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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, September 13, 2019:
T. Boone Pickens dies at 91: Most knew T. Boone Pickens as an energy-business tycoon, a supporter of Oklahoma State University where the football stadium bears his name, or a man with a Texas-style quote for nearly every situation. Hunters and conservationists, though, knew Pickens as an avid lover of wild species — especially the bobwhite quail. Pickens died Sept. 11 in Dallas of natural causes. At Park Cities Quail, the Lifetime Sportsman Award was named after Pickens. Joe Crafton, one of the founders of Park Cities Quail, said: “We lost a good man and a good friend today. It was a joy to get to know Boone Pickens over the past 12 years. He had a double share of charisma, smarts, generosity and fun. There was none other like him and he will be missed.” At the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, which Pickens and Park Cities Quail support, executive director Dale Rollins said: “A heart-felt salute and “well done” to T. Boone Pickens, likely the best-known advocate for the bird and sport we all love.”
Boone Pickens leaves behind $250 million Texas ranch for sale: T. Boone Pickens was a corporate raider, an oil wildcatter and the owner of a sprawling Texas ranch with the “world’s best quail hunting.” Pickens died Wednesday at the age of 91. His Mesa Vista Ranch, which is almost 65,000 acres, has an asking price of $250 million, one of the most expensive listings in the U.S. The ranch was first offered for sale in 2017, and Sam Middleton, who is marketing the property for Chas. S. Middleton & Son, said Pickens’ death probably won’t change sale plans. Located about 85 miles northeast of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle, the ranch is a short flight — via its own airport — to games at Oklahoma State University’s Boone Pickens Stadium. The property features multiple structures, including the chapel where Pickens married his fifth wife in 2014 (they were divorced in 2017). It also has a golf course, two-story pub, gun room, dog kennel and movie theater. And as is befitting an energy tycoon, the ranch conveys both oil and gas royalty income and rights from wind generation royalties.
Bristol Palin’s son kills first black bear during Alaskan hunting trip, plans on making hot dogs: Bristol Palin’s son bagged his first black bear during a hunting trip with the reality star’s ex, Levi Johnston. 10-year-old Tripp just returned to civilization from a camping and hunting trip with his father and stepmom, Sunny Johnston. The former “Dancing With the Stars: Juniors” contestant could be seen posing with the dead black bear after the successful hunt, and was smiling wide while his stepsister held up one of the bear’s lifeless paws. Sunny took to Instagram to congratulate the young man on the hunt, writing, “[Levi] got Tripp on his very first black bear!” She added that the bear, “will make the best organic hot dogs and a warm blanket or rug.”
Edie Falco calls for Brooklyn Bridge Park to stop ‘fishing clinics’ Native Brooklynite Edie Falco wants to put a stop to “fishing clinics” in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The “Sopranos” star, 56, penned a letter, exclusively obtained by Page Six, to Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation President Eric Landau on behalf of PETA requesting these clinics, in which children and adults hook fish, pull them from their aquatic home and toss them back into the water, often resulting in death from injuries or stress. In the letter, Falco, who is an honorary PETA president, suggests replacing the “fishing clinics” with “trash fishing,” a fun activity that would have participants would help clean up bodies of water instead of pulling aquatic life from them.
Take care of your fishing or hunting guide: “I said, mend your line!” There was no mistaking the intended correction in my guide’s rather loud exclamation. He had indeed told me to mend my line. In fact, he had given me that direction several times that morning. But evidently I wasn’t making the correction he needed me to make in my fly line’s drift and was letting me know it. Some may have found his gruff manner a little offensive, but I was new to fly-fishing from a drift boat on a large river and willing to learn. He was the one who knew the stretch of the Missouri River that we were fishing. He was on it with clients every day. And he was the one working the oars against the pull of the river’s current, doing his best to provide me and my partner the best fishing experience possible. Several times during the day he even jumped out of the boat and pushed it back upriver so we could fish a particular stretch a second time. “I am mending my line,” I responded. “Show me what you need me to do!”
U.S. expands hunting and fishing at national wildlife refuges: The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is expanding hunting and fishing in 77 national wildlife refuges in a move that critics contend is deferring management to states and could harm wildlife. The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said hunters and anglers can shoot and cast their rods on 2,200 square miles of federally protected land in 37 states, much of which is considered critical habitat for waterfowl and other birds to rest and refuel during their migration. “This is the largest single effort to expand hunting and fishing access in recent history,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said last month before the changes were posted Tuesday in the Federal Register.
An 8-legged threat to hunters: Hunters are accustomed to dealing with the critters so commonly encountered in their outdoor pursuits. From slithering serpents to biting flies, they are always on the lookout for things that seek to inflict pain — or worse — upon being inadvertently threatened. After all, there are spray repellents to keep the mosquitoes and other flies at bay, and snake encounters are typically avoided by an alternate path. It’s no surprise that spiders are a common culprit for hunters’ annual ailments in the field, some even resulting in hospital visits. A single bite can result in serious ramifications if left unidentified or untreated. Besides, there’s just something about the 8-legged type that so often puts a special fear into the boldest of outdoorsman.
Animal rights groups sue California over hunting rules that allow GPS on dogs: Animal rights groups are suing California over rules that allow animals to be hunted with the aid of hunting dogs wearing GPS tracking devices on their collars. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit last week in Sacramento Superior Court, called the hunting method “unusually cruel and unfair.” Tracking devices allow dogs to chase prey to the point of exhaustion, and then hunters follow the GPS signal to find an animal that can no longer flee and is easily shot, the group said. The lawsuit was joined by the Public Interest Coalition and Friends of Animals. It targets the California Fish and Game Commission, which didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
10 tips for patterning your shotgun for hunting season: Among the preseason chores—painting decoys, training dogs, getting in shape—patterning your shotgun may be the most tedious, unless you are a gun nerd who enjoys counting holes in paper (I am guilty here). Patterning your gun teaches you your maximum range, and identifies choke-load combinations that make it easier to hit birds and kill them cleanly. Patterns have their quirks, oddities, and mysteries. Understanding them will help guide you through a useful patterning session.
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