Tri-State Veterans Stand Down In Plains, MT Expected To Draw A Large Crowd

Photo Above - Plains, MT In The Spring


The State of Montana is now home to more than 1,000,000 people. Did you know that approximately 108,000 of those people are military veterans? That's right, per capita Montana has more veterans than any other state in the Lower 48. Only Alaska has a population with a higher percentage of veterans.

Many of Montana's veterans live within easy driving distance of Plains, MT, which is a good thing. On May 5 and 6, 2012, an event to be known as the Tri-State Veterans Stand Down is being organized by Sanders County resident Billy Hill, of Trout Creek. Already on hand to be redistributed to military veterans is more than $1.2-million of surplus items.

The material goods to be given freely to any qualified veteran include hi-tech modular sleeping systems, extreme cold weather sleeping bags, aluminum pack frames with rucksacks, wool Navy pea-coats, wool socks, wool blankets, insulated underwear, boots, and other surplus military gear. When Veteran Stand Downs were first widely organized, they were geared to serve the homeless veteran who found "camping out" a new way of life. With so many people now strapped by a struggling economy, barely being able to stretch one paycheck to the next, or having no job at all, today's Stand Down events are now open to all military veterans. Those who call western Montana, northern Idaho and eastern Washington home are largely outdoor people by choice, and much of the surplus clothing and gear to be handed out at the Tri-State Veterans Stand Down will make weathering the elements a bit more comfortable.

For those who are in need, haircuts and showers will be provided, so will hot breakfasts and lunches both days.

On hand will be Veterans Administration officers and staff to aid with V.A. claims and benefits. Also there will be veterans service organizations - and both physical and mental health providers to address individual veteran's needs. Those seeking employment will be able to receive employment counseling, while other community organizations will be there to help in any way they can.

The Tri-State Veterans Stand Down takes place at the Sanders County Fairgrounds, 30 River Road, Plains, MT on May 5th and 6th, from 0800 Hrs. (8 a.m.) to 1600 Hrs. (4 p.m.) each day. Event organizer Billy Hill says all veterans are welcomed, whether they come for the surplus clothing and gear, the food, to learn more about V.A. services and benefits, for health services, to seek employment, or for the camaraderie and being with many other military veterans. Just be sure to bring your form DD-214, discharge, V.A. or military I.D.

This event is being sponsored by the Tri-State Veterans Stand Down, Noxon Community Center Fellowship, Thompson Falls Food Bank, and the Montana Food Bank Network. - Toby Bridges, Missoula, MT


Media Contact - Billy Hill at 406 847-2407


(Note: Sanders County, MT is one of the western Montana counties that have been hardest hit by wolf depredation. Toby Bridges, founder of LOBO WATCH, will be at the Tri-States Veterans Stand Down to help in any way possible. If an out of control wolf population robbed you of putting your family's winter meat supply in the freezer, or has negatively impacted your ability to raise livestock or earn a living, please look me up and share a thought or two. I also expect several candidates for Montana governor, and other elected officials, to show up. Please do not hold back in letting these people know what we've lost...and what it will take to put an end to the wolf idiocy. )

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost
1923



This was very likely the first poem I ever memorized...and that's because I have a special connection to it.

At the age of 13, I ran a trapline in west-central Illinois, which I checked three days during the week and both days of the weekend. On Saturday morning, my father would drive me out to the creek bridge on Possum Hill Road and drop me off, about 3 miles from home. I'd then worked upstream, running trap sets already made, and always tried to get in at least 5 or 6 new sets. About three-quarters of a mile from the bridge, a smaller creek and valley turned back toward town. The first half mile of that creek, I commonly had four or five good, and often productive, sets for mink and raccoon. By the time I made it home in late afternoon, I'd cover close to four miles.

One Saturday, the temperature was just barely above freezing and the heavy cloud cover could not decide whether to rain or snow. As I headed back to town after runnng my last mink set, the precipitation turned to a cold, cold hard rain. I was close to an old abandoned coal mine, and took shelter in what had once been the owner's home. Even though most of the windows had been knocked out, the roof was still good enough that it only leaked in a couple of spots.

