danger until fully contained. On the heels of Cristobal the threat of hot drier air and winds could give the fire a real push. Interesting aerial videos have been made available from US Fish & Wildlife that gives some perspective of the fire and the terrain they are working in.
Aerial view of uncontained fire line on eastern side of fire on July 17, 2008
Second video is aerial view of the remainer of the fire perimeter on July 17, 2008
Videos Courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Cataloochee Bugle Corp Helping Visitors and Elk Alike
July 20, 2008
In my earlier posts I talked about the calving season in Cataloochee as well as the impact of Chronic Wasting Disease on the small herd. This week I want to talk about a group of dedicated volunteers who make a difference.
A small group of volunteers assist Park Rangers in the Cataloochee Valley in managing the visitors to the small valley. The 100 + elk that now reside in this area are certainly a draw pulling in lots of visitors that will brave the mountainous road that leads into the valley.
Like a few other national parks The Great Smokey National Park depends on the volunteers to educate the visitors on elk as well as how to safely observe them, as well as assist with the management of the crowds the elk can tend to draw.
Since 2001, when the Park began an experimental re-introduction program to restore the long-absent elk, visitation to the Cataloochee area of the Park has nearly doubled. This visitation increase was driven entirely by the popularity of seeing elk. With it came a need to manage the high visitation in this remote mountain valley on the eastern edge of the Park, which is surrounded by picturesque natural beauty and holds remnants of an early European settlement.
The Bugle Corp program was started in 2007 my first encounter with them was this July when I visited. They were set up on the side of the road with their earth friendly electric truck with a mini exhibit about elk. They had a set of antlers from one of the bulls ( elk bulls shed their antlers each winter growing a new set back in the spring and summer) some samples of deer hide and elk hide, some of the collars the biologists put on the elk to study them, as well as a lot of other things. The volunteers did a good job of engaging both young and old in talking about the elk and educating them on the history of the elk as well as the behavior of the elk.
Latter in the evening I was glad to see the volunteers working to keep traffic moving so people could get through as well as reminding people to keep their distance from the elk.
“The Park’s goal is to recruit and train a new cadre of volunteers who can commit to volunteering on a regular, recurring basis,” said Babette Collavo, Volunteer in Parks Coordinator.
Each volunteer is being asked to work at least two evenings per month for approximately 3 hours prior to sunset, during the period May 23-November 2. This target period is during high visitor use from late spring during the calving season through the end of fall color season after the elk mating period.
If I lived a bit closer I’d certainly consider being a volunteer but maybe you would like to help out.
Interested persons should contact the Park’s Volunteer Coordinator Babette Collavo, at 865/436-1265
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Local Team of High School Students Represents North Carolina At Envirothorn
July 17, 2008
Photo courtesy of Canon Envirothon
If you’re like me you probably never heard of Canon Envirothorn a competition and educational program to teach students about environmental sciences.
The Canon Envirothon is an annual competition in which winning state/provincial teams compete for recognition and scholarships by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. The teams, each consisting of five high school-aged students from participating US States and Canadian Provinces, exercise their training and problem-solving skills in a competition centered on four universal testing categories (i.e., soils/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, and wildlife) and a current environmental issue.
Mike Zlotnicki columnist and outdoor reporter for the N&O has a great story about the team from West Johnston High School that will be leaving soon for the national competition in Arizona.
The students study wildlife, forestry, soils/land use, aquatic ecology and current environmental issues. The Sequoias did pretty well at the state championships, missing only one question out of 125. At the national competition, the youths will practice and study while driving on the way to the five-day competition. At stake are $5,000 scholarships for each team member.
We wish them safe travels to Arizona and good luck in the national competition.
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Hunting Heritage Workshop To Be Offered In Raleigh
July 15, 2008
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will be hosting a workshop for adults on the heritage of hunting on the 6th of August.
The three-hour interactive course on Wednesday, Aug. 6, from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. is designed for both educators and other adults who are interested in the history, traditions and ethics of hunting, as well as hunters’ vital role in wildlife conservation. Hunting scenarios will be encountered indoors with the help of a laser shot simulator.
Sounds like an interesting class unfortunately it is not the most convenient of times with my schedule. The class size is limited so if you’re interested you better sign up. The workshop will be held at Centennial Campus of NC State University.
Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
We Interrupt This Blog For A Coffee & Pie Break
July 14, 2008
I really hate to do this but I just had to test out the new scratch & sniff feature on the blog. You should be able to scratch your monitor screen and smell this wonderful pie and coffee.
This is blueberry season here in North Carolina and we have had a pretty good abundance of the tasty berries. We’ve been eating them by the handful, freezing some, and of course a couple of meals of blueberry pancakes. So tonight I decided to make a blueberry pie. A fresh cup of coffee, a hunk of pie and a good TV show was just the break I needed. I checked out part 2 of the Muzzy Bad To The Bone Bowhunting TV that my good friend and fellow blogger Chesson filmed. What an awesome hunt and what spectacular area that this hunt took place. Chesson followed Michele Eichler of Muzzy Broadheads has she fulfilled her dream of bagging a bull moose.
Photo by Chesson
In case you didn’t see the snow I mean the show Chesson has a diary of the Yukon hunt you should check out
The show will re-air this Wednesday at 1:30pm on the Outdoor Channel
I’d love to chase moose around the Yukon.
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Unethical Road Hunting Now Becomes Illegal As Well in Jackson County
July 14, 2008
Statewide it is illegal to shoot game from inside your car or truck on the roadway but some areas an individual can exit the vehicle and shoot from the roadway and be legal. Local laws need to restrict this unethical practice and many already do but mountain counties have been slower to adapt this law.
Some hunters are just lucky. Like the guy driving down the road in Jackson County who spotted a deer in a yard and not long afterward drove off with the critter in his truck.
Call it mountain multitasking.
“It’s an easy way to take an animal,” said Sgt. Tim Lominac, of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
In most of the state, it’s also illegal. Jackson last month became the 13th Western North Carolina county to take on “road hunting.”
I don’t know many hunters that would call such individuals “hunters” never mind “lucky”. This is a dangerous practice because the shooter often does not know what or who lies beyond their target and is at risk of getting shot. I’m reminded of the tragic story out of Canada last fall where a guide was killed by a “road hunter”. There is no room in our sport for such slobs. It may not be illegal to shoot from the road surface but your ethics should prevent you from engaging in this practice.
Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, Ill explore new places and ideas Ill learn new things and Ill teach the things Ive learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
