February/March 2014 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Passing Judgement: Making the most of judging photo contests

OWAA staff — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 02:20:06 +0000

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BY JULIE HAMMONDS
If you’ve been roped into judging a photo contest, the person who wrangled your participation may have promised that, for someone of your tremendous skill and unerring taste in fine art, the task couldn’t be simpler.
Don’t let the promises or the flattery fool you. Judging a photo contest is hard. It provides plenty of opportunities to miss deadlines, offend colleagues and irritate fellow judges.
To avoid these pitfalls, it’s important to be the type of judge you hope will sit on the panel for the next photo contest you enter. Here are a few tips to help you accomplish that goal.
1. Review the rules and make sure they are compatible with your ethics before agreeing to judge. Some contests (not OWAA’s, of course) are designed specifically for collecting a cache of photos for unspecified future use without payment. Sponsors rarely spell that out in the rules. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable entering your own work, either talk with the sponsors about rules that make you squeamish, or reconsider judging. As a judge, you become affiliated with the contest and your reputation is precious.
2. Make sure you can judge without bias. Many contests claim they are judged “blind.” If you’re seeing identifying information, raise a red flag before you continue judging. If identities have been obscured but you know the personalities, locations or subject matter so well that you can easily tell who took what, it could be time to recuse yourself. You want to be able to look any photographer in the eye after the contest, whether you’re congratulating a winner or consoling an also-ran.
3. Use the process as an opportunity to recharge your fascination with photography. If you are a photographer, photo editor or photo librarian, you’ve already looked at thousands of excellent images. It can be tough, under those circumstances, not to see every photo in the contest as just a slight variation on something you’ve seen before. Boredom can lead to bad judgment. Open your mind to the possibility of being surprised all over again, despite your experience.
4. Pay close attention to the judging criteria. Your sponsor did provide criteria, right? That score sheet, with its carefully arranged list of items to consider and the total points awarded for each, is not merely a guideline prepared by eggheads. It’s meant to provide structure and support for thoughtful consideration. You can still listen to your gut instinct, and you should. But keep an eye on the criteria, too.
5. Give photographers their due. Sure, everybody carries a camera in his or her pocket these days, but to make excellent images still requires a huge investment of time and money. The learning curve is steep, and the patience required to capture just the right moment is legendary. To judge a photo contest is to be reminded of the skill and thought necessary for good work, not to mention that elusive quality we all crave: Talent. An appreciative attitude also comes in handy if you’re asked to provide constructive criticism.
6. Let’s be honest: Judging a contest is not just an opportunity to come face to face with the new and surprising. You’ll also see the banal, the blurred and the badly composed. Some entries may make you wonder what the photographer was drinking when he or she submitted them. Keep in mind that photography is a skill that develops over time. Challenge yourself to think critically and identify specific flaws in bad photos. If the contest allows it, provide constructive feedback on how the entrant could improve the work.
7. Listen to your fellow judges and try to see their vision. When judges get together as a panel to view and rate images, you soon learn that everyone has a different idea of what constitutes a winning photo. Training and experience in the room may vary. You may think your fellow judges are not only misguided but just plain wrong in their assessments. Be prepared to provide criteria-based reasons to support your position. Keep an open mind; it is possible someone else may be right.
8. Use as much of the scoring range as you can— even go beyond your comfort level a little. I’ve seen judges deliver a set of scores that all range from the equivalent of A- to B+. Judges who score in such a narrow range aren’t making their true opinions known. If your scores will be added to those of other judges, confining yourself to a tight range is like saying all the photos are “not bad.” Your opinion won’t make much difference, once all the scores are combined. Don’t waste your own time. You were invited to judge because you are capable of more nuanced distinctions. Take a stand!
9. Here’s a final guideline, guaranteed to make you so popular with contest sponsors that you’ll be invited back to judge again, even if you’ve broken a few of the other rules: Hit your deadlines.
— The associate editor of Arizona Wildlife Views magazine, Julie Hammonds has edited thousands of photos and judged and chaired several photo contests, from which these guidelines are drawn.
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Come to Conference, Win Contests

