Secret Fishing Holes and Hunting Spots

Where were you fishing? I promise I won't tell anyone. *Very. Next.Day.*

Ever had one of these experiences?

While this is obviously a bit of an exaggeration, I have had similar experiences where a particular spot I thought was relatively secluded ended up not being so. As a life-time fisherman, hunter, camper, backpacker, and all-around outdoorsman, I tend to keep rather mum on a few of my most cherished places to go. And while I am judicious about telling people ALL the good fishing/hunting/hiking spots, I usually tell them at least a few good places to go.

Why? Because I want more people developing a sense of place and making strong connections to the rest of the natural world (of which we are a part of). Why? Because making a connection often results in shared respect. Respect often leads to caring. And, while there's been little research in this arena (see Joanne Vining's piece in Research in Human Ecology), caring may wind up making the difference in how things end up being managed.

So please, please, if you care about a particular place or species or habitat, don't keep mum about it. Sure, keep a few of your most special places on the hush...but tell people about other great places to go, get them outside, show them why connecting to the rest of the natural world is so marvelous! Doing so may just help help save your favorite place.

Fishing vs. Catching

In a recent post, a friend commented about how much he disliked the elements he encountered during a recent fishing trip. But most of all he hated not catching any fish.

While I love catching fish, over the years my focus has changed a bit. Don't get me wrong, I still love catching fish, but simply being "on the water" is often enough to quench my thirst for finding my center. Struck with a moment of insight (they happen so rarely these days), I responded with a brief thought on fishing (and catching). And I smiled to see that it seemed to strike a chord with others, too.

Getting to know the area you live in

Showing school children critters from their local creek.

It's sad to say, but western cultures, by-and-large, have moved so far away from connections with the natural world and become so reliant on the manufactured one that there is actually a burgeoning cadre of people who believe our loss of connection to the natural world comes at the detriment of the health or our children, society and environment (and I tend to agree) and are now calling for a "return to nature" movement - calls for society to win back, reconnect with and again gain an intimate understanding of the nature world around us. One of the preeminent leaders of this movement (of late) is best-selling author Richard Louv of "Last Child in the Woods" fame. In his new book, "The Nature Principle", Richard lays out a roadmap for ways in which the rest of us - not just children with parents who already appreciate nature - can tap "into the restorative powers of the natural world" to "boost mental acuity and creativity, promote health and wellness, build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies and ultimately strengthen human bonds". And it's not hard to buy his logic/arguments.

Richard Louv's new book.

In fact, I believe that gaining that deeper understanding of the places in which we live almost invariably (inevitably?) brings with it a sense of responsibility to seeing that place continue to exist (in its ever-changing forms) for others to see and experience and intimately know. Nature doesn't have to be scary. (Sidenote here: In fact, I could lay out a convincing argument that the "concrete jungle"- as reggae legend Bob Marley put it - can be one of the scariest places on earth..."where the living is harder", we're surrounded by "illusion - confusion" and continually searching for that "sweet life (for) it must be somewhere to be found, instead of concrete jungle". But I digress...)

Some of the best ways to get connected and gain a deeper understanding of a particular place (I blogged about this a while back, here) are to participate in outings hosted by your local trail maintenance groups, watershed councils, nature-serving non-profits (e.g., Riverkeepers, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, etc.) various State and Federal government agencies and other groups of the same ilk. Don't know how to get in touch with them? Your local public library almost always has a community bulletin board and the librarians can steer you in the right direction. Or contact your local NRCS office, State or local natural resource agency (e.g., Fish and Game, Dept. of Natural Resources, Dept. of Ecology, etc.; incredibly detailed list here), Federal agency (e.g., US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Service, US Forest Service, etc.; near-dizzingly confusing list here) or your State University's Cooperative Extension office. All tend to be a wealth of information about how you can get connected to the natural world. Perhaps second-best would be to contact your local zoo or wildlife science center. They have excellent educational value but, in my opinion, really shouldn't be considered a substitute for actual outdoor time. A stepping stone? You bet!

Now go unplug from the electronic world and get "plugged in" to the natural world! You'll be amazed at how you, your children's lives, and the lives of those around you will benefit...

Gun rights, NRA and the diametrically opposed

Or used to be, anyway...

Writer, photographer and and avid bird hunter Pat Wray wrote a wonderful piece in this morning's Gazette Times newspaper that really resonated with me, in part because I used to be a long-time dues paying member of the NRA but have struggled in recent years with their fear-mongering and heavy handedness. I'm a strong supporter of our Constitution and the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms...but also believe the pendulum has swung too far, perpetuated in large part by the NRA's fear mongering and extremism. And I've long had difficulties resolving my support of the two seemingly opposite viewpoints.

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So when Pat's column came out this morning, and I realized what he was writing about, I sat transfixed, absorbing every word of his story. And I felt like FINALLY!, finally someone else feels like I do, sitting in both sides of the fence, if you will, on a contentious issue. And I was relieved. Relieved that someone else was able to put to words, in the form of a succinct, poignant, thought-provoking "phone conversation" (whether it was real or otherwise is of no consequence), two seemingly diametrically opposed viewpoints. Well done Pat Wray. Well done. I, for one, think you'd be an excellent candidate for the NRA board. So without further ado, here's Pat's column, in it's entirety, as it appeared in today's (Feb. 2, 2012) Gazette Times Outdoors section:

Outdoors: A phone call from the NRA. by Pat Wray. (as it appeared in the Corvallis Gazette Times Outdoor section, February 2, 2012.)

“Hello, Mr. Wray. This is John from the National Rifle Association. How are you doing tonight?”

“Fine, thanks.”

“Mr. Wray, as a Life Member of the NRA I know you are concerned with our right to bear arms. Are you aware of Obama’s under-the-radar effort to destroy our 2nd Amendment rights?”

“You mean President Obama?” 

“Yes, sir.”

“Say it.”

“President Obama.”

“Good. Now for the remainder of this conversation every time you mention his name the word President will precede it. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” 

“Good. Now, what were you complaining about?”

“Well, er, President Obama is conducting an under-the-radar attack on our right to bear arms.”

“What makes it under the radar?”

“His administration is not talking about it.”

“Then how do you know what he plans to do?”

“Well, Mr. Wray, you have to look no further than his appointees. Consider that Attorney General Eric Holder is on record as supporting the re-establishment of the Clinton ban on assault weapons.”

“Holder brought that up within of month of his appointment three years ago and quickly was shut down by the President. Haven’t heard a peep, since. What else you got?”

“Um, he appointed two of the most rabidly anti-gun Supreme Court justices in American history, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Given the advanced ages of several of the other judges, a second term may well give President Obama the chance to appoint three more justices.” 

“So, our liberal president appointed two liberal justices. What a surprise! You expected what, another Clarence Thomas? I guess we’ll have to hope that all of his appointees grow an independent streak and decide their cases according to our Constitution. Just like we always do. It’s hard for me to interpret Supreme Court nominees as an assault on my gun rights.”

“Mr. Wray, are you aware that this administration reversed long-standing American opposition and now supports an International Arms Trade Treaty that will ban or restrict our gun ownership in this country? O … er … President Obama knows he can’t get restrictive gun rules through the U.S. Congress so he’s going to come at us through the U.N.”

“You know, I’ve been seeing those emails and so I started doing some checking. It turns out that the U.N. treaty is aimed at restricting dealers who provide arms to insurgencies, rebellions and civil wars. There is specific wording in place, put there by the United States, to protect national sovereignty regarding firearms purchase and ownership.”

“Mr. Wray, our people have done extensive research into the administration’s goals and we know what President Obama is going to do.”

“Sure, you know because of what he said, except that all he’s ever said is that he supports the 2nd Amendment and has no plans to take anyone’s guns. You know because of what he has done, except that he’s made no move in any way to restrict gun ownership. In fact, he’s signed a law permitting guns in National Parks, signed another law allowing guns in checked baggage on Amtrak trains …”

“Those were just a diversion, Mr. Wray, a smokescreen to hide his true objectives.”

