Show J' I - : : h B 77v ’i r ' ‘cy’jf ‘A----' - - '' j c i- '- - ' ‘i ' V'ai'W - J ' Outdoors roport 7 f A i ' ' 7:a - -- "“- ' : 'V'' b'Avv: T V' ' A a-v'- ' V 77 'Ki wr Av v n '' SV 1 ' v ' Section :' Friday J ' i October ldL 2003 -- u Journal tU-u— :y '’ : ' ( " I 'jF 'v A1 ' '' m- ’‘A V ' ' J- '::& "W: I '’ - ' B '! T- - l VI '!v :' Jy-- '' ' n s V-- j 77 K Charity ride Common Ground a ' organization that provides outdoor recreation for people with disabili-- 7 ties and Clay Gunnell are hosting si' ‘A benefit ride Saturday Regis-- 7 tradon begins at 7:30 am in foe west parking 1 at Mountain Crest High'AA School Registration fee is $10 and Race sponsors are includes a Logoit Joyride Bikes and McDonalds For information call Clay at non-pro- W ' U tT (’ ' S M ' s'1’ Nh" 7 W--- ' ?' " -- Ar'-- s' ” “ t 'f r V ' ' 7 881-61- f J ' "Avv' 7’' 7- -' v-- plans set 95 Elk festival' The Elk Festival at Hardware Ranch will he held from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday Jdn Stokes Nature Cento: staff and volunteer naturalists for nature games crafts and hayrides to see die Wapiti This program is ') free Also on Saturday the SNC Tails and Trails program featuring the A A V story “Stellaluna” will be held from 10 am to noon for ages 9 Space is is limited 7 required Program fee is $5 for non--s A members and $375 for SNC mem- :r bers For information on either 9 or visit program call ' By Lane Frazier outdoors ed itor T ’ i A project‘:s Bridgeiland Audubon Society wUl A hold its quarterly roadside cleanup A on Saturday along a stretch ofhigh-wa- y 7 west Of Richmond Meet at 8 am at the parking lot between Cafe 7 ! Ibis and the Logan Fire Station ! Bring gloves if you have diem and 7 'V 7 wear clothing that is suitable for the a ' 4 time of year Bags and safety vests'’ wUl be provided as weU as gloves ? AAA for those who have none Carpooling ATAwill be available Some may wish to a little birding afterwards if you t 7 7'7 do bring binoculars For information 3 or77 7 v: caU Jim Hoffmann &: A A Dick Hurren : : A state-owne- - 53 l eg a7A A free lecture series on wolves 15 at the? continues f Gould Auditorium Marriott Library 7 A at the University of Utah Margaret ? Soulen Hinson a 7 A livestock producer whose family runs : 7 7 a large sheep and cattle operation in 7 7a' central idaho will discuss the expert-':- v f ences of the livestock community : v living with wolves and dealing with predation The final session will be a 7 panel discussion at 7 pm Oct 22 at Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City Both presentations are open to die ' ' public Fbr information call i 3440 w go to arTp-rmOc- A-- -:V iA V- : A Brant StsvenaHerald Journal -- Fly tying 5- ' Brigham City Recreation and DWR are offering the Top of Utah Women’s Fly Tying Class beginning at 6 pm Oct 23 at the EMS Building Classes are for ages 14 and over and are taught by professional fly tying instructors Class fee is $15 For information call (435) 734-20- 13 Yellowstone rules YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Wyo (AP) — The park will open for the winter Dec 17 but under a new set of rules that will limit the number and type of snowmobiles allowed inside Under a new winter use plan reservations will be required to snowmobile in Yellowstone with 80 percent of those snowmobilers accompanied by guides Superintendent Suzanne Lewis said Wednesday Individual reservations must be made through a hotline run by Parks & Resorts Reservations cost $10 the first day and $3 each day after that and are not refundable Just 950 snowmobiles will be allowed in the park every day and commercially guided operators will be required to use cleaner and quieter machines to cut down on pollution Lewis said All snowmobilers also must have a valid driver’s license No learner permits will be allowed Beginning next winter all snowmobilers must enter the park with guides and all snowmobiles must be cleaner and quieter than the current machines The snowmobile season typically runs December to March Xan-ter- ra two-stro- ke On the Net: Yellowstone: http:wwwnpigovfyelllndexhtm non-nati- ve - - 801-58- 7 '7-"- " 1 plan for the Cache starts with the ' Richmond Wildlife Manage-ment Area 1875 acres of rolling hills above r :f Richmond city and below the Cache 7 ' National Forest Before white settlers v arrived in the region 150 years ago this property was probably primarily covered 7 with natives such as bluebunch wheatgrass with some sagebrush and other shrubs Once the settlers turned their cattle and ' sheep loose to graze down the grasses the sagebrush flourished Creating premium ' v 7': habitat for mule deer and upland game birds Now that grazing has been curtailed r: and the drought has shri ve led the sagebrush ' grasses have grown '7 population a thick-77 7 ?