April/May 2013 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Bookshelf

OWAA staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:22:39 +0000

Day Hikes Around Missoula, Montana, including the Bitterroots and the Seeley-Swan Valley, 4th edition

By Robert Stone,
Day Hike Books Inc.; 272, softbound, $15.95. The book can be purchased from all the usual places: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, REI, and most book stores and outdoor shops.
Missoula, Mont., lies at the hub of five merging valleys and surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. The Clark Fork, Rattlesnake, and Bitterroot Rivers converge near the city center, where the streets are lined with historic buildings and residences from the National Register. A short distance in any direction leads to national forests and wilderness areas. Outdoor activities abound in the area! Now in its fourth edition, day Hikes around Missoula, Montana includes an excellent collection of 102 day hikes within a 100-mile radius of the city. While many hikes are located within the city itself, most are found in the surrounding valleys, mountains, and national forests.

Day Hikes Around Monterey & Carmel, 2nd edition

By Robert Stone,
Day Hike Books Inc.; 384 pages, softbound, $19.95. The book can be purchased from all the usual places: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, REI, and most book stores and outdoor shops.
Monterey County lies along an incredibly beautiful and scenic coastal stretch of the Pacific Ocean in Central California. Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey, and other picturesque communities dot a landscape abundant with green valleys, woodlands, beaches, parks, natural preserves, and secluded bays along the oceanfront. This completely updated edition of includes 128 hikes from the north end of Monterey Bay to the Big Sur coastline.

DEERLAND: America’s Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness

By Al Cambronne,
Lyons Press, www. lyonspress.com; 272 pages, paperback, $18.95.
A timely and insightful look at the single most economically important and problematic wild creature in our midst. Whether you hunt them or watch them, love them or loathe them, and whether you care about the environment, the deer in your back yard, or the shrubbery they just ate, DEERLAND is an eye-opening read that will change forever the way you think about deer and the landscape we share with them.

Rifle Shots

By Roy Welch,
Sharpshooter Publications LLC, info@sharpshooterpublications. com; 212 pages, 49 photographs, 35 illustrations by noted wildlife artist Sharon Davis, soft cover, signed copy, $24.95 plus $5.00 shipping (Priority Mail).
“Roy knows his way around rifles and optics and everything else related to hunting, and is an exceptional writer. This will be a welcome addition to any shooter’s library,” said John Anderson, editor-in-chief, The Varmint Hunter Magazine. Based on 50-plus years of experience, Welch blends technical expertise and field experience to present strategies for accurate shot placement on varmints and game. Marksmanship topics include accurate rifle/cartridge combinations, sight settings related to target size and distance, lead-free bullets, game targets, ballistics software, compensating for wind deflection, and much more.

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W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. expands collection

OWAA staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:14:51 +0000

BRADFORD, Pa. — W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of premium, hand-crafted knives, earlier this year unveiled three new knife collections. The new collections include the eight-pattern Limited XX Edition Series XXIX in Moss Green Bone, the Case and Tony Bose Wharncliffe Trapper collaborations in five beautiful handle choices, and an eight-pattern Ginger Ale Bone family which features historic Winterbottom Bone handle jigging.
Limited XX Edition Series XXIX: Smooth Moss Green Bone
The 29th edition of the Case Limited XX Edition Series, the knives in this beautiful family feature Smooth Moss Green Bone handles with the Case Bomb Shield. The Tru-Sharp surgical steel blades are embellished with Case’s Limited XX Edition artwork. The Limited XX Edition Series XXIX Smooth Moss Green Bone family will feature eight popular patterns, including Trapper, BackPocket, RussLock, Canoe, Medium Stockman, Peanut, Small Texas Toothpick and Muskrat. Only 3,000 of each pattern will be produced. MSRP range: $67-$123.
2013 Case / Bose Collaboration: Wharncliffe Trapper
Case’s much-anticipated knife collaboration for 2013, the Wharncliffe Trapper, was designed with the help of award-winning custom knife maker, Tony Bose, who has been working with the 124-year old company since 1998. Case and Bose’s collaborations are known throughout the industry as knives made as close to “custom” as any made in a factory today. The Case/Bose Wharncliffe Trapper’s steel bolsters, cut swedge blades, and milled liners are just a few of the hallmark features found on Bose’s own custom knives. Case will be offering the Wharncliffe Trapper in a variety of handle choices, including Genuine India Stag, Smooth Abalone, Peach Seed Jigged Chestnut Bone, Peach Seed Jigged Antique Bone, and Smooth Ebony Wood. As with previous Case/Bose collaborations, a total of only 1,000 Wharncliffe Trappers will be made. The limited production run will include 300 each of the Antique and Chestnut Bone, 200 Ebony and 100 each of the Abalone and Stag. MSRP range: $375- 625.
Winterbottom Jigged Ginger Ale Bone
Case is introducing a new eight-pattern Ginger Ale bone family of knives which boast a fresh look thanks to the unmistakable Winterbottom jigging style first developed by Samuel Winterbottom, a legendary bone cutter who emigrated from Sheffield, England and founded Winterbottom Cutlery Works in New Jersey in the early 1920’s. Featuring stainless steel blades with polished edges, the eight patterns that make up the Winterbottom Jigged Ginger Ale family include a Trapper, Small Texas Toothpick, Small Saddlehorn, Tiny Trapper, Sowbelly, CopperLock, Medium Stockman and Medium Congress.MSRP range: $62-$97.
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company is an American manufacturer of premium, hand-crafted knives. Based in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Case’s offerings cover a wide range of product categories, from traditional folding pocket knives and fixed blade sporting knives to limited production commemoratives and collectables. ◊

