June 27, 2008Back from the Great White North (Dakota)This blog has been quiet for the past week because I've been in Bismarck, N.D. for a conference. When I told people I was going to Bismarck for a conference the first thing they wanted to know was, "Who in their right mind holds a conference in North Dakota?" The Outdoor Writers Association of America, is who. The OWAA traditionally tries to hold conferences in areas where the outdoors are important, and that certainly holds true with Bismarck. Contrary to the belief of my wife and a number of others, it wasn't a vacation. I spent five days in meetings, seminars and panels, and most nights with planned events. As some of you might have seen in the DGIF's Outdoor Report, I was recently elected to the OWAA's board of directors (thanks to all who have sent congratulations) so that added to my responsibilities, too. I guess I could have found some time for blog entries on some of the happenings up there -- and I plan to touch on some of the topics. But while the stuff was of interest to me, most of it might not be for others as it was a lot of nuts and bolts-type stuff. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to having some fun socializing in the evening with friends I get to see but once a year. One night I even broke from my non-gambling form and played some blackjack at the motel bar. They can run the games because all profits go to the local convention and visitor's bureau. It's a small stakes game, with $1 minimum bets and $25 max bets. I started with $20 in chips and figured to play $1 and $2 bets until I ran out. Amazingly, I didn't run out. When I cashed out after two hours of playing I had $55 in chips, and I'd actually tipped the dealers some, too. That game provided a couple surreal moments. One, two guys took a bathroom break and found the men's room closed for cleaning. So they knocked on the door and went into the women's bathroom. Well, the woman cleaning the men's room saw this and went ballistic. Next thing we know she's in there with two security guards yelling, "There they are! That's them!" Fortunately the guards, who were straight out of an episode of "Reno 911," agreed to let the perpetrators off with a warning. Later in the game the guy sitting next to me took a drink of red wine, swallowed down the wrong pipe, coughed and blew his wine all over the dealer and our cards. Amazingly, she let him keep playing after he tipped her generously and helped wipe off the cards. I did manage to slip in one outdoors adventure, staying an extra day to go prairie dog shooting. It was pretty interesting and I hope to do a story for the paper and post a video here when the story runs. June 20, 2008Is it unreasonable to require a valid e-mail?A couple days I put a little note up under the Quick Thoughts category about e-mail addresses on the comment form. Simply put, I modeled it after the policy in place over on The Roundtable Blog. It simply states that a valid e-mail address is required on the comment submission form. I didn't think it was that big of deal, but a co-worker has since called it a "rant" and another guy sent in a note claiming I was stifling his 1st ammendment rights. (I think he may have been yanking my chain, but couldn't quite be sure.) Maybe I'm being too sensitive but this has been bothering me. I know assumed anonymity (I say "assumed" because, as most of you know, it's pretty easy to track down all but the sneakiest and smartest tech geeks in Cyberspace) is one of the appeals of the Internet. So while some people have no problem posting full names with their comments, many people want their opinions to be seen but don't want those opinions attached to their real names. I've got no problem with that. It probably helps spur more interesting debate than we'd have if we required, as we do for letters to the editor in the newspaper, a valid name and hometown (and a phone number for verification). That said, I promise you it's REALLY EASY to post a comment with a valid e-mail and still remain anonymous. As I wrote in the Quick Thought note, the e-mail won't be made public. It won't be accesible to spambots. Etc. Just put "Billy Bob" in the name section and that's what your comment will appear under. I really don't care who you are. So if your regular e-mail address contains your name and you don't want me (or another site administrator) to see it, it's also