By Steve Hickoff

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions for the 2011 outdoor recreational seasons? I have.

It gets trickier doing this every year.

When I started out bird hunting all those years ago I never knew the phrase “acquire satellites” would be part of my sportsman’s vocabulary. As a result, I resolve to master my new GPS-enabled dog tracking system while out running our renegade English setter Luna wherever adventure takes us. I resolve to carry plenty of AA batteries as well.

When I started out ice fishing all those years ago with a crude pole and hatchet to cut ice, I could not have anticipated all the hard-water innovations we’d encounter on frozen New England lakes. As a result, to balance out the GPS-enabled dog tracking system, I choose to not opt in for fish-finding devices or gas-powered ice augers.

However, I also resolve to say “Sure, thanks” (head bowed slightly in shame) when somebody shuffles by on the ice and asks: “Hey, can I give you a hand cutting a few holes?” My old-school ice drilling seems to draw such pity.

I resolve to eat oatmeal and drink black coffee to start my day, even if I finish with some elaborate wild game or fish recipe that includes ingredients like cream or butter.

In 2010, I hunted Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, plus New York, Kentucky, Arkansas and California. In 2011, I resolve to go early and often again in New England, as well as in some new states I haven’t visited.

I tend to hold my cards tight to my chest as scouting goes, but resolve to try and share some of “my spots” more with local hunting buddies.

I resolve to expand my tendencies in the kitchen beyond the usual wild game soups and stews. My conservative approach at the cook stove yields solid results, but the desire for off-beat meals always hits me around this time of the year after months of cook-on-the-fly efforts between hunts.

I resolve to fit more into one calendar day than it seems humanly possible, while also making time for a midday nap along the way.

We dog people sometimes have an older and younger canine filling our days. My older setter Radar will get as much attention as wild child Luna does, I resolve.

After all, he doesn’t need a GPS-enabled dog tracking system.