The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Why industry leaders think the worst may be over for US boat sales Nearly 85 million Americans spend time boating each year, which makes the current slowdown more complicated than a simple drop in sales. Recent research from RJ Nautical suggests that while new boat purchases have cooled, interest in boating activity itself remains resilient. Families are still planning weekends around marinas, anglers are still towing boats to local lakes, and owners are still maintaining the vessels they...
Pursuant to Section 9-12-46, Code of Alabama, as stated by Rule 220-3-.01, the Marine Resources Division (MRD) of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announces that as of 6 a.m., Monday, June 1, 2026, all inside waters not permanently closed by law or regulation will open for shrimp harvesting. This includes Mobile Bay, Bon Secour Bay, Mississippi Sound, Perdido Bay, Arnica Bay, Wolf Bay and Little Lagoon. For more information, call MRD at (251) 861-2882. ADCNR promotes...
Vladimir Prokop // Shutterstock Most commonly seen birds in Alabama Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Alabama using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Apr. 18 to Apr. 30. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 55 count sites in Alabama. States with less than 10 count sites were not included in rankings for...
The Alabama Conservation Advisory Board met for its final time in 2026 and paid tribute to Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), whose tenure will end with the Governor Kay Ivey administration in January 2027. The Board also approved changes to the turkey season with an earlier opening date and placed the Talladega National Forest inside Talladega County on the dog deer hunting permit system. A resolution was adopted by the...
There’s nothing like barreling down the lake in the spring or summer at 5:00 in the morning. The cool mist will wake up anyone. But it’s not really the air that is alarming, it’s the possibility of a big bass that is ready for breakfast – buzz bait style. To see the calm water come to life with a massive explosion is fishing at its finest. There is, however, a technique for this type of fishing. Most people set the hook when they see the bass strike. That is a big mistake. You just missed anothe...
Anglers who fish in Alabama waters will gain more access to the state's iconic reef fish, the American red snapper, starting the Friday before Memorial Day. Instead of incorporating weekend openings for part of the red snapper season, the 2026 season for private recreation anglers and state-licensed charter boats will be open seven days a week, starting May 22. The season will remain open until the NOAA Fisheries allocation of 664,552 pounds is projected to be met or December 31, 2026,...
April 29, 2026 - NOAA Fisheries has certified Alabama's and Mississippi's creel surveys as part of a move to advance federal-state partnerships for recreational fisheries management strategies. These surveys aim to produce more timely and precise estimates of state-specific recreational fishing catch and trip activity. This certification marks a significant milestone in the initiatives NOAA is undertaking to improve recreational fishing data. Certification means AL Creel and MS Creel were found...
Can we bring back the butterflies? The Butterfly Grove at Pismo Beach used to sound alive before you even saw it. On a winter morning over a decade ago, visitors to the grove stood beneath the towering eucalyptus and heard a faint rustle, like distant rain, as thousands of monarch butterflies shifted their wings along the branches overhead. Through a docent’s telescope, tight clusters the size of pine cones resolved into overlapping black and orange wings, each butterfly hanging in suspended a...
How new fishing tech can reduce bycatch of turtles and other creatures Our oceans are full of sophisticated, perfect traps: Nets, hooks, fishing lines. Designed to capture animals destined for our dinner tables, they often catch other wildlife too. This accidental harvest is known as bycatch, and every year it causes the death of millions of marine animals, including whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and seabirds. Nets and gear can asphyxiate animals or cause fatal injuries; even when the...
Luke Cooper had to wait two long years for an opportunity for redemption at the Alabama Governor's One-Shot Turkey Hunt, which showcases Alabama's great outdoors and southern hospitality every two years. Landowners from across the state host hunters from diverse corporate and industry backgrounds to enlighten the participants about the opportunities available in Alabama. In 2024, Cooper was hunting with Justin Rock of Riverview Farms near Tuscaloosa when, unfortunately, Cooper's shot was off...
April 16, 2026 - MOSS POINT, Miss. - Landowners, conservation professionals, and community members concerned about feral hog damage will have an opportunity to learn effective trapping strategies later this month. The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) is hosting a free, full‑day Feral Hog Trapping Workshop on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The workshop will run from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Grand Bay NERR headquarters, located at 6005 Bayou Heron Road, Moss Point, MS 39562. R...
After three weeks of near perfect weather conditions, Alabama hunters have had significant success in the turkey woods this season with the usual stories of the birds that flew off the roost and came straight to the calling and those wary birds who got the best of the most seasoned hunters. With the season nearing the midpoint, hunting tactics are about to need adjustment. The foliage in the trees is almost full, which means it's going to be much harder to hear and pinpoint the gobbling. Plus,...
