My Page: Alex Strickland

Wildlife Management

A strange bat-killing disease discovered in a New York cave in 2006 hasn’t conclusively reached the bats of the West yet, but federal agencies are taking no chances. They’re simply closing the caves.

Effective July 27, the U.S. Forest Service issued an emergency closure of all caves and abandoned mines for one year in the area it defines as the Rocky Mountain Region, http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/maps/
which includes Colorado and Wyoming, as well as South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

The disease, White-nose Syndrome or WNS, remains mysterious. Experts aren’t sure exactly how it’s spread but know that it’s linked to the death of more than a million hibernating bats in several states and Canada. It’s possible that the fungus that causes the disease can be transported on clothing and caving equipment.

Since gating caves in all states that have them isn’t feasible, officials are asking state officials to set policy and asking cavers to self-police. In August, the Bureau of Land Management sent out a memorandum to state land managers across the country explaining the directive and asking for cooperation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is acting as the lead organization on WNS research and decision-making. Congress is in the mix, too, after appropriating $1.9 million to the FWS for research on how to combat the disease.

The widespread closure in the West has prompted both support and criticism among cavers. Bat Conservation International, the country’s leading bat organization, supported the move and took some heat. 

Wildlife on the Great Salt Lake

To call Antelope Island State Park an island at all is to stretch the term to its limits. Its brown spine rises up out of the bleached salt flats, primordial muck and ankle-deep marshes of the Great Salt Lake, an isolated spot of land for much of the planet’s relatively recent geology. Now Antelope Island has been beached.

Today, the 42-square-mile sandy sea of sun-browned grasses is home to herds of pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, bison and migrating birds that congregate on and around the island in staggering numbers. And, for the first time since the island became protected as a state park in 1981, soon it will be home to bighorn-sheep and mule-deer hunters looking to add a few more trophies to their collection.

In a controversial decision earlier this month, the Utah State Parks Board voted 6-2 to allow four hunters--two via a statewide drawing and the two highest bidders at a winter auction--the chance to bag bighorn sheep or mule deer in 2011, despite some strong local opposition.

Outdoor Industry

The summer edition of the Outdoor Retailer Show wrapped up this afternoon and the assembled outdoor masses are taking their toys and going home. The show has offered industry folks, media hacks and locals who can sneak away for long “business lunches” a chance to see what’s next in technical apparel and equipment as well as a chance to rake in all the free swag they can cram into their messenger bags. Here, in no particular order, are some final observations:

Backpacks to the Future

The Salt Lake Tribune reports this morning that the OR show will remain in Salt Lake City through 2014, thanks to a contract extension between the city and Nielson Expeditions, the company that produces the show.

The OR show is the crown of the outdoors business in the Beehive State, which according to the Economic Development Corporation of Utah contributes $5.8 billion annually to the economy and supports 65,000 jobs. Consumers’ appetite for Gore-Tex and goose down produces nearly $4 billion annually in retail sales and services across Utah, according to the organization, accounting for almost 5 percent of gross state product.

The 21,000 people who showed up at this week’s show alone had an almost $20 million economic impact on the Salt Lake area – nearly the cost of a new backpacking tent.

Outdoor Industry

Slackliners tend to be a mellow bunch. Usually found on college campuses, these frequently barefoot, often stoned free spirits are more interested in talking about the spiritual kinship they feel with the rope than how to best huck the gnar. At least, that’s what I thought.

Outside of the Outdoor Retailer Show there were a half dozen slacklines being swarmed by skateboarding youths who appeared to be bouncing off the lines rather than walking across them. Upon closer inspections, these were the Barry Bonds of slacklines – burly and slightly bloated, but capable of humongous propulsion.

“It’s more than slacklining, this is something called trick lining,” says Jaime Klinetob of Gibbon slacklines, the manufacturer of this mobile, spring-loaded balance beam. The 2-inch wide line, made of the same stuff as backyard trampolines, is tightened with a built-in ratchet until it’s taught enough to send a jumping skywalker into the stratosphere.