“We don’t graze hard enough anymore to get rid of the grasses” Aoude said adding ' that heavy grazing in turn can cause no- sion so simply bringing back the sheep wouldn’t solve all problems “Now we’re trying to find a happy medium” Surveying the WMA earlier this week Aoude 7 pointed out the growing expanses of bulbous bluegrass especially on one field 7"'a - Aoude’s 7 d 787-408- lWolf meetings bitat a time” ' A 734-26- : ' v y£::&&u Cleanup VJ tah’s ) :AAWwwlogannatureorgf U A - : A 5 ’ j 7a " 755-323- T1- mule deer habitat has been r a taking beating in recent years from the 7 destructive triumvirate of drought fire and ' urban development but officials hope a new ' program will end that 7 TTk Division of Wildlife Resources is mapping priority restoration areas as part of the Habitat Initiative a joint program with the Bureau of Land Management and the 7 Forest Service to improve winter habitat for 7 big game In Cache Valley according to DWR wildlife biologist Anis Aoude much 7a of the mule deer winter range— foothills '7 7 once covered with native grasses and shrubs — is now covered with houses and invasive “"v-''grasses'-':- ' ‘The initiative is aimed at bringing back 7 sagebrush steppe habitat which isn’t just sagebrush although that’s a big component of it” Aoude said “It's an uphill battle but ' it’s one I think we can win try doing a little 7- - 4-- v ‘i ' ‘l i irt : A ‘ 'Htt'K 7 ” ' 10-mi- le i -- fit : Division of Wildlife Resources examines a stalk of wheatgrass near the Richmond Wildlife Management Area Invasive weeds have choked out much of the native flora — particularly sagebrush — that mule deer and other animal species rely on : Artis Aoude a wildlife biologist with the Utah Wue-bun- ch See HABITAT on C2 Deer hunt a source of constant surprises By Don Wahlstrom had gotten old enough to drive his Our family has not always had good luck when hunting deer but (me year I thought we had a better chance Earlier in die fall while ridin the Logan area ing my son Eric and I spotted “our rock” It was really a rocky overlook into a funnel-lik- e ravine At the top of the ravine there was a large dip in die ridge line Downhill dm ravine went all the way to a stream in the bottom of a deep canyon Horizond tally to the east a game trail led into die ravine bottom right below our ' planned position I could picture deer escaping other hunters by running towards our rock from several directions This spot was hard to get to Our trip started the afternoon before opening morning We rode the for mites up and down some very steep sections of twisted road which turned very rocky and then finally ended Then we carried the tent and other gear to a flat area about 100 yards or so It was worth the work Eric was really into the ride experience: the cooking over the fire telling feinting stories checking out the stars with binoculars even dressing up in hunter orange It was all fun I wanted Eric to like deer hundni This was an activity where we c spend quality time together Since he time was spent at home It seemed as though the only time I saw him is when he was going out the door Eric had been deer hunting for a few years but had not gotten a deer My plan was to let Eric have the first chance at a shot if possible That afternoon we planned the route up to the overlook We could see all the landmarks from camp It seemed so easy About a half-mi-le hike — first straight up the steep mountain side until even with the top of an aspen grove then horizon- world got a lot bigger Not much well-use- tal through a small ravine and a shallow dip until we came to our rock But it was dark when we left camp on opening morning The flashlights worked well to see where to step buf we could not see any distant landmarks and got a little disoriented Somehow in the dark we turned too soon and got into the aspen grove What a fight it was to get through the trees and the brushy understory At one point we were on our hands and knees Finally Eric suggested “Let’s go uphill until we’re out of this thick stuff” There was the slightest amount of light in the eastern sky when we finally found our rock The difficult hike did not matter now Since it was still too dark to shoot our immediate goal was to hunker down and avoid the icy morning wind that C ' '-- $ wmw ' Eric Wahlstrom ill ! Photo courtMy o( Don Wahistrotn poses with a buck taken on a hunt wife his father Don blew down the canyon Fifteen minutes to wait before shooting light We were in position ready and wishing for good luck At first the sky filled with color — big red clouds with small patches of bright blue background But the colors faded as the light got stronger It would be a cool overcast and cloudy day No other hunters could be seen on the surrounding hillsides That made us really happy We imagined that they were just leaving their camps and scaring the deer towards us We divided the view in front of us Eric searched the area towards the uphill arid I searched the area towards the downhill It did not seem likely a deer would come from 180-degr- the west which was over our backs But once in a white I would glance that way just in case When hunting events do not always go according to plan Now the unpredictable luck of the hunt played its role On one glance over my back I saw a buck deer so big that it was hard to believe Only on the wall of Al’s Sporting Goods store had I seen antlers like this The antlers were tall wide and heavy They were giant It was hard to count all the points because the deer was running flat out at fell speed straight towards us Just as I saw him he reached the shallow dip in the mountain side and momentarily See HUNT oaC2 |