April/May 2016 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America https://owaa.org/category/outdoors-unlimited/aprilmay-2016/ The Voice of the Outdoors Fri, 01 Jul 2016 18:34:14 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 https://owaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/cropped-OWAA-100th-logo-FINAL-32x32.png April/May 2016 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America https://owaa.org/category/outdoors-unlimited/aprilmay-2016/ 32 32 Journey back in time: Places to experience history in southeast Montana https://owaa.org/journey-back-time-places-experience-history-southeast-montana/ Fri, 01 Jul 2016 18:34:14 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16022 Southeast Montana has seen its fair share of history. The Great Sioux War began here when Chief Red Cloud declared war on the forts along the Bozeman Trail and the soldiers trespassing on his land.

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Southeast Montana has seen its fair share of history. The Great Sioux War began here when Chief Red Cloud declared war on the forts along the Bozeman Trail and the soldiers trespassing on his land. The Lewis and Clark Expedition left its mark in the rock as it passed through. And great chiefs of the Crow, Sioux and Cheyenne led their people through war and peace. In our region you can learn about these stories and experience these places for yourself. Here are three of the best historical sites in Southeast Montana.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
There have been more books written about the Battle of the Little Bighorn than any other battle in history. This is partly due to the fact that to this day, nobody really knows why Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer made the decision to lead his men into a massacre, or the grisly details of how and where he spent his final moments. Even the mention of the name Custer elicits an emotional response all over the world. Some view him as a monster, while others believe he’s a war hero. At the national monument, park rangers and tour guides from the Crow tribe help tell the story at this site, letting the visitor make up their own mind as to what Custer’s true motives were and what his legacy should be. Guided tours are available throughout the year. Monuments have existed for many years honoring the U.S. soldiers who fell during the battle, but it is only recently that a monument was established honoring the Native Americans who died fighting there to maintain their traditional way of life.
Chief Plenty Coups State Park
Located just 30 minutes south of Billings, Montana, is a state park dedicated to preserving the legacy of the last traditional chief of the Crow tribe, Chief Plenty Coups. As a young man, Plenty Coups received a vision prophesying the end of the buffalo and the spread of the white man’s cattle across the prairie. During the vision he understood that the only way the Crow people would survive would be to adopt the lifestyle of the white man. He chose to lead by example. Taking advantage of government programs to help Native Americans purchase land, he established a ranch and general store on the Crow Reservation shortly after he became chief in 1876. Chief Plenty Coups lived an interesting life, traveling often to Washington D.C. to lobby for his people. He was the only Native American representative at the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. During one of his trips to Washington he had the opportunity to visit Mount Vernon, and decided he wanted his home and his lands preserved as a museum for his people, just as George Washington’s home was preserved for all Americans. Today visitors can tour his home and grounds at this state park, as well as visit a museum onsite which tells the story of his life and his accomplishments.
Rosebud Battlefield State Park
If there is one historic site in Southeast Montana that doesn’t get its fair share of attention, it is Rosebud Battlefield State Park. The Battle of the Rosebud, which was arguably the largest battle ever fought between U.S. soldiers and Native American warriors, took place just a few days before Custer’s famous last stand. About 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne ambushed 1,000 U.S. cavalrymen, eventually forcing the soldiers to withdraw and keeping them from joining and helping Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Though the U.S. Army said the battle ended in a draw, keeping the soldiers from the Little Bighorn likely led to its defeat in the famous battle that followed. The park is mostly undeveloped, but there are interpretive signs that tell the battle’s story. While walking the hills and draws of the battlefield, it isn’t hard to imagine what it was like that day 140 years ago.
— Story by Nick Mann, Courtesy Visit Southeast Montana
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]]> Lucky us: Board members work hard for OWAA https://owaa.org/lucky-us-board-members-work-hard-owaa/ Sat, 02 Apr 2016 02:21:51 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=15878 OWAA is a special organization. Like other professional trade groups, we’re a collection of colleagues who go to conferences to network, gather information vital to our work and improve our craft.

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BY LISA BALLARD 
OWAA is a special organization. Like other professional trade groups, we’re a collection of colleagues who go to conferences to network, gather information vital to our work and improve our craft. OWAA also provides us with this magazine, a website, webinars, the Excellence in Craft contest, Bodie McDowell scholarships, discounted goods and services from OWAA’s supporters, legal guidance and many other benefits to help us succeed as outdoor communicators.
But perhaps the greatest thing OWAA offers is friendship, something that is not so commonly found in other professional organizations with such a broad constituency as OWAA.
Our 800 members include magazine writers, newspaper reporters, photographers, videographers, radio broadcasters, artists, bloggers, educators, television hosts and public relations liaisons. I could fill this page listing all we do. And we do it in all 50 states and Canada. Some of us are urban dwellers. Others live in rural outposts.
We don’t cover the same things. Some of us are specialists in a particular outdoor sport. Others cover outdoor recreation in general. Some review gear. Others cover conservation issues and policy.
But we do share one thing in common. We all love the outdoors. Getting outside clears our heads and strengthens our souls. Shared adventures with our family and friends bind us together. It’s exercise, recreation and lifestyle all rolled into one. And it’s our livelihood. Lucky us.
In early January, your OWAA Board of Directors gathered at the ‘Tween Waters Inn and Resort in Captiva, Florida, for its winter meeting. It was the first time in years the board met in person rather than by video or telephone conference call for the winter meeting.
OWAA’s budget cannot bear the travel expenses of getting the board to a common location, so each member paid for their plane ticket and the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau generously arranged the rest. We could not have done it without Lee County’s assistance and the willingness of each board member to pay their own travel expenses, but it all worked out. Lucky us — and lucky you. The agenda for the winter board meeting was full beyond what we could have reasonably covered by conference call and a few topics were sensitive, making it important for us to speak in person where we could read nuanced facial expressions and body language.
Here are a few of the many topics on the agenda:

