Outdoor Adventure USA

National Preparedness Month


The "Be Prepared" slogan may be old, but never out of date. Way too many things are happening right now that make it clear, even to the most optimistic, that it is not only wise, but mandatory, to have (or start) preparing for emergencies and disasters. Included in these reasons are food shortages, energy shortages, alarming inflation, weather related problems, fires, etc.

September is National Preparedness Month, and we want to use this net to highlight the need to get your preps in order, or start if your haven't done so already. Our good friend, Rick, KK6CTT, will lead the discussion, and we encourage all who can contribute, to do so, and for those who may want to start or improve their preparedness, to participate.

ANNOUNCEMENT


BORREGO FEST 2023 is about three weeks away. All details, including sign-ups, are here: https://forums.oausa.net/viewtopic.php?f=225&t=4526

Shooting Shack

• Something to be proud of while remaining aware of continuing pressure (legislation) that oppresses those who chose to participate!

From the National Shooting Sports Foundation: https://www.nssf.org/wp-content/uploads ... tsheet.pdf

In the early 1900s, when many wildlife species were dwindling in numbers or disappearing, the firearms and ammunition industry stepped forward and asked Congress to impose an excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition products to help fund wildlife conservation in the United States. The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act (PR)) became law in 1937. The revenue generated from the excise tax is apportioned to state wildlife agencies for conservation efforts, hunter’s education and shooting projects and programs.

Since the program’s inception, $12.5 billion has been collected from manufacturers and awarded to states through PR making the firearms and ammunition industry America’s largest contributor to conservation and access. Over the past 75 years, PR revenue has helped to rebuild the population of numerous species and extend their ranges farther than they were in the 1930s.

The excise tax is set at 11% of the wholesale price for long guns and ammunition and 10% of the wholesale price for handguns. The excise tax applies basically to all commercial sales and imports whether their purpose is for shooting, hunting or personal defense and is paid by manufacturers, producers and importers. The tax is currently administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in the Department of the Treasury, match at least 25% of a project’s cost.

The remainder of the trust fund is then divided in half with 50% allocated in proportion to the area of the state and 50% in proportion to the number of paid hunting licenses in the state relative to paid hunting licenses in the entire country.

Nation Public Radio (NPR) did an expose in 2018 recognizing there are fewer sportsmen and with the lowering numbers of sportsmen's dollars the amount of conservation dollars will also be reduced. https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/59300180 ... nservation

A new survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that today, only about 5 percent of Americans, 16 years old and older, actually hunt. That's half of what it was 50 years ago and the decline is expected to accelerate over the next decade.

"Who goes and sits in the woods all day except hunters?" Wipperfurth says. "If hunting didn't exist, who'd know that the squirrel population is down, that a windstorm knocked all these trees down - who'd know all of that stuff? Because we're the ones out here seeing all of it."

The latest numbers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that 86 million Americans participated in wildlife watching in 2016. That was a 20 percent increase from just five years previous. The number of people enjoying outdoor recreation is increasing as well.

"We need to find ways for the rest of those folks, who are canoeing and cross country skiing and biking and going to the park to contribute as well," Huston says.

There have been efforts to tax outdoor equipment like sleeping bags, tents and binoculars. Some in the wildlife management world joke about an "REI Tax," a reference to the chic outdoor retailer.

Those efforts have failed though, in large part because of opposition from the outdoor industry, which argues that it already pays billions of dollars in taxes through import tariffs. That revenue should be used to adequately fund conservation, says the Outdoor Industry Association, a trade group that represents retailers like Patagonia and The North Face.

Don't want to read the article, here's a video, but the article is better with more statistics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOvCpxjr0h0&t=1s

Gear Review:

o List your priority of the following items:

• Everyday carry items

• Food

• Water

• Shelter

• First Aid Kit

• Tauma Kit

• Personal Security

• Communication

o Please feel free to contribute items you believe are necessity, provide comfort or well suited to the topic..."hiding in plain sight" items you would not always think about. Often cost ratio to usefulness makes for an interesting and enlightening discussion.


