XMAS EVE, EVE.  A day away from the big mid-week holiday and the best gift is the stable conditions setting up for Christmas travel and time in the field or on the ice.  We check out some info from our favorite NGOs in the wild world as we head into the holiday homestretch as part of our Outdoors Roundup.

Featured Photo:  BLITZEN.  A young whitetail buck makes his way across a field. Simonson Photo.

WEATHER (Bismarck Forecast):
Today:  Mon 12/23 – Cloudy – Hi 28, Lo 23, Wind SE@7
Tomorrow:  Tue 12/24 – Easy Eve – Hi 27, Lo 21, Wind L&V

SOLUNAR (Bismarck Times):

Sunrise        Sunset
8:26AM        4:58PM

Moonrise         Moonset          Overhead                Underfoot
5:31AM           3:20PM           10:29AM            10:56PM

Moon Phase:  Waning Crescent (9% Full)

EDGE HOUR:  2:20-3:20PM.  Kick off your afternoon outing with moonset and calm conditions in our Edge Hour.

DAY RATING:

OUTDOORS ROUNDUP:

SNACKING.  Pheasants Forever shares a post on converting a season’s worth of birds into some snack sticks that probably won’t make the new year. For do-it-yourself sausage makers, it should be a breeze!

A SEASON PAST.  A Ruffed Grouse Society post details the decline of New Jersey grouse hunting and the emergency closure of the season due to low population numbers resulting from unmanaged forests.

ROCKING IT.  The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation details its expansive reach in opening up access and improving habitat in 2019. Along with research projects advancing herd health, RMEF has opened access to thousands of acres and preserved thousands more for wildlife across the country in the past year.