OWAA staff — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 02:12:51 +0000

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BY TY STOCKTON
I’m always amazed when OWAA members say they don’t enter the Excellence in Craft contests. You won’t get rich by winning contests, but you can pick up some extra cash — sometimes even enough to have to report it to the IRS.
But what surprises me even more than hearing about writers who don’t enter their work, is hearing about people who do enter, but don’t win, but also don’t go to OWAA’s annual conference.
I entered OWAA’s contests for years before I finally won an award. That win came the year after I attended my first conference.
It wasn’t a coincidence. At conference I took advantage of information shared by legends in the outdoor communication world and picked up tips from colleagues who seem to sweep every contest category they enter.
During that first conference I attended in Spokane, Wash., I sat in on a session presented by the great Patrick F. McManus about writing with humor. At the time, I was writing a weekly column for my city’s newspaper and I tried to make it funny as often as possible. McManus urged us to never force it, to use real-world examples when possible, to master the art of exaggerating those examples and to not be afraid to use humor, even on straight news stories. His advice greatly improved my writing.
In the three months following the conference, I received more positive letters from readers than I had in my previous two years of writing for the paper combined.
And that was just one of the sessions that helped me improve. I’d mention several other examples, but I’m under an 800-word limit (and one of the other tips I picked up from that conference was to always give an editor what he or she asks for).
Outside the conference sessions I introduced myself to several of the people whose names I recognized from bylines– and from the OU listings of contest winners. I read the winning entries that were set out on display. I talked to the winners about specific pieces and, by sheer luck, I happened to find one of the people who judged one of the categories I entered. I was able to pick his brain about the category, what he looked for and what it was about the winning entries that made them shine.
The judge, the speakers and other contest winners opened my eyes to mistakes I hadn’t realized I was making and things I could do better.
After attending that first conference, I kicked myself for not attending one sooner.
I had thought I couldn’t afford to go to a conference– in terms of finances and time. However, I spent $150 that year in conference fees and another $600 for a hotel room and travel. In the following year, I got a raise from the newspaper for improving my writing (worth roughly $800 a year); I sold three freelance stories as a direct result of the contacts I made at conference (for another $800); and I won several EIC awards the following year (another $600, though I spent $125 on entry fees). My return on investment came out to about $1,325, or $525, if you don’t count the raise.
I’ve had even better returns from each conference I’ve attended since then. In fact, in Roanoke, Va., I learned how to produce my own radio show, which is where I make the bulk of my freelance money now – and it’s also where I win most of my EIC awards.
Come to McAllen, Texas, this year. I’ll be there, and I’d be happy to talk to you about what works for me. And I’ll probably ask you questions about what works for you— I can’t afford not to.
— Ty Stockton is a freelance writer, photographer and radio host who lives in Cheyenne, Wyo. Stockton has been a member of OWAA since 1999.
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Back to School: Lessons learned from an online writing class

OWAA staff — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 01:59:40 +0000

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BY GAIL JOKERST
Over the past few years I have increasingly felt the need to rock myself out of my writing comfort zone and stretch myself professionally. In particular, I wanted to learn to incorporate creative nonfiction storytelling strategies into my magazine and newspapers articles to make them more engaging. I also wanted to identify any bad habits I had unknowingly acquired and pinpoint the areas where my writing was weakest. Based on my remote Montana location, an online course that included critiques from a qualified instructor appeared to be my ticket. I trolled the Internet until I found a spot-on description for a creative nonfiction workshop offered by the Extension Program at the University of California at Berkeley.
Thanks to funding from the 2013 John Madson Fellowship, I participated in this demanding six-month course with its medley of reading and writing assignments covering memoirs, essays, reviews and interviews. Most of the readings introduced me to the work of talented authors with whom I was unfamiliar. The writing assignments challenged me to experiment with a more personal style of writing than I was accustomed to using and required excavating my own life for long-ago experiences that still loitered in memory. And the feedback I received from the instructor was invaluable. Here are just three of the many lessons I learned:
1. Use Sentence Fragments Sparingly
Most writing gurus allow occasional well-placed sentence fragments when you want to emphasize a point, with occasional being the operative word. However, if utilized too frequently, my instructor informed me, “they become annoying.” Ouch. I was unaware I had slid so deeply into this questionable realm until my instructor called it to my attention. Recasting several sentence fragments with both a subject and predicate clarified the statement’s meaning. My longest essay originally housed five of these undesirable fragments.
For example, in my final-project essay, “The Road to Becoming the Lincoln Lawyer,” I originally wrote: “For Ogden, it was all part of a normal day or night’s work. Though some first-calls remain more vivid than others to him.”
I rewrote it: “For Ogden, it was all part of a normal day or night’s work, though some first-calls remain more vivid than others to him.”
Once I revised the piece I retained only the most compelling fragments, leaving a not-so-grand total of one.
2. Avoid Long Quotes
We all know quotes make our stories sparkle and add the dimension of sound so critical to readers. However, readers don’t always need to be given those sentences in the same sequence we acquire them through interviews. Replicating an entire portion of conversation can be overkill, as I discovered. One profile I wrote included a 10-line quote split by one attribution. The instructor told me to break it up to draw attention to specific parts of it. The ideas within the quote were worth communicating but not all in the same paragraph. When editing the piece I found places which would otherwise have gone quoteless, where many of those lines fit perfectly.
I also noticed from the course reading that the tightest quotes were often the most effective. For instance, in the essay “Beekeeper,” Sue Hubbell deftly employs a minimalist approach with snippets such as, “Shore am” and “You the sweetest thing in Missouri?” I have to admit in my 20-plus years of writing I have rarely used a pithy two- or six-word quote. Now I look for them.
3. Don’t Rush Your Endings
The instructor liked my leads, hooks and the bodies of my stories, but she consistently found fault with the endings. Some came across like I was “trying too hard,” while others “lacked closure,” she told me. When I stopped to analyze why this problem kept occurring, I realized I start over from the beginning whenever I work on a story. That means I’m constantly tweaking leads along with what comes next – good thing I don’t write novels. By the time the finish line becomes visible, I’m typically focused more on wrapping things up quickly than in wrapping them up rightly with a seamless transition followed by one or two artfully crafted paragraphs. Although I have always tinkered with conclusions to try and make them memorable, it’s been years since they received the same careful attention bestowed on the previous sections of each story. Consequently, I spent untold hours polishing the ending of my 2700-word final project until it reflected the humor and insight for which I was aiming. My efforts were rewarded with, “Great quote; good placement. An excellent piece!”
Other Tips from Class

