ROQUE BLUFFS, ME (AP)— The stench from piles of dead herring stretching hundreds of yards along the shore of Sanford Cove has forced residents of this coastal community to shut their homes tight.

The fish started washing ashore a week ago, and the Maine Marine Patrol is investigating the cause of the mass fish death.

"We're not used to this,'' said Vicki Kelley, whose parents own a golf course across the road from the cove. "It makes you want to move.''

Lucille Sinford, her mother, said the stink has hurt business.

"Yesterday, our golfers started leaving,'' Sinford said. "We never have an odor off the clam flats. It's always been so clean.''

MILFORD STATE PARK, KS (KDWP)- Are cardboard boats seaworthy? The question will be answered Aug. 18th at the Extreme Outdoor Water Festival at Milford State Park. Activities will take place at the South Boat ramp from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and include a triathlon, games for kids, courtesy boat inspections, canoe and kayak paddling, and a "Float Your Boat" race.

In the Float Your Boat race, teams will build cardboard boats and see if they will not only float, but carry a crew. Age categories for two-person teams are seven through nine, plus one person older than 18; 10 through 12, plus one person older than 18; 13 through 17; 19 and older.

Construction of boats is simple. The only materials allowed are cardboard, which may be waxed, and packing and/or duct tape. Teams will be required to negotiate a set course using only oars for power. All team members will be required to

(PR Newswire) – MyOutdoorTV.com, the world’s largest internet video network for outdoor television shows, radio, video, and conservation information, announces the official launch of its website, complete with a state-of-the-art, searchable video player and programming by many of the top names in outdoor television.  The official launch caps a year of development in beta version and venture capital investment funding of the website created by three cable television veterans from the former The Nashville Network (TNN).

Currently streaming over 70 outdoor television titles, MyOutdoorTV.com features programming hosted by such outdoor legends as Hank Parker, Mark Sosin, Jimmy Houston, Larry Csonka, Roland Martin, Babe Winkelman, and many others. In addition, it includes over a dozen radio shows and links to more than 150 outdoor blogs.  It allows on-demand viewing worldwide of more than 1400 half-hour national and regional shows by anyone with a high-speed internet connection.

MyOutdoorTV.com was created by three pioneers in outdoor television, the team that developed and launched outdoor programming for TNN.  David Hall was co-founder and President of TNN and CMT. Under his direction, TNN grew to be a top-10 

Fort Worth, TX- You don't need to know how to flip a bait, cast a fly, blast a clay pigeon or even draw an arrow to enjoy the great outdoors or the good times the Sportsmen's Foundation's will roll out on September 21, 2007, for its Sportsmen's Celebration at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

This one-of-a kind event celebrating National Hunting and Fishing Day will feature a wild game dinner and country music concert showcasing the talents of outdoor enthusiasts. Event ticket sales, auctions, sweepstakes and a Vegas style casino will help fund educational programs to foster a greater appreciation for our Texas outdoor heritage.

"This will be the 36th Annual National Hunting and Fishing Day," said Shane Johnson, event chairman and president of The Sportsmen's Foundation, a national 501C-3 non-profit organization based in Texas. "The day was established by Congress in 1971, but today few celebrate it and that is something our organization and others are going to change," he added.

AUGUSTA, Maine (IFW News)– With the discovery of the aquatic nuisance algae known commonly as “didymo” or “rock snot” on the Vermont/New Hampshire Border in the Connecticut River, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection are alerting boaters, anglers, kayakers, canoeists and others to take action to prevent this new invasive threat to Maine’s waters.

The confirmed discovery in Bloomfield, Vermont is the first official report of Didymosphenia geminata in the Northeastern United States.

Didymo can form extensive ‘blooms’ on the bottoms of rocky river beds, essentially smothering aquatic life forms such as macroinvertebrates (aquatic insects), native algae, and other organisms. Additionally, the physical appearance of the bloom is aesthetically unpleasing, and can reduce the recreational values of a waterbody. Didymo uses stalks to attach to rocks and plants in a river system. The diatom creates these stalks, which can form masses 10-12 inches thick on the river bottom, and trail for lengths of 2-3 feet in the current.

OLYMPIA, WA (WDFW)- After a bout of nasty weather, anglers are back on the water throughout western Washington, making the most of mid-summer fisheries for salmon, hatchery steelhead, trout and crab.  Pink salmon are moving into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and anglers fishing off the coast are averaging nearly 1.5 salmon - mostly chinook and hatchery coho - per rod.

On the east side of the Cascades, bass and walleye fishing at the Potholes Reservoir has been nearly as hot as the midday sun.  But anglers casting for trout and other fish that prefer cooler waters will likely have better luck fishing in the early mornings and evenings so long as the summer heat continues.

Then again, "summer" is nearly over on the Columbia River, at least as far as fishing seasons are concerned.  Starting Aug. 1, several areas of the big river and its tributaries will reopen to salmon fishing, marking the beginning of fall season.

MADISON (WDNR)– For the third year in a row, relatively mild winter weather across the north is expected to result in high level of survival and good reproductive rates in white-tailed deer, according to state wildlife biologists. They estimate that the Wisconsin whitetail population will be between 1.6 and 1.8 million animals this fall.

Each winter Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologists across the north record weather data to establish what is called the Winter Severity Index (WSI). Temperature and snow depth are the main components of the index as they have a direct impact on white-tailed deer over-winter survival and reproductive rates the following spring.

The WSI is calculated by adding points. One point is scored for each day with a minimum temperature of zero degrees Fahrenheit or less and one point for each day with 18 inches or more of snow on the ground. If both conditions exist, a day can total two points. Scores are taken at 32 stations across northern Wisconsin between Dec. 1 and April 30.

(NDGF)- The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has received a prestigious international award from leaders of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Called the National Great Blue Heron Award, it recognizes significant contributions to waterfowl and wetland conservation. Gov. John Hoeven was on hand to accept the award from Paul Schmidt, an assistant director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last week during a special presentation in Bismarck.

“We’re extremely proud of our wildlife, and very proud of the work Game and Fish does,” Hoeven told a gathering of NAWMP officials. “All the Game and Fish staff are passionate about what they do, and I think that’s why they’re so successful with these programs.”

(TPWD) AUSTIN, Texas — New hunting and fishing licenses for 2007-08 will be available beginning Wednesday, Aug. 15, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is encouraging hunters to buy early and avoid the rush heading into the Sept. 1 dove season opener.

“If you wait until the Friday before the dove season opener, you’re probably going to be standing in line to buy a license,” said Tom Newton with TPWD’s licensing section. “Last year, we sold nearly 350,000 licenses during the four-day period around the opening weekend of dove season. It takes an average of five minutes to process a license sale transaction, so it’s likely there will be delays if you wait ‘til the last minute.”

Newton said a little planning could save hunters a lot of time in the checkout line. “It’s like planning your morning commute; you can sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic or you can

(ESPNOutdoors.com) STILLWATER, MN— The STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series Championships returned to an area rich in lumberjack history. The town of Stillwater has a proud tradition in lumber that dates back to the 1880's when this bustling mill town supplied all the wood for the Midwest expansion.

During the days of the lumber camps that lined the river, lumberjacks would come up with contests that would test their logging skills. Most of the games we have today were born in this area, according to Roger Phelps, STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series Tournament Director.

Matt Gouras and AP

HELENA, MT - The Public Service Commission's staff has recommended another look at an Australian company's bid to buy NorthWestern Energy.

The commission will decide next week whether to reopen the case, Chairman Greg Jergeson said Thursday. The commission had tentatively rejected the proposal by Babcock & Brown Infrastructure and was poised to make that final, when the company revised its offer.