Now, Where Is That Dipstick? – Milt’s Corner

Below is one picture from a series of four that Milt received from a gentleman from “The County” in Northern Maine. He apologizes because he can’t remember the man’s name but knows he doesn’t mind we share with you. The other photos will follow at later dates.

Posted by Tom Remington

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Last Minute Vacation

I had sort of made an announcement awhile ago that I had canceled my annual Maine hunting trip! Well, as a last minute change of plans, those plans have been changed. One of my hunting buddies who is a regular at hunting camp recently moved to Florida and lives only about 30 minutes from me. I called to talk with him on Saturday night and the more we talked, the more we convinced ourselves that if we shared the expenses of the drive, we could be at hunting camp by the weekend.

So, when you read this, I should be well on my way north. This will be a real vacation for me – no cells phones, no computer, no nasty emails and a chance to escape the relentless tensions of this election and the politics of our hunting heritage.

Please check in daily because I have scheduled a few things to appear while I’m away. I may even include a story or two.

I’ll be back in roughly two weeks or sooner.

Tom Remington

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Gun Sales On Rise In FL On Fear Of An Obama Presidency

And add this video to the mix as well.

Tom Remington

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10-Year Old Adventure Hunt

This is unbelievable! At least from my perspective. Friend and fellow Skinny Moose blogger, “Desert Rat” shared with me that his 10-year old daughter had written a story about a weekend hunting adventure. Thinking it would be “cute” and having raised two children of my own and having a 9-year old granddaughter, I ventured over to Desert Rat’s blog to read.

Needless to say I was completely amazed and also a bit embarrassed. Embarrassed because I discovered a 10-year old kid can write better than I can.

See for yourself!

Tom Remington

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Quadriplegic Woman Hopes For A Home – Still

