I started Sunday with a dawn hike at Billygoat trail. I then went on a hike with visiting family (and our dog Luna) to Scott’s Run. It was a gorgeous fall day with temperatures hovering in the 50s. Scott’s Run is shorter, but you can walk to the waterfall and then along the river. It tends to be quite busy, but it remains a favorite for dog owners.
Continue reading “Sunday Hikes: From Billygoat to Scott’s Run”
Elephants are remarkably intelligent and communal animals. They often exhibit the same attachments as humans to members of their herd. That attachment led to tragedy this week when most of a herd died in Thailand while trying to rescue a calf at a waterfall. This terrible loss should educate people about these animals and the savagery of hunting them. I have repeatedly denounced killing giant elephants and other forms of trophy hunting. From the killing of Voortrekker (“Pioneer”) to countless other elephants, these magnificent animals are being killed for the vanity and thrill kill of wealthy hunters.
Continue reading “Hell’s Abyss: Five Adult Elephants Die In Effort To Save Calf”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
We as a rather insular species often forget that nature tends to get along well when left to its own devices, while a human construct such as bureaucracy tends to languish and fail when permitted equal liberty. I found credible proofs to both when traveling on business recently–a former Forest Service campground, abandoned apparently due to red tape and yet showing quite clearly that nature still moves on. And it does so vibrantly.
Continue reading “Nature’s Reclamation Project: A Closed Campground With Fall Colors”
The problem with blood hoses is that they are inclined to human-error hemorrhaging. Protesters in London planned to use an old fire engine to spray the Treasury building with fake blood but it did not exactly work out . . . .
Continue reading “Protesting In Vein: Blood Hose Hemorrhages On Climate Demonstrators”
As many of you know, I am no fan of such trophy hunts. I often hike in remote spots to see bears and other animals in their natural habitat. We have previously followed the controversy over the shooting of “Cecil the Lion” by an American dentist Walter Palmer from Minnesota as well as subsequent controversies of an Idaho hunter taunting animal advocates and killing giant elephants or giraffes or famed wolves or mountain goats or hundreds of hippos for trophies. We also discussed the shooting of an iconic elephant as well as disgusting videotape has emerged of a trophy hunter shooting a sleeping lion. The latest outrage is over new pictures of English hunters posing with dead zebras. Shooting a zebra is about as challenging with a long-range rifle as shooting a neighborhood dog.
Continue reading “English Hunters Post Pictures Celebrating Dead Trophy Zebras”
I took my customary dawn hike on the Billy Goat trail this morning and the trees are just showing the start of fall. With it comes my favorite season in Virginia. Soon I will return to Old Rage and other favorite sites to enjoy the changing foliage. Here are a few pictures from this morning for the vicarious hikers.
Continue reading “Dawn On The Billy Goat”
Some of us go to great lengths to see Grizzly bears in the wild. Devin Mitsuing, 35, appears to look for bears for a more hands on interaction with the bears. Mitsuing was found guilty in trying to box with a grizzly bear after stripping off his shirt and charging at it.
Continue reading “Canadian Man Convicted For Trying To Box With Grizzly Bear”
We have previously discussed cruel abuse of wild animals by people who then post their twisted achievements on the Internet. One such idiot is Robert Lee “Bo” Benac III who recorded the dragging of a shark to its death behind a high-speed boat. Benac was given a generous a plea deal and sentenced to only 10 days in jail. He is the third person to face charges for the disgusting videotape shoot near Egmont Key, Florida. Benac pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and violation of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules. This is what you get for an open and brutal case of torturing a wild animal to its death.
Continue reading “Florida Man Who Dragged A Shark To Its Death Given 10 Days In Jail”
I previously warned the nation of the invasion of airborne Canadian wolves. Now, it appears that our Northern neighbor is switching back to the land attack with news of an invasion of feral pigs. They can be distinguished from our own feral pigs apparently because they are more polite and put mayo on everything.
Continue reading “Canadian Invasion! Polite But Feral Pigs Moving Toward The Northern Border”
This morning I took my customary dawn hike on Billy Goat trail. It was nice and cool and empty as the sun rose over the Potomac. Below are a few of the pictures from this morning for any vicarious hikers. Wildlife this morning included deer, blue herons, and turtles.
Continue reading “Dawn on Billy Goat Trail”
At dawn, I took my customary hike on Billy Goat Trail with the rising sun. It was lovely with the soft light of a cool overcast morning. Here are a few pictures from the hike this morning and a few from last weekend on the Billy Goat.
Continue reading “Dawn on Billy Goat Trail”
One of the most consistent areas for the Trump Administration has been its extremely anti-environmental stance on everything from national parks to climate change to pollution control rollbacks. The assumption is that Republicans simply do not support the environment, an assumption that I have always contested. A new poll may give the GOP and its leadership some cause for pause in that regard. There is growing unease — and majority — among Republicans over environmental harm. The numbers showing up for younger Republicans should worry the leadership. Trump and others have made the party synonymous with climate change denial and anti-environmental protection. That could ultimately force young Republicans out of the party even thought they share other values on fiscal conservatism, states rights, and other issues. With women showing a shift away from Trump and the GOP, the loss of young voters would leave a dim future for the party.
Continue reading “Poll: Young Republicans Show Rising Environmental Concerns”
As many of you know, I have been a staunch critic of President Trump’s anti-environmental policies from relaxing pollution standards to abandoning climate change efforts. This includes this week methane rollbacks that are so severe and dangerous that even industry is objecting. However, I remain astonished by the scope and depth of these harmful policies. The latest is a move to remove logging restrictions on one of the most pristine and unique national parks: the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest with some 16.7 million acres. It was always viewed as a park to preserve undisturbed and natural areas from developers, miners and other businesses. Trump is about to change all that and, for those of us who love our national parks, it is an utter disgrace. At a time when our national parks are being crowded from rising demand, Trump is not only not adding any park land but plans to allow existing park areas to be cut down in a giveaway to private interests.
Continue reading “Trump Moves To Log Tongass National Forest”
One of the highlights of a prior hike years ago was seeing a wild burro in California. These are wonderful animals who embody the history of California and Nevada during the gold rush. They are gentle and unassuming animals but someone is shooting them. Shooting a lot of them.
Continue reading “Who Is Shooting The Wild Burros?”
My recent return from Alaska left me with a wealth of new experiences and new friends. It remains a truly wondrous and wild place that everyone should visit. However, as I mentioned during the trip, the impact of climate change is obvious and alarming. Just comparing my kayaking pictures from three years ago, the glaciers have receded a great deal and most have lost any snow cover. If you doubt that climate change is real, go to Alaska and speak to the fishermen and guides. It also has apparently taken a devastating toll on salmon. When I was flying to Alaska, I was speaking to some avid fishermen in the airport who said that they have been going to Alaska for a couple decades and have never seen so few salmon. It turns out that they were right. Scientists have reported that salmon are experiencing a massive die off due to the higher temperatures. Other remote areas a reporting unheard of temperatures and melting. Greenland alone has lost 12.6 billion tons of ice IN ONE DAY — in a record meltdown.
Continue reading “Report: Massive Die-Off Of Salmon Due To Higher Temperatures”