Ready.gov checklist: https://www.ready.gov/kit
Ready.gov make a plan: https://www.ready.gov/kit

CDC suggested family scavenger hunt: https://www.cdc.gov/childrenindisasters ... html#print

o An emergency kit has all of the things that you and your family may need during an emergency in which you may have to stay inside for longer than usual or the electricity could go out. Making a family emergency kit can be fun for the family to do together. Here’s how to have a family emergency kit treasure hunt:

• You will need a large plastic bin or box to put things into.

• Answer the following questions to guide your treasure hunt.

• Check items off the list as you put them into your emergency kit box.

• Place an updated copy of your checklist inside your large plastic bin or box once your kit is put together to know what is inside the kit and to know where you can always find your checklist.

Reasons to prepare:

o Risk assessment and mitigation; the "All Hazards" approach. See your Local Hazard Mitigation Plan!

• City of Riverside: https://riversideca.gov/fire/divisions/ ... ement/lhmp

• Riverside County: https://rivcoready.org/about-emd/plans/ ... ation-plan

• City of San Bernardino: https://www.sbcity.org/city_hall/police ... ation_plan

• San Bernardino County: https://countywideplan.com/policy-plan/hazards/

• City of Los Angeles: https://emergency.lacity.gov/city-readi ... al-hazards

• Los Angeles County: https://ceo.lacounty.gov/emergencydisas ... d-annexes/

• Orange County: https://ocsheriff.gov/commands-division ... mitigation

o Natural disasters vs. manmade

Proponent agency solutions for "preparedness" are an excellent place to start; like most things, "Start you must..."

o Avoid getting buried, overwhelmed, going "down the rabbit hole" but keep an open mind and become familiar enough with the topic that you can squelch the noise, recognize best practices, make positive changes through economy of resources with high yield.

o Priorities; tools to get you through tough times.

o Adjusted "Rule of Threes" (putting a time on survival necessities).

• 3-Seconds of arterial bleeding [self-annotated]

• 3-Minutes without air

• 3-Hours without shelter (proper protection from the elements in extreme conditions)

• 3-Days without water

• 3-Weeks without food

• 3-Months without positive social interaction [not commonly discussed]

o Plan in depth, "One is none, two is one, three or more evens the score..."

o P-A-C-E

• Primary

• Alternate

• Contingency

• Emergency

Fieldcraft:

• Supplies will dwindle but your ability to overcome logistical issues is heavily dependent on your innate abilities to work through problems both mentally, physically and psychologically.

o Let's discuss some primers below:

• Volunteer opportunities with Community Emergency Response Teams, Red Cross, Emergency Amateur Radio...

• Skills are a bartering commodity

• Go camping, hunting or foraging

• You learned a lot more than you thought while in the Scouts, military other character shaping endeavors

• Learn to tie knots

• Avoid the "sexy" and "Gucci" survivalist mentality

• A root cellar is not common for most, what is your technique?

• Long term food storage

• Manuals and "how to" literature when you can't get it off your tablet or desktop

• Seed bank

• Reading list

Resources and links:

o ARRL ARES Field Resources Manual: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public% ... 0-2019.pdf
o Sources of scanner information:

• Local Radio Stations (for example): AM 640 KFI, AM 1070 KNX, FM 97.1 KNX

• LA County Scanner Frequencies: https://www.radioreference.com/db/browse/ctid/201

• LA County Media Back Channels easily programmed into our ham radios for up to the minute situational awareness: https://www.radioreference.com/db/aid/5826

• OC Scanner Frequencies: Orange County, California (CA) Scanner ... rence.com)

• San Bernardino County Scanner Frequencies: https://www.radioreference.com/db/browse/ctid/218

• Riverside County Scanner Frequencies: https://www.radioreference.com/db/browse/ctid/215

• San Diego County Scanner Frequencies: https://www.radioreference.com/db/browse/ctid/219

Tools:

Check In KC6JGZ

Thanks for early check in, KF6KOC Randy & KF6RGR Becky.