Below is information I received from a friend of mine in Maine who does volunteer work for Buckmasters Disabled program. She didn’t ask me to post this. She was only sharing and seeking help.

~~~~~~~

Jennifer Turner didn’t get the house she’d been planning for this summer, but the quadriplegic Auburn resident has some new help and a new timeline.

She now hopes to start construction next spring.

Turner, 38, was injured in 1985 when a pulp truck hit her family car, leaving her with a broken neck and vertebrae, no use of her legs and limited use of her arms and hands.

In 1993, she moved into a Barker Mill Arms apartment with the hope of being more independent. She busied herself in the grounds around the building, planting flower gardens in any empty space she could find. She soon became known as New Auburn’s flower lady and she helped raise money for physical education camps for children with similar injuries.

But her physical problems worsened two years ago. Years of relying on her arms to maneuver her wheelchair and pull herself from room to room, combined with damage from her original injuries, left her with severe tendon damage in her wrists. Surgery last year has helped, but not much.

Her Barker Mill apartment is not handicapped accessible. She can’t turn the doorknobs, turn on the faucet or even get herself out of bed. She relies on family and neighbors to get her up in the morning and to let her in and out of her apartment. A powered lift would help, but the structure at Barker won’t support the weight of the system.

Her choice: go into a nursing home or build her own home with the equipment she needs to be self-sufficient.

Last spring, the city agreed to sell Turner a half-acre of tax-acquired land just north of Anita Avenue for $39,500, its assessed value. She won’t have to pay for the mortgage on the land until she sells the property or ceases to live there.

With that agreement and help from a variety of programs and grants, Turner had hoped to build her home over the summer. But the federal housing program she’d been counting on changed and her funding suddenly disappeared.

About the same time, a childhood friend saw a story about Turner in the Sun Journal. The friend, Tammy Nosek, was a civil engineer in New York and she got the American Society of Civil Engineers, a charitable group, involved.

The society agreed to design the house, help with a drainage plan and solicit donations. Other people and groups have offered to pay for the lift, provide electrical services, paint the house and provide other donations.

Turner still needs excavation services, adaptive equipment and accessible appliances, building materials and construction management. If she can get that help, she hopes to start construction in the spring.

For more information or to offer help, call Auburn Community Development Coordinator Gail Phoenix at 333-6601, ext. 1336 or Tammy Nosek at (845) 567-6656.

Posted by Tom Remington

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Truely One Of A Kind Elk Antler

This is a product and selling adventure from friends of mine. Please consider if you will.

This very impressive authentic Rocky Mountain Bull Elk antler is one of only a few hand engraved by a gentleman from South-Central Idaho:

…After his tracks a royal bull elk bugles to a key part of his harem- a cow elk and her calf walk ahead as a regal bald eagle flies from it’s high-mountain perch above...

Antler Stats: A classic six-point with rare massive palmation from a set that scored 330 inches with two kickers on the 5th tine. Over all length is near 43 inches, with a height of 23 inches and depth of 15 inches. The antler weights approximately 6 pounds.

Only this one man has created these masterpieces of which there are only a few… and no two are or could ever be alike. A uniquely curved eye-guard tine and balance of the peice allows for perfect setting for a mantle or hearth for example. You’ll find no other like this, and it is an intriguingly magnificent peice of western art perfect for the cabin, office, or home.

For more information on this and a chance to purchase or bid, click this link to EBay!

Tom Remington

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USFWS Draft Plan To Ensure Wolf “Connectivity”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took one more step toward altering its science to fit the will of the courts by devising a draft plan geared at convincing states, wolf lovers and judges who draft their own science, that the USFWS will guarantee wolf “connectivity” between the three major wolf populations of the Northern Rocky Mountains.

Make no doubt about it. It is happening right now. The courts are dictating to the USFWS and wildlife biologists how it will manage and protect wolves. The courts are dictating the parameters, creating their own “science” and forcing the USFWS to now use “voodoo” science in managing wolves. Voodoo science is what State Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, called it in an article in the Casper Star-Tribune.

“That word ‘funding’ in there looks like big trouble to me,” Brown said. “To be honest with you, I don’t know what I’m going to do on this thing. Some of this seems to me like voodoo science.”

The Draft Plan, found on the USFWS website, is not going to set well with anybody, from what I can tell. I can’t believe the states will go along with funding of such a plan. It would be a waste of money to do so, as many already believe has taken place. Nothing ever promised the states since wolf reintroduction has been carried out, while taxpayers continue to dump exorbitant amounts of money into a project that has no ending, because wolf lovers will never cease with lawsuits until every state in the Union has wolves. Their job is made much easier when they have judges like Donald Molloy and Paul Friedman on their side.

The draft says that monitoring of the wolves will take place and a collection of data will result in tracking genetic interbreeding of the three population groups of wolves. This “genetic exchange” is something that Judge Molloy appeared to make up in his ruling that placed the wolf back on the Endangered Species Act list.

