Bison Adventures

Check out this site. http://www.bisonquest.com/crew.html

Pam and Craig Knowles are two of the most down to earth and genuinely nice people I've ever met. What an amazing idea to experience real living history of our countries wild animals.

The Philosposhy of the ranch is to be "Self-Reliant and Eco Friendly"

The owners state that "We have been "green" here at the Wild Echo Bison Reserve long before it was cool! The entire ranch is "off the grid" to begin with. That means that we are not hooked up to any power company (we're too remote for that) and we are self reliant when it comes to power. Our camp (in fact, our entire ranch) is primarily powered by wind and sun. Since Bison Quest is all about a camping and wilderness experience (albeit with massages and king size beds - we're not exactly roughing it), we really don't need too much electricity. We don't have any television sets in your cabins (you wouldn't have time to watch them anyway) and we don't cook with electricity, so lights are our main need. And we have plenty of electricity for that! For those of you who must have a blow dryer or music - we can make enough electricity for you, too!"

Smoked Salmon Chowder Recipe

2 Cans Cream of Potato Soup
1 Smoked Salmon Fillet
1 tsp Dill
1/2 tsp Tarragon
2 1/2 tsp Old Bay
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup carrots (diced)
2 Redskin Potatoes (diced with skins)
2 cloves garlic (minced)

Cook carrots and potatoes slightly until just becomning tender (about 8 minutes)
Combine all ingredients in medium sauce pan and cook according to Cream of Potato Soup directions. This recipe can also slow cooked for most of the day so you can enjoy a nice hot bowl of chowder after a day afield.

Enjoy!!!

Bear Hunting Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska

Imagine yourself stalking a Sitka black-tailed deer in an alpine bowl on a late-summer morning or sneaking along a salmon choked stream in search of a black bear. These are just some of the hunting opportunities that are available on Prince of Wales Island. Don't forget your spinning rod, the silvers will be hitting in late August through October.

Due to long hunting seasons, a variety of hunting opportunities are available for Sitka black-tailed deer and black bear. Deer season begins in late summer with the opportunity to harvest a velvet antlered buck and runs through "the rut" in late fall. Bear hunting is split into two seasons; spring and fall. Both seasons offer the hunter an opportunity to harvest a quality bear. Though the fall season doesn't rewuire salvaging the meat of black bear due to it not being very palatable this time of year.

I've been to POW Island the last 2 years in a row. I hunted bear last year and harvested a nice POW Black Bear. This year I only fished for silver(Coho) salmon but a friend of mine harvested another bear. Both years provided ample opportunity to harvest a bear. We also spotted many Sitka's although no bucks. I'm told that most good size bucks are held up at about 3400 ft just above tree line.

Smoke Trout Recipe

1.5 gallons water
1.25 cups salt
5 lbs trout fillets
1 lb hickory chips

Dissolve salt in one gallon water. Place fish in salt water and
marinate in refrigerator for one hour.
Remove trout, rinse and dry thoroughly. In two quarts water,
soak hickory chips for several hours or overnight. Store in cool
place while soaking.
Use a covered grill (charcoal, gas or electric); low heat. Cover
heated coals with 1/3 of the hickory chips. Place fish, skin-side
down, on well-greased grill about 4 to inches from coals. Close
grill hood and open vent to circulate smoke. Add additional
hickory chips as necessary.
Smoke trout at 105ºF to 175º F approximately 1 hour or at 200ºF
30 to 40 minutes. Trout is done when the cut surface is golden
brown and flakes easily with a fork.
Serves 6.

Rifle Choices for Alaska

I'm heading to Alaska this fall and plan to hunt Sitka Black Tail deer and Black bear. I need to purchase a new rifle that can knock down a bear and perform well at long range but doesn't pose a significant issue as far as recoil. The recoil on a .300 Weatherby is significant, but not out of line. It wouldn't be a great rifle to sit and shoot at ground hogs all day, but taking a couple of shots while hunting big game would be no problem. Comparing it to the .300 WSM, it is greater. The recoil on a .300 WSM is similar to that of a .30-06. So, remember it will shoot harder, but not out of line. As for benefits of both, the .300 WSM was designed to compete with the .300 Win Mag without the recoil, nor the use of a long magnum action. Recoil wise, it will save my shoulder a bit. It is also known to be very accurate and available in lighter weight rifles. On the other hand, it doesn't handle the larger weight bullets as well as the full length cartridges. So, although it has great benefits in the popular bullet weights, its is limited when trying to expand it into 180 grain and larger bullets. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Imagine a wilderness where the wildlife out number the people. Where the population of humans has been steadily declining since 2000. Not that its overpopulated to begin with just 767 people call this place home. Where is it you ask? It's Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. This 135 mile long by 35 mile wide island which is covered mostly in timber is just a ferry ride from Ketchikan. Wildlife abounds here, black bear, sitka blacktail deer, wolf, mink, martin and other land mammals as well as eagles and a host of migratory birds. Not only is the fishing excellent, but the amount of whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters and birds is phenomenal. If you want to get away from it all, and enjoy a truly wild place this is the place to go. 20-60 pound King salmon abound here in the mid to late summer. It's a phenomenal place. I'm heading there this fall, check back to read all about my adventure.

Polar Bear study May list them as Threatened Species

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and initiating a comprehensive scientific review to assess the current status and future of the species.
The Service will use the next 12 months to gather more information, undertake additional analyses, and assess the reliability of relevant scientific models before making a final decision whether to list the species.
“Polar bears are one of nature’s ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world’s harshest environments,” Kempthorne said. “But we are concerned the polar bears’ habitat may literally be melting.”