The damage from the oil spill was done in the Gulf, so Congress should ensure that oil spill fines go to the Gulf, not to unrelated federal spending.
This Gulf state agreement paves the way for Congress to do what voters expect: hold the parties responsible for the Gulf oil disaster accountable for restoring the Gulf because our nation’s economy depends on a healthy Gulf.

As sportsman we need to speak up because the gulf is an important region for us as wintering grounds for many birds as well as the fish and seafood we get from the gulf. So take some time and send an email or make a phone call….its important.

Elk in GSMNP are still accesable despite the slide

As I reported earlier today a rock slide overnight has closed a section of I40 on the Tn/NC border inside of Tennessee. The slide deposited large boulders in the breakdown lane on the westbound side and there is still a potential more rocks will slide. Tennessee officials have brought in geologists to study the situation and develop a plan to stabilize the rocky face and remove the slide rocks and reopen the road. While a timeline has not been set speculation is this will be more a matter of weeks as opposed to the last time when it took 6 months to reopen the road. The east bound lane remains open.

“It doesn’t look anywhere near as extensive as the major rock slides years ago,” said Mark Nagi, a community relations officer for Tennessee DOT.

It is unclear what or how big an effect the rockslide will have on businesses in Haywood County.

“That is just something that we can’t answer at this point in time,” said CeCe Hipps, president of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. “Hopefully, this will not have a big effect on business in Haywood County.”

For now, county tourism leaders are spreading the word that Interstate 40 is still open near Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton and Clyde.

“We are just thinking how to keep the doors open,” Hipps said.

The Haywood County and Maggie chambers and the Tourism Development Authority have emailed businesses and posted information on their websites about the slide and encouraged visitors not to cancel their plans.

“We want to make sure that people are not deterred,” Hipps said.

Smoky Mountain News

With a much milder winter this year now is a good time to beat the crowds in the Cataloochee Valley and see the elk. This is one of my favorite places in North Carolina to go and relax if you’ve never been you need to go check this place out.

Asheville, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed westbound Interstate 40 in Haywood County on Tuesday morning following a rock slide in Tennessee.

The interstate is expected to be closed for at least two weeks as crews clear the debris from the roadway and stabilize other rocks to prevent similar slides.

Westbound drivers need to take the following detour: Exit at westbound Interstate 240 (Exit 53B) in Asheville and head to Interstate 26 West (Exit 4A). Then, follow I-26 to Interstate 81 South (Exit 8A) in Tennessee and back to I-40.

Eastbound traffic isn’t affected by the rock slide.

A rock slide west of Asheville in late 2009 closed I-40 for about six months.

WRAL News

This mountainous section of the state is pron to rock slides and hopefully they can clear it quickly. This is important travel route for commerce as well as outdoor types looking to access Great Smokey Mountain National Park and other high interest locations. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops

The case for hunting and the standard of fair chase

Restoring these animals to their native lands….hunting and hunters help fund these efforts.

The full 60 Min Story (note this is a lengthy clip and on some pc’s may take a while to load)

Animals die everyday whether of old age, disease, hunting by humans, hunting by another animal, and countless other ways. Life is sustained only through the death of another living thing be it a pod of peas being eating in a stir fry at an unscaled restaurant or a wolf munching on a moose calf in the Alaskan tundra. The Circle of Life. The wackos can oppose this all they want but they can’t stop it.

Multiple news stories state that Barnes held authorities at bay firing upon them preventing them from reaching Ranger Anderson who was still in her patrol car. It took 90 minutes for them to reach her. I don’t know if thy could of got to her sooner if the outcome would be any different but what a cowardly act on his part.

Barnes may of been battling demons in his head but I seriously doubt he didn’t know his actions on New Years day, be it the earlier shooting or the murder of Ranger Anderson, were wrong. As the days go on I’m sure there will be further digging into his past; his misconduct discharge from the military, other brushes with the law, could he legally possess firearms etc. None of that will undo the tragedy that happened inside that park with the death of Ranger Anderson.

Some may think I’m cold but part of me is glad he is dead. No one else was injured or killed trying to stop this killer and now we won’t have to go through a long trial waiting and hoping for justice.

My thoughts and prayers are still with Ranger Anderson’s family and friends as well as the National Park Service and all those who work daily to keep us safe.

Will continue to follow this story and hopefully authorities will bring this manhunt to a successful and safe end soon.

National Park Rangers Patrol some of the most remote parts of our country where backup can be a long ways off.

