Outdoor Writer

Keith, My college background is biology and journalism, and one thing I learned is science is never an exact science. There's always certain disagreement and yes, it's often skewed by the "sides." Just take note of the arguments in regards to global warming. Can you decide which side is right and which one has an agenda? As a journalist, when I REPORT on an issue, controversial or not, it's not my job to take sides but merely REPORT the facts that are out there. And the more unbiased the sources, the odds of getting the REAL facts -- not some emotional claptrap from folks with an agenda -- are much better. That's why I posted the two snippets about the parvo and the DNA in that last message that were taken from sources that had no connection to the wolf introductions in this country. When it comes to SCIENCE, emotion and agendas are evil intruders. If I was reporting on the wolf issue, I'd probably disregard most of Mader's "facts" because his agenda is quite clear from his background. He is the son of a rancher who tried to monkey-wrench the wolf introduction from the get-go. Now, that doesn't mean I might not speak with HIS sources to see if what he purports was as actually told to Mader or had a spin on it to suit his agenda. But if I did use any of his "fact," I would sure make it clear on what sides he falls, despite his title of "Research Director for Abundant Wildlife Society of North America (AWS)," which I'm guessing is a self-appointed position. Now, I'm curious if anyone has any figures about how much the wolf introduction here in AZ is actually costing the game department, i.e. hunters???

Well of course, it is only suspected when that was written. But here's the question to ask: If wolves are IMMUNE to parvo, then how can one even suspect it? Here's another, this from AK with the opinion of a NON-GOVERMENT employee, those guys that do nothing but lie. ***** The family lineage of the Toklat wolves is documented in the field notes of Gordon Haber, an independent biologist who studies wolves across the state with funding from Friends of Animals. Haber?s something of a thorn in the side of government biologists. He?s made headlines by accusing them of bad science, and of unnecessary cruelty while implementing wolf control measures; several years ago, he provided videotape to news media and environmental groups of a botched wolf killing that was anything but humane. Haber says he?s confident that the Toklat wolves descend from a pack first studied by National Park Service biologist Adolph Murie from 1939 to 1941. (Murie referred to them as the East Fork pack, after the East Fork of the Toklat river. Haber refers to them as ?the Toklat family group.? He says that?s the ?accepted biological model,? while the term ?pack? promotes prejudice because it conjures images of marauding killers.) Government biologists are skeptical of Haber?s claim. Layne Adams heads up a team of researchers who work for the US Geological Survey?s Biological Resources division. He cites genetic research from the last 15 years that he says proves that wolves don?t in-breed enough to provide a 60-year unbroken lineage. In fact, he says, wolves purposefully avoid in-breeding. ?By and large we?ve found that most packs are short lived,? he says. ?Statewide, we?ve studied around 40 packs over the course of 14 years and the East Fork pack is the only one that?s been there the entire time.? Adams says the normal life span of a wolf pack is five or six years, and that government studies show that wolf packs tend to stay together just as long in areas where hunting and trapping are heavy as in areas where they aren?t. Haber?s theory, based on personal observations over the last 30 years, may be impossible to disprove, but it?s not much easier to prove. Finding a 60-year lineage would require not just six decades of blood sampling, but an area of protection larger than anything Denali Park has to offer. All of Denali?s wolves are susceptible to subsistence hunting inside the park, and all of the known packs venture outside the park into sport-hunting territory. Haber also disagrees with the government biologists about the cause of the Toklat wolves? decline. He says the wolves have been fed well over the last few years, and describes hunting and trapping as ?the overwhelming candidate? for the population drop. Haber also suspects that Parvo virus and other canine viral diseases might be to blame. Pups are particularly susceptible to Parvo; he says Denali?s wolves may have picked up infections from domestic dogs. ?It?s dog heaven up there.? Haber says he?s watched wolves following sled dog trails, sniffing at scat along the way. Viral diseases, he says, are ?a major possibility... that?s being ignored.? And this is something else a Google search produced concerning the DNA facts. Wolf Dog Coalition - Pierotti, Ph.D. letter to Chief Staff Veterinarian Biotechnology, Biologics, and Environmental Protection U. S. Department of Agriculture Dr. Robert B. Miller Chief Staff Veterinarian Biotechnology, Biologics, and Environmental Protection U. S. Department of Agriculture 4700 River Road, Unit 148 Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1237 Dear Dr. Miller: I have just finished reading your report concerning your consideration of the information presented at the meeting of 4 April, 1996 on usefulness of rabies vaccines in wolves and wolf-dog crosses. I am disappointed in your report, for it seems to ignore virtually all of the important information presented at that meeting and to hinge largely on contrived issues that are not really relevant to the major points. First, you ignore the unanimous opinion of the scientists who participated in the meeting that wolves and dogs are each other's closest relatives. The two are so close in fact that they cannot be distinguished at the physiological or genetic level, which means that from the perspective of medical treatment and vaccines they are identical. The issue of interbreeding is further evidence, but is not definitive. Wolves and coyotes can interbreed, but they are easily distinguished genetically whereas wolves and dogs cannot be so distinguished. Nonetheless, the appropriate scientific conclusion of interbreeding between wolves and coyotes (and between dogs and coyotes) is that rabies vaccines are appropriate for use in coyotes as well. The issue you raise concerning use of modified live vaccines was not the issue discussed at the meeting. What the scientists present (myself included) agreed upon unanimously was that modified live rabies vaccine would not be used in any canids (including domestic dogs), since it breaks readily. The discussions of distemper, parvovirus, etc. was not the subject of discussion since these issues are not relevant to human public health. In any case, distemper and parvo vaccines work well in wild canids, since I have used them for years in my study animals (wolves and coyotes) and have never had a problem. Since you state that the scientific panel "agreed that the (killed) rabies vaccines currently licensed for use in dogs should protect wolves," and there is a serious public health issue with coyote-borne rabies, the only defensible position is to recommend use of killed rabies vaccines in all Canis that may have contact with humans, including captive wolves, wolf dogs, and coyotes. You assured me at the meeting on 4 April that you would make your decision based on the best scientific evidence. The decision you have reached, however, is clearly in contrast to the recommendations of your scientific panel, and appears instead to have been influenced by lobbyists for specific interest groups. I strongly encourage you to alter your decision to that which is in the best interests of both public health and the scientific evidence, and allow use of killed rabies vaccines in all members of the genus Canis that have regular contact with humans. Yours, Raymond Pierotti, Ph.D. Professor of Evolutionary Biology

