мека мебелGuest blog by David Miller

The definition of hydrology is “A science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on the surface of the land, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere.”

So in essence, the hydrology of our land is in reality a life form of it own such as is our own bodily blood system. The disruption of the waters distribution naturally occurring within its environment must surely result in consequences of various levels.

Therefore, one must consider the impact of the currently planned blasting of the deep bed rock on mountain tops across hundreds of miles in Maine for the installation of the thousands of huge commercial wind turbines. It can very well impact and alter the high mountain seeps and springs. Damage to these sources of clean cold water could possibly cumulatively impact even our major aquifers that we depend on for potable water. Consideration must also be given to the possibility of increased levels of naturally occurring hazardous substances being released into the waters by the disruption of the bedrock during blasting. This could result in the possible release of excessive amounts of naturally occurring minerals in the form of sulfides or sulfates, and in some locals where present, substances such as arsenic.

Another concern to be considered is the impact to our wildlife. The cold mountain seeps join each other resulting ever enlarging streams feeding into our brooks and eventually into our rivers and larger bodies of water. The disruption of these sources may result in lesser amounts of runoff and or increased silting, in turn causing increased water temperatures and maybe even result in the very loss of some of our cold water fisheries. At the least, one can envision the loss of some of these waters that are the spawning areas for our world class brook trout and other cold water fish. Hundreds of these small mountain streams are the source of naturally occurring trout which move down into the larger brooks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes that we fish in. No matter how you look at the possible effects, the results are a loss of a natural resource that Maine currently is a champion of – Brook Trout. Most all other traditional areas of native brook trout within the Continental United States already have been loss as the result of pollutants and destruction of the water source.

The value of clean water to mankind is currently critical in many areas of the world. It must be remembered that Maine is currently one of a few places in the eastern states where one can still kneel down, cup ones hand, and drink pure clean water in thousands of locations. All one has to do is ensure that there are no beaver or dead animals in the upstream side of one’s source of this water. Most any seep or spring on a hill or mountain side is a sure place to acquire a drink of ice cold clean water. The bottled water industry in Maine is here because of our many unpolluted aquifers. As the world sources of potable waters shrink, the value of our resource will escalate.

We have in Maine a very precious resource. If you can’t visualize the true value of our clean waters, you need only to talk to those who have traveled around the world. Just ask some of our military personnel, they are most aware of the value of clean water worldwide. In many locations around the world people are killing each other and even whole communities have perished fighting over potable water sources. In the near future the value of drinkable water will be astronomical compared to other things we value. Just consider the current cost of plain bottled water at your local store when compared to an equal amount of gasoline.

The major issues and controversy about the development of large scale commercial wind power is currently centered on health issues related to low frequency sound and shadow flicker, decreased property values, loss of habitat, death of large numbers of birds and bats, and impact to threatened or endangered species. Just maybe, the largest long term detrimental impact of large scale mountain top wind development is out of sight right under our feet – CLEAN WATER.

Dave Miller
Lexington TWP, ME

Dave Miller is a Maine resident, an outdoor writer and a member of the Carrabassett Valley Trappers Association.

Guest blog by David Miller

Does industrial wind and wildlife really mix well? I would suggest no. There has been much research into the affects of industrial wind turbines and its deadly affect on bats and birds, but little to none on mammals.

The effects on both livestock and wildlife are starting to be realized by land owners, and by hunters and trappers. The effects of wind turbines on domestic animals are thankfully starting to be recorded, such as 100 goats dying in Taiwan because they could not feed. The turbines noise kept them “instinctively on alert” for predators to the point they could not eat. The livestock of an Ontario cattle rancher having many still born and what few calves were born were attacked by their mothers who kicked and bit them, others refused to nurse their young as a result of the affects of newly installed industrial size wind turbines. These are but two recorded and reported examples. Domesticated animals cannot escape the noise and shadow flicker of wind turbines because of their restricted (fenced in) range resulting in these types of incidents.

