January is the lean, mean month of the year in western Colorado, and it’s been mighty cold here too. Hopefully, this guy will suffer through the harsh realities of winter just fine, eager to see the bounties of high summer grass and the glory of another rocky mountain autumn once again.
May we all be so fortunate.
I would truly love to get a good, long look at him next year, preferably while camouflaged, and close, looking down the shaft of a razor-sharp arrow.
One can always hope, after all. It’s what hunter’s dreams, and long, blustery winters are all about…
On Dec. 8, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and our partners filed its brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals in the long-running Western Great Lakes wolf lawsuit. The case, brought by Humane Society of the United States and their anti-hunting allies, sought to reinstate federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Alliance and our partners are fighting to ensure wolves are delisted and returned to state management.
“The science is settled and the experts agree, wolves are recovered, period,” said Evan Heusinkveld, head of government affairs and interim president and CEO of Sportsmen’s Alliance. “We should be celebrating this as a great victory of the Endangered Species Act, but instead we’re forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting anti-hunting interests in court just to ensure the ESA is applied correctly.”
Despite wolf numbers at record levels well-beyond what was required when originally listed as endangered in the late 1970s, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell returned wolves to the endangered species list in late 2014. The ruling effectively requires wolves to be recovered in their entire historic range before they can be considered recovered in the Great Lakes states.
Cooking up a perfect pot of rice seems easy enough, but it is in fact a fine and gentle culinary art. Wild Rice can be particularly challenging, and our best efforts are not always fully rewarded. With that being said, wild rice perfection is possible if you use some simple and basic techniques.
The goal, of course, is a light, palatable dish of distinct grains that is neither mushy nor chewy. A small attention to plan and detail will provide a completely satisfying “gourmet grain”.
Bon Appetit!
RINSE
Drop one cup of wild rice into a large pan, and scrub under cold running water for two or three minutes. Transfer the washed rice to a sieve and rinse well with tap water. Shake vigorously to remove excess liquid and let drain for about 10 minutes.
HEAT AND RINSE
Bring to boil two cups of salted water in a saucepan and stir in the drained rice. Simmer for five minutes, remove from heat, and pour into sieve. Wash in cold water for two or three minutes, shake, and let dry for ten minutes.
HEAT
Bring to boil 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock and add rice. Bring again to boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes.
REST
Remove from heat and rest for a few minutes to let the moisture redistribute evenly throughout the dish.
State of native trout in Colorado is grim, according to report
By Scott Willoughby The Denver Post
“Those who make their way to Colorado’s abundant trout streams, high-country lakes and sweeping rivers for a day of fishing probably think they have it pretty good. The scenery is generally inviting, and the fish are often biting.
But as it turns out, things could be a whole lot better. In fact, say leaders of the cold-water conservation group Trout Unlimited, they should be”.
“There’s no upbeat way to read this. This is grim,” TU president and CEO Chris Wood said as his organization released its first-ever comprehensive ” State of the Trout” report Tuesday. “Native trout in the United States are in big trouble. Of the 28 species that historically occurred in our waters, three have already become extinct. More than half of those that remain occupy less than a quarter of their historic habitat. To see it so starkly laid out, that’s tough medicine…”
*We usually have some hardcover or softcover copies of Even Brook Trout Get The Blues, and other titles by John Gierach. It’s a fine read for those times when you yearn to be on the water. Please email for availability and price quote.
There Are Some Truly Magnificent Animals in the World – And a Desert Bighorn Sheep is Surely One of Those!
Obtaining a Desert Bighorn Sheep permit from almost anywhere in North America generally requires a towering casino jackpot of luck, and that may be the easy part of any sheep hunt. However, it takes much more than wishful thinking and a lucky roll of the dice to harvest a really large trophy ram.
Don Waechtler took this stunning specimen in the Sheep Range near Las Vegas, Nevada in November of 2015, while hunting with Jim Puryear of Nevada Guide Service & World Safaris.
This is not just your average Desert Bighorn ram either. With a green score of 169 inches, it just may meet the Boone & Crockett minimum score of 168 inches when officially measured early next year. No doubt there may be some finger crossing here and there while Don waits for the end of the required 60 day drying period. But hey, what’s an extra month or two to matter when you have already waited thirty years for a tag?
Either way, it is a big game trophy of a lifetime, and proof positive that not all things that happen around Las Vegas stay in Vegas. Sometimes, you get to bring your winnings home.
Everything You May Ever Want to Know About A Desert Bighorn
*We have some copies of “The Desert Bighorn” in stock, as well as other sheep and sheep hunting titles for sale. Please email for quotes and availability.
You Might Also Like To See Some Interesting Colorado Bighorn Sheep Pictures HERE
*Don Waechtler, aka Slim, is a master taxidermist from Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He has been in business for over 35 years, and I highly recommend his work.
**Don is now retired, but I understand that he may do some work on a limited basis. Congratulations, Slim!
But First You Gotta Get Em
You Can find More Information on Nevada Guide Service HERE
Bighorn Sheep Above The Fryingpan River, Basalt, Colorado. Photo courtesy of David Massender.
Watch the full video below.
In the past, some limited resident and nonresident licenses for archery and rifle hunting have been available by lottery in Bighorn Sheep Unit S44 of Colorado.
Bobcats have always been hard game to come by, but it can be done.
They are rarely seen by the average person in their day to day activities, even though they are all around us. If you don’t believe that, just ask a bobcat hunter.
Here are a couple of cats taken while predator calling in northwestern Colorado.
The first cat responded to a mouth call at a first light morning in 1984; the second cat was taken with an electronic caller on a cold winter night a couple of years ago.
I would say that the weapon du jour has changed just a little bit over time, though perhaps the tactics are roughly the same.
Bobcats always make me wonder just what else lurks out there in the middle of the dark…watching…