As I took shelter from the rain, I spied a stack of old books against a wall. To wait out the down pour, I thumbed through the books...then spotted a loose single page laying on the floor. On one side was this poem by Robert Frost. As I read it, it dawned on me that the rain had turned back to snow. I folded up the page and slipped it inside a shirt pocket, zipped up my jacket, slipped into the shoulder straps of my trap pack basket and walked home through the woods on a snowy winter afternoon and and early evening.

When I snapped the above photo along the Clark Fork River, about a mile from where I now live in Missoula, MT, a few days after this past Christmas, for some reason Frost's "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" came back to me. Before I finished my walk with our dogs Bob and Tully, I had almost remembered all the words. - Toby Bridges

Something Old Is Something New...

Between hiking with the dogs...hunting in the fall and spring...camping most of the summer...fishing when I can...trying to capture Montana's beauty through the lens of a camera...hosting 2 websites, 3 Facebook pages, and 9 blogs...writing a few magazine articles through the year...and still taking care of the real work I have to churn out to keep the lights on and food in the refrigerator...I honestly do not have any time for anything else in my life. But, it's going to happen anyway. I know that before 2012 winds down, I will be the proud owner of a vintage sniper rifle...pretty much like the one seen in the photo above.

I'm sure there are plenty of you who readily recognize the rifle, a military Springfield Model 1903 in .30-06 caliber. Likewise, I'm sure many of you will recognize the individual holding the rifle, Jack Hoffman of the very popular GOLD RUSH television series which airs on the Discovery Channel.

I ran into Jack Hoffman at the 2012 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, held at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, January 17 thru 20. We chatted for about ten minutes, about guns and wolves. During that conversation, two other cast members of the show walked up - Jim Thurber and Dave Turin. I had just gone up to the upper level of the show (a 630,000 sq. ft. monster) and was on my way back to the Leatherwood Hi-Lux Optics booth, carrying one of the new-made 8x USMC Sniper model scopes I had taken up to show my good friend Glenn Hatt, product manager of Winchester Repeating Arms. The scope had caught Jack's attention, prompting our discussion...which led to talking about wolves. Seems Jack is an elk hunter in his home state of Oregon, and with wolves now moving in from neighboring Idaho, like many sportsmen in that state, he does not want the elk herds destroyed as they have been in Idaho and Montana.

I had to get the scope back to the Leatherwood Hi-Lux booth, which was just down the aisle from where I had enjoyed visiting with the three cast members of GOLD RUSH - and to realize they are just common folks like most of us. Jack wanted to know where the booth was located, and I just pointed it out to him. And about ten minutes later the crew came for a second visit. Jack and I had the photo above taken, with him holding an '03 Springfield sniper rifle with one of the new Hi-Lux USMC Sniper scopes mounted on it - just like the rifles used by the Marine Corps during WWII, Korea and the first half of Vietnam.

When Jack picked up the rifle, his comment was, "Now, here's a real rifle!" He added that he'd sure like to own a rig like that.

"Well, have you found enough gold to pay for one?" I asked. But before he answered, I blurted out, "Don't tell me...don't tell me...I have several more episodes to watch this season!"

I had played a role in getting Hi-Lux Optics to recreate the scope used by the Marine Corps from 1941 until the late 1960s, and was extremely pleased with the quality of craftsmanship and the optics found in the reproduction. The originals of this scope were produced by the old Unertl company. USMC marked scopes in excellent condition have sold for $3,500 or more in recent years. But Leatherwood Hi-Lux Optics has made owning an authentically styled and built scope of this type far more affordable, retailing the Wm. Malcolm version of the USMC Sniper scope for $549.

I love shooting. I love shooting 1903 Springfield rifles. And I love great rifle optics. My fear is that in the foreseeable future, I will also own a scoped rifle very, very similar (if not identical) to the one Jack Hoffman is holding in the photo above. And I just don't know where I'll find the time to get out and fully enjoy sniping at 500 to 600 yard targets - but I'm sure I will. It's a good problem to have. - Toby Bridges

For more on the Wm. Malcolm 8x USMC Sniper scope, go to - www.hi-luxoptics.com

2012 Is Going To Be A Very Interesting Year In Montana!

Montanans have grown pretty darn sick and tired of the way things are these days. The economy sucks...providing for a family is now nearly impossible...the federal government now runs this state...too many elected officials have sold out the Montana way of life...wolves and other predators are now quickly destroying the past 75 to 100 years of sound wildlife conservation...state agencies no longer serve the citizens of the state...and good paying jobs are nonexistent. Heck, it's even hard to find a poor paying job these days!