REALLY EASY to create a valid e-mail account with any number of services (such as yahoo or gmail) for anonymous posting. Heck, I've done it. After the Nebraska Huskers pulled a trick play on my alma mater while leading by something like 30 points in the second half, I posed as an idiot Nebraska fan and had a lot of fun posting on Husker fan sites. The fact is, the vast majority of posters here are totally cool with using a legit e-mail address with their comments. So this policy will affect very few people. Now, it will \probably affect one group -- the animal rights folks who get on here from time to time. They rarely use valid e-mail addresses. I guess they don't trust me to keep the address private. Maybe they're afraid I'm going to form a posse to track them down. I suspect the requirement will cut down on comments from them, and I have mixed feelings about that because I have to admit that those back-and-forths can be pretty entertaining. On the other hand, some of the animal rights comments can be pretty outrageous, bordering on personal attacks. I'm not one to stifle free speech, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask them to at least be willing to take a little responsibility for what they're typing. So, I guess what I'm wondering is what other folks think about it? Is the policy reasonable? If not, why not? I could be convinced to go back to the Wild West if someone presents a compelling enough case. May 29, 2008Wildlife crime notebook makes for interesting readingIt's a proven fact that everybody loves the Police Blotter. You know, that feature in the local paper that lists that week's arrests. (The big crimes usually get more ink, of course.) Police blotters might not be so appealing if they contained only boring things like vehicle break-ins, basic larcenies and speeding tickets. But they don't. Along with those basic crimes, the blotters detail all kinds of crazy and, frankly, funny stuff. Regular cops aren't the only ones dealing with wacky stuff. Conservation Police Officers (formerly game wardens) run into some kooky situations, and now the regular public can read some of the highlights (or lowlights, in some cases). The report runs in the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' Outdoor Report. Not all of these are funny. One of the reports in the latest version details an officer's involvement with a case in which a woman died when her car went into the water at a boat ramp on the Shenandoah River. But then there's the story about the felon who, when caught with a dead deer and a muzzleloader, claimed both belonged to a mysterious friend. The friend, of course, never showed up to claim the deer and gun. The report a couple of weeks ago included a write-up on a couple of bass fishermen nailed for cheating at a tournament at Claytor Lake. I'm planning to use that story as a basis for a newspaper column. The only problem with the notebook? Unlike the regular police blotters, this one doesn't include the names of the arrested. April 22, 2008Thoughts on the new Gander MountainI ran out yesterday to the Gander Mountain store that opened today in Roanoke just off Interstate 81. This is a so-called "soft launch," with the grand opening set for early May. The place wasn't very crowded, which didn't seem too surprising considering it was in the middle of the afternoon. Of course it was hard not to compare it with our area's other big outdoors store, Sportsman's Warehouse, which opened late last year. My initial impression is that Gander Mountain is physically quite a bit larger. But it also seemed more open so I don't think it has that much more stuff. Most product lines seemed comparable. I was told that some merchandise hasn't yet arrived. Among stuff that I specifically looked for: -Gander didn't have nearly as many traditional (recurve, longbow) archery supplies. One funny story. Outside the main entrance are a couple of small teardrop-style camping trailers. They were pretty cool. One guy was checking them out and seemed very interested. He mentioned that he wasn't crazy about the style, "But for $800 I can deal with it. Now I just have to clear it with the boss." I said, "I think you missed a nine there." The price was $7,999 -- not $799. He said, "Oh hell, that ain't worth $8,000." For those of you who have had a chance to get out to Gander Mountain, I'd be interested to know your impressions.