If this “genetic exchange” or “connectivity” doesn’t take place naturally, then it will be done by “human-assisted techniques”.

The same draft plan seems to leave Wyoming out of the mix, assuming that unless Wyoming can come up with a wolf management plan that Judge Molloy likes, they will not be included in the next attempt by USFWS to delist the wolf.

Tom Remington

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2008 New Hampshire Moose Hunt A Success

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire’s 2008 moose season was a success, with preliminary figures showing that hunters took 333 moose. With 516 permits issued, this represents a statewide success rate of 65%. About 54% of the harvest was bulls, according to Kristine Rines, Moose Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The nine-day moose hunt ended on Sunday, October 26. In 2007, by comparison, hunters took 482 moose (with 675 permits issued) for a statewide success rate of 71%.

This year, the success rate in four of the six regions was higher than last year. The Connecticut Lakes region saw a success rate of 81%, the North region had 83% success; the White Mountains region had a 47% success rate; the Central region, 68% success; the Southwest region saw 45% success; and in the Southeast region, 38% of hunters got their moose.

“The reduction in the success rate in the White Mountain region is primarily due to the introduction of antlerless-only permits in this region for the first time,” said Kristine Rines, Moose Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “This is a difficult region to hunt because of limited access and clearcuts. Adding restrictions on what moose hunters can take makes it even more challenging, so we expected a reduction.” In 2007, the success rate for the White Mountain region was 62%. In 2008, it was 47%.

The other region that saw a lower success rate than last year was the Connecticut Lakes region, with 81% of hunters getting a moose. While down a bit, the season’s results were not unusual for that area, according to Rines. In 2007, the Connecticut Lakes region saw an 88% success rate, but in 2006, it was 80%.

Final figures for the 2008 moose season will be distributed when available.

A ten-year comparison of regional success rates for the N.H. moose hunt is available at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Moose_hunt/moose_hunt_take.htm.

Find out more about moose hunting in New Hampshire, including a link to a gallery of photos from this year’s and past hunts, at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.

This year, more than 15,000 people entered the 2008 moose hunt lottery, held last spring, for a chance to win one of the 515 permits drawn for the New Hampshire moose hunt. If you want to try your luck next year, look for applications for the 2009 moose hunt in late January on the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department website at http://www.HuntNH.com.

Posted by Tom Remington

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Cougars In Michigan?

Check it out at Hooks and Bullets!

Tom Remington

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Curious Mechanically Inclined Bear? – Milt’s Corner

Below is one picture from a series of four that Milt received from a gentleman from “The County” in Northern Maine. He apologizes because he can’t remember the man’s name but knows he doesn’t mind we share with you. The other photos will follow at later dates.

Posted by Tom Remington

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The Inaccuracies Of Tracking Grizzly Bears

In the Yellowstone National Park area, grizzly bears were recently removed from protection of the Endangered Species Act. And as no surprise, lawsuits weigh down the courts by bear lovers to stop the delisting and return the bear to federal protection.

I got laughing this morning as I read an article that appeared in the Jackson Hole News and Guide that told of how grizzly bear deaths were on the rise, nearing that magical “threshold” when consideration should be made to place the bear back under protection. Here’s what it said.

Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team officials estimate that 39 grizzly bears have died in 2008. Seventeen of those deaths involved hunting incidents, six where the result of natural causes and four had unknown causes. The remainder of the deaths were some form of human-caused death, including management removals of problem bears. (I added the emboldening.)

The remainder, which is 12 by my calculations, is said to be human caused. You have to read on to catch how that number is calculated.

When a person other than a wildlife manager reports a grizzly bear death, researchers count it as three toward the thresholds because roughly two-thirds of citizen-caused grizzly deaths go unreported, said study team leader and U.S. Geological Survey researcher Chuck Schwartz.

If you report that you killed a grizzly bear, researchers automatically chalk that up to three deaths because they know some go unreported. Interesting. I wonder if that would stand up in a court of law for reason enough to declare too many bears are being killed?

What’s interesting is all the clamor about too many bears being killed but yet the same officials state that the grizzly bear population is growing steadily.

The good news is that researchers estimate Greater Yellowstone’s grizzly population is higher than last year — 596 bears, up from 571. Schwartz and his team made the estimate based on 84 new cubs observed with 44 females. Researchers estimate that the population continues to grow about 4 percent annually.

Isn’t it interesting that researchers can tell us that there are 571 bears in the Greater Yellowstone area and at the same time say that when one bear is reported killed, they multiply it times 3 to cover what they say will be unreported deaths.

Most people know that wildlife management, when it comes to population estimates, is only estimating but when it comes to the courts, if they want to use those numbers as exact, the estimating becomes immaterial.

