Where the Road Ends... The Adventure Begins

Alan W. Maki's hunting experience began in New England chasing woodchucks in local farmers fields when he was old enough to carry a .22. Since then, he's been fortunate to have hunted in most U.S. states, each of the Canadian provinces, on all of the continents, and in every country where hunting is legal. Among his favorite hunting experiences was guiding his three sons on remote backpack hunts to track Alaskan big game. Throughout these experiences he has earned numerous national and international awards, including: the Triple Slam of Mountain Game which is the top award for mountain hunters, the Safari Club International World Hunting Ring, completed all Grand Slams and Diamond Inner Circles, and received the SCI World Conservation and Hunting Award. Alan received his Ph.D. in wildlife and fisheries management from Michigan State University, and has authored and co-authored over 250 publications and reports, along with six books on numerous aspects of environmental quality. He served as senior environmental scientist for Exxon in Alaska, and following the Exxon Valdez oil spill he was responsible for organizing the scientific assessment of ecological damage and recovery. He is a former member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board, and has served on numerous advisory panels for the EPA Office of Research and Development. He is a former president of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), and has served on National Academy of Science panels concerned with the assessment and management of ecological risks. During 2010, he served as science advisor for BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, responsible for assessing the ecological risks and consequences of the spill on marine resources.For over 12 years he served as a member, then as chairman of the Safari Club International Conservation Committee, responsible for funding and managing over 65 wildlife and big game conservation management projects worldwide, ranging from elephant census to rhino protection, snow leopard ecology, wild sheep disease protection, and work with several other species. This book is a summary of my hunting life and what it has meant to me. My life-long companion and wife Ann, faithfully accompanied me on many of these adventures and while there are way too many hunts to be detailed in this volume, I've tried to include at least some of the different and exotic adventures. I trust that this book will be interesting reading to at least some of those who come after me.