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DALLAS — More than 11,000 middle- and high-school students across Texas are headed back to class this fall to learn about conservation, hunting, fishing, archery, orienteering, camping and other outdoor skills. The curriculum, now formally adopted by more than 100 schools (see list below), is part of the Outdoor Adventures education program developed by the Dallas Ecological Foundation. The Dallas Ecological Foundation is an affiliate of Dallas Safari Club (DSC).
“Outdoor Adventures is designed to introduce students to a lifetime of opportunities in the great outdoors through coursework and activities in their PE classes,” said Scot McClure, program coordinator for the Dallas Ecological Foundation. “This is not your traditional PE course. Instead of teaching PE with basketballs and tennis rackets, we use rods and reels and bows and arrows.”
The curriculum is accredited by the State of Texas and aligns with national education standards.
School participation has grown from 21 to 110 in just the past five years. The program appears poised for continued growth.
McClure said, “Many schools now have a waiting list because Outdoor Adventures classes fill so quickly. Teachers and principals say this is one of the most exciting programs because students need a fun class that motivates them to stay in school and concentrate on all of their studies.”
Educators say enrolled students often see improved self-esteem, attendance, discipline and grades.
Many students also get involved in extracurricular activities, especially at schools where archery teams, fishing clubs, etc., are created as spinoffs of the Outdoor Adventures program.
Joe O’Dell, a PE teacher at Austin Middle School in the Irving Independent School District scheduled over 200 students for Outdoor Adventures this fall, saying, (more…)
The Catskill Game Farm was opened in 1933 by Roland Lindemann, and was still owned by the Lindemann family, as Catskill Game Farm Inc. at the time of its closing. At first, it held only deer, donkeys and sheep. In 1958, the United States Department of Agriculture recognized Catskill as a zoo, and it became the first privately-owned venture to achieve such status. The collection was now allowed to grow more exotic and at the time of its closing played host to roughly 2,000 animals from over 150 species, imported from around the world.
The zoo spanned more than 370 hectares (914 acres), most of which was used to breed animals for other zoos worldwide. Only around 55 hectares (136 acres) was available for public viewing, and then only in the summer and autumn.
Closing
On August 2, 2006, the Catskill Game Farm announced that it would be closing on Columbus Day of that year, ending its 73-year run. Its owners attributed the closing to mounting financial difficulties, dropping attendance, and legal regulations leading to the shutdown of its Splashdown attraction, though Splashdown itself never violated regulations.
Auction
The auction was organized and conducted by Norton Auctioneers of Michigan, Inc., a worldwide auction group based in Coldwater, Michigan. Norton’s is known for auctions of tourist attractions of every shape and kind – amusement parks, zoos, carnivals, family entertainment centers, museums, carousels, and unique collections.
The two-day Catskill auction attracted over 1,000 potential bidders from across the nation, Canada, and Mexico. Selling the first day were the amusement park rides, restaurants, gift shops, and related items. The second day had over 900 animals, vehicles, and farm and construction equipment offered.
Animal highlights included two rhinos that went for $6,000 and $9,250 to an organization that will place them for the International Rhino Association. A bull elk sold at $1,325, and five female elks sold for $3,600. A small group of Dall sheep sold for (more…)
Jim "Bacon" Krupke w/ his blackbuck from the KLV Ranch
by Craig Ellwanger, AAE
Folks, take a page out of Jed Knowton’s book on taking good trophy pics! This is a great one taken recently at Knowlton’s Laguna Vista Ranch near Pearsall, Texas. Most hunters tend to rush through this aspect of the hunt (or skip it all together), but aside from a rug or shoulder mount, these pictures are all you’ll have to look back on & share with friends and family for years to come!
In 2001, I took a good friend hunting for the first time on our family ranch near Water Valley, Texas. As luck would have it, that morning, during the whitetail rut, found him in the right place as one of the largest deer we had ever seen crossed his path. Hearing a shot, I drove to his stand to find my friend standing over a 155″, 3-beam, non-typical 12 point w/ a 20+” inside spread! In our elation (and lack of “age = wisdom” at the time), we quickly loaded the deer up in the pickup to rush to town to start the “bragging circuit”. It wasn’t until we reached his house hours later that we thought “hmm, we should take some pictures of this”, but by then it was too late. A single picture of a stiff-as-a-board behemoth of a deer in the tailgate of my old red Dodge is all that remains for me to look back on to reflect on this exciting time in my hunting life. Man, if I only knew then what I know know…
The "What NOT to do" Pic...
Ten plus year later, picture taking during and after a hunt ranks right up there to me with putting on camo and cover scent! So…YOU just took the trophy you’ve always been after. Heart’s racing, blood’s pumping, head’s spinning…stop, take a deep breath (we know you’re excited), slow down and take a few minutes to compose some good pictures capturing the moment!! Here are a few quick & easy tips to remember the next time you take that trophy of a lifetime, so that it will forever be preserved that way: (in no particular order)
- Background – I like to take pics in or near the spot my quarry was harvested. Look to find what’s around or near that would make the most interesting backdrop for your picture. Regional or seasonal vegetation is always good, like cactus in South Texas or wildflowers in the Spring to add color and character. If there isn’t anything around, don’t be afraid to (more…)
As a result of the recent Animal Planet and HSUS “investigation” into “canned hunting operations”, much of the talk this week has been centered around high fences and the hunters that choose to pursue their quarry inside them. Much of the debate revolves around a basic question: does high fence equal “canned hunt”? Fellow sportsman and outdoor writer, Luke Clayton, explains why it may not be that simple…
“High Fence Hunting”
by Luke Clayton
North Texas e-News – June 20, 2011
As a full time outdoors writer, outdoor radio show host, elk and deer hunting outfitter and member of several pro staffs, I often hear hunters discuss hunting high fenced ranches. Some, mostly guys that have never hunted a big, well-managed, high-fenced operation, are convinced that all hunting on high-fenced properties, regardless the size of the ranch, can be classified as a “canned hunt.”
I’ve had the opportunity to do a great deal of hunting during my career in country that ranged from the wide open expanses of North Dakota for white tailed deer to 500 acres of high-fenced, thick, East Texas bottomland for hogs. I remember a decade or so ago when I hunted a big open ranch down in Schleicher County. The ranch consisted of 6,000 acres of rolling live oak and cedar covered hills and deer were patterned well to corn feeders. I remember the outfitter taking me to the spot where I was going to hunt the next morning. He intentionally ground the butt of his cigar into the ground right next to the feeder and scattered a gallon or so of corn around the feeder. “I have conditioned these deer to the smell of man. I stop by these feeders every day and we’ll see deer coming in to the corn while we are driving away. Sure enough, we drove a couple hundred yards from the feeder, stopped and watched several doe and a couple of bucks come trotting in to the feed. The next morning I arrowed a nice buck from a ground blind 20 yards from the feeder. Would the challenge of this hunt have been any different had (more…)
DALLAS — More than 11,000 middle- and high-school students across Texas are headed back to class this fall to learn about conservation, hunting, fishing, archery, orienteering, camping and other outdoor skills. The curriculum, now formally adopted by more than 100 schools (see list below), is part of the Outdoor Adventures education program developed by the Dallas Ecological Foundation. The Dallas Ecological Foundation is an affiliate of Dallas Safari Club (DSC).