Read more and read more widely to be inspired by the work of other writers.
Read more critically and consider why you like or don’t like a piece.
Give yourself lots of time to complete assignments.
Take some risks and have confidence in the ideas that come to you.
Don’t hesitate to start over if you aren’t passionate about your subject. As my instructor said, “Good writing tends to come from intense personal interest.”

Editors note: You can apply for the 2014 John Madson Fellowship. Applications must be sent to the OWAA headquarters, postmarked no later than March 1, 2014. For more information visit www.owaa.org/programs/scholarshipsfellowships/madson-fellowship.
— Gail Jokerst lives within sight of Glacier National Park’s mountains, where she spends as much time as possible hiking and photographing. Aside from writing for publications such as The Christian Science Monitor, The Spokesman-Review, and Montana Magazine, Jokerst has taught nonfiction workshops at Principia College and Flathead Valley Community College. www.gailjokerst.com.
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Write local: How to find stories in national issues and far from home

OWAA staff — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 01:02:03 +0000

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BY GLENN SAPIR
National Hunting and Fishing Day was coming up and I had a newspaper column due. I didn’t want to pass up the chance to promote the best public relations opportunity of the year for hunting and angling, but I needed to find a way to take a national celebration and make it a local story. I checked the event website for history and statistics on sportsmen’s economic and conservation contributions and learned where celebrations were happening in my paper’s coverage area. I then called a local contact who was organizing one of the events. With national information, quotes from an area sportsman and a preview of two local events that were planned for the September weekend, the story wrote itself.
Soon after filing the article I arrived in Lake Placid, N.Y., for OWAA’s annual conference — apparently just in time to miss a session I didn’t even know had been scheduled, “Taking a Local Story National, Taking a National Story Local.” It proves that while my suggestion for a craft improvement article on the topic might not be original, it’s certainly important.
Localizing stories can mean taking national issues and events and boiling them down to show readers in your area how they are impacted or why they should care. It can also mean finding stories with direct connections to your community even when you are far from home.
I’ve written an outdoor column for a large Gannett suburban daily since 1989. Here are a few tips I’ve discovered.

