Friday, April 8, 2011

Wildlands policy protects public lands and our economic future

As recreation business owners and outfitters, we are part of an industry that contributes $730 billion to the U.S. economy, supports 6.5 million jobs and generates about $88 billion in state and national tax revenue. As such, protecting outdoor space is not just important to us personally, but a matter of economic security. That is why the recent announcement by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, that the federal government would fulfill its obligation to protect open spaces in the U.S., was welcome news to our industry. The Secretarial Order addressing “wild lands” simply directs the Bureau of Land Management to better meet its fundamental multiple use mandate by inventorying “lands with wilderness characteristics” and protecting appropriate areas through existing land management planning. This process also includes continuous opportunities for local officials and communities to participate. Our businesses depend on public land so consumers have a place to recreate, using the products and services we sell. The economic value of these open spaces is not in doubt — it is a proven resource on which our businesses and an array of other related businesses depend to ensure our livelihoods, and those of future generations. We know from our own businesses, and research by the Outdoor Industry Association has confirmed, that conservation of public lands is good business. Rural counties with wilderness or other protected federal lands experience greater economic and population growth than those without wilderness. Protected lands have the greatest influence on economic growth in isolated rural counties that lack easy access to larger markets. Between 1970 and 2000, real per capita income in rural counties with protected land grew more than 60 percent faster than isolated counties without any protected land. Those opposed to this measure, including the oil and gas industry and their allies, forget that this is taxpayer-owned land. Furthermore, not a lot of land. Of the 245 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management, oil and gas leases account for over 41 million, 29 million of which are sitting idle. In Colorado, the BLM manages 8.3 million acres of taxpayer-owned lands, of which 205,888 are designated wilderness, about 2 percent. We all have a responsibility to maintain these lands. The wild lands policy simply acknowledges the clear wording of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act that mandates that the Department of the Interior inventory the resources and other values of our public land and make appropriate land use decisions through its public planning process, better equipping itself to advise Congress. Simply put, it gives all public land users a more clear understanding and predictability for use. That is just good, old common sense. Secretary Salazar’s Order helps to return to a critical balance between all activities on our public lands, and protection of those lands for years to come. We encourage Congress — and all Americans — to support this fundamental tool for the protection of our public lands. It is not just our businesses that depend on smart wild lands management — it is the economic future of our nation.

Monday, December 27, 2010

'Twas the night before Christmas


‘Twas the night before Christmas; Santa needed a break
Work had been non- stop and there was lots at stake.
As he flew over the South Platte he knew it was fate
It was time to break out that new Sage five weight.

So with a pull of the reigns Santa’s sleigh went down fast.
He had merely moments to make a few casts.
The reindeer were worried and looked quite concerned.
They had fished with Santa before -- he had lots to learn.

They landed the sleigh; Santa jumped out with a chuckle,
He slipped on his waders and cinched up his belt buckle.
Santa meant business that cold winter's eve.
A fish he would catch – you just need to believe.

He played the line out in loops smooth as silk.
Then Santa cried out, “This beats cookies and milk."
Looking upstream and down, he spotted a trout,
But the fly he was using did not have much clout.

So he opened his fly box as if to find something good in the fridge
and thought to himself, Please, anything but a size 32 midge!

Oh Adams, oh Cahill, oh Sulphur, oh Pupa,
Oh Hopper, oh Coachman, oh Olive Matuka,
Oh Dun, Oh Humpy, Oh Copper John,
Is there anything in here that wouldn’t be wrong?

He looked once again in his box for a fly,
when a pattern compelling attracted his eye.
"The Reindeer Caddis!" he muttered and grinned ear to ear.
“Tis the season to believe in all that is dear."

So he cast once again and his magic was true,
And the trout it looked up and it knew what to do.
He rose in a swirl and the hook set with a sting,
The trout jumped and ran… Santa's reel it did sing.

"Ho!" shouted Santa, "You're making my day.
If the heavens were water, you'd be pulling my sleigh.”
So, Santa prevailed and released his great rival
First taking great care to ensure its survival.

He then mounted his sled and rechecked his list
His mind all a- race, toys to deliver in his midst.
But his soul was renewed and everything was now right
As the sleigh took off he shouted, "Merry Christmas Rainbow Trout and to all a good night.”

Friday, June 19, 2009

Progression of a fly fisherman

Progression of a fly fishermanA friend of mine just reminded me of a proverb I had come up with about fishing. My first thought was that I had probably stolen it from some place or some one. Nothing today is really new, just altered or tweaked to match our culture of the time. Then I remembered how I got the idea. It came from a book I read “When the Heart Waits, by Sue Monk Kidd.

