April/May 2017 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Bookshelf

OWAA Developer — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:16:23 +0000

The Weight of Night

By Christine Carbo
Atria books; paperback and e-book; 416 pages; $16.
In a land sculpted by glaciers, the forest is on fire. Thick smoke chokes the mountain air and casts a twilight glow over the imposing mountains and vistas of Montana’s Glacier National Park. When firefighters are called to dig fuel line breaks near a small town, a crewmember unearths a shallow grave with human remains.

When Bears Attack: Close Encounters of the Terrifying Kind

Edited by Joseph B. Healy
Skyhorse Publishing; paperback; 224 pages; $14.99.
Bears are among nature’s apex predators, gentle and magnificent to watch from a distance, fierce and unpredictable when aroused. If a bear is startled or frightened, it’s often too late for humans to escape a dangerous, fearsome, or fatal bear encounter. In this collection, we gather the ultimate thrilling and frightening bear attack stories, including classic stories of the past few decades. Joseph B. Healy takes a closer look at some of the notable bear attacks of recent history in order to determine their causes, evaluate what happened and appreciate the raw power — and danger — of mother nature. He tells tales of hikers enjoying weekend camping trips as well as workers going about their daily routines. Follow along as the victims’ lives are disrupted by bears, and see how survivors were forced to think and act in the moment to stay alive.

The Yellow Envelope: One Gift, Three Rules, and a Life-changing Journey Around the World

By Kim Dinan
Sourcebooks; paperback; 368 pages; $15.99.
Plagued by anxiety and panic attacks in her late twenties, Kim Dinan and her husband, Brian, decided to quit their jobs and set out on a trip around the world. They knew their lives were going to change. What they didn’t count on is that they would be in a position to change the lives of the people they met on their journey. On the eve of their departure, the couple was given an unusual going-away gift from their friends Michele and Glenn: a yellow envelope containing a check for $1,000 and three simple instructions for giving the money away to those they encountered during their travels.

Game Birds: A Celebration of North American Upland Birds

By: Gary K. Kramer
Sweetgrass Books; hardcover; 256 pages; 384 color photographs; 26 range maps; $58.
This book takes readers on a visual journey across North America in search of turkey, pheasant, quail, grouse, partridge, ptarmigan, prairie chickens and the game birds of Hawaii. If you are an avid hunter, a serious birder or an armchair reader, this book will provide you with range maps, natural history and conservation status and a photographic insight seldom revealed.

A Quixotic Guide to Key West & the Lower Keys

By Karuna Eberl and Steve Alberts
Softcover and e-book; 288 pages; $20.
Key West, a quirky tropical paradise, draws millions of visitors each year, who mostly miss out on the true spirit and hidden places of this eclectic destination. Irreverent, humorous and full of mostly pertinent information, the Quixotic guide is not only a comprehensive rundown of local tips for lodging, eating, drinking and attractions, but also an honest and unpredictable literary voyage, complete with obscure places, tall tales, drinking customs, life wisdoms and hard lessons. We even included a conch pocket translator, so visitors can properly communicate with the locals. In other words: it’s a guide by locals to the wonders of the Keys, for everyone who likes the road less taken. Preorders at quixotictravelguides.com.

Turkey Men

By Thomas R. Pero
Wind River Press; hardcover; 212 pages; $49.95.
This new book profiles six extraordinary hunters who years ago set their sights on killing a wild turkey in the 49 states where the birds now thrive after reaching near extinction. “Turkey Men” features interviews with Jeff Budz and David J. Ellis of Florida, Tony Hudak of Noxen, Pennsylvania, Rob Keck of South Carolina, Clyde F. Neely of Texas and Randy Stafford of Louisiana. Impressive photos of these hunters document their devoted and adventurous quest for the United States Wild Turkey Super Slam.

