April/May 2019 Soar Above
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APRIL/MAY 2019 SOAR ABOVE Seek adventure in the outdoor paradise of Little Rock, Arkansas | p. 10 How to lighten your camera load, board candidate profiles & AND MORE. Outdoor Writers Association of America FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Our mission: improve the professional skills of our members, set An investment guaranteed the highest ethical and communications standards, encourage APRIL/MAY 2019 | VOL. 80, NO. 2 to pay you back public enjoyment and conservation our whole life you’ve heard you could see something you missed? of natural resources the importance of investing Archived videos of conference sessions and mentor the next in your future. are available on our website. generation of profes- Y sional outdoor communicators. CONTENTS Perhaps your first steps toward There are many more reasons for financial security began as a child being an OWAA member, but here’s NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS with a piggy bank. In school you were one that’s often overlooked: It’s an in- 2814 Brooks St., Box 442 taught about compound interest. vestment in the future of professional Missoula, MT 59801 With your first real job in high outdoor communications. 406-728-7434, Fax: 406-728-7445 [email protected], owaa.org school, you might have opened a sav- Outdoor journalists play a vital 8 10 12 ings or checking account. And as an role in helping the American people STAFF adult, you may have enrolled in your see the value in the great outdoors. Executive Director: Phil Bloom company’s 401(k) program as a sup- Through our work, we enlighten our Conference Services Director: Jessica plement to the company pension plan readers, viewers and listeners about Seitz Publications Editor: Brian Hartz for retirees. As a full-time freelancer, America’s outdoor resources, the im- Designer: Betsy Alvarez you may have opted for an IRA. portance of protecting those resources The important thing is you made and how to enjoy the recreational PRESIDENT choices at key moments in life for the opportunities they provide. Paul Queneau, Montana purpose of realizing positive rewards Former executive director Tom OFFICERS somewhere down the line. Sadler refers to OWAA as a profes- 1st Vice President: Tim Mead, North Renewing your membership in sional guild and we as members are Carolina OWAA also is an investment in the the keepers of the flame, the standard 2nd Vice President: Pat Wray, Oregon p.6 | THE VALUE OF VIDEO p.10 | OUTDOOR ALSO IN THIS ISSUE future. Yes, there are perks right now bearers for what is good and right Secretary: Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, Arizona By Lisa Ballard OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND Treasurer: Tom Sadler, Virginia PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE p.4 — entrée into the nation’s oldest and within our craft. Since forming in IN THE NATURAL STATE largest organization of professional 1927, our ranks have included legend- BOARD MEMBERS By Jessica Seitz BOARD CANDIDATES p.18 p.7 | PRODUCT REVIEW: OLYMPUS outdoor communicators and the ary communicators: Durward Allen, Robert Ford, Pennsylvania TG-5 CAMERA NEW MEMBERS p.23 associated benefits, such as this mem- Nash Buckingham, Homer Circle, Karen Loke, Texas By Noah Buchanan p.12 | GET IN STEP WITH ASSOCIATION UPDATE p.24 bers-only magazine for starters. Michael Frome, Curt Gowdy, John Christine Petersen, Wyoming LITTLE ROCK As dues-paying members, you re- Madson, Pat McManus, Maynard John Kruse, Washington BOOKSHELF p.27 By Jeffrey Williams ceive discounts on car rentals, hotels, Reece, Dave Richey, Buck Rogers, Ann Simpson, Virginia p.8 | SHAVE SIZE AND WEIGHT Danielle Taylor, Pennsylvania By Joe McDonald outdoor gear and group health insur- Leonard Lee Rue III, Lee Wulff, Ed ance. You have access to the Members Zern and many, many more. Ruth Hoyt, Texas p.14 | PORTFOLIO Ken Keffer, Iowa By Kris Millgate Only section of OWAA’s website, Each of you contributes to the Shawn Perich, Minnesota where you can find job postings and legacy of outdoor communications, contact information for other mem- but we need more voices to join our COUNSELS bers and supporting groups. ranks. So, consider not only what an Attorney: William Jay Powell, Missouri You are entitled to use the member OWAA membership does for you Medical: William W. Forgey, Indiana mailing list to spread the word about now but also what continuing that Supporter Liaison: Katie McKalip, an upcoming project — a new book, membership does to ensure there is a Montana a speaking engagement or a work- future for the outdoors communica- Copyright April/May 2019 by Outdoor Writers shop you are leading. And entering tion profession. Association of America Inc. Reproduction in OWAA’s annual Excellence In Craft OWAA has been there for you in whole or in part without permission