Annapurna: Nepal’s Commercialization Initiative For An Endangered Landscape

By Jason A. Hendricks

There have been many debates over the years surrounding the commercialization of the world’s highest peaks.  Mt. Everest is the biggest example of mountain commercialization, where hundreds of climbers a year flock to the world’s highest mountain, paying thousands of dollars for a guided chance to reach the coveted summit.  The recent tragedy on K2 has sparked conversations of concern for it’s own commercialism, after it was being reported that high-altitude porters had been brought in for some of this years climbs.

Annapurna, while not as well-known to the outside world as Mt. Everest or K2, is still a very important peak to high-altitude alpine climbing.  The peak rises 26, 538 ft., making it the 10th highest mountain in the world.  Along with the climbing, Annapurna also happens to be the focal point for a 7,629 sq. km. conservation and protection initiative known as the Annapurna Conservation Area Project.

The Annapurna Conservation Area Project helps to protect an area that offers some of the finest trekking trails in the Himalayan region and the world.  These trails have become a world destination for many venturers into the Himalayan region and offers a nice glimpse at the natural wildlife and ecology of Nepal.  This area is the largest protected area in all of Nepal and has been looked upon as an area of prestige and value to a country where income is hard to come by.

That could be changing in the very near future.  Nepal has enacted plans to commercialize the area known as the Annapurna circuit.  The thought is to capitalize on the area’s growing popularity with trekkers and make it more tourist friendly.

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The Buzz: Your Daily Dose Of Outdoor News

Swimming is today’s Buzz Of The Day

Michael Phelps is setting the swimming world on fire.  To date, the Olympic swimming champion has earned an amazing 11 gold medals through two Olympic games and became the winningest Olympic athlete of all time.  The twenty-three year old swimming phenom is still young enough to participate in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and though that might seem quite amazing, many people are finding his 12,000 calorie daily intake to be another record of sorts..check out his daily eating habits.

Swimming as exercise has many benefits and is considered a ‘life sport’, meaning that one can swim throughout their life, no matter age or ability.  Some of the benefits of swimming include higher lung capacity, a stronger heart, more flexibility, and a general sense of well-being.  Swimming generally burns 3 calories per mile, per body pound.

Swimming as an organized activity goes back to the days of Ancient Egypt, nearly 2,500 years ago.  The sport then spread to Greece, Rome, and Assyria.  Swimming was taught to Roman and Greek children as part of their education.  The first heated swimming pool is credited to Gaius Maecenas in the first century, B.C.  Now who knew that?

In March of 2007, legendary river swimmer Martin Strel swam the total length of the Amazon River.  While being a huge feat, this was just one more tick off the list for Martin, who has also swam the Danube river, China’s Yangtze River, and the Mississippi.

Today’s News Of The Strange:  Two men have claimed to have found a body of a legendary BigFoot..yeah, you heard that right…BigFoot.  The two are planning a news conference in coming days and even suggest theat they have the body stashed away in a freezer.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the pics...

Today’s Fishing Focus: The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency has released a statement in regards to three new state fishing records that were recently broken.  The three species with new record weights include the Gizzard Shad, Silver Redhorse, and Lake Trout.

Today’s Hunting Highlights: Washington State is currently trying to raise the age for when a child is allowed to hunt.   Currently, kids 14 and under are not required to have adult supervision when out hunting.  The recent interest in raising the age is due to a 14-year-old hunter shooting a local hiker, upon thinking she was a bear.  It is noted that the lady who was shot was the first non-hunter killed by a hunter in over 25 years in the state.

Today;s Conservation Consortium: Carl Pope, Executive Director of The Sierra Club, has issued a new blog post in regards to the Endangered Species Act and the Bush administration.

Reported From Carl Pope’s blog post:

Earlier this week the Bush administration made clear that they are in full Humpty Dumpty mode for the next 158 days. They propose to nullify the Endangered Species Act by drafting a rule specifying that new roads, pipelines, and other federal projects, which in the real world threaten species habitat, “by definition” do not count as a threat under the Act. This decision serves to remind us that the goal at the heart of their governing — and at this point their exit strategy — is to strip language of its meaning.They’re squeezing a lot of environmental destruction from this strategy. Several years ago, Team Bush decided that the word “waters” as in “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act meant only some waters. Streams and wetlands that were isolated didn’t count. When good Republicans who liked to hunt and fish protested, Bush promised to fix the problem — but even though Bush stopped short of issuing a formal rule, he told the EPA and the Army Corps not to enforce the Clean Water Act on this 20 percent of the nation’s “waterways.”