The post Bookshelf appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Wind River Visitors Council: Visit authentic Wyoming on driving tour

OWAA Developer — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:12:06 +0000

Uncover all the best of Wyoming in one road trip. The Circle the Continental Divide driving loop encompasses classic Wyoming wildlife, breathtaking mountain views, millions of acres of sagebrush interrupted only by stark red rock formations and prolific pronghorns. Dive into cowboy life, unrivaled mountains access, Oregon Trail and gold rush history and Native American culture, and emerge with a renewed spirit and a fresh story.
This loop itinerary was rated a “Best of the Road” trip by road map publisher Rand McNally. After hitting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, this route dives into authentic Wyoming in Wind River Country with wide-open spaces, rich culture and history.
From Yellowstone and Grand Teton, Highway 287/26 takes you south for a short detour to Jackson, then over the majestic Togwogtee (pronounced TOE-guh-tee) Pass, on the Centennial Scenic Byway. Keep an eye out for wildlife, and make a few stops to stretch your legs and hike through the pristine Shoshone National Forest to find waterfalls without crossing paths with another person.
Just 26 scenic miles from the southern entrance to Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks, you’ll enter Wind River Country. Stop in Dubois, for homemade pie and a picture with one of two giant jackalopes in town. Western and outdoor gear stores line wooden sidewalks. Dubois is home to the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center, the largest wintering herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, ancient Sheepeater Indian petroglyphs and weekly swing-dance gatherings and rodeos adored by locals and dude ranch guests.
Continue south through the Wind River Indian Reservation—the only Indian reservation in Wyoming—and join hands with dancers for a song or two at biweekly dance events. Visit historical and cultural sites of national significance, such as Crowheart Butte and Fort Washakie, and learn the stories of the native people who call this place home.
Further along Highway 26, you’ll find the outdoor town of Lander, where you can climb world famous rock or perhaps try to explain the disappearing river of Sinks Canyon State Park.
Depart Lander on Highway 287/28 for historic South Pass City and Atlantic City to pan gold.
Return to Lander, then head to Riverton, Wyoming’s Rendezvous City, on Highway 789. If you time your travels right, you’ll be invited to participate in one of many annual gatherings and festivals like the 1838 Mountain Man Rendezvous, Riverton Rendezvous week or the Fremont County Fair before you hit the road again. From here, you’ll to travel to Shoshoni, through Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway, to complete your loop into Cody, then back to the national parks and Jackson.

The post Wind River Visitors Council: Visit authentic Wyoming on driving tour appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Volunteer to give back to OWAA

OWAA Developer — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:07:14 +0000

BY PHIL BLOOM, FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
I once saw a sign hanging on the fence by a youth sports ball field. The sign’s message stated: “Before you complain … have you volunteered yet?”
There are a lot of reasons OWAA remains a strong organization.
Volunteers head the list.
While we value our headquarters staff, OWAA likely wouldn’t survive without the commitment of members to serve as officers, directors, or on one of the many committees working to make it a better organization.
Our bylaws outline most of the committees that carry over from year to year — awards, board nominating, conference program, contests (EIC), craft improvement, development, education, ethics, finance, marketing, member recruitment, member services, national affairs and environment, sections, strategic planning and more.
The makeup of some committees is also established in the bylaws. For instance, the officer nominating committee is comprised of second-year board members, and you have to be a former OWAA president to be on the past presidents council.
But there’s plenty of other work to be done. Important work. And you can help. Each year, the OWAA president-elect is tasked with populating the various committees and assigning them tasks. The committees are finalized and approved by the board of directors at the summer meeting.
So, this is a callout to OWAA members to volunteer for committee work that will begin in Duluth, Minnesota, in 2017 and end in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2018.
Volunteer work is rewarding. It not only helps keep the OWAA ball rolling, but also gives you the opportunity to become acquainted with other OWAA members and expand your network.
It also helps build a résumé of service should you someday decide to run for the Board of Directors or for one of the OWAA officer positions.
To get an idea of what’s involved, visit the Members Area of OWAA’s website and find the link to our bylaws. They’re listed under Article IX.
If you see something that interests you, send me an email at philbloom.owaa@frontier.com.
Please, no axe grinding allowed.
As Dr. Albert Schweitzer once said about volunteering: “Even if it is a little thing, do something for which there is no pay but the privilege of doing it. Remember, you don’t live in a world all of your own.”
— Phil Bloom, a member since 1991, is OWAA’s vice-president. He’ll take the helm as president this summer.

