Whofsin q Nome That Holy Grail of shotguns, NashBuckingham'sl2-gauge,HE Grade SuperFox named Bo Whoop, not only was found but also was restoredand sold for a whopping $201250.The 32-inchlegendwas chamberedfor a new-to-the-post WWI era shotgunmarket, the 3-inch magnumshell.Bo Whoop had been missingsinceBuckinghamfailed to return it to his truck following a routine post-duck hunt inspection on Dec. 1,l948,near Clarenden,Ark. The Fairfield,Maine, auctionhouse JamesD. JuliaAuction Company received$175,000for the gun plus King Arthur a commissionbringing the total to nearly a quarter of a million dollars. While Buckingham,authorof De ShootinestGent'm.an,Mark, Right, and Blood Lines was consideredforgetful (legendreports he often forgot his dogs' names),he never forgot the name of his shotgun.In lieu of the finding, noted Arkansaswriter Keith "Catfish" Sutton begsanotherquestion:What's in a name? According to Sutton,Bo Whoop was namedby Buckingham's good friend and hunting buddy, Col. Harold P. Sheldon. Daniel Boone Accordingly, Buckingham doubledon mallardswith his first two shotsfired from his new gunning iron, and Sheldoncelebratedthe gun's sound by bestowingthe nickname. King Arthur had Excalibur,Davy Crocketthad Old Betsy,Daniel Boone had Old Tick Licker and Buffalo Bill Cody had LucreziaBorgia (the illegitimate daughterof Pope AlexanderVI). So what's the nameof your favorite shotgun?Let us know at info@uplandalmanac.com. Buffalo Bill Cody
SpeciesUpdate
Conservationinitiativesfor the western greater sage grouse and sagebrushecosystemshave reacheda new level. Ken Salazar,the Secretaryof the Interior, and Tom Vilsack,the Secretaryof Agriculture, have announced a signed agreement to support the bird and its environment in 11 Western states. According to Salazar,"the greater sagegrouse has historically inhabited millions of acresin the West, and if we are going to conservethe species,we must work across political and administrative boundariesat a landscapescale to protect and restore its sagebrushhabitat. This agreement gives us a framework to prevent further habitat fragmentation and undertake other conservationefforts in partnership with states,tribes, private landownersand other stakeholders." USDA'sNatural ResourcesConservationServiceChief Dave White and Rowan Gould, acting director of Interior's U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service,signed the partnership agreement,which will provide up to $16 million this fiscalyear to reducethreats to the birds. Initial threats include disease,invasivespecies and weeds, and in the last few decades,nearly 44 percent of the birds' habitat has been lost. Additional reasonsfor habitat lossinclude farming, urban development and energy extraction/generation. Greatersage grouse live in 258,000 square miles of the sagebrushecosystemsin the following states:Washington, Oregon, ldaho, Montana, North Dakota,easternCalifornia, Nevada,Utah, western Colorado,South Dakota and Wyoming along with the Canadianprovincesof Alberta and Saskatchewan.For more information on the NRCSand the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Servicegreater sage grouse agreement or other conservationissuespleasevisit: www.nrcs.usda.govor www.fws.gov.
THE UPLANDALMANAC
Political In 2009, a majority of hunters madegoing afield a priority in their lives.Accordingto HunterSurvey. com, almost25 percentsaid they huntedmore than they expectedto in 2009,and 40 percentsaid they hunted aboutas much as they expectedto. Resultsfrom this poll supportthe finding that hunting licensesalesrose by 3.5 percentin2O09 in the l2 statesthat make up the National ShootingSportsFoundation'sHunting LicenseSalesIndex. Even though severalfactorscan affect hunting licensessales, expeftspoint to the high jobless rate as the most likely reasonfor the 2009 uptick in licensesales. "While the exactreasonsfor the 3.5 percentincreaseare unknownat this time, pastresearchsuggeststhat slowdownsin the nation'seconomyoften resultin huntershaving more time to go afield,"saidRob Southwick,presidentof SouthwickAssociates,Inc.
Water-Dgg Textand photo by Nancy Anisfield Whetherwe'retalkingaboutspringandsummer trainingor hotdays during hunting season,it's important to remember twowords: 'water dog."That's \rater"the verb,notthe adjective. Dogs, particularly thosewho haven't beenconditioned to heator whoareout of shape earlyin the huntingseason,canquicklyget overheated anddehydrated. Remember thatif the air temperature is 80degrees, by afternoonin thickhotgrassit couldbe over '100degreesat dog level. Heatstresssymptoms varybut usuallyincludeheavy darkredgumsandpoor , excesssalivation, UTUMN 2OIO
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In the past 50 years, urban sprawl has eliminated of acres of woodcock habitat along the Atlantic from southwesternMaine to the ChesapeakeBay. ing to the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), servationists have joined forces and sharedfunding to nch the Atlantic Coast Regional Woodcock Initiative. Mark Banker, the senior biologist at the Ruffed GrouseSociety, is working as the habitat-managementcoordinatorto develop a seriesof best managementpracticesfor use on both public and private lands. Other partnersinclude statefish and wildlife departmentsof the coastalstatesfrom Maine through Virginia, the National Wild Turkey Federation,the National Fish and Wildlife Foundationand the New Hampshireand New Jersey Audubon Societies.For more information or to make a donation. checkout www.timberdoodle.ors.
Testfor dehydration coordination. by pinchinga rollof skin on the backof the dog'slowerneck.lf it "sticks"up,the dog probablyneedswater.Flushthe dog'smouthwithcool water,wipeoutthe saliva,thengivehimor hersmalldrinks. productsprovidesolutions Innovative to problemssuch as leakingjugsor dogsthatdon'tlikesquirtbottles. . Tip-up,tip-downcontainers molded comeas one-piece plasticunitsthatholdabout2 gallons. Turnedup,the watercannotleakout or spill.Turneddown,the water flowsintoa troughfor the dogto drinkfrom. . Collapsible bowlsmadeof polyester, somewith waterproof ripstopnylonliners,foldintoa pocket.Cut in half,a pliableplasticor rubberballwitha six-or eightinchdiameterworkssimilarly. . Well-rinsed ketchupbottlesoffera flatshape squirt-top thatwillsit betterin a vestpocketor gamebag. . Hydrationsystemcompatiblevestsaccommodate a water pouchin a specialpocketbetweenthe shoulderblades witha watertuberunningthroughthe gamebagto the front.A waistbeltandshoulderstrapshelpsupportthe weightof the waterwithouttiringthe lowerback. Cautions;Dogsshouldbe watchedto preventtaking particularly in too muchairwhiledrinking, froma squirt bottle,becausedoingso mightleadto bloat.Similarly, dogs shouldbe restedandcooleddownwiththeirheartrates returning to normalbeforetakingin a lotof foodor water.