Shane Townsend

Captain Jamie L. Potter is one of three captains leading water rescue teams with Virginia’s Richmond Fire Department. The Richmond teams respond to more than 100 boating, wading, and driving accident calls a year, so her insights are hard-won. Capt. Potter tells us what we can do to avoid a rescue...

Search & Rescue (SAR) teams are on call 24 hours a day to help get hunters, hikers, and other outdoors explorers out of tight spots. Many SAR missions could be avoided or made easier with a little preparation by those who might need rescuing. In that spirit, Sydney Lear, a SAR instructor with the...

The hunt is on. We drop off the wind-whipped mountain road and descend through the fog toward the rain-drenched forest below. Tight lips belie heavy chests, high hopes, and the highest stakes. Our boots thud and click and slide under an urgent pace along the plummeting trail. Tabs stick from cut...

Imagine, if you will, that COVID-19 is behind us. You’re downtown in some state capital—hopefully for a day of advocacy with the BHA family, or maybe just for conference with a bunch of knuckleheads you really need to escape. Either way, it hits you: I need to catch a damn fish. ASAP. Your kayak’s...