Today’s Green Tip Of The Day: With vegetable prices skyrocketing, and everyone preaching ‘organic’, perhaps it is time to consider growing your own garden.  it is relatively easy, costs 1/100th the price of vegetables purchased in stores, plus you know where it came from.

Today’s Featured Blog:  Adirondack Almanack

Today’s Featured Outdoor Discussion: Stop by the U.S. Outdoors Today Forums to discuss your Pesky Critter Encounters.  We are looking for some good stories of those critters who just never manage to leave us alone while camping.  Be sure to sign-up to the forums so you can post your favorite critter encounter.

The Buzz: Your Daily Dose Of Outdoor News

Kayaking is Today’s Buzz Of The Day

Joseph Cremona and Julian Mamo recently shattered the record for kayaking around Malta.  Malta happens to be  a small group of seven islands off the coast of Sicily (which happens to be an island off the coast of Italy).  The two shattered the previous record by a whopping two and a half hours, putting in a time of 8 hours, 29 minutes, and 20 seconds.  The previous record had stood since 2001.  Malta might be considered a small island nation, but I can almost guarantee that paddling those kayaks for 8 straight hours is no easy feat.

Here’s news of another kayaking adventure currently in the works:  Skip Ciccarelli is set to end an amazing 1,700 mile, 54 day kayaking trip on August 9th at New York’s Pier 66.  Skip’s trek is being used to raise awareness for prostate cancer, something that Skip is all to familiar with.  On August 9, 2001 Skip had his own prostatectomy after a battle with the disease.  Skip is looking to end his trip on the 7th annnniversary of this procedure.  Did I mention Skip is 60?  Let’s cheer him on and hope that he can finish this great journey!

Most of you may not be that familiar with kayaking.  One of the great resources out there happens to be The Kayak Blog.  This is more of a review site for Kayaks and rafts, but it will give you a better idea of all the possibilities that kayaking offers.  Stop by and check out the Old Town Adventure XL 160, this one’s interesting for it’s built in rudder, a feature not often found in the world of kayaking.

Once you have your kayak, you are almost ready to go.  A quick stop by Canoe & Kayak Magazine will teach you all the ins and outs of successful water navigation, as well as other equipment you may need.  Once those things are in order and you are looking for that first adventure, you may want to check out 5 Wilderness Water Trails.  It is a fun read.

Today’s Strange News Of The Day:  This one has nothing to do with the outdoors, but is a mighty strange thing.  A restaurant in Taiwan has become amazingly popular with the local guests while offering a restroom theme in it’s restaurant, so popular, in fact, that the company is planning on opening a second one.  The guests sit on toilets, eat from urinal and toilet bowl shaped dishes, and even wipe their mouths with what looks like toilet paper.  So the next time you are sitting in a restaurant and your food tastes like crap–you may just have a reason for concern…

Today’s Fishing Focus: While not quite a fish, the menacing Tropical Rock Lobster is still a pretty cool catch.  Go check out the Ikuzo Fishing blog for the photos, and if those don’t satisfy you, perhaps the Yorkey’s Knob sharks will.

Today’s Hunting Highlights: Stabley Outdoors has released a news update about a recent recall on Bowtech General bows.  If you have recently purchased a compound from Bowtech, you may want to head over to Stabley Outdoors and see what all the fuss is about.  It looks like this affects late 2007 and 2008 models of Bowtech’s General compound bow.  That’s a pretty popular model so you might want to check and see what you got.

Today’s Conservation Consortium: In 2006, President Bush signed a bill that would protect 140,000 sq. miles of ocean around the Hawaiian Islands.  This area was quickly publicized to be the biggest protected area of ocean in the world and have the strictest regulations in existance.  Two years later, it looks like things have not went as planned, as you will read in this USA Today article.

Ocean currents are still bringing an estimated 57 tons of garbage and discarded fishing gear to the 10 islands and the waters surrounding them each year. Endangered monk seals are still being snared and coral reefs smothered by discarded fishing nets. Albatrosses are still feeding on indigestible plastic and feeding it to their young.

