Click through the jump to read the details and see a list of what Washington state parks are set to close.

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You can read more about this important meeting by Clicking Here>>>

If you are not aware of the new rules that have recently been enacted concerning national park gun laws, then I can direct you to the latest update found at U.S. Outdoors Today.

We’ve had guns in the ANILCA parks since 1980 with no real troubles,” noted Alaska region spokesman John Quinley. The legislation creating the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA, parks has always allowed for guns to be carried.

This quote is coming from an article in today’s Anchorage Daily News.  The article then goes on to say that there are so many in guns in Alaska, that everyone just thought that this was the norm–that everyone was allowed to carry.

To read the full extent of the article and to get more Alaska thoughts on the recent national park gun laws, Click Here>>>>

If you can carry (a gun) on Main Street, you are allowed to carry in a national park,” said Chris Paolino. a spokesman for the Interior Department.

This is coming from an article posted on Newsweek’s website explaining the impact of the new measures and how they will relate to existing laws.

This law overrides a 25 year-old law that stipulated that all weapons carried into National Parks and wildlife preserves had to be unloaded and carried in the trunk of a vehicle.  The old law came about during the Reagan administration.  The new law will begin before President-Elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

This new law, which park rangers say will confuse people, has been lauded by the NRA for allowing “law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families while enjoying America’s national parks and wildlife refuges.”

In a recent AT&T/Yahoo poll, 67% of respondents favored this new measure, while only 28% opposed.  The remaining had no say or did not know enogh about the situation to respond.  What are your thoughts on this recent change to our National park gun laws?  Leave your thoughts in a comment below for possible use in a future article at U.S. Outdoors Today.

Greg Maag of Pocatello and Wayne Taysom of McCammon stepped forward with their donations after learning of the incident.

“This time of year we too often see the heinous, illegal acts that people commit against our wildlife resource, and then we are quickly reminded of how wonderful people in southeast Idaho are when two individuals like Maag and Taysom selflessly step forward to help,” said Jennifer Jackson, regional conservation educator for Fish and Game’s southeast region.

On October 5, 46 geese were found in three Dumpsters along East 1st South near City Park in Soda Springs. The geese had apparently been shot on October 4.

The geese were most likely shot over decoys in grain fields or from boats on or around Blackfoot Reservoir, though the exact location is unknown. Officials suspect that several people were involved.

After an investigation, Fish and Game officers determined that the geese were unsalvageable.

Landowners who had requests from large parties for permission to hunt over the weekend are encouraged to provide any information.

Anyone with information about this incident may contact Conservation Officer Brandon Chamberlin at 339-3520 or the Fish and Game regional office at 232-4703. Or call the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999; callers may remain anonymous.

From the start, political pundits and the people alike, began discussing who would be involved in a Presidency that has promised some radical initiatives and plans for our nation’s future.  U.S. News and World Report has went out on a limb and taken a long, hard look at some of the candidates that may be involved in a more environentally friendly, action oriented presidency.  These range from former vice-president Al Gore to some litle known, but highly effective personnel that may be worth taking a second look at.

To catch some of the names and initiatives being discussed with a Barack Obama presidency, be sure to check out U.S. News and World Report’s article “How Obama Will Tackle The Environment“.

The areas being discussed for protection include three rivers that are known to support the paper and pulp industry of Maine. Advocates from Maine’s paper and pulp industry say that an endangered listing could force them out of business, while proponents for the listing say that the Atlantic salmon species has reached a critical point of survival.  Fishermen, while not siding with one side or the other, say that a lesser control of listing the species as ‘threatened’ may be a better option for all involved.

A second meeting will be taking place on this issue where those that attended the first are hoping for a better turnout and more input from the public.  For more information on this issue and follow-up updates, please visit the Foster’s Daily Democrat.

I ruined 2 digital cameras this past summer.  Granted, they weren’t the industries leading models, but they were still nice, functional cameras worth a few pennies.  Worse yet, one of them wasn’t mine.

During a two-week trip paddling the wilderness lakes and rivers of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota, my camera went down.  In my defense, I knowingly did nothing wrong.

At some point, the dry box that I kept it in obtained some moisture, either from dew or possibly a splash of water.  Not realizing this I continued to store the camera in the box, sealing it tight when not in use.  One morning as I went to snap a frame of my crusty eyed brother emerging from our tent, its functioning went awry.

Now, it still worked (and still does) however the moment you turn it on it zooms in to its full potential and you can’t reverse it.  None of the features work, in fact absolutely nothing works other than the round silver button you push to take the picture.

Talk about digital torture.

Basically, short of detailed foot pictures and creative angles of sand dune grasses along the shores of Lake Michigan –the camera has very little worth anymore.  If you read my blog perhaps you’ll remember those pictures from the end of August.  One of the grass pictures actually turned out pretty cool (by my estimate) so let’s just pretend that I intended it that way.  It can be our secret.

