Everyone,

I am off to Manitoba to Chase big Black Bears with Sandy River Outfitters.  For the last year this trip has consumed my thoughts since the day I left Saskatchewan and took my first bear with the bow.  Now the last time I hunted black bears, I was in a lodge with full internet access each and every night.  This year I do not know if I will have access to the internet but I can assure you all that we will be journaling every day with 2 cameras , a video camera and this wonderful Apple Macbook that I work with.

We have a short flight(actually a long one) to Winnipeg, an overnight stay at the Hilton Suites Winnipeg to catch up on sleep because I have a 6:30 am flight.

I also have a new tool that we are going to be trying out and we will be testing many times a day on this trip.

Here is a link to my newest item to review... FINDMESPOT 

Sandy River Outfitters

The Bonasa Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will hold its 9th Annual Sportsmen's Banquet on Friday, June 20, 2008 at the Dubois Country Club, 10 Lakeside Ave, Dubois, Pennsylvania beginning with cocktails at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.

As is the custom at all RGS banquets, this event will feature a live and silent auction, games, drawings and door prizes; highlighted with the finest selection of quality firearms, artwork and collectable's.

According to Tom Noble, tickets are $20 each for RGS members, a member's spouse, and youngsters under age 16; and $45 for new or renewing members, the latter two including a one year RGS membership. Banquet, Conservation and Sustaining sponsorship packages are also available at $265, $500 and $1,000 respectively.

Attached is the email from Scott Hed of the Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska.  He and his team are working hard to protect Alaska Wilderness and they are spear heading the Stop Pebble Mine initiative.  Please read his newsletter and support his auctions.

Here is a great picture of why we need to protect Alaska!

Say "Happy Father's Day" with Pheasants Forever

Remember that first time Dad let you handle his shotgun?
Remember walking an autumn field with your Dad and the family's trusty bird dog?
Remember the smile on his face when you bagged your first rooster?

Show Dad how much he has meant to your love of the outdoors by giving him a special Pheasants Forever membership package for Father's Day this year.

Only 100 of these special Father's Day Packages are available. Don't Delay!

Go See it at Pheasants Forever!!!

Sierra Club has long worked to protect the unparalleled natural legacy of Tejon Ranch, a remnant of early California that provides valuable habitat for pronghorn, deer, elk and other wildlife.  In 2006, recognizing that development could tear apart a remarkably intact wild place that the California Department of Fish and Game identified as providing "outstanding contributions to the promotion of California's rich hunting heritage," Sierra Club and its conservation partners began negotiating with the Tejon Ranch Corporation to conserve, in perpetuity, as much of the stunning landscape as possible.  After nearly 2 years of negotiations, which were sometimes difficult but always in good faith, an unprecedented agreement that will conserve close to 90% of the ranch was reached earlier this month.

"There is, in my opinion, no other place like it in California - it is unrivaled in the diversity of native wildlife and plants," said Sierra Club's Bill Corcoran, who helped negotiate the deal. "Tejon is key to us because it's the only place where the Sierra Nevadas, the Coastal Range, the Mojave Desert and Central Valley all meet."

As part of the agreement, close to 240,000 acres will be conserved in perpetuity for the benefit of the people and wildlife of California. Covering 375 square miles the conservation area that includes desert, woodland and grassland habitat will be 8 times the size of the City of San Francisco and nearly the size of all of Los Angeles. Well managed, public access to the conservation lands for a variety of outdoor activities, including hunting, will be provided.

MISSOULA, Mont.-An area of elk habitat larger than Seattle has been conserved and permanently opened for public recreation between Yakima and Wenatchee, Wash., and the public is invited to help celebrate at a June 7 ceremony near Ellensburg, Wash.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are hosting the 1:00 p.m. event at Walter Flat, about 20 miles north of Ellensburg.

For more information, call Doug Marsh of the Elk Foundation at (509) 826-5458.

The celebration will highlight the significance of the project, one of the largest land exchanges in Washington history, netting 61,000 acres of new public land on the east slope of the Cascades.

Rock Springs, WY – Shell is contributing $500,000 to the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust as part of the federal Healthy Lands Initiative. The funds will support the multiple uses of natural resources across approximately 200,000 acres in southwest Wyoming by assisting private landowners to conserve wildlife habitat on their lands.

“Shell is committed to working collaboratively in support of projects in the communities and States where we work,” said Russ Ford, Vice President – Technical for Shell Americas Region.  “The Healthy Lands Initiative allows Shell to gain a deeper knowledge of the Wyoming and Rocky Mountain way of life and is consistent with the principles that guide our business as a responsible energy developer and operator. 

“This program gives Shell the perfect vehicle to work with varied stakeholders and communities in Wyoming.  Shell and its employees are proud to be a part of Wyoming and are excited to help enhance the state’s wildlife and agricultural heritage.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Healthy Lands Initiative is a federal program to manage natural resources with flexible, landscape-level approaches that support multiple uses, including livestock grazing, farming, recreation, oil and gas production, historic values and wildlife habitat within a defined project area.

Washington, D.C. - Safari Club International has named Louisiana Senator Joe McPherson, Jr. their 2008 State Legislator of the Year. He has championed sportsmen's issues in Louisiana's State Senate for more than 23 years.

Senator McPherson was awarded the Governor's Award for Conservation by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation in 2005 and named the Legislative Conservationist of the Year three times. His work on the Natural Resources Committee in Louisiana was instrumental in passing significant legislation for the sportsmen and women of Louisiana. His dedicated work for Louisiana's hunters helped pass a state constitutional right to hunt and fish.

"Senator McPherson has personified the dedication to the hunting heritage of Louisiana and America for his entire career," said SCI President Dennis Anderson. "I am proud that SCI has recognized such a deserving individual for this prestigious award."

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania -- The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) was one of 21 recipients nationwide to receive the Department of the Interior's Cooperative Conservation Award for its part in the Northern Forest Woodcock Initiative.

The Northern Forest Woodcock Initiative (NFWI) was created to increase early successional habitats at a landscape level for the benefit of woodcock and other wildlife species, both hunted and non-hunted.

The approach of the initiative is a linked set of strategies that includes development of best management practices, establishment of habitat demonstration areas, monitoring of woodcock populations and outreach to private landowners.

NFWI is a group of New England and New York partners including 5 state fish and wildlife agencies federal agencies, non-profit conservation groups as well as timber companies, utilities and environmental consultants.

James Swan, author of "In Defense of Hunting," talks about the game warden crisis in California

James Swan has authored 7 books, including In Defense of Hunting, Sacred Places, and The Sacred Art of Hunting. He has been involved in conservation his whole life, from the first Earth Day to his latest effort, shining a light on the game warden crisis in California.

This is the first of a two-part interview, we'll discuss hunting more generally in the next interview.