I am currently starting to organize the 100’s of Cisco Sonar
columns I have written since 2003. It is
a daunting task to put them into a book form that I am not sure I will ever
finish.
This is a random column written on Oct. 28, 2009. It will give you an idea on what I am up
against.
Currently there are a lot of Trumpeter and Tundra swans
moving through. They are the largest
waterfowl and are stunning with the white feathers against the blue water of
Bear Lake. The gray ones are
juveniles. They will hang around until
the lake starts to freeze. As usual the
Bonneville whitefish will start to bite just after Thanksgiving
As I write this column, I am watching the snow fall outside
as the first early winter storm to hit Utah on a statewide basis. The weather forecasters predicted it and
everyone has worried looks on their faces as they head back home in the
snow. It might just be my imagination,
but it seems people worry a lot more lately about driving in bad weather. I don’t know why because we have better
vehicles, tires and snow removal than we have ever had. Everyone is worrying about something. It may be the H1N1 flu, the economy, invasive
species, real estate sales or next year’s lake levels.
I have to admit that I do not look forward to winter as much
as I used to. It is a lot of work just
to stay warm and keep things moving. But
I do look forward to the duck and goose hunts, fishing when the fish are
actually biting which usually is in the winter and coming home, getting warm
and eating a bowl of soup. This storm
will pass and we will have some more nice days, but winter is surely on our
doorstep.
Bear Lake continues to come up. I watch the beach area just south of Gus Rich
Point slowly go underwater. I think of the thousands of people that I have seen
playing there over the last seven years.
I am not sure where they will all go but I will be somewhere around the
lake. Locations change as the lake
levels move. I personally will be glad
to see the lake get back to a normal elevation to churn all the existing
vegetation and trees back into nutrients for creatures in the lake.
Rich County has been in the news a lot the past two
weeks. There was the six point bull elk
that was wrapped up in miles of barbwire by a stack yard in Round Valley and
couldn’t get out. A hunter who had
limited entry muzzleloader elk license passed by and after checking with the
landowner shot the bull at point blank range.
It was a successful hunt and trophy for a guy in a strange sort of way. Then there was the deer hunter up New Canyon
who shot the mountain lion that was supposedly stalking him. You hear these stories many times but every
time I have seen a lion, it is just the tail, twirling as it heads out of
sight. And finally, there were the
ranchers who cut too big of swath through the hills building a lay down range
fence. I feel sorrow for these guys
because I have experienced the frustrations of dealing with governmental
regulations and the inability they have for flexibility in the face of common
sense. My biological background tells me
that the swath will provide “edge” habitat for wildlife, production of food and
travel zones for animals and people. It
may not look so hot but it will not do the damage the talking heads on the
television are professing.
If you are still with me, you can see that my mind is
wandering today. I am looking toward the
future whether it is snowy or not.
As always, I appreciate comments or questions at cisco@cut.net and keep our beautiful lake
clean, clear and blue.
Bryce Nielson
Cisco’s Landing