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Media relations takes spotlight in new OWAA section

OWAA staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:11:10 +0000

A newly established membership subcategory in the Outdoor Writers Association of America seeks to address the interests of media relations and communications professionals and fosters professional advancement and networking opportunities for its members.
The OWAA Media Relations Section is open to OWAA members who work in the fields of communications, public relations and media relations for either nonprofit or for-profit entities. Section members can take advantage of opportunities to network with their peers, share skills, collaborate on common professional objectives and advance within their chosen field.
“Best practices, craft improvement, professional enrichment — these form the bedrock of membership in the OWAA, regardless of an individual’s field of outdoor communications,” said Katie McKalip, director of media relations for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, OWAA board member and head of the new section.
“Establishing a venue for networking and skills enhancement for OWAA members whose area of focus lies in media relations — in either the for-profit or nonprofit arenas — serves the interests of a growing segment of our community and further expands the benefits of membership in OWAA, the nation’s oldest and largest association of outdoor communicators.”
OWAA’s board of directors launched the “sections” concept in 1992. Sections are comprised of members with similar interests and focuses, enabling these constituencies to come together for professional enrichment. Current OWAA sections include newspaper, photography, magazine and radio and TV/video. The OWAA board may establish a section after receiving a petition from members of like professional interests.
“Outdoor writing is a diverse field, and it can be tough to grasp just how many people are treading similar terrain professionally,” said Paul Queneau, Bugle Magazine conservation editor at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, another member of the OWAA board.
“OWAA sections provide a terrific way to become acquainted with people I’d never have come to know otherwise, even in this world of Internet social networking.”
To join this new media relations section, email Membership Coordinator Jessica Pollett at info@owaa.org. ◊

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OWAA Board of Directors Meeting

