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Author Steven T. Callan signing books for Wintu Audubon Society members

January 14, 2015

in Appearances, Presentations, and Book Signings

Presentation at Wintu Audubon Society

Signing books for Wintu Audubon Society members. Photo by Kathy Callan.

Last night I had the pleasure and privilege of giving a presentation to a packed house of Wintu Audubon Society members. In addition to discussing my current book and the upcoming sequel, The Game Warden’s Son—A Half Century of Protecting California’s Wildlife, we shared ideas about how our natural resources might be better protected. One of the suggestions for helping to finance more wardens in the field was a voluntary wildlife stamp for people who bird watch, hike, and enjoy nature’s wonders but don’t necessarily hunt or fish. This is an excellent idea, in my opinion, and one that would find favor, I believe, with sportsmen, nature enthusiasts, and game wardens alike.

Waterfowl at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

December 26, 2014

in Fish and Wildlife

by Steve

For the Love of Ducks

Waterfowl taking flight at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Photo by author.

With the north wind blowing off snow-covered Mount Shasta, it was brutally cold that December afternoon in 1960. Sitting in the back seat of our family car, I spotted an enormous flock of snow-white birds feeding in the grain field on the west side of the highway.

Photo of spawning male Chinook salmon by Steven T. Callan

November 19, 2014

in Fish and Wildlife

by Steve

Splashing Salmon and Giant Sycamores

Spawning male Chinook salmon. Photo by author.

I’m sometimes asked if I had any favorite places to work during my twenty-one years supervising the warden force in western Shasta County. Lower Battle Creek immediately comes to mind—especially the tree-lined section from the mouth, where Battle Creek flows into the Sacramento River, to the barrier weir at Coleman National Fish Hatchery.

One of the largest trees on Earth: Old-growth redwood in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California

October 9, 2014

in Outdoor Adventures

by Steve

Tall Trees and Emerald Waters

One of the largest trees on Earth: Old-growth redwood in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California. Photo by author.

Kathy and I recently attended the Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC) fall conference on the aptly-named Wild Rivers Coast. Stretching from Port Orford, Oregon to Klamath, California, the Wild Rivers Coast is 101 miles of incredibly beautiful coastline. Eight of America’s most renowned salmon and steelhead streams course through this magical land of tall trees and spectacular seascapes: the Sixes, Elk, Rogue, Pistol, Chetco, Winchuck, Smith, and Klamath Rivers. For an outdoor enthusiast who loves to write, paint, fish, kayak, bird watch, and walk on the beach, this may have been as close to nirvana as I will ever come.

Great egret feeding on small fish and snails in kelp beds off Lovers Point, Pacific Grove, California

September 7, 2014

in Fish and Wildlife

by Steve

Above the Canopy

Great egret feeding on small fish and snails in kelp beds off Lovers Point, Pacific Grove, California. Photo by author.

Having had the pleasure and privilege of diving in California’s kelp forests from San Diego to Monterey, I would describe it as a surreal, almost religious experience—witnessing underwater cathedrals rising a hundred feet from the ocean floor to the surface canopy—bathed in dappled sunlight and teeming with life of every shape and color. Giant kelp provides food and shelter for literally thousands of mammal, bird, fish, and invertebrate species. Until recently, I hadn’t realized that it also provides an abundance of wildlife habitat above the canopy.

Author Steven T. Callan with Warden Ryan Hanson in front of the Fish and Wildlife Patrol Boat Bluefin

July 6, 2014

in Appearances, Presentations, and Book Signings

by Steve

My Interview on NPR’s “Journeys of Discovery”

The author with Warden Ryan Hanson in front of the Fish and Wildlife patrol boat Bluefin. Photo by Thomas C. Wilmer

What an honor it was to be interviewed in Morro Bay by Tom Wilmer, the illustrious host of National Public Radio’s hit program, “Journeys of Discovery.” The show will be broadcast this Wednesday, July 9, at 1:00 or 1:15 PM, throughout Central California, on NPR affiliates KCBX, KSBX, and KNBX. It will also air worldwide at the same time on KCBX.org.

Steven T. Callan at the helm of the Fish and Game Patrol Boat Marlin

June 26, 2014

in Fish and Wildlife

by Steve

Those Amazing Elephant Seals

Author at the helm of the Fish and Game patrol boat Marlin, 1959. Photo by Wallace Callan

My first opportunity to see a northern elephant seal was in October of 1959, as an excited eleven-year-old passenger aboard the Fish and Game Patrol Boat Marlin. My father, California Fish and Game Warden Wally Callan, was the Marlin’s rookie boarding officer, responsible for patrolling California’s offshore waters from the Mexican border to Point Conception. The previous summer, he had returned from a patrol to San Nicolas and Santa Barbara Islands with tales of the massive elephant seals he had seen hauled up on some of the isolated beaches. I hoped to see those amazing creatures for myself on what was to be the ocean adventure of a lifetime.

Blog

Presentation at Wintu Audubon Society

For the Love of Ducks

Splashing Salmon and Giant Sycamores

Tall Trees and Emerald Waters

Above the Canopy

My Interview on NPR’s “Journeys of Discovery”

Those Amazing Elephant Seals

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