Here is all the news that is fit to print about the OUtdoors....

Algae Toxin Killing Sealife

California Coast – A naturally-occuring toxin is being blamed for killing hundreds of birds and sea mammals in recent weeks. Pelicans, sea lions, dolphins and whales have been especially affected by the toxin, identified as domoic acid, which is produced by a microscopic algae. (Los Angeles Times)

2,500 pounds of trouble

San Francisco, California – A 2,500-pound elephant seal went on a violent rampage in northern California, attacking and killing harbor seals, biting a surfer, and lunging out of the water at a dog. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Wildlife survives but food does not

Little Rock, Arkansas – The good news is that birds and wild animals survived the big cold front that plunged into the mid-South in April. The bad news is that many of the trees and plants were damaged and won’t be providing the nuts and seeds the bird and animals eat. (Arkansas News)

Knock, Knock. Is the Ghost Bird home?

Columbia, SC – They didn’t find evidence of the ivory-billed woodpecker, but a team of Cornell University researchers were impressed with the old growth habitat of the 24,600-acre Congaree National Park southeast of Columbia, S. C. (AP, Myrtle Beach online

Bears bear watching

Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains -- Officials of Great Smoky Mountains national Park are warning visitors to steer clear of the bears this year. Bear populations are strong -- too strong perhaps – averaging two bears per acre in the park. (Maryville (Tenn) Daily Times)

BevMate II – Wrap n’ strap whatever’s on tap!

TAMPA, Fla. –StowMate® Storage Organizers has introduced BevMate™ II, a handy mesh beverage holder that keeps a water bottle plus your cell phone easily accessible on boats, bicycles, autos, and more. BevMate™ II uses two Velcro™ hook and loop straps securely wrapping the BevMate™ to most vertical tubular bar supports such as T-Tops, rod-holders, bicycle frames, Jeep-style roll-bars, fork lifts, cockpit enclosures, lifeguard towers, patio umbrellas, and lawn/beach chairs. StowMate® Storage Organizers designs, manufactures, distributes and markets a variety of storage devices created to simplify, organize, and utilize unused space. They are constructed in several colors of water-repellent vinyl-coated polyester mesh; all marine grade materials. Info at www.stowmate.com [Media: Contact Melinda McKay, Director of Business Development, [email protected] , 813-962-8665]

Presbyopia in the outdoors

Mobile, Alabama – They say that age 60 is the new 40. There are just two problems with that – aging eyes, also known as presbyopia. Indoors, drug store readers solve the vision problem. The problem comes outside, in the sun, where UVA and UVB rays can cause eye damage. Now, thanks to the application of patented technology, polarized sunglasses with built-in readers are coming on the market. The pioneer is Ono’s Trading Company which has developed a variety of fashionable and performance frame styles and lens colors, all with various reading powers. For more information, go to onostradingcompany.com or phone 1-866-865-4695. [Media: Contact Bill AuCoin, 727-522-2371, [email protected]]

Are boating skills the same as life skills?

N. Fort Myers, Florida – Are boating skills the same as the skills people need to lead a successful life? Yes, they are, says Barb Hansen of Florida Sailing & Cruising School. “I hear our instructors telling students exactly the same things you’d hear at a success-in-life seminar,” said Hansen. “Set goals, they say. Prepare, practice, challenge yourself. Be a team player, accept responsibility, follow the rules. Even get your sleep. And, importantly, laugh a lot.” Hansen said students at her liveaboard yacht instruction get a boating course and a successful life seminar both for the price of one. Info at www.swfyachts.com [Media contact: Bill AuCoin, [email protected]. 727-522-2371]

What’s wrong with DEET?

Cartersville, Georgia – The season for biting insects is here and so is the perennial question about whether DEET should or should not be an ingredient in your repellent. For Dan Ritter of BugBand Products the answer is certainly not. “DEET destroys plastic, rubber, nylon and more. DEET will damage your sunglasses, the crystal on your watch, your fishing line, painted surfaces and personally, I wouldn’t trust it on my skin, either,” said Ritter. Ritter said the main insect-repelling ingredient in his BugBand repellent is the natural oil Geraniol which sets up a pleasant-smelling vapor barrier to ward off insects. Info at www.bugband.net. [Media contact: Dan Ritter, 1-800-473-9467, [email protected]. Visit booth W520 (Gardening section) at the National Hardware Show, Orlando, May 8-10]