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:59:49 +0000

President Mark Taylor called the meeting to order at 9:29 a.m.
Secretary Katie McKalip called the roll. Present were Taylor, Mark Freeman, Jack Ballard, Tim Mead and McKalip. Bill Graham, Jeff Williams, Paul Queneau, Bruce Cochran, Mary Nickum, Chris Hunt and Bill Powell participated via conference call. Brett Prettyman and Peter Schroeder were absent. Ashley Schroeder and Jessica Pollett attended as observers.
Moved (Mead/Freeman) to excuse Prettyman’s and Schroeder’s absences. Motion carries.
Moved (Mead/Freeman) to approve the minutes from the September board meeting. Motion carries.
President’s Report — Taylor noted that the executive director search was the primary focus of his report. The topic would be discussed more in depth later in the meeting.
Headquarters Report — Taylor referenced former Executive Director Robin Giner’s report and reasons for her resignation.
Randy Zellers joined the meeting via conference call.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
Board Nominating — Rory Aikens, Patrick Baker, Brent Frazee, Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, Paul Smith and Jacob Van- Houten are candidates for OWAA’s board of directors.
Conference Program — Freeman stated that the conference program will feature craft improvement topics and include speakers located in the Adirondacks region.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had been pursued in participating in the conference program, but due to several factors (including his advocacy of sweeping gun control measures) the decision to continue to actively pursue his presence is being re-evaluated. Board members weighed in whether the governor should be invited to speak and under what circumstances. The suggestion was made to “balance” the governor’s presence with the addition of a speaker such as the NRA President David Keene.
Pollett said that New York state gun laws will prevent the use of handguns in the shooting program. She will be seeking sponsorship and participation by crossbow, rifle and shotgun manufacturers as well as alternate opportunities for the traditional ladies’ shoot. Ballard commented that evolving gun control measures in New York dictate the need for continued awareness.
Contests — Nickum reported that judge selection for the 2013 contests has been completed.
Development — Ballard advised that the committee’s charge should be expanded to encompass funds raised via wills and estate planning. Queneau seconded this approach.
Finance — Ballard summarized his report to the board, emphasizing the high rate of member participation in the “$85 for 85” campaign; he recommended that similar strategies be employed in the future. He referenced the 2013 budget; it includes no margin for error. He described OWAA’s current financial management approach as “paying today’s bills with tomorrow’s income,” which in his view is neither viable nor wise. The only remaining way to cut costs would involve eliminating staff positions. Increasing member numbers is the best way to bolster funds.
Marketing — Hunt referenced notes from the committee’s recent meeting. Topics covered included organizational branding, reaching into the digital world to increase member numbers and adding “iconic” outdoor writers as an attractant to other potential members. Social media practices employed by headquarters were discussed, and ways to expand and improve them were considered.
Taylor remarked that the executive director search has spurred discussion of compensation for that position. He believes that performance incentives should be part of that compensation package. Further, he said that they should be considered for the compensation packages of all staff members. He cited the value of tactics such as cold calls.
McKalip asked how committees with similar charges (such as Marketing and Membership) should best work together, dovetail their efforts and avoid duplicating efforts. Discussion occurred regarding ways for these committee chairs to communicate and build on each others’ activities.
Officer Nominating — Taylor thanked Cochran for his work in compiling strong slates of candidates for both officer positions.
Sections — Freeman expressed dissatisfaction with some of the sections’ lack of involvement in organizational activities. He has been working with headquarters staff to establish email outreach among members of individual sections. He criticized the organizational structure that calls for the second vice president to commence serving as head of sections and as supporter liaison immediately upon that individual’s election.
McKalip suggested that the position of a stand-alone supporter liaison be reestablished (rather than being designated as a duty of the second vice president). The position was formerly eliminated by the board in a budget-cutting measure. Ballard agreed strongly that the need for this role exists. McKalip mentioned a new section she has been working to establish – the media relations section – and the potential role of this section in reinvigorating the supporter-OWAA relationship. She volunteered to work with Freeman in outreaching to supporters and better engaging them in OWAA.
Cochran left the meeting to attend an appointment.
Strategic Planning — Taylor referenced Committee Chair Matt Miller’s report and progress made toward achieving established goals. Taylor said that the plan will be a useful tool for the new executive director.
AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS
The Diversity Committee report was included in the meeting’s consent agenda.
OLD BUSINESS
Madson Fellowship — Powell had conferred with both Chris Madson and Joel Vance, as was decided at the last board meeting, and determined that they both support changing the bylaws to expand the eligibility of applicants for John Madson fellowships to include non-members. Powell presented language for a proposed bylaws change to the board for consideration.
Editor’s note: The proposal is that paragraph 13.7 of the bylaws be amended as published on page 18-19.
Board members discussed the need to adjust language on the fellowship application to correspond with the bylaws changes.
NEW BUSINESS
Endowment Trustees — Ballard reviewed his report and referenced the finance report for specifics concerning individual funds.
Accepting high school students under student membership class — Ballard suggested that the student member class be combined with the associate member class. He said this makes sense logistically and from a marketing perspective. Taylor cautioned that streamlining member classifications should not come at the expense of communicating clearly to students that they are welcome as OWAA members. Discussion continued regarding the protocol involved in changing the bylaws to reflect these changes. Queneau sees the value in maintaining a student segment of the OWAA membership and thinks that the $10 fee for students helps attract and retain student members. Powell, Mead, Graham and Ballard volunteered to formulate revised bylaws language for consideration by the board; they will commence work post haste.
Member Retention — Taylor broached the issue of ease of dues renewal, and board members weighed in on ways to facilitate the process.
2015 Conference Site Selection Report — Pollett referenced her report and said that since she filed the report prior to the board meeting, the site has been chosen. McAllen, Texas, will be the location of the OWAA’s 2015 conference. The conference will take place toward the end of May, when temperatures are lower and bird migrations still are under way.
Section Approval — McKalip has accumulated 26 member names in support of establishment a new section, the Media Relations Section.
Moved (Ballard/Mead) to establish the Media Relations Section. Motion carries.
Ad Hoc Signatories — In the absence of an executive director, Ballard and McKalip will serve as signatories on official OWAA business and finances according to a resolution submitted to the board for consideration.
Moved (Mead/Queneau) to adopt signatories as recommended. Motion carries.
Knoxville, Tenn., contracts — Powell summarized the current state of affairs concerning the 2014 conference contracts. Four of the five contracts were in order; the fifth would expose OWAA to unacceptable liabilities and expenses, he said. At the time of Giner’s resignation, the problems with this contract had not been resolved. In the absence of an executive director, Powell will be overseeing finalization of this and the other contracts.
Approval of 2013 budget — The board must vote to approve the 2013 budget. Ballard drew the board’s attention to conference attendance numbers and projected sponsorship income (conference sponsors, contest sponsors), as well as revenue from directory ads. He requested input from the board regarding ad rates and ways of expanding ad revenue. Registration/participation at the Lake Placid conference and expanding member numbers are two key potential areas of increased revenue.
Freeman complimented the presentation and coherence of the budget that was prepared by Giner.
Moved (Mead/Freeman) to approve the 2013 budget as prepared. Motion carries.
Executive director job search — Taylor reported on the status of the hiring process. The search committee consists of the executive committee, Madson and Kevin Rhoades. Approximately 15 resumes had been submitted to date; an initial review narrowed that pool to four candidates. Additional resumes were anticipated; the position was set to close on Jan. 21. The overall quality of the candidates is very good, Taylor said. He said the absence of the requirement that the executive director be based in Missoula has attracted in a higher caliber of applicants.
Based on board members’ feedback, the search committee will share with the entire board the short list of applicants who will be interviewed. Their input on and knowledge of these candidates will be solicited by the committee.
GOOD OF THE ORDER
Powell complimented the efforts of headquarters staffers Schroeder and Pollett to stay the course in absence of an executive director.
ADJOURNMENT
Moved (Ballard/Mead) to adjourn. Motion carries. Meeting adjourned at 11:44 a.m. ◊

