Either my blood is getting thinner or this is the coldest winter that I can remember.  I guess spending all those years in Baja has spoiled me.

     Bill Becher, our hard working Awards’ Chairman, reports that there has been an excellent response this year with an great number of entries. The judges are currently at work and we will all know the results come June.

     The minutes for the San Mateo Board Meeting are available: click here.

     The membership and supporting member renewals have come in at a steady pace.   Those who haven’t paid for 2008, please send in your dues right away.

Gary Graham gary@garycgraham.com

email archives

Board Elections

Three board members' terms expire this spring. Last year, only three candidates ran for the three open seats on the board. We hope to have a somewhat more lively contest this year, so please consider running for a seat yourself or nominating another member.

            You need not be a long-time OWACer to run; all members are eligible. Board members must attend three meetings a year — at the spring and fall conferences and a third in January in San Mateo. Feel free to call or email me for more details about what's involved.

            The deadline for submission of materials is April 1. Send me (preferably via email, but USPS if fine too) a photo of yourself and a statement of intent saying who you are and why you want to serve on the board. Your statement and photo will appear in the ballot package I send out to the membership.

 

Spring 2008 Conference

The spring conference in Tuolumne County June 8-10 is shaping up beautifully. Sunday activities will be held at the Best Western Sonora Oaks Hotel & Conference Center, with the Sunday night Awards Banquet catered in the historic Sonora Opera Hall. Monday activities will tentatively include houseboating and fishing on Don Pedro Lake, whitewater rafting on the Tuolumne River, fly-fishing, kayaking on Pinecrest Lake, horseback riding to fish high-country streams, gold-panning, golf at Mountain Springs, mountain biking at Dodge Ridge, photo tours and more. Pre- and post-conference tours are still in the works, but Yosemite will almost certainly be an option.

 

Send Links to Articles

Thanks to those of you who sent links to recent work posted online. I'm always looking for more so if you've got something you'd like to share, send me a link.

 

Calaveras Tear Sheets

We need more Calaveras tear sheets — a lot more. Send one by March 1 to be entered in a drawing for a free conference in 2008. Published photos and online publications count too. Send them to Ken Jones at 1701 Lakeshore Dr., Lodi, CA 95242.

 

Fall 2008 Conference

The fall conference will be hosted Sunday, Oct. 12 through Tuesday, Oct. 14 in Santa Barbara, "The American Riviera," by the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau (www.santabarbaraca.com). Tentative activities include fly fishing in the surf, ocean fishing on the Stardust, a Channel Islands cruise aboard the Condor Express, Lake Cachuma trout fishing, Solvang wine-tasting, a nature hike in Los Padres National Forest, and bass fishing at an exlusive "pay-to-play" guest ranch. Monday night's barbecue will be at the Santa Barbara Carriage and Western Museum.

 

—Zack Thomas, owac.director@gmail.com, (775) 562-4585

Photo by Rich Fletcher

•          OWAC welcomes new member Patricia Hamilton of Pacific Grove. Hamilton is author of California Healthy, Southern California Edition (Park Place), which won the Travel  category in the 2007 National Indie Excellence Book Awards and was named a 2007 Best Books USA finalist in the Travel Guide category by USA Book News. She's also a contributor to RVing Women and writes and publishes the Pacific Grove Visitor Information Center's newsletter. Hamilton's work phone is (831) 649-6640; her email is californiahealthy@sbcglobal.net. For more information on California Healthy, visit www.californiahealthy.com. Hamilton was sponsored by Barbara Steinberg.

 

•           OWAC also welcomes Connie Young of Laguna Niguel as a new member. Young's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, the Huntington Beach Independent, and the Los Angeles Wave. She has also served for 11 years as exclusive consultant to the City of Huntington Beach for its famous 4th of July celebration and as Publisher, Editor and Writer of the commemorative 4th of July magazine. Young is owner of Away for the Day Travel. Her work phone is (714) 496-6266; her email is connieyoung@cox.net. Young was sponsored by Debbie Stock.

 

•           Check out Robert Stone's new website at www.dayhikebooks.com. Stone, who says he's a computer novice, built the site himself as a project with a Mac instructor.

 

•           David Page recently contributed an article to the New York Times, with photographs by Bill Becher, about ice skating on mountain lakes in the Sierra High Country. Click here for that story, and here for another of Page's stories that recently appeared in the Times.

Photo by Rich Fletcher

Supporting Member Notes

•          Sonoma County seeks links to members' blog postings, Flickr streams, video podcasts for incorporation in user-generated media section of interactive, cutting-edge new website. Contact Public Relations & Marketing Manager Keri Hanson at (707) 522-5815 or khanson@sonomacounty.com.