The higher forms of wildlife such as deer, bear, moose, and many furbearers take the option of leaving the immediate area of industrial wind complexes. But by this action, they are forced into habitat that is already occupied resulting in conflicts such as over browsing and an increased rate of predation. These activities have been recorded in various locations where industrial turbine complexes have become operational. The loss of habitat due to road, transmission line, and turbine site construction also results in the loss of thousands of acres of habitat. The affects of the turbines on the lower forms of wildlife such as rodents, snakes, and even insects is an unknown to date. They all have their place in the chain of life and any single loss will affect other wildlife and also the overall environment.

The hydrology of the mountains may also be impacted by the deep bed rock blasting that is required to make the foundations for the 400+ foot tall wind turbines. This may affect our drinking water supplies and the surface waters that hold various species of life including our beloved cold water brook trout and landlocked salmon fisheries.

Fragile and rare high alpine vegetation will be destroyed by mountain top wind development. In places such as Maine, moose will be driven off the high mountains sides where many go to have the cold temperatures of winter freeze off their tick infestations that can if bad enough weaken them to the point that they may parish. The pine martin, one of the most valuable of our fur bearers thrives on mountains with heavy spruce growth. Our depleted northern deer herds will be further stressed and damaged due to the fact that the low frequency noise and construction will force them from current habitat. The use of herbicides to prevent re-vegetation may cause long term harm to wildlife, aqueduct species, and maybe our own drinking water. The possibility of forest fires will be greatly increased due to lighting strikes to the turbines and overheated gearbox lubricants igniting. This is in areas mostly far removed from any firefighting equipment and men.

The affects of industrial wind on wildlife (other than bats and birds) is not being actively researched by various federal and state fish and game departments due to several reasons, such as a lack of funding and most commonly due to political pressure where state administrations do not want anything negative being brought to light. This is because they support wind power development along with its tax incentives, stimulus monies, political gains, and of course their own long term pocket wealth over that of the welfare of wildlife. The loss of revenues generated by wildlife such as licensing fees and employment related to hunting, fishing and trapping industries which generates millions annually for the states affected by industrial wind is not in their greedy equations.

It must be noted that the scientific and medical communities are realizing the effects of low frequency noise and the strobe affect of the blades in sun light that cause mental and medical problems in humans. Even this is being contested and down played by the big wind companies with their multitude of lawyers and our greedy politicians who gain to lose face and wealth by opposing big wind. They are doing all they can to discredit those who oppose big wind. Along with that, they come into communities where they want to place commercial wind turbine complexes and buy off the local governments and tax payers with bribes of reduced electrical fees, offers to pay for lawyers to represent the local communities during negotiations, and cash settlements with private individuals who have to sign agreements not to publicly oppose them for the duration. Here in Maine we are staged to lose over 350 miles of mountain tops along with many thousands of acres of habitat. Most of the land is privately owned and the land owners cannot be blamed because of upfront monies, reduced tax burdens, and long term leases. This is all done with stimulus funding which are our federal tax monies or that borrowed by our current federal administration from foreign countries which will hurt generations of Americans for many decades. The sad part is that wind power generation is not even cost effective, nor does it reduce carbon emissions because more coal and oil fired generation plants must be built to back up wind power generation which is a variable dependent on wind. These are the basic reasons I feel that commercial wind generation is not beneficial to wild life, along with consideration of its impact to the human race.

I ask that you form your own opinion on this matter, but please educate yourself on the pro’s and con’s of this subject before forming that opinion. There are many websites that will educate one. All you need to do is search or Google industrial wind or wind turbines.

Dave Miller, Lexington TWP, ME

Dave Miller is a Maine resident, an outdoor writer and a member of the Carrabassett Valley Trappers Association.

“God Has a Sign And It Reads: Gone Huntin – Part II“, is now available for reading.

Okay, before you go into a tizzy and start screaming “blasphemy” or some other nonsense, give me a chance to explain the title. Believe me, it’s warranted. Many people in this country have fought long and hard to remove God from the docket, but I’m here to tell you, he’s alive and well, and rooted deep inside the hearts of a lot of American sportsmen.

