New Book by Peter Schroeder

 He has lived out both traditional and divergent lifestyles. Armed with degrees from Princeton (BSE), University of New Mexico (MSE), and Stanford (MBA), Peter Schroeder achieved the pinnacles of success with careers in nuclear weapons testing and international business. Interspersed with his professional endeavors, he had stints of  hopping freight trains across America, hitchhiking around Europe, slacking as a surfer dude in Hawaii, receiving not one but two presidential critical skills deferments from the Viet Nam draft,  living in ashrams in India and Oregon, attaining the highest rank in the country in the Boy Scouts up to that time, and battling a fatal form of bone marrow cancer.

 A Seattle resident for nearly 40 years, Schroeder weaves together the contradictions of his life in The Rock Shall Dance (Richter Publishing, 2021). More than just a memoir, the book provides inside looks at crucial and often controversial events of the late 20th century: 1960s anti-war protests on the Stanford University campus, 1970s shadowy business dealings in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and 1980s spiritual quests with Rajneesh/Osho, the guru beloved by some and reviled by others.

 Schroeder’s exploits include:

·         Detonating underground nuclear weapons from the control room at the Nevada Test Site

·         Getting skiing tips from Ernie Blake, founder of Taos Ski Valley

·         Being accosted at gunpoint by the Yugoslavian navy while sailing near the Adriatic seaside home of then-president Josef Tito

 “I have sought to experience as much variety in life as possible,” writes Schroeder. “To an onlooker, such an unusual life seems illogical, disjointed, and chaotic. But to me, every step has been logical, connected, and true to ongoing personal forces.”

 Schroeder began writing his memoir in 1980, when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. Doctors said he had 24 months to live. He was 39 years old and had four children aged 9, 6, and twin sons aged six months. “I was going to die before my kids grew up. I wanted them to know about my life but held it back, because many activities I pursued were dangerous, and I didn’t want my children to risk trying these same crazy things themselves.”

 Schroeder first came to Seattle in the summer of 1962, working as a busboy at the Seattle World’s Fair. He fell in love with the Northwest’s outdoor lifestyle centered on lakes, ocean, and mountains, returning to live in Seattle with his family in 1982.

“Because we are on this earth so briefly, we should use our abilities to explore as much as possible in every dimension. This is what I have done,” says Schroeder.

A NOWA member more than 25 years, Schroeder has served several times on the NOWA board (twice voted Outstanding Board Member), been a speaker at numerous conferences, helped set up the Endowment Fund, and is a grateful recipient of the Enos Bradner Award.

The Rock Shall Dance (2021) is published by Richter Publishing. The book is available on Amazon.

CONTACT for review copies or further information:

Risa Wyatt / 415.828.7839 / words@risawyatt.com

May 2021 Presidents Message

Last month started off right with a fishing trip to the Crooked River in Central Oregon. The weather was good and we caught some nice fish, but none anywhere near as big as Dave Vedder’s STS cover shot, a Lake Trout from the Great Slave Lake. Congrats Dave!

John Kruse reports the spring Sportsmans Show circuit went pretty well, running at about 60% capacity. Hopefully many of you were able to make it to a show, pick up some good deals plus get some trips & story ideas lined up.

Besides the Sportsmans show, I went to a local fly shop that I hadn’t been in in way too long and caught up with a couple of the guys, talking about a variety of topics from urban deer on cameras to carp fishing. Actually talking to people always produces a wealth of information. The challenge is to get it recorded then incorporated into blogs and articles.

The NOWA EIC contest went very well. We had over 100 entries and the top prize winner was Brad Trumbo, who took home $450 in prize money and then generously donated back to NOWA. Thanks Brad!

Working on the EIC Contest with Matt & Alan Liere served as a reminder that I’ve let my photography slide but this has also me motivated to put in a stronger effort to get more and better photos this year.

We had the NOWA business meeting on Zoom this year. Being new to Zoom and I wasn’t sure about hosting the meeting but got a boost in confidence from NOWA’s newest member Garrett Lesko, who understands this new technology. He’s also a very talented fly tier and outdoor writer. Check out his website and contact him if you need a Zoom presentation, he’s got lots of great subjects to choose from.

