We can't let it happen

From: "Tom Kiernan, NPCA" <takeaction@npca.org>

To: All Outdoors People
Sent: December 8, 2012 9:00 AM
Subject: We can't let it happen

Viewing this on a mobile device? Click here to double your gift. Double your support to protect the parks. Dear Reader, There's never been a better time to protect the parks with a gift to the National Parks Conservation Association. Thanks to an extraordinary matching gift from a generous former member of NPCA's Board of Trustees, any online donation you make between now and midnight, December 31 will be doubled … up to $300,000! Think about it. By giving today, you'll give twice as much to NPCA and all of our ongoing efforts to protect America's beloved national parks. So don't waste another minute! Take a moment right now to make a tax-deductible year-end gift to NPCA. In just a few short weeks—unless Congress can reach a budget agreement—our national parks could be subjected to a devastating across-the-board sequester that would slash budgets by 8 percent or more. And even if we can avoid the sequester, we could still see equally drastic cuts proposed for parks down the road. The effects would be dire: thousands of park ranger positions eliminated, school trips cancelled, visitor centers and campgrounds closed. Even worse, entire parks could be shut down indefinitely! We simply can't let this happen. We have to remind our lawmakers how vitally important our national parks are, both as economic engines and as harbors of our natural, cultural, and historical heritage. But to make that case as powerfully as we can, we need the help of special friends like you. By taking advantage of this limited time matching-gift opportunity, you will give NPCA the resources we need to defend parks in the halls of Congress and around the country wherever they are most threatened. These are dangerous times for America's national parks. But with your help, we can rise to the enormous challenges awaiting us in 2013 and safeguard these exceptional places for many generations to come. Please make your special year-end tax-deductible gift today so your support will go twice as far to help us protect the parks! Sincerely, Thomas C. Kiernan President P.S. Your tax-deductible gift will be matched up to $300,000 ... but only until midnight December 31. I hope you will take advantage of this great opportunity to double your gift for the parks! If you prefer to send your gift by mail, please be sure to enclose this PDF donation form to make sure you gift is matched. Thank you!

E-mail us at TakeAction@npca.org, write to us at 777 6th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001, or call us at 800.NAT.PARK (800.628.7275). Can't see this message? View it on the NPCA Website.

NPCA | 777 6th Street, NW | Suite 700 | Washington, DC 20001 | 800.NAT.PARK | npca@npca.org

PUBLIC'S HELP SOUGHT IN FINDING MOOSE POACHER IN BERLIN, N.H.

LANCASTER, N.H. -- N.H. Fish and Game Conservation Officers are seeking help from the public in identifying suspect(s) in the case of a moose killed illegally in Berlin, N.H., and left to rot.

On the evening of November 30, 2012, authorities from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department were alerted to the presence of a dead moose off Kilkenny Loop Road in the town of Berlin. Arriving on scene, Conservation Officer Geoff Younglove discovered one of the most egregious cases of poaching that Conservation Officers have seen in the North Country this year. A mature cow moose lay in the woods approximately 30 yards from the road, having died from multiple gunshot wounds. Tracks in the snow confirmed that an individual had walked up to the moose, fired a final shot into the animal’s head, and then simply walked away. No meat had been removed from the animal.

Conservation Officers were able to recover evidence from the scene and are continuing a vigorous investigation into this incident. As an integral part of the investigation, Conservation Officers are asking for the public’s help in generating leads and possibly identifying suspects. Authorities believe that the moose was most likely shot either Wednesday, November 27, or Thursday, November 28. Although evidence in the snow indicated that only one person had walked up to the moose, it is believed that multiple people may be involved with this incident.

Anyone with information that may be relevant to this case is asked to call N.H. Fish and Game's Region 1 Office in Lancaster at 603-788-4850, N.H. Fish and Game Dispatch at 603-271-3361 or Operation Game Thief at 1-800-344-4262. Online tips may also be received through the Operation Game Thief website, http://www.HUNTNH.com/OGT. Callers may choose to remain anonymous, and all information is welcomed.

NH FISH AND GAME ACQUIRES BOAT ACCESS SITE ON LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE

CONCORD, N.H. -- On November 21, 2012, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department purchased a private marina known as Downing’s Landing at the southern tip of Alton Bay. That means Fish and Game, after many years, has finally acquired a boat access facility on Lake Winnipesaukee, the state’s largest lake.