is prohibit- Contest can bring recognition for the past, and it’s here for you now. ed. The contents of Outdoors Unlimited do not your work as well as prize money. Let’s make sure it’s around for the necessarily represent the opinion or endorse- ON THE COVER You can attend the annual confer- next generation of outdoor commu- ment of OWAA, its staff, officers, directors or members. Outdoors Unlimited (ISSN 0030-7181) BY KRIS MILLGATE | Power House: Bald eagles are an original member of the Endangered Species List ence at member pricing, where there’s nicators. is published bimonthly by Outdoor Writers started in 1967. They flew free of the list as a recovered population in 2007. Go to pages 14-17 to see the rest more than enough story material, — Phil Bloom is Association of America Inc., 2814 Brooks St., Box of Millgate's portfolio for this issue of Outdoors Unlimited. craft improvement workshops, and OWAA's interim execu- 442, Missoula, MT 59801. Periodicals postage networking prospects to make attend- tive director. Reach him paid at Missoula, MT, and additional mailing ing well worth the cost. at [email protected] or offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 406-552-4049. Outdoors Unlimited, Outdoor Writers Associa- Can’t make the conference or wish tion of America Inc., 2814 Brooks St., Box 442, Missoula, MT 59801. 2 OUTDOORS UNLIMITED | APRIL/MAY 2019 OWAA.ORG/OU | OUTDOORS UNLIMITED 3 LETTER TO THE EDITOR PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Go Big in Little Rock Outdoor writers should ight before the Fort Wayne like commandos. The birds didn’t really follow the money conference last year, I shuttled cooperate that morning, but standing in Rdown to Brown County, Indiana, water up to my waist in neoprene waders amped to ride its web of mountain biking as legions of waterfowl filled the sky To the editor: state forests, left to grow with the goal of profiting from future trails that have earned “epic” status from above is an experience I’ll never forget. timber sales. State wildlife biologists told me (in writing) that the International Mountain Bike Asso- And one I hope to repeat. In 2012, I wrote a series of articles pointing out that our Pitt- “nothing had been done” to improve wildlife habitat in their ciation (IMBA). Unfortunately, the final It was warm and sunny as we pulled man-Robertson funds, hundreds of millions of dollars annually, states during careers that spanned more than 30 years! vestiges of Tropical Storm Alberto arrived back into Little Rock, so a few of us chose were being squandered on uses other than habitat management Now it is five years later and things are getting worse. I had the same day, uncorking a deluge that to grab an afternoon walk up the Arkan- and improvement. Those funds, first issued in 1939, are pro- hoped to get other outdoor writers to join me in demanding drenched the trails and scuttled my hopes sas River. The OWAA conference’s host vided by a tax on guns, ammunition, bows and arrows and in- that our states use their Pittman-Robertson Act funds for their for single-track bliss. hotel sits right on the river and next to tended to be used “primarily” (a common loophole) to improve intended purpose but so far none of my colleagues have seen So our group went ziplining instead; a trail system that connects 38 parks, six habitat for birds and animals. fit to tackle the issue. I’m sure many writers have believed their OWAA President Paul Queneau is con- perhaps not the smartest activity as light- museums and more than 5,000 acres of Instead, I discovered that P-R funds were being used for “oth- state wildlife managers were doing a great job of carrying out servation editor of Bugle magazine at ning was strobing the sky above, but it federal, state and local parkland along an er” purposes ranging from salaries, trash pickup, roads, culverts the duties under the Pittman-Robertson Act. I’m also sure none the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. added a little extra adrenaline as we flung 88-mile loop tailor-made for biking, hik- and bridges. Many have been gated off to keep hunters out of ever bothered to compare their state’s P-R disbursement (readily ourselves at break-neck speeds through a ing, running—you name it. The section the very land they had paid for. available on the USFWS website) to the total acreage managed canopy of towering hardwoods with rain we strolled was paved, incredibly scenic Some 70 years after P-R was enacted, for wildlife habitat (required of any state falling in sheets around us. and just begged for a road bike to explore no state manipulates more than 1 percent that uses P-R funds). Biologists who are Flash forward to 2019, and I’m eyeing it further. Along the way we passed of its wildlife management area holdings not afraid to speak publicly have made it the abundance of trails that grace the outdoor amphitheaters, wild playgrounds annually.