  • A positive financial report showed OWAA in the black for 2015, and a balanced budget for 2016 with long overdue raises for OWAA’s staff.
  • A successful fundraising effort in 2015, with an ongoing plan for regular annual contributions to OWAA’s restricted endowment. Though we didn’t make the full matching gift of $10,000, we still realized donations of more than $8,000, a welcome boost to operations. Thank you to everyone who participated.
  • Tom Keer created new eye-catching member recruiting materials. He plans to create a similar brochure targeted at potential supporters in the near future. You can find it at https://owaa.org/file/individual-membership-brochure 2016.pdf. Please give it to your colleagues.
  • The board supported two proposed bylaws changes. One is meant to bring the board nominating process more in line with our current member numbers, by reducing the number of candidates needed each year to run for the board. The other combines a couple of committees. You can read about them on page 15 and then vote on them in the election which opens April 1.
  •  A review of the Billings, Montana, conference program shows it is shaping up to be a spectacular line-up in an amazing location. Writer Tim Cahill, a founder of Outside magazine, will give the keynote address. Phil Bloom, the conference program chair, lined up impressive sessions and speakers, and the pre- and post-conference trips are going to be world-class bucket-list toppers.
  • Bill Powell has been guiding us through protecting OWAA’s trademarks in light of an ongoing infringement case.
  • Finding ways to improve the Excellence in Craft Contests and whether to create other contests is a never-ending discussion for the board.

I’m also happy to report that our executive director, Tom Sadler, signed a twoyear renewal agreement during the winter board meeting, giving OWAA stability at the top. Lucky OWAA. After we’d been sequestered for eight hours in the board meeting, the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau treated us to a day of “work,” kayaking in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and saltwater fishing. The board meeting was long, but the time passed quickly in the company of the thoughtful, enthusiastic people on the OWAA board, and then we got a taste of an ocean-side Eden.
Your board mirrors OWAA’s membership, both in terms of areas of expertise and geography. It includes an artist from Texas, a television producer from Idaho, a public affairs officer from Indiana, a photographer from Arizona, a radio host from Wyoming, a freelancer from Massachusetts, a newspaper staffer from Missouri and a magazine editor from Montana. These dedicated members are among the best in their fields and our colleagues. Lucky us.
They’re also my friends. Lucky me. ♦
— OWAA President Lisa Ballard, Densmore1@aol.com
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]]> The election issue: Why voting and serving matters https://owaa.org/election-issue-voting-serving-matters/ Sat, 02 Apr 2016 02:09:17 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=15875 This is the most important issue of OU we create each year. It might not be the most glamorous, or even the most interesting, but it’s the issue in which every member can easily help direct the organization’s future.

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BY KELSEY DAYTON

This is the most important issue of OU we create each year. It might not be the most glamorous, or even the most interesting, but it’s the issue in which every member can easily help direct the organization’s future. This is the issue with the profiles of the candidates willing to serve on our Board of Directors.

Everything about OWAA is guided by direction from our board. It approves our budget. It initiates fundraising campaigns that keep us afloat and allows us to offer educational opportunities to current and future outdoor communicators. It evaluates our membership and steers the organization in ways to best serve it in an ever changing industry.

Serving on our Board of Directors is a huge responsibility, but we hope, also an honor. Our board members, and even our board candidates, are among the most dedicated in the organization and at the top in their fields. As Kris Millgate points out in her column on serving on the board on page 10, the names that comprise our board are familiar ones. You’ve likely seen their bylines in this magazine and also national publications.

You can learn more about the candidates starting on page 11 where they outline their leadership experiences and visions for the organization. We know you care enough about the organization to pay dues to be a part of it, so we hope you take the time to pick those you think will lead it in a direction that continues to make your membership worth the cost.

With the election underway, our next president, Brett Prettyman, will start thinking about committees for his term. Serving on these committees is a great foray into getting involved with OWAA. It also provides an opportunity for you to steer the organization towards giving you what you want and need out of it.

Is there a new skill you’d like to learn?

Our craft improvement committee helps solicit the articles you read every month in this magazine. Serve on it to suggest article topics that will help you in your work. Our member services committee brainstorms new benefits, like the webinars we’ve recently started hosting, to offer the membership. Serving on this committee offers a great place to make suggestions for membership benefits you’d like receive.

Want to influence the future of the organization, but you aren’t quite ready to jump into serving on the Board of Directors? Our board nominating committee recruits the candidates who run for our board.

We know the breadth of our members’ talents and we are always looking to tap it. Please consider offering to serve on a committee, whether you are a data junkie, or a creative type, we can use you. Contact Prettyman at brettoutdoors@yahoo.com.

Also, don’t forget conference is just around the corner. Instead of pitching you on why you should go, I’m simply going to refer you to Tim Christie’s portfolio on pages 16- 18. All of these pictures were taken in the Billings, Montana, area, where we’re holding conference this July, or in nearby Yellowstone National Park. We hope to see you there. ♦

—Editor Kelsey Dayton, editor@owaa.org

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]]> BOARD CANDIDATE PROFILES https://owaa.org/board-candidate-profiles-2/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 22:03:45 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=15977 Six OWAA members are running for three seats on OWAA’s Board of Directors. All active, senior active and life members are encouraged
to vote.