Debris removal, meanwhile, has fallen to 35 tons a year since the islands became a monument, about a third of the 102 tons that boats and divers collected on average before that, including junk that was already there.

And the Bush administration slashed the debris cleanup budget from the $2.1 million spent in 2005, requesting only $400,000 a year through 2008.

Today’s Green Tip Of The Day: Installing water-saving showerheads or flowrestrictors on faucets couldsave you 500 to 800 gallons of extra water a month.  Less water = Smaller bill.

Today’s Blog Of The Day: Mungo says Bah! Go check it out!

U.S. Outdoors Today Introduces The U.S. Outdoor Forums

U.S. Outdoors Today, in conjunction with  Skinny Moose Media, is ready to unleash it’s latest project on the world–the U.S. Outdoor Forums.  Throughout the past couple of weeks, myself, along with the Skinny Moose Media team have been creating what we are hoping will become a big asset to U.S. Outdoors Today.

The U.S. Outdoor Forums have been created to give all of us a place to share our thoughts, hangout, and meet new friends.  We are hoping to reach as many people and interests as possible, all with one thing in common, the love and enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Some of the topics you can read about and discuss include:

• Camping
• Climbing
• Biking/Cycling
• Hiking/Backpacking
• Motorized Recreation
• Winter Sports
• Search & Rescue
• Survival
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Outdoor Gear
• Our National Parks
• Conservation/Environment
• Vacation/Travel
• Nature
• as well as Classifieds, Press Releases, and Outdoor Calendar
• PLUS:  Areas for Specific States, General News, Sports, Politics, Hobbies, Weather, and a whole lot more.

This is definitely one of the largest outdoor forums currently available.  There is something there for everyone.  I am hoping that all of you will stop by and checkout the new U.S. Outdoor Forums and join me for some fun.  Swing over and register,  then post away.

You may find a link to the U.S. Outdoor Forums at the top of this site.  If you have problems finding it, just click through the links that I have provided in this article.

The Buzz: Your Daily Dose Of Outdoor News

Yosemite National Park is today’s Buzz Of The Day

The recent fires near Yosemite National Park have been 90% contained over the past couple of days.  Tourists and home evacuees in the area are beginning to return.  With the recent influx of news coming out of Yosemite National Park, I thought it might be a good time to spotlight one of our nation’s finest parks and perhaps enlighten you with some of it’s rich history along the way.

Yosemite National Park’s history spans 144 years.  Back in 1864, then President Abraham Lincoln signed the first bill to make Yosemite a protected area.  This was at the height of the Civil War, but even with all the turmoil taking place, Yosemite was still thought of as a major resource worthy of protecting.  The history of Yosemite National Park is full of great tales, adventurers, and pure panoramic beauty.

Going from the past, to the present.  One of the major resources for information concerning Yosemite National Park happens to be The Yosemite blog.  I stop by this site a few times a week just to check in and keep up to date with the wildfires, road closings, special events, and basic news of the area.  If you are planing a trip to Yosemite, this should be one of your first stops.

One of the highlights of Yosemite National Park is the Yosemite Falls.  I read an interesting tidbit concerning these Falls today.  I did not know that the Yosemite Falls actually stop flowing.  These Falls are fed by snowmelt, and by late August, all of the snow has melted–this causes the falls to go dry for about a month–until the snows arrive again.  Must be a shock to those that venture there in August with high hopes of photographing the beautiful falls.  To learn more about Yosemite National Park, please head over to the National Park Service’s Yosemite website.  It is full of information to spark the imagination.

Today’s Strange News Of The Day:  Tourism officials in Granada have put out a public complaint towards dog owners who think that the Caribbean island’s starfish make good fetch toys.  It seems that dog owners have taken a fancy to finding starfish and hurling them through the air for their dogs to retrieve.  They say this act is cruel to the starfish.  Perhaps Granada should import some plastic balls, strategically place them on the beach, and hope that this would cure both problems-

Today’s Fishing Focus:  Fishing for Walleye can be tricky any time of year.  Mike, over at The Walleye Blog gives us some tips about fishing for this species at night.  He says he concentrates on entrances to bays and harbors and then offers up some of his recommended bait choices.  Using these tips, you probably can’t go wrong.

