In the last couple of weeks, nearly everybody is talking about the topic of survival. How, why, what you would do in the darkest hour to beat death and stay alive? When unfortunate events occur, blame always seems to be laid somewhere.
The local media have given a lot of coverage to the story of James Kim and blame for his death is now being put on vandalism – a cut lock on a BLM gate. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I believe that Mr. Kim made numerous bad decisions that put himself and his family in danger and he paid the ultimate price. Bad decisions, a lack of knowledge and a lack of common-sense survival techniques are to blame, not vandalism. Blaming this on vandalism does nothing more than escalate the security and closing of the woods to the public.
Locking gates may appear to stop vandalism or people destroying the woods, but in reality it simply keeps the honest outdoorsman, who fears prosecution, out of the wood while the litterbugs and vandals are still causing damage. So again, everyone must pay the price for the poor decisions of a few.
If a $50,000 Mercedes blows up in another country on TV, it’s called terrorism. But when a $250,000 yarder gets destroyed by tree-spiking environmentalists, it’snot tearrorism and you never hear about it.
A lock cut on a gate IS vandalism – don’t get me wrong. But a cut lock was not the real cause of James Kim’s death.
In reflecting on what I would do if it was my family, immediately I hear my old drill sergeant’s voice screaming about some guy named Murphy and his law about how if problems occur, they happen at the most inopportune times. That’s why the five P’s that I’ve mentioned before in this column are so important: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. I’m guessing James Kim wasn’t in the military.
I remember, as a child, watching Bugs Bunny cartoons and goodl ol’ Bugs would get stranded on an island. There were always three things for sure I remember him trying and one would usually save him. He would build a fire for smoke signals – a plume of smoke can be seen miles away. He would also lay out logs on the beach to spell something – SOS, HELP, whatever. He would also climb a tree that he would use to get a better view.
There are lots of things that the Kims could have done, but knowing what to do is the answer. When planning a trip you need to preplan your route and you need to know the weather conditions along the routes you may need to travel. If you get somewhere where you haven’t gone before, going forward gets you lost. You need to backtrack to a better course of action.
Here are some other tips:
– NEVER leave a vehicle. It’s a shelter, a visual target and a tool. Most who don’t follow this simple rule wind up statistics. Unless you know where you’re going and the weather is safe for travel, stay where you are. A vehicle is much easier for rescuers to spot than a human is.
– Honking the horn every half hour, especially if your party separates, is smart. It’s easy to walk in circles when you’re in unfamiliar territory. If James Kim had been able to hear the horn, he might have been able to get back to it.
– If you have to walk, STAY ON A ROAD. You don’t want to be in the brush. That’s where Mr. Cougar lives and walking 250 yards in the brush takes as much time and effort as walking a mile on a road.
The bottom line is that your chances of surviving in the woods are greatly increased by being proactive, not reactive.
If you are to survive the darkest hour in the wild, knowledge of the right course of action could not only save your life but the lives of others.
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Last July 12, May Garland, Roger Gaither and David Benson set out from Anacortes, Wash., bound for Boston, Mass. They carried all their clothing and gear and expected to camp much of the trip. May and Roger rode their refurbished 18-year-old Dawes tandem bike and David rode a single Trek. Ahead was an adventure of a lifetime.
After 3,668 miles of deep breathing over steep mountain passes, through 100-degree-plus temperatures, endless great plains, rain, frost, and hundreds of small to huge cities with thousands of cars, trucks and trains — the trio arrived in Worchester, Mass., on the edge of Boston.
Every day was a new adventure; people at home and along the way were wonderful. May, Roger and David will share photos and stories in a one-hour presentation at noon and again at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Scio City Hall. The public is invited.
For the noon presentation, you can prebuy a lunch from the Covered Bridge Coffee House, (503) 394-3009, in downtown Scio and they will bring it to the show for you.