Klinetob says trick lining “pros” – apparently there’s even a world championship in the sport – can launch backflips, 360s and all types of skate and snowboard inspired moves before landing back on the wire, not to mention an assortment of balancing feats that would cause Olympic gymnasts to stop and stare.

Soon a pair of pros – Frankie and Ricky, sporting a bandana and handlebar moustache, respectively – were bouncing from line to line, doing advanced yoga moves and launching themselves high enough to dunk to the amazement of the assembled skinny jean-wearing masses. The display was so impressive that it literally caused a car accident a few yards away when a rubbernecking SUV driver plowed into the back of another vehicle.

Outdoor Industry

At some point, most outdoor enthusiasts find themselves in a particular quandary. An amazing new product comes out and the moment you see it plastered across the front of an industry rag, you’re smitten. Only one problem. It’s almost exactly like a piece of gear you already have.

A bit lighter, a bit cooler, a bit better. But just a bit.

A common workaround for this condition is buying the piece of gear “for your spouse.” It’s why my fiancée has a top-end 29er mountain bike despite her not knowing how to shift gears.

The only problem with this plan is that eventually the significant other catches on and your feathery soft down gig is up. Well fret no more, fellow over-consumers, there’s a booming industry afoot and on display at the Outdoor Retailer Show: outdoor gear for dogs.

Sure, it’s been around for years, but outfitting your dog is reaching new heights as people take their mutts on increasingly extreme excursions. Climbing harnesses, thinsulate jackets, soft shell pullovers and personal flotation devices abound for Fido and friends.

“Make no mistake, we recognize that there’s a slightly ridiculous side of this,” says Dave Ritchey of D-fa, a New Zealand-based canine outfitter.

Outdoor Industry

As the outdoor industry continues to boom, companies are always looking to one-up the competition with some superlative version of shoe rubber or sweat-wicking underpants. And, in truth, it’s easy to get mired in the cycle of the latest and lightest when you’re carrying it on your back or wearing it through whatever weather or terrain comes your way. Besides, why eat one less donut when, for a scant $400, I can shave 3 oz. off my current rain coat?

Here at the Outdoor Retailer in Salt Palace, between oogling the newest fabrics and drooling over cleverly designed footwear (Hey, I’m only human; if a waterproof zipper on my ski coat snags, do I not bleed?), I couldn’t help but notice the number of water bottle booths cropping up with shocking regularity. Soon, while trying to understand the appeal of standup paddle boarding, I realized my informal count was approaching a dozen and I couldn’t help but wonder: What in the hell, exactly, is the difference?

“We have the only aluminum bottle made entirely in the USA,” said one rep.

“The stainless steel double wall design keeps drinks cold for 24 hours,” said another.

“This is the world’s first bamboo water bottle,” said the one selling a glass water bottle in a bamboo sleeve.

The competition appears to be fierce, and each bottlemaker talked a fair amount of smack about his or her competitors; everything from claiming the others were lying about a lack of harmful BPA plastics to simply disparaging a lack of creativity in the burgeoning bottle scene.

Outdoor Industry

Yesterday kicked off the bi-annual gathering of Gore-Tex and three-day beards at the Outdoor Retailer Show, Summer edition, in Salt Lake City. Every conceivable outdoor gear manufacturer – and accompanying sandal-clad sales rep – has filled the downtown Salt Palace for four days of showing off the latest and greatest gear, facilitating a sort of speed dating between suppliers and designers.

Despite the still sputtering national economy, the fluorescent colors of acres of recreational clothing and equipment here show none of the struggles that most sectors continue to report. The Outdoor Industry Association says that the combined economic impact of hemp shoes, climbing rope, backpacking tents and the rest add up to $730 million annually.

It’s not all shiny kayaks and nylon – though it is a lot of that.  Tucked away in the corners of the hall, away from the two-story (!) Arc’Teryx booth and the Powerbar samples, are the people who really make the gear tick.