My most vivid memories from childhood days spent roaming the farm involve both horses and horsepower. My two older brothers and I had horses to call our own, and a Suzuki Quad-Runner 50 that we shared – oftentimes with two of us perched at the picnic table with a stopwatch, one of Mom’s safety and sanity mechanisms. Those days were the best, and God-willing, one day when I have a family and my own corner of land, my kids will get the chance to enjoy something as much as my brothers and I enjoyed our quad-running ways.

But just like anything, quad-runners and other ATVs can cause problems. David A. Lien recently wrote an editorial that was published in the Duluth News Tribune titled “Overuse of ATVs Threatens Backcountry Hunting.” That link will lead you to the article, only you may have to pay to read it, so I’ll briefly summarize.

Lien, a big-game hunter and lifetime member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and the acting chairman of Minnesota Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, argues for common-sense off-road law enforcement and management practices. This includes limiting the number of public lands that are off-road vehicle accessible. The Department of Natural Resources did just that recently by closing some motorized routes in the Cloquet Valley State Forest, leaving 80 percent of the forest’s routes open to motorized use.

Honestly, it’s nice having motorized access to hunting and fishing grounds; driving out to field dress big game, emergency use, etc. The key is being responsible. On private land, it’s the landowner or a person who the landowner gave permission to (at least it had better be) that is operating with or without an ORV. It’s fairly simple to take the same route, park in a place that doesn’t harm wildlife habitat and responsibly access hunting and fishing lands with little adverse effect.

But on public lands, it’s an entirely different animal. Unlimited ORV access threatens habitat, private land access on surrounding properties (poaching and trespassing and all it encompasses) and fair chase ethics. Also, animals that once had an advantage on rough terrain now are at a disadvantage, and that threatens hunting access. These things combined are a threat to hunting opportunity in general.

I know I’d feel pretty discouraged if I didn’t have access to those public lands in western Kansas that are renowned for bird hunting.

Lien, in one paragraph wrote, “Hunting is more than a form of outdoor recreation. You don’t hear participants of other outdoors pursuits, even the most avid of participants, talking about our skiing heritage, boating heritage, bird-watching heritage, ATV-riding heritage or other heritages the way hunters talk about the hunting heritage. Our hunting heritage is separated from all other outdoor endeavors because hunting requires and imposes ethical standards on its participants.”

Same goes for fishing.

The actions of reckless individuals have heightened awareness nationwide, and 39 states have considered legislation to deal with reckless ORV use. Check your state at Responsible Trails America.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Vladimir Kolobov

Since shooting a deer around Thanksgiving, I’ve been eating a lot of venison, and now I can’t wait to try to make my own deer jerky. Be it tenderloin, deer chops or some other cut, the meat has all been incredibly tender and tasty. Being an antler guy, I’d trade it all for a huge rack on the wall, but the quality of the meat from the young buck I took makes me wholeheartedly thankful nonetheless.

When it comes to fish and game, I love to cook it. It’s a great feeling to grill or fry up some game or fish that I’ve harvested myself and share it with the people I love, especially when they like it. I recently asked my fiance to be my wife over masterfully done backstraps, baked potatoes and sweet corn. I only say masterfully done because it worked, so I'll have faith in that meal for some time to come.

From time to time, I hear people talk about how they don’t like venison, or fresh fish, and I can’t help but think, Well, you’ve never had the backstraps from a doe, or, you’ve never had a crappie fillet in the spring. Cooking good fish and game is something I take great pride in – most of all because in my mind it substantiates my belief that I don’t hunt or fish only because I love the actual hunt. I also love the outcome, the practical use and sustenance I get from the animal I’m after. Making it taste good is a big part of the provident feeling.

So when an advertiser brought over some Clem's Seasonings samples, I immediately knew I had some ground venison in my freezer that has Clem’s name on it. I even got a drying rack. The seasoning itself is rather inexpensive; you can season 15 pounds of meat using one seasoning packet that sells for $6. Drying screens are also affordable; around $5 per screen.

Honestly, I’ve been searching for an easy jerky-making process for some years, both for beef jerky and deer jerky, and I hope this is it. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Anybody have a favorite already? Or has anyone tried Clem’s in the past?