Tag: Duck Hunting

Palouse Outdoors – Stay Safe Outdoors with a Satellite Communication System

Palouse Outdoors – Stay Safe Outdoors with a Satellite Communication System

Brad Trumbo

Published April 4th, 2024, in The Waitsburg Times

Hunting, fishing, and hiking always seemed vanilla to me when it comes to the potential for injury and death. That could be one reason that a passion for the outdoors hit me when I was a child. My brothers chided me for being a “sissy,” and the best escape from the ridicule was avoidance somewhere beneath the trees on the neighboring woodlots.

I began tree-stand hunting for white-tailed deer in my late teens and quickly realized the dangers of the activity. I took the proper precautions with ropes and harnesses and always let someone know when and where I was headed and returning. Aside from that, trail running and mountain biking alone in the Appalachians never appeared dangerous, partially because testing the limits of gravity or intelligence for a thrill never appealed to me. When I moved west and began wilderness hiking and hunting routinely, I realized the dangers in the backcountry, even for the careful and prepared outdoors enthusiast. Middle age likely played a role as well.

Elk and mule deer country is steep, rugged, slippery, and riddled with deadfalls. Add 60-plus pounds of quarters and backstraps to your pack and start back to camp exhausted and sometimes in the dark, and you have a recipe for trips and falls that can lead to impalement on pine branch stubs, torn ligaments and cartilage in knees and shoulders, broken limbs and ribs, and possible tumbles over cliff faces. Navigating all this alone is absurd, yet we’ve all done it and will do it again. All to secure food, experience the beauty and solace of the wilderness, and bestow honor upon the wild life we took to feed our families and memory bank by pursuing them on their terms.

Fortunately, today’s technology offers life safety for average and extreme outdoor enthusiasts via affordable, reliable, and easy-to-use satellite communications devices.

Above are screenshots of the Garmin inReach Messenger device status panel (left), an example of the text message interface (middle), and a weather forecast for a given location (right). This device is user-friendly and works through your smartphone via Bluetooth without a data connection.

Since 2011, Garmin Corporation, among others, has been producing satellite communicators that can summon emergency medical and rescue services through the touch of the “SOS” button using your global position system location coordinates. Should you experience a fall, get lost, or have Mother Nature throw a curveball, location information is transferred through a satellite network to “Garmin Response” in Montgomery, Texas. According to Garmin, “all SOS monitoring, communication, and emergency response coordination are handled at this location.”

A global emergency response system capable of reaching remote locations and saving lives. Sounds great, right? But how does it work?

“Garmin Response maintains a global database of local first responders and emergency services. As soon as an SOS activation is received, the Garmin Response team pulls up the precise location of the SOS alert, a corresponding list of emergency response organizations for that area, and a map overlay of agency jurisdictions. The Garmin Response team contacts the local organization and works with them to dispatch resources to the incident site as necessary[1].”

 In 2023, Garmin coordinated emergency responses for over 10,000 SOS calls made from Garmin devices around the globe. While the number of Garmin subscribers is unknown, a breakdown of activities for which an SOS was transmitted suggests that hiking/backpacking makes up approximately 40 percent. Nearly 20 percent of transmissions are from automobile, motorcycle, and boating accidents. Hunting makes up only about five percent of SOS transmissions.

Overall, more than 70 percent of SOS transmissions could have been made from remote wilderness area situations. Physical injuries caused most SOS transmittals, while medical emergencies, being stranded or stuck (data include offroad vehicle activities), and being physically lost were the other most common emergencies.

“Responses…from New Zealand to Norway to Argentina to Canada were coordinated for plane crashes, grizzly bear encounters, sinking sailboats, skiers in avalanches, stranded divers, injured climbers, and many more1.” 

Over the past few years, getting older, fatter, achier, and spending most of my time outdoors alone were nagging at the back of my mind to get a satellite communicator. I finally pulled the trigger when a remote work trip came up shortly after my wife had major surgery. I settled on the Garmin inReach Messenger because it allows text messaging with friends and family via the Iridium satellite network. During my time in the Idaho mountains, I checked my wife’s health status routinely and could receive immediate notice from her in an emergency.

Whether you’re into extreme mountain sports or leisurely hikes, carrying a satellite communicator makes good sense. With the door to summer recreation opening quickly, now is the time to prepare for your safety while escaping civilization, particularly when going solo. Hopefully, you’ll never need to summon a wilderness rescue, but come wildfire, grizzly attack, or loss of common sense due to hypothermia or elk hunting exertion-induced delirium, carrying a satellite communicator provides a lifeline when faced with the unexpected.

Packing my Garmin inReach Messenger is no different than grabbing my hunting and fishing license – it goes everywhere outdoors with me.

