Northcountryman

I may not agree with everything he says , but that , truly is absurd.

So this is like the 10th post (at least) where someone has mentioned this Papist guy; must have pre-dated me cuz I've never heard of him or have seen his posts. Who the hell is Papist? Sounds like he was a hard-core Conservative dude that posted alot in the Political section, yes?

Beautiful!! Love it!!

Never been to Echo lake ( always wanted to though!) , but Alder Lake is awesome, as is the Vernooy Kill. I know you can camp at Alder Lake w/ no hassle whatsoever; not sure about the Vernooy Kill , but I think you can also. Both waters hold Trout but in alder, youre more likely to catch Bullhead.

Yeah , that makes sense about the chestnut — I figured it’s range would only extend mostly into southern NY , just like the black walnut . So are you saying Elk were in the adirondacks historically , but not as numerous as in lowland areas of NY ?

Fly or spin? It does make a difference!!

Was he ? I saw he had an Arabic name —how do you know ?

Yeah , with the shootings in CO— that’s 2 now in the past several days— there’s gonna be a lot of renewed clamoring for banning of assault rifles.

Yup, me too, here we go again.

Quiote a diverse array of wildlife pics there!! Very nice!! Great pic of the Fox btw, very clear.

You may not agree, but it has become reality, I'm afraid. Also, you say that your statement is not a POV , but (I assume) a fact; well, the other side would disagree with that assertion and many would agree with them--Im afraid--as they are numerous and quite powerful , as demonstrated by the 2020 election results. Thats what I'm saying ! We have already lost extensive ground over the years, piece by piece , little by little and positing the argument now, that absolutely NO gun control legislation is constitutional, will get you nowhere, IMHO. Again, Although I agree with that sentiment (i.e., that it is indeed, unconstitutionaldue ) , Im afraid it would be a rather unpopular and fruitless endeavor right now, circa 2021.

Not so , my friend , TRUST ME lol

A number of years ago , I was fishing the lower gorge w a buddy. We were WAY back, a good 45 min walk from the truck. A way, As I was standing in the water fishing , on the opposite bank I noticed something VERY OUT OF PLACE: slightly above my line of sight due to the higher elevation across the stream stood a white goat!! For a minute , I just stood there staring , not believing my eyes . I told my friend what I saw later on as at the time of my sighting , he was farther upstream and completely out of sight. He laughed and thought I was joking— Afterward , he insisted I had gotten too much sun that day lol.

The Gorge is great nymphing water--I love it!!

Great book--my first Fly ID guide but not my last !! I believe he said in the beginning of the book somewhere that he took an entire season off from fishing, just to collect, obeserve and ID bugs; also, he watched other fisherman in action to gain insight into what worked (and didnt) under certain conditions. I belive his home waters were the Schoarie Creek, right?

G-Man, I agree with you, but I was thinking: In the Adirondacks, there wouldnt have been that many American chestnut trees due to the extreme climate there (cold as hell in the winter!). Now I dont know this for a fact, but it is my belief that Chestnuts in NY would have been found more in the southern/western zone due to the differences in climate and as a consequence, I dont think that the demise of the American chestnut would have contributed significantly to the extirpation of Eastern Elk in the Adirondacks. Elsewhere in the state, I think you raise a vaild point but I think overhunting and habitat destruction (i.e. logging) were mostly the primary factors contributing to its decline.

Agreed, Joes a great guy and always eager to help.

My daughter and her BF are sapping this year. Went and checked out their little operation today and Brought back a couple of Jars to try—can’t wait !!

DD , I totally agree w your POV but I think we’ve ( ie, the country ) gone WAY beyond there currently , haven’t we ? I mean , SO many states ( and cities) have enacted Excessively regulatory gun control legislation in the last 40 yrs And consequently, the opposition ( I.e. We 2 nd amendment supporters ) has conceded much in its acquiescence and acceptance of this new reality . Unfortunately, We cannot go back now and complain And try to roll back legislation that has already been passed ; best we can hope for now is to try to prevent further erosion of our rights .

Well, he ( The Prez) should be firing the VP too then, right? Didnt she openly--and freely-- admit to smokin doobage at one time lol?

Right--but as grazers. I think they would struggle in NY up in the Adirondacks now in most places , due to the fact that there are few open areas with suitable grazing habitat. So, the original eastern Elk herd in NY must NOT have been a grazeing Ungulate, correct? They fed on alot of Mast like Chestnuts-- probably Acorns and Beechnuts also-- and browse probably during the winter, much like Whitetails.

Yes , that makes sense; perhaps this is part of the reason why reintroduction efforts have been unsuccessful— Because they’re using western Elk.

I’ve read that they’re more of a grazer type undulate than white tails ; that’s why the western herd continues to do ok cuz there’s more open space areas. Do you know if they’re separate species or not ?

So you’re saying that the decline of the American Chestnut was the major contributing factor that led to the decline in Elk populations in the East? I feel like the elk pops started to decline first though , quite awhile before the chestnut did , isn’t that right ? Also , was the chestnut a major food staple for Elk ? Not saying you’re wrong , I just don’t know ; do you know if that’s so?

Interesting hypothesis that may have some merit, but chestnuts were obliterated much later in the east than Elk- I think around 1920s or so- whereas Elk were done by my mid to late 1800s , right? Not that there couldnt be a correlation there, but there are other factors more impt IMHO. Like most species that have been extinguished, my guess is overhunting and habitat destruction were the major factors here--what do you think?