But, we keep on hearing the same old election promises...the same as during prior election years. You know, all about bringing in more industry and better paying jobs. (We've gone the other way...closing down employers and sending the jobs out of state.) Then there are the same ol' promises of better education...and all we've gotten is more involvement by the federal government...and bigger spending by school districts. Let's face it, despite all the promises of those in office now...and during the election years before...they have done little to really provide a better life for Montana residents. If anything, those who work, live and play in Montana have continually lost ground for the past 10 to 15 years.

Well, there's a new contender for the office of Governor, and he's bringing to the table a new platform, the likes of which the residents of this state have not seen before, or at least not in most of their lifetimes. That candidate is Robert Fanning, of Pray, MT. Here are some of his key campaign issues...

*Stop the federal land grab in this state...

*Return federally occupied lands to Montana to tap natural resources...

*Stop the feds from turning Montana into a police state...

*Take total control of the wolf and other predator problems...

*Enforce the MT and U.S. Constitutions...

*Enforce the 10th Amendment to secure sovereign state rights...

*Stop Obamacare in Montana...

*Return education to local/state control...

*Slam the door on Agenda 21...

And these are just some of the campaign issues Bob Fanning feels are, right now, of most importance to those who call Montana home. The two accompanying photos above share other issues, other problems that he feels needs to be resolved in order for this state to rebound, and to get back on its feet. Soon, many Montana residents will find these hanging on their door knobs.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH

www.lobowatch.com

Favored Places Never Forgotten...

While searching through my photo files for a particular image to use as an illustration for an article on my LOBO WATCH website, I came across the photo above - and it brought a smile to my face.

I shot the photo in early November 2009. Christy and I had camped for several days along Monture Creek, just north of the small town of Ovando, MT. It was the second weekend of the general rifle deer and elk season, and our goal was to put a big doe or two in the freezer. After a couple of days in camp, we had at least a dozen, or more, different Canada jays adopt us...especially right after we had finished a meal. And they definitely weren't bashful.

One morning, as I sat with my feet close to the fire, enjoying a hot cup of coffee while sitting in the 30-degree mountain air...one of the jays litterally landed on the top of my cap, and stayed there for several minutes. Too bad Christy didn't get that photo. She had to head back to Missoula for the day and evening, to return the next morning.

She had taken our three dogs back with her, which meant there wasn't any dog food out for these birds to rob, so any time I fixed something to eat...I immediately had company. I came in from my morning hunt at around 10 a.m., and enjoyed a combo breakfast-lunch (I don't use the word brunch) of sausage and scrambled eggs. I had plenty left over, and set the skillet away from the fire to cool. Ten minutes later, the birds realized it was for them. One or two at a time, they would fly down and grab a beak full of the eggs. It was an entertaining show. I had a front row seat, less than five feet away. In fact, when I snapped this photo, I was only about three feet from this pair of jays.

I was still snapping photos when Christy came pulling into camp. With the dogs back running around, the birds stayed close, but did not land in camp the rest of that day. As we had hoped, Christy filled her tag with a really big doe, taking the deer only about 100 yards from camp. I heard her shoot, and returned to get it field dressed and spread to drain. As the deer cooled in a light snow, we broke camp, then loaded everything up and headed for home.

As we pulled out of the camp site, I saw several birds drop down to the ground to pick up a few pieces of dog food where I had fed the dogs earlier. It had been a nice four-day break from the hustle and bustle of Missoula, a very busy city of about 70,000 people. While still small by most standards, it is the second largest city in the state. Fortunately, when it's time to get out of town for a few days, we can be into the mountains in just 15 or 20 minutes. The Monture Creek area where I took the above photo in the Fall of 2009 is barely an hour's drive from home. For several years, it was one of our most frequented camping areas, and this photo brought back some great memories.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WOLVES...

Through 2008 and 2009, we most likely spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 weekends camping along Monture Creek. I work at home - and Christy works three days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) with Missoula County Animal Control. That allows us to camp Thursday evening through Monday morning when we want to camp that long, especially during the big game hunting seasons.

