Beyond the sunset, O blissful morning,
When with our Savior heav’n is begun;
Earth’s toiling ended, O glorious dawning -
Beyond the sunset when day is done.

Beyond the sunset no clouds will gather,
No storms will threaten, no fears annoy;
O day of gladness, O day unending -
Beyond the sunset, eternal joy!

Beyond the sunset a hand will guide me
To God the Father, whom I adore;
His glorious presence, His words of welcome,
Will be my portion on that fair shore.

Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion
With our dear loved ones who’ve gone before;
In that fair homeland we’ll know no parting -
Beyond the sunset forevermore!

Family and friends, including all of us here at Skinny Moose Media, Maine Hunting Today, Maine Fishing Today and U.S. Hunting Today, are mourning the passing of a great husband, father and friend. Sayward passed away on Thursday, May 29, 2008.

An unbelievably talented man, Sayward accomplished many things in his life but none compare to the impact he left on anyone and everyone who met him. His addictive joy for life and everything around him was what made him the great man he was.

Born in Rangeley, Maine, Sayward moved to West Paris at a very young age and grew up in that community attending local schools. He hunted and fished for over sixty-five years and celebrated that occasion last year by compiling his many stories in a book called, “Deer Tails and Other Tales”.

After retirement, Sayward and his wife Cynthia of 60 years, spent their summers at their cottage on North Pond in Woodstock, Maine and wintering at their home in Plant City, Florida, where he and life-long friend, Milt Inman, would go chasing alligators and generally getting into mischief.

Some of his God-given talents included tying his own flies for fishing, constructing calls for his love of turkey hunting, woodworking, building furniture, crafting wooden boats, my favorite being his cedar strip canoes and paddles. Sayward took up the fine art of carving later in life, creating some finely detailed fish and birds. He won several awards both in Maine and Florida carving shows.

Aside from his genuine warmth and love, I will always miss Sayward’s stories. I have laughed so many times as I sat and listened to story after story and marveled how one man could experience so many things in the ways that he did.

Sayward loved his community and all the people who were part of it. He gave so much for others to enjoy.

You will be missed my dear friend!

Tom Remington and all the staff at Skinny Moose Media

Meaning no disrespect to the publisher and author of “The Complete Idiots Guide to Growing Your Business With Google”, I had to share something I read the other night. This is something that bloggers and those who comment on blogs should find amusing……well, that’s my thought about it anyway.

My wife bought me this book the other day because she knows that I have online businesses and work at them diligently. Granted she doesn’t really understand much of what I do but she is of course a caring and thoughtful person.

Mostly out of politeness I began reading the book and soon came to realize that I could have written the book – meaning it was a bit below my learning curve. That isn’t to say that for the right person, at the right moment in their online business development, would get tons of information out of this book.

It was written by Dave Taylor in 2005 (a long time ago by Internet standards) but as I said, still contains a lot of valuable information. I suppose you can find the book for sale most anywhere, including on line.

So, to my point. As I was reading along, I came to a section about blogging. Taylor is pointing out that website owners should consider administering a blog as a means of communicating with customers and presenting yourself as an “expert” in your field. Here’s what Taylor wrote, which may or may not have pertained to some or no degree in 2005.

…..weblogs are becoming another venue where you can find opportunities to answer questions and share your expertise. It’s a slightly different environment, because weblog etiquette suggests that you never want to say that the original author is wrong (even if they are). After all, it’s their weblog and you’re just adding your two cents.

……….The majority of weblog owners take their sites quite seriously, and will quickly delete any comments left that are rude, insulting, crassly commercial, or even just politely representing an opposing viewpoint. Some weblog authors will post their own comments in response to your addition, while others never add comments of their own, preferring their readers to continue the discussion.

In all of these cases, rather than a cocktail lounge, it’s best to think of visiting a weblog as being invited into someone’s home for a small gathering. You’re only allowed to stay while you remain a positive influence on the gathering. (emphasis is mine)

Now before some of you go getting your undies in a wad, let me say that I have been blogging for a good 3 maybe 4 years. I don’t ever recall any of this etiquette and there are times I wish readers actually followed it. Just the other night one reader called me a “window licker”. I haven’t any idea what a window licker is but it doesn’t sound very nice. Other than that the remainder of the comment was completely out in left field in reference to the subject of the post. Being that it was rude, crude, crass, idiotic and moronic, I deleted it.

