WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today urged House lawmakers to reject reductions to Farm Bill programs that are critical to American private-lands conservation and hunting and fishing opportunities.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended the potential cuts in a hearing this morning before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, which for the first time is reviewing the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2011 budget for the Agriculture Department.

The budget proposes funding decreases for programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Grasslands Reserve Program and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. The TRCP and other sportsmen-conservation groups have fought for and championed federal support of these and other Farm Bill programs, which include compensating farmers and other landowners for undertaking measures to conserve wetlands and farmland at risk from development.

“While we appreciate the administration’s desire to reduce unnecessary federal spending, the fact remains that these programs are crucial to our country’s ability to sustain private-lands fish and wildlife habitat – habitat that forms the bedrock of outdoor sporting traditions for millions of Americans,” said Tom Franklin, TRCP director of policy and government relations.

When I got this product in the mail to test out, I was pretty skeptical.  The team at Inventhelp sent it out to me for free to test out this fall while I was travelling North to the Dakota's and into Canada.  The unit is basically a heavyweight plastic bladder that you fill up wth water and a special powder concoction which gels all of the water.  You drop it into the freezer and allow it to freeze.  Once it is solid, drop it into your cooler and it keeps everything cold and dry(hence the name).

I used this product non stop for 30 days straight in a cooler filled with my favorite beverage...lots and lots of cans of Coke-Cola.  As many of my friends will tell you, I am addicted in a big way.  I drove over 5000 miles in 30 days and I refroze the unit about every 5 days but I never had to buy ice.  The cooler I used was a Coleman Extreme and I usually had at least 20 or so cans in the cooler at all times.  I will say that the last 10 days or so it was close to freezing every single night but either way, this bag still held up.  That was in Novemnber.  Since then the bag has been in use all the way into February and it is still kicking strong.  Upon pulling it out of the freezer last week it was frozen solid ready for a quick photo shoot and then back into the freezer for my next trip coming up in early April for Outer Banks fishing trips with the kids.

At a price of $15.95 for this bag you really cannot go wrong.  The instructions are very easy to follow, you fill it with water, pour in the powder, seal it and drop it into the freezer...24 hours later it is ready to go and it lasts for several more days then a bag of ice.  There just is not a single reason why you should not own one of these.

Purchase your Cold and Dry Bag Here!!

Now that your done chasing whitetails, its time to change your scouting and preparation from food plots and rub lines to what trees the gobblers are roosting in. Season is only a couple months away, and you should be dusting off your calls from last season and practicing up. Depending on your personal preference, there are many different call manufacturers out there today. Find out what kind of call you want to use this year and get familiar with it. Make sure that you find a call that is easy to blow, if you are having trouble, or do not feel comfortable with it look around for something else. I prefer a 3 reed batwing or ghost cut( Center U shape cut). These provide deep, raspy tones which resemble that old mature hen. When I make the drive to school or back, I always have the mouth call I want to use in there with me. Make sure you go through a couple different sequences and fine tune anything that needs to be worked on. You should make sure you have your yelps, clucks, cuts and purrs down to a tee.
 
During the spring you want to concentrate on scratchy, coarse tones, be patient and let them come in. Make sure you know where the gullies, streams and fences are on the property, you don’t want that tom getting hung up and loosing interest. Also you may want to get a topography map, showing you differences in elevation. This will tell you where to set up, a gobbler will rather come up hill, than down hill and possibly get hung up in a creek or fence line.
 
Right now is a very good time to go out and not only look for sheds, but find out where they are traveling. The snow can give you a lot of information about there travel patterns, and droppings can easily be spotted amongst the white snow, letting you know where the have previously roosted. While you are scouting look for tracks, particularly tracks in the 2 1/4 inch and larger range, with a deep or clear imprint of the middle toe with the scales showing. This indicates a large heavy bird, usually a tom.
 
Also the snow will show where the turkeys have been scratching, in search of food; this gives another clue on where they will most likely be in the beginning of season. The first week or two of turkey season is just like that of the start of deer season. You know where they have been because of food sources and travel patters. It may take the gobblers a week or two to start firing up and begin pursuit of the female. If you can slip in and not let them know you are there you can harvest a bird with out even calling.
 