Our dogs love the area, and the long walks I take them on back along Forest Service roads, old logging roads, or a snowmobile trail that cuts through the area. On most evening walks in '08 and '09, it was common to see 20 to 30 deer, a moose now and then, and once they moved down from the higher elevation a handful of elk on occasion. Not any more.

Along with the good memories surrounding the above photo of those two Canada jays is also the realization of why we have not camped there at all in more than a year. There is no game to see any longer. The wolves began moving into that area in 2008, and by fall 2009 they were well established, with 5 or 6 recognized packs. Likewise, the impact they were making on other wildlife populations was immeditely realized.

Several weeks after hunting with Christy there in early November 2009, I headed back over to see if I could take a buck during the rut. I camped alone for several days, and even with a light 4 to 5 inch snow on the ground, and still hunting along the same trails where I would see 20 to 30 deer on any previous afternoon hunt...I failed to cut a single fresh deer track. In fact, the only tracks I saw during two full days of still hunting were a dozen or so wolf tracks, and one set of mountain lion tracks. Then, following a fresh 4 to 5 inch snowfall one day near the end of the 2010 deer season, I left home before daylight, drove over to the area and spent the entire day walking those trails and slowly driving along back country gravel roads...looking for deer tracks. And by day's end, covering a full 6 or 7 miles of trails and closed Forest Service roads on foot, plus driving at least 25 miles of snow covered roads (without any other vehicle traffic), I saw a grand total of 7 sets of deer tracks...five of which were being followed by wolf tracks, and one by the tracks of a mountain lion.

Just a few weekends before writing this, I took my two trail companions, my dogs Bob and Tully, for a long 15+ mile walk up a mountain trail and into the Bob Marshall Wilderness area, then back out. I was scouting for a possible early season rifle hunt for elk, deer, bear, mountain lion, and wolf. In all of that hiking and scouting, I saw one set of deer tracks. And that was it.

To read a report on the loss of wildlife in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, go to the following link...

http://www.lobowatch.org/adminclient/WolfImpact6/go

It is good that I do have some great memories of this area as well..."The Bob" is dead...and I may never go there again. - Toby Bridges

Taken Any Illegal Photos Lately?

The Above Photos Are Just A Few Of Thousands I Have Shot Here In Montana Over The Past 3 Or 4 Years - ON FEDERALLY OWNED PUBLIC LANDS. Are you aware that if I use these photos to illustrate the outdoor articles I write, I am technically in violation of the law...since I did not have the required Forest Service "Photography Permit" - which runs $150 per day! Just having these photos "published" here is likely a violation of that USFS regulation. And if any of you shoot a photo on federal lands, which is good enough to be publish, and is...you too could be in violation of the law.

Following is an e-mailed letter sent to the USFS "Filming and Photography" offices this morning.


"Dear U.S. Forest Service;

I have heard of stupid federal regulations, but having to have a "filming" or "photography" permit on federal lands really takes the cake.

My guess is that this requirement has just made law breakers out of some 3,000 or 4,000 outdoor writers, photographers and editors - who have spent many days of hunting, fishing, camping and hiking in National Forests, or Heaven Forbid...in designated "Wilderness Areas". Since I was a young boy, 12 or 13, I have spent a great deal of my time reading the outdoor magazines, i.e. OUTDOOR LIFE, FIELD & STREAM, SPORTS AFIELD, etc. - and now I have to wonder if I have wrongly admired "law breakers" by envying the photos of them with a big bull elk they took up in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area...or with a huge brown trout caught along the "Miracle Mile" in Wyoming...or a dandy pronghorn taken on federally owned public lands anywhere here in the West. I have taken many such photos over the years - many of which have been published in major outdoor magazines - such as AMERICAN HUNTER, Petersen's HUNTING, and FUR-FISH-GAME.

Let me ask, what constitutes "commercial"?

Let's say, one of the millions of federal land users takes a photograph that turns out to be "outstanding"... enters it into a photo competition, gains recognition for the photo, and eventually a publisher buys the rights to that photo to illustrate an article...or for the cover of a magazine or book...or just does a limited edition print for home/office decoration...is the photographer suddenly in violation of federal requirements?

Technically, if a photograph is published, in any way or form...it is being used "commercially" - whether the photographer was paid for it or not.

