With more than 50 million hunters saying they've hunted in the past two years, it's not surprising that a new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that U.S. hunters set a new record in hunting license, tag and stamp sales in 2005.

  The total sales for licenses, tags and stamps in 2005 were more than $723 million.

  "When you see numbers like these it's evident that conservation and hunting heritage efforts are making an impact," said Rob Keck, National Wild Turkey Federation CEO. "It also emphasizes that we must continue these efforts, to ensure the future of hunting and the wildlife and habitat that make our heritage so special to millions of Americans."

  In a new survey commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and conducted by independent firm Responsive Management, 19 percent of Americans--more than 50 million people--said they've hunted in the past two years.

  The new figures show 14.5 million Americans purchased a license in 2005 compared to 14.7 million the previous year.

  Depending on local laws, non-licensed hunters may include:

  1. Young hunters who aren't yet required to buy a license.

  2. Hunters at wing-shooting and other game preserves.

  3. Landowners hunting on their own property.

  4. Lessees hunting on land where they reside.

  5. Active duty military on leave.

  6. Citizens who hunt only on free hunting days.

  7. Senior citizens no longer required to buy a license.

  "Every hunter is an important asset to the firearm and hunting industry, but the number of license buyers is also significant because that's who contributes the most to habitat restoration, wildlife management and other conservation programs. Special excise taxes on guns and ammunition generated more than $224 million in 2005, but license sales more than tripled that amount," said Doug Painter, president of NSSF.

  Sales totals have risen steadily in recent years, while licensed hunter numbers have risen in two of the past seven years.

  Painter said fluctuations are tied to fee increases, game populations, weather and many other factors. However, since peaking in the mid-1980s, hunting participation has been trending downward, challenged mostly by loss of land access and recreational time.

  However, there are programs to help offset these challenges. For example, Families Afield, a program of the NWTF, NSSF and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, works to take down legal barriers such as hunting age restrictions and delay coursework mandates. It is these organizations belief that parents, not politics, should decide the appropriate hunting age of their children. Ultimately, Families Afield seeks to send more new hunters than ever to hunter education classes.

  "Young hunters are the future of conservation, and by removing barriers at the state level, we're ensuring our hunting heritage remains strong," said Keck. "The hunting and conservation tradition could be lost if we don't instill in them the love of the outdoors at an early age. Getting them hooked on hunting at an early age will make them appreciative of the hunting tradition, increase hunter retention and ensure the future of conservation."

  The new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data on hunting license buyers comes as comparatively good news for 25 states that performed better than the national average.

  Highlights include Tennessee, which added over 45,000 new hunters for a gain of 8.1 percent. Arizona, South Dakota and South Carolina also enjoyed large increases in numbers of licensed hunters.

  For more information about 2005 license sales or the NWTF, call (800) THE-NWTF.

  Should you find yourself stranded in a remote area with your vehicle and you are not sure where you are or where the nearest house or town is located. As everyone knows by now, it's usually best to stay with your vehicle and wait for help to come to you. But after waiting 24 hours and no one has yet come to your rescue, then here's what you can do to increase your chances of being rescued.

  1) Just as James Kim did, start burning one rubber tire per day starting at day break so that the black smoke can be seen during daylight. If the car tire burns out before night fall, don't burn another rubber tire until the next day. But instead build three separate wood fires as this will increase your chances of being seen from the air and means HELP is needed.

  2) Like with a whistle and gunshots, three blasts of a car horn and a pause between [3 x beeps] also means HELP is needed. But don't keep blasting the car horn until your battery becomes weak, just every so often and remember to start the vehicle once in a while to keep the battery charged. That is if the vehicle's engine and electrical system is still operational.

  3) If it's a sunny day, remove either the rearview mirror or one of the side view mirrors from your car and go to the nearest highest ground or hill that allows you to see in all directions and then flash the mirror in all directions trying to get someone to notice your flashes and black tire smoke. If there is no high ground or hill, then climb the nearest, tallest tree. If you should hear and see an aircraft flying way overhead or at a long distance away, still make every effort to try to signal it. Because even if it's not an aircraft out searching for you, they may have seen your flashes and black smoke and thought it was nothing. But maybe next day or a few days later the pilot will read in a newspaper or hear on the news that someone is lost in a remote area that he past over a day or two ago and will say to himself, "Hmmm, maybe that black smoke and flashes I saw the other day was that lost person...."

  4) Just before dark remove the car battery, one car headlight and some wires from your vehicle that don't have anything to do with the car's ignition system, like some wires located in the truck section of your vehicle. Then carry these items again to the nearest highest ground or hill, build yourself a fire and then hook up the car headlight to the battery with the wire. And then start blinking the headlight in all directions in increments of three blinks and a pause which also means HELP is needed. But don't continue to do this all night long, just for an hour or two as most people who live in remote areas are most likely to have gone to bed by 10 or 11 pm. Plus you don't want to kill the battery as you will need to use it to restart your vehicle so you can recharge the battery for another possible night(s). That is...if you still have some fuel remaining in your vehicle and the engine is still operational.

  So what do you think? Make sense? Good idea? You bet! If you like these tips, visit my site www.therangerdigest.com for more. Thanks, "Ranger Rick" F. Tscherne, US Army, Retired (1972-93)

  "Ranger Rick" F. Tscherne is the author of The Ranger Digest Series (I - IX) and the developer of Special Ops Survival (SOS) Kits. For more information on these and all of Ranger Rick’s products, visit: www.therangerdigest.com and www.sositalia-usa.com.