April 4, 2008Beach driving suit sides get a week to settleThe much anticipated case that threatened to close Outer Banks beaches to driving was in court in Raleigh this afternoon. Instead of ruling on the case, the judge gave both sides a week to reach a settlement. Here's the short story the Associated Press just filed: Judge allows additional week to settle beach driving lawsuit The Associated Press The lawsuit filed in October argued that existing National Park Service rules didn't protect nesting birds and sea turtles on the Outer Banks. U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle said Friday, however, that he was ready to order a temporary ban on driving in parts of the seashore. But lawyers for both sides said they were sure they would have the settlement completed in a week. Boyle also told attorneys that representatives from two counties that intervened in the lawsuit should participate in the negotiations. February 7, 2008Duncan is new DGIF director
This was a big departure from recent hires. Duncan's predecessor was Carlton Courter, a guy with an agriculture background who had been the head of the state's ag department for a number of years. The guy before that was Bill Woodfin, who had previously been the director of the state's Department of Waste Management . Duncan, on the other hand, is a career wildlife professional. He's been with the DGIF since 1978, and the chief of the DGIF's Wildlife Division for 18 years. We all know what happened with Woodfin. Courter, the guy they hoped could lead the agency out from under the scandal shadow, lasted just 13 months. The question is, is Duncan the right guy to get things rolling at the agency? I think it's a pretty good move. Anyone care to agree? Or disagree? And what do you see as his top priorities? November 29, 2007Bears in the backyard: Have you seen one?It used to be big news to spot a white-tailed deer in town. No more. They're pretty much everywhere, which is why more than 20 localities even have special urban archery seasons in an effort to keep deer from totally taking over. Now there's a new critter moving into suburbia. Bears. Two years ago I spent the better part of Memorial Day running around Roanoke's Old Southwest with animal control officers who were trying to wrangle a juvenile bear. A similar scene played out in another part of Roanoke this spring. Then there was that infamous case of the bear that got into a hospital in Franklin County a few years ago. Get on the outskirts of the city -- or any community of the region -- and bear sightings are becoming more and more common. So someone here had the idea of plotting sightings on searchable map, and that project is now up and running in our Datasphere area. Datasphere guru Matt Chittum goes into a few more details in this blog entry on the topic. The short of it is, if you've seen a bear in an unusual spot, they'd like to hear from you. Just contact Chittum through the blog and provide the details, and pictures if you've got them. Again, the key word here is unusual. The yearling I saw this summer in rural Botetourt County? Not unusual. The sow you saw digging through your trash in a Botetourt subdivision? Unusual. Make sense? Obviously, denning time is near so there won't be too many sightings after a couple of weeks. But they're looking for previous sightings, too. August 31, 2007Saving turtles, one at a timeToday I got out for a bike ride with my friend Mark Quintana. As usual, he left me in the dust as we climbed Mill Mountain on Fishburn Parkway. He was probably 100 yards ahead of me as we approached the turn-off to the Mill Mountain Star and zoo area. On the shoulder ahead I noticed a big, red Ford pick-up facing me. As I got closer I saw a burley guy get in and take off, heading back toward town. Mark had waited for me. "Did you see that guy?" he asked. "The big, burley guy with all the tattoos in the big truck?" I said I had. "Do you know what he was doing?" Mark asked. I didn't, and I couldn't even venture a guess. "I'll show you." We rode to where he was parked. Marked pointed at something on the shoulder opposite of where the man was parked. A colorful box turtle was nestled in the grass. There must have been some turtle migration thing going on because we found one on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 20 minutes later. I put it on the shoulder, which would not have surprised anyone, being that I was fully decked out in lycra. August 28, 2007More proof that groundhogs aren't ground-bound
Until a friend sent me a similar picture last summer I had no idea that groundhogs could do anything but waddle and dig. But, clearly, they are multi-talented. August 22, 2007My magical powers continue to amaze meDid you get some rain this morning? You're welcome. You see, when I parked at work this morning I left my truck windows open about 3 inches. There wasn't a cloud in sight but I was pretty sure that would change. It started raining about 30 minutes later. As tempting as it was to go put the windows up I resisted. We need rain bad and I'm willing to deal with wet seats. Again, you're welcome. August 10, 2007What's a lovepossum? Good question.I owe sports copy editor Buddy Wright, big time. Last night he called me at home and asked, "What's a lovepossum?" The word was in a notebook brief I wrote about an upcoming Nature Fest event at the Peaks of Otter. Somehow, "live opposum" had