Sporting Road

REPOSTED FROM: UPLANDJITSU – THE ART OF UPLAND HUNTING https://uplandjitsu.com/index.php/2020/04/01/how-to-be-a-hip-uplander-the-ultimate-guide-to-being-a-hipster-in-the-uplands/ How to be a Hip-Uplander – The Ultimate Guide to Being a Hipster in the Uplands APRIL 1, 2020 / JORGE RAMIREZ The covey flushed. A whir of wings and a cloud of Valley Quail rose from the scrub oak into the clear and bright October sky. The shotgun raised instinctively and with a crack of the muzzle, one of the plump quail descended in a long arch back down to earth. Marking where the bird landed, you make your way up the hill where your prize lies. You smell him before you even see him. Not the quail, weirdo. Him. Crossing over the horizon stands a figure. The sun is shining behind him, giving him a celestial aura. The bearded figure tilts his wide-brim fedora-wearing head up and sticks a pipe between his lips. The aroma of bespoke beard oil and pomade fills the valley as you look in awe. “How many coveys did you bump today?” His dog sits beside him. A Drahthaar named Jaeger. No electronics on this dog. Only a locater bell. He rolls up the sleeves of his plaid shirt, revealing fully tattooed arms. Carefully cradling his 28-gauge side by side shotgun, he strikes a match with his thumb and lights his pipe. He fiddles with his flush-counter, adjusting the counter. “That’s 15 flushes for me. I already got my limit, but I enjoy watching my dog work those coveys. Plus I like taking as many photos as I can out here. Say, do you like IPA’s? Because I have a couple back at my Subaru.” Could this be? Is this..? Yes! You just encountered your first Hip-Uplander. __________ You may have read all those

For the upland hunter, the promise of a new season sits like a mountain on the horizon that never gets closer on the long highways of life, until the moment comes each year when the season opens. A cool breeze suddenly turns the trees a crisp yellow, while the long heated days of summer begin to fade. The smell of leather and powder perfume the air and the flashes of brilliance in a young pup begin to shine. New adventures become traditions, dogs seal their place in our hearts and ancient instructs are driven by shrinking light and the steady descent of reds and golds from the mountain tops, or at least so says my Orvis catalog. While we are on the topic of great quotes, a perennial favorite of times is, “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” —Bruce Lee.  This is always great advice for those who live life in the outdoors.  You don't have to be a granola to live the life.  Yes, the word "granola" is still used as a slang term to describe someone who is environmentally aware, has liberal political views, and uses natural products and health foods. For example, someone who loves the outdoors, is free-spirited, and buys all-natural products might be described as a "granola girl." So while you don't have to be a granola, living the #UplandLife you do have to learn to be adaptable, be like water. Seasons come and

[fsn_row][fsn_column width="12"][fsn_text] Greater sage grouse counts tick up West-wide August 25, 2020 by Angus M. Thuermer Jr.  Spring counts of strutting male greater sage grouse increased slightly this year across their western strongholds, possibly indicating the end of a three-year decline. Wildlife officials in Idaho, Montana and Oregon reported small increases seen on breeding-ground leks this spring. Wyoming reported a small drop of 0.3 birds per lek — a 1.5% decline — which Game and Fish officials said indicates a “leveling out” of a three-year slide in the Equality State. The annual count of strutting males suggests the status of the overall population, said Leslie Schreiber, Wyoming Game and Fish’s sage grouse and sagebrush biologist. “It’s an index,” she said of the count. “It’s a trend of the population.” Together, the four states hold about 76% of the world’s greater sage grouse. The population dropped an estimated 44% in key western states and provinces between 2016 and 2019, driving worries about the imperiled bird that was once a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. While the 2020 uptick is encouraging, one year does not a trend make, wildlife officials told WyoFile. “It’s the first year since 2016 we haven’t seen a decline,” said Oregon’s Lee Foster, who is concluding work as sage grouse conservation coordinator with that state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Hopefully that means the population will go up in the next three years.” But, “you can’t make any real predictions on one year’s data,” he told WyoFile. Catherine Wightman, wildlife habitat coordinator with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, agreed. “I don’t think we can say from one year of data what our populations are doing over the long term,” she said.  The numbers