The crowd at the July 4th parade gets out of hand in North Anson; three Maine game wardens are among the law enforcement officers who respond.

A Prentis man allegedly sets a fire marshal’s car on fire; game wardens answer the call.

A Rockland man suspected of assault escapes in a kayak; sheriff deputies seek assistance from game wardens who are already on the lake policing the Concert on the Cobbossee.

An elderly woman wanders off from a retirement community in Hamden; game wardens arrive with a couple of dogs and a boat to search the nearby river.

When Randy Cross appeared a few years ago on Wildfire, the TV talk show hosted by Harry Vanderweide and me, he rolled up his sleeves to show viewers his scars. Each one came with a story about a captured bear. Cross is a great storyteller, and he has lots of stories to tell!

It’s a great time to be a birdwatcher in Maine. From the release of a spectacular new bird identification guide, to creation of a new eBird server, there’s a ton of information available to get you started on a great new outdoor experience or to serve your expanding interest in birding.

Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has begun publishing an informative weekly report available by email or on the department's Web site. (Short of funds, the department is unable to mail it to you.)

The weekly report is full of interesting information with special sections from the Wildlife and Fisheries Divisions, the Warden Service, and the Commissioner’s Office, plus a section of photos.

Two words come to mind when I think of Sandy Ritchie: passion and integrity.

Sure, Sandy has brought exceptional organizational skills to every task she’s been assigned during her thirty-year career at Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. But it’s her passion for her work as a wildlife biologist, and her integrity, that have made her a star in that agency.

And it’s obvious she loves her job. “If I didn’t have a mortgage I’d have done this job for free,” she told me.

The tiny Central American country of Costa Rica could teach Maine a few things.

Two million tourists a year drive the Costa Rican economy that employs half the working population. Their environment is their economy. Where have we heard that before?

In April Linda and I visited Costa Rica for the first time, staying at the vacation home that Bruce and Peggy Bornstein of Wayne, Maine, built high above the Pacific Ocean in Nosara.

If you aren’t feasting on chanterelle mushrooms right now, you’re missing one of summer’s best treats.

As Greg Marley reports in his book Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2010, $17.95), “summer’s true arrival cannot be acknowledged until the first chanterelle’s poke warm golden caps from beneath their leafy cover.”

Good news for boaters. The legislature rejected a bill to require boaters to take a safety course and pass a test before taking to the water in their motor boats.

Although the House faced a very crowded agenda on the afternoon of June 7, they entertained a 45 minute debate over the boating course bill before killing it by a lopsided vote.

The legislature has rejected similar bills several times in the past. I remember one session when a high-powered national boating expert testified for a mandatory safety course bill.

Birds and brook trout define my Maine and Ted Koffman’s Maine, too.

Wading down Nesowadnehunk Stream on the edge of Baxter Park one morning to reach a favorite pool full of colorful brook trout, I heard the familiar song of a Yellow Throated Warbler.

Since adding birding to my outdoor adventures, I always have binoculars strapped to my chest. But as I glanced to the right, looking for the warbler, the binoculars weren’t needed. The bird was in a low bush right on the edge of the stream.

A free Maine saltwater angler registry may take its final step to enactment on June 7 in the Senate, after the Maine House of Representatives set aside a spirited and stubborn attempt by Rep. Jon McCain to derail it.

The House gave final approval to the free registry bill on June 6. The Senate endorsed the bill in several earlier votes, so the final vote there is a sure thing.