Out & About: Oregon leads way for military to hunt

OUTSERVICE – Giving up the chance to apply for big-game hunting permits is one of the many sacrifices military personnel make for their service.

Oregon is trying to change that.

Oregon soldiers like U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. James Nash can’t plan a trip home to hunt because the randomness of their leave schedules means they can’t apply in advance for most big-game tags, says Mark Freeman, outdoor writer for the Medford Mail Tribune.

But starting this year, they’ll have a chance to hit the woods should they find themselves visiting home in the fall, thanks to Nash.

“After a year’s prodding from Nash and his father, Enterprise rancher Todd Nash, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has created a new program that allows Oregon servicemen and servicewomen the ability to get controlled deer and elk tags over the counter should they find themselves home during hunting season,” Freeman writes.

Call it the Nash Rule, perhaps the first program of its kind in the nation to grant exceptions for deployed soldiers on leave.

Book recounts guides’ adventure

OUTREAD – Jo Durebrack, author of a true story about two maverick Salmon River guides on their ultimate adventure, will present a reading from her new book tonight, 7 p.m., at Corbin Senior Center, 827 West Cleveland Ave.

“Anything Worth Doing” tells the true story of two men, a handmade dory, a 900-mile journey from the headwaters of the Salmon to the Pacific, one man’s final, desperate hour, and perspectives from adventurous lives.

Wildlife ‘traps’ snare road hunters

OUTMANEUVER – As Idaho’s hunting season heats up, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is rolling out its anti-road hunting weapons: big-game decoys.

Again this year, these artificial simulated animals – in the form of elk, deer and other big-game species – will be propped up in areas where there have been complaints about road hunting, spotlighting or other suspicious activities.

Mark Hill, regional conservation officer in Lewiston, says road hunters are a visible minority that gives the rest of the law-abiding hunting community a bad name.

Shooting an artificial animal could bring license revocation, a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

Reel Rock video climbers excel

OUTDO – See vertical rock-climbing feats in a free presentation of the Reel Rock 7 film tour starting 7 p.m., Nov. 1, at Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division.