The post Volunteer to give back to OWAA appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Welcome to OWAA

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 23:59:45 +0000

Nancy Cowan’s interest in sled dogs led to years of writing publicity for races and clubs, freelance writing for northern dog publications and magazines and self-publishing six books of her own on the subject. Her writing about dogs and raptors working together in falconry won awards from the Dog Writers Association of America and New England Outdoor Writers Association. A master falconer and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, in 2005 she established the New Hampshire School of Falconry, now an internationally known facility. She has consulted for conservation organizations and agencies. Her book “Peregrine Spring” made the New York Times Best Seller List in September. Cowan lives in Deering, New Hampshire, with her husband, falconer Jim Cowan, three pointing dogs, six falcons and five hawks.
Jason Klass has been fly-fishing for bass, trout, salmon, lake trout, steelhead and various saltwater species since he was 15 years old. Originally from Western New York, he now resides in Colorado where he fishes for trout in the Rocky Mountains. In 2009, he became an early adopter of tenkara (a traditional form of Japanese fly-fishing that doesn’t use a reel) and has authored the blog Tenkara Talk ever since. With more than 500 posts and 5,000 comments, it’s one of the most active and authoritative resources for the modern tenkara angler. He’s also an avid hiker, backpacker and snowshoer, and previously wrote the blog Gear Talk, which is still one of the most prolific websites on ultralight backpacking.
Liam Diekmann is a junior at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana. He is a member of the Bridger Ski Foundation competitive Nordic ski team. He enjoys writing about outdoor- and conservation-related topics, especially fishing. His father taught him how to fly-fish when he was 5 years old. In his spare time, when he isn’t fishing or skiing, he enjoys photography. Diekmann plans to take a gap year after high school to write, fish and ski as much as he can. Following his gap year he plans to attend college to study conservation and environmental sciences.
At a young age, Jacob R. Lutes showed interest in following in his father’s footsteps, hunting and fishing the territories of north-central Missouri. Once his family moved to a small farm just outside of town, his passion for the great outdoors was met by the venture of showing Angus cattle. From then on, summer vacations consisted of annual trips to the state fair and national Angus shows all over the country. Lutes went on to earn a degree in higher education, where he developed a passion for photography. He is currently a senior at Missouri Western State University studying photography. He is determined to find a way to overlap his passion for photography and the exploration of the great outdoors. He believes the next few years will be important stepping stones in his life and that his headstrong way of thinking and determination will lead him on a path that will change the lives of all whom he encounters.
Tyler Frantz is a hunter, angler and freelance communicator who lives for the outdoors. As comfortable in his favorite archery stand as he is in his home office, he strives to bring his writing, photography and videos to life so his audience can experience the thrill of the hunt along with him. A teacher by trade, Frantz takes great pride in providing a workingman’s approach toward print and digital media, which resonates with his diverse readership. Sharing the outdoors with the public is his passion. He tallied exactly 205 published pieces last year in addition to his day job. He has won more than a dozen awards for his work from various writing organizations and harvested countless trophies, though his greatest prizes are his wife Erin and son Foster, with whom he lives on a hobby farm in Pennsylvania. Visit www.naturalpursuitoutdoors.com for more information about Frantz.
Jeff Moore is an outdoor photographer who specializes in waterfowl hunting, gun dogs, decoys and wildfowl. You can see his work at jeffmooreimages.net. He delivers images depicting the inherent drama of the sport and a full understanding of those who hunt. They have appeared in a myriad of outdoor magazines. In 2016, his photograph of a retriever dragging a goose appeared in Ducks Unlimited magazine and was a finalist for the Black and White Spider International Photo Awards. In 2014, Sotheby’s used his photos to sell one of the most expensive decoys ever. Moore’s picture of an eider decoy was chosen for the cover of Robert Shaw’s book “Bird Decoys of North America.”
Michael R. Shea is a writer, editor and video producer with frequent work in Field & Stream, Petersen’s Hunting, New Pioneer and American Frontiersman. He is a contributing editor at Field & Stream and previously served as the special projects editor for Field & Stream, and as a video editor for both Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. He also serves as the Atlantic Flyway migration editor for Ducks Unlimited. Behind the scenes, Shea creates regular corporate communications content, specializing in science, security and biotechnology. He is a graduate of the writing program at Columbia University with a master’s degree in nonfiction. Prior to Columbia he was a staff reporter at the Modesto Bee and the Beaufort Gazette. When he’s not tweaking sentences or cutting video, you can usually find him in a bow stand or duck blind or working his start-up hobby farm in central New York State.
David Van Wie is a writer, photographer and renaissance fly-fisherman who lives in New Gloucester, Maine. In addition to his monthly column in The Maine Sportsman, his writing has appeared in Northern Woodlands magazine and several newspapers. Van Wie was lead author of “The Confluence – A Collection of Essays, Art & Tall Tales about Fly-fishing and Friendship,” published in 2016. After a 30-year career in environmental consulting and public policy, he now teaches environmental studies at the University of New England. He previously was director of the Maine Bureau of Land & Water Quality, and later served in the Maine House of Representatives where he was on the Utilities and Energy Committee. He has been married to Cheryl Bascomb for 32 years, and his son and daughter have grown and flown the coop. You can find out more on his website and blog at www.watchyourbackcast.com.