National studies and reports can often be broken down into state components (and state reports into county components). I know that is the case at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, where I work as director, editorial services. Contact the source of the research and find out about the specific information regarding your state. If the report involves a ranking of states, use that as the news hook of your article. If your state is near the top, you can find sources to boast about it; if it is near the bottom, you can find sources calling for improvement.
Get local reactions to national issues. Think about why a story interested you. If you care, who else in your community cares? Who might be impacted or interested?
Ask questions about people’s background. Find out where they are from. It is amazing how often I’ve gotten lucky by traveling to other parts of the state and country and discovered a person or story with a connection to my readership area. In Washington, on a waterfowl hunt, I discovered my guide and the part-owner of the resort where we were staying had been a minor league baseball player for our local team back home. I tied in his experiences with one of my favorite guides, another former minor leaguer, who fishes about an hour or so west of the ballpark where my waterfowl guide had played to create a story about two men who gave up on their dreams to become major league ballplayers to instead, hunt and fish for a living.
When my wife and I headed down to Captiva Island in Lee County, Fla., to vacation, the resort set up a fishing outing and a nature hike. I learned the resort’s naturalist had grown up in the town where my wife and I live. I was able to tie in his birding experiences in my home area with what he is doing now, and I had another good column.
When fellow OWAA and New York State Outdoor Writers Association member Bill Hollister and I signed up for a fall turkey hunt when the NYSOWA had its fall conference at Lake Placid in October 2009, we learned our guide was the local NWTF chapter honcho and the town’s chief of police. I learned through my “Where did you grow up?” and “Where did you go to school?” get-to-know-him questions that he was raised in Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County, one of the three counties in my readership. The rest was easy. I wrote about his background, what he does now, and brought fall turkey hunting tips into the article that would work as well in my “downstate” woods as his “upstate” environs.
Look for celebrities from other parts of the country, especially if they are visiting, and find out what they know about your area. Cash in on the appeal of their celebrity and bring their knowledge home to your readers. I’ve done that with turkey pros from Missouri and Alabama by getting them to discuss their New York experiences and advice. When attending the Bassmaster Classic, I always requested being paired with the entrants who came from my region. Getting hooked up with New Jersey and Pennsylvania anglers, we could discuss their New York fishing experiences. The
Hudson River is in my readership area, and even anglers from far reaches of the country had fished national tournaments on the river, so I would ask them, too, about their experiences and advice.
Tell the celebrities about the conditions of your local fishing, hunting or your specific outdoor activity. Perhaps they can compare them to similar conditions they’ve encountered, even if they have not been to your area. Generic similarities can lead to helpful tips and a good article.

— Glenn Sapir is the outdoors correspondent for Gannett’s Journal News and the director of editorial services for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. He is a past president of OWAA and the organization’s most recent recipient of the Excellence in Craft Award.
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Protecting Vital Ground

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 23:11:22 +0000

Group helps grizzlies by preserving habitat

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Magnificent in its own right, the grizzly bear is nature’s barometer of a healthy and complete environment. Because a grizzly’s range includes more than hundreds of miles, from alpine meadows to valley bottoms, the animals are considered an “umbrella” species. And since its foraging behavior creates a top-down effect on other animals lower in the food chain, such as deer, elk, rabbits, fish, insects or plants, it is also known as a “keystone” species.
If the grizzly population is healthy and strong, so are other populations ranging from large mammals to native fish. Conversely, a faltering, fragmented grizzly population spells certain hardship for other wildlife, many species of which are positively affected by and dependent on the bear’s activity. Protecting bears and their habitat benefit entire plant and animal communities in some of the wildest, most scenic places on earth.
This is the cornerstone of Vital Ground’s work.
Working cooperatively with landowners, local communities, other conservation organizations, and state and federal agencies, Vital Ground addresses the issue of habitat fragmentation head-on by permanently protecting crucial lands for the benefit of grizzly bears and other wildlife.
Vital Ground places emphasis on protecting specific key landscapes. One is private lands where grizzly bears currently live or into which they could extend their range, especially in spring and fall when habitat requirements expand due to reproductive and pre-hibernation activities. A second is private lands located near public lands or already-protected private lands. And a third is lands connecting grizzly bear ecosystems.
Because of the mounting threat rural development poses to habitat for grizzlies and other wildlife in the region, Vital Ground has teamed up with six landowners in northwest Montana to further its goals under the organization’s Swan Valley Grizzly Bear Habitat Conservation Initiative. Through a combination of five permanent conservation easements and one fee title acquisition, the effort aims to protect nearly 320 acres near Condon, Mont.
Since the organization’s beginning in 1990, Vital Ground has helped protect and enhance nearly 600,000 acres of crucial wildlife habitat in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska, and British Columbia. The organization’s dedication to conserving grizzly bear range goes beyond saving a single species. When there is enough “vital ground” to sustain an umbrella species like the grizzly, a multitude of other animals, plants, and fragile ecosystems benefit as well.
Learn more about the Swan Valley Grizzly Bear Habitat Conservation Initiative at http://www.vitalground.org/elk-flats-neighbors-project/#.Up9ZB-Kma80.
Learn more about Vital Ground at http://www.vitalground.org/.
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Lighting the Way

