Deerfly Diaries

One-Year Anniversary of Writing for Carbondale, CO's Newspaper, the Sopris Sun

The Sopris Sun celebrated its first year anniversary on Thursday when it published its 51st issue. The Sun replaced the defunct Valley Journal as the only local Carbondale Colorado newspaper. Trina Ortega was the editor who helped get the 501 c3 newspaper get off the ground. Terray Sylvester came on-board midway through the year as the new full-time editor. A big thanks goes out to Terray, Trina and everyone else who has helped make the Sopris Sun a success.

Local Outdoor Columnist for the Sopris Sun

This also marks the one year anniversary of my monthly outdoor column in the newspaper. The column is kind of a local extension of my online blog, Deerfly Diaries. I covered fly fishing, turkey hunting, upland hunting, backcountry safety, the disabled vets shooting skeet and trap, etc.

Profiles of Locals in the Outdoors

My favorite columns to write, so far, are profiles of some of the amazing locals we have in Carbondale and the Roaring Fork Valley. This past week I was fortunate to get a few minutes of time with adventure photographer Tyler Stableford. Tyler found a new outlet for his work this past year that helped thousands in need in Ethiopia. You can read my story on Tyler Stableford on Suite 101.

Sue Melus has a PR and Communications business for the outdoor industry. She is currently handling the PR for Columbia Sportswear's hunting and fishing divisions.

Skijoring Clinic at Redstone, CO Winterfest 2010

This weekend was Winterfest in Redstone, Colorado. The quaint historic mining town of Redstone is about 15 miles from Carbondale on Highway 133 on the way to McClure Pass. Traditionally the town hosts sled dog races each winter, but this year they decided to mix it up a little bit and include ice climbing events, a snowshoe race, chili cook off and beer tasting.

The dog lovers in the crowd still got some great action with the addition of a skijoring clinic. Skijoring is a combination of nordic skiing and dog mushing, where the people and the dogs work as a team (you hope) to traverse the snow. The sport has tradition in Scandanavia where is has long been used as a means of winter transport.

Louisa Morrissey, owner of Skijor-n-More in Silverthorne, CO, helped organize the event. Participants brought their own skis and dogs,and Louisa provided the dog harnesses, bungee lines and tethers.

 

After the dogs were harnessed up, it was time to get on the track. There wasn't a lot of time for instruction; just keep your dog moving ahead, stay untangled and try to avoid other skiers and dogs.

I skied with both Elsie and Porter separately before I worked them together as a team. Elsie's drive to run and be in front helped her to pick up on it right away. She loved it! Porter was a little less enthused about the control aspect. As a team they did GREAT. It helped that they already know basic commands like whoa, high-on (to go), come around (to turn), etc. There is a whole set of commands for ski joring, but bird dog commands worked well too.

 

 
 
The day was a lot of fun and there were lots of participants and tail wagging dogs. As far as I know, no one got hurt. Below is Louisa skiing. She was on skate skis, which looked like it had an advantage over classic skis.

 

 
 Check out the rest of my images from the Redstone Winterfest to see some of the other fun activities.

SHOT Show 2010 in Las Vegas & Columbia Sportswear

SHOT Show 2010 was a Success

These last couple weeks were very busy ones for me and the rest of the outdoor industry. I attended the 2010 SHOT Show in Las Vegas from January 19-21st. SHOT stands for Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference.

The SHOT Show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). According to the NSSF, overall attendance was 58,444, only several hundred shy of the show’s all-time record set at the 2008 Las Vegas Show and more than 11,000 above last year’s show in Orlando. The show attracted an all-time high of 31,280 buyers, and the 1,804 media professionals attending established a new record. Impressive for a country living in recession.

View photos of the SHOT Show here.

Melus Outdoors, LLC Working with Columbia Sportswear

I was stoked to ink a deal with Columbia Sportswear just prior to the show to help them with their hunting and fishing public relations efforts. I spent most of my time in the Columbia booth at SHOT Show in appointments with the hunting industry media. Always a good time to meet new people and catch up with my friends in the industry.

Columbia Sportswear Launched Omni-Heat Technology

Columbia launched it's new patent pending Omni-Heat Technology to the media at the show. The Omni-heat technology combines a new thermal reflective technology that is breathable and wicking, a new Omni-heat insulation that surpasses comparable insulation on the market and a super cool new Omni-heat electric technology that is available in boots. I am very excited to work with Columbia to bring this new technology to the hunting market July 1, 2010.