Well, that would make a few million others in this country law breakers as well. Facebook is a commercial venture, and rest assured there are many, many illegal images published on the millions of pages making up that social network - taken on federal lands...without a photography permit.

Attached are several photos which would likely be considered commercial as well - since they have been widely used. I have them published right now on my LOBO WATCH website, and on one or more of the several blogs I also host. Sure, they are either U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service... National Park Service...or U.S. Forest Service photos. Were "Photography" permits issued for shooting these...or do these federal agencies feel they are above the law...and don't need no stinking permit???

I'm also attaching a photo I took on National Forest (Wilderness) land...without a permit...which has also been published. Did I break the law?

I would certainly love to hear back from you in regards to this extremely vague and widely unkown issue. There is a large and quickly growing contingent of photographers and videographers who are ready to take this on."

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH

www.lobowatch.com


I shared this letter with a number of old friends in the outdoor media business, and heard back from one which was leaving this week to film a show for his Sportsman Channel program...and he assured me he would be hunting on state lands - claiming that the $1,000 a day permit to shoot the show on federal lands was just too cost prohibitive. He also stated that the extremely high USFS permit costs for large scale movie production is definitely the primary reason why so much of today's movie filming is done in Canada...and not in the U.S. More jobs pushed out of this country...due to stupid federal regulations!

Contemplating The Day...And The Art Of Realizing The Truth...

An Hour Alone In The Morning, With A Fresh Pot Of Campfire Coffee And A Warming Wood Fire Is A Great Way To Start The Day...And To Sort Out The Truth From All The Falsehoods That Fill Our Lives And To Contemplate The Lies Which Are Now Destroying The Outdoorsman's Way Of Life

I seriously doubt if the great outdoor journalists of the past could even begin to fathom the attack that has been launched against the sporting life. Magazine and book authors such as Zane Grey, Ernest Hemingway, Jack O'Connor, Corey Ford and Ed Zern would very likely find it extremely hard to swallow how the shooting and hunting industry, without much of a fight at all, has allowed the anti-hunting movement to move in and take over wildlife management in this country...and to destroy hunting opportunities.

Organizations like the Defenders of Wildlife...the Sierra Club...the Center for Biological Diversity...the Alliance for the Wild Rockies...and more than a dozen others have done it pretty much without investing a single dollar in wildlife conservation programs or projects. Instead, they've invested their financial efforts in keeping wildlife issues tied up in federal court - not for the sake of saving wildlife, but to put an end to hunting, and to cash in on the hundreds of millions dished out annually by our extremely abused federal justice system's "Equal Access to Justice Act", which reimburses these organizations for extremely padded legal expenses.

When challenged to become more involved in the fight against all of this, shooting and hunting industry corporation c.e.o.'s and upper management presidents and vice presidents, and division managers, all too often respond that they are strong financial supporters of the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Mule Deer Foundation, or some other or another national pro-hunting conservation organization. And they are quick to point out that "their money" is also going to fight the anti-hunting movement.

Personally, I find that a bit of a cop-out.

Why aren't iconic retailers like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's...or major arms producers like Ruger and Browning...or ammunition suppliers such as Federal and Winchester...or camouflage clothiers Mossy Oak or Realtree...or optic makers Leupold and Bushnell...or game call producers like Primos or Knight & Hale...compound bow manufacturers like Mathews and PSE...or any company that derives its sales, or a large part of its sales, from shooting and hunting products doing more, much more, to openly fight issues that are now destroying hunting?

Why are they not collectively throwing up a barrier that the anti-hunting forces cannot scale, cannot breach? Just who is it they are afraid they will piss off if they take a company stand that says..."Bass Pro Shops (or whoever) Stands Behind Wolf Control 100-Percent!" Or, "Put An End To The Wildlands Project Before It Puts An End To The Outdoor Way Of Life!" Or maybe, "Here Are Those Who Want To Take Hunting Away From You...The Sierra Club, Humane Society Of The United States, The Center For Biological Diversity, Defenders Of Wildlife, Earth Guardians...."

Perhaps the lackluster efforts of the shooting and hunting industry to go nose-to-nose with the anti-hunting forces in this country stems from the fact that those who head major outdoor product corporations, or who are in upper management, are too far removed from areas that are already severely impacted. And that these same people simply have not seen the damage, and have not spent enough time alone to truly contemplate who our enemies are...and how to wage war against them. In short, they have not sat alone in front of an early morning campfire, staring into the bright red bed of coals as the fire keeps the coffee warm, while they sip on hot and strong campfire brew.

