False No-Trespass Signs Are LAME!

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Roaring Fork and Property LinesRFTA Bike Path – Catherine Store to Rock Bottom Ranch

Earlier this week I pedaled down the RFTA bike path near Catherine Store to one of my favorite fishing zones on the Roaring Fork River. But when I hit my destination, I was assaulted by a forest of No-Trespassing signs on the bank – right in my favorite spot. As a hunter and angler (and red-blooded American), I have complete respect for private property. But I was pretty sure these signs didn’t belong. So after some research on the property lines and the RFTA trail boundaries, I’m heading back to fish my favorite spot again. In fact, I think I’ll staple the property map to the no trespassing signs and reel in a few extra fish for good measure. Although, the parting words from RFTA didn’t exactly inspire complete confidence, “I’m sure you’re right but duck if they shoot.”

Posting false no trespassing signs happens throughout the west – usually on easements that were specifically created to allow access to public lands. Respect private land but if no trespassing signs don’t line up with your maps, take the time to do the research and report it.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Environment, Fishing

Field & Stream’s FSHuntress Blog is Cut

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fs_blog_fshuntress1

Yesterday I heard that Utah was cutting it’s State Parks budget and totally eliminating one park in particular. Today I read that Kim Hiss’ FSHuntress blog fell subject to budget cuts by Field & Stream. I am always saddened to hear when budget cuts are directed at outdoor recreation, natural resources or woman’s sports or programs.

I know everyone is struggling with the economy and this was probably not an easy decision for Field & Stream. I’m also sure that Field & Stream knew that the page views of the FSHuntress blog were just a fraction of what they are for its five other blogs. The problem is that the average hunter in the US is a 55 year old man. Considering the life expectancy of a man in the U.S. is currently age 75, then these numbers do not bode well for the sport.

The future of hunting, fishing and shooting sports in our country depends on getting new blood (no pun intended) involved and into the field. I think the FSHuntress blog was a great place to recognize the women who do hunt, encourage new women hunters to get into the sport and to foster a dialogue among men and women who share similar interests. I am sad to see it go.

Posted in: Fishing, Hunting, Outdoor Industry News

The Social behind the Media

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Sitting down for our Monday morning huddle it quickly became apparent that there is a ton of authentic “social” behind our media. Before diving into best practices and this months emerging trends in SM, we shared a shakedown of the weekend’s activities.

Bday girl Lori Spence and Kaya the Wonder dog play in the powder

Bday girl Lori Spence and Kaya the Wonder dog play in the powder

JLD, Mavis, Greg, Kara, Jess and Penn all skied deep pow in Highlands Bowl Saturday. JLD and Penn skied again Sunday, while the others opted for cycling. Meanwhile Jess D and Dax hit Winter Park and Teton Pass respectively. Nate got knackered fly fishing (a rarity) and Sue had a successful turkey shoot. Angus was coaching and competing in climbing comps and Lindsay juggled track meets and coaching the next generation of soccer stars.

Sue and her friend Tom

Sue and her friend Tom

What about Sarah? She is sunning in Barbados.

As for the meeting this morning? Good progress lots to do and a few good links on how to use and NOT use twitter.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Colorado, Fishing, Hunting, Skiing

Sitka Engineers Hunting Technology

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Move over grandpa, this hunter ain’t gonna give up easy.  Sitka’s new heated Dutch Oven Vest is powered by the new Moshi Power System from Ardica Technologies.  The lightweight, bendable Ardica Power System is built into the vest and sits comfortably between your shoulder blades. It’s almost unnoticeable.

Sitka Dutch Oven Vest

Sitka Dutch Oven Vest

An easy squeeze of the on-off button powers the Dutch Oven Vest from low to medium to high power.  Within seconds, the vest and and the hand warmer pockets are warm and cozy.

The Dutch Oven Vest will run continuously on low power for eight hours.  An outer layer worn over the top of the vest will hold the heat on the coldest of days.  It quite possibly might be the difference between staying or going and failure or success in the field.

The Dutch Oven Vest recharges in just two hours through the included USB charger cable.  OK, it gets even better.  Use the same USB connector to charge any USB device off the power system in the vest.  You got it.  Surf the web and email while waiting for that monster buck to stroll under your stand.  Too cool.

The Dutch Oven Vest will be available in June through dealers or directly through Sitka.  Get it in Mothwing Mountain Mimicry or the new GORE OPTIFADE pattern.

Posted in: Client News, Design, Fishing, Hunting, Technology

Form vs. Function and PR 2.0

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shoebox

Molded pulp shoebox - cool design, but not sustainable to produce.

Newton Running has recently been featured in dozens of environmental and packaging blogs (yes, blogs about packaging) with a story about their cool, eco-friendly, molded pulp shoeboxes. The story reached a fever pitch with a re-post on treehugger.com.

One problem though, Newton never actually produced those shoeboxes.

Turns out Newton’s ad agency submitted the shoebox to several design awards, and won. The box was also featured in the uber-cool Communication Arts magazine.

As is often the case, Newton learned that the ‘green design’ of the pulp shoe box was not very sustainable to produce. Not only were the pulp boxes significantly more expensive to make, but they are produced far from the footwear factory and they would dramatically increase overall freight costs because they do not stack in containers, warehouses or retail stores efficiently.

Newton has instead developed a new rectangular shoebox that is produced from 100% post consumer waste and uses soy-based inks. The new packaging is easy to store and ship, it’s lightweight and it’s easy to break down and recycle. Rather than tissue paper, they’re using recycled cardboard inserts (scraps from the box die-cut) to protect the shoes.

New suistainable shoebox

New sustainable shoebox

In an old PR model, all the coverage of the award-winning pulp shoebox would fit under the heading of “any publicity is good publicity.” Sure, Newton could have issued a correction in a press release, but it’s unlikely anyone would have picked it up. However, in the world of 2.0, where news is featured on blogs, forums and twitter posts, we were able to respond to this story in real-time. We set about posting comments on any site that featured the pulp shoebox story, explaining Newton’s decision to use a recycled, rectangular box, and directed them to the Newton blog for the whole story. This resulted in numerous online discussions, several new, accurate stories like this, a spike in traffic on the Newton blog and at least two interviews with Newton reps for editorial features in traditional media outlets.

Is your PR ready to step outside the box?

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Client News, Colorado, Design, Environment, Fishing \ Tagged: , , , ,