[Charles Ek]

in reply to: cool documentary #46106

Smithhammer wrote: This has been on my ‘watch’ list for way too long. I need to cue it up – thanks for the reminder.

Yeah, what he said. 😉

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Wolves and Rivers Video #44093

donthomas wrote: Also, please note that your third reference concludes, in essence, that it’s more complicated than that. It usually is. Don

Yes, I thought later about clarifying this point, because I could have worded it better. My listing of the three links should not be read as saying that the Monbiot talk and video were based on those three studies in particular.

I surmised that the talk and video were based on such studies, but I don’t have explicit evidence of that. I added the links for the benefit of those who wanted data from such studies.

Sorry for any lack of clarity on this point. Correct attribution to sources is a very big deal to me and has been since I participated in my first debate contest, back when Fred Bear was flinging arrows at polar bears. 😉

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Wolves and Rivers Video #44080

It was indeed Aldo Leopold:

“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”

– Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949

As it happens, there was a film released last year concerning what he wrote that you may be interested in:

Green Fire – Aldo Leopold And a Land Ethic for Our Time

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Spring fever #41477

The turkey season here in NH opens on May 3rd. I have long held an ambition to use skis to hunt them. Came close a few years back – this year is looking pretty good with a morning low of -6, three feet of snow in the woods and a possible big storm next week.

I’m inspired by one of the hunters depicted here:

Böksta Runestone

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: To sleep, perchance to … sleep? #41462

Grab your beverage of choice and start reading:

The Best Sleeping Pad Review from Outdoor Gear Lab

Pads and Air Mattresses reviews from BackpackGearTest

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Signs of Spring? #37548

Fallguy, I’m _sure_ if you drove over to Carlos Avery you’d see the aforementioned Sandhill Cranes right now. Or not. 😈

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Signs of Spring? #36952

Aspen buds appeared a few days ago off our deck here in NH. Used to be a grouse that came by every year to feast on them, but not for the last couple of years. Woodpeckers have been chasing each other around, and it seems like the crows are starting to get a touch rowdy. Cold weather is undoubtedly suppressing some of this.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Wolves and Rivers Video #34984

I thought this sounded familiar. 😉

The talk and the video draw on several scientific studies on the subject of riparian effects of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone.

Ask and ye shall receive, Dr. Thomas:

River channel dynamics following extirpation of wolves in northwestern Yellowstone National Park, USA

Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction

Stream hydrology limits recovery of riparian ecosystems after wolf reintroduction

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: String maker suggestions #34474

Bearbowman makes the strings I use on my ’58 Kodiak and ’68 Grizzly:

flemishstrings.com

Warning, he’s also got some good-lookin’ used bows for sale …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Out of Place Critters #34467

“It depends on what your definition of ‘stomping grounds’ is.” 😉

While driving once on the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, some movement in the brush alongside the road caught my eye. Nah, it couldn’t be. Circled back and sure enough, it was a musk ox bull, about five hundred miles east of the nearest free-ranging herd.

My excitement was tempered, however, by the knowledge that a non-free-ranging herd was located about sixty miles east of my location. Never heard whether he was compelled to return home. I know for a fact certain that he died lonely, if he wasn’t.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Man Eaters of Kumaon #29595

It seems the services of the late Mr. Corbett would still be in demand:

Tiger Population Grows in India, as Does Fear After Attacks

Leopard on Loose Paralyzes Northern Indian City

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: A club for those of us without any back country #19009

David Petersen wrote: Might it have anything to do with quadrupling our population in those 50 years or so?

It, and virtually every other environmental issue, has everything to do with this.

I’m a BHA member living in NH and I support its nationwide objectives. But my fairly harsh advice to the original poster is the path I’ve followed for the last many years: Find a way to relocate out of the Midwest. The population density and the politics of resource management are antithetical to the experiences you’re seeking.

Gotta go find my Nomex now …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Anything Positive @ This Winter? #17736

I did go back once afterward to look for tracks, but it was probably still a little early. There’s a largish boar that used to hang out in the vicinity, but I haven’t seen any sign of him for a while. I don’t hunt bear, but I’m a huge admirer of the non-human kind.

Should probably mention that two of my four grandparents emigrated from Finland. The theme music for the video is “Finlandia” by Sibelius. Some of you might remember it from a different, somewhat more modern context …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Anything Positive @ This Winter? #17721

Smithhammer wrote: [quote=eidsvolling]For Smithhammer and the rest of you nuts:

Hey now – I’m nowhere near as nutty as that guy. 8)

And those of you that know me better not chime in….

Wait – is that you?

That would be me, in a paean to the Finnish ski troops who fought off a certain bear in the Winter War: Battle of Suomussalmi

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Anything Positive @ This Winter? #17349

For Smithhammer and the rest of you nuts:

[Author]

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