become "lovepossum." And apparently I didn't use spell-check before I filed the notebook. I've had some good typos in my day, including a few that have slipped by the editors. That one would have been bad. Even though it didn't make the paper have a feeling I'm going to be hearing plenty about "lovepossum" from my co-workers over the next few weeks. April 2, 2007If you commented in the past two days, it got zappedWhile attempting to approve comments this morning I somehow managed to zap not only the SPAM messages pushing cheap car parts and fake Rolex watches, but also a couple of legitimate comments. Sorry about that. So, if you wrote a comment to any of these blog entries over the weekend and the comment hasn't been posted, I promise it's not because I'm deliberately censoring you. Remember, I'm the guy who approved a comment from a guy who called me a wuss, so I'm not into censoring. (OK, I did cut out one part of the wuss guy's comment because it was unnecessarily vulgar.) If it's not too much trouble, please repost the comment and I'll hope the system works like it's supposed to. (Notice how I'm blaming the system? Really, it wasn't my fault.) February 14, 2007Snorkeler mistaken for rodent shot in headA sad reality of hunting is that people are sometimes mistaken for game and shot at and, sometimes, hit. Usually, the shooters think they are firing at something big, such as deer, elk or even turkeys. That's what makes a story out of Oregon really strange. The victim was mistaken for a rodent. The man, an avid diver, was snorkeling in Oregon's Smith River when he was shot by a man who mistook the snorkeler for a nutria, a large -- but not that large -- rodent that lives around water. Although the .22 caliber bullet struck him in the head, the victim is doing remarkably well. The shooter helped get him to a hospital. The last thing you expect to see in the middle of winter is a snorkeler. But this is just another story that demonstrates how important it is to make a positive identification of your target before pulling the trigger. February 12, 2007How Snowshoe Mountain gets its daily snow reportAs a skier, I've spent a lot of time looking at snow reports. And a lot of time wondering how the resorts gather the information they put on those reports. I looked into it for my story that ran in the paper on Feb. 9. One of the people I talked to was Linsay Kutsko, who compiles the daily report at Snowshoe Mountain, where she works in the marketing department. In addition to a great quote about how she considers the report a factual document and not a marketing tool, she provided a detailed -- and, I thought, really interesting -- rundown of how the resort figures out its weather report, and how she puts the daily snow report together. Here, in her own words, is the complete answer she provided: "Snowshoe, WV is an official National Weather Service reporting location under NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) The radar that the NWS uses is out of Charleston, which is inaccurate because of the extreme difference in elevation. (600 ft. vs. 4800 ft.) Therefore, they rely on Snowshoe’s reports for their daily records of temperatures, snowfall, rainfall and wind which they take into account when they are reporting their forecasts using their radar. They take three separate measurements to get the snowfall totals: Snow depth (on the ground, taken every 24 hours at 6:30 a.m.) – average depth taken from several locations on the mountain b/c of the windy locations (yes...taken by a yard stick, essentially) New Snowfall measured every 6 hours – usually higher than depth on the ground b/c on the ground is affected by ground temperature, air temperature, wind friction, compaction, thawing from sunlight, etc. Water content (from snow or rainfall) taken from a section of the snowfall that was measured and melted down. This has a lot of factors – was it a dry snow or wet snow? They measure this to find out approx. how much run-off will occur from the snowfall. [1 inch of snow is equivalent to about a tenth of an inch of rain (on average), but this number depends totally on temperature and humidity, which they take into account. They also take the temperatures at each observation, which is what they use to calculate the highs and lows. Snow Reporting I get in at 6:30 a.m. and first call the compressor house to find out the temperature on the top of the mountain and at the base. He tells me what trails are open, which lifts are open, what trails were groomed and if there was snowmaking overnight. He will also tell me what trails will have snowguns on during the day (if any). I usually talk to Sherman, he’s a snowmaker so he’s out each night and he tells me about the morning conditions and the average snow base in relation to how much snow we are making each night. Then I call the operator, who has been in touch with security and recorded the new snowfall for the past 24 hours. Then I look at the forecast on the NWS / NOAA website for Snowshoe, WV. I find this website is the most accurate as far as weather forecast and especially temperature. The snow report comments usually start with a snowfall update, then specific openings/closings and trail info and I end with a little info about whatever great deal we have going right now that anyone coming up to the mountain would definitely want to know about."
January 29, 2007Is Barta the man?
