The Woods
Solitude Doesn’t Bother Me Much.
Apparently some people get quickly bored when they are alone. They can’t take extensive solitude. I’ve never felt that way, although like every human being, I do crave interaction with other humans from time to time. But I’m quite happy being alone in the wilderness, just enjoying my time without anybody else to set my schedule, or tell me what to do.
How will Coronavirus change my camping plans for this year?
How will Coronavirus change my camping plans for this year? ⛺
There is a lot of unknowns about the Coronavirus and how it’s going to play out but I don’t expect major changes to my travel plans compared to other years. 💭
Simply said, when I’m wilderness camping I’m already quite self isolated and don’t necessarily interact with a lot of people except maybe when I visit the store 🏬 or get gas ⛽. But I still anticipate significant impacts on my summer plans…
- I expect cheaper gas prices than I had originally budgeted for which will save me money 💵.
- I’ll probably want to buy all of my groceries at once 🍏 close to home to minimize the time I’m in public at grocery stores.
- Will public swimming 🏊 pools be closed? I might have to find alternative venues in the backcountry to cool off and go swimming in this summer.
- If Coronavirus continues into the summer I should look at getting a box of latex gloves for pumping gas. 👋 While I’m no germahobe, I don’t want to get Coronavirus if I can avoid it. I have nitrile gloves for butchering game 🔪but they’re expensive and kind of nasty to burn (they produce trace amounts of cyanide gas) after they’re tossed.
- I am still looking at getting a screened in tent 🎪 to use for extended camping trips, to provide more comfort on rainy days and during black fly season.
- Does work from home 🏡 mean potentially I could work from camp using my smartphone and when I get a laptop with mobile internet? 📱 Interesting possibility. Maybe take two weeks camping at the Green Mountain National Forest? Why not!
- Will there be greater demands for backcountry campsites ⛺, especially roadside sites should state campgrounds be closed this summer due to Coronavirus? Will this mean that more people will be competing for prime roadside sites? More litter and irresponsible campers in the back country? More law enforcement?
- Will places like Moose River Plains and Piseco – Powley Road be on the cutting block 📉 due to reductions in state funding due to losses relating to the Coronavirus PAUSE? Does this mean gates will be locked or roads less maintained?
April 1 trout fishing season opener still a go, streams getting stocked – newyorkupstate.com
50 Bird Species and the Sounds They Make
GPS Tracking Shows How Much Wolf Packs Avoid Each Other’s Range – Earthly Mission
This image of GPS tracking of multiple wolves in six different packs around Voyageurs National Park was created in the framework of the Voyageurs Wolf Project. It is an excellent illustration of how much wolf packs in general avoid each other’s range.
America’s War on Invasive Nutria — Furbearer Conservation
While states like Maryland and Delaware are actively looking to abolish their nutria populations, states in the deep south seem to be slightly less agressive. The coypu is highly regarded in regions around the Gulf of Mexico and southern U.S. Delta waterways; ironically, some of the first areas where nutria were introduced. Both Louisiana and Texas actually have regulated hunting and trapping seasons on the rodents. Cajun trappers of the Barataria region regard the nutria as an important staple of tradition and as an important community resource. Food and fur - and while the nutria pelt has its own commercial value, I’m told nutria meat is actually pretty tasty as well; no surprise, as trappers like myself are well accustomed to the table-fare of baked muskrat and beaver stew!
That said, even states with harvest seasons and bag limits recognize the absolute chaos nutria can inflict upon marshlands when not properly managed. The Louisiana Coastwide Nutria Control Program is quoted as stating “The decline in fur trapping activity since the mid-1980s has resulted in over population of nutria.” My personal translation - there aren’t as many trappers as there once was, and without regulated trapping activities taking place on the landscape, “big guns” are called in to heavily cull instead. Unlike civilian trappers, I’m willing to gamble each individual animal’s resources (pelt, hide, meat etc.) aren’t being fully utilized when the need arises for an eradication situation.