The Upland Soul

Real voices of hunting, fishing, and the great outdoors.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@G70Mikey @EmperorBasilisk @MrLeadslinger I agree, those are the worst I’ve ever seen. Truly amazing.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@Gus1Thegun Good boy!!

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@kamasters2027 On the ball! Sage grouse is always the traditional start of the bird season down here. Here's hoping the heat breaks in time for the dogs to enjoy the early season.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

It's about that time -- pre-season truck maintenance time, that is.

How much maintenance do you do before hunting season kicks off?

https://t.co/szKc0J2NBc

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@GarandThumb1 Pairs well with Blood Meridian.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

We haven't had much bird dog content on the site lately, as most of our writers have been enjoying the great spring and summer fishing weather across the country. We're happy to remedy that this week with a North Dakota pheasant hunt.

https://t.co/wsiSNPCSYa

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

We're happy to feature Jake Murphy's next article on the site today. Stress builds character, and aquatic stress may build the most...

https://t.co/zk4Gt6eTyL

[RodeoProfessor @RodeoProfessor]

250 more years of basin and range supremacy

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@MrLeadslinger Ken is great, but I feel as though his opinion on certain things would be different if he lived in anywhere near close to a major city.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

Retweeted for awareness.

[Nighthawk Custom @NighthawkCustom]

Don’t drop the slide on an empty chamber of a finely tuned 1911

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@DocStrangelove2 Somewhat unsurprisingly, this happened in Vegas.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@Interior This should be the death penalty, but great work nonetheless.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

Great breakdown of the California grizzly reintroduction situation. Definitely recommending following @RodeoProfessor if you have even a tangential interest in science-based conservation in the West.

[RodeoProfessor @RodeoProfessor]

Missing in this article about the California legislature moving closely to a “study on grizzly reintroduction” (which, let’s be honest, will ultimately greenlight grizzly reintroduction) is what groups are actively pushing for this? You guessed it! The NGOs!

Of course the Center for Biological Diversity, the number one group behind the worst predator policies in many Western states, are the key players here. They spoon fed state lawmakers a well-funded campaign in the lead up to SB 1305 while running advanced legal and communications campaigns to make you think this is a popular and grassroots idea from tribes, scientists, and democratically elected lawmakers. Sierra Club is also in there, as is a group of activist professors and tribal leaders called the “California Grizzly Alliance” who settled on a number of grizzlies they say California can handle: 1200. This number is higher than Yellowstone grizzly population targets in a state with 10x the human density with much more habitat fragmentation, development, and ag than Yellowstone. It’s a fantasy.

Funding for this whole mess is coming from Leo DiCaprio, Patagonia’s nonprofit Holdfast, and the CBD as always has funds coming from the private foundations like Wilburforce and the Sandler Foundation.

In the NGOs’ campaign materials, they’re really emphasizing that the TRIBES are the ones who want this and will benefit from this to run cover for the fact that a bunch of NGOs funded by opaque private foundations are hoping to set large predators free, likely with very limited space for lethal management in the event that one of these grizzlies eats you or your dog.

The only voice of reason in this article is the Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who tells readers that this is a very technical and difficult process, well beyond the capacity of the NGOs pushing for it who are effectively an army of lawyers and marketing girls.

When Colorado let the NGOs set predator policy, a majority of released wolves died or were relocated to captive facilities. Likewise, notice the agency isn’t allowed to comment. This is another big flaw in American wildlife policy, agencies are typically forbidden to be political, so the people who know the most about the real costs, efforts, risk, and science are effectively not allowed to give any public communication about the decision. This vacuum is then filled with NGOs. City people will fall for the NGO campaigns, force this on rural people, and the agency will need to follow the direction of their legislature without any opportunity to provide their scientific expertise. These NGOs and their foundations are the worst thing to happen to American wildlife policy this century.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

Today, @DocCrandell dusts off some fly rods, and shares his thoughts on YouTube fishing video overload, casting, fly tackle, and fishing in the real world. Grab your Wednesday coffee and settle in.

https://t.co/oc5PweE7x2

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@FliesBySpencer @JBeyerWriting The Charlie Boy is such a great pattern.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@FenixAmmunition Not sure where you’re located, but in the West conifer encroachment has been tied to an increase in tick numbers (among many other factors, of course).

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@LucasBotkin The original Mechanix gloves are great. Dexterous, , inexpensive, durable enough to get 2 or 3 upland seasons out of a pair, and protect well among the cactus of the Southwest. IMO, the best gloves are made by glove companies, not clothing companies that also make gloves too.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

Going forward, we'll be posting each Wednesday. Get outside while the getting is good, but if you can't, head over and read some good sh-... stuff.

https://t.co/pMNd0QwovQ

[Lynn Gaitz @lynn8422]

Did you know you can tell how important family members are just by looking at their first aid kit. For people ours consists of a half box of band-aids and partial tube of neosporin. For dogs, I have enough equipment and supplies to do a double bypass surgery.

[The Upland Soul @uplandsoul]

@JBeyerWriting That’s a good, visible baetis pattern!