The post Welcome to OWAA appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Welcome to OWAA

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 23:44:22 +0000

The post Welcome to OWAA appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Single-track paradise

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 23:39:18 +0000

Duluth has miles of award-winning mountain bike trails for all abilities.

BY HANSI JOHNSON, THOMPSON, MINNESOTA
There are six IMBA Gold Level Ride Centers in the world. Duluth, Minnesota, is one of them.
Duluth is a small city built on a hill. It stretches 27 miles east to west on the rugged and rocky escarpment above that greatest of lakes — Lake Superior. Due to the boom and bust cycle of heavy industry, Duluth has a wealth of open space within its city limits that was once covered in factories and is now re-envisioned as parkland or corridors for recreation.
A decade ago a group of visionary off-road cyclists called The Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores realized the terrain and the interconnectedness of Duluth’s green space could produce a legendary system of single-track trails.
That vision has become a reality. A plan to create 100 miles of linked off-road biking trails within Duluth’s city limits is 90 percent complete. The most impressive of these trails is the Duluth Traverse. This is a point-to-point trail that connects all of the city’s trail nodes like a string of pearls. Riders have the choice of riding the 50-mile length of the trail, or they can bite off chunks and do circuits at the six existing trail centers.
Each of the trail centers has its own flavor. On the far west side, Mission Creek is incredibly smooth, flowy and fast. Brewer Park and Piedmont are built on the living stone of the “Duluth Complex” and offer more advanced and technical riding. Hartley Park and Lester Park are local haunts and offer a fine mix of both advanced and intermediate-level riding.
The Spirit Mountain Recreation Center is a ski hill that converts to a bike park in the summer. While the majority of Duluth’s world-class riding is more cross
country based, Spirit Mountain is professionally created for the rider who likes things, how shall we say…more aggressive. Fueled by a modern high-speed ski lift, Spirit Mountain has downhill and flow trails for newer riders and much more advanced riders. It also has a full bike patrol, riding school and rental shop, so you can rent a bike and take a downhill lesson.
Following guiding principles helped developers make Duluth a mountain biking paradise.
It started with creating a high-quality trail experience. The Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores partnered with the International Mountain Bike Association to plan the system and hired professional trail builders from across the country to design and build it. The system was purpose built with off-road cyclists and in mind. It also means the trail is built as sustainably as possible.
The system was also designed with the idea of “access for all.” It’s progressive in the idea that there are beginner experiences as well as options for advanced riders. The system also accesses nearly all the major neighborhoods of Duluth. This proximity creates equity in access for residents throughout Duluth, regardless of race, income level or gender.
Duluth now has a 10-month riding season. There are about two months of the year where trails are closed due to freeze and thaw conditions. Locals ride all summer and fall and then all winter on fat bikes on groomed trails.
The best place to find information on Duluth’s Mountain Biking is on the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores Website at www.coggs.com You can also check both the COGGS website and Facebook pages for current trail conditions.
—Hansi Johnson is the Minnesota Land Trust’s director of recreational lands. He lives in Thomson, Minnesota, with his wife Margaret and son Tae.