When my camera became nearly useless, we were only five days into the canoe trip.  At day seven we rendezvoused with a small group of friends when after two nights together we swapped paddling partners.  My brother went out with the other group while Tischer and I joined with my good friend, Greg.

Even though he had a camera of his own, I didn’t want to be powerless in the ability of capturing my own inspiration.  So I borrowed my brothers, which happened to be the identical camera as my, now disabled, own.  “Yeeeeees, I’ll be careful,” I said turning to roll my eyes.

His made it two more days.  At the banks of our first portage one morning, I had it tucked safely under the flap of our lightest pack.  Our routine was that one of us would take the two heaviest packs and the other would take the third pack and the canoe.  Each portage we switched roles.

Greg had the boat on this one.

He loaded me up, one pack on my back and one on my front, and I turned just in time to see Greg swing his pack onto his shoulders.  As he did this, a familiar yellow case flipped out.  He was standing on a rock slab next to the canoe, which was still in the water, when this happened.

The watertight case, which held my brothers camera, hit the rock first and beyond reason, opened up.  This happened with such ease, as if the rock had gentle fingers prying open the clasp.  And then in slow motion – just to draw out the inevitable –the camera dribbled its way out of the box and into the drink.  A handful of delicate bounces and “plunk.”  If my eyes were closed I might have thought someone had just made a 25-cent wish in this beautiful well.

I like to think I have quick reflexes but I was loaded down with two hefty packs, and honestly, I was in disbelief.  I starred at it below the surface for at least a few seconds, bubbles rising and all.

How was this under my control?  A tiny squeak escaped my throat and I threw down the packs.

I tried my best to air it out, but all I could really do was open the battery chamber and wait.  It’s no surprise that it was a lost cause.  I had just drowned my second camera in less than a week.

On my next trip a month later my mom loaned me hers, and without hesitation even. I was relieved at her willingness.  Tischer and I were about to spend 18 days backpacking the entire length of a trail along a ridgeline above Lake Superior.  I needed a camera for this adventure.

I kept it in a zippered pouch on my hip belt and tethered it to my wrist anytime I was near water.  Minus a few scratches across the viewing screen, it made it out just fine and I am 600 pictures richer.

It is only now that I am back on the mountain, and away from a digital camera that I can borrow, that I realize I have become dependant on them.  For the last few years I used mine like I would a crutch with a broken ankle.  I always had it with me.  I took way too many photos, never deleting the ones I said I’d go back and “edit” after a trigger-happy photo session.

Now that I don’t have one, I almost feel like I shouldn’t go out and play.  What’s the point if I can’t capture it on film?  Now obviously I don’t believe this absurd notion but it is a tough adjustment.  If I can find any motivation in this camera-less time, it is to improve my ability of using words to paint a picture, in the absence of actual pictures.

Still, I regret to say that my 3 faithful blog readers will suffer, as will my iphoto library.

Maybe now is the time to acquire the skill set of an efficient sketch artist?

About The Author:  Lucas Will is a freelance writer based near Mt. Hood, Oregon.  He is a ski cabin manager and ski patroller, while also teaching outdoors classes at a local college.  Some of Luke’s work has appeared in Mt. Hood Magazine, and he currently writes a regular column for The Mountain Times.  When not in the great outdoors of Oregon, you may find Lucas writing and sharing his experiences on his own blog, 3 On The Mountain.

To read more about this notice from the Wisconsin DNR, be sure to read this article which explains more details.

Wyoming recently held the first legal hunt of gray wolves and many other states would be following on their heels.  Once a few other states decided to run state-sponsored wolf hunts, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction protecting the wolves from any more destruction.

The wolf hunts sparked a large outcry from the conservation groups.  They cited that just because numbers were on the rise, that this did not mean the wolves were out of the danger zone.  As soon as states mentioned hunting the wolves, conservation groups were quick to sue.

Now it seems they’ve caught a major break: Wolves will now stay on the Endangered Species list for the foreseeable future, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coordinator Ed Bangs. They plan to withdraw their rule that declared wolves officially recovered in the Northern Rockies. Wolves will enjoy full protection under the Endangered Species Act until the USFWS can draw new plans that better provide for wolf protection after de-listing.

This is coming from the Backpacker Magazine blog, The Daily Dirt, in relation to an Associated Press article that was released today.  This article goes on to explain that not enough information was known of the dangers of holding these types of hunts, and now the government will rely more upon studies that will be conducted by the Fish and Game Commission in the future.

I think that what was originally thought of as a good idea, has now been reconsidered.  Whichever side you are on, that of the hunter, or that of the hunted, you can expect that the gray wolf will still be protected for the foreseable future.

It is probably better for all of us that we know exactly what is going on before we jump the gun (figure of speech) of hunting a species that everyone was so adament about bringing back from extinction.  Now, at least, more studies can be done before deciding the best route to take in the future.