  People who own or rent a boat enjoy being on the water. It doesn't make any difference whether it is cruise on a river in a motorboat or rowing a simple boat on a quiet pond. The combination of water, sunshine, and the company of friends makes for a delightfully pleasant time.

  Whatever your taste in water transportation, managing a boat can be exhilarating and challenging. But if you're the one in charge of steering, renting, or navigating the vessel, it is important to follow a few basic safety rules and be sure that your passengers do likewise.

  1) First and foremost, the concept of don't drink and drive applies to the water as well. The person in charge of the boat must not drink before or during the boat trip. In reality, no one onboard should be drinking while out on the water. Most boating accidents can be blamed on alcohol impairing the judgment of the pilot in command of the boat. No one on board should be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

  2) State boating laws require that there is a life preserver on board for every passenger. Before leaving the dock, make sure that all life preservers are indeed on board and that everyone knows where they are located. If there are children on board make certain that there is a child's life preserver of the correct size for each child.

  3) Everyone on board has come on the boating trip for a good time. Be sure to remind passengers to behave prudently. It is tempting to feel free on the water and engage in foolish behavior, perhaps even to give in to the temptation to push someone overboard. The dangers of reckless behavior on a boat are obvious.

  4) Observe boat safety laws for that body of water. Most rivers, lakes, or seaways post specific rules of usage for their areas, including speed limit and maneuvering regulations for various types of craft. Familiarize yourself with these rules and hold to them to keep from getting cited or hurting someone.

  5) Keep an eye on the weather. Storms can come up suddenly while you're on the water, and sometimes you cannot make it back to port before one hits. Have an emergency plan for a heavy storm, including lightening strike prevention, swamping, or flipping over. Check your radio to be sure it works properly in case you need it for a weather or accident-related emergency.

  Boating can be enjoyable no matter what boat you have. Keeping safety in mind while boating will keep any outing enjoyable.

  Marian Contagio is the owner of For Boating, which is the premier resource for everything about boating. For questions or comments about this article, please visit: http://www.forboating.com

  Sometimes you wish the end of the story was something that just fades away, becoming a non-issue that never resurfaces. Such was my hopes for my skunk problem of a few days ago. Alas, it was not to be.

  After three nights and one near miss, that odious varmint that sought refuge under my house appeared to have vacated for less dangerous climes. I could not have been happier as I dismantled the brilliantly engineered skunk chute (It was never a skunk funnel as my wife claimed!), stowing the parts back in my storage building. Up went the flashing across the bottom of the house vent and finally the vent panel itself. End of story, right?

  Hmm, no.

  When I bought my home back in 1990, I had four towering Hackberries to the east of my house and three statuesque grand Pecans on the north side. These trees added a cool shade and quite comfortable air to the entire piece of property. The pecans still stand, elder giants reaching for the sky. The hackberries, on the other hand, took turns seeing which one could fall on my house! They met their demise in ice storms, cracking near the base where the inherently soft-hearted hardwoods tumbled straight for my home, just missing it with an angled shot or not quite being able to reach the house with enough of its weight to actually break something.

  One of them even split in half and just the side toward my house fell and while it touched the siding, it did no real damage. Hackberries have the will for mischief, but just not the stomach to actually go through with a real house smashing thank goodness.

  The last full tree fell in October prior to muzzleloader season. Like a good husband I assured my wife I would work over that tree posthaste, just as soon as deer season was over. All of the seasons. So here I am in March, a few days after the last day of deer season, cutting up this gargantuan hackberry that seemed to only be a few steps away from being the size of a red wood along the coast of California.

  A brush pile in my backyard waited to be burned and I had started pulling brush to the pile when I noticed a pair of dark beady eyes peering at me from within the brush. Malignant eyes, full of feral hatred and harboring recent memories of being evicted stared at me. If they had been human, they would have been criminal.

  I froze listening to the pat-pat-pat of his back foot, knowing from the lessons taught to me by my grandfathers that he was within seconds of spraying whatever threatened him! I stood motionless; the patting getting faster and faster until I realized it wasn’t his foot stamping the ground. It was the blood in my ears as my heart raced at this closeness to such a vile creature as this skunk. Seeking a large chunk of wood I tossed it on the wood pile screaming and running away from the pile in an attempt to educate the skunk in the actions I wished it to take!!

  He did not move and I swear he actually backed up!

  Determined to roust this skunk I threw a large chunk of tree trunk above him and in his best Bruce Willis rendition, the skunk exploded from his hiding place. Pieces of wood sailed everywhere.

  Strictly in the competitive nature of the challenge I foot raced this skunk across the back yard, me peeling to the left and heading around the house, the skunk peeling to the right and running right under my storage building. Yep, the same storage building on a peer and beam foundation, small cracks in the hard wood and housing the very traps, bait and steel chute pieces I used against him before.

  I noticed my neighbor sitting in his yard propped against a tree laughing so hard he could not stand. He has no appreciation for my respect for wildlife.

  He did not understand this lesson learned, but I am sure many of you will.

  1) The speed of a charging skunk is directly relative to how close you are too him.

  2) A high pitched yell (some say scream) emitted just prior to leaving your starting gate is ineffective in slowing down your opponent.

  3) Skunks are not slow-witted ambling creatures, but vicious animals, fleet of foot and devious in their abilities to plot mayhem in your yard.

  4) Throwing whatever you have in your hands (jettisoning all baggage) may not slow your opponents charge, but it does reduce wind friction as you build up speed.

  5) Don't battle a skunk in your back yard with a witness just across the street.

  I am not sure what I am going to do now, but I think I may go buy a can of sardines and entice my friend Donnie into going in the storage building to get that trap. Every man has his price!