With kids swinging and swishing down the slide as a backdrop, Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), made the long-awaited reopening of Lake Lurleen State Park official last week. The extensive renovation of the park in Tuscaloosa County caused the facility to be completely closed for a little more than a year, and the reopening was welcomed by park enthusiasts, local officials and dignitaries at last week's ribbon-cutting...
The last couple of months have only had a few nice days and hardly any nice ones in a row. This week has been different. March has started off warm and sunny even though a long period of rain is in the forecast. My intentions of perusing the woods to determine last year’s deer activity never came about. That will change almost forcibly. Why? Because turkey season opens in April and for the first few weeks the leaves will not be in full bloom. I will be able to gain deer information while I...
A Florida oyster fishery and its community fight for their future On a late afternoon in early November, Xochitl Bervera launches The Roxie Girl from St. George Island into the gentle waters of Florida’s Apalachicola Bay. Almost as soon as the boat gets up to speed, she kills the motor and drifts the final feet toward her destination: a 2.5-acre grid of buoys and bags floating in Rattlesnake Cove. This is her farm, Water Is Life Oysters. Bervera and her partner, Kung Li, launched the business i...
A long-anticipated event occurred last Friday when the most used boat ramp in south Alabama, Billy Goat Hole on the east end of Dauphin Island, was officially opened with a crowd of citizens and dignitaries gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The Billy Goat Hole renovation project included new ramps that will accommodate four boats at a time and docks that were installed approximately 30 feet further from Bienville Boulevard to allow more room to maneuver for vehicles with boats pulling...
March 12, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - When the largest youth archery competition in Alabama, the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Alabama State Championship, kicks off on April 9, the Bray brothers from Decatur will be ready to compete at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl located at 220 Hall St. in Montgomery. About 2,000 student archers in Grades 4-12 from schools across the state will compete, starting at noon on Thursday, April 9, and shooting until the last flight is finished on...
There’s no doubt what we do makes an impression on our young people and those who look up to us. Just as I remember buying my first new gun, I also remember my first new knife. Not only was I enamored by the knife itself, but I was also very interested in the paperwork that came with it. While most would only throw away the unnecessary stuff, I made it a point to find out about my new Buck knife. It talked about how to take care of it and how to sharpen it. But what caught my attention was t...
The network of 38,000 inexpensive US lakefront campsites you've probably never heard of Ask most campers to name a federal campground system and they will say National Parks, maybe National Forests. Very few will say Army Corps of Engineers. That is a mistake. Outwander.com explains. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the largest federal campground network in the country: 994 campgrounds across 226 lake projects in 37 states, with 38,552 individual campsites bookable through...
Angela Lock // Shutterstock Most commonly seen birds in Alabama Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Alabama using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Feb. 28 to Mar. 13. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 47 count sites in Alabama. States with less than 10 count sites were not included in rankings for each...
On Friday, March 20, 2026, representatives from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) and the Town of Dauphin Island will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. to celebrate renovations to the Billy Goat Hole Public Boat Ramp. The media and public are encouraged to attend. During the Billy Goat Hole renovation project new boat ramps and docks were installed approximately 30 feet further from Bienville Boulevard to allow more room for vehicles to maneuver safely...
March 19, 2026 - BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. - A new NOAA Fisheries economic snapshot paints a stark picture of the U.S. Gulf shrimp industry, revealing a long‑term decline in profitability, shrinking participation, and mounting structural challenges that threaten the future of one of the Gulf Coast's most iconic fisheries. The report, released as part of NOAA's Shrimp Futures Initiative, shows the industry has lost $268 million in revenue since 2021, with total earnings plunging from $489 million to j...
The results of CWD (chronic wasting disease) monitoring from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division include nine whitetail deer that tested positive in the 2025-2026 season. The good news is the disease remains localized in northwest Alabama with eight additional positives in Lauderdale County and one new in Colbert County. Olivia Sciandra, WFF's Wildlife Health Program Coordinator, said the recent 2025-2026...
March 3, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is excited to announce the winners of the 2026 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest. The annual contest highlights some of the best photographers in the state as well as the beauty of Alabama's natural landscapes and wildlife. "Alabama is a uniquely beautiful state that offers a wide variety of outdoor photo options," said Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner. "From our abundant natural landscapes...
RJM Behind the Lens // Shutterstock Most commonly seen birds in Alabama Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Alabama using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Jan. 31 to Feb. 13. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 60 count sites in Alabama. States with less than 10 count sites were not included in rankings...