Dress for outdoor success

Greensboro, N. C. – Hunters know that if you’re wearing the right camo pattern, you’re chances for a successful hunt go way up. The flagship brand of hunting garments, Wrangler ProGear, has announced its line of hunting garments for 2007. They will feature the industry’s newest camo pattern, called Realtree AP. AP is short for All-Purpose. It’s a lighter, more open pattern with neutral-toned hues designed for effective concealment in a variety of hunting seasons and geographic regions. Info at www.wrangler.com [Media, contact Bill AuCoin, [email protected]]

Best cruising in the world? Southwest Florida

London, England -- Britain’s Motor Boat & Yachting magazine salutes Southwest Florida Yachts in its list of the top ten bareboat charter operations and destinations in the world. Other destinations in the top ten were the French Riviera, New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds, Bahamas, Australia’s Whitsunday Islands, Dalmatian Islands on the Croatian coast, Greece, Pacific Northwest, Virgin Islands and Spain. [Media contact: Bill AuCoin, [email protected]. 727-522-2371, www.swfyachts.com]

Discover Boating Announces Best Boat Names Contest

Chicago, Illinois – Discover Boating launched its Best Boat Names Contest online, which runs from April 23 until June 15 on DiscoverBoating.com. The contest, presented by Discover Boating and sponsored by BoatRenting.com and Forever Resorts, will award the individual with the most unique boat name a houseboat vacation package in one of ten different locations. Contest entries are being accepted from April 23 through May 23. To enter, visit DiscoverBoating.com and add your most original boat name to the list. From May 24 through June 15, DiscoverBoating.com visitors can view names posted and vote for their favorites. [Media contact: Lindsey Savin Johnson ([email protected]; 312-946-6204)]

Everglades enemy? Pet pythons. Licensing looms

Tallahassee, Florida – Fearing the destruction of native wildlife in the Florida everglades, state legislators started work on a bill requiring a $100 license for people to own Burmese pythons or other exotic reptiles as pets. Pythons grow to 20 feet. When they get big many python owners have released in the wild. (Orlando Sentinel)

Here we go ‘round the mulberry tree

Tierra Verde, Florida -- A mulberry tree at Fort DeSoto Park just south of St. Petersburg is world headquarters in May for birds migrating back to the states from their winter homes in Central and South America. Lush purple berries are breakfast, lunch and dinner to grosbeaks, warblers, buntings and tanagers arriving hungry from flights of up to 5000 miles. Fort DeSoto Park is located in Pinellas County, which checks off more than 375 different bird species including stars like the American Oystercatcher, Roseate Spoonbill and Reddish Egret. For more information visit www.floridasbeach.com or phone 877-352-3224. Google Earth coordinates: 27 37 03.55 N, 82 43 32.03W [Editors, to be notified when the migrating birds return to Fort De Soto Park, please contact Bill AuCoin, 727-522-2371, [email protected]

Junior wildlife artists saluted

Washington, DC – His painting of a pair of wigeons earned first place for Paul Willey, 18, Conway, Arkansas, in the 2007-2008 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest. Madelyn Yohn, 18, Myerstown, Penn., took second with an acrylic painting of a pair of northern pintail ducks. And Paige Brevick, 16, Chatfield, Minn., came in third with an acrylic of a fulvous whistling duck. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Play center field…with a casting rod

Alexandria, Virginia – Peanuts and Crackerjacks, baseball and…fishing. Yes. 27

Triple-A baseball parks are partnering with the Take me Fishing campaign. Fans may enter drawings for a new boat and some will be chosen to participate in a rod and reel casting contest in center field. (TakeMeFishing.org)

Manatee populations improving

Washington, D. C. – U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed a five-year review of the West Indian manatee, concluding that the big sea mammal no longer fits the definition of endangered. (Fish and Wildlife Service)

Outdoor book of the month

Crivitz, Wisconsin – The Peshtigo is a river in Wisconsin. Putzing means puttering about. The convergence of those two images is personified in Milwaukee writer Jerry Kiesow who has compiled his outdoor columns into a new book --Tales of The Pestigo Putzer – about the important things in this putzer’s life -- fishing, tying flies, writing.

Deer Crash Dorm Party

Villanova, Pennsylvania – Villanova students left a door open to a residence hall during a barbeque and two wild deer took it as an invitation to crash the party. The deer damaged a sink in a community bathroom before police officers chased it out of the building. (Villanovan)