SUNDERLAND, VT (April 2012) – The Orvis Company has recognized Buzz Cox of The High Lonesome Ranch (www.thehighlonesomeranch.com) with the 2012 Orvis Lifetime Achievement Award.

“There are many who guide, but there are select groups who make it their life’s passion and excel over a period of many years,” explains David Perkins, Vice Chairman of Orvis.  “This award goes to an individual that has dedicated his life to that of a professional guide and host. Buzz Cox’s career spans over three decades and ranges from the Northeast to the Rocky Mountains.  He has specialized not only in sharing the great outdoors with his guests but also teaches them to respect and honor natural resources.  Whether it is sharing the secrets of a small stream, river or lake; or teaching the importance of safety in the field or on a mountain top, he has been a steward of conservation, professionalism and a lifestyle we all can admire.”

For over twenty years the Orvis Company has been recognizing excellence in sporting experiences through its Endorsed Lodges Outfitters and Guides program. Each endorsed operation has its own character, but all share the same high standards: great service, great fishing or wingshooting, and an experienced, professional staff. These standards of excellence are continually reviewed by the Orvis staff and evaluated by visiting guests in post-visit critiques sent directly to The Orvis Company. Orvis-Endorsed operations cater to every ability from beginners to experts.

Founded in 1856, Orvis pioneered the mail order industry in the United States, operates more than 80 retail stores in the U.S. and the U.K. including its Flagship store in Manchester, VT; and maintains a network of over 400 dealers worldwide. Orvis donates five percent of pre-tax profits each year to protecting nature. You can read more about Orvis on their website at www.orvis.com.

Grand Lake St. Marys died in 2009. A slow and painful death, it happened over many decades.

Constructed as a feeder lake to store water for the Miami-Erie Canal, Grand Lake St. Marys, at its completion in 1845, was the largest manmade lake in the world. The reservoir rests on the summit between the Ohio River and Lake Erie and is now Ohio’s largest inland lake.

Grand Lake is home to more than 11,000 residents, hosts more than 750,000 visitors annually, and accounts for an economic contribution to the area worth more than $150 million annually. With over 13,500 acres of water and 52 miles of shoreline, the lake is situated along one the country’s major migration routes. Birds using the lake as a resting stop include Canada geese, ducks, grebes, swans, egrets, loons, herons, cormorants, and ospreys. In addition, inhabitants included a nesting pair of bald eagles.

The death of Grand Lake St. Marys has devastated the business community. Home values have been reduced. Boating, fishing, including many professionally organized tournaments, water skiing, and all the other recreational activities that bring families together are now on hold. And fish and wildlife habitat have been decimated.

The cause of death was an overload of nutrients from throughout the watershed. Nutrients? How could nutrients, something that we hear advertised every day as essential to our health and well being, be deadly? As in almost everything in life, it’s too much of a good thing.

The primary culprits here are the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential nutrients for all life; however, with the excessive use of fertilizers (both agricultural and lawn), runoff from animal waste, sewer overflows, and a variety of other sources, nitrogen and phosphorus become dangerous water pollutants.

When excess nitrogen and phosphorus accumulate in a waterbody, eutrophication occurs. Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water acquires high concentrations of nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates, which promote excessive growth of algae. You’ve seen it before. The algae overwhelm the system and it slowly takes over the surface and depths of the water.

The second phase of eutrophication begins as algae die and decompose. High levels of organic matter and decomposing organisms deplete oxygen levels in the water. Eutrophication is a natural, slow-aging process for a body of water, but human activity so dramatically increases the process that levels of oxygen are not sufficient to support aquatic life. These areas with very low oxygen concentrations are called “dead zones” because they will not support aquatic life, including fish, shellfish, and other forms of life, including plants.

Most of the algae present in Grand St. Marys are a blue-green algae called Planktothrix, which produces a microcystin toxin that can cause skin rashes, sore throat, runny eyes and nose or allergic reactions, and gastro-intestinal distress (vomiting, diarrhea). It can also be toxic to the liver and kidneys, if ingested in significant quantities. This species of algae is also a neurotoxin that can cause weakness or dizziness, breathing difficulty, and convulsions. Further, it can sometimes cause death in small animals, such as dogs, that ingest water containing microcystin toxin.

So not only is Lake St. Marys dead, it is deadly.

How did things get so bad? Lawn fertilizer from the 11,000 homes runs off into the lake with high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Grand Lake straddles Mercer and Auglaize counties, and the 58,000-acre watershed around the lake is home to the largest number of swine farms in Ohio and the second largest of cattle and calf farms. Many of these farms concentrate animals and therefore their manure in a very small space and produce unfathomable quantities filled with nitrogen and phosphorus that runs off into the lake.

Sewage treatment plants in the watershed also discharge high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Unfortunately, Grand Lake St. Marys is just one small story in the scheme of things. Nitrogen and phosphorus are the most prevalent and serious water pollutants in the United States. This pollution comes from the same sources as those that killed St. Marys. Runoff from lawn fertilizer, home cleaning products and detergents, agricultural fertilizer and manure, and sewer overflows and discharges from sewage treatment plants are the culprits.

And the magnitude of the problem is staggering.

The entire Mississippi River Basin—two thirds of the United States—has excess nitrogen and phosphorus in its waters. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by drainage from the Mississippi River, is the size of Massachusetts and continues to grow. Additionally, the United States Geological Survey has documented dead zones in nearly every coastal waterway on the East and West coast, as well as the Florida coast. For the last two summers, Lake Erie was completely overwhelmed by eutrophication. Finally, there are intermittent dead zones in nearly every water body in the eastern United States.

Remember the toxic algae? It is almost everywhere, especially in the summer months.

To make matters worse, nitrogen and phosphorus have also been found in 78% of wells, which provide water for 15 million households in the United States. Elevated levels of nitrogen have also been found in municipal drinking water supplies. Therefore, people living in the Mississippi River Basin, the Northeast, and Southeast are at substantial risk for exposure to one or more of the adverse effects of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.

The impact of this form of water pollution is devastating to wildlife. Fish and other aquatic species are on the decline. Aquatic plants are dying off. Migratory and resident birds are losing habitat at an alarming rate. Small animal species, at the bottom of the food chain, are getting sick and mortality rates are climbing.

The problem is enormous, but the sporting community has the power to suggest implementation of solutions that have been a part of their vernacular for decades. Those solutions are protection and restoration of habitat.

We have lost over 50% of our wetlands and wetlands are nature’s finest water filters. If we ensured no more loss and began a nationwide program of restoring wetlands, our waters would begin recovering.

We have destroyed most of our floodplains. The natural vegetation of floodplains is one of the most efficient filters of water. Protection and recovery of our floodplains will improve water quality, as well as reduce flooding.

Riparian buffers are a vegetated area (buffer strip) along both banks of a river or stream. They play a key role in increasing water quality in associated streams, rivers, and lakes. They also result in preventing the decline of many aquatic ecosystems. Again, prevention of further loss of riparian buffers and a systematic approach to restoration will reduce pollution and improve water quality.

We do need to reduce the use of agricultural and lawn fertilizer. Elimination of nitrates and phosphates in household products is essential. Implementation of farming and livestock practices that will dramatically reduce runoff are a requirement. Establishment of standards that will regulate the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in our waters must be adopted. However, without protection and restoration of wetlands, floodplains, buffers, and other natural systems, we will not win this battle.

America’s sportsmen were the country’s first conservationists. Sportsmen and women, more than any segment of our society, are out there in the backcountry, in rural areas, and along streams, rivers, and wetlands. This community is the most recognized and effective voice for issues surrounding protection and restoration of lands, water, and wildlife. Turning this passion into action will dramatically reduce our most serious water quality issue and protect human health. The sporting community could be the most significant impetus for change.

There are efforts underway to treat and recover Grand Lake St. Marys that will likely cost millions of dollars. Nevertheless, even if they are successful, we are doomed to repeat this tragedy unless we change our ways.

For more information, contact Tim Guilfoile, Deputy Director, Sierra Club Water Sentinels, at: tim.guilfoile@sierraclub.org.

To read more great articles visit www.thecontemporarysportsman.com

When the opportunity arose to take the helm of culinary operations at The High Lonesome Ranch, I saw it as an irresistible opportunity to mold my young career. Prior to my Rocky Mountain reception I spent eight years in Houston, Texas, working my way through the ranks of a vibrant culinary scene. After graduating with a culinary degree from San Jacinto College, I finished up a four-year stint at the fundamentally sound Pappas Seafood House and moved on to work for other restaurants, including Ibiza Food and Wine Bar, The Briar Club, and Cullen’s. Ibiza, known for their extensive wine selection, enticed me to embrace a wine steward position to further my knowledge of food and wine pairings.

After running my own catering company, A Time To Dine, for over a year, I spent time at one of Houston’s hottest restaurants, Catalan, to develop a sense of Chef Chris Shepherd’s philosophy for farm to table cuisine. Chris has become quite well known for his expert usage of homegrown and locally produced ingredients. During the ranch’s off-season, I have been fortunate enough to stage in restaurants such as Jean Georges in New York, Mercat in Chicago, and The Urban Farmer and Departure of the Nines Hotel in Portland. As the ranch is well off the beaten path, I feel the need to continue working in top restaurants around the country to stay aligned with modern techniques and trends that we will ultimately make for a unique, modern ranch cuisine.

Since my arrival at The High Lonesome Ranch I have been accompanied by another Houstonian chef to help bring my plethora of goals to life. Veronica Rademacher attended Culinary Institute LeNotre in Houston Texas, graduating at the top of her class and then completing an extensive six-month internship at Houston’s Au Petit Paris. Veronica was then sought after to join the crew at Ibiza Food and Wine Bar where she quickly earned the position of sous-chef. After two years of grinding in one of Houston’s busiest kitchens, Veronica yearned for something more diverse. Since joining the ranch she has taken time to stage at Barley Swine in Austin, Texas, under James Beard Award-winning Chef Bryce Gilmore; at Fluff Bake Bar in Houston, Texas, under Top Chef: Just Desserts contestant Rebecca Mason; and at Uchiko, also in Austin, under Phillip Speer and season nine’s Top Chef winner Paul Qui. Veronica’s ambition includes being equally skilled in pastry, as she naturally is talented with savory cooking. After working under two of America’s top pastry chefs, her ability to create refined desserts that pair seasonal ingredients with modern techniques is a great addition to our culinary repertoire.

What makes The High Lonesome Ranch so unique is the sheer number of products that can be sourced without having to leave the gates of the ranch.

Thanks to a top-notch ranching team headed by Jason and Susan Lynch, we raise our own natural Black Angus cattle. We have over 300 head and I can only imagine how happy each and every one of them is to have such a beautiful, spacious landscape to graze. We finish them on grain for a few weeks before slaughter to achieve the intricate marbling our steaks always possess. Unlike many chefs, we have the pleasure to know exactly where the beef we prepare comes from, scarcely more than a stone’s throw and a few steps down the road. We have implemented a dry-aging system for the rib and strip loins that ensure a delectable piece of meat. Most loins are aged for an average of 35 days, but if you arrive at just the right time, you may be served with the 50-day steak. You lucky dog!

A short walk from the kitchen is our beautiful garden that has been under the tutelage of a very knowledgeable, skilled gardener, Althea Mowerson. In the midst of the growing season, we plan our menus around what is being plucked from the soil and vines—heirloom tomatoes, okra, and kohlrabi are a few ingredients we love to use. A generous state-of-the-art greenhouse sits adjacent to the garden and is a source for a myriad of produce throughout the year. I know—we’re spoiled! While scoping out the garden you can’t help but notice the large chicken coop housing around eight hens. They produce some of the tastiest eggs you’ll ever eat, and we like to prepare them simply fried with a few garnishes from the garden, such as baby arugula, green peas, and black Spanish radish, with a touch of sea salt.

Amy, who is at the helm of the High Lonesome equestrian program, also raises the ranch’s goats. I look forward to her daily arrival with a fresh harvest of goat’s milk. After churning so many batches of ice cream, we decided to delve into the craft of cheese making to utilize the milk in a different way. Wendy Mitchell, the enthused owner of Avalanche Cheese Company in Basalt, Colorado, was kind enough to allow Veronica and I to intern at her creamery. They produce five types of tremendously good cheese with milk sourced from a herd of 200 goats stationed on their own farm in Paonia, Colorado. I truly admire the people that work there, very passionate to say the least. Leaving Avalanche with an immense amount of information and, of course, a wedge of their 1-year-aged Bandaged Cheddar in our back pocket, we felt adept in presenting a new addition to the High Lonesome dining room table: a slice or three of house-made cheese. At present, our cheese board hosts Saint Maure, feta, and chevre, and unfortunately we have to wait four more months for the cheddar to ripen, but it is well worth the wait!

Springtime is a splendid time to be on the ranch. I suppose some folks may beg to differ due to the very muddy roads caused by the melting snow. Either way, I see beauty in it. During this time we begin the planting process, local lambs become available, and lighter dishes can be created for a fresh touch coming out of the winter braising season. Most of all, we look forward to spring for the wild asparagus, which grow throughout High Lonesome’s vast fields. Veronica and I gather as much of this asparagus as possible during the two-month season. Unlike store-bought asparagus, to which these simply cannot be compared, wild asparagus is sweet and tender and actually tastes best when raw. Be sure to look out for Aunt Linda’s wild asparagus breakfast quiche. Who is Aunt Linda? You must not have heard the stories!

Aunt Linda is a bona fide legend at the ranch—a true veteran of the game, if you will. She is the legacy of the High Lonesome’s culinary operation. Our General Manager Scott Stewart says it best: “Aunt Linda is Paula Dean’s big sister on steroids!” Get the picture? She will enlighten you with stories from her 16 years with the ranch and will not shy away from telling you how things have evolved. Every morning at the breakfast table you are greeted with not only her southern hospitality but also her scratch-made, love-filled, home-style food. The most renowned offerings include her organic granola, yeast biscuits, seasonal fruit preserves, pancakes, Danish pastry, and French toast made from homemade brioche. Needless to say, she is a special piece of the Ranch that will never be replaced.

Since The High Lonesome Ranch is a guided hunting ranch, we often have an opportunity to cook the harvest. Pheasant is by far the most frequently requested game meat to be prepared. A favorite dish as of lately is a Rustic White Bean Soup with Pheasant Quenelles, Bacon, and Watercress. You might also taste another ranch favorite, sliced Pheasant Sausage on Petite Yeast Biscuits with Chile-Apple butter. Needless to say, preparing a wild game bird straight from the field is fresh as fresh gets, and we love that!

If we aren’t cooking High Lonesome-sourced meats, we do not have to travel far—just past the ranch gates, actually—for natural pasture-raised pigs and lambs. We also purchase animals at the annual 4-H auction, which are raised by local, dedicated youth. We make it a point to buy the champion animals whenever possible. We do this not only to support the winners, but also to contribute a large amount to an organization that brings up the next generation of local meat growers. We like to buy from small farm growers and stay away from commercial meat producers as much as possible.

Curing our fresh meats is a project we’ve undertaken to help attain our goal of an artisan-style kitchen. Heck, we grow our own produce and make our own bread, cheese, and beer, so why not cure our own meats? Charcuterie was considered a lost craft until recent years—trends in the industry focused more light upon this Old World preserving process. We’ve converted an 8′ x 5′ walk-in cooler to a curing locker. With a turn of the thermostat to 55° F and the addition of a water pail to cause the humidity to hover around 70%, we have the perfect conditions for drying our various meats. We are particularly fond of curing local pork and lamb in this way, since the use of high quality meat is of major importance due to the concentration of flavor that derives from drying it. While you are sipping your pre-dinner beverage of choice, we will often present you with a butcher block chock-full of paper-thin slices of prosciutto, and lamb loin, along with a variety of sausages served simply with toast, some great mustard, and house-made pickles. It will do in a pinch!