LOBO WATCH CHALLENGE...The Campfire Coffee Summit

Dear Shooting & Hunting Industry;

Over the years, I have gotten to know personally many of you who do head up "our" industry. I've become dismayed at how most of the companies in this industry will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote new products, new ideas - in a very visual way, but tend to make great effort to avoid being aligned with anything that may be considered controversial. What has disappointed me, and the vast majority of the sportsmen I am now associated with, is how most every company in this industry has failed to openly take on the forces that want to put an end to our way of life. Or, if your company has provided financial support to national and state organizations to fight anti-hunting efforts, how it has been kept a secret, as if you are ashamed to be associated with taking care of the wolf problem, stopping the big land grab known as Agenda 21, or challenging the claims constantly being made by anti-hunting groups.

What you need, is to see the damage first hand. To ride or hike into some the most beautiful elk country that can be found anywhere in the Northern Rockies...and to see how void it is of life. Maybe to fish a high mountain lake where one could once see 3...4...5 moose on just about any evening...and see nothing...not even a moose track. To ease through country where it was once common to see a hundred or more deer a day...and catch a glimpse of maybe 5 or 6 whitetails flashing through the timber, if you are lucky. To spend time with ranchers who have already thrown in the towel...or are about to...thanks to livestock losses to wolves...and grazing permit losses to the efforts of Wildlands Network radicals. To meet outfitters and lodge owners who are seeing their livelihood and their life's work going down the drain. To see firsthand how many sporting goods stores have been so negatively impacted by the loss of hunting opportunities here in the Northern Rockies...and how many other businesses have been similarly impacted.

You, as an industry leader, need to come to western Montana - and spend a few days in wolf country.

What I would like to see is 25 to 30 shooting & hunting industry leaders to fly into Missoula, MT for a three-night stay. Arrive mid day, have a late afternoon reception so those who do not know one another can meet. Have dinner together...then spend the evening with 300 or so sportsmen, ranchers, outfitters, guides, loggers, veterinarians, local politicians, business owners, conservation group members, rural residents, and others who have been negatively impacted by the anti-hunting efforts.

A microphone will allow these people to share their feelings, their experiences, their concerns, and their losses with you...the shooting and hunting industry they rely on to provide the products they use...an industry they would like to see more active in fighting the problems we now face. While wolves will surely dominate the comments made, there are other issues, such as the Wildlands Network/Agenda 21 project, public land closures, high grizzly densities, and others that are sure to be addressed -and which in one way or another affects the shooting and hunting industry.

The next morning, two of you will be paired, and teamed up with a Montana or Idaho hunter, outfitter, guide, rancher, cowboy or land owner to spend the day in various different areas in the Bitterroot Mountains, the Sapphire Mountains, the Garnet Mountains, the Cabinet Mountains, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Scapegoat Wilderness, or maybe even the Rattlesnake Wilderness that borders the city limits of Missoula - where each of you will spend the night tent camping alone.

Your camp will already be there, in wolf and bear country, with everything you need - a camp gun (or bring your own), tent, cot, sleeping bag, firewood, grub for dinner and breakfast the next morning...and most importantly, a granite coffee pot and coffee, so you can sit and stare into that fire and contemplate everything you heard the evening before from those impacted by wolves, grizzly bears, unreasonable state and federal restrictions, and the loss of hunting opportunities.

The following evening would be a parting dinner, to share what you would be taking home with you from the experience to see what's happening here now, and which will spread across the rest of the country if we cannot contain the damage here. Are you ready for a douse of the truth...to see and hear what you have been insulated from...to witness the damage our enemies have already inflicted on the past 75 to 100 years of wildlife and habitat conservation?

I wish I had been able to pull such an endeavor together a year or so ago. The fall hunting seasons are now upon us, and I know that shooting and hunting industry people will soon scatter like a covey of quail in pursuit of their favorite game. So, I will start planning all of this for mid June 2012, a beautiful time in the Northern Rockies, with cool nights that make for great sleeping in a tent - and the warmth of a campfire and a hot cup of coffee is ever so welcomed as day breaks in the morning.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH