Castuserraticus

Saw this on the news. The farmer had shot 25 in one day at one part of his orchard. The rabbits had ringed the base of a bunch of his trees. Are the bunny lovers going to buy new trees? The damage was in the $$thousands. It looks like the problem is already past their control with the bunnies spreading to the country. There should be some fat predators for a few years if they allowed nature to take it's course.

Brent - My 4runner('99) only gets ~20 mpg on the hiway so there's not much difference from a fullsized. Birchy says his was the same.

I've been thinking about getting GPS. My wife claims we get lost just about every time we go hiking/backpacking. It could be real useful. She can't read maps very well. With GPS I could show her how far off the trail we are, where the cliffs ahead of us are, where we should have gone, pick out exactly where we got off track,... Let us know what the best value is.

Another map junkie, eh? Some much country, so little time to explore.

Tidbits - James Pierpont Morgan was one of the original group of financiers that helped finance the US out of the great depression by buying assets no one else wanted at the time. His company rides to the rescue again? When Warren Buffet bought General Re one of the first things he did was get rid of the derivatives portfolio. It took time and cost them quite a bit of money but he was years ahead of the crowd that are trying to get out now. Question - Who owns the Federal Reserve? It's not the government as it's meant to be independent of political parties.

Since the area was made a provincial park camping is supposed to be in designated sites only. One of the prettiest hikes I've done is from the Upper Lake to Three Isle and Aster Lakes. This is a loop and there's some breathtaking views towards BC from the ridge trail between the lakes. You can add Turbine Canyon but that's quite a bit longer. There are numerous potential multi day loop hikes in the Ribbon Creek/Galatea area and there are campsites at most of the lakes.

They should go after the clients also as they should have some knowledge of the regulations where they're hunting at. Ignorance is not an excuse. That might put a bigger chill into the illegal side of the industry than nailing one guide. Someone else is always ready to step in.

Wow

It's not just about the pulling power. Brakes are critical. We used to have a lightweight 22' fifth wheel - blew the motor in a half ton. The 3/4 ton had no problem with it. The braking was borderline with the 1/2 ton and no problem with the 3/4.

I think Special Ed benefited greatly from fear. I read through some of the WAP info on their website and liked it. I know a lot of other people liked it too but the big fear was a vote for WAP could allow the Liberals to sneak up the middle. Their policies would have been a disaster. Ultimately, voters choose to stay with the "conservatives" they knew rather than risk the new party. The WAP sure seemed to have a lot of young candidates. Ours was 26. It looks like a potential new wave of political interest.

I'm not sure pictures with locations make that much difference - especially for new people. A person has to have spent a lot of time on the river to recognize the one tree in the background and know it's location. The people who can have probably paid their dues. For pictures that show bridge abutments I say "big deal" as the areas closest to the access points always get hit the hardest on every water body. Also, the river changes every year through gravel movement and even throughout the year with flow fluctuation. The picture taken at Joe's Rock last week could be irrelevant due to changes in the river level or the particular bug cycle. A large fish isn't going to hang in a place where they have to work hard for food and or shelter.

The Peace country is a big region. I grew up there and only know part of it. Forest fire duty could take you in any direction from the farm area as there's bush all around. Grayling in the western and hilly areas. Everything under the sun in the Peace River itself. Most lakes are stocked with trout or have native sharks and walleye.

Removal can be tough especially with the smaller sizes. That's why I tend to use several smaller ones rather than one big one. I add until I tick bottom. To remove shot I dig a fingernail into the crack to open it enough. The ones I use are more egg shaped than spherical. I can't recall the brand - several sizes come in a compartmentalized round container.

I've found some types move and others don't. I won't buy the style with the ears on the back so they can be reopened. They don't stay in place. Look at the shots. If the slit is more than half-way through it won't stay in place. the "hinge" area fatigues too easily. I used to use the matchbook lead but I find the concentrated weight and low surface area of shot gets the fly down better.

I'm confused a bit after reading Morton's letter and some of the follow-up posted on the hunting thread. It appears licensed guides are now sold tags that they can then sell to their clients at market rates. This system has been in place for years? There's tremendous uproar about farmers getting the same right? If I was a large landowner and this was a profitable venture then I would have become a "licensed outfitter" years ago as a means of diversifying revenue. Is it presently illegal for a farmer to charge for access to his land? The noted fees of $5-20/hunter day is peanuts unless the rancher has a large spread and can control lots of animals. To me the question should be What is more cost effective - regulating habitat changes or subsidy incentives? Just imagine the uproar if riparian buffers/restoration and forested wildlife corridors/habitat became required/penalized by law. As Morton states - the farmers can't be expected to carry the load of habitat preservation. Therefore, subsidies are the way. Boy, does this open up a can of worms for abuse and misdirection. Subsidies distort markets and create unintended consequences. Once they're in place and people are counting on them they're very hard to remove. A pilot project can quickly become a right. I don't think anything is going to help hunting and fishing grow in popularity, another stated aim. I've tried to be sure my kids are aware they are part of a food chain but with the increasingly urban population the vast majority of people think of food as coming from supermarkets rather than slaughter houses. The only time they see otherwise in the media is when a slaughter facility is facing charges of cruelty.

