The last few weeks have made for a chilly winter. Our cold snap hit while we were on a family holiday in Jasper, so we didn’t end up feeling the brunt of it, but we had numbers dipping below -40C with the windchill. While away at the mountains we enjoyed some slightly warmer weather and of course, skiing, shopping, elk meandering along the road and some relaxation.

Today ended up being quite warm, hopefully most of our extreme cold days are over until next winter. I always feel like I’m coming out of hibernation on these warms days, the snow gets a little softer and slushier and it makes me long for something to eat that’s a little on the lighter side.

The other day I marinated a moose tenderloin and used it to make my Goat Cheese Stuffed Moose Tenderloin…seriously they were little ...

By Jill Alban

It’s May in Montana. And my husband and I have entered what we affectionately call “the crazy season.”

I’m not sure if it’s because of the long, cold nights that have us inside playing Scrabble through most of December and January – but once spring hits, we’re a little giddy. Grant wishes on his lucky star and puts in for the special moose or sheep tag that might just be in the cards later this year. I bike down to the farmer’s market to buy the jaunty, bright green starts that will turn into endless bowls of salad in a month’s time. We pull out the calendar, plan our backpacking adventures, and make grand goals to plant an herb garden or build a greenhouse in the long summer evenings after work.

And, of course, I pull out my fly box...

It’s a known fact that wildlife are thriving because of sportsmen and women’s contributions to habitat conservation.  But do you know how it all works?  Check out this infographic from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to learn more and spread the word… 

Whether you call them rockfish or striped bass, this time of year on the Chesapeake Bay is when to get your trophies. These fish are BIG – averaging from 20 to 40 pounds! And it’s only an hour drive for city dwellers of D.C.

Rockfish trophy season runs from April 18 to May 15th for 2015. Fish must be above 28 inches to keep and only one fish is per fisher – so good luck! After May 15th, the rockfish size and limit changes to 18 inches or above and each fisher is able to keep two fish.

We look forward to another great 2015 fishing season on the Chesapeake Bay and cooking what we catch!  Fish tacos?  Check out the recipe here.  Baked rockfish? Don’t miss this recipe...

By Stacy Keogh, Professor of Sociology, Whitworth University
Originally published in Backcountry Hunters and Anglers‘s Backcountry Journal and reposted here with permission from the author.

I am not a hunter, but I have been around hunting my whole life. I grew up in northern California where my Dad hunted frequently and strongly encouraged his kids to participate from an early age. My sister and I took the hunter’s education class at the ripe ages of eleven and twelve, despite our marginal interest. We were the only girls in the class and the youngest students by at least a couple of decades. That group was not unlike the composition of the hunting camps we visited, where campfire conversation wasn’t exactly women-and-children friendly...