Today’s Hunting Highlights:  How many times have you climbed into that tree stand and wished that you had a little more room for some essential gear?  Her Outdoors took a recent look at a new product that is sure to make many hunters (and huntresses) drool.  The Beyond Backpacks Ultimate Hunting Pack provides an ingenius way to store your gear in a handy pack, while also providing a nice deer stand screen–in camo.  You have to love duel purpose contraptions.  This one looks like a winner!

Today’s Conservation Consortium:  Alabama’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is currently taking registrations for a new fall workshop geared to the outdoorswoman.  The Outdoors-Woman Fall Workshop will focus on beginner level training for man outdoors activities.  This is being listed as a biannnual event, with the first Outdoors-Woman Workshop scheduled for October 3-5 of 2008.  This looks like a great opportunity to fine tune your outdoor skills.

workshop is a three-day adventure offering beginner-level skills training for an array of fun and exciting activities ranging from deer hunting to camp cooking. Activities include camping, backyard wildlife, map and compass, mountain biking, shooting sports (pistol, rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader), fishing, hunting, canoeing, nature crafts, archery, ATV handling, motor boat handling, geocaching, bee keeping, and much more. Participants can also obtain their Hunter Education Certification and Boating Safety Certification during the weekend event.

This sounds like an exciting weekend. Visit Alabama’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to learn how you can sign up for this outdoor event filled weekend.

Today’s Green Tip Of The Day:  Instead of buying new books, pay a visit to your local library, or even start a bookshare program.  Trade any previously read books with those of a friend.  It saves money, paper, and the environment.

Today’s Blog Of The Day:  The Adventure Blog

The Buzz: Your Daily Dose of Outdoor News

Sunblock is today’s Buzz Of The Day

The temperatures are heating up and the sun is blazing full power for much of the United States.  What better time to discuss how we protect ourselves from the heat.  Many people use the words ’sunscreen’ and ’sunblock’ interchangeably.  This is the stuff we rub on our bodies to protect ourselves from the sun.  What you may not know is that both of these products are different and unique from one another.  Sunscreens actually absorb ultraviolet light, while sunblock actually blocks these harmful rays.  That is a big difference and one that could actually save your skin in years to come.

Sunblock has also come under some scrutiny of late, especially at Yankee Stadium, where it has actually been banned from the stadium.  An alert was put out that terrorists may be harboring explosive substances inside the bottles.  Yankee Stadium casually banned sunblock without alerting the many fans coming to the games.  Now you have your choice of an SPF 15 sunscreen that you must buy from a Yankee Stadium vendor.  Luckily, with the outcry of paying $5 for a 1 oz. bottle of sunscreen, Yankee Stadium quickly changed it’s policy.

So when do you use sunblock and how often do you apply it?  A new gadget has come out that actually clues you in to this information.  The U.V. Monitor actually tells you when the UV rays are the worst.  You can also program in your sunblock type and UV rating.  After the programing, the UV monitor quietly counts down and let’s you know when it is time to reapply.  Gadgets-we gotta love’em!

The next sunblock is a bit different.  This comes by way of the Hiking Backpacks blog and features U.S. Outdoors Today columnist Olivia, and a recent opportunity she had to photograph a solar eclipse while Hiking in India.  It is a beautiful photo and well worth the mention.  Go check it out.

Today’s News Of The Strange: This is an update on another ‘News Of The Strange’  post I made a couple of days back.  This is in regards to a stray 44 pound cat being found in New Jersey.  This cat is now up for adoption!  That’s right, now you, too, could witness the amazing feats of a 44 lb feline. that is destined to add to your grocery bills.  Who wants it?

Today’s Fishing Focus:  Which is better, the fly fisherman, the Bass fisherman, or perhaps the salmon fisherman?  Othmar Vohringer takes a look at this debate in a truly Othmar fashion–honestly.  Go check out this great article on Othmar’s BC Fishing blog, then join in on the conversation.

Today’s Hunting Highlights:  Steve Creek Outdoors takes an interesting look at a wild deer species not found in this neck of the woods.  The Formosa Sika deer is native to Asia, and does have a very unusual look to it.  It is always nice to see an international species, but it might cost you some cash to bring one in.  I am sure import fees are ridiculous and that is only if these things can be legally hunted!  If the Formosa is going to be a problem, perhaps you could sign up to take lessons on how to hunt alligators.