Grass roots - Don I don't think you waited for politicians to direct your work on the Raven. They didn't come up with the fall rescue. They will show up for photo ops when a program appears to be successful. I don't see the election affecting fishing unless some candidate tries to severely restrict it. I don't see this happening. So far I think Ed is sounding a bit dim. He's making all sorts of promises that facts show can't be implemented. The "environment" in Alberta is a polarizing issue. Where some people see disaster (eg fires, floods) others see nature's normal cycles. No successful politician is going to make it a major plank. People care about their jobs, health, safety, lifestyle,... way more. These are personal issues. The true job of government is to provide the physical (roads, hospitals, schools) and regulatory (rule of law, personal and property rights protection) infrastructure, and consistent policy that encourages individuals and corporations to make long term plans/investments. Our democratic governments are not generally capable of making long term plans. Politicians campaign based on abusing the other guy and are often elected to "fix a problem". It's the rare politician who's goal is to work with all parties. They don't really lead. I can't remember who said it - "Democracy is the worst system of government, except for all the others." At least with democracy individuals have the opportunity to take personal action on issues that matter to them - as you have on many occasions.

When my son was about 12 he said in answer to a question about he was going to be when he grows up "I want to be "they"."

Warm enough in Calgary is above 0. If you see this in the forecast, there will be lots of people on the river. Watch out for drift ice. Large slabs (up to car sized) start breaking off in warmer weather. Some people fish when it's below 0 but I've found slush to be too bothersome. Just wear several layers under regular waders and get out of the water now and then before your legs stop working. Look up posts for the Hook and Hackle Club. They meet every month during the winter.

One note - I believe it would be dangerous to use a kayak for fishing on a river. When fighting a fish you have no means of boat control and the risk of broaching would be high. Bad things can happen surprisingly quickly when currents are involved. I used to teach whitewater kayaking and have tried fishing from them on still water. I didn't enjoy it because any breeze would move me around too much. I wasn't skilled enough to try and figure out an anchor system. This seems to be very important from what I've read. Sea kayaks are much easier because they're designed to be more stable. Tides can be a real bugger so timing is an important consideration. In the past, I've used kelp as an "anchor" to maintain position and fish the edges of a weed bed. I played with a sit-on top type in Mexico. It seems a good idea to have something like a safety belt to hold you on top in case of a slight tipping. I was surfing and just slipped off a couple of times. The temperatures in Alta are not conducive to enjoying being dunked. I've confirmed this dozens of times. I prefer my pontoon boat for stability and ease of handling. It doesn't have the hull speed of a kayak but it can be used on lakes and rivers.

I feel like Einstein now. St least I had a running chainsaw in my hand.

I dismantled a trac 2 razor. With a piece of cardboard and some masking tape I made a double edge. It's been working for years.

More things seem confusing as the birthdays pile up.

Give me a 1200mm lens to go with Rick's gun and I'd film the guy. When I was young and slightly more foolish I worked the rigs in northern Alberta. We had up to 8 bears at a time around the rig and camp because the garbage incineration regs were not in place yet. We harassed the bears quite a bit to try and scare them but it didn't work very well. I even stood in the flare pit and hit them with a stick if they got too close. I stopped when I saw a sow with cubs chase down a yearling bear that got too close. She ran right over 6-10 ft. trees and batted the other bear pretty good. One day we treed a young bear. Someone got the brainy idea to cut the tree down. When the bear felt the vibrations of the very dull chainsaw it climbed to the top of the mid sized poplar. When the tree fell, the bear bounced once and hit the track. A couple of days later we tried the same stunt again. It seems to have been the same bear because this time it was a 2 man job. One guy poked the bear in the butt to keep it up the tree and one guy was on the saw. I didn't notice my buddy with the stick had changed his mind about participating until afterwards. Apparently, the bear hung onto the tree just above my head. When the tree started to lean and I stepped away, the bear jumped down and went the other way. Our foolishness stopped shortly after. A couple of rig workers (a geologist and cook out enjoying nature) were mauled to death in northern Alberta and every rig was then required to have an incinerator.

No I'm punishing myself with managing 2 companies, consulting to 2 more, volunteering in minor sports, and raising a family. My wife is doing a masters now, her third degree. It reminds why I haven't added to mine. Some instructors are great and some are a waste of time. She's able to focus on the piece of paper she needs for her career change but I don't think I would be that tolerant. In support of instructors studies have shown that the best instructors can only transfer 40% of the knowledge. Most of the work is always up to the student. Career hint - if your degree is targeted at a profession, join the professional association and get involved now. The contacts are invaluable and, contrary to what many say, the good times will not last forever. Who you know trumps what you know generally.

And it's the same thing that happened in Har Megido over 1000 years ago. (It's now known more commonly as Armageddon.) It was at the crossroads of the richest trading routes in the world. Unfortunately for them it was also built on a majorly active fault and shipping by sea came to be favoured over camels. Getty also built lots of golf courses in small towns, raised the level of Buffalo Lake, and leased every tree in the province for pulp. He did the same thing most politicians do when the economy is strong - tax and spend. Oops actually the economy wasn't strong then so he did what politicians do when the economy needs a boost - borrow and spend. Neither are generally done with plans beyond the next election. Our system is not conducive to long term planning. Parties try to oust each other through destructive criticism. If one replaces the other they promptly tear down what the other built.