News Briefs from the Great Outdoors
The AuCoin Report

Posted Thursday, November 1, 2007

Federal protection for striped bass and redfish

St. Michaels, Maryland – President Bush signed an executive order making permanent the rule prohibiting commercial fishing for red drum and striped bass in federal waters. He also asked states to disallow commercial fishing for both gamefish in state waters, too. (Washington Post)

 

Idaho welcomes hunting, shooting companies

Unwelcome now in their home states, manufacturers of small arms and related equipment see a red carpet rolled out for them by Idaho's economic development officials. (Outdoor Pressroom, Twin Falls Times-News)

 

Silver lining to California fires

San Diego, California – Hunting, fishing, hiking, birding and camping will be curtailed in the California fire zones for some time. However, experts say, vegetation and habitats will come back and so will fish and wildlife. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

 

Bow hunting gets nod for deer control

Rejecting deer birth control, officials in the towns of Granville, Ohio; Urbandale, Iowa; and Portage, Indiana are asking bowhunters to help reduce the numbers of deer. (U. S. Sportsmen's Alliance)

 

An African lion in West Virginia?

Frankford, West Virginia – Jim Shortridge of West Virginia went bow hunting for deer. He didn't expect to see a male African lion, mane and all. Shortridge said from his pickup truck he watched the exotic animal pace back and forth for 40 minutes and also watched it for a time from his deer stand. Wildlife officials have set up a video camera to try to prove or disprove this one. (USA Today)

 

Mountain lions moving east

Harrison, Nebraska – Expanding populations of mountain lions, fed by an over-abundance of deer, continue expanding their range from west to east across the U.S. This on-the-move yearling had his picture taken in northwest Nebraska. (Cougar Network News)

 

Florida's mangrove tunnel kayaking

St. Petersburg, Florida – Conservation policies and tourism interests merge nicely in the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area. Weedon Island Preserve is one of several county wildlife conservation zones that also welcome visitors. Weedon Island Preserve, on Tampa Bay, also features kayaking on trails through forest canope of mangrove trees. (MSNBC)

 

School for skippers

North Fort Myers, Florida -- Florida Sailing & Cruising School invites students to live on the yacht while they learn to skipper the yacht. At this unique live-aboard school students work with a licensed captain by day, hit the books after dinner, and let the boat gently rock them to sleep at night. (www.swfyachts.com)

 

The mother of all mushrooms

Crystal Falls, Oregon – The world's largest known organism is not the 110-foot blue whale but a fungus that occupies four square miles of land in Oregon's Blue Mountains. (Scientific American)

 

You know you're a presbyope if…

Mobile, Alabama -- Are you a presbyope? " If you're over 40, you probably are," says Chris Nelson of Ono's Trading Company in Mobile, Alabama. A presbyope is usually 40 or older and can't focus close-up. Even persons who have always had perfect vision fall victim to the condition, said Nelson. Drug store readers are the solution for home-bodies. But, until now, outdoor presbyopes had to wear clip-ons, flip-downs, or glue-ons. Finally, for presbyopes who don't want to look like total dorks when they're in the great outdoors, Ono's makes fashionable polarized sunglasses with discreet bifocal magnification. Information at www.onostradingcompany.com or phone 1-866-865-4695. [Media: Contact Bill AuCoin, AuCoin & Associates, Inc. 727-522-2371, wmaucoin@verizon.net]

Vacation volunteering in Florida

Tierra Verde, Florida -- If you schedule your Florida vacation just right you can join other volunteers helping to protect and restore the wetland environments of Tampa Bay. The volunteer activities are organized by Tampa Bay Watch, Inc. (www.tampabaywatch.org)

 