Some housekeeping regarding NOWA’s website & communications: Email updates go out once or twice a month and most of you are already on our email list. If you’d like updates in real time put your email in the SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL option and you’ll get an email notice every time a new blog is published, which averages 3 to 5 times per month. If you’re on a PC this option is just to the right of this post, but if you’re on a smartphone you’ll need to scroll down a ways to find it.

In closing, it’s been very interesting to watch the Simpson Proposal to remove the 4 dams on the Lower Snake River begin to take shape. In my neck of the woods the Association of Northwest Steelheaders thinks it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, while my favorite environmental cause WaterWatch Oregon thinks it’s Trojan Horse designed to suspend nearly all the legal environmental protections on the books. For the record I’m not trying to get anyone to change sides (if you’ve picked one) but point out it’s a big deal with lots of potential to produce compelling outdoor journalism no matter what side you are one.

Have a great month!

Dave Kilhefner

NOWA Annual Meeting—Tuesday, April 27 at 6pm

Dear NOWA Members,
 
Like everything else, NOWA’s Annual Business Meeting will be virtual this year. We expect the meeting to run about 90 minutes.
 
Tuesday, April 27 at 6 pm
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/97357517992?pwd=aG13M01BdVRUWGhxMWtDZllSbVlaUT09
Meeting ID: 973 5751 7992
Passcode: 107013
 
Highlights include:
~Announcement of Excellence in Craft Winners
~New NOWA officers take office
~Opportunity for your input about how NOWA can best serve members needs  

If you’re not familiar with Zoom, here’s a guide to how set up an account and join meetings: 
https://zoom.us/docs/doc/Education Guide – Getting Started on Zoom.pdf
 
If you have questions please contact Risa Wyatt ( words@risawyatt.com; 415.828.7839 ) or Dave Kilhefner (dave@kbi-ins.com; 503-799-0173)
 
Regards,

Risa Wyatt & Dave Kilhefner

NOWA Constitution & By-Laws Changes

 The proposed changes laid out in the accompanying copy of the NOWA Constitution and Bylaws are the final version that the NOWA Board of Directors has recommended for your approval.

The great majority of the proposals are for housekeeping purposes – to correct grammatical or style errors, for example, or to describe a passage’s intent with more clarity.

 Two of the proposals, however, are a bit more substantive, and the board wishes to call them to your attention. One would reduce the number of board members to six from nine, and the other would eliminate the position of second vice president, a position that no one currently holds.

The board decided to sponsor both proposals after lengthy discussion that focused on the current size of NOWA’s membership and on the difficulty of recruiting members to participate in NOWA’s governance. The board believes that a modest reduction in the required numbers of officers and board will make the government leaner and more agile, and better able to respond readily to the organization’s needs.

A two-thirds “yes” vote is required to adopt all changes.

Please renew your membership by February 1st so you can vote on this important matter. We’ll get the electronic ballots distributed very soon.

2021 Happy New Years from NOWA

Fellow NOWA Members Dave K and Dave V on assignment in Guyana in 2017

Hi Everyone,

Well, we made it! If you’re like me you breathed a sigh of relief as 2020 slid into the rearview mirror. While “everything” is not over yet, we are closer to the finish line and a return to more normal lives.

Not long ago NOWA President Ron Kerr decided to step down. Ron did a lot for NOWA over the years and will always be part of the organization. I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to Ron for all his efforts over the years!

I’ve agreed to be on the next election ballot as President and will stay on as long as I’m needed. If you’d like to serve as President, by all means throw your name into the hat! Our By-Laws require an election and it’s way more fun with more than one candidate. Like nearly every non-profit organization these days we have more positions than we have volunteers to fill them. Given this I’ll be reaching out in the near future to see if some of you could help us out.

Now for the most important news. The NOWA EIC contest is underway. The deadline for submissions is February 1st. We’ve got plenty of prize money so don’t miss your chance! Email or call me or Matt Liere if you have any questions.

The NOWA directory is now online, here’s the link: https://nowaoutdoors.com/nowa-members/

We have set up a doodle poll for some professional development seminars that are in the works. Please take a moment to make your wishes known by clicking the links below.

Topics for Seminars

Best Time for Seminars

All the best in 2021,

Dave Kilhefner

2020 NOWA Excellence in Craft Contest

It’s time to submit your entries for the 2020 NOWA Excellence in Craft Contest!