 

•           Yosemite Association’s 2008 field seminar catalog, published with help from OWAC's Outdoor Outreach program, is out in print and online. OWAC members are invited to attend programs at no charge to research stories. click here

 

•           Bishop Chamber contracts with Tim Alpers to stock trophy-size trout in the Lower Owens River; Blake Jones Trout Derby set for March 15. click here

 

•           IronClads soft baits named Best in Show at 2008 Chicagoland Outdoors Show by outdoor writers representing ESPN Outdoors, Midwest Outdoors, the Chicago Sun-Times and others in the outdoors media attending the show. click here

 

•           Cool temperatures signal hot rates at Bass Lake's Pines Resort (release from Catherine Boire PR). click here

 

•           Online and phone-in reservations now available for Sequoia High Sierra Camp's 2008 season (release from Catherine Boire PR). click here

 

•           Maptech's new products for 2008 include line of Compact, Waterproof ChartKit books, new and revised International Chart Packages for PC-equipped boaters. click here

 

•           California Waterfowl Association fundraising events for late Feb. to early April span state. click here

 

•           Troutstock Eastern Sierra, co-hosted by Mammoth Lakes and Mono County and sponsored by Pure Fishing/Berkley, to return for fourth year on Labor Day weekend 2008; Troutstock University component to be expanded. click here

 

•           Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee to celebrate 20th anniversary July 11. click here

"The violet breasted roller bird," writes Fletcher, "is a flycatcher that rolls as it chases insects. You see them alongside the road while driving. This one was living at the Gary Player golf course in Sun City, South Africa. When I attempted to photograph it in a tree, it suddenly left its perch and landed on the grass only five feet from me. What luck."

Committee Update

Tear sheets: Ken Jones — Send in a tear sheet, and you're automatically entered in a drawing for a free conference. Deadline for tear sheets related to 2007 conferences (Bishop and Calaveras) is March 1, 2008. Address is 1701 Lakeshore Dr., Lodi, CA 95242.

Awards: Bill Becher and Jack Holder — Entries were received from approximately 35 members. Good luck to all!

Publicity: Bill Becher — Bill is working to assemble a list of publications that should receive general-interest OWAC press releases about Outdoor Outreach recipients, Californian of the Year honorees, etc. Please send your suggestions to bb@becher.com.

Outdoor Outreach: Ken Jones — Grant applications can be downloaded from the OWAC website at www.owac.org/president/outreach.htm. If you know of a deserving organization, please suggest that they apply or let Ken know about them.

Californian of the Year: Craig Hanson — Now is the time to give nominations for Californian of the Year some serious thought. In the past couple of years, OWAC members have raised the bar with well-deserving candidates and spirited competition.

We are looking for that person who exemplifies the spirit of the outdoors through contributions above and beyond the call of duty. The nominee’s qualifications may be for a lifetime of work, or a recent accomplishment.

Past recipients of the Californian of the Year award have been truly honored by the presentation. We should continue this tradition with a stellar contingent of candidates.

This is something worth getting behind…It doesn’t have to be a dissertation of one’s life, just solid reasons why this person should be awarded OWAC’s top honor as Californian of the Year. The presentation is scheduled to take place at the fall conference in Santa Barbara. Deadline for candidate nominations is July 1, 2008.

Email me with questions and nominations at sfangler@mindspring.com. —Craig Hanson

Newsmaker: Bill Ryan and Craig Hanson — At the fall conference in Santa Barbara, Lt. Lynette Shimek, coordinator of CDFG's new K-9 Program, will talk about the program and demonstrate the remarkable detection abilities of the department's dogs. The speaker for the spring  conference in Tuolumne County has not yet been confirmed.

Bylaws: Kathie Morgan — The revised bylaws should be ready for review by the general membership in April.

"I bagged a kudu bull and wildebeest during a one-week archery hunt in Limpopo Province of northern South Africa," writes Fletcher (left). "My professional hunter was Kobus Grobler, a former policeman who lost one arm in an auto accident in pursuit of the bad guys after an armed robbery. Both animals were killed while hunting from a blind at a water hole. Although it was exciting, in my opinion it wasn't as challenging as bagging one of our California deer species.

OWAC's Fourth President: Gary Voet (1991)

NOTE: OWAC Historian Kathie Morgan will be contributing a series of brief pieces on former OWAC Presidents.

Gary Voet, OWAC’s fourth president, legitimized the organization. He shouldered the painstaking task of writing our first bylaws and then took on the chore of establishing OWAC as an official California nonprofit organization.

         The bylaws were adopted at the conference held at South Lake Tahoe. Terms of office were established for the first time, running July 1 through June 30. The bylaws limited the number of vice presidents to one, who would automatically ascend to the presidency the following year.

         George Carl was Voet’s vice president, John Reginato continued as secretary-treasurer, and the rest of the board consisted of Dick Murdock, Dale Lackey, Wayne Smith, Don Vachini, Paul Wertz, and Tom Stienstra, who continued to edit OWAC News. 

         Voet created these committees: OWAC awards, conferences, scholarships, supporting members, active members, and newsletter. Members were welcome to serve on the committee of their choice.

         During Voet’s term, conferences were held in Redding and Mammoth.

Heading out to move the decoys while hunting in the North Grasslands near Los Banos. Photo by Rich Fletcher.

•           LaxaOnline, Europe's largest sportfishing and hunting outfitter, announces launch of revolutionary new booking concept for anglers and outfitters. click here

•           UC Davis Extension offers non-fiction and creative writing courses. click here

•           Celebrate Urban Birds, a citizen science project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, offers freeactivity kits and mini-grants, seeks entries for art competition. click here

And finally, a photo from board member Bill Ryan. "Who said bass won't bite in the cold weather?" writes Ryan. "Tuesday, January 15, my fishing partner, Lora Trinchero, and I boated and released 28 keeper-sized largemouth bass in five hours — all on live jumbo minnows. This kicker fish weighed 8.8 pounds and was caught on six-pound leader. Weather was cold at 33 degrees; water temperature was 46."