Then if it's true, the wolf strain that was moved from Canada to YNP must also be part domestic dog, considering the following: ***** Disease suspected in high wolf pup mortality By MIKE STARK Of The Gazette Staff A virus that usually shows up in domestic dogs may be at least partly to blame for a sudden drop in Yellowstone National Park's wolf population. Scientists on Thursday began taking a closer look at whether parvovirus is a culprit in the 30 percent decline in wolf numbers last year. It's not unusual for the park's wolf population to fluctuate, but the 2005 numbers raised some eyebrows. "I think it's cause for concern but not alarm," said Doug Smith, Yellowstone's lead wolf biologist. Undeveloped immune systems Many of the wolves that didn't survive the year were pups, a sign that parvo may be a factor because the contagious virus tends to affect young canids without fully developed immune systems. There still hasn't been a confirmed case of parvo among Yellowstone's wolves, but it's a top suspect. "All the symptoms are consistent with a parvovirus outbreak," Smith said. Researchers recently wrapped up the first half of their annual winter survey of Yellowstone's wolves. There are an estimated 118 wolves in the park, compared with 171 a year ago, according to the latest figures. Some of the most dramatic losses were on Yellowstone's Northern Range, where wolf packs live in close proximity and competition is fierce. Of the 49 pups born on the Northern Range last year, only eight survived. In the Leopold pack, one of the most dominant in recent years, only two of 19 pups made it. In the nearby Slough Creek pack, 15 pups were born and only three survived. "That's just catastrophic mortality," Smith said. Disease strikes Territorial skirmishes and other natural factors certainly play a part in pushing the park's wolf population up and down, but disease appears to have a role in more recent changes, Smith said. Although distemper and infectious canine hepatitis can affect canids, including wolves, parvo remains a key suspect in Yellowstone. Park officials are planning to catch wolf pups this winter and test them for the virus. The infectious disease, first identified in the 1970s, is typically associated with domestic dogs, which are routinely vaccinated against parvo. The virus can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration and other problems and can be fatal, especially among young animals. It typically spreads through feces and can survive for months before finding another host. "It's quite hearty in the environment," said Mark Atkinson, wildlife veterinarian for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. While parvo may linger in the background, a convergence of factors can lead to a more serious outbreak that can prove fatal for infected animals. Animals that are experiencing some other kind of stress - severe weather or food scarcity, for example - could be more vulnerable to parvo's effects, Atkinson said. In controlled studies, about one-third of young wolves exposed to the disease became clinically ill, Atkinson said. Of those, about 10 percent died. Less is known about how the disease might affect wolves in the wild. "With any disease in wildlife, there are so many factors, getting a good handle on it can be difficult," Atkinson said. Smith said he was working as a wolf biologist at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior in 1980 when a suspected parvo outbreak reduced the population from 50 to 12. The Yellowstone wolf population bounced back from a suspected parvo outbreak in 1999 but pup survival was still 40 percent, a far cry from 15 percent survival in 2005. "Wolf populations can generally take a 30 percent mortality rate and stay stable," Smith said. "If this is one year, there's nothing to worry about. If it comes to successive years, we could have a problem." .

