heroes blog

The Heroes of Conservation program hinges on preserving natural resources for hunting and fishing, and while we focus on habitat programs, we always have a soft spot for getting kids involved in the outdoors and in projects.

The minimum hunting age is always a debate among hunters, and New York state has been the anti-Texas. Kids in New York cannot start hunting until they are 16, but hopefully that will change.


Both the New York State Assembly and Senate have passed legislation that would lower the hunting age across the state from 16 to 14 years old. Pending the governor’s approval, the legislation passed would also allow 12- and 13-year-olds to hunt small game.

Click here for the whole story

I have a feeling most of you still think New York is on the older side, but it's a step in the right direction.

The Florida Everglades are one of the most threatened areas in the United States, and the state has just taken drastic measures to protect it. The nation's largest sugarcane producer agreed to sell all of its assets to the state of Florida and go out of business.

Even before Gov. Charlie Crist arrived to make the announcement against a backdrop of water, grass and birds here, dozens of advocates gathered in small groups, gasping with awe, as if at a wedding for a couple they never thought would fall in love. After years of battling with United States Sugar over water and pollution, many of them said that the prospect of a partnership came as a shock.

“It’s so exciting,” said Margaret McPherson, vice president of the Everglades Foundation. “I’m going to do cartwheels.”...

The impact on the Everglades could be substantial. The natural flow of water would be restored, and the expanse of about 292 square miles would add about a million acre-feet of water storage. That amount of water — enough to fill about 500,000 Olympic size swimming pools — could soak the southern Everglades during the dry season, protecting wildlife, preventing fires, and allowing for a redrawing of the $8 billion Everglades restoration plan approved in 2000.

Click here to read the full New York Times article

I've been busy this week looking through and talking to Boy Scouts for our 2nd Annual Boy Scout Hero of Conservation award and column. It was with a heavy heart that I read about the tragedy at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa. Our thoughts are with their family and friends.

Click here for the story

It's the biggest hunting and fishing conservation disaster of the year, and we're even feeling it here in the New York City Field & Stream headquarters. The disappearing salmon on the west coast have many people troubled, and it's definitely a cause that has many Heroes concerned and working hard. What seems to be getting the most press is how it's changing the market for buying salmon. In today's New York Times, there was an op-ed that caught my eye. Well, mainly the image caught my eye (illustrated by Christian Northeast) and then I read it. It's by Taras Grescoe, who wrote a book about eating seafood even though fish numbers are declining across the world. Grescoe has decided to swear off salmon this year in hopes of a recovery. He does make some good points:

Spawning salmon need gravel streambeds and cold, fast-running water to lay their eggs. Giant pumps have been piping water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to towns and farms in California’s Central Valley, degrading river habitat and even sucking up young fish before they reach the sea. Farther north, dams on the Snake River have prevented egg-bearing fish from reaching streambeds inland.

Overfishing is also a factor; too many nets have been scooping up too many fish for too long. What’s more, higher water temperatures brought on by global warming prevent the eggs of spawning females from maturing. It’s not surprising that the only consistently healthy salmon runs left are those in the cold waters of Alaska.

(click here for the full story)