Swan: Why do people become conservationists?

...woodlot that covered the south end of the island. My father knew the woods well for the Swans had owned it before the Great Depression. That became my classroom. He saw that I liked hunting...

Swan: Poaching can pay off for good guys

The economy's problems are affecting many things beyond home foreclosures and unemployment. Yacht sales may be down, but across the country fishing li...

Swan: California leads nation in deer hunting

Other states may have more deer, but California's deer hunting seasons start first, making it the nation's leading deer hunting state. Summer is not ...

Limbaugh's HSUS promos make sportsmen howl

Rush Limbaugh's HSUS promos make sportsmen howl

Swan: California Fishy Tales

A bill is about to be introduced into the California Assembly (AB 1253) to change the striped bass, which was introduced into the San Francisco Bay es...

Swan: Foraging for fun and food

These economic times are tough for some folks, and scary for a lot more. The outdoor industry actually is holding up pretty well, at least in some qua...

James Swan uses a quarter-sized orange label in the center of the bulls-eye to practice picking...

Swan: Shooting for perfection

As any hunter should know, you should always pick a spot on the animal you want to shoot to increase accuracy. So, to practice picking a spot I had pl...

Swan: When coyotes are good guys

Remember the good old days when Canada geese were majestic wildlife? Growing up on an island in Lake Erie, every fall vees of honkers crossed the east...

Swan: California could be salmonless again

In 2002, 800,000 Chinook salmon passed through San Francisco Bay and up the Sacramento River to their ancestral spawning grounds in the Upper Sacramen...

Swan: Good Books

A remedy for the post-hunting season blues

Swan: Three questions for the new President

In the name of "transparency" and "change," the Barack Obama-Joe Biden team is asking online for questions and suggestions that can help guide the new...

Swan: Friends of Butte Creek

You may have heard that the fall run of Chinook salmon up the Sacramento River in California has collapsed. Where once 800,000 big king salmon, some...

Swan: The one that got away

I flunked my first try at learning to play a musical instrument. It was fourth grade, and each kid was given a six-week class in Tonette, one of those...

Swan: Upland bird Super Grand Slam

There are a growing number of folks who set out to bag a "grand slam" of big game, some even using a bow and arrow. Quite an accomplishment. A while ...