"This is exciting news for New Hampshire's outdoor enthusiasts because it creates the first state-owned and controlled public boat ramp with parking on Lake Winnipesaukee," said Fish and Game Executive Director Glenn Normandeau. "For years, we've wanted to provide the public with a boat access site on the big lake, and I am thrilled that we've been able to do it."

The Downing's Landing facility includes an existing boat launch with paved parking for vehicles with trailers, as well as a handful of cartop parking spaces. The site includes two buildings and several docks that will allow for excellent shorebank fishing opportunities, particularly during the spring salmon season. The facility will be open to the public for launching boats and shorebank fishing with no fee.

The site may be temporarily closed while Fish and Game transitions ownership and determines what maintenance and repairs are necessary. Since the general use of the property will not change, it seems to be for the most part a "turnkey" facility that can be opened to the public with minimal work. This is quite different from most acquisitions of undeveloped property, which can take months or even years of planning, permitting and construction before a boat access site can be opened to the public.

In the near term, parking configurations will be evaluated and maximized for the upcoming boating season. Future renovations will be planned as Fish and Game moves forward. Improvements may include dock repairs and installation of a newer concrete boat ramp. Fish and Game officials hope to have the site open this winter in time for the ice fishing season.

New Hampshire's Public Boat Access Program is funded through boat registration fees and federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funds, a true user-pay, user-benefit program. Fish and Game's Facilities and Lands Division acquires land for public water access sites, refurbishes existing sites and builds new public boat access areas. Fish and Game maintains more than 140 public boat access sites throughout New Hampshire.

VT man claims to have proof of Bigfoot

(NECN: Jack Thurston, Hubbardton, Vt.) - Self-described sasquatch researcher Frank Siecienski insists he captured one of the legendary hairy beasts on a camera he set up outside his Hubbardton, Vt. home.

"This is where the creature was crouching down in this position right here," Siecienski said, demonstrating for New England Cable News how the purported giant creature was hunched over.

Siecienski told NECN he set up the camera because wanted to know who or what was taking all the apples from the tree in his front yard in September of 2010. His photographs produced shots of a coyote, then of a blurry figure near a hemlock tree. That figure has been nearly impossible for most people to identify.

"Both my wife and I, at the exact same time, said, 'My God, what in the world is that?'" Siecienski remembered.

He got some help answering that question this month, when the network Animal Planet aired an episode of "Finding Bigfoot" on TV and online. Folks from all over contacted Siecienski with ideas.

"I just got an email and a call from Australia," the retiree noted Wednesday.

Siecienski believes the figure is a long-haired female sasquatch, about 400 pounds, with a baby in tow.

"Evidently it was either protecting its young or picking it up," he claimed. “We just don’t know.”

One biologist NECN reached with Vermont's Fish & Wildlife Department in Rutland didn't even want to talk about this on-camera, hinting it was a waste of his time to even give it attention. Siecienski admitted he is used to skeptical responses.

"They're gonna call you a nut," he said. "They're gonna call you crazy."

Others have told him what he photographed is more likely an owl. But he said he's not budging, and even bought the vanity plate "BIG FT" for his car.

"I've gotten a good response from that," Siecienski said, claiming it has been a conversation starter that has led to other people reporting their Bigfoot sightings to him.

The homeowner even has decorated his lawn with Bigfoot statues.

"That's exactly what one would look like right there," he said, pointing to a muscular lawn ornament with a long head and broad face.

Until he gets a clearer view of the "real thing," Frank Siecienski said he will keep battling the non-believers and searching for more evidence that Bigfoot is roaming the Northeast.

"It can't be anything else but," he said of his photo.

SOURCE: http://ow.ly/fFfMg

Salem NH Police Rescue Bald Eagle from Trap

Dave has shared the following article from Salem Patch:

Salem Police Rescue Bald Eagle from Trap The rare bird was caught in a beaver trap off Garabedian Drive.... By Marc Fortier An Eagle was unfortunately caught in a metal beaver trap on Thanksgiving day!  Thanks to a pair of concerned hunters, Salem Police were able to rescue a snared bald eagle caught in a trap on Thanksgiving Day. Around 3 p.m. Thursday, Salem Police received a call from a man saying that he had found a bald eagle caught in a trap off of Garabedian Drive. The caller, James Ransom of Methuen, Mass., and a friend were scouting possible hunting areas when they came across the distressed eagle. Read more »

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