Here is the contest entry form and rules: 2020 NOWA EIC Contest. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2021. Also, here are entry forms only if you need extras: 2020 NOWA EIC Contest Entry Form

It’s understood the contest submission guidelines can be a little confusing; this is for the blind judging process. Last year NOWA offered to prepare your contest entry for a fee of $3 for members and $5 for non-members; this was a big hit so we are doing it again this year. This preparation service is for categories 1-6 only & all proceeds will go to NOWA. If you’re interested in this service please mail your entry to NOWA, PO Box 888, Tualatin, OR 97062 or email to Dave@kbi-ins.com

QUESTIONS? Call Matt Liere at 509-202-7790 or email: mwliere@gmail.com and/or call Dave Kilhefner at 503-692-1520 or email: dave@kbi-ins.com

Good luck everyone!

Craft Improvement: Finding the Sweet Zone

Finding the Sweet Zone

By John McFarland III

My eyes caught the movement of a duck slowing moving through the water lilies, and the dew covered grass that was emerging forth in the marsh.  Its head was jerking to and fro as it foraged its way in my direction.  I could tell it was a wood duck drake.  Slowly I raised up my Canon EOS Rebel T3i, with a 100-400mm image stabilizer lens, and pushed the lens through the opening in my photo blind.   The excitement of the moment was intensifying, as I realized I was about to outwit this particular duck into giving up some photos for my ever growing waterfowl portfolio.

I photographed this particular woody this past spring in my secret sweet zone on Upper Klamath Lake, in Klamath County, Oregon.  It was a long time in the making, but in the last five years my success in wood duck photography has accelerated to the point that I refer to my realized achievement as being nuclear.  I’m not complaining though, as I consider the wood duck to be one of the most beautiful birds in North America.

Prior to my explosion in wood duck photography, I would set up my photo blind near a piece of driftwood or protruding rock in the water.  This was done with the hopes of catching a duck climbing out to rest or preen itself, rather than just photographing a duck swimming by.  It was a good idea, and got me some results, but it was still very much more of a miss rather than a hit.

Finally, I stumbled upon the key needed to improve my chances of getting the type of photos that I wanted.  The secret was in discovering the sweet zone where wood ducks and waterfowl of different types would congregate in larger numbers to rest and preen themselves.  My discovered sweet zone area consists of three driftwood logs spaced about 5-6 yards apart, with the shoreline protruding outward just enough to where I can set up my blind, and photograph across any of the three logs where a duck may decide to sun themselves.  My success skyrocketed!

In addition, I came very close to getting a pine martin photo from the sweet zone this past spring.  Unfortunately, my excited movement alerted it to possible danger, and it retreated back to where it came from before I was able to push the shutter.

Now that I’ve discovered this sweet zone though, it’s time to make an all-out effort in getting landing and takeoff photos.  Until then, I will still work to capture the best driftwood poser photos I can of woodies and other cooperative waterfowl.  Whether with a shotgun, or a camera, I wish you all good shooting on your waterfowl adventures.

 

More Alaska Articles Needed

Nushagak River Article:

One of our Editors is looking for a story on effective techniques for Nushagak King salmon. The article should be about 2500 words long, with a dozen great photos.

This will be for the December 2020 issue and the deadline for the article is October 1st. Payment depends upon experience.

2021 Fish Alaska and 2021 Hunt Alaska Magazines:

Please send queries of stories you’d like me to consider for 2021 Fish Alaska  & Hunt Alaska issues. Please submit a proposed article title and paragraph  describing what the article will be about. I’ll be developing the editorial calendar over the few weeks and will let you know what we’ll take.

Some things to keep in mind:

  • Standard length for a feature article in Fish Alaska magazine is 2500 words, though we do often publish smaller or larger features.
  • Upon submission, we’ll want at least a dozen great photos from which to choose.  More is always better than too few.
  • First run only; we don’t like to reprint anything that has been published elsewhere.

Submit your queries to me no later than Friday, August 15th.  

If you are a NOWA Member, Contact Dave Kilhefner  ASAP (Dave@kbi-ins.com)  for details.

Alaska Article Needed

  

One of our Editors is looking for a story on fishing for species other than salmon (rainbows, dollies, grayling, pike) on the upper Nushagak and/or its tributaries.  The article should be about 2500 words long, with a dozen great photos.

Deadline to submit the article is not later than October 1st. Payment depends upon experience.

If you are a NOWA Member, Contact Dave Kilhefner (Dave@kbi-ins.com)  for details.