About a month ago, I had a reader write that he was going to come a kill me because he likened me to an animal that I would hunt.

In all honesty, even though at times I have become upset and angry over the actions of readers, more specifically those who leave comments, I don’t do the things Taylor suggest is blog etiquette. As I have matured as a blogger, so to have the things that I do in administering my blog and I’m sure these things will morph as time goes along.

With that said, readers should know that I don’t censor, although I have been accused of doing so. I try to keep some in line away from the comment section. In other words I might send them an email asking them to change their ways. As some of you know or have figured out, sometimes the email addresses a commenter leaves isn’t valid. In that case I am left with no alternative than to address them in a public forum.

I will censor out cuss words and as I said delete comments that are clearly idiots doing what idiots do best. Just because you disagree with me, isn’t reason for me to delete you and send you away.

I don’t care to babysit the comment section, although I do scan through them to make sure things are remaining at least on some level of sane discourse.

Much of what I write is to encourage discussion by readers in hopes of further enlightenment. That doesn’t always happen. As long as things can be controlled, I will leave my blogs as they are in hopes that the majority of readers enjoy reading and participating in the discussions.

As my mother said to me and my brothers growing up, “Don’t make me come in there with a stick!”

Tom Remington

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance in co-operation with Trout Unlimited will host a free family fishing festival on Saturday, May 31. The festival will be held at the Grand Summit Hotel Pond at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine. Free casting workshops and fly-tying instruction will be available throughout the day.

Members of the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited will teach the workshops. Instruction will follow the curriculum developed by Trout Unlimited’s “First Cast” program for Kids. Instruction will include both spin casting and fly casting for older youth and parents. Maine’s Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs Program will supply complimentary rods and reels for use at the festival.

Families can practice newly learned casting skills in the Grand Summit Pond and are welcome to take home their catch. The pond will be stocked with trout courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance will provide each young angler with a mini-tackle box complete with bobber, sinkers and hook.

Kids can learn how to tie flies with materials provided by TU and fibers from Sunday River Alpacas. Every child will be able to take home a hand-tied fly.

Exhibitors include the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with a mobile unit information booth, the Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs Program; Mainefishingtoday.com; and The Maine Conservation School of Bryant Pond, a camp facility for juniors and adults offering programs in Maine’s traditional outdoor activities.

Families are welcome to bring a pack lunch. An outdoor barbecue and cold drinks will be available at the festival. All parents and kids registering for the event will be eligible for prizes including outdoor and fishing equipment from sponsors, local outfitters and businesses.

The weekend of May 31 and June 1 is a free fishing weekend in Maine. Resident and Non-resident freshwater fishing licenses are waived each day. June 1 is the first day of National Fishing & Boating Week, a program of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. RBFF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating and thereby increase public awareness and appreciation of the need for protecting, conserving and restoring the nation’s aquatic and natural resources.

The Bethel Family Fishing Festival is one many nationwide events that provide families with an opportunity to have fun on the water. For those families wishing to stay overnight and fish or canoe the Androscoggin River on Sunday, special family packages are available for the weekend at local lodging establishments.

For information on the Family Fishing Festival, contact the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance at 1-877-275-3363 or on line at www.upperandro.com.

What was once a right by regulation now becomes a right by legislation. Check it out.

It’s important to note that hunters, anglers and trappers have made important contributions to the understanding, conservation, restoration and management of provincial fish and wildlife resources. By enacting this legislation, Albertans express to future generations the values contained in the best traditions of hunting, fishing and trapping.
The intent of the legislation is to establish that Albertans have a right to hunt, fish and trap in accordance with various laws…

Tom Remington

*Spoof*

San Francisco – February 13, 2012 by Unassociated Press – As a continuation of the move by environmentalists and preservationists, a federal judge in this California city has ruled that thousands of Americans must abandon their homes, cease growing crops, vacate their properties and turn control of it over to the federal government within 30 days.

Judge Rhule F. Bench eagerly concluded that according to the wording of the Endangered Species Act, in conjunction with the recently passed Polar Bear Seas Protection Act and a decision by the U.S. Department of Interior back in 2008 to list the polar bear as threatened because of global warming, the government has to act to save several endangered, threatened or perceived threatened species.

