Whole green resources for birding, boating, wildlife, forestry, hunting, fishing, and more.
We live off the land, but it’s hard for us to see how we do it. The chains of supply are long and convoluted, and the land and water on which we depend are over the horizon, out of sight, invisible. Those long supply chains have great benefits but also great costs, and we pay. We pay in money and energy, in damage to our environment, and in the loss of conscious connection to the things that make our lives possible. The following provides some ways to reestablish that connection with water, woods, and wildlife and to limit some of the costs.
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10 Things Anglers Can Do to Help Save the Planet
- Don’t dump live bait. Dumping nonnative live bait has led to breeding populations of baitfish and crayfish in waters in which they don’t belong, upsetting ecosystems that in many cases are already under pressure from habitat degradation. Take your unused live bait home. Kill and freeze it for later use, or put it in the garden for fertilizer.
- Don’t transfer game fish to other waters. Fish stocking can spread disease, throw ecosystems out of balance, and destroy native fishes. The decline of the native cutthroat trout of the West, including the extinction of two entire subspecies, is substantially the result of the stocking of rainbow trout. Stocking isn’t a DIY project—leave it to the fisheries professionals.
- Wash your waders. Whirling disease protozoans, New Zealand mud snails, and other damaging, invasive species can be transferred from one body of water to another by hitching a ride on dirty wading gear. Clean your gear between uses. While diluted chlorine bleach is effective, it’s also polluting. A better way is to wash your wading gear with a mild detergent (such as Ivory) and hot water and then soak your gear for at least 10 minutes in the hottest water you can get from your tap.
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Here are three of the more than 1,000 Whole Green resources you’ll find in the catalog:
PLANTSKYDD DEER REPELLENT
Sure, We Love Bambi, But . . .
Plantskydd Deer Repellent was developed in Sweden in 1991 to protect tree plantings while meeting strict environmental protection standards…
NIKON MONARCH ATB 8 X 42 BINOCULAR
Best Value in Birding Optics
Sports optics have made great strides since the 1990s, and the absolute proof is the Monarch ATB 8 x 42 binocular from Japanese optics giant Nikon…
OCEAN KAYAK CAPER ANGLER
‘Yak Attack!
Small paddle craft for fishing are older than history, but the last two decades have seen a small revolution driven by the fast-growing popularity of sit-on-top kayaks…
Except for wild birds that come to birdfeeders, don’t feed wildlife. In the long run, it’s inhumane, and it can even be dangerous to you and your family.