The post Single-track paradise appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Once gone, public land is hard to get back again

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 21:15:17 +0000

BY RICH PATTERSON, CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA and LARRY STONE, ELKADER, IOWA
Want to buy hunting property for less than 3 cents an acre? You’ll need to go back to 1803 and buy about 530,000,000 acres to get that bargain price.
That’s what the residents of New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware and 12 other states did when Thomas Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase. They coughed up the money to buy 827,000 square miles of distant Western land that doubled the size of the United States. No one knew exactly how much land was transferred from France to the U. S., so the per-acre cost isn’t precise. But adjusted for inflation, we’re still talking less than 50 cents an acre in today’s economy.
What a deal! Yet some Eastern taxpayers complained about covering the bill to buy the vast, Western wilderness from the French. Only a few hardy explorers had ventured into the virtually uncharted expanse, which was the homeland of an unknown number of Native Americans.
That wilderness, which fascinated President Jefferson and captivated the “voyage of discovery” expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, eventually was transformed into more than a dozen new states. Sadly, countless Native Americans were killed, displaced or forced onto reservations. But, the Louisiana Purchase now includes some of the most productive private agricultural land in the world, as well as public wild lands, rugged mountains, forests, prairies and coal and oil fields.
Our state, Iowa, became public land with the Louisiana Purchase, but soon federal policy called for privatizing land. Iowa’s rich soil and gentle topography became available for homesteading, purchase, and land grants just as millions of immigrants poured into our country and native-born Americans moved West in droves. Iowa was opened to settlement in 1833. By 1900, most of the state’s 36 million acres had been converted into 200,000 individual farms. In those 67 years — less than one human lifespan — Iowa’s wildlife-rich public land was almost completely changed to private ownership.
Iowa has public recreational and open space land today, but just a smidgen. Fewer than 700,000 total acres are protected by local, state and federal agencies. Compare that with more than 1 million acres devoted to roads and road rights-of-way. Private farms and farmland cover more than 26 million acres – more than 70 percent of the state.
Most hunting takes place on private land, which is open for general use only with the permission of benevolent landowners. Where there are public areas to hunt, hike and camp, almost all have had to be reacquired by the government after years in private ownership.
Linn County, Iowa, recently paid $7.1 million to buy 485 acres of private land that will become public parkland. That’s just a shade under $15,000 an acre for land that had been public after the Louisiana Purchase, but which private individuals bought for a song during the 1800s push to privatize the state.
We Iowans, who many would say have sacrificed our own natural lands to be able to grow food, fiber and fuel that benefit others, now take for granted the privilege of recreating on natural lands elsewhere. Many of us travel west to national parks, forests and wildlife refuges where we leave dollars earned from our agricultural economy to boost the tourism economies of the places we visit. But we also cherish just the notion of knowing the land is out there, whether we actually set foot on it or not.
Now, with the political climate in Washington, D.C., and some Western states, the pendulum may be swinging back toward privatization. But our public lands are a precious part of our proud American heritage — too precious to abandon to private interests. Because of the foresight of our ancestors, the people of this country (the taxpayers) own millions of acres where they can hunt, fish, camp, hike, bird-watch, boat and just savor the resources they collectively own. To sell or give away those lands for the financial benefit of a few would be a scar on the face of democracy and a one-way street on the road to oligarchy.
Circle of Chiefs articles are written by those who have received the Circle of Chiefs Award for conservation reporting and coverage. The Circle of Chiefs honorees are considered OWAA’s conservation council. The article reflects the opinion of the author. If you’d like to add to the discussion, please send a letter to the editor.
— Rich Patterson is a fishery biologist who served as executive director of Dillon and Indian Creek Nature Center. He has been a freelance writer focusing on conservation and environmental issues since 1971.
— Following a 25-year career as an outdoor writer with The Des Moines Register, Larry Stone has spent another 20 years as an Iowa-based freelance conservation writer, photographer, blogger and lecturer.