I wrote the following in 1990. It sort of provides a clue as to what I think is important. -TONY ******** Copyright by Tony Mandile ONE-DOG NIGHT Thirty years have passed since my first venture into Arizona's great outdoors. During that time I've had both some good and bad experiences. Thankfully, most have been of the former variety. One experience I never had was getting lost. Oh, I had times when I was slightly "turned around," but none where I had absolutely no clue as to my location. Consequently, I've never spent a night away from my main camp unless it was intentional -- with at least a basic supply of necessities. Like most of us probably do, though, I frequently wondered how I'd handle it. My late grandfather indoctrinated me early about the perils of being unprepared if it becomes necessary to spend the night away from camp. So I committed myself to carrying matches, an extra candy bar or two and water in areas where it is scarce. Under the right circumstances a person can live many days without food or water other than in the hot desert. So the candy and water were simply feel-good conveniences. But the matches seemed the most important to me. We often read stories about people getting lost and dying. These accounts continually upset me, especially when the victim had spent only a night or two in the woods. I always wondered how someone becomes a casualty in such a short time. Yet it happens too many times every year. Most folks who get lost and die usually succumb to hypothermia, the medical name for exposure. Characterized by a rapid lowering of one's body temperature and uncontrollable shivering, it soon causes disorientation and a loss of energy. Death is the final consequence. Hypothermia frequently follows panic, a common occurrence when a person becomes lost. Of course, it's very disheartening because the tragedy can be avoided if a person keeps his head on straight. About five years ago on a lion hunt with Joe Mitchell in the Mazatzal Wilderness Area near Rye, I finally found out what's it like to spend a night in the wilderness alone without any food, water or equipment. We had cut a fresh cat track early that morning and had followed the yipping hounds for six hours. Eventually, that track crossed another set. The dogs, confused by the second track, split into two groups. I trailed one bunch, while the guide followed the other. At sunset, my group of dogs had disappeared somewhere in the wilderness. I dropped off the ridge into the canyon where Mitchell had been about an hour earlier. He was gone, too, and everything had gone quiet. Realizing it was at least a five or six-hour uphill hike to camp and thinking I could make it before midnight, I stumbled through the darkness along the meandering trail. Bad decision. Along the way, I swore at myself several times for forgetting the flashlight I had diligently set aside to put in my daypack. It remained on my desk at home, where I had left it. I lost the trail three different times when it crossed the stream bed, got smacked in the face by an unseen branch and had more than one prickly pear cactus deposit its spines in my shins. I decided hiking in the dark without any moonlight was not my thing. Thoughts flowed readily, but panic was not among them. Instead, everything I had read or been taught about this kind of situation came to mind. At that point, I decided I was spending the night in that canyon. Although I knew where I was, my camera, a .357 handgun, butane lighter, a few six-inch square shards of black roofing paper, a candy bar, a light rain jacket and one of those reflective-silver Space blankets made up my meager supplies. Still, about the only panic came from the realization of having only three cigarettes. I knew I had to ration them to make it through the night and part of the next morning. I began looking for a protected place on the trail with enough nearby firewood to get me through the night. Such a place existed only a few yards farther up the trail under a big cottonwood. A large fallen branch from the same tree, though rotten and a bit damp, offered plenty of firewood, and the light from my cigarette lighter revealed enough dry kindling nearby to sustain the wet wood. After building a fire ring out of rocks on some level ground, I gathered enough small wood to get a blaze started, stacked it on top of a piece of tar paper and lit it. A cloud of black, smelly smoke rose as the flame grew. When the kindling began to crackle, I added a few larger pieces to the pyre to sustain it while I broke the rotten log into smaller chunks and stacked them outside the fire ring. The pieces would dry from the heat of the fire, providing me a continuous supply of larger chunks to burn. The warmth from leaping flames helped thwart the growing chill of the March evening. Hungry and weary from hiking around the up-&-down wilderness all day, I ate half of my candy bar and saved the rest for breakfast. I then cleared a "bed" next to the fire within easy reach of the drying wood. With my rolled up daypack tucked beneath my head and the Space blanket covering my torso, I snuggled up beside the now blazing fire and savored a few puffs from one of my three cigarettes. A few minutes later, a noise that sounded like something walking through dry leaves came from the blackness. Just as I reached for my handgun, one of Mitchell 's hounds wandered into the light of the fire. I let out a sigh of relief. "Here, Jake," I called. The hound moved warily toward me, then stopped several feet away, moved to edge of some oak brush and laid down on a bed of fallen leaves. Thinking it was nice to have company anyway, I shrugged and said, "Suit yourself. See you in the morning." I turned, facing the fire, and tried sleeping again but worried about Joe and what he would think. No doubt he might imagine the worst. Just then, the sound of rustling leaves made me look over my shoulder. Jake, with head lowered, cautiously crept to where I lay, circled once and then lowered himself to the ground and pushed up against my back. Providing a bit of body heat for each other, my canine buddy and I went to sleep. Over the next 11 or 12 hours, I woke often to awaken the flames with a fresh supply of wood from the dead tree. And each time, I lay back down, Jake wiggled his body closer to mine until he finally managed to get under the blanket, as well. The next morning, after the five-hour uphill trek, Jake and I reached the main road. I knew which direction I had to go but had no idea how far I was from the truck. A minute later I heard the whine of an ATV. As the three-wheeler came around a bend, the driver spotted me and stopped. "Are you Tony?" he asked. "Yes." He then told me he was Mitchell?s dad and had arrived the previous night."Joe called me and said you might be lost. He drove down to Rye this morning because he thought you might come out that way. Did you have a bad night?" "Well, I could use a cigarette and a sandwich. But other than that, I'm fine. I spent the night with a warm fire in front of me and a warm dog behind me." The man smiled. "Oh, you had a one-dog night, huh? Hop on."