In Alaska, natives in the VanKaren Cape community were issued legal documents and told they must abandon their village within 30 days to provide more habitat that might be needed for a protected walrus population. Even though arctic sea ice has continued to grow larger than ever recorded in history, during the cyclical climate period of the late 1900s and early 2000s, the walrus changed its movements and habits and now more of the giant mammals have taken up residence in this area. The Endangered Species Act demands that any activities that might affect a threatened species must be dealt with.

SEC. 7. ø16 U.S.C. 1536¿ (a) FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS AND CONSULTATIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall review other programs administered by him and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. All other Federal agencies shall, in consultation with and with the assistance of the Secretary, utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of this Act by carrying out programs for the conservation of endangered species and threatened species listed pursuant to section 4 of this Act.

In 2008 when then U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne decided to list the polar bear as threatened, scientists had estimated a bear population of between 20,000 and 25,000. The most recent polar bear count that took place in 2011 placed the number at just over 40,000 but environmentalists have been successful in winning lawsuits that claim that they estimate a sustainable population of polar bears must be at least 50,000 worldwide.

Secretary of the newly formed Department of Wildlife Protection, Lovey O. Wolf, former head of the Center for Animal Rights and Biological Diversity, says this move is only the beginning of what he hopes will be a continued effort to protect our valuable natural resources at any cost.

In the Lower 48, the list of states required to set aside land for animal protection continues to grow. A three-year study is nearly complete that has mapped out critical habitat for as many as 600 threatened or endangered species. The larger species include the gray wolf, Canada lynx, bobcat and moose. Our fisheries are not exempt. All waters having populations of brook trout or have known to have had populations have been closed to all fishing and water activities. In many cases water sources for farms and private homes have been stopped.

Immediately after the 2008 presidential election, Congress amended and passed the Clean Water Restoration Act which essentially gives the federal government complete control over all waters inland and offshore. Inland waters also include, swamps, bogs, wet areas and any areas that could hold water, including during spring runoffs and floods.

In 2010 a group of 11 environmental and animal rights groups successfully sued the federal government to force them to list over 425 million square miles of land as critical habitat for threatened species. In many cases these threatened species don’t currently inhabit these areas but U.S. Fish and Wildlife Preservation Service scientists, along with scientists from the Department of Wildlife Protection deemed that certain areas would make ideal habitat for some species if those species were allowed to expand and grow.

Several million of those acres involved private property but owners of that property have no legal recourse. Acting behind closed doors during a late-night bartering session of Congress, politicians passed an amendment to the Endangered Species Act that gave government the power to cease private land if it deemed in the best interest of protecting and saving our natural resources. This amendment was kept under raps for a long time and very few people even know about it.

Over 375,000 property owners scattered from Washington and Oregon, over including Idaho, Montana, Wyoming on into Wisconsin and Michigan will be left homeless in 30 days because of providing protection for the gray wolf and Canada lynx. Portions of Minnesota’s northwest will be turned into wilderness lands in hopes that the moose will return and flourish.

Millions of Americans are directly and indirectly affected by this ruling. Some ranches, industries, power plants, businesses and private homes can no longer operate or exist because of either threats to animals or they pose a danger to the waters and wetlands that support certain aquatic life.

And this is only the beginning promised Sec. Lovey O. Wolf. He said that once mapping was complete, he estimated all 50 states would be required to give over control of at least some of its lands to the government.

There are very few organizations left today to fight this action. Most groups were shut down after Congress passed laws prohibiting activities opposed to governmental actions. These included the NRA, U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance, Safari Club International, to name a few. All gun rights groups were disbanded once laws were passed outlawing guns in this country. All that is left now are a few rogue and small groups working underground in hopes to regenerate interest in the way things used to be.

Many former hunters, trappers and fishermen have migrated to Alaska seeing that state as the only hope for their future. Alaska has been trying for several years now to secede from the United States and become an independent country. As I write, U.S. Naval ships sit off the coast of Alaska sending a clear message that the U.S. Government will not tolerate a move by Alaska to separate itself from the U.S.