The post Once gone, public land is hard to get back again appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Covering wildland firefighter discrimination and assault

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 20:40:29 +0000

BY TAYLOR WYLLIE, MISSOULA, MONTANA
When Krista Langlois set out in 2014 to report on Women in Wildland Fire boot camps, she thought her story would be a day-in-the-life type piece on the experience. She planned to cover the program created by Bequi Livingston, a former wildland firefighter who wanted to help women pursue the same line of work. Langlois started her reporting shortly after news broke of women firefighters suing the USDA over allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse from men in the agency, and the story shifted to document the struggles women face in such a male-dominated field and how the Forest Service has spent decades ignoring it. The freelancer shares what went into her year and a half reporting for the story that published in High Country News.
Q: What did the story look like when you originally pitched it to your editors?
A: When I pitched it to High Country News it was “let me go down to this boot camp and write like a two-page, first-person narrative about what it’s like to try to be a woman getting started in this very male-dominated field.” I thought the boot camp was going to be a lot more boot-campy. More people yelling in your face, and doing push-ups and that kind of thing. Everyone was super nice. They hiked and did a few push-ups and a few drills and stuff, but it ended up being a lot more tame than I envisioned it would be.
Q: So the story changed quite a bit then?
A: Yeah (laughs). That was also part of the reason it took so long from when I first wrote about the lawsuit in the fall of 2014. A year and a half later was when the story finally got published.
Q: Can you walk me through these changes?
A: After I started talking to some of these women and after it was revealed that women in the Grand Canyon and the Park Service had been facing harassment for decades and the Park Service hadn’t done anything about it and had been aware of it, that’s when we started looking more at how the Forest Service had handled these allegations.
I never had to repitch it. I have a really great relationship with High Country News. It was continuously talking with multiple editors and making them aware of the twists and turns that the story was taking.
Q: Was it difficult for you to find women to talk to?
A: It really wasn’t. Most of the women I talked to had already come forward, they had already experienced the repercussions of that and the sort of reputation that comes along with it. They weren’t stoked to talk about it again, but they had already made the decision to come forward and be public figures about it. There are so many other women out there, I think, who are sexually harassed, abused, intimidated, whatever, on the job and the majority of them probably never come forward. I didn’t talk to those people, and I imagine if I had they would’ve had a difficult time.
Q: You say you realized Bequi was a character from the first time you spoke with her. How do you know when you’ve found somebody who can carry your story, as Bequi does?
A: You just know. Some people are, some people are not. Some people speak very frankly and some people speak bureaucrat-ese. Some people are quote machines, and Bequi was one of them. It’s kind of like a sixth sense that you develop as a journalist.
Q: Was there any push-back from the Forest Service as you were reporting?
A: Yes! I dealt with probably six different public information officers and I eventually, toward the end, found two who were really helpful, and were willing to get me what I needed even if it didn’t make the Forest Service look good. The others earlier in the process pretty much just shut me out.
Q: How long did it take you to find these two officers?
A: I don’t think I got in touch with either of them until 2016. That was part of the reason why this process took so long. I was getting shut down and I was not able to get the information that I needed, so then the whole reporting process sputtered to a stop for a while. Somehow I talked to somebody and they were like, you should talk to this person and then I got interviews with that person and so on.
Q: Were you surprised by some of these women’s stories and these statistics about sexual harassment and discrimination within federal agencies?
A: Yeah, I had no idea. Like I say in the story, I don’t think that every woman who works for public land management agencies, experiences these kinds of things. Once you start, even just getting the data, and realizing that there are fewer women wildlife firefighters than in the U.S. military and because there are so few of them and they’re dispatched to such remote places, the environment is ripe for this kind of abuse to happen.
I talked to somebody who made a really good point. She said people do horrible things everywhere, so it’s not like male wildlife firefighters are a particularly terrible group of people. I think what happened in the Forest Service and what’s happening in the Park Service, is that the system has broken down at the highest level. I guess it’s not so surprising that women are sexually assaulted, what’s more surprising is that the agencies did such a poor job of handling those allegations.
Read Langlois’ story at http://www.hcn.org/issues/48.9/trial-by-fire.
— Taylor Wyllie is a journalism student at the University of Montana and a former OWAA intern. Her work has appeared on Montana PBS, Montana Public Radio and in the Missoulian.