[1] 2023 Garmin inReach® SOS Year in Review

New Legislation Aims to Boost Walk-in Private Lands Access

New Legislation Aims to Boost Walk-in Private Lands Access

Brad Trumbo

Originally published at Harvesting Nature, July 7th, 2023.

Among the top “barriers to entry” for hunters is the basic need for a place to go. In the western US, large tracts of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and states and tribes are available to the public, but this is not the case everywhere. For example, Illinois is one of the top five most populous states but is comprised of 96 percent private lands[1]. Therefore, public access to private lands plays a critical role in hunter opportunities nationwide.

Outdoor recreation is big business, contributing $778 billion to the US economy every year1, and firearms and ammunition sales have contributed over $16 billion in conservation funds through the Pittman-Robertson Act[2]. Ensuring the American public is afforded hunting opportunities supports a cornerstone of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which is why incentivizing public access to private lands was introduced into the Farm Bill as “Open Fields” back in 2008.

In 2018, the Farm Bill authorized what is now called the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), which provides grants to states and tribes to implement walk-in access programs. Congress stepped up its investment in VPA-HIP, providing $50 million via the 2018 Farm Bill1.

In September 2019, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) announced VPA-HIP funding opportunities to state and tribal governments. States and tribes were eligible to receive up to $3 million in federal dollars to be leveraged with partner funds for the expansion of recreational access on private lands. In March 2020, the NRCS announced nearly $49 million in VPA-HIP awards1.

What makes VPA-HIP incentives more attractive is that they can be realized in addition to other Farm Bill programs like wetlands enrolled in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Conservation Reserve Program. Furthermore, the VPA-HIP program allows the states to assume legal liability for the public accessing enrolled lands. But the VPA-HIP program benefits may soon increase dramatically.

In April, new legislation called the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2023 was introduced by Senators Steve Daines, Michael Bennet, and Roger Marshall to strengthen VPA-HIP by tripling its funding from $50 million to $150 million over the next five years[3]. This increased investment was among the recommendations made by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group i10 its “Hunter and Angler Priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill” report that was released earlier this year3,[4].

To date, the VPA-HIP program has opened nearly one million private acres to public hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. View the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s “Accessible Private Lands3” report for details, and imagine what tripling the program’s funding could do for hunter and angler opportunity.

[1] REI-VPA-HIP-Report_FINAL-11-3-2020.pdf (trcp.org)

[2] Firearm Industry Surpasses $16 Billion in Pittman-Robertson Excise Tax Contributions for Conservation • NSSF

[3] https://www.trcp.org/2023/04/03/new-legislation-help-increase-walk-access-program-acres/

[4] AWWG-2023-FB-Platform_2-15-23.pdf (trcp.org)

Is Avian Influenza Infecting Mammals Cause for Concern?

Is Avian Influenza Infecting Mammals Cause for Concern?

Brad Trumbo

On February 9th, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released information about various wildlife species testing positive for avian influenza. Among the critters found carrying the virus were a skunk, mountain lion, and black bear. All had died from the virus.

“All three of the confirmed cases showed signs of [avian influenza] before or after death including neurologic symptoms such as seizures or circling, general signs of illness such as weakness or lack of responsiveness to human presence, and organ damage including encephalitis, hepatitis, and pneumonia”, reported Travis Duncan with CPW.

The current strain of avian influenza is highly transmissible and was first detected in North America in wild geese in March 2022. In the past year, the virus has readily jumped from avian to mammalian species, which sounds alarming, but this phenomenon is not news.

Zoonotic diseases – diseases transmissible between humans and other animal species – are due to infectious agents that more than one species is susceptible to. Nearly every big game hunter is aware of disease transmission between livestock and elk – brucellosis and elk hoof disease are common examples. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies cause diseases like scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, mad cow disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob in humans. While these diseases are all different, the pathogenic vectors among species are typical and often include contact with bodily fluids or respiratory droplets.

The 2009 “swine flu” outbreak in the US was caused by the H1N1 influenza virus – the same virus that caused the “Spanish flu” in 1819. The swine flu virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1 that resulted from a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine, and human flu viruses, which further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus[1]. Miller et al. (2017)[2] identified 87 percent of swine pathogens listed by the World Organization for Animal Health cause clinical disease in livestock, poultry, wildlife, and humans.

Humans have contributed to zoonotic diseases through industrialization and the expansion of communities to accommodate the global population explosion[3]. Landscape development encroaches on wildlife and exposes species to pathogens through close contact with humans and livestock, etc.