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 23:06:39 +0000

Nighhawk expands flashlight offerings, maintains high quality standards

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Nighthawk has a long and steeped history in the LED Flashlight market place. Originally founded in 1995, our mission today is the same as it has been since day one: Provide our customers exceptional products
and experiences. We have had the honor and privilege to continually deliver on that mission since our inception.
We are a small company with a huge talent pool that keeps us on the leading edge of the marketplace. Our team is comprised of people who are exceptional within their disciplines. Each team, from product design to supply chain, to marketing, have total autonomy with only one objective; to perform to the highest standard
for the collective good of our customers and each other.
Nighthawk has evolved from producing a hands-free LED flashlight designed and developed for military pilots during Operation Desert Storm, into a specialty flashlight company that manufactures a variety of flashlights and now solar and battery charging devices and accessories. They are manufactured to the highest standards by using only the best manufacturing processes, materials and components available, giving each of our products superior functionality and making them easy to use, reliable and rugged.
Our products are focused on individual and close proximity uses, where ease of use convenience and reliability are key factors our users demand. Over the last 20 years not only have LED flashlights changed
the way we live, work and play, LED performance, brightness, durability and cost have continued to change the LED flashlight landscape. The energy sources and methods of keeping our devices charged and readily available has undergone a major shift as well. Advances in solar technology have made it possible for individuals to carry personal devices to harness the power of the sun just about anywhere. Now you can have peace of mind that not only can you have some of the most trusted flashlights in the world but you can power up your devices with energy – directly from the sun.
Nighthawk Lights— Next Generation Gear— it is not just what we do. It is who we are. For more information contact Keith Lucas at 803-271-0588 or KLucas@NighthawkLights.com, or visit http://NighthawkLights.com.
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Standing Room Only

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 23:00:38 +0000

Opening of trout season in Missouri draws anglers from all over

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There are some things you truly have to see to believe. Opening day of trout season at Missouri’s trout parks is among them.
“I’ve met people who have been at every opening Trout Day for the past 50 years and families who pass down the tradition of fishing on opening [day] for generations,” says pro fisherman Scott Pauley, the
Missouri Division of Tourism’s outdoors expert.
Pauley has experienced opening day at several of Missouri’s trout-laden waterways, with Roaring River State Park in Cassville being one of the more memorable stops.
Trout Day is so significant in that community that school stands in recess, a tradition dating to the 1980s. Before that, students who fished on opening day could submit their trout tag as an excuse for being tardy.
If you’d like to join the fun, the Missouri Division of Tourism’s website, VisitMO.com, can help you plan your next fishing getaway. The site offers information about lodging, dining and recreational options to enjoy while you’re in the Show-Me State.
The season runs from March 1-Oct. 31 at Missouri trout parks. Generally, those parks are teeming with anglers on opening day, while other trout-fishing spots are wide open.
Among them is Lake Taneycomo, one of Missouri’s top fishing destinations. The lake, located in the Branson area, is stocked annually with nearly 750,000 rainbows and browns and the water temperature averages 58
degrees year-round.
“The bite is good any time of year,” says Brett Rader who operate Chartered Waters Trout Shop and Guide Service in nearby Hollister.
Although he’s partial to trout fishing on Taneycomo and nearby Crane Creek, Rader has been to Trout Day at the state parks and he understands why it’s a significant happening.
“It’s as much about getting together and having fun as it is fishing,” Rader says.
Angling for trout is just one way to have a memorable fishing experience in Missouri. Year-round, Missouri offers excellent bass and crappie fishing and is home to waterways where a variety of fish, including walleye and muskie, are abundant.
Make fishing part of your next vacation to Missouri, and start planning your getaway today at VisitMO.com.
For more information about fishing in Missouri, contact Stephen Foutes, communications manager at the Missouri Division of Tourism. Reach him at stephen.foutes@ded.mo.gov or 573-751-3208.
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Eye on the Sky: McAllen a bird watcher's paradise

