I have been an avid backpacker and angler of Utah’s Uinta Mountains and its 600-plus fishable lakes for 55 years. As a teenager, I became addicted to fishing the mountain lakes closest to the Mirror Lake Byway with my cousin, who is now considered an expert, as he has visited so many lakes over the decades. Early on though, I decided we needed an approach to scoring lakes … [Read more...]
The Story of Utah Lake: Murky and Misunderstood
Utah’s public has long considered Utah Lake to be highly polluted. Once known as the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi, it is surprising just how unpolluted what later became a water storage reservoir really is. Extremely unique in the world, Utah Lake is 22 miles long by 15 miles wide, with an average depth of less than 10 feet. Because it is so shallow, … [Read more...]
Eat the Weeds: How to Harvest Wild Foods
I have foraged and eaten wild foods of all kinds for the past 40 years. For most people, foraging revolves around mushrooms, berries or wild asparagus, and I certainly harvest those. But while preparing to teach my first foraging class for West High School’s Community Education program several years ago, I discovered a forging book, Eat the Weeds by Ben Harris, that … [Read more...]
Gardening in Pots: Anyone Can Grow a Garden
After gardening virtually all of my life, and later teaching gardening classes through West High School’s Community Education Program, I have concluded that almost anyone can grow a garden. The only real requirement is about six hours of direct sunlight for any location. It could be a small corner of your yard, a patio, or even an outside deck on the east side of a high-rise … [Read more...]
The Number One Tip for Successful Hunting from the Modern-Day Hunter Gatherer
Over the past few years, I have written a variety of articles for Utah Stories that have largely characterized me as a local modern-day hunter/gatherer. My most recent article attempted to characterize today’s North American hunters, describing them in a continuum between more elitist/trophy hunters and those like myself who primarily hunt to harvest wild meat for the … [Read more...]
Are Utah Hunters Killing Off Starving Deer For Trophies?
As an avid big game hunter with university degrees in wildlife management, our North American model of managing game animals for sport and meat hunting is the best in the world. The approach involves limiting take, hunting in appropriate seasons, equipment restrictions, and restoring wildlife habitat. Our model has been exported to Europe and parts of Asia and is now … [Read more...]
New Utah State Prison and Inland Port
The new planned state prison and Inland Port will place prisoners and employees closer to the extensive wetlands and the mosquitoes they naturally produce. Attempting to control mosquitoes is likely to create some serious problems. These noxious biting insects are pesky, and they carry a variety of diseases including malaria, West Nile virus, Zika and dog heartworm. They … [Read more...]
Squaw Peak Road – My favorite Sunday drive in Utah
I rediscovered the great American road trip in the 1980s after returning from graduate school in Alabama. I had just started up Provo Canyon in my car when I saw the turnoff to the Squaw Peak Road (FS Road 27) on the right leading to the Rock Canyon area above downtown Provo. The Rock Canyon “Gorge” is easily visible from I-15, immediately above the Provo LDS Temple, and … [Read more...]
CSAs to the Covid Rescue: The newest growing reasons for healthier diets
As a local gardening and wild foods instructor through West high School’s Community Education program for years, I have noticed a steady increase in the interest of the community to eat healthier, local foods. My students have indicated that they are starting backyard gardens or even foraging the many available foods to increase their health through better nutrition and more … [Read more...]
Winter Gardening — Why Wait for Spring?
Why Wait for Spring? Most gardeners believe the only way they can grow vegetable plants during the dead of winter is in some type of greenhouse. However, I have successfully grown cold-hardy plants such as spinach, lettuce, arugula and even carrots, beets, radishes and Swiss chard right through the coldest Utah winters for more than 30 years without any protection from the … [Read more...]