Did you know that in Genesis, Chapter 9, God commissioned man with the job of wildlife management? He did. Did you know that Nimrod and Esau were very skilled hunters who hit the woods and fields with bows and arrows harvesting wild game for food? They were. Did you know that deer, antelope and other wild game were the chosen foods, even before man started eating domesticated meat? Read Deuteronomy Chapter 12. Did you know in Proverbs 12:27 it says that a lazy man neglects to roast his game, but the substance, (the meat taken through hunting), of the diligent man is considered precious? Well, it is. How about in Acts Chapter 10 where God himself commanded the apostle Peter to “rise, kill and eat” when he was hungry…and the passage spoke specifically about animals?

Yup…it’s all in there. The list of scriptures goes on and on my friend. And don’t even start about fishing. Jesus and several of the apostles were fishermen; some of whom even cast “lines” for fish, as well as nets. It was Jesus himself in John Chapter 21 who broiled some fish over a campfire for breakfast, and you outdoors-folk will also be glad to know that an occasional beer or glass of wine is not anti-biblical, no matter what you thought you heard. That’s right, I said it and I can back it all up.

So what’s with the title of this article? Why would it say that God has…’Gone Huntin’”? It’s because I’m bringing him into any and every hunting camp that will personally invite us both in, that’s why.

Not Just Inside Four walls

I’m a hunter, born and bred, and I’ve fished since the age of seven. I’ve got more outdoor stories inside me than you can shake a stick at, and yes, I was raised like most country boys, with a good Mama and a strong Christian background.

However, sad as it may seem, many outdoorsmen today, myself included, have little time for the standard church ceremonies. And I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, and I’m certainly not blaming anyone. Most of my friends are what I affectionately call “modern rednecks”, and that’s a good thing. The guys and gals I know, who love to share hunting and fishing stories over an open fire-pit in the summertime, are also God-fearing, red-blooded Americans, and very proud of it! They work extremely hard…often six days a week or more, they love their families, and any time off they may get, is spent out in the woods and fields or on the water, with family and friends in tow.

Unfortunately, many of us only get the traditional Sunday off as a day of rest, and though we firmly love God…and our pastors…we find it difficult at best to squeeze in a mid-day or evening service that could potentially be spent in camp or on the lake. Obviously, I need to stress that anytime we, as individuals, can make the time to go to church, we should. Our families need the support and so do the countless pastors who strive hard to keep us spiritually fed and “on track”. However, there are a myriad of sportsmen across the country who simply feel they don’t have time on Sunday, and who instead, go “out there”, all the while just trying to enjoy themselves after a hard week, yet still feeling a sense of guilt about it. And that’s where I come in…

Spiritual ‘Road Trips’

About two years ago, I was struggling as a concrete contractor, (self-employed), and found myself working long, hard hours, often six and seven days a week, just to keep the jobs moving. I found that there was little time for church anymore, and with my spiritual upbringing, I was guilt-ridden, especially if I tried to squeeze in a few days for spring turkey hunting or fall deer hunting. In time, I messed up my back and found I couldn’t do the strenuous work anymore so I quit…and immediately found myself unemployed and practically starving. The up side was that my situation drove me back to the books and most importantly, my Bible, and after many months of contemplating where my life was headed, I made the decision to bring both my faith and my outdoor passions, together. The only thing I didn’t want to do was change who I was and become some stuffy old Bible-thumper, knocking on people’s doors and shoving “God” down everyone’s throats. One day it came to me that I didn’t have to change, and ‘Mountain-Man Outdoor Ministries’ was born.

I won’t bore you with details but suffice it to say I’m a redneck, a hunter, a fisherman, and an outdoorsman, and I just happen to like sharing my faith when I can. What better way to do that than to just “be me”, and preach the Word, redneck attitude and all, through which I have also been appropriately referred to as “The Redneck Preacher”. Funny how God works sometimes, isn’t it? We are developing outreaches and programs designed to help kids, and are very interested in working to help set-up special hunts and trips for special people, (any age, disabled or incapacitated beyond their means), who are unable to enjoy hunting on their own anymore.