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Lake Placid: Where to find the fish

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:41:12 +0000

By Lisa Densmore

With five months between now and the 2013 OWAA conference in Lake Placid, I thought this might be a good time to help you figure out which pre and post-conference trips best fit your interests and available time. You have lots of choices. Jessica Pollett at OWAA headquarters, the Lake Placid CVB’s staff and I have compiled a list of more than 40 pre- and post-conference trips which you received via postal mail in March. We’ll add more trips until the conference begins, so keep checking OWAA’s conference website, www.owaa.org/2013conference, for additions.

FISHING

Most of the pre- and post-conference trips range from a half-day to two days and one night, short enough to fit into even the most time-crunched schedule. However, if you can’t tack even just an extra half-day onto your conference itinerary, you can still go fishing during the conference right from outside your hotel room in Mirror Lake, the 128-acre lake in the middle of town. Thanks to Steve Piatt, editor of New York Outdoor News, you’ll receive a profile of the lake in your welcome packet. In the meantime, let me tempt you with a few tidbits about this local fishery known for its rainbow trout.
Each spring, the state of New York stocks the lake with 1,300 yearling rainbows. A year ago, the state also put in about 60 1.5-pound to 4-pound landlocked salmon. In addition you might land a lake trout, smallmouth bass, rock bass, yellow perch, sunfish or bullhead. Note: Motorboats are not allowed on Mirror Lake.
If you’re looking for lake trout, some of the other lakes within an hour of Lake Placid harboring these deep water dwellers include the lake called Lake Placid (on the edge of town), Taylor Pond, Tupper Lake and Upper Saranac Lake.
Walleye and northern pike are among the big prizes anglers commonly pull out of Adirondack waterways. Tupper Lake and the Saranac River between the villages of Saranac Lake and Bloomingdale are prime spots for hooking these toothy piscine. Big bass also prowl the weedy waters along this stretch of the Saranac River and throughout the Saranac Lake system.
For fly fishers, the two closest stretches of trophy trout water are on the West Branch Ausable River between the village of Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain and on the Saranac River near Redford, a small hamlet on Route 3 west of Plattsburgh.

BIRDING

The summit area of Whiteface Mountain is a known hotspot for seeing the endangered Bicknell’s thrush, and you don’t have to hike 4,000 vertical feet to get there! A toll road winds up the mountain starting in Wilmington, N.Y., about 10 miles from Lake Placid.
Bloomingdale Bog, another birding hotspot, has boreal chickadees and black-backed woodpeckers in its avian mix. Two local birding experts, Ed Kanze and Joan Collins (not the actress) are offering half-day trips to Bloomingdale Bog.

PADDLING

The Saint Regis Canoe Area is the only designated canoe area in New York that is managed for non-motorized, water-based recreational activities. Its 18,000 acres seem more water than land. The area is made up of many lakes, streams and ponds connected by short portages. The Adirondack Mountain Club is offering a day of pond-hopping in this paddler’s paradise.
A little further afield in the northern region of the park, Packbasket Adventures, named for the woven, open-topped backpacks used a century ago by Adirondack hunting and fishing guides, is hosting a day-long canoe paddle and return float down the legendary Oswegatchie River. Bring a camera for the wildlife, a bathing suit for a swim and a rod for the trout on this classic Adirondack outing.

CONSERVATION

Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will host a number of trips to give you a first-hand, insider’s look at specific conservation initiatives in the Adirondack Park. If you’re curious how New York handles its historic sites, endangered and invasive species, trail building and relocations, and how it manages its extensive public lands, check out one of these trips.