The SHOT Show was followed by the Safari Club International Annual Hunter's Conference in Reno, NV from January 20 - 23rd, 2010. The ski, snowboard and general outdoor recreation show, known as OR SHOW, was also held just after SHOT in Salt Lake City, UT.

Outdoor Writer Charlie Meyers Passes Away at Age 72

 I am sorry to learn that wordsmith Charlie Meyers passed away Tuesday evening after a battle with cancer. Charlie covered the outdoor beat for 40 years at the Denver Post, where he wrote about skiing, nature, fishing and hunting. He was very accomplished and well respected at what he did.

I had the opportunity to meet Charlie at the Fly Fishing Retailer Show in Denver in 2007 and work with him on and off while I did the PR for Simms Fishing Products. 

Colorado Snowpack below average: Low snowfall can affect fisheries and angling in the summer months

Below average snowpack in Colorado's mountain basins

Colorado's snowpack is currently at 79 to 90% percent of average for this time of the year. There is still time to catch up, but the fact is that a low snow pack can spell trouble for months to come, affecting agriculture, fish and wildlife, recreation and tourism.

Endangered species program affects local fishing economy in Colorado

 Yesterday representatives from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation addressed the Basalt, Colorado town government to make it clear that the endangered species program trumps local fishing concerns. 

Members of the Basalt governments and local fly fishing shops are concerned because fishing in the Fryingpan River was compromised last summer, mostly in the month of August, when high water flows resulted in cancellation of booked fishing trips. Apparently, there were 23 days between June 1 and Sept. 1 when water flows on the Fryingpan River exceeded 350 cubic feet per second.

The high flows came after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service practiced its right to make a call on water, for which they have a contract, to supplement flows in the Colorado River to protect fish habitat near Palisade, Colorado. The endangered species of concern include the pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub and bonytail chub.

Western water rights are complicated

There are several factors that affect flows in the Colorado River, including water calls made upstream by the Shoshone Power Plant, front range water use, agricultural water use, releases from Reudi Reservoir and weather factors. Last year, was an unusually low flow in the Colorado, which resulted in an additional call on the water from Reudi Reservoir, above the Fryingpan River for the endangered fish recovery program.

Ultimately, however, the goal to save the rare fish in the Colorado the Endangered Species Act takes precedent over local economic concerns surrounding angling in the Fryingpan River.

Additional resources:

See the full article in yesterday's Aspen Times.

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program

Roaring Fork Conservancy

Taylor Creek Fly Shops

Reflections on the Past Shape Plans for 2010 on the Deerfly Diaries Outdoor Blog

The Origins of Deerfly Diaries Blog

I started writing the Deerfly Diaries in April of 2007. I had just started a new job at Backbone Media and, on the same day, taken possession of a brand new 8 week old German shorthaired pointer puppy. I spent days behind my desk doing PR for several companies in the outdoor industry. Evenings were puppy runs and bird dog training, often in pastures amongst swarms of biting deer flies. 

 Deerflydiaries.com had two main purposes when I started writing it. The first was to act as a log for my dog training I was doing with Elsie, her litter mates and my older shorthair, Porter. The second was to add credibility to my PR work. It was important to me to let writers and editors know that I was not just a PR person, but rather an outdoors woman that gets into the field and also uses the gear that I promote. 

Evolution of an Outdoor Blog

My little eight week puppy is now almost three years old and Porter is going on six. Two months after I started the blog I met Glenn and we have since gotten married. I wrote about our adventures bonefishing on our honeymoon in the Bahamas, fly fishing the mountain streams and archery elk hunting in the Rocky Mountains. I have also moved on from Backbone Media and have started my own public relations and freelance writing business specialized for hunting, fishing, shooting sports and resource conservation.

Plans for 2010 for Deerflydiaries.com

The blog will continue to log Glenn's an my outdoor adventures, but I feel that we have a lot more to offer the outdoor community. To that note, my goal is to provide a useful, entertaining and consistent resource for other outdoors men and women and to engage a community of readers who are interested in sharing their experiences in the outdoors.