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Six OWAA members are running for three seats on OWAA’s Board of Directors. All active, senior active and life members are encouraged to vote. An email with a link to the online ballot was sent on April 1. A paper ballot will be sent via postal mail to those members who don’t have an email address listed in OWAA’s database. All ballots must be returned by May 1. Three elected candidates will begin serving three-year terms on July 18, 2016, at OWAA’s board meeting. Results will be published in Outdoors Unlimited and on the OWAA website. Candidates are listed alphabetically. They were asked to submit a short biography and answers to the same five questions, which were drafted by OWAA’s Board Nominating Committee. Their responses have not been edited.
Questions:
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making
position before?
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market
those benefits to potential members?
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn
conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that
first conference?
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
 
DAWN FAUGHT
Residence: North Dakota
Years of OWAA membership: 10
Conferences attended: Four
Committees: Excellence in Craft Contests judge three times, Photo Scavenger Hunt judge 3 times, Excellence in Craft Contest co-chair.
Dawn Faught is a freelance writer, photographer and author. Credits include Cowboys & Indians, Western Horseman, AAA Living, Trail Rider, Trail Blazer, USA Today, Todays Horse Magazine, Draft Horse Journal, ND Horizons, Persimmon Hill, and other publications. A graduate of North Dakota State University, Dawn enjoys hunting with her Springer Spaniel, fishing, hiking and horseback riding. She lives and works with her husband, Steve, and son Kyle on the family farm near Amenia, ND.
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making position before?
My husband and I are continually making decisions as to when to plant, when to harvest, purchase land, equipment and supplies and market our crops. Sometimes we even manage to get Mother Nature to work with us; unfortunately, the markets aren’t as easy to convince.
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
I am honored to have been asked to run for the board. Now that my son is starting to take over some of my farming and tractor driving duties, I have a little more free time. I’m looking forward to a new challenge in life and the opportunity to expand my horizons. It is also important to give back to the organization which has helped me throughout the past years. I hope to help the OWAA membership not only retain its present members but also to bring in fresh blood – so vital to the growth of OWAA. I hope to help make the conference an event all will talk about and that will keep members returning year after year.
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market those benefits to potential members?
Networking amongst members, and making long lasting friendships is the most important benefit to being a member of OWAA. I recently had a question concerning writing a book for hire and I was amazed and extremely grateful for the responses I received. Seminars offered during the annual conference and meeting editors, sponsors and others face to face are also extremely valuable services. We should market OWAA benefits through social media and by reaching out to potential members by sending them a personal invite to check out OWAA.
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that first conference?
We need to bring in an attention getting keynote speaker each year and follow that up with seminars and activities that will spark those creative juices and get everyone to step out of their comfort zone. Challenges enhance your craft and revive your spirit. Offering numerous pre and post conference trips, which could lead to potential income through articles and photography, can help offset the expense of attending a conference, especially for freelancers who have to pay their own way.
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
I would like to see OWAA grow both in membership and in its resources offered to its members. I would like OWAA to continue offering its excellent tools which help members enhance their skills and relationships with the outdoor world.
 
BOB FORD
Residence: Pennsylvania
Years of OWAA membership: Four
Conferences attended: Four
Committees: Board nominating committee.
Bob Ford is a contributing editor at Hounds & Hunting and a columnist at Better Beagling and The American Beagler. He is also a blogger and the author of the Beagle Tales series of books. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Renee, and trains beagles for hunting and field trials.
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making position before?
I currently serve as an officer for two AKC beagle clubs, including a position as a member on the Board of Directors
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
I feel that I have benefited greatly from OWAA. I arrive at each conference ready to learn and expand my horizons. I have gained new markets, expanded my readership, and sold more books because of things I have learned through OWAA. I want to give back to our organization. I am humbled that I was nominated and if I am elected I would be honored to serve my fellow outdoor communicators as a member of the Board.
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market those benefits to potential members?
The annual conferences provide opportunities to learn from fellow outdoor communicators and improve our craft. The Outdoor Market (on the OWAA website) is an excellent resource for employment and new markets. Friendships developed with fellow OWAA members are an invaluable resource for peer review and sharing information regarding developments in the industry.
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that first conference?
I do not have a definitive answer to this question, though it resonates with many other questions that are currently very crucial, such as “How can we get more people involved in________?” The blank may be filled in with hunting, fishing, hiking or some other gerund that denotes outdoor activity. I see the problem in terms of a culture which does not emphasize outdoor activity (including outdoor communication) as it once did. I can only promise to work diligently to find answers.
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
The OWAA mission statement clearly states the vision of the organization (https://owaa.org/about/). I like to think that our ongoing task is sharing the story, being masters of our content, and artisans of our craft. I see OWAA as the preeminent voice ensuring that in a world where technology changes as fast as we can learn it, the underlying passion and truth remains constant as changing media dictates that we remain relevant.
 
KAREN LOKE
Residence: Texas
Years of OWAA membership: Eight
Conferences attended: Five
Committees: Television Section Chair and Craft Improvement Committee Co-Chair
Karen Loke is a Television Producer for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department where she shoots, writes, edits and narrates video stories for the agency’s PBS series as well as short video news reports for statewide distribution to media outlets. She graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in both Broadcast Journalism and Television Production not knowing if she would land a job in front of the lens or behind it. She has won three regional Emmys for her photography and storytelling on a documentary about the last of the Southern Plains Bison capture and relocation. She has been a state employee for 23 years prior to shooting news for an NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas. Prior to her career in television, she worked for an affiliate of the Galveston Daily News for three years as photographer and writer. She is the single mom of one son, Eli, 20, and is engaged to Phil Plata. They live in Austin, Texas.
 
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making position before?
My qualifications include helping to find speakers for the Texas OWAA conference in 2014 as well as presenting at both the New York and Texas conference on Crewless but Not Clueless with Kris Millgate and a session in Texas on Video Editing (not as good as the one with Kris!)
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
I would like to be on the Board of Directors to become more involved with the people who make things happen and I hope to reign in my experience in some way to help all the members of OWAA.
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market those benefits to potential members?
OWAA provides the opportunity to learn from your peers and share your knowledge as well. Writing craft improvement articles for OU is not something I can say I eagerly await but each time I do, I remind myself that I do have some things to share and it’s a great feeling. I want every member to feel the same way.
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that first conference?
Attending the annual conference is the where members really gel. Facebook and social media are both great tools for keeping up with the industry but relationships are made and careers broadened when you can talk to people in person. I would like to encourage more attendance by pitching this philosophy.
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
My vision for OWAA is to keep it strong with members who have a passion to protect the outdoors and its resources. I was not born an outdoors person but the outdoors has helped make me the person I am today.
 