The post Covering wildland firefighter discrimination and assault appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Capturing the northern lights

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 20:35:54 +0000

BY ANDY LONG, EAGLE, IDAHO
No pencil can draw it, no colors can paint it and no words can describe the magnificence when it fills the sky with dancing colors. The aurora borealis, or northern lights, electrify the sky, creating a dazzling spectacle to witness, but a challenging phenomenon to duly capture in photographs.
The first step is to find a good location to watch the light come alive in the sky. You can find tips in books and online. I recommend the website for the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast). It provides upcoming forecasts as well as maps to where and when the aurora will be visible. Some of the best places are Fairbanks, Alaska, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories or Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in Canada, or most places in Iceland.
Wherever you go, plan on standing in sub-zero temperatures for most of the night and pack accordingly. Boots with thick soles, wool or insulated ski pants, heavy jackets, cap and gloves are necessary.
You’ll need a digital single-lens reflex camera that allows for a high ISO and a fast wide-angle lens. I use a 16-35 mm f/2.8 for shooting the aurora and have found this to be a very versatile lens.
Depending on the temperature, using a cable release keeps the camera still while pressing the shutter button. But if it’s really cold, the delicate wires in a release can freeze and short. More reliable options are two-second timers, or a wireless remote.
An ISO of 2400 or 3200 works with new cameras, while those with older camera bodies should stick to 1200 or 1600. If you are working with a very old camera, you’ll need to stick to 800 ISO to avoid too much noise in the image.
Depending on the ISO used and the brightness of the aurora, I usually start test shots between five and 15 seconds to see what shutter speed can best capture the colors, detail and movement of the lights. During very strong displays I have been able to shoot at around two seconds, which brings out some incredible details in the bands.
The unfortunate thing about photographing the northern lights is you can’t capture the full movement as it is happening before your eyes. You’ll need to remember that what your eye sees is not exactly what the resulting image will show. Some colors will be different and the shapes will not be exactly the same, as the lights can significantly move and dance in even the few seconds your shutter on your camera is open capturing the display.
Don’t forget to sit back and simply enjoy the spectacle. There is nothing like seeing the sky start dancing with shades of green, blue, purple and red. Let it mesmerize you. Set aside your camera — at least for moment.
— Andy Long is the author of “Photographing the Aurora Borealis,” available on Amazon. For e-book versions and information on northern light photography workshops in Alaska and Iceland, visit www.firstlighttours.com.

The post Capturing the northern lights appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.