Today’s Conservation Consortium:  The New River Gorge National Park has been given the ok to purchase 100 acres of land in an effort to add to their holdings.  This is actually a small part of a much broader picture, where another 600 acres may be purchased in the near future from local landowners.

Sight unseen, Striker and other superintendents before him were always interested in buying all of the land within the park’s boundaries. When Congress created the park in 1978, they drew lines on a map, but not all of the land within the marks belonged to the government. Over the years, federal officials have been acquiring land, but they still do not own all the land within the park’s boundaries.

“We are definitely interested in buying it,” Striker said of the 100 acres. “It has so much potential for park visitors.”

Visit the Charleston Gazette to read more about this recent purchase.

Today’s Green Tip of The Day:  We all like to water our lawns, but too many people water their lawns without ever thinking about the weather. Your lawn only needs about one inch of water a week. Therefore, instead of watering your lawn everyday, just water it once in the week and pay attention to the weather reports. If rain is called for, don’t water your lawn. If you go a few days without rain, then water it a bit. Paying attention to the weather will help you save water and keep your lawn green.  (tip courtesy of AboutMynePlanet)

Today’s Blog Of The Day:  Family Affair Outdoors–Go Check It Out!

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The Buzz: Your Daily Dose of Outdoor News

Wildfires are today’s Buzz Of The Day

Home owners around Yosemite National Park were allowed to return to their homes after authorities issued a report suggesting that the wildfire threatening the area had been mostly contained and diverted.  This news should make some of the people happy, but a smokey haze and fog still cover much of the area, making even Yosemite National Park hard to bear.  The wildfire had threatened close to two hundred homes and destroyed a few others before finally being diverted from the area.

Another wildfire, this one burning near Big Sur, California has burned a few structures related to a recovery program for the endangered California Condor.  The Ventana Wildlife Society says that a pen used to house the endangered birds got cut off from the main sanctuary by a local fire, forcing a helicopter evacuation of employees and the endangered condors.  The San Diego Zoo is now asking for donations to help build new structures for these birds, while they await their future release back in the wild.

There is also a fire threatening to invade another one of our National parks.  This fire is near Yellowstone National Park, outside of Cody, Wyoming.  This fire has grown to encompass 6 square miles and remains about 20 miles outside of Yellowstone’s east entrance.  If you are near Yellowstone or Yosemite National parks, be sure to contact local authorities fior road closures associated with each of these blazes.

FEMA offers up some good advice on what to do if you or your house is near a raging wildfire.  The American Red Cross also has some informative information on their site, as well.  It is always good to have a plan in place and they say that you can never be to prepared when disaster strikes.  It might be worth some time to lok over both of these organizations websites and see what you can do to better protect yourself, your family, and your home.

Today’s News Of The Strange: A box turtle has helped authorities nab a criminal suspected of growing marijuana.  The turtle came equipped with a GPS system which led the authorities to the suspect.  Not every turtle has a built in GPS, I thought I should clarify that.  This turtle was part of a special research project and not a member of the local law enforcement division.  One has to wonder what a turtle was doing in the middle of a pot field–hmm.

Today’s Fishing Focus: The 2008 Presidential Election looms ever closer.  The Lateral Lines blog recently took a look at how this election could affect anglers and what the different candidates positions are in regards to the great american sportsman.  Check it out, it is a good read.

Today’s Hunting Highlights:  When your out hunting, you can never be to safe.  There have been some ongoing discussions and Press about the SPOT Satellite Messenger and how it can benefit hunters in the field.  Western Wanderers recently posted an article discussing the SPOT messenger, along with some of it’s many benefits.

Conservation Insight:  Gov. Bill Richardson and New Mexico Attorney General Gerald King have announced that they will file an appeal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for issuing an air quality permit to the Desert Rock Energy facility.  The pair claim that he EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it gave out the permit without proper testing on air quality and analysis.

I want to assure New Mexicans that from a legal standpoint, Desert Rock is far from a done deal,” said Attorney General Gary King. “We will immediately review the permit and analysis that the EPA is obliged to provide in conjunction with its permitting decision. There are significant legal hurdles ahead and we intend to challenge the permit before the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) in Washington, D.C.”

Green Tip Of The Day:  About My Planet shows you 10 tips to recycling a scratched CD or DVD.  Most of us would just throw these away, why not make something useful?

Featured Blog:  The Conservative Zone –Go check it out!