HIKING/BACKPACKING

With 48 peaks over 4,000 feet, the Adirondack Park is hiker-heaven. Cascade Mountain, the easiest 4,000-footer, is only a few miles east of Lake Placid. It’s a steady 2.5-mile ascent to the top where you’ll ogle a 360-degree view that includes the Great Range, Whiteface and Lake Champlain. Back at the trailhead, soak your feet as you cast a line into Cascade Lake.
Mount Marcy is the marquee mountain in the region, the highest in New York and the source of the Hudson River. Marcy is a full-day, 12-mile commitment, as is the Great Range (Gothics, Armstrong, Upper Wolfjaw and Lower Wolfjaw mountains).
Hikers in the Adirondacks also enjoy trekking to one of the historic fire towers in the region. The closest one to Lake Placid is atop Hurricane Mountain, but it is closed. Instead, check out the towers atop Goodnow Mountain, Snowy Mountain and Blue Mountain, which are among my favorites. If you opt for Blue Mountain, spend a few hours after your hike at the Adirondack Museum across the road from the trailhead. The museum is a marvelous repository of Adirondack artifacts and historical information.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Carl Heilman II, who I personally consider the best landscape photographer in the Adirondacks, is offering two half-day photo excursions. If you’re seeking stock images of the Adirondacks, Carl will put in you in the right place at the right time.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

This is just a sampler of the many pre- and post-conference trips that we’ve lined up for your visit to Lake Placid. To round out your Adirondack experience, don’t forget to include a visit to an Adirondack “Great Camp” (it doesn’t matter which one), listen to the loons while lounging lakeside in an authentic Adirondack chair, and sample a Udu ale from the Lake Placid brewery, named for the owner’s black lab.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Ashley Andrews (ashley@lakeplacid.com) or me (densmore1@aol.com) if you need a guide or some just some guidance as you plan your trip to Lake Placid.
A former OWAA board member and an award-winning television producer, writer and photographer, Lisa Densmore is local chair of the 2013 OWAA conference in Lake Placid, N.Y. www.DensmoreDesigns.com.

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Don't forget the 'Why?'

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:07:41 +0000

BY BRETT PRETTYMAN
A good interview can, and often does, make the difference between a strong story and one that will be sent back by an editor for major revisions or a “thank you, but we are not interested at this time” note.
The success of an interview often lies in the hands of the interviewer. There are, of course, times when nothing can be done to soothe a hostile subject with nothing but bad expectations of the end result.
There are, however, some things that can help make the person being interviewed feel more comfortable with the idea of being quoted for all time and eternity.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK Nothing irritates an interviewee more than having to explain everything. It makes people nervous the story will turn out wrong and often leads to short, unusable answers.
Plan ahead and spend time researching the topic of the story and, if possible, the people that will be interviewed for the piece. It only takes a minute to run a Google search. Arm yourself with as much information as possible before the interview.
People sense if a writer has made an attempt to inform themselves on the subject and it often leads to a more comfortable and more thorough interview, which in turn, can lead to a better story.
Have a list of possible questions and use them if the interview is dragging or gets off topic, but don’t be afraid to follow a new line of questioning if something interesting is mentioned.
BE PATIENT AND A GOOD LISTENER Nothing is worse during an interview than listening to useless ramblings from a source that will never make it into the story. Hear out the ramblings if you have the time, because they often lead to little gems that others working on the same story may not have been patient enough to hear. Let the folks you are interviewing take the full 15 minutes of their fame, but also be prepared to get the discussion back on task.
Listen carefully during the interview. There will be times when an obvious quote for the story emerges from your notes, but don’t stop there. Build a background to reinforce the quote.
Don’t pretend to be an expert and talk about your own experiences, but don’t hesitate to let the interviewee know that you are familiar enough with the subject matter that you can tell when the truth might be stretched a bit.
REMEMBER THE FIVE Ws Most writers seem to have no problem coming up with the Who, Where, When and What, but it is often the Why that will distance a story from competitors.
Without the Why, a story looks, feels and reads like a police report; all the pertinent information is there, but no one knows why the crook stole the apple pie. Was it hunger? Revenge? A mistake?
Once you have the basic details “just the facts ma’am” – dig deeper with the source and see what gems lie behind the Why.
Editors and readers will thank you for your efforts. ◊
Currently serving on the OWAA Board of Directors, Brett Prettyman has been an OWAA member since 1992. He is an outdoor and recreation writer for The Salt Lake Tribune. Prettyman is also the author of “Fishing Utah” second edition, spring 2008, Globe Pequot. Contact him at brettp@sltrib.com.

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Why give to a charity (like OWAA)

