Great Backyard Bird Count Welcomes Experts, First-timers
SD GF&P

A nationwide bird count is looking for volunteers, and folks with no experience are encouraged to take part.
This February, the 10th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, will give everyone a chance to discover the birds in their neighborhood and “Count for the Record.”

During Feb. 16–19, people of all ages--from beginners to experts--are invited to join the event which spans all of the United States and Canada. Participants can take part wherever they are – at home, in school yards, at local parks or wildlife refuges. Observers simply count the highest number of each species they see during an outing or a sitting, and enter their tally on the Great Backyard Bird Count Web site at www.birdsource.org/gbbc .

Visitors to the Web site can also compare their sightings with results from other participants, as checklists pour in from throughout the U.S. and Canada. Together, these counts offer a real-time snapshot of the numbers and kinds of birds that people are finding, from boreal chickadees in Alaska to anhingas in Florida. more

Ladies Pheasant Hunt

Date: March 16-17, 2007
Location: Rosewood Barn, Mt. Vernon SD
Website: http://www.rosewoodbarn.com/

Rosewood Barn would like to offer a women’s hunt for a group of women 8-18. We would need a minimum of 8 women to go ahead with the hunt. The cost would be $215.00 per person. If we have at least 15 women that come the cost would be $200.00 per person. The cost covers Friday night supper and lodging, Saturday breakfast, 3 bird limit hunt, field lunch, supper and lodging. If anyone does not want to stay Saturday night than the cost would be $200.00.
They have a hot tub, pool table, and poker table for fun in the evening. They would also have one person that would come to give massages in the evening at an extra cost.
If anyone is interest, please check out their website and contact Bonnie Struble at 996-9810 or e-mail:
kbarchery@midconetwork.com.

I would like to have a count by March 1, 2007.
 

2007 FIRST-DRAWING APPLICATION DEADLINES
Bonnie Struble

If you are planning on applying for big game hunting licenses you need to check out the South Dakota GFP website for the deadlines dates. This is especially important if you have any preference points. Some of the dates you should be looking at are:

All Spring Turkey: Feb 23
Special Buck: April 20
Deer (Custer Park): May 25
All Elk: May 25
Sheep: May 25
Mt. Goat: May 25
All Paddlefish (archery & snagging): May 25

A Black Hills Turkey Hunt is planned for May 4-6 so if you are planning on coming on this hunt you need to make sure you have your application in by Feb 23.

At our convention on April 13-15 there will be a turkey hunting class that you may want to take before going on the hunt in May.
 

State Park News
Becky Graff, Custer State Park

Happy New Year to all of you outdoor enthusiasts out there! If you are looking for ways to help burn off those holiday calories, the SD State Parks are a great place to get that done. You can attend a scheduled activity or just get out on the hiking trails, cross-country ski trails and snowmobile trails and enjoy things at your own pace. Let's all pray for enough snow this winter to get out and play in. The following is a list of scheduled activities and special events taking place in some of your favorite state parks.
WITP = Walk In The Park, min. of a 1 mile hike.

2007 State Park Events February – March

February
 3rd – Eagles & Bagels WITP, Oahe Downstream, starts at 9:00 AM. 223-7722
 3rd – Snowshoe Shuffle WITP, Mickelson Trail, TBA. 584-3896
 3rd – Ice Bowl, Richmond Lake, starts at 10:00 AM. 626-3488
 4th – Ground Hog Cross Country Ski Event, Oakwood Lakes, starts at 12:30 PM. 627-5441
 10th – Animal Signatures WITP, LaFramboise Island, starts at 1:00 PM. 773-2886
 10th – Cabin Fever Reliever, Ft. Sisseton, starts at 1:00 PM. 448-5474

March
 10th – Officers & Their Duties, Ft. Sisseton, starts at 1:00 PM. 448-5474
 

Snowshoe Hikes in Custer State Park
SD Game, Fish & Parks

Custer State Park is gearing up for three guided snowshoe hikes this winter as part of the Walk in the Park program. All three hikes will allow participants to experience Custer State Park in the winter while participating in one of the fastest growing recreational activities during the winter season, snowshoeing.

The first snowshoe hike was scheduled for the day-use area around Sylvan Lake on Jan. 27. The final two snowshoe hikes are scheduled for Feb. 17 and March 17, and will allow participants to explore the Lover’s Leap Trail and the Stockade Lake Nature Trail, respectively. All hikes begin at 1 p.m.  more

 

The letter below is being posted on our website upon request. The project, while not endorsed by Outdoor Women of South Dakota, is an activity we thought may be of interest to our membership.
OWSD Board of Directors.

Dear members of OWSD,

I’m the creator of the book series This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women across America (the most recent volume came out about year ago from Three Rivers Press/Random House). Currently, I’m working on the third book in the series, this one focused on working women, and would very much like to include more women for South Dakota. I thought your organization sounded neat, and would have a lot of interesting women in it. Thus, I am contacting you in the hopes you will participate in the book project, and/or spread the word to other women in the OWSD.

As a contributor to This Day in the Life, your commitment would be relatively small, and would require no disruption of your normal work day. Below is a bit more info, as well as a brief list of previous contributors to the book series.

Participants in the book project are essentially asked to create a “day diary” on March 27, 2007—the same date that approximately 500 other women across the country and from all walks of life will also be chronicling a day in their lives. Despite the fact this is a relatively simple exercise (no writing experience is necessary; contributors simply go about their “normal” day, chronicling what they are doing, thinking, and feeling); the results can be both profound and engaging. In a starred review of the current This Day book on store shelves, Publishers Weekly wrote, “There is not one piece in this compilation that is not captivating… These women communicate bravery, compassion, humor and perseverance in this compulsively readable volume.” People Magazine concurred, “This is one unremarkable day you’ll wish could go on forever.”

While the two previous This Day books have featured such contributors as the President of NOW, television stars, Olympic athletes, soldiers, factory workers, CEOs, Rosanne Cash, NASA astronauts, professors, artists, construction workers, and even Miss America, the goal of the This Day series is to connect with a diversity of real women, allowing readers to see behind the labels, stereotypes, and job titles by which we are so often defined.

For more info about the book series, a helpful resource is the THIS DAY IN THE LIFE website (www.thisdayinthelife.com). Detailed info about the role of day diarists, and how they can easily confirm their participation is at www.thisdayinthelife.com/participate.htm (All day diarists do need to confirm their participation to be “officially” included in the book project—our deadline is February 28, but it is helpful for interested women to confirm sooner rather than later so that we can get a firm head count, and so that we can provide updates to all confirmed participants as the day diary date approaches)

Naturally I’ll be glad to answer any and all questions. My contact info is below, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Warm wishes,

Joni Cole
joni@thisdayinthelife.com 802 295-5526 (EST)

For info on This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women across America, visit http://www.thisdayinthelife.com/

For info on Joni's book Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive visit http://www.toxicfeedback.com/ 
"Strongly recommended" for writers, teachers, and workshops by Library Journal.




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