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Russ Mason

America has a long history and love affair with fishing

Featured, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

The story of sport fishing is woven through the country’s history, evolving from a means of survival into a cherished outdoor tradition and cornerstone of fish and wildlife conservation.
The first European settlers found rivers so crowded with Atlantic salmon, shad, striped bass, and sturgeon that they seemed inexhaustible. Indigenous peoples had harvested these waters for thousands of years, using fish weirs, nets, bone hooks, and spears while developing an intimate understanding of seasonal fish movements.

America has a long history and love affair with fishing Read More »

Counting Ghosts: How wildlife biologists estimate deer density

Featured, Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, National Hunting /

Ask a room full of deer hunters how many deer live in their county and you’ll likely get a dozen different answers. Some will insist the woods are overrun with deer. Others will argue the herd has collapsed. Both groups may have hunted the same property.
The truth is that estimating white-tailed deer density is one of the most difficult tasks in wildlife management.

Counting Ghosts: How wildlife biologists estimate deer density Read More »

Commentary: Why is conservation so hard to explain to many hunters?

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting, Opinion /

Conservation should be one of the easiest concepts to explain to hunters. After all, hunters helped build the North American model of wildlife conservation.
They funded wildlife restoration through license sales and excise taxes, supported habitat protection, and played a central role in recovering species ranging from whitetail deer to wild turkeys and elk. Yet conservation is often surprisingly difficult to explain to modern hunters. Many hunters and conservation professionals are talking about different things when they use the same word.

Commentary: Why is conservation so hard to explain to many hunters? Read More »

When and why do bass attack topwater lures? Here’s what the science says

Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Few experiences match the excitement of a largemouth detonating on a surface lure.
The strike is sudden, violent, and visible, transforming an ordinary cast into a memorable event. While many anglers associate topwater fishing with summer mornings and evenings, the factors that encourage bass to attack surface lures are more complex than simply warm weather. Understanding these factors helps explain when, where, and why bass choose to feed on the surface.

When and why do bass attack topwater lures? Here’s what the science says Read More »

Lone star ticks bring alpha-gal syndrome to Pennsylvania

Featured, National News, Nature Page & Night Sky, News, Pennsylvania /

Alpha-gal syndrome, a disease spread by the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), is a growing concern in Pennsylvania.
AGS is an allergic reaction to meat caused by an oligosaccharide sugar, galactose- -1,3-galactose. The sugar is present in tick saliva, and after a bite, some people develop antibodies that cause severe allergic reactions (hives, nausea, anaphylaxis) to meat and dairy products.

Lone star ticks bring alpha-gal syndrome to Pennsylvania Read More »

Commentary: Preservation is not conservation — the common public lands narrative problem

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Michigan, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion /

Today, most Americans understandably confuse conservation with preservation. That’s because virtually all media confuse the two perspectives and consistently mislabel preservationist organizations (e.g., Center for Biodiversity, Western Watersheds, Defenders of Wildlife) as conservation-focused.
Even the Humane Society of the United States – a decidedly anti-hunting, anti-fishing entity – has been called a conservation organization (perhaps because that’s how it refers to itself.) A recent example from the Sunday New York Times (May 31, 2026) is a good illustration.

Commentary: Preservation is not conservation — the common public lands narrative problem Read More »

Commentary: Fish and wildlife directors should serve natural resources, not politicians

Featured, Featured, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Wisconsin /

In Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin, the Departments of Natural Resources are led by political appointees with little to no formal training or experience in fish and wildlife.
Nationally, about 60% of all Natural Resources Directors lack professional qualifications or experience. Nearly all serve in at-will positions appointed the sitting Governor. The most obvious problem with this growing trend is that policy can (and usually does) become vulnerable to short-term political agendas, partisan swings, and interest-group pressure.

Commentary: Fish and wildlife directors should serve natural resources, not politicians Read More »

Commentary: Top 10 conservation achievements of the 20th century

Featured, Featured, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion, Opinion /

Without question, the 20th century stands as the most transformative era in the history of North American conservation. At its beginning, wildlife populations were collapsing, forests were vanishing, and the unregulated exploitation of natural resources were the rule, not the exception.
By its end, however, many game and non-game species had recovered, important and unique landscapes were protected, and conservation had become a defining public value.

Commentary: Top 10 conservation achievements of the 20th century Read More »

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