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:57:42 +0000

BY BILL POWELL
Since the 1950s OWAA has been classified as a tax-exempt public charity. Public charities are strongly favored by the Internal Revenue Code. This piece will explain how those who care about OWAA and other public charities can strengthen them and save taxes while doing so.
If done in ways approved by the Code, each gift to an organization like OWAA can be deducted from the giver’s taxable income. When this happens, the giver is taxed as if he or she never received as income the amount of the gift being made. It’s like using a cafeteria plan or a health savings account to pay for health care, you get to use before-tax dollars rather than after-tax dollars. Under income tax laws, this amounts to part of the gift being made by the giver and part by the IRS, since both are foregoing something they otherwise would have. There are limits to the deductions that a person can claim on his or her annual income tax returns for such gifts, based on the giver’s total amount of income and the total of recent charitable gifts made.
The Code also imposes a gift tax under some situations and an estate tax under some situations. Under the recent “fiscal cliff” law, named the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the rules remain that there are unlimited amounts that may be deducted on both gift and estate tax returns for amounts given to organizations like OWAA. Those with a billion dollars could leave it all to OWAA, and the gift would be funded approximately 60 percent by what could have passed to others from the giver and about 40 percent by what would otherwise have gone to the IRS. This effect is the same whether the gift is made during lifetime or at death.
Since public charities are exempt from paying income taxes, a well-motivated donor can get the biggest bang for his or her buck by giving away assets that are presently carrying a heavy load of income taxes that will be due whenever they are cashed in. Such assets include retirement funds such as IRAs or 401(k) plans or 403(b) plans (which will be included in the taxable income of whoever draws them out, unless that person is a tax-exempt charity), and appreciated assets such as land, buildings, or corporate stocks (which carry as freight the capital gain that will become taxable as income when the asset is sold).
Gifts to charities like OWAA either during lifetime or at death put them outside the calculation of the estate tax due at death. After the ATRA was passed and signed by President Obama on Jan. 2, 2013, the tax rate that applies is a flat 40 percent of all taxable assets in excess of $5.25 million per taxpayer.
Many estate planning clients are shocked to learn what the IRS considers their taxable wealth. This is because it includes things that most people don’t think of as accessible wealth, such as the proceeds of life insurance, the balances in IRAs, retirement funds, annuities and such, and the current market value of real estate acquired long ago.
There is always an income tax benefit to the giver from a gift made to a charity during lifetime. There is sometimes an enormous additional benefit in the form of reduced estate tax by having the property out of your taxable estate. Also, if you make a charitable gift now rather than waiting until death you have a chance to see the gift put to good use and be thanked personally for it.
If you are wealthy enough to have an estate tax concern, it would be accurate to say that some charity will benefit from part of your wealth at your death. If you don’t choose a different charity, it will be the IRS.
Perhaps most importantly for those who care about OWAA and wish for it to have continued success beyond the 85-year history it already has, every gift to it will help it assure such success, and in its hands the gifts are not subject to any of the taxes discussed here.
A few years ago, after a decades-long debate, the OWAA Board pounded out a Gift Acceptance Policy that accommodated the competing concerns that had made large gifts sometimes difficult for OWAA to accept. That policy is printed in the Directory and is available at www.owaa.org/about. It contains detailed discussion about how to make gifts to OWAA of 11 different kinds of property.
I spend much of my time in my own law practice advising clients about estate planning matters, and would be happy to assist your own estate planner in implementing any desire you might have to benefit OWAA. ◊
A member since 1994, Bill Powell is from Columbia, Mo. He is OWAA’s legal counsel. Besides practicing law, he writes irregular newspaper columns and features, and is an award-winning photographer. He authored the “Legal Handbook for Freelancers,” which is available from OWAA. His other pursuits include mountaineering, hunting, fishing, backpacking, running, travel, growing grapes, and making wine. Contact him at powell@smithlewis.com.

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Making it personal

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:48:52 +0000

BY TY STOCKTON
One of the most important rules for both broadcasting and writing is to make your material resonate with your audience. It has to strike a chord for every individual who is listening or reading. If it doesn’t, channels will change or magazines will be put down.
(For the sake of simplicity, please note that the following relates both to writing for newspapers and magazines and to speaking on the airwaves. I’ll focus on the broadcast side, but the same principles apply to writing, as well.)
No matter what you’re talking about, you have to find a way to phrase it so it becomes personal to each individual listener. For some stories, that’s easier. In a story about an increase in hunting license fees, you can explain how many fewer boxes of shells a hunter could buy if the increase goes into effect. A story about the population of wolves in northwestern Wyoming could focus on trends showing a decrease in hunter success for elk, or it could talk about an increase in tourism spending and the resulting benefits for business owners in Jackson and Cody.
You might have more difficulty making other stories interesting to your listeners, especially if you don’t have good guests or interviews for your week’s shows. All of us have experiences of our own we think might be of interest to our listeners, but they have to be more than just an unrelatable anecdote, at least from the listener’s perspective. And more importantly, you really don’t want to come off as a know-it-all blow-hard.
The easiest way to avoid that is to allow an expert to do the talking. Any radio show, whether it’s a two-minute segment or a full four-hour program, benefits from good, engaging guests. The guest is the expert on the topic at hand; he or she can speak about the issue or the activity, and your job is simply to guide the conversation to areas that will be particularly interesting to your listeners.
But what if your topic or your program doesn’t lend itself to guest interviews? Or what if your guest turns out to be a dud? In some situations, you may be called on to do the bulk of the talking. If so, there are a number of techniques you can use.
HUMOR: Injecting a little comedy into a topic works wonders to help you hold a listener’s attention. Even the driest subjects can hold some humor, if you know where to look. The great Patrick F. McManus mentions in his writing guide, “The Deer on a Bicycle,” that even in his days covering straight news stories, he tried to find humorous angles to keep the reader reading.
One of my favorite types of humor is self-deprecation. When you have to be the one talking about a topic but can’t find an expert to be the voice for the topic, you can easily sound like the self-appointed expert. To avoid this, poke a little fun at yourself. Everyone has failed at something, and outdoor pursuits like camping, hunting and fishing are more apt to produce these failures than many other activities. Instead of telling my listeners how to make the perfect fly-cast, I tend to explain why the back of my neck is scarred from a lifetime of waiting too long to transfer from the back-cast to the fore-cast. While this is a good technique to avoid sounding like a know-it-all, you need to avoid damaging your credibility. Don’t overdo it. You don’t want to be known as the bumbling idiot of the outdoor world.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: There are times when you might be the best source for the topic you’re talking about. Don’t be afraid to use your personal experiences in your show. Tell about how you built your snow cave. Talk about the sneak you put on that pronghorn buck, and the challenges you ran into as you belly-crawled the last 100 yards. When you do, make sure it doesn’t become a brag session. Use some humorous or self-deprecating techniques, if possible.
Be sure to speak about those experiences in a way the listener can understand — and more importantly, identify with. Find balance between the details of the story as it related to you and the broad, less individualized, topic you’re discussing. Meet it in the middle, where both you and your listeners live. ◊
A member since 2001, Ty Stockton has also served on the OWAA board of directors. Stockton hails from Cheyenne, Wyo. A boyhood living a stone’s throw from the Wind River in central Wyoming ruined him for any productive, meaningful indoor occupations. He is a freelance writer, photographer and radio host. Contact him at stockyty@ gmail.com.