Here is the quote:
My grandfather was a lawyer, a judge, and a farmer. He was
frequently busy and conquesting, but I remember also that he sometimes entered into golden moments of wu wei. He and I used to go fishing at one of the little ponds on his farm. He would sit and hold his cane pole over the water, becoming as still as the stumps that jutted up from the water. I usually tired of fishing fairly soon and went on to other things, like dandelions. One days having given up on the fishing, I was playing in his old black truck when I noticed that his fishing bait was still on the seat. I remember being surprised that my grandfather had been out fishing an hour or more without bait.I grabbed the bait basket and raced over to him. “Grandaddy, how can you fish without bait?”He tilted back his hat and smiled as if he had been caught in some delicious secret. “Well, sometimes it’s not the fish I’m after,” he said “it’s the fishing.'
In other words, it wasn’t the conquest that mattered, but being in the moment, fully in the experience, watching and waiting as life unfolded. He was letting life happen.

Being active in fly fishing for over 30 years now, I have seen folks come into the sport and of coarse have tracked my own progression and I have seen a pattern that seems to form for most. Here is how it goes…

When a first time fly fisher gets into the sport it is all about catching the first fish. Success is complete wrapped around the notion that hooking a fish is the goal, the key to successful fishing.

Immediately after that first success if become all about catching the next fish…and then the next, and the next…

Then it transitions from catch one fish into catching lots of fish and numbers become very important. How many fish caught seems to measure success.

Then they begin to scoff at small fish and now it is about the BIG fish and again numbers in pounds or inches becomes very important. Just one more cast and maybe… just maybe…

After sometime of chasing big fishing it shifts to the exotic, either an exotic locations or an exotic type of fish. It becomes an endless quest for something more…

Then comes a subtle transition and exotic numbers seem to fade, but the need to know that you still catch at least one fish lingers There is some reassurance needed that the angler can still produce.

The final stage comes when it has very little to do with the fish and become more about the fishing and being in the moment. Becoming acutely aware of what is really important…

I have been in these moments, standing or sitting along a stream… watching… waiting… letting the sights, sounds, smells of the moment fill my soul. Realizing how loved I am to have all that surrounds me, created form me. I find myself in that place of slight insecurity that question if I can actually still produce. For some reason I still feel it is about me. I seem to be straddling that line between feeling the need for conquest and realizing the Conquistador, God in his fullness. There is a real peace that comes when you surrender the idea that life hangs by a thread and you are responsible, that you need to perform...now… I want to get to the place where having control of my life means very little in the context of God almighty.

Be still and know that I am God…
and take your fly rod...

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A new season: Time to go Fishin’

I have had a lot of customers come up to me and say, “Are you glad you’re finally done with the building?” My response is usually, “I still have so much to do!” You see, for me it is not about just having the biggest building (although I must say, that’s pretty cool!), but it’s mostly about how we can do it better. One of the biggest temptations successful companies face is to stop thinking big. After a taste of success, even the best and brightest leaders suddenly start to think complacently. When a company gets on a roll, some leaders tighten up and start playing it safe. They stop playing to win and begin playing not to lose.

Our goal here at Angler’s Covey is very simple: to have the best fly shop. Period. Of course that is going to mean different things to different people, but we are still going to strive to be the best that we can be. More that once, I have seen my favorite sports team lose their momentum and then lose the game because instead of playing to win, they began to play not to lose. They get ahead, but then they pull back and stop playing with the intensity that earned them the lead. I’m sure that you’ve seen this attitude in your own experience and possibly your own company.

I challenge you to honestly ask yourself this question: Am I playing to win or am I playing not to lose? You may have to define first what winning looks like in your life. Then take a quick look at the scoreboard to see how you’re doing. What goals are you kicking, etc…? The reality is that life is so short with so little time to really live it. I hate to be the one to tell you, but there is less time on the scoreboard than you might think! I try to live by (but often fail) the Latin statement, carpe diem, “seize the day”. I also just picked up another quote that has quickly become one of my favorites.

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid sideways –
Champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming – WOO HOO – What a Ride!” Unknown


It takes both courage and optimism to live a life with a “WOO HOO – What a Ride” kind of passion. It takes courage because we have to challenge our fears each day so they don’t hold us back or trample our dreams. And it takes optimism so that we can embrace each day, remain in awe of the wonders of life, shake off the inevitable defeats and disappointments without too many tears, and to laugh with abandon at every age.

Spring is fast approaching and then it’s going to be summer. Have you started to plan your R&R (Rod and Reel) time? I say this only because I know that in my own life the urgent always seems to push aside what is important unless I schedule the important. For me, finding time on the river is therapy to the everyday grind. I feel that fly fishing is one of the best natural remedies to a stressful life.