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Editor’s note: For the next few months, while we’re all sitting at home repairing our gear and planning our next excursions, Shane will be writing once a month on the outdoors. We plan to continue our Outdoors column every other week, but the alternate columns will be written by an expert skier who has local ties. We’ll introduce him in our Dec. 27 issue and he will discuss the local action on the slopes.
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The Mandatory Boater Education program is past the half-way point of the age required phase-in. Beginning in 2007, powerboat operators 60 and younger will be required to take a boating safety course and carry their boater education card when operating boats greater than 10 hp.
“This is our largest group of registered boat owners,” says MariAnn Koloszar, Education Coordinator for the Oregon State Marine Board. “There are approximately 36,000 registered boat owners between 51 and 60 years old who will need their education cards in 2007.”
Boaters have several options to meet the mandatory education requirement. “We encourage boaters to take advantage of classroom courses,” says Koloszar. “It’s the best learning environment because the instructors use various teaching techniques that cater to different learning styles. Classroom course materials are organized to make learning easy, fun and interactive. Boaters also have an opportunity to learn about local hot spots and hazards -information you can only get in a classroom with other boaters.” Koloszar adds.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U. S. Power Squadrons, Oregon State Marine Board Volunteer Instructors and other private providers offer classroom courses.
Your local Sheriff’s office offers free equivalency exams that are designed for the experienced boater. Approved Internet courses are also available and course information can all be found at the Marine Board’s website at http://www.boatoregon.com. Prices for the different education options range from free to around $45. Classes and equivalency exams are scheduled to fit boaters’ needs.
So far the Marine Board has issued almost 150,000 cards and has one of the top compliances for mandatory education in the nation. The fine for not carrying a card, along with other law enforcement violation fines, was increased in 2006 from $94 to $97.
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A new Web address makes it faster and easier to find information about Oregon’s salmon license plates – http://www.salmonplate.org.
The page contains detailed information about purchase options for the plate along with examples of how the funds are used to support abundant salmon populations, clean water and state park salmon projects.
“Many people don’t realize that they can switch to a salmon plate when they renew their registration or that they can transfer their salmon plate when they purchase another vehicle by paying a small processing fee,” said Tom Byler, executive director of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. “In addition, you can switch to a salmon plate at any time by paying a one-time $15 plate and replacement fee,” he added.
The Web page outlines the various scenarios for purchasing a plate and spells out the fees charged by the Oregon DMV for the different transactions, Byler said.
Salmon plate purchasers pay an extra $30 every two years above regular passenger vehicle registration fees. Half the fee goes directly to fix road-related impacts to salmon and trout streams by improving water quality, fish habitat and fish passage through OWEB grants. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department invests the other half in salmon habitat and related projects in state parks.
The Web page provides a list from OPRD showing 20 projects throughout the state where salmon plate funds will be used during the current two-year budget. A summary describes some of the completed projects.
Links to news releases and a map of Oregon provide information about OWEB-funded projects using salmon plate revenues.
If you don’t have Web access, call OWEB at (503) 986-0178 and ask for a brochure that provides basic information about salmon license plates.
Salmon plate sales increased slightly during the past fiscal year providing $648,000 for water quality and stream improvements along roadsides and in state parks to support healthy salmon populations. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, plate sales increased nearly three percent from the prior year.
Since the beginning of the salmon license plate program in 1997, OWEB and OPRD each have invested more than $2.5 million from salmon plate sales in projects and activities benefiting clean water and fish.
Shane Ullrich writes every other week about the outdoors in The New Era during fishing and hunting seasons. This winter he plans to write once a month. Contact him at The American Barbershop, 1121 Main St., or call 367-8086. If you’ve got a photo of a great fish or game animal you’ve taken recently, e-mail it to [email protected], or mail it to P.O. Box 39, Sweet Home, OR 97386, or drop it off at 1313 Main St. Please include pertinent information about your experience and your phone number, in case we need to contact you.