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 22:50:08 +0000

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BY ANN AND ROB SIMPSON

Our kids stopped asking. They don’t invite us on vacations anymore nor do they ask us what our plans are for
the summer. We tried, but for some reason they don’t enjoy holidays at the swamp and they can’t understand why we look forward to a trip to the dump.
They perked up when we told then we had been looking at TVs but when they realized we meant turkey vultures they seemed sad. They explain to their friends that we are “different.” We are birders. And, even worse (according to them), we are bird photographers.
When we told our kids we were going to a writers conference in Texas, that seemed to be OK. What we didn’t tell them is that McAllen, Texas and the Lower Rio Grande Valley is in the same category of fantastic destinations as Pt. Pelee, Pt. Reyes, and Cape May — all meccas for birders. Armed with binoculars, a field guide and the longest camera lens we can carry, we can’t wait to begin the hunt for some of the 500 species of birds that have been spotted here. The land of LBJs (“little brown jobs”— not the former President), chachalacas, kiskadees, and pyrrhuloxias is calling our name — and no, it is not “crazy bird person.”
Perhaps at one time, bird watching was considered a pastime of shuffling people with floppy hats, but today, of the 22.5 million people who travel to enjoy nature and to see wildlife, 18.9 million (84 percent), travel to destinations specifically to view birds.
If you happen to know what a hummer, a lister, a twitcher, and a butterbutt are, if your favorite app is Sibley Birds, and if pishing and squeaking are everyday words in your vocabulary then you may be a birder too. If you are not familiar with the lingo then we need to get you up to speed, as surprisingly, wildlife watching is the No. 1 outdoor recreation pastime in the United States.
According to a recent US Fish & Wildlife Service survey, during 2011, 33.1 million people fished and 13.7 million hunted — a total of 37.4 million hunters and anglers. However, nearly doubling that number, an astounding 71.8 million people participated in observing, feeding, or photographing wildlife.
Wildlife watchers spent $420 million on magazines, books, and DVDs while hunters spent $100 million on these items. With nearly a third of the U.S. population enjoying wildlife watching, this may be an area that OWAA members and magazine editors want to take note of as a writers marketing strategy. By combining outdoor sports such as hunting and fishing with natural history and nature photography, you may be able to find ways to connect people with nature in novel ways.
Besides, birding and photography are fun. As anglers, we already know how to read the water and we are able to discern intimate details about fish species. Hunters are keenly aware of habitats and animal behavior. The OWAA conference is a great place to broaden your horizons and perhaps hook another reader for your column. If you don’t know “which button to push on your camera” consider attending one of a talks on photography and make sure to join us for the informative and highly entertaining Photo Scavenger Hunt session. To start learning birds, grab a field guide and hang around with a birder. By the way, if you hear someone talking about watching boobies while they are snook fishing it is OK …probably.
A hot spot of biodiversity, McAllen is strategically located near many parks, preserves, and refuges that attract a large number of birds and butterflies. Two outstanding establishments in the area are the World Birding Center and the National Butterfly Center. Located only five miles west of McAllen, in Mission, Texas, the succulent gardens at the National Butterfly Center have attracted more than 300 species of butterflies and 90 species of dragonflies and damselflies. Mission is also the headquarters for the World Birding Center. Along with the main headquarters in the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, eight other sites connect strategic habitats from Roma to South Padre Island. Stretching 120 miles, this network of sites provides
visitors ample opportunities to view and photograph birds and other wildlife. Many of these nine sites offer viewing stations, watchtowers, and trails through varied habitats. Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary
in Brownsville is also fantastic for shots of colorful green jays and noisy chachalacas. Also in Brownsville, the Gladys Porter Zoo provides habitat for nesting wild birds and has a splendid orangutan exhibit.
So, if we quietly slip out of one of the conference meetings it may mean that we saw on the birding hotline that a rare bird showed up at the Brownsville dump – please don’t tell our kids.
–Rob and Ann Simpson joined OWAA in 2012. They both teach biology and nature photography at a community college in Virginia. They have written numerous books and articles on national parks coast to coast that promote wise and proper use of natural habitats and environmental stewardship. Long time
national park advocates, their recent work has been centered on providing informative and colorful nature guides on the wildlife and wildflowers of the major parks including Shenandoah, Blue Ridge Parkway, Rocky Mountain and Yosemite National Parks to be followed by Yellowstone. You can contact them at annrobsimpson@snphotos.com.
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Welcome to OWAA

