Off-duty rafting guide Kimberly Appelson was ejected from a boat on Colorado’s Arkansas River on July 11, and is presumed dead. In an effort the find the body, the river level will be lowered next week to permit better access to a hazard where they suspect her body to be lodged.
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Ryan Snodgrass of Arkansas Valley Adventures Rafting Company saved a 13-year-old girl who had fallen out of his raft, and was charged with “obstructing government operations” because he did not heed a directive by government officials to stay out of the water. Snodgrass was searching for the missing girl for half an hour. The local government got involved, but while they were getting their act together, Snodgrass upstaged them. Colleague Justin Lariscy was also arrested. My take: Government first responders generally have my nod in directing emergency operations, however many whitewater guides are also trained in whitewater rescue. If this had been any yahoo jumping into the river, I could understand the arrest. But Snodgrass probably knew the river better than anyone else on the scene, so he should have been congratulated, not arrested. Two rafting outfitters have agreed to certain limits to their activities on the stretch of the Taylor River owned by Jackson-Shaw of Texas. This includes reducing rafting activities when rafting could damage the bottom of the river. There is plenty of advice out there on what to look for in a hunting (or fishing) guide, but not much advice on the expected behavior of the client. American Hunter is helping to fill this gap. Clients should help at camp, if help is needed. Tip well, particularly if tips are deserved. Author Cameron Hopkins recommends that you carry your own pack. One thing not mentioned is whether the guide should be allowed to hunt (or fish) with you. That can depend on several issues. If the action is hot, such as good waterfowl hunting or fish that are jumping into your bait bucket, why not share the pleasure? If shots or nibbles are few and far between, then the guide should guide you, and not himself. Once I was on a big game hunt when we stumbled on some elk. The guide thought he heard a really big bull. I didn’t have an elk tag, and I was scheduled to be in camp two days longer than my hunt. So I told him that he could make a try for the bull, as long as I could get an extra day’s hunting in. He didn’t manage to connect, but I think he appreciated my offer. After all, many guides go into business because they love to hunt and fish, but once they’re guiding, they don’t have time for themselves. What better tip could you give a guide than a piece of the action? Guilty pleas have relieved a Minnesota family of $50,000 and their hunting and outfitting privileges. Albert “Will” Carlson owns the Blue Ridge Ranch in the Larb Hills. He and his family became licensed guides under the auspices of another hunting outfitter. The ranch then was able to obtain guaranteed, outfitter-sponsored hunting licenses, bringing in some 40 out-of-state customers each year. The story turns bad with illegal baiting stations and hunting animals without the correct license. Penalties for the family include suspension of hunting, trapping, and fishing privileges for three years, forfeit of big-game mounts, a ban on profiting from the sale of the outfitting business, and a ban on working in Montana as licensed outfitters. ammoland.com Attempts to guarantee rafting outfitters access to navigable rivers have died in state government. The bill was HB 10-1188 (Clarify River Outfitter Navigation Right). Twenty ballot initiatives were ready to launch, presaging an election day show-down. But Jackson-Shaw, new owner of the contested two-mile stretch of river, says it will continue mediation with Scenic River Tours and Three Rivers Outfitting, and permit the firms to float the river in the mean time. Of course, nothing is over until the ink is dry, and it it’s in mediation, the ink isn’t even on the paper yet. Could it be a Jackson-Shaw stalling tactic to exhaust public interest in the issue? Or are the negotiating in good faith? I don’t know anything about the company, so I’m just tossing out some speculation here. John Lewton gratefully received verdicts of “Not Guilty” after a five-day trial resulting from a 2008 sting by Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks. During the sting, Lewton accompanied undercover game warden agent Justin Gibson on a bighorn sheep hunt. Some charges in Blaine and Chouteau counties are still pending in the case. Polar bear parts and Atlantic bluefin tuna may still be traded internationally, as a result of a recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species meeting in Doha, Qatar. A U.S representative says that first attempts to list species are often unsuccessful. Clint P. Martinez, 43, and Michael A. Martinez, 47, both of Plaquemine, Louisiana, have been indicted on nine violations of the federal Lacey Act involving alligators, earning them nominations for the Lotsaguides “Naughty Guide” award. Outfitters will rally in Jackson on Saturday to bring attention to the drop in elk populations and, correspondingly, fewer hunting opportunities.
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