Flashing for Fish

Largo, Florida – L&S Bait Company has introduced two MirrOlure® saltwater lures featuring reflective baitfish flash and action as well as proprietary “3-D Eyes” to provoke strikes by striped bass, redfish, trout, snook, tarpon and other predator species. At ICAST, the fishing industry trade show in July, the company introduced the a new lipped crankbait called MirrOlip ™ and a surface walking lure called MirrOmullet™. The MirrOlip can be cast or slow-trolled from two to five feet deep. MirrOmullet is a surface-walking hard-body lure that replicates the look and the action of a wounded finger mullet. For more information, go to www.mirrolure.com. [Media contact: Eric Bachnik, 727-584-7691, ebachnik@tampabay.rr.com]

 

Essential gardening tool: insect repellent

West Nile Virus will continue to be a threat until the first hard frost. Experts suggest that gardeners make insect repellent one of their essential tools. (North Carolina Times)

West Nile virus up in Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama – Following disclosure of 13 new cases of West Nile virus in Alabama this summer, health officials are calling on residents to take personal protection measures against mosquito bites, which transmit the virus to humans. Insect expert Dan Ritter said the situation in Alabama serves as a reminder of the need or adults to take personal responsibility to protect children and pets from mosquitoes. He recommends the liberal use of repellents with natural ingredients such as Bugband repellent. More information is available at www.bugband.net. Phone 1-800-473-9467. [Media: contact Dan Ritter, dritter@eesatl.com]

 

Holiday gift idea for sportsmen

Trenton, Florida – Here’s a holiday gift idea for the man who has everything. Send him to the Gilchrist Club, a private membership complex in a remote, unspoiled section of central Florida. Here sportsmen hunt quail, boar, deer as well as Florida’s unique Osceola wild turkey. Anglers fish for trophy bass and more on lightly-pressured rivers and lakes. For a change of pace, some guests kayak, tube, shoot clays, hike and glass native wildlife and birds. In the evening, after a gourmet meal, guests replay highlights of the day for each other. For information call Leiza Fitzgerald, 787-8034-4030, or email her at lafitzge@gilchristclub.com [Gilchrist Club, Media contact, Leiza Fitzgerald, VP, Membership Development, lafitzge@gilchristclub.com]

 

Remote-controlled duck decoys

Mound City, Missouri – The bar is raised on duck decoy technology. Brett Ware's remote-controlled decoys go forward and backward, left and right. It makes all the difference, says the Missouri duck hunter. (Kansas City Star)

 

Good holiday reading for outdoor people

- Chasing the Hunter's Dream, by James A. Swan, Jeffrey Engel and Sharol Engel.

- The Fly Caster Who Tried to Make Peace with the World, by Randy Kadish.

- Trout Fishing the Catskills – 1807-2007, by Ed Van Put

- Valley of the Big Cats, by Steve Price

- Trout Eyes – True Tales of Adventure, Travel, and Fly Fishing, by William G. Tapply

 

One-spot birding in three time zones

St. Petersburg, Florida – Most places are in one climate zone. Fort DeSoto Park near St. Petersburg, Florida is located in three overlapping climate zones -- subtropical, temperate, and the so-called Caribbean biogeographical hot spot. Consequently this 1,136-acre park on Florida’s Gulf Coast provides habitat for a broad diversity of birds common to all three zones. Consisting of a network of barrier islands at the mouth of Tampa Bay, Fort DeSoto Park is a rewarding birding capital and considered by some to be the best birding destination in America on a year-around basis. Fort DeSoto Park is a designated gateway for the new Great Florida Birding Trail. [Media contact: Bill AuCoin, wmaucoin@verizon.net, 727-522-2371]

 

Who killed Chris McCandless?

Alaska writer Craig Medred calls attention to another person, somebody with sinister motives, who may have been living on that old bus in remote Alaska with lost-soul wanderer Chris McCandless of Into the Wild. Medred asks, did that person kill McCandless? (Far North Science)

The AuCoin Report: News Briefs from the Great Outdoors© is an editorial service of AuCoin & Associates, Inc., Marketing and Corporate Communications, St. Petersburg, Florida. Contact Bill AuCoin, wmaucoin@verizon.net. Whether you’re selling hulls or hooch, gear or granola, issues or answers…you need specialists. From research to reward, our specialty is Communications for the Great Outdoors.