I’d like to think that the many friends and contacts I’ve made in the professional outdoor industry would be willing to help me in this venture by donating trips, hunts, and much needed gear. If you or anyone you know, wishes to become an active partner in this ministry, please contact me. I am available for interviews, discussions, and studies, and would love to be invited into your hunting camp this season! There’s no better way for me to share my faith than to visit hunting camps across America, share some campfires with redneck sportsmen just like me, hunt and fish with them, and, in effect, bring God straight into the heart of the American Hunting Camp.

I just wonder how many invitations I’ll actually get! You think Waddell and The Nuge could stand the extra excitement in camp? A Redneck Preacher with a Bible in one hand, a rifle or shotgun in the other, and a turkey call hanging out the side of my mouth. Hmmmm….I dunno… Let’s praise God, pass the ammo, and find out. And did I warn you I’d be bringing a camera and cameraman along for the ride? I didn’t? Uh oh…

(Blaine Cardilli is a freelance outdoor writer, industry prostaffer, and seminar speaker on hunting; He also enjoys teaching christian studies to rednecks & sportsmen, and has been referred to as The Redneck Preacher. He can be reached on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theredneckpreacher)

At the time of this writing, it’s the end of March, 2010, and turkey season is about 5 weeks away! It’s a time of excitement for most turkey hunters, as we dig out all the gear, unpack the decoys, and play with our calls. For me, turkey hunting has become a passion and there’s nothing I’d rather do than watch the spring woods wake up at dawn, with my back against a nice big tree. Maine is still relatively new as far as turkey hunting goes, and it seems like only yesterday when we were given our first chance to go chase the wily gobbler. Actually, my area, (the Midcoast region of Maine), didn’t open up to public hunting until 1996 and though many seemed interested, few hunters were successful those first couple years.

I didn’t take an interest until 1998 but back then we were under a lottery system for tags. Sadly, I wasn’t chosen the first few times I entered but that didn’t stop me from hitting the woods to see what all the fuss was about, and I simply traded my weapon for a set of calls and a good pair of optics. The turkey population was sparse in the early days and to hear a distant gobble made my heart race and my blood boil as I took off running through the woods, hoping to get close enough to watch and observe. Having no turkey hunting experience whatsoever, I literally had to learn by trial and error, and one thing that really helped me was to watch them at any and every opportunity, studying their habits, calls, and flock interactions. I even learned enough to become involved in calling in turkeys for friends who were fortunate enough to secure a tag in the beginning when I had none, and so no season afield ever went to waste in my book.

Suffice it to say I’ve come a long way since my initial start in 1998, and the past 12 years have seen a lot of fine-tuning on my part. One of the many things I’ve had to struggle with is the use of decoys and decoy set-ups on turkeys. Like I said, it’s been trial and error mostly, but by trying new strategies each season, I’ve learned what works for me and what doesn’t. Now mind you, nothing is guaranteed in turkey hunting, and no set-up is by any means fool-proof, but if you use a little common sense and Yankee ingenuity, decoys can greatly enhance a hunters spring success.

The ‘Three-Phases’ of Decoy Use

Many times, during the early days of my toying with decoys, there were accepted scenarios already abroad, such as using a single hen, or the infamous ‘love triangle’ approach, in which two jake decoys were placed, (a passive model and an aggressive model), in conjunction with the hen. Unfortunately, the triangle, though it worked well for two back-to-back seasons, abruptly stopped producing for me. In fact, many times the decoys seemed to spook the turkeys, a problem many turkey hunters today still argue about. I won’t forget the first time it happened to me either. I was being filmed for a DVD series and things were looking pretty good. We had struck a gobbler and my calls had managed to lure him some 350-400 yards, through a small patch of woods, across a brook, and up a steep hill, and as the producer readied the big camera for the final scene, the gobbler hung up when he stepped over a stone wall and saw the decoys. He had been gobbling at every call and coming on a string but on looking back, it was the aggressive jake that shut him up and made him run. As soon as he saw it he went the other way…in a hurry!