Ranger Margaret Anderson made the ultimate sacrifice earlier today while on patrol in Mount Rainier National Park when trying to stop a vehicle that had failed to yield to another ranger. Ranger Anderson had set up a roadblock to stop the vehicle when she was fatally shot. Early reports state that the shooter approached the roadblock and exited his vehicle with a gun shooting the ranger and then escaping into the woods. Additional rangers and deputies arriving on the scene were also fired upon with what is reported as a suspect with a “assault rifle”.

Ranger Anderson

The park has been closed and a manhunt is currently being conducted. Visitors in the park have been asked to leave because this is a very dangerous situation. Some news reports say that people attempting to leave the park have been fired upon as well and armored vehicles are being brought in to help evacuate the public.

The vehicle the suspect was driving belongs to Benjamin Colton Barnes

Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer says 24-year-old Benjamin Colton Barnes is believed to have military experience and possess skills to survive in the wild.

Seattle PI

Benjamin Colton Barnes The Person of Interest in the killing of National Park Ranger Anderson

A man who is a person of interest in the shooting death of a park ranger Sunday morning near Mt. Rainier is also a suspect in a shooting that left four wounded in Skyway earlier in the day, sources tell KOMO News.

Detectives are looking for Benjamin Colton Barnes, a 24-year-old believed to have military experience and survivalist skills, officials said.

Investigators have recovered Barnes’ car which was filled with weapons and body armor, along with survivalist gear, said Det. Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s

KOMO News

This is a tragic situation for sure and I’m sure as time goes on will know more about what exactly happened. Our thought and prayers certainly go out to the Anderson family that just lost mother and wife as well as her co workers and friends. Additionally we pray for a quick and safe resolution to this man hunt.

The multiple news stories with references to the change of law in 2010 that allows people to carry firearms in National Parks I will not address at this time. I don’t see it as relevant to this story especially if it turns out prior felonies were committed prior to this tragic encounter.

Tonight my prayers are with two little girls who’ll never have their Mom tuck them into bed, tell them a story, or bake their favorite cookies.

Prior to October 1st of this year there was little regulations around the hunting of feral hogs in North Carolina because they were “managed” under the department of agriculture and not Wildlife. That all changed and many of the practices people were using to deal with these feral pests became illegal. Trapping and night hunting were the most effective way for many landowners to deal with this feral critter and the quick switch to Wildlife for regulating them outlawed those two options.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has worked hard on remedying these issues by earlier in December passing rules to allow for the trapping of hogs again and now this week authorizing a season for night hunting feral hogs.

Both of these methods require special permits that are available for free on NCWRC Website.

Paw Print Kill Stickers cause uproar

Animal Rights groups that oppose any type of wolf control that includes the killing of the wolf pushed an old issue this week to stir controversy over aerial control. Photo taken 5 years ago showing the use of a “kill sticker”, like used by fighter pilot aces during WWII, surfaced this week. The use of such stickers was banned a few years ago because they could be viewed as offensive by some people. While it sounds ridiculous for anyone to even care about such a trivial issue the government still felt compelled to issue an apology.

This is much to do about nothing but it does show us how far astray we have become when an apology gets issued for something as dumb and useless as this.

A Thanksgiving fishing trip off the coast of North Carolina will certainly be a lifetime adventurous memory for a group of men after a rare encounter with a Great White Shark.

Captain Watson has fished for about 25 years off Wrightsville Beach, where the shark close encounter happened.

“The fish kept circling. He kept getting closer and closer and he swam under the bow of the boat and hit it then came around the boat a couple minutes later, did a turn, and slapped the side of the boat with the back of his tail,” said Watson. “You could feel the whole boat shutter.”

According to the men, they were about 25 miles southeast of Wrightsville Beach when they saw the shark, which they estimate was at least 18 feet long and more than 4 feet wide. That’s nearly equal to the size of their boat.

It circled the boat for nearly 20 minutes

“I was probably 2 or 3 feet from the bow roller. His nose was at my feet,” fisherman Don Smith was quoted as saying. “His tail was pretty much in line with the rod that we had in the back of the boat in a rod holder. That’s a pretty good estimation of just how big the thing was.”

North Carolina waters are home to many sharks, but great white sightings like this are pretty rare.

Discovery News

A shark about the size of the boat I’m in? Hmmmm Nope I’ll stay on the mainland. Call me a wimp but I don’t want to even think about having to tangle with that guy.