Jim, Yuppers. You're right on with Marc. I built the wooden base and he did the rest. He's been doing my taxidermy work for quite a few years now. He's just finishing up a springbok for me, which is the last of nine African animals he's done. I had the warthog and zebra rug done in Africa. Now he has my stuff from NZ to do -- a nice stag, tahr, chamois and lifesize wallaby. That's why I had to recently add a 14'x28' addition to my family room. The trophy room in the above photo was already crammed full. So I convinced my wife to add the "foreign critter room." I enjoyed working with the Noble family. I also did an article on their deer hunt on the Strip. Did you see it? -TONY

Well, I haven't had a car wreck in more than 35 years either, but..... Saw two dandy silvertips when I was hunting blacks in BC two years ago. But the area was on a quota of ONE tag, and my outfitter wasn't the one that had it. It was still neat watching them through the binocs from 150 yards away. I did get a good black, though. It was the third big one I've killed there with the same outfitter. The rug on the wall is an AZ bear, though. See below. -TONY

Doug, The show was one of four in the "Hunter and Hunted" series. There was also one on gators in Fla., baboons in Africa and one other. I ran thru the menu for COX and it shows three of them reruning on 7/9 around midday, but the deer segment isn't one of them. Both of the guys were hunting alone, and both were in the process of field-dressing their deer when they were attacked. The one who died actually shot the bear that had attacked him, but all they could do was reconstruct what they *thought* happened from what they found at the scene. In the reenactment, they showed the hunter shooting while it was already moving in on him. But before the guy could get off another, the bear was on him. The whole area showed signs of a long struggle, with lots of blood spread over everything. And yes, they found the bear dead, too, but it had gone quite aways before dying. If I recall, the bear that attacked the guy who survived was fairly small as the Kodiak browns go, perhaps under 300 lbs. They concluded the size helped the guy survive because the bear's jaw spread was quite a bit smaller than an adult's, thus not able to inflict as much damge with his bite.