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Point of view cameras

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:29:41 +0000

Adding new angles to your story

BY KRIS MILLGATE
To the top of an evergreen to a look inside an eagle nest. On purpose. To the bottom of a river for a roll on the rocks. On accident. Surprisingly, my waterproof, point-of-view camera always comes back to me and keeps recording shots I couldn’t collect just five years ago.
I won’t tell you which POV camera to buy, but I will tell you what to do with it once you have one. Use it. Use it often. I take my POV camera on every shoot. It may not always come out of my pack, but it is there when the opportunity presents itself. Anyone can stick a camera anywhere these days. The trick is knowing when to use it in the field and how to use it in the edit bay.
IN THE FIELD I shoot for video and print when I’m in the field. That means I’m already looking for shots that are appropriate for video and shots that are appropriate for print. Now I’m also looking for shots that are appropriate for POV. My POV camera does not replace my primary camera. POV is a secondary camera, but important nonetheless.
I ruined my first POV shoot with my own ignorance. I really didn’t believe how wide the shot was until I saw my backside. I kept shooting with my primary camera in the river while an angler wearing my secondary camera fished the river. I’m in every shot from the camera on the angler’s head. Sometimes in unflattering ways as I wallow in the water to get what I need. I thought I was creating a great sequence between both cameras when all I did was ruin the footage on one camera because I’m in every shot. POV cameras record wide so nothing is left out of the shot. That includes you, if you are shooting too close. Stay out of your own way.
Wide is good, but comes with a drawback. A wide-angle POV lens lacks variety. There’s no zooming in. You only get a close-up shot if you move the whole camera closer. You can be right on a fish fin and still have some breathing room. Don’t be afraid to move in to make that wide shot not so wide and create a little variety in your POV angles.
Also understand that putting a POV camera on someone else makes them your unofficial second cameraman. That cameraman usually doesn’t know how to shoot. Letting people wear your POV camera means you have to give up control over how your shot is framed. Be prepared to sort through a lot of bad shots to find a few keepers. You also have to be prepared for damage. I’ve never tried to collect on damage from someone I asked to wear my camera. That’s just part of the risk when capturing POV.
IN THE EDIT BAY Heading to the edit bay after shooting POV is like unwrapping a white elephant gift. You never know if there is something usable inside. If there is, it’s a fantastic surprise.
Look for steady shots with some longevity before movement sets in. Don’t expect it to be tripod-steady, but avoid uncomfortable rattles. Also look for variety. A good editor can see variety right away. That’s where moving the camera in the field pays off.
A good example of no variety is a video I received from a biologist. It was shot with a waterproof camera mounted on a boat while shocking fish for a population count. Great stuff. For about 30 seconds. After that, it’s frustrating to watch because the angle is always the same. Wide. He asked when I was going to hire him. I said, “As soon as you show me a close-up of a fish.”
Remember, POV cameras are secondary. You still have footage from your primary camera to look at. Go through footage from both cameras and build a sequence of shots that combine both. Now you’re working with footage from a two-camera shoot. The result is a well-edited piece with a variety of angles, including POV.
If shot well and used right, rare point-of- view footage ends up being worth more than the camera it is shot on. Case in point: my devastating dump in the Green River. The POV camera slipped right out of my hands as I hung over the side of a drift boat. It had three days of underwater footage on it. That’s all I could think about as I watched the camera sink. I’m still using that camera today. See the overboard rescue mission at www.owaa.org/ou. ◊
A member since 2009, Kris Millgate is CEO of Tight Line Media. She produces multimedia content for television, newspapers, magazines, Web and big screen. Millgate has 15 years of reporting and producing experience. Contact her at kris@tightlinemedia.com.

