Make outdoors resolutions in the year ahead
Published: December 25, 2011
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MARK DEMKO/SPECIAL PHOTO One of the best ways to enhance one's outdoors experience is to share it with youngsters, and there is no better time for that than the opening day of trout season.
With New Year's Day one week from today, now is the perfect time to reflect on everything we have to be thankful for - family, friends, health, jobs - and also look forward to what will hopefully be an exciting, healthy and prosperous new year.
For those already in planning mode for 2012, here are a few suggestions for how one can enhance their outdoors experiences in the coming year. Some of these are focused on one's own outings. Others go a long way toward enriching the lives of others and helping to improve the quality of life in our community.
- Lend a Helping Hand: One of the key resources that helps make the outdoors world go round is volunteers.
Each year, countless individuals donate their time and talents to everything from helping conservation organizations do important habitat work in the region to assisting local rod and gun clubs build new shooting ranges or hold trout fishing contests for the kids.
Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community and help enhance the outdoors experience for others. Members of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited and other outdoors-focused groups conduct fund-raising efforts that aid conservation, and local sportsmen's clubs have numerous projects to promote outdoors education, many of which target youth and women.
- Share the Experience: One of the best ways to keep our outdoor heritage alive is to share it with others.
In 2012, make sure to make time to introduce or reintroduce someone to the outdoors. This can be accomplished by not only taking one's own kids afield or on the water, but also introducing other young people to a favorite outdoors pursuit, whether it is fishing, camping or small-game hunting.
And sharing the outdoors experience doesn't need to be limited to youth. It can be shared with a co-worker who has enjoyed angling in the past but gave it up for one reason or another.
- Share the Harvest: Each year Pennsylvania's Hunters Sharing the Harvest provides thousands of pounds of protein-rich, lean ground venison to help feed people in need throughout the region.
There are still a few weeks of deer hunting left, so for those fortunate to take a second whitetail, consider donating all or part of the deer to one of these important programs. Financial contributions of any amount are also very much appreciated since it helps defray the costs of processing the deer that are donated. To learn more, visit www.sharedeer.org.
- Take a Road Trip: Most people who enjoy the outdoors have a bit of an adventurer in them, so scratch that itch to explore by taking a road trip to enjoy a favorite pursuit.
While most sportsmen can't regularly afford a fully guided hunting excursion, do-it-yourself options abound. Some of these are fishing for monster walleye on Lake Ontario in the spring, deer hunting in the big-buck Mecca of Ohio, a weekend of striper fishing in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay or bass fishing in the 1,000 Islands.
With a little imagination and some planning, one can enjoy a world-class experience to cherish the rest of their life without breaking the bank.
- Try Something New: The great thing about the great outdoors is there is always something new to experience, learn or explore. This year, make it a goal to step outside of the usual outdoors routine and do something never experienced before. This can be as simple as a family camping trip, visiting a new state park or learning a new fishing technique. New experiences are almost always fun and who knows, it may lead to getting hooked on a new hobby.
≈~≈The Daily Catch Team≈~≈
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