BECKY JONES MAHLUM
Residence: North Dakota
Years of OWAA membership: Eight
Conferences attended: Two
Committees: Excellence in Craft Contests judge.
Becky Jones Mahlum is the regional communications manager for Ducks Unlimited’s Great Plains Region, headquartered in Bismarck, N.D. A farm girl from Webster, N.D., Mahlum has been a journalist for most of her career, working as a reporter and news director, and as a producer and executive producer for Prairie Public Television. She served as the public information officer for the City of Bismarck before joining Ducks Unlimited in 2005. Becky and her husband, Mike, have three children.
 
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making position before?
I have served on the boards of a number of community, professional, church and school organizations. Sometimes I have been the person organizing the board’s activities, or the one cleaning the floor after an event. I enjoy supporting an organization’s work either as a leader or minion.
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
If we enjoy the benefits of an organization, we all need to take our turn at helping the group take care of business and govern itself. If elected, I would do my best to support the work of outdoor writers in whatever capacity they are working, whether they are freelancers, students, staff at a publication or they write for an organization like I do.
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market those benefits to potential members?
I enjoy the Outdoors Unlimited magazine where members can share their stories, skills and wisdom. The conferences offer training, the latest outdoor tools and toys, and time for members to learn from each other. The competitions allow writers to be judged by a group of their peers and recognized for their efforts. There are a lot of inexpensive options out there to advertise the organization on social media site popular with outdoor writers. Also, OWAA sharing regular posts of member’s stories and pictures can encourage others to join.
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that first conference?
Marketing on social media is a great place to start, especially sites where younger members hang out. OWAA could emphasize its associate and student memberships and their prices. Publishing the stories from the Youth Writing Awards should be a draw. Other groups give first-time conference attendees a special pin and ask regulars to welcome them warmly.Offering webinars or other training opportunities throughout the year at a small fee or no fee would keep people coming to the OWAA site where the conference is highlighted. Trainers may be members who share their skills as a way to mentor or break into public speaking. Any way you can offer members something additional is a draw.
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
I see a thriving cooperative for sharing and learning where writers can grow together; trying on new skills. It’s a place to network and an avenue for writers to get their work published. At OWAA, a person’s dreams of becoming an outdoor writer can have a fighting chance of becoming reality. The organization can help shape the future of outdoor writing at a time of great change for many publications. OWAA can help writers’ learn new venues for making a living while practicing the craft they love.
 
CHRISTINE PETERSON
Residence: Wyoming
Years of OWAA membership: Four
Conferences attended: Three
Committees: Conference Planning Committee
Christine Peterson is a freelance writer and the managing editor and outdoor editor for the Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming’s statewide newspaper. She lives in Newcastle, Wyoming, with her husband, Josh, and their yellow Labrador, Tuco.
 
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making position before?
I am qualified to serve on the Board of Directors because I have been a member of OWAA for four years, and have either attended and/or been involved in planning conferences for several years. I supervise reporters remotely and make daily news decisions as a managing editor of a statewide newspaper. I also bring a slightly different perspective working in the evolving newspaper industry.
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
I care deeply about OWAA and about its future. I attended my first conference to receive an EIC award, but immediately realized the value of both the conference experience and OWAA’s network of members. I want to help OWAA offer that same experience to even more members. If elected, I hope to continue OWAA’s outreach efforts to outdoor communicators in and outside of the organization and help it grow and address the challenges of an ever-changing industry.
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market those benefits to potential members?
OWAA’s greatest value is in its membership, and its ability to connect communicators from every part of the country and subject area with each other. We need to continue to reach out to other outdoor communicators through both evolving social media outlets and traditional emails and phone calls.
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that first conference?
The annual conferences provide an incredible value to those at any point in their careers. We as an organization, and as a board, need to reach out more to college campuses. We also need to use social media, emails and phone calls to connect with freelancers and other communicators who might be interested but don’t yet know the value of the organization. We should promote free classes offered online to members as a way to gain interest and show them that conferences can and do offer even more in a productive weekend of learning and networking. We should also promote the newsmaker sessions as a way for writers and photographers to gain story ideas to ultimately offset the cost of the conference.
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
OWAA should be the place for all outdoor communicators to not only learn more about their craft but find comradery and inspiration. I want to see OWAA grow to include even more communicators of every age and demographic. Our industry improves with support and help we offer each other. As traditional news outlets change and others emerge, it becomes even more important to reach out and include as many in our craft as possible. I ultimately want every budding or veteran outdoor communicator in the country to feel as welcomed and inspired by the group as I was years ago and continue to be.
 
JONATHAN STUMPF
Residence: Washington
Years of OWAA membership: 11
Conferences attended: Zero
Committees: None
Jonathan Stumpf is the Manager of Communications and Online Engagement for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. He also serves on the board of directors for the Wild Steelhead Coalition and does some freelance writing for fly fishing magazines when time allows. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife, Suzy, and two children, Eliza, 4, and Alex, 9 months.
 
