http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/main/C426/L/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2009 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:39:53 MST Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:39:53 MST http://www.newwest.net/city/article/open_fields_still_closed/C426/C426/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:56:07 MST Open Fields was a "major victory" for hunters and wildlife conservation, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) and many other green groups that lobbied for it. It passed back in December 2008, but almost a year later, this innovative hunter access program is still mired in the administrative rule making process. Now, predictably, conservationists who struggled mightily for the program are asking Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for a little more priority. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/choosing_a_fishing_lodge/C426/C426/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:00:33 MST So, you've finally decided to take that fishing trip of a lifetime--to Alaska, Canada, Patagonia, the Caribbean or another exotic location. Now, be sure you choose the right lodge. The cost is always key, of course, but hardly the only concern. Regardless of your passion--bonefish, tarpon, muskie, salmon, monster rainbows or pike, whatever--you don't want your long-awaited (and deserved, right?) vacation to turn into a stressful and costly disappointment. If you're a do-it-yourself type of guy, this column isn't for you, but if you decide to stay at a fishing lodge and have a guided adventure, finding the right outfitter and avoiding problems along the way can be challenging. I'm hardly an expert, but I've stayed at a dozen or more lodges through the years.  Along the way, I've picked up a few tips that might be helpful. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/roadless_rule_bill_the_timing_is_right_so_just_pass_it/C426/C426/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:42:04 MST Unnoticed by many, two members of Congress from Washington have decided it's about time to do something to resolve the seemingly endless debate over the future of our last roadless lands. Senator Maria Cantwell and Representative Jay Inslee, both Democrats, have re-introduced the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act (S.1738, H.R. 3563) to codify the Clinton-era Roadless Rule that has been on a legal roller coaster for the past nine years. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/the_first_american_president_to_win_the_nobel_peace_prize/C426/C426/ Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:58:23 MST President Obama isn't the first American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  The first President, as well as the first American, to receive that coveted honor was a one-time member of the Montana Stock Grower's Association. Theodore Roosevelt was also the first and only future President to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. Roosevelt was awarded the peace prize for successfully mediating the end to the bloody Russo--Japanese War. He received the Medal of Honor for leading his Rough Rider's in their hell-for-leather assault on San Juan Hill. In my opinion Theodore Roosevelt (he disliked the moniker "Teddy") was the most remarkable American who ever lived.  His portrait has been on my office wall for three decades. I have over 60 volumes by him or about him. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/foster_lake_lodge_five_star_dining_spiced_with_a_litte_fishing/C426/C426/ Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:45:04 MST After visiting about a dozen fishing lodges in northern Saskatchewan, we're starting to notice a lot of similarities, especially the fishing and environs, but we had no problem seeing how Foster Lake Lodge stands apart from the rest. The lodge is located on Middle Foster Lake, which is just another amazingly pristine wilderness lake loaded with lake trout and northern pike, but the only lodge on this sprawling shield lake is like no other fishing camp or resort in the province. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/hunters_use_bear_spray_help_save_your_sport/C426/C426/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:03:31 MST General big game hunting seasons are opening soon, and legions of stealthy hunters will be silently stalking around grizzly country in pre-dawn darkness, but only after they've sprayed themselves with human scent blocker, "buck scent" or stale elk pee. As sure as the seasons will open, some of them will have a close encounter with a grizzly, often resulting in a dead bear. Much has been written about this subject. Every wildlife expert out there has encouraged hunters to carry bear pepper spray instead of a big handgun for self-defense, but clearly, a lot of hunters ignore this advice, even though it's all for their own safety and the future of hunting. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/muskie_hunting_for_beginners/C426/C426/ Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:17:59 MST If you've spent your outdoor life with flycasting for trout or chasing elk out here in the New West, you might be asking: What's a muskie? Steelheaders might object to this answer, but to me, the muskie could be the ultimate freshwater game fish. It's sort of like the great white shark of freshwater, a mythical and mysterious apex predator that fascinates us--some of us, at least, those of us with a fishing problem. Catching a muskie has always been on my life list, and this was the year I decided to do it, but it didn't quite turn out as I expected. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/everything_motorists_want_to_know_about_road_cyclists/C426/C426/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:20:56 MST Last week, I vented about the incredibly dangerous rage a few motorists have for road cyclists. (You should check out the comment section.) This week I'm trying to be more constructive and address some of the reasons I think might cause the anger, things many motorists might not understand about cycling and cyclists. Hopefully, this "motorist Q&A" helps explain why cyclists do the things they do and lessen concerns drivers have, which should make it easier for all of us to courteously and safely share the road. I could, actually, give the same answer for all of these questions--"it's the safest way to ride"--but I will try to be more helpful.  http://www.newwest.net/city/article/road_rage_for_cyclists_embarrassing_dangerous_un_american/C426/C426/ Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:54:20 MST If even one driver who hates cyclists reads this column (and next week's column), I'll not only consider it well worth the time I spent writing it, but also a big victory for public safety. The vast majority of motorists courteously and safely share roadways with cyclists, but a very small minority not only aren't courteous, but for some unexplainable reason fill up with rage whenever they see cyclists on the road ahead. Anybody who regularly rides bicycles on paved roadways knows about this minority. They not only think cyclists have no right to use public roadways but also show their anger by shouting obscenities and giving out the universal salute and even do all sorts of outright dangerous things like coming up behind cyclists blaring their horns, purposely passing inches from handlebars at high speed, or throwing beer cans and other objects, which become lethal missiles for somebody on a bicycle. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/the_other_libby/C426/C426/ Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:30:54 MST When you hear the word, Libby, what do you think? Not good, eh? The micropolis of far northwestern Montana makes a lot of headlines, but it seems like it's never good news. When I bring up the subject down at the coffee shop or taproom, most people start talking about asbestos, the corporate greed of W.R. Grace, and people gradually dying because of it...or about a remote timber town swamped in the wake of the implosion of the wood products industry, closed mills, unemployed loggers...or about red-necked, AR-15-toting, arch-conservatives hiding out in remote cabins, driving around in camo-colored Jeeps, scouring the skies for black helicopters....or an Appalachia-esque community fraught with economic despair that doesn't welcome outsiders.