“I want your job,” say people I meet all the time. “You can’t have it, I’m not ready to give it up,” I always reply.

After all, hunting, fishing, and then writing and talking about it on TV and radio certainly has appeal. And although that description of my job as an “outdoor writer” is a gross oversimplification it represents the dream of many. But the cemetery is full of wannabee writers. With newspapers on the ropes, TV shows plentiful as gnats on a calm day in Hopedale, and the internet headed who-knows-where, the future of aspiring young outdoor writers is shaky at best. But I guess there will always be places for those of us who love to make their living in and telling stories about the outdoors.

To create an interest in outdoor journalism and help prepare future writers, our Louisiana Outdoor Writer Association sponsors an annual Youth Journalism Contest. I’m encouraging parents and teachers to encourage students to participate in this event. It’s open to all students in two essay categories:...

Read More »

It’s no secret that statistics have shown a steady decline in hunting license sales for a number of years. The reasons are numerous and varied: no place to hunt, younger would–be hunters are preoccupied with ball sports or “indoor pastimes” like computers, I-pods, video games, etc. True, we have become a more urbanized society and nation than ever, and a hunter’s first thoughts might be; “Good, now it won’t be so crowded in the woods and more game for the rest of us.”

February stinks. Well ok, I guess many folks are happy because there is Mardi Gras and King Cakes, but at least for hunters and this goes for fishermen too, February really does stink. It’s cold and dreary, the only water left by the low tide is muddy and almost every hunting season is shut down. Yeah sure, there’s snipe and the goose conservation order, but those aren’t exactly the most popular seasons. But it is a good time to take a look at the future of our hunting and shooting heritage as we get past the inauguration of a new president and administration.