Caserta et al. (2022)[4] tested white-tailed deer harvested by hunters for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) during the 2020 and 2021 hunting seasons in New York State. Test results found only 0.6 percent virus occurrence in 2020, but 21.1 percent occurrence in 2021, including all three variants (Alpha, Gamma, and Delta). The variants were present in deer long after they had subsided in the local human population. This presents an example of wildlife acting as a “reservoir” for a virus that can infect other species. Still, it seems odd that a specific disease or pathogen can infect mammals, including humans, as well as birds.

Aquatic birds of the world are the reservoirs for all influenza A viruses, and the virus is spread by fecal-oral transmission in untreated water[5]. Transmission involves mutational or recombinational events and can occur through fecal contamination of unprocessed avian protein, e.g. animals preying upon infected birds or drinking contaminated water. The transmission of avian influenza viruses or virus genes to humans is postulated to occur through pigs that act as the intermediate host[5]. Once avian influenza viruses are established in mammals, they are transmitted from animal to animal by the respiratory airborne route.

While disease outbreaks and spread may be somewhat manageable among livestock and poultry populations, controlling disease spread in wildlife is complicated due to the free movement of wild animals. Brucellosis presents a textbook case study.

Cattle introduced brucellosis to the Yellowstone area in the early 1900s and transmitted it to local wildlife populations[6]. The disease has supposedly been eliminated from domestic livestock in the US, yet it remains in the bison and elk populations of the Greater Yellowstone Area[6]. Like many zoonotic diseases, brucellosis has not significantly threatened wildlife populations.

Understanding animal travel and contact networks is imperative to understanding a disease’s potential movement and risk – information that is not readily available for wild animals, particularly when facing a novel disease.

Researchers have studied ecological niche modeling as a means of predicting disease spread within and among wildlife populations, but data on levels of infection in wildlife are often scarce, open to bias, and insufficient for the assessment of cross-species transmission[7]. Complexities in wildlife populations including host movement, variation in host population size, density, and contact rates, unpredictable variation in climate, and species differences in the host–pathogen relationship lead to low model predictability.

Johnson et al. (2019)[8] found that adapting the traditional biotic, abiotic, and movement framework of ecological niche models by summarizing the interaction of three factors – dynamically linked biotic interactors, unlinked abiotic stressors, and dispersal capacity – improves model prediction capability. A practical application for common wildlife species seems unlikely; however, modeling disease spread with high predictability may allow wildlife managers to avoid significant population-level effects from novel and highly virulent pathogens for known distributions of threatened and endangered species.

The complexities involving host-pathogen interactions are utterly fascinating, but the discussion may be academic in the grand scheme of life and potential impacts on species at the population level. Animals and pathogens evolve continually together, each modifying their defense or attack strategy in a game of win, lose, or draw – the draw being the common outcome when an animal endures symptoms from the pathogen, recovers, and builds immunity.

Although unnerving, the cross-species spread of pathogens rarely leads to significant population-level effects. These interactions represent the pathology continuum that ebbs and flows through time. Take caution when handling game that appears to be sick and cook it thoroughly if it must be consumed.

You can read more about the effects of avian influenza on wild birds at Harvesting Nature.

Avian influenza – Unprecedented Spread Among Wild Birds – Harvesting Nature

[1] Trifonov V, H Khiabanian, and R Rabadan. 2009. Geographic dependence, surveillance, and origins of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus. The New England Journal of Medicine 361 (2): 115–19.

[2] Miller, RS, SJ Sweeny, C Slootmaker, DA Grear, PA Di Salvo, D Kiser, and SA Shwiff. 2017. Cross-species transmission between wild pigs, livestock, poultry, wildlife, and humans: implications for disease risk management in North America. Scientific Reports 7:7821 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-07336-z.

[3] Fong, IW. 2017. Animals and mechanisms if disease transmission. In Emerging Zoonoses: Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century. Springer International Publishing DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-50890-0_2.

[4] Caserta, LC, M Martins, SL Butt, NA Hollingshead, LM Covaleda, S Ahmed, MRR Everts, KL Schuler, and DG Diel. 2022. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) may serve as a wildlife reservoir for nearly extinct SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 120(6), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2215067120.

[5] Webster, RG. 1997. Influenza virus: transmission between species and relevance to emergence of the next human pandemic In O Kaaden, C Czerny, and W Eichhorn, eds., Viral zoonoses and food of animal origin. Springer Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-6534-8.

[6] Brucellosis – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

[7] Morgan, ER, M Lundervold, GF Medley, BS Shaikenov, PR Torgerson, EJ Milner-Gulland. 2006. Biological Conservation 131:244-254.

[8] Johnson, EE, LE Escobar, and C Zamrana-Torrelio. 2019. An ecological framework for modeling the geography of disease transmission. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 34(7):655-668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.03.004.

*Feature Image Credit – USDA APHIS