Now you have an idea on where the birds might be on the property its time to starting the process of patterning your shotgun if you have not previously done this. If your gun comes with a choke already in the barrel, try a few different turkey loads through it at 30 and 40 yards to see if you even need to purchase a turkey choke. If the pattern is not very tight, look around at different chokes. There are many websites that give an actual chart on what combinations work best as far as gun, choke, and shot.

Nitro Comapny  gives a few examples for different guns and choke variations. Once you find what combination works best for your gun, make sure you find what distance you are comfortable shooting. Now that you have your gun and calls fined tuned, get yourself a good blind or find a place you will be well hidden. If you are comfortable with all of these steps, you should have a better chance at harvesting that long beard you had your eye on.

.

Des Moines, Iowa – Pheasants Forever announces the completion of 1 million acres of habitat accomplishments in Iowa since the first Iowa chapter formed in 1984. With Pheasants Forever's marquee event, National Pheasant Fest 2010, in Des Moines this weekend, "PF" members and sponsors will celebrate the 1,000,000 acres of habitat work accomplished by Pheasants Forever in the state. National Pheasant Fest is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
 
Iowa's 102 Pheasants Forever, two Quail Forever chapters and 19,000 members completed over 6,900 wildlife habitat projects in 2009, benefitting nearly 142,000 acres for upland birds and other wildlife. This includes almost 5,000 acres of land acquired and then opened to public hunting and recreation as state Wildlife Management Areas, federal Waterfowl Production Areas or county conservation areas. With the addition of the organization’s 2009 project totals, Pheasants Forever has helped conserve, restore or permanently protect 1,026,430 acres for pheasants, quail and other wildlife since the creation of Iowa's first PF chapter in 1984.
 
"One million acres is a huge accomplishment for our volunteers," said Tom Fuller, Pheasants Forever's regional representative in eastern Iowa, "National Pheasant Fest 2010 will be a time to thank them for their indelible support, and also to explore how we'll accomplish the next million acres even faster."

Knoxville, Tenn. – Tennessee is home to a new pair of Quail Forever chapters. Quail enthusiasts in Knox County formed Smoky Mountain Quail Forever, while Maury County quail hunters and conservationists formed Duck River Quail Forever. Both groups set out with the common goal of improving habitat for a Tennessee species in great need, the bobwhite quail.

As Quail Forever chapters, the Smoky Mountain and Duck River groups will utilize Quail Forever's local approach to wildlife habitat conservation. Unlike other national conservation organizations, Quail Forever gives local Quail Forever chapters the ability to decide how 100 percent of their fundraised dollars are spent. This local control gives chapters and members the ability to make things happen for wildlife in their communities, while belonging to a national organization that gives wildlife and conservation a voice in Washington, D.C.

"Bobwhite quail populations won't rebound by themselves. It takes people who care about quail, care about rolling up their sleeves and doing the necessary habitat work, and care about showing younger generations there is excitement beyond a box and a plug-in," said Tim Caughran, regional wildlife biologist for Quail Forever in Tennessee. "I'm proud to say such quail folk call Knox and Maury Counties home."

Des Moines, Iowa –  Life Members of Pheasants Forever make an incredible commitment to wildlife habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and SCAG Power Equipment are recognizing those commitments made at National Pheasant Fest 2010. Become a Life Member of Pheasants Forever at the show, and you'll automatically be entered in the 2010 Pheasants Forever Life Member Sweepstakes for a chance to win a SCAG SFZ Freedom Z zero-turn riding lawnmower.

"We continue to be impressed with the efforts of Pheasants Forever, an organization that has contributed so much to wildlife habitat conservation in our country," said Chris Frame, Director of Marketing and Technical Services for SCAG Power Equipment, "SCAG is proud to show continued support for a group that works relentlessly to protect our environment; we are privileged to sponsor such a unique organization and look forward to being part of its National Pheasant Fest."

Pheasants Forever's National Pheasant Fest will be February 26-28 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Purchase a Pheasants Forever Life Membership at the event, and you'll receive the traditional treatment (framed Life Member certificate with gold pin and recognition in the Pheasants Forever Journal), and you'll be entered in the 2010 Pheasants Forever Life Member Sweepstakes for a chance to win a SCAG SFZ Freedom Z lawnmower valued at over $7,100! See SCAG Power Equipment at Pheasant Fest at Booth 331.