For me…and through 3-4 seasons of experimentation in which I had nothing to lose…I discovered what I’ve come to call the “3-phases” of decoy use during the spring season. Here in the extreme northeast, our turkeys start to gobble and strut generally in or around the end of March, and active breeding commences in April. Biologists claim that, on average, a hen could pretty much have a full clutch of eggs laid by May 1st, however many factors come into play that could cause these averages to fluctuate. That being said, here is what I, personally, consider to be the best decoy arrangements and when to implement them.

Since our season opens around May 1st and runs for five consecutive weeks, ending the first week in June, I find that putting out a strutting decoy, (and I prefer a tom over a jake), works best for the first week and a half, to two weeks, depending on conditions. This works especially well if used in conjunction with a sitting or breeding-hen decoy, placed nearby. About 2-3 weeks into the season, I’ll swap out the strutter decoy for a standing jake and a standing hen…or even two. As the fourth and fifth weeks come along, I’ll often switch to just a few hens, and depending on the way the breeding season has taken shape, I might only use one.

The reasoning is fairly simple. At the onset of the season, toms and jakes are ready for action and ready to breed; dominance and territorial urges, coupled with the need to mate are strong and so a strutting decoy over a sitting hen often ignites raging jealousy, amidst toms and jakes alike. A boss gobbler who sees a strutter over a hen in his domain will absolutely not tolerate it, and will oftentimes come to the set-up at a full run. If left to see what happens, the boss tom usually tries to fight the decoy before trying to breed the sitting hen.

As the season hits about half way, many toms and jakes have been in so many battles they’re about wore-out, and many times a strutting decoy will scare off a subordinate tom, who just doesn’t have it in him to fight what appears to be another boss gobbler. That’s why switching to a passive jake and a standing hen works well, because the combination of both, especially with a jake who isn’t showing aggression, often allows a sense of security for another tom, even a subordinate, to come in and investigate without the fear of being immediately run off. As to the final week or weeks of the season, I’ve seen incoming toms freeze-up and hang back, even in full strut, if I have a jake decoy near my hen(s). That’s when I switch to only hens in standing or feeding positions. The afore-mentioned hunt in which the gobbler hung up at my decoys happened at the end of the season, and when I had an aggressive jake decoy in the mix.

The scenarios are far from foolproof, as I mentioned earlier, but for me this is what I have found to be a fairly reliable series of set-ups. And of course, with weather conditions and flock sizes, population fluctuations and other contributing factors, the timing could be off a few days either way as to when to switch-out my decoys. But… I’ll know when it’s time merely by watching how the turkeys react. And as to explanations concerning aggressive and passive jakes, keep this in mind… A passive jake will have less red coloration in the head and neck, being almost blue or white. This not only signifies submission, but a breeding attitude as well. An aggressive jake will have a full or mostly red color about the head and neck, and this is, as us rednecks would put it, is a sign he ain’t gonna put up with much from an approaching intruder.

Hopefully, this will give you the confidence you need in trying new decoy strategies this season. Decoys can play a major role in the success or failure of a turkey hunt, and only by experimentation can one become familiar with what to do and what not to do. Good luck in the coming weeks and above all, be safe! Carry your decoys well-concealed in a vest or bag, and when possible consider using a blaze orange hat when transporting both decoys or your harvested turkey.