“So, even when President Obama does exactly what you guys want, signs laws that you had a hand in writing, you still don’t give him credit. Did all of you intern at Pravda, or what? Here’s what I think, John. I am worried about gun control. I’ve been in Great Britain and Australia and Canada and talked with the people there who’ve had their guns taken away. I know it can be done. I also know there are people here who want to do the same thing. That’s why I’m a life member of the NRA. But the way NRA people simplify and demonize and lie about things — the way you create crises where there are none is abhorrent to me. The NRA singlehandedly created the mass hysteria following President Obama’s election that resulted in ammunition and reloading supplies disappearing off the shelves for more than a year. You did that. And all you can say now is ‘This time he’s REALLY going after our guns! Trust us!’

“Sorry, John. Somehow the words NRA and trust don’t fit together very well for me.”

So what do you think about all of this? Do you have different, similar, or conflicting views on gun control and the right to bear arms?

And to end on a curiosity note, here are some cartoons, images, and pictures relating to these issues that I found particularly interesting. Enjoy!

Fostering a Sense of Place

 

Not long ago, I found myself amidst a group of energetic 6th graders on a field trip to Andrew Wiley Park (Sweet Home, Oregon) on the banks of the South Santiam River. The field trip, sponsored by The Freshwater Trust (formerly Oregon Trout and the Oregon Water Trust), was one of dozens that are held each fall in Oregon as part of the Salmon Watch program (now a part of StreamWebs.org) designed to raise kids’ awareness of and appreciation for the value of native wild fish, aquatic conservation, and environmental stewardship. It’d been nearly six years since I last volunteered my time with this particular program and I was reflecting on the similarities and differences I observed in the kids then and now. Probably true the world over, the kids on this particular field trip displayed their youthful exuberance and boundless enthusiasm (and thirst) for learning. They were both playful and inquisitive, outgoing and shy, noisy and quiet, grossed out by a decaying salmon carcass but too engrossed in learning something novel and being able to touch it to pull themselves away. For all apparent purposes, this group of kids could have been any normal group of kids.

Mostly I was struck by an underlying and unspoken – yet acutely aware of – sense from many of the kids that being outdoors and interacting with the rest of the natural world was an almost completely foreign occurrence for them. And I was saddened (I actually felt a dull pain in my chest/heart) to realize that for many of these kids, this probably was one of the first times in their lives they’d been encouraged to explore the outdoors. I’m an eternal optimist but couldn’t help but think that perhaps Richard Louv is right – too many children these days are afflicted with nature-deficit disorder.

But I found a great deal of hope and inspiration in this group of kids’ inquisitive, playful attitudes and eagerness to “dive right in” and turn over rocks, touch a decaying salmon, and ask the tough questions (e.g., “Why do salmon have to die?”). I loved seeing them get excited about the world around them…and I couldn’t help but catch some of that childhood wonder. It was a remarkably rewarding positive feedback loop and I basked in its warm glow for some time while we all stood by the river’s edge, awed by nature’s complexities. And I was glad to know that groups like The Freshwater Trust are out there making sure opportunities exist for kids to “get connected” to nature. Any more, too many of these types of opportunities are disappearing. While we find ourselves in tough economic times, more and more people are “staying local” and exploring their surrounding areas. Wouldn’t it make sense to bolster programs that speak to the local areas, environments and critters rather than cutting them? And give recognition to businesses that are not only willing to let their employees disappear from a day of work to volunteer with programs like this, but are committed to helping our children develop these connections and foster that sense of wonder? Our world needs more of these people and programs.

Nevertheless, my interactions with these children left two deep (and familiar) impressions on me. First, if conservation efforts are to have a lasting effect, children need, at an early age, to develop and maintain an intimate relationship with the rest of the natural world – we, their parents, friends and relatives, are the foundational role in that development; we are their keystone examples. Second, regardless of age, it’s important to foster the child in all of us – for that same childhood sense of wonder is what keeps many of us moving forward. And if we don’t maintain that childlike sense of wonder as adults, how can we hope to pass it along to our children?