MISSOULA, Mont.—Wildlife conservation projects in 12 Oregon counties have been selected to receive grants from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in 2010.

The new RMEF funding, totaling $153,500, will affect Benton, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Grant, Harney, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Union and Wallowa counties.

“These grants are possible because of the successful banquets and fundraisers staged over the past year by our Oregon volunteers—most of whom are elk hunters as well as devoted conservationists,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Since 1984, our annual grants have helped complete 633 different projects in Oregon with a combined value of more than $36 million.”

RMEF grants will help fund the following projects, listed by county:

Des Moines, Iowa –  Ever wish your bird dog could be on the cover of the Pheasants Forever Journal? For the first time ever, Pheasants Forever is opening up the coveted space, to be auctioned off at the National Pheasant Fest 2010 Banquet on Saturday, February 27th in Des Moines. National Pheasant Fest is February 26-28 at the Iowa Events Center.

Tickets still remain for the National Pheasant Fest Banquet, which will be the largest event in Pheasants Forever's 28-year history, but they are going fast! An unprecedented live auction features the opportunity to purchase the rights to have your hunting buddy professionally photographed for the cover of one issue of the Pheasants Forever Journal, the organization's signature publication that's received by more than 100,000 Pheasants Forever members five times annually. Quail enthusiasts, take note, as the same goes for Pheasants Forever's quail division, Quail Forever, and your bird dog on the cover of the Quail Forever Journal!

Staying on point with the bird dogs, Iowa's own Top Gun Kennels has donated a German Shorthaired Pointer to the live auction for the banquet. To come from an upcoming litter (male or female), the $5,000-valued pup will be completely trained for the hunting enthusiast:

Madison, NC - Remington Arms Company, Inc. would like to congratulate Tyler Rico on his recent victory at the Nevada Regional High-Power Rifle Championship held on February 13, 2010. Rico scored an incredible 791-26X to be awarded the overall "Open Winner" match rifle champion while also securing High Master Class and NRA Junior Class titles at the recent Boulder City event.

This NRA-sanctioned match, held at the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club, is one of many competitive events conducted throughout the year with individual winners qualifying for the National Championships held at Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio. Rico secured his win by completing the four-stage course of fire that included 20 shots standing at 200 yards; 20 shots sitting at 200 yards; 20 shots from the prone position at 300 yards; and 20 shots from the prone position at 600 yards.

Rico, age 15, is a former Junior National High-Power Rifle Champion. He and his father, Cecil Rico, joined the Remington High-Power Rifle Team in October 2009, and reside in Tucson, Arizona.

Remington congratulates Tyler on his wins and wishes him continued success in upcoming shooting competitions!

Sleeping bags are pretty important to back country hunters.  The quest for a great sleeping bag at a reasonable price for my adventures later this year began by flipping through catalogs and talking to several folks who were in the know.  I was looking for a bag that was a little longer then my 5 foot 11 inch height.  I like to pack my sweatshirt and pants down around my feet so they are warm when I wake up.  I also look for a bag that is lightweight and compresses well to fit into my backpack.  So lightweight, easy to pack, a little long and oh yeah it had to be at a reasonable price and most of all it had to be warm.

I started searching some of the bags and boy these things can get really expensive.  I had a really great Eureka Tent so I decided to check their website and found out they made sleeping bags and after checking around, I found my new sleeping bag settling on the Kaycee Long.  This bag has zero degree temperature ratings which should cover just about any scenario that I am going to be in.  This bag weighs in at 5lbs carrying weight and while not the lightest I could find at this temperature rating, it did not rob my pocket book at a cool price of $149.90 plus shipping.

I took the bag out after a recent snowstorm, threw it onto the snow in 20 degree temps and jumped in for a quick nap.  The bag holds up really well and I could not be happier with my purchase.  The zippers are YYK and look very good, the bag is tough and comes with a great compression sack to keep the bag tight and ready for packing.  I always recommend hanging bags uncompressed in the closet or in a rubber made container for storage so the lofting and fill stays in good shape.  I always recommend that you air out your bag for a few days before putting it away for storage and making sure any moisture is dried out of the bag.

 The bag also comes with an external pillow pocket and inside stash pocket for your wallet or media player.  If your looking for a great bag that wont total your wallet the Kaycee Long should definitely be on your list of great sleeping bags to check out.

Eureka Kaycee Long