The art of the interview

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 18:59:58 +0000

How to ask questions to bring a subject and story to life

BY RICH LANDERS, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
Interviewing is an intimate method of harvesting a person’s experience, observations or expertise for a story. The kid who caught a state-record fish and the hiker who completed the Appalachian Trail in record time are initially just a few numbers and some background on a page.
Quotes and details, from the subject, as well as supporting characters, bring the story to life. Getting a person to talk and say something significant is an essential skill for a communicator.
Here are some of the interviewing insights I’ve honed in 40 years of outdoor journalism.
DO YOUR RESEARCH.
Preparation makes the most of the time allotted for the interview.
When I landed the rare writer privilege to take Sandra Day O’Connor fishing in Idaho, I had time to prepare while being vetted by U.S. marshals. I read three of the books written by the first woman associate justice of the Supreme Court and numerous articles covering subjects from her interest in fishing to her reputation for casting the swing vote. The interviewing was done on the fly, but the research perked our conversation as we delivered Elk Hair Caddis patterns to St. Joe River cutthroats. What I’d learned in advance was laced through my story in the newspaper the next day.
ASK SIMPLE QUESTIONS.
Nothing in a writer’s interviewing toolbox is more important than a simple, stimulating, insightful and well-timed question or statement. “What do you mean?” can elicit clarification. “Take us through it” can lead to filling a story with perspective, drama and details.
Short questions are incredibly effective. You should always be ready to ask, “Give me an example.” And don’t confuse your subject by asking multiple questions at the same time. That offers the opportunity to avoid answering the more difficult one.
PREPARE QUESTIONS, BUT STAY ADAPTABLE.
When Ted Nugent booked a gig in Spokane, I arranged for an interview in his dressing room before the concert — me, The Nuge and his gunsmith friend in the corner cleaning the rocker-bowhunter’s two Glocks. An interview with the entertainer could range from political to titillating, and it did. I had a few questions prepared. In fact, to drum up interest, I asked readers to send me questions they’d want to ask Nugent. With someone so gifted in gab and fond of controversy, my job came down to guiding the discussion and staying out of the line of fire.
Having a few questions jotted down in advance is a good idea, but be prepared to let others flow from conversation. If the subject gets on a roll in telling a story, inject only short questions, such as “How did that happen?” or “What did you do next?” to keep it moving. Fill in blanks later.
PUT YOUR SUBJECT AT EASE.
Information doesn’t always flow. It often needs to be coaxed from its hiding place. I’ve interviewed people who were self-conscious talking with friends nearby. On the other hand, I interviewed two teenage girls about their first backpacking trip and they fed off each other to bring out humor and details I’d never have wrung out of them one at a time. But if I don’t get a good response talking to a person face-to-face, I’ll often ask if I can give them a call on the phone to get more details.
KEEP THE FOCUS ON YOUR SUBJECT.
Be conversational, but avoid injecting too much of yourself. Whether you’re a freelance scribe for the local monthly tabloid or a star correspondent for “60 Minutes,” your subject is the most important person in the room in a one-on-one interview.
Don’t assume anything, and avoid trying to dazzle the interview subject with your brilliance or knowledge of a subject. In some cases, subjects might neglect to divulge important details if they think you already know everything.
ASK HARD QUESTIONS.
Find the right time to ask tough questions. Asking something pointed at the wrong time can shut down the interview, or at least make the subject uptight. Save it for the end, if you have to. On the other hand, don’t avoid asking the tough questions that readers want or need to know.
LET THE INTERVIEW DANGLE.
Anglers who fish streams know that after they’ve swung a fly or lure, strikes can be stimulated by delaying the retrieve and letting the fly or lure dangle straight downstream for a few seconds or more. This applies to the interview. After you say thanks and set aside the notebook or turn off the recorder, keep the conversation going and listen. A trophy quote or insight could emerge in this moment of relaxation.
— Rich Landers is the outdoors editor for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. He’s been an OWAA member for almost 40 years.

The post The art of the interview appeared first on Outdoor Writers Association of America.