“Let’s pack a lunch and go on an expedition tomorrow,” I told Vikki.
Shawn Perich: On the Shore
There and back on a springtime expedition
“Where are you taking me?” was all she asked.
“Let’s try to find some brook trout for dinner,” was my reply.
Trout Stocking Cuts Symptom of Deeper Fiscal Woes
The Minnesota DNR recently announced cutbacks to trout stocking in lakes and streams and the partial shuttering of the French River Hatchery as the Kamloops rainbows formerly raised there are moved to another facility. To learn how stocking cutbacks may affect the average angler, I called Steve Persons, the DNR fisheries manager in Grand Marais. Within his work area are dozens of lakes stocked with stream trout. I wondered if the stocking reductions would reduce fishing opportunities.
Healthy Eating is Good for Conservation
Michael Pollan is a novice hunter, but his writing on the topics of hunting and animal rights are among the best to appear in the past decade. His 2006 book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, contains a thorough discourse about the animal rights philosophy and the use of animals, including hunting, as he explores American food and its production. Although his topic is food, Pollan offers profound insight for conservation.
Building A Chickadee Tree and Northern News
Last September, a windstorm took down the flowering crabapple tree outside our kitchen window. We regretted the loss of beautiful June blooms and, more notably, our bird feeder tree. During the cold months we were entertained by an endless parade of birds outside our kitchen window and their activity brought cheer to dreary winter days.
Not Only Hunters Tell Good Stories
By now most deer hunters have told and retold their story so many times they have the polished delivery of a stand-up comic. I’ve heard a couple of good ones this year. The first was told by my neighbor, Chuck, who showed up at my house shortly after sunset on opening day. In the bed of his truck were a 10-point buck and a decent doe.