Yes, he did. Is it just me, or are theme songs for hunting and fishing shows among the worst jingles ever recorded? (OK. I have to admit that the theme to Jimmy Houston's fishing show was kind of catchy. But ever since I saw the disgusting video of Houston trying to shoot a big penned buck at the notorious Bellar's Place in Indiana, I don't respect anything associated with him.) I've been wanting to start a discussion about the best and worst fishing and hunting shows. I'll get to that one of these days. In the meantime, let's talk music. What's the best outdoor show theme song out there? And what's the worst? January 18, 2007Insult to injuryI would hate to work in an industry that's reliant on the weather. Say, skiing. Every business faces challenges, but it has to be extra frustrating when you can't do anything about it. This has been a brutal year for skiing in the mid-Atlantic. That's a bummer for skiers, but a real bummer for the people who make their living in the business. I hate to think of the gnashing of teeth that went on before all the resorts built golf courses, which have been packed this winter. I've got to give Steve Showalter at Massanutten Resort a lot of credit. The manager of the resort's ski area, he's always pretty calm when I ask him about tough weather conditions. You know, he'll say, "I realized long ago that worrying about it is not going to make it any better." Good attitude. That's got to help. I called Showalter today to talk about the cold weather that's finally here, and to ask what things look like for Massanutten. He was in a meeting but Kenny Hess, the assistant manager, called me right back. I asked him about a note on the resort's Web site stating that a broken pipe had delayed the resort's snowmaking operation. Turns out, a municipal pipe was leaking into the pond from which the resort pulls water for snowmaking. So why does that delay snowmaking? It's just more water into the pond, right? Think about it. It was a sewer pipe. Desperate as they are, the resort isn't about to cover it's slopes with yellow snow. Or worse. Instead of making snow and getting ready for the weekend, the resort is doing the smart (and, probably, legal) thing and dealing with water tests to make sure the pond is clean before they start pumping. "It's like getting kicked when you're down," Hess told me. No kidding. September 6, 2006A climbing 'hog
My co-worker John Jackson told me a while back that he'd been seeing an odd critter in one of his backyard trees. He wanted my help identifying the thing. I figured it was probably a 'possum, and was fairly distressed that John, a fellow product of Northwestern (granted, it was grad school) didn't know what a possum was. John assured me that it wasn't a possum. He was right. This is the picture he got. It's a groundhog. The picture doesn't show it, but John assures me the thing is at least 20 feet up there. Aren't groundhogs supposed to stick to the, um, ground? I think I'm going to have to call a wildlife biologist on this one. June 8, 2006It's about timeWhen it comes to trends, I’d rather be on the front end than the back end. That’s not happening here, as I get rolling with what I think is something like the world’s 12,909,324,956th blog. Late to the party or not, here goes. I’m a full-time staffer for The Roanoke Times, where I cover the outdoors. My stories and columns tend to be pretty regional, focusing on Western Virginia. I do a lot of how-to and where-to stuff because I know everyone is pressed for time and I want to help readers get more out of their outdoors experiences. All of those stories already appear on-line at Roanoke.com, at least they do when things are working right. I may use this spot to provide more information on some of those topics, or further discuss them. But mainly this will be for things that don’t make the paper. For example, maybe I spend a Friday morning fishing for smallmouth bass on the James River. By the next Thursday, when my fishing report runs in the paper, that trip will be old news. So I’ll post a report, and maybe even a picture or two, as soon as possible. Or maybe I’ll just pass along info and pictures provided Joe Fisherman after his morning on the James. Same goes for hunting. Or paddling. Or hiking. Or camping. Or cycling. Etc. I do a lot of Web surfing on outdoors sites, read a lot of outdoors-related writing, and watch too many outdoors-related TV shows and videos. So I’ll discuss that stuff, too, and tell you what I like and what I don’t. And I’ll also hit on national trends and news. The blog will go beyond words and pictures, too. In fact, we already have a couple of short videos that we’ll post soon. Other ideas on what you’d like to see? Let me know. I’m flexible. |
About this blog
While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures. Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism. After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters. .....Advertisement.....
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