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APPly yourself

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:01:59 +0000

PART TWO: The challenges and rewards of creating an outdoor adventure travel guide mobile app

BY NATALIE BARTLEY
This is the second article of a two part series about apps, with this article focusing on the creative process and challenges of creating an app. Part one by Risa Wyatt — discussing what they are, how the work and how they can make you money — appeared in the February/March issue of OU.
I was introduced to idea of creating travel guide mobile apps during Risa Wyatt’s presentation on Sutro Media mobile apps at the 2011 NOWA annual conference in Bellingham, Wash. The concept of a travel guide that moves quickly to the marketplace and is easily updated appealed to me.
When I got home, I surveyed the existing mobile app competition in my hometown of Boise and discovered three apps about Boise and Idaho. None of them offered the quality or detail of the Sutro apps. My original idea was a trail guide app. Instead, to broaden the content for a wider audience and to repurpose my existing written content and photography, I settled on an outdoor adventure guide for Boise. Next, I applied to Sutro Media, using their simple online application. Within about a week, I was contracted for my first mobile app.
Sutro provided me with the editing tool to create the app. Working with it was simple and enjoyable. I generated 130 potential activities and destinations. Then, I moved on to locating photographs for each topic. Sutro requires at least one photo, and up to ten photos, for each topic.
Short content is best for mobile apps, so I trimmed my previously published content to the essentials and generated brief descriptions on the remaining topics. Part of the process included completing ten topics and submitting them to Sutro for a test drive and review. The app “went live” on my iPad and I could see the layout and usability of my app. My husband commented, “Wow! You did this?” when he first saw the colorful, interactive app. I sent my final submission consisting of 110 separate topics and more than 600 photos.
The writing and photography layout was completed and launched in just four months. As a comparison, one of my guidebooks took a year to research and print through a big publisher, while another guidebook took even longer.
To help authors, Sutro provides an extensive list of marketing ideas. I sent press releases to my magazine and newspaper editors, and also posted announcements on local outdoor retailers’ websites. I offered promo codes provided by Sutro to encourage reviews of the app. After holding off way too long, I finally purchased a Go- Daddy business website and posted my app information. I special ordered a removable magnetic sign that rides on the back of my truck where ever I go.
Despite the search tool Sutro provided, locating photos for small, lesser-known destinations was time consuming. Obtaining courtesy photos and release forms from individual destinations eats time. I used a blend of my stock photos, new photos I shot during the writing of the app, Idaho Tourism courtesy photos, and open-source photos. I recommend selecting topics where supporting photos are quickly obtainable at no cost.
The app tool that Sutro provides is fun and easy to use, however, budget for time spent on searching for and embedding photos, Wikipedia, YouTube, website links, and map locations. Keep your production pace at a good clip.
Aside from potential earnings, creating a mobile app offered me a variety of rewards. The project was so entertaining, the time flew by. The flexible format was fun to use. I happily repurposed prior print content and photos. It was a personal challenge and I grew from the process. The mobile app broadened my portfolio of offerings. Another reward was being propelled deeper into current technology. There is pleasure in knowing the product is working 24/7 to produce income.
Determining the right topic for the right market is a big deal. Authors need a large audience since you make money by selling to a large volume of people. Select a famous location and a popular topic. Boise is a small destination, so to make my upcoming update of the app appeal to both timid and adventurous users, I’ll add entries about eateries, lodging, and low-skill pursuits.
Since creating the app, I shoot more pictures everywhere I go. You never know when they may come in handy for inclusion in an app!
The mobile app world is larger than what Sutro offers. If you are considering making an app, investigate opportunities with state and regional travel councils, chambers of commerce, ski resorts, and other tourism vendors. Consider developing educational content for school apps, or nature-related content such as birding apps or star gazing apps for particular agencies.
Another type of app is the advertisementdriven app like what is provided through www.TownWizard.com. The author provides content and hustles the advertisements that appear within the app. APP-ly yourself now! ◊
This series has been reprinted with permission of the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association, where it originally appeared in the September and October 2012 NOWA newsletters.
Natalie Bartley is a Boise based author of the mobile app travel guide “Boise’s Best Outdoor Adventures,” available at www.sutromedia. com/boise. Bartley is also the author of the trail guidebooks “Best Easy Day Hikes Boise” and “Best Rail Trails Pacific Northwest,” available at www. amazon.com or your local outdoor retailer or bookstore.

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