OutdoorsDirectory.com

Hunting Alaska Newsletter
February 2005

Light is starting to return to the north.  December 21 is the shortest day of the year, and most of us living in northern latitudes note that day with more than passing interest.  Spring hunting is just around the corner now.

We continue to make progress on converting the Alaska river logs to searchable text and HTML pages.  If you are interested in traveling Alaska's rivers, we think you will find this resource helpful.  We now have over 20 of these rivers in HTML format, and therefore more accessible for your review.

We are also trying a new format for our email newsletter. This one is more graphic, and, we hope, easier to digest.  As always, we are interested in your comments on the usability of this method of conveying information to you. You can subscribe or unsubscribe from this page. 

Usage on the Alaska outdoors forums has increased dramatically.....so much so that we have begun to experience some speed problems during peak times.  We expect to fix that problem this week.  A look at the server logs showed that we were receiving about 11 requests for forum resources per minute -- about 1/2 million requests during January alone.  At peak times, the load is probably triple that, or more.  We have added an Alaska boating forum started off at a dead run last month.  There are now almost 35,000 messages on the forums, a resource which you can search for answers about the Alaska outdoor activities we cover.

If you find this newsletter helpful, I invite you to forward it to family and friends.

David M Johnson
Publisher/OutdoorsDirectory.com

--- NEWS & UPDATES ------------------------------------------------

It appears that the Transportation Safety Administration is promulgating new rules that will affect hunters coming to Alaska by air. Certain matches and lighters will no longer be allowed in baggage or on one’s person. Until now, it has been possible to carry certain kinds of matches and lighters with you, but not in baggage. Hunters should keep this in mind as plans for upcoming Alaska trips develop and make alternate plans on the Alaska end to obtain the “hazardous materials” (including matches and lighters) that will be needed. The workaround for this is to obtain these materials when you arrive in Alaska. If your time from airport arrival to transport to the field is short, check with your service provider to make sure these can be obtained for you. There was some discussion on this subject on the Alaska Hunting forum.  You can also find information on the FAA website. Additionally, you will probably want to check with the Transportation Safety Administration.

Alaska changes its hunting regulations annually. The new regulations take effect on the first of July each year, but the regulation making process starts earlier. Proposals for changes to Alaska’s hunting regulations are available now for review. 

The state of Alaska has initiated a wide ranging predator management program to improve numbers of moose and other ungulates. This has quite been successful – and occasionally unsuccessful – in past years, but has been a matter of ongoing controversy for decades. Most recently an Alaska Superior Court judge denied Friends of Animals request for a suspension of the program.   Also, the state’s programs have been criticized by some scientists, but defended by ADF&G biologists.

Deer harvest in Alaska is annually surveyed by the ADF&G. Results from the 2003 deer harvest survey are now available online 

The Great Alaska Sportsman’s show will be April 7 – 10 this year at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.  We have no other detail at this point.

The Alaska Bowhunters Association 27th annual awards banquet for March 26 at the Marriott in downtown Anchorage. You can find more information on their website.

The Alaska Outdoor Council Annual Meeting will be April 7-10 in Anchorage . See their website for more information.

The becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop is a great way to introduce women to the Outdoors.  This year's workshop is only days away: February 11-13, 2005 at Solid Rock Bible Camp in Soldotna. For more information see the ADFG website  It is late enough in the game that there may now be no space available....but check it out if you are interested.


--- NEW on OUTDOORSDIRECTORY.COM --------------------------------------

AREAS: 26 January 2005: We added a new page with information about the Interior Alaska fishing area. The Interior offers tremendous fishing in some places. This page has some of the basics.

MAGAZINE: 22 January 2005: Solo boater Lee Phillips wrote a gripping story of his abbreviated epic boating trip, Hypothermia,rhabdomyolysis, and near death on Beaver Creek. It is a very useful story about what can go wrong, and quickly. Lee's extensive preparations made all the difference. You can profit from his experience.

BOATING: 8 January 2005: Welcome to our newest forum, the Alaska boating forum. This is the place for discussion about boats, boating, rivers, waterways, and boating gear. We welcome sea kayakers, river rafters, float hunters, canoeists, skiff anglers, yachtsmen, and others using boats on the waterways of Alaska.

MAGAZINE: 4 January 2005: Alaska's Trophy Blacktail Deer by ADF&G writer Riley Woodford is the story of deer in coastal Alaska. Woodford talks about size, trophy potential, classification, the effects of snow on populations and more. It's a basic primer on the species in Alaska.

WEBSITE: 1 January 2005: We passed a significant milestone at the end of this past year -- we served more than one million visitors in one year for the first time. This is almost double the previous year. At the same time, we recorded a new high in page views: almost eight million. That was more than double the previous year. Yes -- we are delighted! Thanks for joining us!

--- ALASKA HUNTING FORUM THREADS --------------------------------------

There were many more, of course. These were just a few of the highlights. By the end of the month: more than 34,000 total messages on the forum -- 2,000 more than last month. You can search the whole lot here: http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/forum_search.php

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David M Johnson
Publisher / OutdoorsDirectory.com
PO Box 609
Delta Junction, AK 99737