The great outdoors from different perspectives

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Phil “Flip” Akers is a diverse angler and outdoor adventurer. For over 20 years he has backpacked, packed llamas and fly fished the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges, venturing into the farthest reaches of our wilderness areas pursuing quality trout and solitude. He enjoys sharing his experiences including tips, techniques, outdoor cooking recipes, and storytelling. He is certified in wilderness first response and rescue including swiftwater rescue, technical rope and technical animal rescue.

Jim Broshears was born and raised in Northern California and has enjoyed the great outdoors in the State of Jefferson for over 50 years. Jim worked as a firefighter for 35 years and currently owns and manages Trailhead Adventures, an outdoor outfitter store in Paradise CA. Helping others enjoy the beauty of our amazing area is his passion. Jim co-manages a blog, hikingcampingstuff.comthat is dedicated to providing information about hiking and backpacking gear, local adventures and tips on outdoor safety and survival.

Steven T. Callan, a retired California Fish and Game lieutenant, is an award-winning writer and the author of 2013 “Book of the Year” finalist "Badges, Bears, and Eagles -- The True-Life Adventures of a California Fish and Game Warden.” He has earned the 2014, 2015, and 2016 “Best Outdoor Magazine Column” awards from the Outdoor Writers Association of California.  Steve’s sequel, “The Game Warden’s Son,” was recently released by Coffeetown Press of Seattle.  

Steve grew up in the small Northern California farm town of Orland, where he spent his high school years playing baseball, basketball, hunting, and fishing. With an insatiable interest in wildlife, he never missed an opportunity to ride along on patrol with his father, a California Fish and Game warden. Steve went on to graduate from CSU, Chico, and attended graduate school at CSU, Sacramento. Hired by the California Department of Fish and Game in 1974, he began his career as a game warden near the Colorado River, promoted to patrol lieutenant in the Riverside/San Bernardino area, and spent the remainder of his enforcement career in Shasta County. He has earned numerous awards for his work in wildlife protection. Passionate about the environment, Steve and his wife, Kathleen, are avid kayakers, anglers, bird-watchers, and scuba divers. They currently live in the Redding area. Steve can be found online at steventcallan.com.

John Higley, another well-known author and writer, is a resident of Palo Cedro, California. His articles have appeared in Outdoor California and other fishing and hunting journals.  He is the author of two books: “Hunting Wild Turkeys In the West” and “Hunting Blacktail Deer.”

Gary Lewis is published in dozens of hunting and fishing publications in the United States and around the world, as well as in his weekly newspaper columns. These hunting and fishing articles cover a wide range of topics from small game and fish to big game and predators. While he has searched the globe for these exciting adventures, Gary especially likes to spend his time in and write about the state that he calls home – Oregon. To order a signed copy of his book,“Gary Lewis’s Hunting Oregon,” send $24.95 (includes S&H) to GLO, PO Box 1364, Bend, OR 97709 or visit GaryLewisOutdoors.com

Tom Marking is a past Board Member of the Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers with a membership of about 500 local anglers. In addition, he is also a member of GAP the Groundfish Advisory Subpanel, serving as the CA Sportfishing Representative.

William E. Simpson spent his formative years growing up on a working ranch in the Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon. William (aka: 'Capt. Bill') is a retired U.S. Merchant Marine Officer with decades of boating and expedition sailing experience, having logged more than 150,000 miles at sea. Capt. Bill has successfully survived long-term ‘off the grid’ at sea and at remote uninhabited desert islands with his family for years at a time. In early 2013, he appeared on National Geographic’s hit TV show Doomsday Preppers (Season-2 ‘A Fortress At Sea’) and received the highest score in two seasons for disaster preparedness and survival, earning the title of ‘Best Prepper’.

Capt. Bill is also a commercial airplane and helicopter pilot and a PADI DiveMaster. Simpson is an accomplished writer covering all aspects of disaster preparedness, including a recent book ‘The Nautical Prepper’ (Ulysses Press). His articles have been featured via numerous magazines and websites and he has been a featured guest on various disaster preparedness radio talk shows. More info at WilliameSimpson.com

Don Stec is the owner of Coachmaster of Redding. Coachmaster is a full service collision repair shop also specializing in the repair of recreational vehicles, trailers and boats. The company works with all the major insurance companies and has a great reputation in the North State. Don Stec can be reached at 530-243-1310 or at the shop at 6851 Eastside Road in Redding.

Don E. Webster has been engaged in a wide variety of outdoor pursuits for over 60 years. His recently published book, Bury Me In My Waders -- An Old Duck Hunter Recalls His Fowl Past, currently ranks among the most popular, best-selling duck hunting books on Amazon Books and Amazon Kindle. His next book, “Double-Ought Buck” a novel, will be available in December. Webster was the recipient of the 2013 Phil Ford Humor Award from the Outdoor Writer’s Association of California for his hilarious description of hunting dogs in his MyOutdoorBuddy column entitled “Canine Comics.” Don's website is donewebster.com.

Carrie Wilson is a 20-year CDFW veteran and an avid outdoor enthusiast, angler and hunter. She is a marine biologist with a strong background of professional experience working in both fisheries and wildlife management. An established award-winning outdoor writer, Carrie enjoys tackling the tough questions from the public and will be regularly tapping into the expertise of CDFW’s wildlife officers and many fisheries, wildlife and marine biologists to best cover all the topics. If you have a question you would like to see answered in the California Outdoors Q and A column, email it to CalOutdoors@wildlife.ca.gov.