1. What are your qualifications for a position on the Board of Directors? Have you served in a decision-making position before?
I serve on the board of a regional fish conservation organization and thrive working with other leaders to advance the mission and vision of great organizations.
2. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to achieve if elected?
It would be a great honor to be elected to the OWAA board. I owe a lot in my professional career to OWAA, from grad school to my current position with TRCP. This would just be an opportunity to give back to this stellar association and contribute to growing the membership and overall reputation.
3. What do you think are the most important services OWAA offers to its members and how should we market those benefits to potential members?
I think in terms of networking opportunities and connecting with those in our industry, OWAA is top-notch. I’ve met some great folks and colleagues during my 10 years as a member. However, I feel that unless you’ve attend a conference, the ability for professional development is very limited. I know we have some of the most outstanding communicators in our field and I’d love for OWAA to look at ways to share that knowledge outside of the conference.
4. The annual conference is OWAA’s biggest outreach effort, yet many members rarely attend. How do we turn conference into a “can’t miss” event and how do we ensure newer, younger members return after attending that first conference?
As a member who doesn’t fit the bill as a traditional writer or journalist, I think there is room to improve the breadth and depth of the topics and presentations. I’d like to see more topics and presentations for new media and members who work on the media relations side of the table. It’s OK to have concurrent sessions for the various membership types and I think this might help to attract more members to conferences.
5. What is your vision for OWAA?
Becoming the go-to association for all outdoor communicators, not just journalists and writers. ♦
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]]> Conference session spotlights: Newsmakers, craft improvement, business — we have it all https://owaa.org/conference-session-spotlights-newsmakers-craft-improvement-business/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:49:40 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16033 OWAA’s annual conference brings together the best outdoor communicators in fields such as photography, writing, radio and media relations.

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OWAA’s annual conference brings together the best outdoor communicators in fields such as photography, writing, radio and media relations. It’s a chance to network, test products and explore a new region. But at the heart of conference is the sessions. We put together a conference program meant to help you improve your craft and business, as well as your under-standing of outdoor issues.We’ve got a jam-packed program this year. Below are a few highlights; for the full schedule, visit https://owaa.org/2016conference/.
Newsmakers
These panels, comprised of experts representing a variety of views on the topic, provide story fodder for working journalists and a better understanding of current outdoor issues for everyone.

  • Are Traditional Conservation Funding Models Broken?

The “user pays” approach to funding fish, wildlife and public lands conservation is a familiar concept. But those models face increasing challenges. Are the traditional funding models broken? Should they be replaced?

  • Fire Borrowing

In 1995, the U.S. Forest Service devoted 16 percent of its annual budget to fighting wildfires. Today it’s almost half — and often that is not enough, forcing the agency into a practice known as fire borrowing where funds are pulled from unrelated accounts to shore up firefighting efforts. The consequences include a $5.5 billion maintenance backlog; cuts to habitat and fisheries programs; and an inability to remove dead and diseased trees and undergrowth that become fuels for the next big wildfire.

  • Transfer of Public Lands

Four major federal land management agencies oversee more than 605 million acres of public property, which includes parks, forests, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas. The vast majority of these lands are in Western states, where a push is on to force federal transfer of millions of acres to state governments. Can states do a better job as environmental stewards and managers of natural resources? What would be the potential economic benefits — or losses – if a transfer were to happen?

  • Urban Wildlife Conflicts

It’s one thing to see a coyote loping across a prairie or a white-tailed deer emerging from the woods. It’s quite different when they show up in your backyard. More and more, the interface between urban and wild settings is not only narrowing, but overlapping. Bears in the backyard, deer in the driveway, geese in the garden and many other wild animals roaming areas humans inhabit create a new dynamic for resource managers, local governments and citizens.

  • Parks & Wreck

As the National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016, there’s a behind-the-scenes story that affects not only the park service, but all four federal land management agencies – deferred maintenance. A report prepared last year for Congress estimates the combined deferred maintenance for federal land agencies between $16.3 and $21.4 billion. State park systems, collectively covering 18 million acres at more than 10,200 sites, face their own set of challenges. Roads, bridges, trails, buildings, dams and water systems are in need of repair. What’s being done to fix them?

  • Privatization of Wildlife

The North American model of conservation is built on seven key principles, the most notable being holding wildlife in public trust and prohibiting commercial hunting and sale of wildlife. The approach has been successful, but what happens when private owners of large land tracts begin charging fees to access their property for hunting or fishing for what is a publicly held resource? Will the common man get shut out if hunting becomes something only the rich can afford?

  • Invasive Species & Wildlife Diseases

There are an estimated 50,000 non-native plant and animal species in the United States ranging from cheatgrass, to Asian carp to zebra mussels. Couple that with avian influenza, chronic wasting disease and rabies, and the cost to combat, or even contain, invasive species and wildlife diseases is astronomical.

  • New Ideas for Conservation Funding

If traditional conservation funding models are broken, what happens next? This session provides an in-depth discussion of various proposals aimed at finding solutions that will sustain conservation into the future.
Craft improvement
Whether you are new to your profession or a seasoned veteran, these sessions will help you learn and refine your skills.

  • The outdoor essay: Writing it. Selling it.

How should a writer develop an opinion so that it attracts readers? And before that, how does he sell it to an editor? Chris Madson, a veteran essayist, discusses the challenges involved in making essays pay.

  • Sound Stories

Learn how to create a sense of place through sound. This is perfect for anyone interested in multimedia production or those who want to bring the intimate feel of radio to their writing. This session will help you think like a podcaster by highlighting techniques in field recording, mixing and structuring sound-rich stories that can take people places they’ve never been

  • Mobile-friendly Websites and Apps for Magazines

Creating a mobile-friendly website or an app for your publication is more than just flipping a switch. Hear from editors who have braved this transition.
Business sessions
If only we could spend all our time outside taking pictures and writing about what we witness and experience. But sadly we have to pay the bills somehow. These sessions are designed to help you make a living doing what you love.

  • Writing for Trade, NGO and Agency Publications

Off-newsstand publications can be great additions to your freelance mix, often paying reasonable rates and reaching wide audiences. Hear from editors of these various outlets for tips on breaking into or forming lasting relationships within this market.

  • Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Microsoft Excel

Wallow in spreadsheet heaven with a former Excel instructor/author and current Microsoftee. Dennis Pollett will cover a myriad of features, tips and topics for anyone using Excel at any experience level. Pollett will also have office hours during the conference, so bring your spreadsheets for some one-on-one troubleshooting.