That's pretty much how the outfit I'm going with operates -- no guides. Once ashore, we're on our own. I did a similar hunt years ago for caribou on the Mulchatna River. We had a nice camp to stay in, and someone would ferry us on the river each day and drop us off to hunt. Then they would return to pick us up that evening. RE: bears Ironically, just yesterday I watched an hour-long show on the NG channel about two deer hunters who were attacked by bears on the SAME day on Kodiak. Both had just killed deer prior to the attacks. One died at the attack site, and the other managed to drag his bleeding body down the mountain to where his hunting partners were waiting on him. He survived to tell his story. -TONY

Doug, I'll be there from Oct. 7-14, which seems a bit early to me. BUT...I didn't have a choice. I'm going with the folks from the USSA. We'll be hunting/fishing off a boat, with daily trips into the beach to play with the deer and bears. The outfit is Ninilchik Charters .. Not sure where we'll be hunting. -TONY

Duwane called me the day he picked up the magazine. He had already read the article twice and wanted to tell me, "Man, that's just how it played out." He was surprised my editor had left in his order to Luke that basically went, "Now you'd better get your butt over there and kill that deer." -TONY

Hey, Allen, with luck I'll also finish my deer slam in Oct. on Kodiak. Did you hunt with an outfitter there? -TONY

Did you see the article on Luke's Colorado carp deer in the latest RM G&F mag? -TONY

Here's the short release I wrote up on this rack several months ago for NORTH AMERICAN WHITETAIL magazine. -TONY WORLD-RECORD COUES DEER The Boone and Crockett Club officially recognized a buck from Graham County, Arizona as the new non-typical Coues deer world record. The antlers score a whopping 196 2/8 points, besting the old record by 10 1/8 points. The announcement at the 25th North American Big Game Awards in Kansas City, Missouri during June 2004 occurred after the B&C?s Record Committee thoroughly investigated the authenticity of the Coues deer antlers because of the circumstances involved in their discovery. Buck Buckner, chairman of the B&C?s Record Committee, said the remarkable trophy has the basic Coues? deer configuration, as well as the narrow, inter-pedicel width measurements characteristic of Coues? deer. The rack shows evidence of gnawing by rodents, and is missing a couple of point tips. Two broken abnormal points were x-rayed, as was the entire rack. According to the background B&C was able to piece together, a now deceased member of the Apache tribe killed the buck in the Mt. Turnbull area of the San Carlos Apache Reservation sometime around 1971, and the antlers remained within the family until a nephew sold them to an antler buyer. The buyer later sold them to the current owners, Dana J. Hollinger and Bob Howard. The two men, who collect antlers, submitted the trophy to B&C in December 2003. A special B&C judge?s panel, convened especially to verify possible world-record heads, officially scored the deer as the new record. The non-typical rack, with an inside spread of 12 3/8 inches, sports 11 points on the right side and 15 on the left side. The main beam lengths are 20 4/8 and 19 3/8 respectively, and the smallest circumference between the burr and first point on each side measured 4 6/8.

I just had another spot come open for a late season (2005 rifle or 2006 archery) ARIZONA or NEW MEXICO hero-type Coues article. Must be a decent buck and also have good photos of such. Anyone interested in being interviewed for the article can contact me here via a private message. Thanks. -TONY

A bit of a contradiction in the above, no? Let's back up PRIOR to the recommended changes, like to the survey G&F conducted a while back where a majority of those who took it wanted *MORE* opportunity to hunt. The change to the late whitetail seasons was an effort to do just that, thus managing wildife for the whole rather than a much smaller segment of hunters. The game dept. thought the recommendations did just that, thus had no reason to conduct ANOTHER survey of its own. Now, one thing I can't quit grasp is this: In the CENTRAL units where there are now fewer late tags, the late season will become a more QUALITY hunt for those lucky enough to draw. I certainly would prefer it that way rather than having three times as many hunters afield as it had been. In fact, I probably answered the survey questions much differently than most members here. Yeah, they were likely doing their jobs -- managing both wildlife and people to the best of their ability. Sometimes it merely comes down to the adage, "damned if you do, damned if you don't." Certainly, they are not infallible. Overall, however, the AGFD probably ranks in the tyop 10 in this country. -TONY

I conducted the interview as part of the 2006 Arizona Deer Forecast, which will be published in the Sept issue of Rocky Mt. G&F magazine. So it's really not the complete interview with Wakeling, though there is some of it quoted verbatim. But we sure discussed lots of things. I *think* I know the reason, but I'll call Wakeling again in the morning and put your #1 & 2 on the table. Stay tuned. -TONY

