A short Video to give you an idea of what is at stake.
This is a follow up to an earlier story I did about the court case that could potentially end the long standing practice of driving on the beach to access the area for recreational activities, the decision is in.
A decision that certainly seems to favor the special interests groups and seems to push sportsmen out. The beach access is supposed to be preserved for human recreational access and not to preserve habitat and species. Now I don’t think there is many sportsmen that would oppose sensible restrictions but to set up a distance equivalent to 11 football fields around a shore birds nest to me seems to excessive. At least my quick reading on the subject seems to suggest that is the distance that will be required.
It is also very concerning to me that little if any public input was sought and basically the special interest groups seemed to have the most voice. If I understand it right these are temporary rules while the National Park Service draws up the official rules. I have little faith in the National Park Service because access does not seem to be a high priority for them nor the desires of sportsmen.
Some Important Links to Check out; Tommy over at Carolina Region has an updated story and he has much more information and details about this story. So please check out his blog. The second link you should check out is SAVE HATTERAS & OCRACOKE ISLAND. Even if your not one who normally access the outerbanks please speak out and support your fellow sportsmen and an entire regions way of life.
A story that I’ll admit I have been neglectful in covering pits sportsmen against environmentalist on the use of Off Road Vehicles. Historically people have driven on the outer banks to access areas for fishing and recreational uses and in fact that is what the land was set aside for. In more recent years environmental groups under the guise of wanting to help or protect shore birds have filed lawsuits to stop the practice of operating ORV on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Latter today in Raleigh a Judge is expected to weigh in on this issue so we’ll have to see which side wins out. For a more in depth story about this I invite you to check out Tommy’s blog entry on Carolina Region.
Steve Fidel, Deseret Morning News Jake Francom shows a pillow that was dragged away from his tent by a black bear early Saturday, a day before Sunday night’s fatal mauling in the same primitive area. Dark marks on the pillow are the bear’s paw prints.
This past summer in Utah a family camping trip turned into a tragedy when 11 year old Sam Ives was dragged from a tent and killed by a black bear. When one enters the wilderness where does personal responsibility begin and government involvement end? Camping in bear country certainly involves some risk but at the same time does government agencies have a responsibility to close an area if there is problematic bear activity? It is important to point out, that as I reported this summer, only hours before at the same campsite there was human bear encounter when a bear attempted to drag a man from a tent.
Government officials responded with tracking dogs but because of poor conditions the search was unproductive and called off. Should have the primitive campsite been closed by officials? I don’t know for sure but I tend to lean towards not.
Why weren’t they warned?
“We would have known something was up if there was just yellow tape up there, and I would still have my son,” a tearful Ives said at attorney Allen K. Young’s Provo office.
Their suits are seeking $2 million from the U.S. Forest Service and $550,000 from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), which is protected by a state-mandated damages cap.
I traveled through that part of the country only weeks before these tragic events and there is ample opportunity for encounters with nature to go really bad. I think people entering the wilderness have a responsibility to prepare for these potential dangerous situations. If we expect government to post about dangers we might face the wilderness may become one large bulletin board. I’m glad I don’t have to decide and we’ll see what the courts say if this case goes forward.
Two shows are taking place this weekend that maybe of interest to outdoor enthusiasts; RV Camping Show in Raleigh and a Deer Expo Show in Asheville. Normally this time of year the weather is not as nice as it has been so people are more apt to get some cabin fever and look for an excuse to get out. The weather is supposed to be a little bit cooler but still nice but on the off chance you need something to do check one of these shows out.
The opening of Muzzleloader season is Saturday so I’m running around getting my stuff together. This will be my tenth season of hunting with “The Professional Liar’s Club” a club name hung on us by a outdoor writer who did a story on us a number of years ago. I guess that name is as fitting as any other name you could pin on this group of guys. The club itself has been together for a number of years probably getting close to 20 years and although it’s small group it feels like family.
The eve before the opening of muzzleloader you’ll find that most of us are in camp in anticipation of the opening morning hunt. This year like most we’ll have a fish fry on that evening and the swapping of the stories will begin. The story part is where we got our name because there are some good ones. Like the time we had a deputy sheriff hunting as a guest and he shot at a deer and couldn’t find it. He had a good blood trail he was following and it wasn’t till other guys from the club joined him in the search that he realized that he was tracking himself. It seems he got a bit to close to the scope and got bit the blood was dripping off his nose on to the leaves. He had missed the deer completely but did have a pretty good blood trail.
Then there was the year Rick and I created massive rubs and scrapes all around the club president’s deer stand. He’d get down from his stand after the morning hunt and by the time he returned for the afternoon hunt there was often more sign for him to find. One of the rules of the club is that any stand on the lease is open to the members of the club but the owner of the stand gets first option to hunt. Rick and I kept him in that same stand all season long because he didn’t dare let us get in there and kill the massive buck that was in there.
With close to 20 years of hunting together there is no shortage of stories for these guys and although I’m still one of the newer members it’s a great place to hunt. We may not kill any Boone & Crockets but we have a great time together. I’m sure we are about to create another chapter in “The Professional Liar’s Club”.
