Syracuse.com - Figura working on hunters who give thanks, the start of the ski season, outdoor winter adventures

[HuntingNY-News]

-Extreme winter adventures/endeavors. Have any you'd like me to look into? Send me a note. (I've already thought of ice climbing, heli-skiing and extreme winter camping)

What a place we live in.

You blink and winter has arrived. The local ski slopes are opening for business starting this weekend. The snowmobile enthusiasts are starting to prepare for the opening of their season just a few weeks away.

Man, I even started looking over my ice fishing equipment last night. (I need to get my auger sharpened.)

But not so fast. The regular deer hunting season in the Southern Zone is just half over, with the late muzzleloader season coming right after. There's still time to get your deer. And what about waterfowl hunting? There's still more of that to come.

Here's what I'm working on this week and beyond:

- Hunters who give thanks/pray after harvesting a deer. A sampling of what readers said on this topic.

- Ask the Outdoors column: I have several questions from readers that I'm working on

- The start of the ski season. Ever wonder what it would be like to spend a whole night with the snow-making team at a local ski resort? So have I. I have no idea what's involved.

- The DEC/Nature Conservancy and U.S. Geological Survey are teaming up to look for native cisco (a baitfish) spawning areas on Lake Ontario. Wonder how they do that this time of year? So do I.

- Next week a meeting is being held in Ithaca to discuss the water quality of Cayuga Lake. I plan to find out what the current state of affairs is there.

-Extreme winter adventures/endeavors. Have any you'd like me to look into? Send me a note at [email protected]. (I've already thought of ice climbing, heli-skiing and extreme winter camping)

- A profile on Fran Verdoliva, the DEC's Salmon River guy who at one time was an all-American college distance runner.

- Rifle country.. seems like Onondaga County is pretty much an island in a sea of counties that allow rifle hunting for deer..and that an effect was made this past year to have Onondaga County join the group. An update on this..

- Visiting the Cornell Vet School Emergency Room, where all sorts of exotic and interesting animals are seen and given medical treatment.

Finally.. I'm continuing to solicit nominations for the annual "Heroes of Conservation" feature I write every year. Get those nominations in soon!

ANYTHING ELSE READERS OF THIS REPORT WOULD LIKE TO SEE ME WRITE ABOUT?

The effectiveness of this report is two-fold. First, it lets readers know what's coming up story-wise. It also allows readers a chance to affect coverage and provide sources for upcoming stories. Bottom line: Keep in touch and give input. You could make a difference as to what appears week to week on the outdoors page! Email me at [email protected] or call 470-6066.

If you want to join The Post-Standard's Outdoors Group and get this emailed directly to you, subscribe here..

FIGURA ON FACEBOOK:

For those who are on Facebook, I also have a PS Outdoors page, which I check several times daily for feedback and story ideas. I also post personal fishing and hunting and other outdoors-related photos from time to time and I ask members to do the same. When you join, please be sure and hit the "like" button.

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View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog