This December edition is very special as it is the last edition of 2014 and completes the eighth year anniversary of the electronic version of The Outdoor Report. We have grown to 32,000+ subscribers and we appreciate your continued interest. I am a bit sentimental and humbled realizing all the hard work and support from colleagues, partners, contributing reporters, and readers who have made this newsletter so successful. We hope you have been informed, educated, and even inspired on occasion to do something new and different to enhance your outdoor experiences, or better yet, share with others. This edition is somewhat longer than usual due to adding some articles that would have been posted in the next edition. Due to the holidays, our next edition will be posted January 14, 2015. Link to the FULL REPORT – http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/outdoor-report/2014/12/10/
This “Holiday” edition is full of ideas for gift giving whether you enjoy fishing, hunting, boating, birding, camping, or other outdoor adventures. My personal recommendation is to give someone special to you the gift of time together – an adventure shared out in the wild. You will create wonderful memories, especially for a youngster, or an adult that has not had the opportunity to discover the great heritage and traditions experienced by exploring our wild places.
Follow up with a personal commitment to be informed and get involved in working for solutions to the issues that threaten our wildlife, their habitat, and our opportunities to pursue traditional outdoor activities. Sharing activities with novice outdoorsmen is the best gift you can give back to the outdoors you respect and cherish. You don’t have to do this alone, find a group that you can support that shares your views, and join. Each edition of The Outdoor Report contains examples of organizations that partner with VDGIF staff and volunteers to provide opportunities to get folks involved in outdoor activities and making our wild Virginia a great place to live and experience the bounty of our fields, streams and forests.
Encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for a free subscription to The Outdoor Report! We hope this newsletter has informed and inspired you to get involved and get outdoors. From all of us who work to bring you The Outdoor Report, we wish you and yours joy and peace this holiday season and throughout the New Year!
David Coffman, Editor