Bucksnbows

They are and have been, but they have had some serious uphill fights by the tree huggers! Sparta Mountain WMA was the battleground, so I know it all well. But we (pro forestry) won in the end even though the tree huggers were 100% convinced their buddy Buck Tooth was going to kill the plan outright. We should now see a lot more active forestry and not just on Division lands, but it looks like I will be serving on an advisory committee for Parks & Forestry as they look into habitat restoration for a variety of plant and animal species that require something other than middle aged forest stands. So the state's other giant landowner is looking to support healthy forests as well as the Division where practical. A truly healthy forest is a mosaic of habitats and not just all old growth mature trees blocking out the sunlight to the forest floor everywhere.

I know they passed the new Game Code this week. I hear in addition to the closing of ruffed grouse, I understand that all urine and gland based deer lures/scents will be outlawed but that artificial scents will be allowed. Also, those of us hunting out of state will no longer be able to bring our deer back from other states whole. The head must be removed due to the rapid spread of CWD. More details to follow soon.

Unfortunately, a good decision. But here's the silver lining: the Division is committed to creation of new grouse habitat in an effort to restore their populations in NJ. Between a lack of habitat and avian flu, this species has taken a beating as we talk about fairly often here. I let the Council know that this life long grouse hunter supports this closure right now.

Imagine if liberals had to go through what we gun owners go through just to get a new Iphone or laptop. That would change gun laws!

If you look at it from the feds' viewpoint, T&E species are typically not allowed to be handled by anyone that is not an expert on that plant or animal and has the appropriate scientific collection permit(s). The federal and state agencies understand they can't keep anglers from catching T&E species like certain sharks and sturgeon and the like, so they try to minimize human impact when handling any rare species. It may seem silly to some, but you can't pick up a rattlesnake in NJ to take a photo without a scientific collection permit. When you see guys like LittleM handling T&E snakes, he has the required permit. Same for me when I'm electro fishing a river to determine trout and other fish populations. And we have to follow certain protocols to limit our impacts to those species we handle. Nobody is worried about a photo taken of a T&E species so long as it is not otherwise handled by humans.

So he'll have the bridge done by December???

That river is just LOADED with pike. Great time on the water!

We're bringing back Smoking Gun?

I've been using it for a long time and rely heavily on it for certain things like prevailing wind direction to choose which stand to hunt out of based on wind direction. It is highly accurate for things like posting of your property as it allows you to see exactly where you are as you travel. Funny story about Hunt Stand. My buddy that owns the farm in upstate we deer hunt is lousy with directions and knowing where he is on his own property. He's always arguing with the rest of us about where certain stands are in relation to the property and he's always way off on his guesstimates. So I walked the property with him, and we marked each and every stand on the app. He was shocked at where they were compared to where he thought each stand was. GPS doesn't lie.

And for you L-O-N-G range planners, this event will be Friday, December 18th for 2020. Put it on your calendars now!

Last year I did it on August 13th, so you're correct.

Who doesn't need a little December weather in their lives today in this oppressive heat and humidity? So no excuses - put it on your calendars now - Friday, December 20th at Pub 199 at 6:30 pm - ?

His wife is a teacher and now home for summer which means no Mr. Mom for Jay and time to catch up. I guess that is a piebald buck. Never seen the hooves themselves turn white. Cool mount.

Let's be honest here, we ALL want to see a steel cage grudge match between wild eyed Pelosi and any one of the Stupid Four on the House floor.