About 14 hours after the searches started in the heavily wooded Pisgah National Forest one of the leaders walked out and met up with a utility meter reader that drove him back to the command post. Searchers were then able to go into the woods and quickly locate the rest of the group. Everyone was safe and in good spirits so the ending of this story was a happy one. The happy ending wasn’t by luck but by the preplanning prior to the trip as well as making the right decisions when faced with a problem. First off they had appropriate equipment and supplies with them. They had left detail plans and maps of where they would be hiking and the expected time they would be back. Those who had those plans sounded the alarm when they did not return as scheduled. When the scout troop lost the trail they were hiking and got into an unknown area with nightfall coming on they didn’t panic they made the right choice to make camp and wait till daylight to figure out how to get out. They had cell phones but I can attest to the fact that many of those areas are dead zones for cells and they were unable to call. Once daylight came one of the leaders found a powerline and he hiked to it and then followed it out running into a meter reader that gave him the ride to the command post.
These are all important factors in the happy ending we should all remember them when we take outings.
Boy Scout troop 217 from Raleigh NC that failed to return after a weekend of hiking and camping in the Pisgah National Forest has been located and are safe. Initial reports are that Troop Leaders decided to make camp after losing the trail they were hiking and nightfall was fast approaching. I’ll add additional updates as warranted. We’re just glad everyone is safe and accounted for.
Troop 217 from Raleigh NC is over due from a camping trip in Pisgah National Forest in Haywood County. They were due back yesterday and when they failed to show up in Raleigh concerned parents notified authorities. Haywood County Search and Rescue Teams have been combing the area since 9pm last evening. Additional teams plan to join the search this morning. Troop 217 has 8 boys ranging in age from 12 to 18 as well as 3 leaders. The hope is the distance of the hike was to long forcing them to spend and unplanned evening in the woods and that they’ll walk out this morning. The weather in the area has been good they have proper equipment they just maybe running short on food because they packed for a two day trip. We’ll keep following this story today as it unfolds.
According to Salt Lake Tribune Utah trackers have caught up with the suspected bear in the fatal attack last night of an 11 year old boy camping with his family.
AMERICAN FORK CANYON - A suspected killer bear has been shot today, and rifle-toting wildlife officers and a pack of specially trained hounds are following the beast’s blood trail.
The black bear is believed to have ripped open a tent and carried off an 11-year-old boy in his sleeping bag at a campsite late last night in the Timpooneeke trail area of American Fork Canyon. About 7 a.m., a volunteer hunter with the search team shot what was believed to be the renegade bear in a tree; the animal ran off, leaving a blood trail behind near the northeast tip of Mount Timpanogos.
This paper is also reporting that there was an incident the night before where a bear took a swipe at a camper in a tent in the early hours of Sunday morning. Authorities dispatched to the area could not locate the bear. The camper did not suffer any injuries in that attack.
Breaking & sad news out of Utah where a family reported their 11 year old son missing and possible abducted. The family was camping in Timpanogos Wilderness Area when they discovered the boy missing and a large tear in his tent.
Mount Timpanogos Wilderness
* Established in 1984 through passage of the Utah Wilderness Act.
* 10,518 acres.
This area is located on the front range of the Wasatch Mountain Range, just south of the Lone Peak Wilderness. The Mount Timpanogos Wilderness offers abundant rugged terrain with waterfalls and summer wildflowers. The topography consists of glacial cirques and moraines (rocks formed into loose ridges by glacial activity) to the open slopes leading to the valley floor.
Below tree line are forests of aspen, Douglas fir, subalpine fir, limber pine, Gambel oak, maple, and chokecherry. Wildlife inhabiting the area include Rocky Mountain goats in the Emerald Lake region, as well as numerous mule deer and elk, moose, mountain lions, black bears, and several species of raptors.
The summit of Mount Timpanogos is 11,753 feet and is very popular hiking trail. The summit is accessed by two trailheads: Timpooneke and Aspen Grove.
Authorities quickly found blood and signs that lead them to belive that his attacker was a bear shortly after 1 am the boy’s body was recovered. I’ll have further updates on this story.
There is no doubt that the Wilmington NC Section of the state is a great water sports location. The Star News has done a wonderful article about the wide variety of things to do in the great outdoors in that part of the state. Myself I prefer the mountains but I can’t really argue with their article. Check it out and who knows you might run into me one weekend this summer fishing in the surf.
I heard from Mike Noles a good friend and Outdoor Guide that the fishing on Lake Phelps is heating up.
I think this is the earliest I’ve caught bass on a buzz bait, but these warm nights have got the bass and bream here on Lake Phelps kicked in to a higher than normal activity level for this time of the year.
We have certainly had a warm spell lately and I guess it has really turned the fish on.
I caught five on a buzz bait this afternoon. VERY early for that kind of stuff, but they were blowing up on a slow run bait!
Mike and his wife Connie run Conman’s Guide Service and Vacation Cottages right on the shores of Lake Phelps. There is not a better setting if you are looking for a way to get away and relax. I’ve enjoyed their hospitality a number of times. They have a number of cottages that are for rent as well as a campground to pitch a tent if you prefer the more roughing it approach. Their guests have access to a private boat launch but you really don’t need a boat to fish Lake Phelps it’s a wade fisherman’s dream spot. Early season you may want to opt for the waders but as the season gets going a pair of shorts is all you need.
We still have a few weeks till turkey season kicks in maybe a few days at the lake is what you need give Mike and Connie a call and see if they have any openings an early start to the season may mean some rentals are still available.