  • Trends and Opportunities in Outdoor Journalism

With outlets and pay rates shrinking, it can seem impossible to make a living as an outdoor journalist or to get your important outdoor stories told. Join our panelists as they share the creative ways they have been able to monetize their content or get their projects funded.

  • Book Publishing: Many Choices, Finding the Right Fit

From traditional publishing to self-publishing to specialty publishing, evaluating all your options to publish your work can be a daunting task. Hear from publishers and experienced authors to help you understand the options and explain the process of taking your manuscript from idea to finished product.

  • Accounting for Writers

If you make money as a freelancer, you need to know the difference between an allowable expense and an unallowable expense in the eyes of the IRS. This session will cover common expenses that freelance writers are able to deduct, the best ways to track your in-come and expenses, and how to organize everything when it comes time to file your taxes.

  • Writing for Brands/Content Marketing

Brands increasingly try to fashion a unique identity to connect not just with the customers’ product needs, but with their lifestyles. This creates a need for well-written copy and an opportunity for writers. Many brands are willing to pay for quality content. Writers can work with brands directly or through content-marketing or public relations firms to tap into this growing market. ♦
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]]> Big Sky Country, big-time controversies https://owaa.org/big-sky-country-big-time-controversies/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:34:56 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16027 Montana is officially called “The Treasure State,” but the advertising slogan “Big Sky Country” is equally, if not more, well-known.

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BY: JACK BALLARD
Montana is officially called “The Treasure State,” but the advertising slogan “Big Sky Country” is equally, if not more, well-known. For good reason. Enter its eastern border on Interstate 94 at North Dakota and exit on a fairly straight shot into Idaho on Interstate 90, and the wheels on the bus will go round and round for 702 miles. You’ll pass through apparently uncivilized ranch land, skirt oil refineries, whisk along the winsome Yellowstone River Valley and then traverse some half-dozen mountain vales before grinding up Lookout Pass. The route will drag and dart through lands owned by private interests, the state of Montana and federal acreages administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Within miles of the interstate highways, resident or itinerant wildlife species may include:elk, wolves, grizzly bears, mule and whitetail deer, mountain lions, pronghorn, sage grouse, prairie dogs and a host of other species.
The state’s bounty of wildlife and landscapes also give rise to a range of controversies, as seemingly broad as the big sky itself. There are many others, but among the broad conservation issues endemic to the Treasure State the following are currently on center stage.
 
Public access to public lands.
Montana has lots of public land — more than 30 million acres.The state holds the dubious honor of having the most public land inaccessible (blocked or surrounded by private lands) to the public as compared to Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Idaho. An estimated 3.2 million acres of public land in the Treasure State cannot be accessed by the public.
Recent efforts such as proposed legislation to allow crossing at corners (envision a checkerboard) and increased funding to purchase easements through private land have gained traction. Groups such as Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Montana Wildlife Federation see access to  public lands as one of the major challenges for sporting folks in the coming decades.
 
Public land use for maximum public benefit.
Montana public lands, especially those administered by the federal government, have a history that primarily emphasized logging, mineral extraction, grazing and fossil fuel development as economic drivers. Individuals and organizations are increasingly questioning this model from economic and environmental standpoints.
In 2015 the grazing cost on federal land for a cow and her calf was $1.69 per month. Thus the public received $677 for 100 head of cows (and their calves) grazing on public land during a four-month period from June to September. That is nearly $200 less than the cost of a single Montana nonresident elk tag. Could the forage consumed by the cattle support a herd of a few dozen elk? Would the elk herd provide more economic benefit than the cows? Similar questions arise in relation to game birds, bighorn sheep, mule deer and other wildlife. Displacement of such creatures in relation to fossil fuel extraction on public land has economic and environmental impacts. Do these outweigh the fees received on the balance-sheet of public benefit?
 
Grizzly bear management and delisting.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service attempted to delist the grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 2007. Environmental groups sued the agency almost immediately. A new delisting proposal is once again on the table and those same groups will likely oppose it again.
Grizzly bear numbers in the Yellowstone area now exceed 700 animals and have for a number of years. The original target population for removing the animals from the Endangered Species List is 500 bears. But, environmental groups claim dwindling food sources in the ecosystem, such as whitebark pine nuts and spawning Yellowstone cutthroat trout, along with genetic isolation from other grizzly populations, threaten the bears’ future. Proponents of de-listing point to the steadily increasing bear population in the area, and the fact that researchers have found when food sources such as pine nuts and trout aren’t available, grizzly bears switch to other types of nutrition.
 
Water
Montana claims the headwaters of the Missouri River. The lion’s share of its most robust tributary, the Yellowstone River, flows through the state as well. The Yellowstone is currently unimpeded by dams, but a proposed project by the Army Corps of Engineers would create a diversion dam for irrigation on the lower part of the river. A federal judge blocked the proposal in September 2015.
Several dams on the Missouri River store water. Management of this precious resource in drought years is increasingly contentious. A decade ago, the largest impoundment on the Missouri (Fort Peck Reservoir) saw its levels drop to the point that most boat launches were hundreds of yards from the water. Downstream interests (irrigation and barge traffic) trumped recreational use on the reservoir to the detriment of the local economy. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks estimated angler expenditures on the reservoir dropped 50 percent from their $15 million high in 2001.
There’s enough room for anyone to roam under the Big Sky, and enough controversies for anyone, it seems, to latch onto a cause.
Jack Ballard is a freelance writer and photographer with credits in more than 25 regional and national magazines. He’s also the author of eight books. He lives in Red Lodge, Montana and is OWAA’s local conference chair. ♦
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]]> Bookshelf https://owaa.org/bookshelf-18/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:15:35 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16019 The Field to Table Cookbook: Gardening, Foraging, Fishing, & Hunting
By Susan L. Ebert

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The Field to Table Cookbook: Gardening, Foraging, Fishing, & Hunting

By Susan L. Ebert
Welcome Books, an imprint of Rizzoli New York; hardcover; 288 pp.; 100 color photographs; $40.
“The Field to Table Cookbook” brings more than 150 family-pleasing, nutritious and accessible recipes to home cooks who want to increase their knowledge and enjoyment of procuring and cooking clean, organic meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. The increasing popularity of the modern farm-to-table movement, bringing locally sourced food to the family, is brought to its logical conclusion with author Susan Ebert’s direction on which animals to hunt when, what species of fish to target each month and what native nuts, berries, roots and leaves are prime for foraging.
 