The farm-to-table movement has been a strong one, to say the least, and we believe everyone should play a role in supporting local growers whenever possible. Most small farms have shut their gates due to large commercial growers taking over the industry. And not just American commercial growers, either, since most of our supermarket produce comes from Mexico and even South America. Who knows how it is grown, or by whom? We should all be good stewards of our neighboring farmers and buy local, since the ingredients are always grown with passion and not just with any eye for mass production. Most towns have a local farmers’ market at least once a week. Even in the metropolis you can find a farmers’ market somewhere these days, just ask around.

Being at the ranch has inspired us to cook differently. We put more thought into the ingredients that we use and always utilize what is in season. Seasonal cooking is inspirational and natural. Just look around and see what’s going on.

To read more great articles like this one visit www.thecontemporarysportsman.com

When last heard from (that would be the Winter issue), photographer Frank Barnett and I had our noses in a brewer’s cut at Indie Hops. A few days later, we were being shown around the Food Sciences Pilot Plant by Professor Tom Shellhammer at Oregon State University.

As he explained, a gift from Jim Bernau, owner of Nor’Wester Brewery and president of Willamette Valley Vineyards, served as a catalyst for starting the Fermentation Sciences program in 1996. One of the first things I spotted, as I glanced around at the stainless-steel fermentation tanks, was one labeled “I.H. Meridian.” You may remember from Part 1 that Indie Hops and the Goschie Hops Farm, both on Meridian Road, were responsible for resurrecting a hop variety that turned out to be something quite unexpected.

To read more visit www.thecontemporarysportsman.com

Poking out of the North Atlantic depths at the western edge of the Norwegian Sea, mostly fitting in the bounds of 14–24 degrees West longitude and 64–66 degrees North latitude, Iceland was and to a large degree still is a stronghold for Atlantic salmon.

Although its northernmost island satellite Grímsey rests squarely on the Arctic Circle, Iceland is a surprisingly temperate place. Cold polar currents mix with volcanic seeps in its offshore waters and a warm tendril from the Gulf Stream curls north then eastward over the top of the island. This melding of waters is the catalyst for a nutrient-rich marine environment. Salmon here feed and thrive on small arthropods and an abundance of forage fish such as pilchard and capelin, so much so they seldom stray beyond coastal waters.

To read more visit www.thecontemporarysportsman.com

Elvis is a small, chocolate brown, utterly captivating cocker spaniel who rode, perched up in a corner of the wagon, beside David.

Watching him, it sometimes seemed Elvis was directing the whole operation: The pointers on the ground, the hunt master and shooters on horseback, the mules drawing the wagon. He stood on his hind legs, nose into the wind, head swiveling as he took in every detail.

To read more of the story visit www.thecontemporarysportsman.com

Crisp evening in McLean’s Town. We’ve motored across the channel from Deep Water Cay to eat dinner at Alma’s, a local diner known for its excessive portions and countless courses: exquisite crab salad served in Styrofoam cups with plastic forks; conch fritters dipped in a tangy but feisty sauce; fried conch slabs hungry anglers hand-to-mouth like potato chips; then the main entrée of barely battered and briskly fried Caribbean lobsters served alongside rice and beans.

The clear night sky is flecked with hoards of stars but Mervin, dean of guides at Deep Water Cay, says it’s going to rain tomorrow.

To read more of the story visit www.thecontemporarysportsman.com

A proposed pipeline to divert billions of gallons of water from Wyoming and Utah to Colorado’s Front Range threatens more than the world-class trout fishing in the Green River and Flaming Gorge Reservoir. It poses a threat to a series of small communities and a way of life. This video from TU and the Sportsmen’s Conservation Project shows why. To view the video please click the image above or http://vimeo.com/34666248