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 22:33:58 +0000

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New Members

Judy Benson covers health and the environment at The Day in New London, Conn., a foundation-owned independent daily newspaper. In 2013 she received the Publick Occurrences Award from the New England Newspaper and Press Association and was named Journalist of the Year in 2006 by the New England Press Association. She has won numerous other awards. She attended a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship on medical evidence at MIT and the New York Times Institute on Environmental Reporting, and is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Association of Health Care Journalists. Currently she is enrolled as a part-time student in a master’s degree program in natural resources and water resources at the University of Connecticut. When not working or studying, she enjoys hiking and kayaking.
John Paul Harris Jr. (“Jack” to most people) is the author of the book and video “Beyond My Wildest Dreams.” He was a videographer long before he ever thought about writing his book. The video proves that the book is more than words on paper. He always reached for his dreams and he hopes to leave the world a better place because he lived. He is now trying to make that happen in many ways, including writing conservation oriented poetry, writing the song “America and Peace,” creating his Team Earth initiative and Jack’s International Litter-up Hiker’s Bag. You can see more on his website http://www.jackswildlifedreams.com.
From a very early age, Josh Honeycutt was involved in hunting and fishing. He often spends long hours a field chasing whitetails, turkeys and other game. A resident of Glasgow, Ky., Honeycutt lives in the outdoors. Honeycutt is majoring in journalism at Western Kentucky University and pursuing a lasting profession in the outdoor industry. As an outdoor writer and photographer since 2011, he has been published in 20 outdoor related magazines and websites. Some of these include: North American Whitetail, Whitetail Journal, JAKES Country magazine, Game & Fish, Antler Geeks, MidWest Outdoors magazine, Wiredtohunt.com and Realtree.com. Honeycutt is also a member of the Kentucky Outdoor Press Association, Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and Professional Outdoor Media Association. His goals are to graduate from WKU, continue working in the outdoor industry, inspire in others what the outdoors has inspired in him and to promote godliness in his words and actions while doing so.
Jeffrey Isenhart was born and raised in the farmlands, north woods, rivers and lakes of northwest Michigan. He is a service-connected disabled veteran and a full-time student at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Ill. He is studying Earth science and creative writing. He is a semi-finalist for the Norman Mailer Community College Creative Non-Fiction Writing Award Competition for his creative writing memoir “Serenity from Night.” He served as a paratrooper in the 82nd and as a light infantry soldier and advisor in Central and South America. He is an avid outdoorsman, hiking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, or camping. He lives in Ingleside, Ill., nestled around the land o’lakes area of northern Illinois.
Michael A. Kallok is an editor at Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine, the official publication of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where he crafts stories about environmental issues, natural resource management, and outdoor recreation. Kallok previously was a staff writer at Minnesota Outdoor News and editor of the Mille Lacs Messenger, a weekly newspaper in central Minnesota near the famed walleye, muskie, and smallmouth bass waters of Lake Mille Lacs. Kallok enjoys paddling rivers with his wife, Kelly, casting flies on Driftless area trout streams, and following his setter through the north woods in search of ruffed grouse.
Robert (Rob) F. Kay began his journalism career with the San Francisco Chronicle Foreign Service in 1975. He has worked as a radio journalist in California and has written award winning adventure travel guides on Fiji and Tahiti for the Lonely Planet series. A past contributor to newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsday, San Jose Mercury and Los Angeles Times, he is currently editor of On Target Hawaii, a regular series on firearms in the Hawaii Reporter, Hawaii’s leading online news journal. Kay manages a three-person staff which turns out news and reviews on all manner of guns and accessories. His topics include handguns, rifles, optics, cleaning equipment, storage gear and other topics germane to the AR 15 and AK platforms. An avid bullseye competitor, Kay began shooting at the age of 12 during family outings in the Sierra Nevada. He resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Stephen Kirkpatrick has been chased by grizzly bears, attacked by alligators, and nibbled by piranha. In the process, he’s captured some of the world’s most beautiful and exciting nature and wildlife photography. Kirkpatrick’s work has appeared in hundreds of books and magazines worldwide. He has also published 11 solo pictorial coffee table books. Kirkpatrick’s work has earned international acclaim, including the “Writer’s Digest” International Self-Published Book Award, the National Outdoor Book Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, and three Southeastern Outdoor Press Association Book of the Year Awards. He has twice been named a winner in the prestigious International Wildlife Photographer of the Year and speaks at national conferences and conventions. He has appeared on televisions shows, including ABC’s “Shark Tank,” the Christian Broadcasting Network’s “The 700 Club.” To see Kirkpatrick’s work, visit www.kirkpatrickwildlife.com.
Vivian Wagner is a writer and photographer who lives in New Concord, Ohio. An avid rafter, kayaker, hiker, and sailor, she has published work in a number of magazines and literary journals, including Blue Water Sailing magazine, Caribbean Compass, O, The Oprah Magazine, American Profile, American Way, TechNewsWorld, The Kenyon Review, Zone 3, and many others. She is also the author of “Fiddle: One Woman, Four Strings, and 8,000 Miles of Music,” and she teaches writing, literature, and journalism at Muskingum University. For more information about her, visit her website at www.vivianwagner.net.
A full-time police officer for more than 25 years, Brent Wheat is also an award-winning freelance writer, photographer and Web developer based in Lebanon, Ind. With more than 1,000 published stories to his credit, he has experience with virtually every form of print and electronic media ranging from the local newspaper to ABC News. Having served as a police sniper, diver, canine handler and police department spokesperson during his career, he specializes in tactical shooting, law enforcement and personal safety topics and has been on the editorial staff of SWAT Magazine for the past decade. Away from the keyboard, he works as a defensive shooting instructor and lectures on a variety of outdoor and personal safety subjects. When not on duty or facing a deadline, Brent enjoys pestering smallmouth bass in local streams, a sip of Kentucky Holy Water, a good cigar and tinkering with his orchid collection.
A former editor and reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming, Nadia White’s writing focuses on outdoor adventure, environmental policy and journalism education. She lives in Missoula, Mont., where she hunts, fishes, canoes and trail runs when she’s not teaching reporting at The University of Montana School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in many daily newspapers as well as magazines including, recently, High Country News and Headwall.
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In Memory: Lonnie Williamson and Tom Fegely