Sport Fishing in British Columbia

By Mary L. Peachin
Peachin Adventure; softcover and e-book; 192 pp.; $14.95 or $7.95 for e-book
In this book the author calls upon her expertise garnered from 40 years of angling. This book is for anyone interested in the excellent fishing that British Columbia offers. Information includes options for luxury destination lodges as well as those for self-contained independent anglers. There is information on fish species, techniques, where to go and what to take. It includes almost anything you would need to know if you were headed to British Columbia.
 

Day Hikes Around Sonoma County (2nd Edition)

By Robert Stone
Day Hike Books; softcover; 544 pp.; 448 maps; $21.95.
Sonoma County is 35 miles north of San Francisco on the Pacific coast. This California county is known for its wineries and a magnificent natural landscape, offering a picturesque mix of rugged coastline, steep cliffs, forested hillsides and verdant agricultural valleys. “Day Hikes Around Sonoma County,” (now in its 2nd edition) is a three-time award-winning book. The guide is a collection of 125 of the county’s best day hikes, providing access to both well-known and out-of-the-way greenspace. Hikes are found along the Pacific Ocean, across the coastal ridges, into wide valleys and through thick forests.
 

Family and the Great Outdoors

By Wayne Turner

Fairmont Press; hardcover; 195 pp.; $24.95.
“Family and the Great Outdoors” will capture the heart of anyone who has ever climbed a tree, or fished with their father. It takes the reader deep into the life of a man whose father showed him how to hunt, as well as live and pass their heritage on to the next generation. This book offers personal stories in the life of a great outdoorsman. ♦
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]]> Wind River Visitors Council: Story ideas abound at climbers’ fest https://owaa.org/wind-river-visitors-council-story-ideas-abound-climbers-fest/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:09:46 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16015 Wyoming’s Wind River Country is a place of legends, of strong and diverse culture, and of untamed terrain. Rock climbing is a realm of heroes, with its own unique subculture with those that perform the endless dance between rock and human.

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Wyoming’s Wind River Country is a place of legends, of strong and diverse culture, and of untamed terrain. Rock climbing is a realm of heroes, with its own unique subculture with those that perform the endless dance between rock and human. The two worlds meet in Lander, Wyoming, particularly during the annual International Climbers’ Festival — providing perfect fodder for any outdoor writer, and it falls right before OWAA’s conference in Billings, Montana, this July.
The 2016 festival’s theme is the mythological, storytelling aspects of the sport and culture of rock climbing. Wind River Country (Fremont County) would like to invite you to extend your educational and professional travel by spending a few days at the Climbers’ Festival July 13-15. Whether you seek training, fresh stories, networking or a few days of pulling hard on rock, Wind River Country and the International Climbers’ Festival have it.
Fall into the stories
Wednesday evening, July 13, will include a casual gathering focused on local lore. Wyoming climbers will hold a panel about sport climbing ethics — a topic rich in personal stories, opinions and even controversy. This will be an excellent setting to listen to a wide range of local perspectives and the casual atmosphere will also allow you the opportunity to speak one-on-one with these experts.For the rest of the week, you’ll have the chance to attend climbing seminars, contests and social gatherings to capture the stories and images of rock climbing.
Advance your skills
Thursday, July 14 will feature several seminars suited to outdoor writers, particularly an adventure writers’ clinic, photography clinic and storytelling seminar. The day is also likely to include Native American dancing, and an art crawl. Extend the educational and networking elements of the OWAA conference in one trip by including Wind River Country.
Invigorate your creativity
In addition to the festival trade fair Friday, July 15, the Wind River Visitors Council will offer a familiarization tour of Wind River Country. Explore the history, culture, and breathtaking scenery of the region — maybe even from a hot air balloon — and discover the story you want to tell about the authentic West.
Climbing opportunities abound
The International Climbers’ Festival was established in 1993 by climbers for climbers. Attend in 2016 for the stories, the culture, or the climbing. We’ll see you at the International Climbers’ Festival (climbersfestival.org) in Wyoming’s Wind River Country (windriver.org). Contact us at media@windriver.org for details and to finalize your plans. ♦
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]]> The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment: Head to Texas for a paddle fest https://owaa.org/meadows-center-water-environment-head-texas-paddle-fest/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:06:56 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16012 The first-ever Texas Water Safari Paddle Fest & Show will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 10 and 11 at the headwaters of the San Marcos River on Spring Lake in San Marcos, Texas.

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The first-ever Texas Water Safari Paddle Fest & Show will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 10 and 11 at the headwaters of the San Marcos River on Spring Lake in San Marcos, Texas. Paddle Fest is a two-day event that celebrates the river, the outdoors and green living. Saturday morning will include the start of the historic Texas Water Safari, considered one of the toughest boat races in the world. The course covers 260 miles from the headwaters of the San Marcos River to the Gulf of Mexico. The festival will feature green exhibits, outdoor interactive activities, music, food and kayak and stand-up paddleboarding tours on Spring Lake. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas Water Safari, REI and the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce are coordinatoring the event. Learn more at www.twspaddlefest.com. ♦
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]]> Welcome to OWAA https://owaa.org/welcome-to-owaa-10/ Fri, 01 Apr 2016 17:47:59 +0000 https://owaa.org/ou/?p=16009 Lisa Baril is a writer and wildlife biologist living and working in Yellowstone National Park. She earned a degree in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2000, then spent the next five years traveling throughout the United States and Central America to see what biologists really did for a living.

