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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Friday, January 24, 2020:
This mom cherishes her time ‘hunting’ — but it isn’t what you think: A Tennessee mom is sharing the code word that changed her marriage. When Jentri Nelson needs alone time, she just tells her husband, Adam, that she’s going “hunting.” “It’s made our relationship even stronger,” Nelson, 32, told TODAY Parents. In a now-viral Facebook post, that has more than 80,000 shares, the real estate attorney explained that Adam, 31, is an avid hunter. “It was hard to be alone with the kids during dove season, deer season, duck season & turkey season,” Nelson wrote. “It took us almost three years to get into a groove. The last two years have been pretty good. We have learned to compromise. What really helps is that I started hunting. But Nelson’s version doesn’t involve camouflage or guns.
Dad kills coyote with bare hands after it attacked his child in New Hampshire: A coyote attacked a pair of dogs, bit a woman and skirmished with a vehicle before being killed by a father defending his family on a walk Monday, police said. Ian O’Reilly said he had no choice but to fight. “There was no running away, it would not allow us to run away,” O’Reilly said. “It was very much the aggressor.” O’Reilly, his wife, and three young children were hiking at Jude’s Pond when the coyote went after his young son. “It actually caught the hood of his jacket and was able to pull him down,” O’Reilly said. O’Reilly wife grabbed the kids before the animal could bite anyone and dad found himself eye to eye with the snarling beast. “I did kick him square in the jaw once that put him to the ground and I was able to jump on him after that,” O’Reilly said. As his wife called 911, O’Reilly strangled the coyote during several minutes that seemed surreal at best.
Mountain lion attack on boy in Lake Forest park called ‘extraordinarily rare’ The mountain lion attack that injured a 3-year-old boy in a Lake Forest wilderness park Monday was “extremely rare,” a state fish and wildlife official said. The boy -– bitten in the back of the neck –- was “doing OK” and was released from the hospital the night of the incident, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Patrick Foy said. Forensic analysis has confirmed that the mountain lion shot and killed by Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies as it sat in a tree with a backpack in its mouth Monday is the same one that attacked the child, Foy said.
Teen lucky to be alive after fish jumps in boat, stabs him in neck: In Southeast Asia, the fish spear you. That’s right, a young fisherman is lucky to be alive after a fish impaled him through the neck while he was fishing in Southern Indonesia. Muhammad Idul, 16, was fishing with his family in the waters off Wakinamboro village when a school of needlefish — a marine creature with a long snout and tack-like teeth — started jumping out of the water, CEN reports. Idul got a closer look than intended when one of the creatures hopped into his boat and stabbed him in the throat with its sharp snout, knocking him into the water.
15 awesome things I saw at the massive U.S. gun show only insiders can attend: More than 65,000 people gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada this week for the nation’s largest annual gun industry convention, SHOT Show 2020. Organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, SHOT Show brings together the world’s best in shooting sports, law enforcement, hunting, and armed forces to share their products and businesses, but more importantly, to shoot the globe’s latest and greatest firearms in the Nevada desert. With more than 2,000 exhibiting manufacturers and companies crammed into the 13-acre Sands Convention Center, it’s physically impossible for a single visitor to see everything. But after just two days of being tightly surrounded by guns, ammunition, Navy SEALs, military dogs, tactical gear, camouflage, and American flags, my faith has been restored in the status of freedom and the Second Amendment in this country.
Prepare and you can elk hunt every year for less than $1,500: Originally from the East Coast, for me, the notion of getting out West to hunt the majestic wapiti was always an overwhelming, complicated and expensive dream. However, I am here to tell you that heading out to the Rockies to chase bull elk can easily become an annual event if you have the drive and about $1,500 to allocate to this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Whether you live in Maine, Florida, Texas or anywhere in-between, I will explain how doable and affordable it is to get out West. Hunting in western states starts with preparation and ends with preparation and involves choosing what state to hunt, hunting districts, spots, financial planning and selecting a good hunting partner.
Learning to fly fish: a cautionary tale: My dad was an avid fisherman, dedicated to catching fish with either lures or bait. As far as I know, he never owned a flyrod and no one in our family fly-fished. Consequently, I have no idea what inspired my parents to get me a beginner fly-tying kit for Christmas when I was 13, but I’m sure glad they did. I jumped right in and began teaching myself how to tie flies using an instruction manual that came with the kit. At that time, I had no idea what a whip finisher was but I knew how to tie half-hitches and figured those would finish off a fly. I also learned that I needed something called head cement, but thought my mom’s nail polish would do, and even better, it came in different colors. Dad was also an enthusiastic photographer. I grew up admiring photos of large bass and trout he caught (on lures/bait) and was keen to do the same. The only difference, I wanted to do one better and catch big fish on a fly rod.
New conservation area in Texas boasts hundreds of natural springs: The Nature Conservancy has acquired a conservation easement on 1,640 acres owned by landowner Gary Krause, preserving its unique natural features for future generations. The easement was funded in part by the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program, overseen by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Krause donated part of the value of the easement as a charitable contribution. Located in Real County, the Krause Ranch features hundreds of natural springs creating a five-mile-long aquatic network feeding the West Frio River, which flows through the ranch. The springs and the river host several species of aquatic life only found in pristine, undisturbed conditions. These species disappear as the waters flow to developed areas.
Ranchers, landowners battle feds over conservation, property rights: Ranchers in Oregon, Washington and Kansas have been battling the federal government over property rights and conservation efforts for decades. The states argue that in most cases, land owners know best how to manage their own land, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. In Kansas and Washington, ranchers filed a motion to intervene over recent changes to endangered species’ policies proposed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Under previous rules, strict regulations curtail ranchers’ efforts to preserve endangered species or restore habitats and fully use their property, resulting in little to no benefits for endangered or native species. The new rule change reinstates the Endangered Species Act’s two-tiered protection system, which supporters argue incentivizes property owners to aid in recovering species while also protecting their property rights.
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