Friday, September 24, 2004

A blast from the past: July 1998 column It's fun once in awhile to look back at an old article. Here's a column I did for Wisconsin Outdoor News on July 29, 1998, when I was editor. I wonder if Yoplait ever fixed the cup design problem? Yo! Stinky?! Is That You?!! Skunks have probably been getting their heads stuck in food containers since the first time some cowboy tossed an unfinished can of pork and beans in the bushes after a trailside meal. Over the years, outdoor magazines have run photos and even cartoons depicting hapless polecats with their heads wedged into tin cans. Nowadays, however, the problem has apparently reached epidemic proportions with Yoplait yogurt containers - those little plastic cups with the narrow mouth and wide base that look like mini volcanos. Foraging in garbage cans, dumpsters, campsites and everywhere else as they are known to do, the stinkers poke their snouts into anything with a little tasty goo left in it. Since Yoplait is second in yogurt sales nationwide, with 558 million containers shipped last year, a fair number of Yoplait empties find their way into the trash stream. Problem is, the Yoplait container is a deadly skunk trap. A skunk's head just fits into the narrow mouth, but the lip on the inside catches the dense fur around the critter's neck and prevents it from backing out. Skunks thus caught wander aimlessly about, bumping into things, until they suffocate or die of dehydration. You can guess the next part. Led by the Sacramento-based Animal Protection Institute, a number of animal-rights groups launched a crusade to urge General Mills (the same folks who will put a bass angler on Wheaties boxes this fall) to redesign their Yoplait containers to make them skunk-friendly. The company modified its container design slightly, adding a gutter designers hope will give the skunks enough leverage to push the containers off with their paws and a label on the bottom that reads "Protect Wildlife. Crush Before Disposal." The animal-rights folks say skunks, just a notch or two above 'possums when it comes to staying out of trouble, don't have the dexterity or the smarts to use the gutter. And how many yogurt slurpers do you think will read and heed the "crush before disposal" warning? Certainly not those who toss empties into roadside ditches or campsite refuse piles. If they don't find another worthy cause to hound this summer, the skunk lovers may continue to raise a mighty stink that will leave its mark on the food giant. While no one wants any wildlife to suffer needlessly, this appears to be another PR effort blowing in the wrong direction. It's a trash-disposal problem, not a product-liability issue. Plastic yogurt cups are technically recyclable, although Yoplait cups bear the number "6," which is not currently a plastic that is being recycled. But if disposed of in sealed trash containers, few should fall into the paws of foraging skunks. Plastic six-pack rings trap the occasional gull, goose or duck, but they remain the beverage industry's choice for corralling six 12-ounce cans or bottles, and they probably use fewer raw material than full- wrap packaging. Responsible people dispose of them properly. There is another side to this issue. Besides being notorious rabies carriers, skunks are among the worst predators of duck nests. The Delta Waterfowl Foundation says skunks destroy millions of duck nests each year, especially in the prairie pothole region, where many of the continent's ducks are hatched. Here's a modest proposal. Why not set up a nationwide system of collection bins for Yoplait empties, string lines of them through waterfowl marshes each spring, then check them daily and dispatch the ensnared skunks? It would turn yogurt cup litter into a useful product and help duck numbers grow. The little egg thieves could then go to skunk heaven dreaming of strawberry cheesecake and key lime pie. 9:40:36 PM    comment []

Link to Northern Wisconsin Fishing Reports If you're fishing up north this weekend instead of duck hunting, be sure to check Naomi Shapiro's fishing reports before you go.  If I forget to post the URL, save it to your favorites and check now & then. Leaves should be turning up north, so enjoy the weekend, whatever you end up doing!  Think of me when you're out having fun.  I'll be home writing and cleaning the basement. Later... 9:04:23 PM    comment []

Chinook harvest planned for Sept. 29th Every fall about this time, Wisconsin DNR fisheries crews harvest chinook salmon at Strawberry Creek in Door County.  For a story and photos taken at last year's harvest, log onto my website and click on Feature Article.  If you've never seen this operation, it's well worth the trip.  Paul Peeters, DNR fisheries biologist who coordinates the chinook harvest, says he plans to harvest fish next Wednesday, Sept. 29.  He welcomes visitors, but appreciates a phone call to let him know you are coming.  Here's Paul's message: We plan to harvest salmon at Strawberry Creek next week Wednesday (September 29th). There should be a large number of chinook by Wednesday and this is the first time this year that the hatcheries will be there to harvest eggs.  We usually start setting up by 8:15 or so, and usually have fish being processed by 9:00 AM.  With enough people to handle the fish and any luck we will be done by 1:30 PM. If you are planning on bringing a school group for a tour please advise me of your approximate time of arrival and the approximate number of students with you so that I can plan to have someone available to speak to your group. If you plan on coming to work, please advise so that we know that you are coming and can schedule our personnel appropriately. Paul Paul Peeters Lake Michigan Fisheries Biologist peetep@dnr.state.wi.us We were all awakened, one night... by the thunderous crash;... but since it had not hit us, we all went back to sleep. Man brings all things to the test of himself, and this is notably true of lightning.                -Aldo Leopold 8:41:39 PM    comment []