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Lisa Baril is a writer and wildlife biologist living and working in Yellowstone National Park. She earned a degree in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2000, then spent the next five years traveling throughout the United States and Central America to see what biologists really did for a living. In 2005 she took the best gig ever— monitoring songbirds in Yellowstone National Park. Although she only planned to stay for the summer, the northern Rockies captured her imagination like no other place. In 2009 she earned a master’s degree from Montana State University, then moved up the food chain with her research on birds of prey. More recently, her passion for conservation and wildlife has taken her in a new direction — writing about science, nature and life in the American West. Visit her website http://www.lisabaril.com/.
Amy Bulger is a freelance writer, editor and photographer and the assistant editor at Bugle magazine with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, who recently traded the urban wilderness of Denver for an acre in western Montana. She landed in journalism after a curmudgeonly professor thought her history paper too well written to be her own. “If this is how you write, then you’re a writer,” he said. She changed her major and spent 14 years as a daily newspaper reporter, editor, online manager, copy editor and designer. In 2010, she migrated to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, redesigning and editing hunting and fishing regulation brochures and becoming associate editor of Colorado Outdoors. Her projects currently focus on women’s hunting, conservation, wildlife crimes, ungulates and upland birds. She speaks fluent government and six years ago suffered a bad case of adult-onset hunting, for which she’s purchased new chest freezers and firearms.
Sinjin Eberle believes that open spaces, wild landscapes and flowing rivers deserve all the respect and reverence we can possibly afford them. With that in mind, he enthusiastically pursues his role with American Rivers (www.AmericanRivers.org) as the Intermountain West communications director. With a degree in environmental science from Ball State, and an extensive background in white-water rafting, mountain biking, mountaineering and mountain rescue, exploration of the outdoors is paramount to who he is. Primarily a writer, photographer and executive producer of short films, Eberle is also versed in broad conservation issues of the Colorado Basin and the West, particularly water supply issues and protection of the Colorado River itself. Driving communications and advocacy across the West is a thrilling and consuming adventure, and one met with optimism and gusto. Eberle lives in Durango, Colorado, and jots random thoughts at www.ridesandrivers.com
Bridget Hawkins is an aspiring outdoor professional with a passion for adventure writing and photography. As a student at West Virginia University, she has combined her interests in the outdoors and journalism with her dual degrees in strategic communications and recreation, parks and tourism resources. She currently works as a student leader for the university’s outdoor program, Adventure WV, where she introduces students to West Virginia’s wilderness and recreational areas by taking them backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking and white-water rafting. Throughout her college career, Hawkins’ passion for outdoor writing and photography has taken her across the nation, to places like Appalachia, Grand Teton National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Big Bend National Park, the Guadalupe Mountains and the canyon lands of Utah. She plans to continue her writing and outdoor pursuits by advocating for youth engagement in the outdoors.
Mark H. Kelly is the public relations manager for Lodge Manufacturing Company in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. His duties include media relations, acting as company liaison with independent chefs and producing the Lodge cookbooks. In addition to OWAA, Kelly is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. In recent years, Kelly was the co-editor of two best-selling cookbooks, “The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook” and “Lodge Cast Iron Nation Cookbook.” In 2013, he self-published “Gone Off with the Angels: Christ-mas Stories of Golden Love,” a memoir about his son, Benjamin-Hayes Kelly, who passed away in 1999 after a two-year struggle with leukemia. An award-winning journalist, Kelly’s work has been published in Georgia Trend Magazine, Lake Oconee Living magazine, Taste of the South magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen magazine and Savannah Morning News-Evening Press. A graduate of Georgia Southern University, Kelly lives in Jasper, Tennessee.
Katy Schaffer grew up outdoors, running on beaches, climbing trees and hiking up mountains. Raised among the diverse wildlife of South Texas, she moved to Austin in 2011 to pursue journalism at the University of Texas for one purpose: to combine her love of storytelling with her passion for anything outdoors. Now, as a full-time information specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Schaffer has the opportunity to help tell the story of the great Texas outdoors. Drawing on her own experience as a young explorer, Schaffer has produced several photo stories, news releases and magazine stories for the department about outdoor recreation and natural and cultural resources conservation. She hopes she can inspire other young Texans to go outside and explore, pursuing any adventure that surely awaits.
Kim Campbell Thornton specializes in writing about dogs, cats, wildlife and marine life. Her work has appeared on MSNBC.com, Vetstreet.comand in Sea Magazine, Consumers Digest and numerous pet-related publications. Her weekly syndicated column, “Pet Connection,” appears online and in newspapers across the country. She loves to travel, and one of her favorite memories is watching shooting stars from her sleeping bag in the NamibRand Desert. This year’s planned destinations are Mongolia and the Outer Hebrides. When she’s not writing or traveling, she is reading, hiking, stand-up paddleboarding off the coast of Laguna Beach, mountain biking, scuba diving, or competing in nose work trials with Harper, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
David Zoby’s creative nonfiction has appeared in Ninth Letter, The Sun Magazine, Gray’s Sporting Journal, American Angler, Fourth Genre, The Nervous Breakdown and the Missouri Review. Last year he won the Jeffery Smith Prize at The Missouri Review. He publishes outdoor articles in The Flyfish Journal, Retriever Journal, Fish Alaska, Bugle and others. A lifelong waterfowl hunter and fly-fisherman, Zoby lives in Casper, Wyoming. He keeps a lively fishing blog at davezoby.com. ♦
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