Dave, The 10 percent allocation of whitetail tags is for OVERALL, not on a per unit basis. Total of whitetail permits for this year is 17,120, and there are 1,730 late season ones. G&F tried to keep a min. of 50 late tags in each unit, however. Last year, more than 17 percent overall were late tags. In general, the changes amounted to an overall increase of about 445 permits statewide. I just did an extensive hour-long interview with Brian Wakeling Friday for an article. It SEEMS there's lots of erroneous info out there. I filled out the ADA survey online weeks ago, and as I soon as I did, I had the same concerns Bill Quimby has aired here. Little from that survey can used as a valid polling simply because of how it was conducted. I could have taken the survey several times. Plus, any time one side or the other has a chance to RALLY survey takers, it pretty much tosses out the validity of results because of the lack of randomness involved. That's why pollsters use the telephone to call survey respondents who are generally unaware of the issue(s) and questions beforehand and normally use a smaller sampling such as 1,000 folks. Mike, The very reason that they moved many of the Coues permits from late to early in the central units is why the numbers are skewed toward the latter. The basic premise was to INCREASE hunter opportunity while keeping the harvest pretty much the same. They were able to do that because the early season has a MUCH LOWER success rate -- thus more permits can be issued. So here's what they came up with: Last year in 6A there were 175 early and 150 late; this year 400 and 50 -- and increase of 125 permits. In 23, 300/150 to 425/50 -- and increase of 25. In 24A, it was 175 late only in 2005 and now 550/50 -- an increase of 425 permits. So in these units, there are now 575 more opportunties for permits. TONY

Also, perhaps 10 or 20 years down the road when more habitat disappears, the NR cap might need to be lowered even more, like to 5% of the permits. Soooo...with a law in place, rather than a somewhat easy change through the game commission's rule-making process, we'll be asking the legislature to do it -- maybe. -TONY

Better be careful what we wish for here. While this particular enactment favors hunters, the next one proposed by a legislator symphatheic to anti-hunters might not. Letting the legislature get its nose under the tent flap in regards to writing rules regulating G&F matters is like the proverbial slippery slope. -TONY

Chris is the guy. Here's what happend when I tried to send to josh@rimrock-outfitters.com. -TONY A copy of your message is being returned to you due to difficulties encountered while attempting to deliver your mail. Very often people attempt to send mail to USERIDs, which are not known to this particular system. The following errors occurred during message delivery processing: <smtp email.msn.com antlerboy132@email.msn.com 99>: ...\ <<- RCPT To:<antlerboy132@email.msn.com> ->> 550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable

hey guys, I had a castastropic hard drive crash about two weeks ago, and although I was able to recover most of my data I lost of my email addresses and saved emails that were in my Outlook folders. Among those were contact phone numbers and photos for an upcoming article I have to do on Coues bucks killed in NM and AZ during the 2004 seasons. Now, among those that I need to contact for sure are Scott Adams, Josh Epperson, Tommy Maldonado (sp?) and Ron Price. So if you guys would send me an email at tony10(remove this)@outdoors.net ASAP, I'll let you know what I need. Amanda, I'm posting this message here and in the NM section. Hope that's OK. It's an emergency. -TONY

Josh, Done. It's on its way. -TONY

Actually I had a backup and recovered 98% of my data. The problem arose with my email program, Outlook. I was using it at the time the crash occurred, thus the PST file that keeps all of the folders and saved messages got hosed. Anyway, I've heard from Tommy, Josh and Scott, who is on vacation in TX. Still waiting on Ron Price, though. You probably saw my message on MM by now. -TONY

No, my last name begins with an "M," though. -TONY

hey guys, I had a castastropic hard drive crash about two weeks ago, and although I was able to recover most of my data I lost all of my email addresses and saved emails that were in my Outlook folders. Among those were contact phone numbers and photos for an upcoming article I have to do on Coues bucks killed in NM and AZ during the 2004 seasons. Now, among those that I need to contact for sure are Scott Adams, Josh Epperson, Tommy Maldonado (sp?) and Ron Price. So if you guys would send me an email at tony10 (remove this) @outdoors.net ASAP, I'll let you know what I need. Amanda, I'm posting this message here and in the NM section. Hope that's OK. It's an emergency. -TONY