In the upcoming year, you can expect to consistently read more:

• Dog training how-to's and tips
• Fishing how-to's and tips
• Shooting how-to's and tips
• Gear and book reviews
• Profiles of other outdoors woman
• Links to other outdoor bloggers 
• Outdoor glossary
• And current affairs in the outdoor industry
• Hunting, fishing, and shooting videos

Thank you to everyone who currently read my blog. I hope it has provided you some entertainment. Please tell your friends about it and I hope to hear from you in the upcoming weeks.

Twitter Office (aka Twoffice 3.0) virtual big game trophies

Originally uploaded by @Twitter

Photos of the new Twitter offices in San Franciso hit the web today. If you haven't seen these photos you should check them out. I'd say they are pretty confident that their brand is not going away.

I was struck by the room with the virtual deer heads. Are they going for the modern, rustic hunting lodge look? Do they want their employees to feel at home and close to nature? Is it a statement that we, as humans, can just create our wild when wild places when we continue to shrink our wild places. Or is is a PC thing?

The room does have a sort of clean, modern clean look and I imagine they are easier to dust than are real trophy mounts. What do you think?

Nothing like a puff on cigarrette gets young ladies going in the mountains

LUCKY STRIKE, GIRL WITH SNOWSHOES
Originally uploaded by George Eastman House

Can't say that it ever worked for me to smoke cigarettes before or after a workout. Regardless of the unhealthy message that this Lucky Strike advertisement sent thousands of unsuspecting young women back in 1936, it is a darn cool photograph. They nailed the "sexy sells" concept. You gotta love the vintage mountain look.

We got a fresh dump of snow over the weekend. The mountains came alive again today and finally winter is in the air. 

Cast your vote on the next Extreme Huntress: Top 10 finalists are posted

Voting is now open for the Extreme Huntress contest. The contest, sponsored by Primal Adventures TV and Prois Hunting Apparel, asked women to submit two photos and write a 500 word essay on why they should be chosen as the most Extreme Huntress. The lucky winner gets an all expense paid 14 day bighorn sheep, mountain goat and black bear hunt with International Sportsman, Inc. in southern British Columbia. Not bad!!

Ten finalists were chosen by a top-notch panel that included Larry Weishuhn, host of Winchester Whitetail Revolution, Remington's Linda Powell, Jim Zumbo from the Outdoor Channel, Prois Hunting Apparel's Kirstie Pike and Denise Miller of Otis Technology, Inc. 

Click here to cast your vote and read the ten finalists' essays. This is one group of cool ladies who get after it while juggling things like career, family, and health. Check it out and cast your vote before December 31, 2009.

Good luck to all the women who entered!

Sue Melus specializes in PR & marketing for hunting, fishing, shooting sports and resource conservation. Learn more at www.melusoutdoors.com.

New Hampshire and Central New York in the fall

Tomorrow Glenn and I jump on a plane back east for a visit with our families. It's too bad our families are so far away, but it's nice that he and I are both from the Northeast and can visit everyone in one trip.

We'll fly into Manchester, NH to visit with Glenn's mom, Fontaine, in Jaffrey. She lives on a beautiful piece of property that sets on quiet Gilmore Pond. Last time we were there we saw otters, wild turkeys, deer and grouse while we canoed around the lake. Glenn caught a fish the he reported to be a "monster bass," but I never actually saw it. Recently Fontaine saw a moose stroll right through her yard.  So we are looking forward to relaxation time and good fall colors while in Jaffrey.

Glenn's Mom and his Grandma will join us on our roadtrip to my parents who live near Cazenovia, NY, just a five hour drive west. On the way we may see my Aunt Jane in the Albany area.

The part of Central New York State where I grew up is equally beautiful to the New Hampshire countryside. It probably has less forest and more dairy farms and is every bit as hilly. The Adirondacks are about 60 miles northeast of us. We will have some time to go ruffed grouse (or partridge as they say there) hunting with my Dad and his two English Setters, which should be great fun. 

We will also get to see my 99 year old Grandma, Iola, who lives next door to my parents. She turns 100 this January!

As usual, we are expecting rain, but will take what we get and look at sunny days as a bonus. I'll try to post some photos on our trip.

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Sue Melus owns Melus Outdoors, LLC, public realtions and communications for hunting, fishing, shooting and resource conservation.