(Blaine Cardilli is a freelance outdoor writer from Warren, Maine, and is currently on Prostaff with Hunters Specialties and Ameristep Quality Hunting; Blaine is also the vice president of the Midcoast Maine Chapter of the NWTF. He enjoys conducting spring & fall seminars on deer and turkey hunting)

By Stephen Vose
Steve Vose (rabidoutdoorsman@yahoo.com)
Website: www.themaineoutdoorsman.com

By the end of an extremely long day suffering through cold temperatures without even a wind flag to show for our efforts, I was beginning to question why I had even decided to come on this particular fishing trip. The temperature had continued to fall steadily and as the clouds rolled in I knew that it was doubtful conditions would improve. It proved a laborious task, fumbling about with frozen fingers picking up traps, packing gear on pull sleds and trekking the quarter mile back to the vehicles. To say I was a little bit disheartened may have been an understatement and while I understand the sport is called “fishing” and not “catching” it was painfully obvious to me as I trudged through a blinding blizzard toward the anticipated warmth of our vehicles that something fundamental had changed in my understanding of the sport of fishing. It was at this moment that I decided to follow a new fishing mantra and start to fish like a kid again.

I was three years old when my Dad took me ice fishing for the first time on a small body of water in Washington County called Vose Pond. It is a small pickerel pond a short snowmobile ride from my childhood home and hot fishing action could always be guaranteed as long as you had something to use to bait your hooks. Through my youth, I had enjoyed many an outing with my family ice fishing on various pickerel, bass and perch ponds throughout the northeastern parts of Maine. Some of my fondest memories were of outings on Conic Lake.

As I grew older, I began to move beyond this “childish” degree of ice fishing and instead of wanting to catch lots of fish I decided that I would rather only catch one or perhaps none at all. This practice of mine to suffer through hours of fishing for that one glimmer of hope at actually catching something continued for years and years until that one faithful Saturday and my childhood memories of ice fishing transported me back to a simpler time when ice fishing wasn’t about trophy’s it was about the number of flags.

Once the gear was packed in our trucks we began to formulate our plan of attack for the next day of fishing. “Same spot same time tomorrow?” came the familiar query from my friends. “No way!” came my very unfamiliar reply. “What, my friends exclaimed, you don’t want to catch the big one?” “No, I replied I have something else in mind . . . meet me tomorrow around 9:00 AM at the landing on Lower Togus Pond.”

That evening I watched the weather report and noted that the winds would be straight out of the north and that the temperature would continue to be in the twenties. Planning ahead of this forecast I packed a few additional items on my pull sled that evening in preparation for tomorrow’s ice fishing activities. Late that morning, I was met by a confused group of my friends many of whom where trying to decide if I was losing my mind and had decided to try for a state record pickerel. After discussing the game plan to the group we moved slowly around the north side of the lake to small cove I knew well from my spring bass fishing trips. This location, protected us from the high winds and also allowed us to enjoy the benefit of the sunshine as it reached high into the late morning sky late.

We immediately began drilling holes and I quietly sat back in my crazy creek chair to enjoy the show. My friends could barely get in one ice-trap when a flag would go up and they would have to run to tend it and by the time we had in all twenty traps we had 5 yellow perch, 2 bass and several pickerel on the ice. Also using a stashed axe cut some wood I started a small fire on a small rock outcropping. As my friends continued to run for flags I filleted out the fish as they were brought in to our “camp” and by 12:00 I had accumulated a sizeable amount.

It was a this time that I decided to produce a large stainless steel cook pot filled with chunks of raw potatoes and onions barely covered with water that I had sealed tight with duct tape the night before. As this concoctions was brought to a simmer I gently lay the fillets on top of the potatoes and onion and added some salt and pepper. My friends watched in amazement and a few began to drool. When the fish approached completion I added a Nalgene bottle (32 oz) of a mixture of half cream and half milk and after 5 more minutes of simmering over the open flames handed out the bowls and spoon.

As I sat there in my chair warm comfortable and filling my stomach with perhaps the best fish chowder I had ever eaten I pondered if perhaps this had been one of the best days I had ever spent ice fishing. As we all sat around the small fire busily eating my friend spoke up and asked “So next weekend we back to try for the big one?” Well, I guess that some people never learn or perhaps it is just that for some hope springs eternal and like an idiot I replied, “Sounds like a plan to me!”