Tom Remington

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that many of the same groups that sued the state of Maine last year over inadvertent trapping of Canada lynx, are once again threatening a lawsuit if the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife doesn’t immediately take actions to stop the trapping of the lynx.

The Wildlife Alliance of Maine and the Animal Welfare Institute will join together to force the state to take action.

“Lynx are still being taken illegally in traps set for other animals, in traps smaller [than] those covered by the consent decree, and in areas not covered by the consent decree,” wrote Judith Brawer, an attorney for the two organizations.

“If DIFW refuses to take immediate action to protect lynx from traps, more lynx will be illegally taken, further violating the ESA, and thus we will be forced to pursue legal action before the start of the upcoming trapping season.”

Last year the Animal Protection Institute, which is thought to have released deadly cobra snakes in North Carolina to scare the public, sued the state to protect the lynx and won. After that ruling by the court last October, in a previous article I said this:

We know that these groups’ long range intentions are to rid the U.S. of hunting, fishing and trapping. Any weakness in the armor of state’s fish and game provides opportunity for lawsuits. MDIFW should have been more vigilant to protect the interests of the trappers in this case. They should never have taken the risk and assumed anything. Let’s hope they take a lesson from this act.

Were we ignorant enough to think these groups would stop at that one court’s decision? Some day sportsmen and staff of MDIFW will realize there is never an end, especially when weakness on the part of the state and the sportsmen are shown.

Tom Remington

Empowered by the weakness of the Bush administration in its handling of the polar bear and the Endangered Species Act, the same preservationist groups are now lining up to file suit to list the protection of the walrus because of the same melting ice they claim is caused by man-made global warming.

Michelle Malkin covers the story, the science and the politics of it all.

Tom Remington

I guess I just needed a laugh this morning. Thanks, Gary!

Tom Remington

Here we go again. The last time I did this it seemed to be somewhat of a success and readers felt comfortable enough to leave a comment or two. Let’s go!

1). If crude oil is $130 a barrel today and economic “experts” claim that crude oil prices if they went to $150 a barrel would translate into $6-8 a gallon gas. If tomorrow crude dropped to $80 a barrel would that translate into $2 or less per gallon of gas?

2). Scientists (we don’t know which ones. It could be the “smart ones” who say global warming is real or the “dumb ones” who say science isn’t settled.) have discovered that there is climate change on Mars and Saturn. It also happens that the climate change is warming. It has been reported that one scientist has come up with a “controversial” scientific theory. His theory is that the warming of the planets might not be caused by man-made carbon dioxide emissions. He further theorizes that the warming might be directly related to solar activity. Why is that a “controversial” scientific theory?

3). Vice President Dan Quayle for all intent and purposes destroyed his political career, for whatever that was worth, because he couldn’t spell potatoe….er, uh, potato….hmmmm. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama said he’d been to 57 states campaigning; he was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and said Sioux City, which is in Iowa; he referred to states near to Arkansas as “those states in the middle” and wasn’t aware that Kentucky was a boarder state of Illinois; he says he was born as a result of his parents getting “together” during the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Obama was born in 1961; he didn’t know what language was spoken in Afghanistan; he views countries like Iran, North Korea and Cuba as tiny, not posing any threat; he claims his uncle was with the Americans when they liberated Auschwitz – the Russians did that; and the most recent one was him claiming to see dead people in the audience during a Memorial Day speech. The media declares Obama the front runner and is sure to win in November. Does any of this matter? I guess things change.

4). A report out recently says that in April Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles than they did in March. Wow! Right? There are around 200,000,000 licensed drivers in the U.S.A. That means each licensed driver drove 55 miles less in April. That’s 1.8 miles less per day. How much is the price of gas getting us to change driving habits?

If the average vehicle were to get 20 miles per gallon (I don’t know the exact figure) then we saved 550,000 gallons of gas. Will that affect supply?

Tom Remington

I’m trying to work out a new audio/video version of Open Air With Tom Remington. Below is show I recorded this morning in order to begin working out the bugs. You will notice some audio skips here and there but most prominently and something I’m trying to figure out, is why the show stopped recording at precisely 30:59 when there was perhaps another 10 minutes of show. Have a look and listen and offer any feedback if you so desire.

Tom Remington