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 22:22:49 +0000

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OWAA Legend Lonnie Williamson dies at 74

Our thoughts are with the family of Lonnie Williamson, an award-winning OWAA legend who died Dec. 18.
Williamson was born in Jackson County Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism and literature and a master’s degree in wildlife management. He performed
post-graduate work in economics at the University of Maryland.
His professional writing career began in 1958 when he took a reporting job with the Athens Banner Herald newspaper in Athens, Ga. He eventually joined the Wildlife Management Institute in Washington D.C. as the editor of the Outdoor News Bulletin in 1970. He retired 30 years later in the role of vice president of the organization.
Williamson, an accomplished writer contributing to magazine such as Outdoor Life, joined OWAA in December 1970.
“Lonnie Williamson was a great man and a great member of OWAA,” said member Glenn Sapir. “He brought a unique combination of qualities to our organization: expertise in wildlife management, journalism and finance, along with a loveable dose of wit, humor and level-headedness. … He always brought a respected perspective to any issue under discussion … Lonnie was candid and outspoken in his opinions, but he was always the epitome of the Southern gentleman that he was.”
Member Bill Powell met Williamson at a winter OWAA board meeting in 1993 when Williamson was board chairman and had just finished a term as OWAA president. At that meeting Williamson obtained board approval for the creation of OWAA’s restricted endowment fund, an important sustaining influence for the organization today.
“Besides being a dedicated worker over many years for the long-term good of OWAA, in his sometimes gruff and blunt way, he was a delight to have as a friend,” Powell said. “It’s rare to find someone with his mix of intelligence, directness and ability to see and shape the future for good.”
Throughout his membership Williamson continuously stepped up to serve, joining many committees and taking on leadership roles, including serving as the organization’s president from 1991-1992. He also was one of the first members appointed as trustee of OWAA’s endowment trust, managing OWAA’s permanent funds.
“Lonnie ranked as one of OWAA’s strongest and most thoughtful leaders,” said member Mark Sosin. “Beyond his service as president and chairman, Lonnie served on strategic committees of major importance and once could always count on him to suggest solutions to the most pressing problems.”
Throughout his career Williamson won numerous awards including OWAA’s Circle of Chiefs Award in 1983 and the Ham Brown Award for outstanding service in 2000.
“Lonnie Williamson was one of the finest human beings I have ever known,” said member Bill Hilts Sr. who wrote an OWAA legends piece on Williamson. “Lonnie’s relaxed demeanor and friendly attitude was his hallmark and we all learned so much from that truly great, but quiet, philosopher from Georgia.”

Former OWAA member Tom Fegely dies

Tom Fegely, a former OWAA member who served on the Board of Directors, died Dec. 17 in his home-state of Pennsylvania after a long illness. He and his wife Betty Lou Fegely (also a former member and a past president) were joint recipients of OWAA’s Ham Brown award in 2001.
Tom Fegely was a prolific freelance writer and photographer and book author, winning many awards for his work. Our thoughts are with the Fegelys’ family and friends. A full obituary may be found at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-fegely&pid=168658041.
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