Tom Remington

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Obama Says Constitution Flawed, Framers Didn’t Get It Right

I am completely outraged and anyone else who is not after listening to the two YouTube clips that follow, I dare say are not American and/or has absolutely no understanding of the history of this great nation. In the name of God, I understand not why people are blinded by this.

God help us!

Tom Remington

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The Rednecks Of Pennsylvania……Bitter, Clinging To Guns

It just doesn’t want to go away does it? As a reminder to readers, below is a photo once again of my bitter friends from Pennsylvania, all of whom are now labeled rednecks by one John Murtha.

And to add to this continuing saga of the non-tolerant left, Doug Giles of TownHall, shares “Pennsylvanian Voters: You Might Be a Redneck If . . .”

• If you bitterly love your guns, Jesus, apple pie, deer hunting, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls, baseball, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, then you might be a redneck.

Giles offers a complete menu of “you might be a Pennsylvania redneck if…” scenarios. Don’t miss it!

Tom Remington

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The Spendors Of Fall Hunting

A reader sent me these photos along with a brief description. Incredible photos and a big thank you for sharing.

Abigail is 4 years old this year, all of the partridge were pointed/flushed and retrieved to hand. I averaged 7 to 8 flushes per hour….(gotta work on my wing shooting!)

The scrape photo is likely the biggest scrape I have ever seen, the tip of the shotgun barrell is just under the leaves, I am estimating 40 inches (?) on the length…it was less than 8 hrs old. Saw many bucks and does out in the rain along the highway at night on the way home yesterday…pretty safe to say the rut is finally on.

Posted by Tom Remington

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The Misconception Of “Balance” In An Ecosystem Easily Debunked

The last couple of days, I’ve spent some time reading and studying more about ecosystems, looking at different theories on how best to care for and/or manage them. Just yesterday I published an article called, “Natural Regulation of Wildlife and Lands“, providing links to various stories that can better explain about “natural regulation” management as opposed to scientific management by man.

One scientist I referenced, Dr. Valerius Geist, and linked to a previous story of his, “Beware of Natural Wildlife Management”, responded in email to the story by George Dovel in the latest edition of The Outdoorsman, “The Truth about Our Wildlife Managers’ Plan to Restore “Native” Ecosystems“.

Dr. Geist’s email says that “The misconception of “balance” in an ecosystem is actually quite simple to debunk.” Here’s what he said.

In an individual’s body all functions are closely controlled or balanced, by negative feedback. If your blood sugar rises, insulin is secreted and excesses are removed into fat-storage, liver or are burned. If it is too low, glucagon is secreted raising the blood sugar level. That level is set by specialized cells in the hypothalamus, that is, the brain stem. And so it goes with all functions and organs. If you cut off a piece of liver, the liver will grow back to exactly its old size. If twin rats are joined by a common blood supply and the liver of one is removed, the liver of the second grows to exactly twice its former size. Here you see control in action.

An ecosystem is a collection of populations that compete with one another, coveting at least some of the same basic resources. Hold one population back and other populations will increase to fill the vacuum – as best as they can. The tendency to grow, to take up space and resources to the limit of one’s ability, is an example of positive feedback. The population grows till it runs out of resources, and each population does it. When there is a stalemate, its similar to two wrestlers locked against one another in a deadlock. That’s not control! It may be followed by the collapse of one, and victory of another. Many populations locked in deadly competition, one against the other, do generate the kind of stability described for the wrestler, but only a temporary one, as little collapses here and there lead to new short-term stability. And so it goes on. That is, ecosystems are constantly in change – one reason a given species exists on earth only a given time and then dies out, unable to competed as its adaptations were fit for competition to past ecosystems.

Positive versus negative feed back! Ecosystems run by positive feedback, individuals by negative feedback! Balance happens under negative feedback, not under positive feedback. Gridlock is not balance!

Enter man the manager. By selectively cutting back one population or another, or enhancing such, he can, indeed, create true “balance”. But that’s a human artifact.

A “let it be” philosophy by romantics, the “nature knows best” arguments are not rooted in science or scholarship. Nor is the common notion that pre-Colombian North America was a “Wilderness”. It was not. “Wilderness” is a post-Colombian artifact of European colonization based initially on the almost total collapse of native American populations from European/Asiatic/African disease. When the heavy hand of red man came off the continent (an example of negative feed back!) “Wilderness” erupted. That’s positive feed back.

Cheers, Val Geist

Dr. Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at the University of Calgary in Alberta, is a renowned expert in wildlife management and conservation practices. In addition to teaching, writing about, and lecturing on the subjects, Dr. Geist has performed years of in-the-field research on big game species. He has authored 16 books, seven documentary films and contributed 40 entries to various encyclopedias.

Tom Remington

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