The cat that was at the cabin during deer hunting season has a new home and a new name. Annie Cat for Orphan Annie.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The cat at the cabin found a home.
The cat that was at the cabin during deer hunting season has a new home and a new name. Annie Cat for Orphan Annie.
More on Turkey dogs (No, not the kind you eat.)
Life with half of a turkey dog
By Bill Cochran
Someone found the abandoned puppy along the highway and picked it up and took it to my son and daughter-in-law’s house. They had just lost their beloved dog to cancer. They agreed to keep the puppy overnight, then decide if they wanted to adopt it.
They might as well have had a sign on their door that said: “We are suckers for strays.” You know what happened.
The puppy had a pudgy face, was fat as a furry football and black as coal. They named him Bear.
He was of unknown lineage, but you could tell he had Lab in him and who knows what else. As he grew up, he proved to be an opportunist looking for a good time, the kind of dog that jumps up on you, runs off for long periods and pays scant attention when you call. But Bear had a way of calming your anger and winning you over with a couple thumps of his tail.
I don’t know what compelled us, but my son and I decided to take Bear hunting one day. We discovered that he was first class when it came to locating and flushing turkeys. Before long, both my son and I had killed a turkey or two with Bear’s help. Fact is, we seldom went into the woods without Bear finding and flushing turkeys.
Years earlier, I had hunted turkeys with dogs owned and trained by Kit Shaffer, a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist. Friends would give Kit failed bird dogs, usually renegade setters that would rather pounce than point. He would give them a home and turn them into well-disciplined turkey dogs. Such critters were rare back in the 70s.
Later I ran into John Byrne, a Southern Gentleman cattle grower in Bedford County, who trained and hunted turkey dogs with his son J.T. At the time, these were the only sportsmen using turkey dogs that I knew about in Virginia.
What you need is a wide-ranging dog that will trail, scatter flocks with hard-charging enthusiasm, bark to announce the location of the flush, then have the discipline to recline perfectly still, maybe while zipped into a camouflaged bag, as the turkeys regroup to your calls.
Such a beast is rare, because you want them running headlong and barking one minute and perfectly still the next. They are the product of intelligence and training. Yet there appears to be more turkey dogs now than, say, 20 or so years ago. Maybe because there are more turkeys and turkey hunters.
I am aware of a few such dogs and their proud owners:
> Carson Quarles, a banker and former DGIF board member who lives in Roanoke County, had a Boykin spaniel named Brandy that was a member of the family and a superb turkey dog. Ill health overtook her and at age 14 and she had to be put to sleep this fall.
Carson and his wife, Norma, did the best thing you can do when you are grieving over a lost hunting buddy. Get another one. Just in time for Christmas, they have in their home a Boykin pup from South Carolina named Amanda Belle, or Mandy for short.
> Dennis Campbell owns a 6-year old Brittany spaniel turkey dog that has been on the Outdoor Channel. Campbell, who lives in Waynesboro, was a staff member of the National Wild Turkey Federation for a number of years and now is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of the Quality Deer Management Association.
> Gratten Hepler, who lives in Covington, has trained and hunted turkey dogs for more than 30 years, and written a book on the subject titled “Turkey Dog Tales.” It is published by Author House, www.AuthorHouse.com.
Back to Bear, he has a great nose for turkeys, his broad chest and muscular legs make him a flushing machine, but, alas, he doesn’t bark and he isn’t about to cast aside his natural inclinations and lie still in a camo bag when turkeys are approaching—even when turkeys aren’t approaching.
So when Bear flushes turkeys, one of us has to take him back to the vehicle while the other is just about guaranteed a shot. You take the risk of drawing the short straw when you have just half of a turkey dog. But some days that is better than none at all.
THE LAST LEG of Virginia’s fall turkey season opened Dec. 11 and continues through June 6. Virginia is one of a dozen states that permits turkey hunting with dogs during the fall season.
By Bill Cochran
Someone found the abandoned puppy along the highway and picked it up and took it to my son and daughter-in-law’s house. They had just lost their beloved dog to cancer. They agreed to keep the puppy overnight, then decide if they wanted to adopt it.
They might as well have had a sign on their door that said: “We are suckers for strays.” You know what happened.
The puppy had a pudgy face, was fat as a furry football and black as coal. They named him Bear.
He was of unknown lineage, but you could tell he had Lab in him and who knows what else. As he grew up, he proved to be an opportunist looking for a good time, the kind of dog that jumps up on you, runs off for long periods and pays scant attention when you call. But Bear had a way of calming your anger and winning you over with a couple thumps of his tail.
I don’t know what compelled us, but my son and I decided to take Bear hunting one day. We discovered that he was first class when it came to locating and flushing turkeys. Before long, both my son and I had killed a turkey or two with Bear’s help. Fact is, we seldom went into the woods without Bear finding and flushing turkeys.
Years earlier, I had hunted turkeys with dogs owned and trained by Kit Shaffer, a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist. Friends would give Kit failed bird dogs, usually renegade setters that would rather pounce than point. He would give them a home and turn them into well-disciplined turkey dogs. Such critters were rare back in the 70s.
Later I ran into John Byrne, a Southern Gentleman cattle grower in Bedford County, who trained and hunted turkey dogs with his son J.T. At the time, these were the only sportsmen using turkey dogs that I knew about in Virginia.
What you need is a wide-ranging dog that will trail, scatter flocks with hard-charging enthusiasm, bark to announce the location of the flush, then have the discipline to recline perfectly still, maybe while zipped into a camouflaged bag, as the turkeys regroup to your calls.
Such a beast is rare, because you want them running headlong and barking one minute and perfectly still the next. They are the product of intelligence and training. Yet there appears to be more turkey dogs now than, say, 20 or so years ago. Maybe because there are more turkeys and turkey hunters.
I am aware of a few such dogs and their proud owners:
> Carson Quarles, a banker and former DGIF board member who lives in Roanoke County, had a Boykin spaniel named Brandy that was a member of the family and a superb turkey dog. Ill health overtook her and at age 14 and she had to be put to sleep this fall.
Carson and his wife, Norma, did the best thing you can do when you are grieving over a lost hunting buddy. Get another one. Just in time for Christmas, they have in their home a Boykin pup from South Carolina named Amanda Belle, or Mandy for short.
> Dennis Campbell owns a 6-year old Brittany spaniel turkey dog that has been on the Outdoor Channel. Campbell, who lives in Waynesboro, was a staff member of the National Wild Turkey Federation for a number of years and now is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of the Quality Deer Management Association.
> Gratten Hepler, who lives in Covington, has trained and hunted turkey dogs for more than 30 years, and written a book on the subject titled “Turkey Dog Tales.” It is published by Author House, www.AuthorHouse.com.
Back to Bear, he has a great nose for turkeys, his broad chest and muscular legs make him a flushing machine, but, alas, he doesn’t bark and he isn’t about to cast aside his natural inclinations and lie still in a camo bag when turkeys are approaching—even when turkeys aren’t approaching.
So when Bear flushes turkeys, one of us has to take him back to the vehicle while the other is just about guaranteed a shot. You take the risk of drawing the short straw when you have just half of a turkey dog. But some days that is better than none at all.
THE LAST LEG of Virginia’s fall turkey season opened Dec. 11 and continues through June 6. Virginia is one of a dozen states that permits turkey hunting with dogs during the fall season.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
When Deer Meets Driver
Fall Brings Out Ill-Fated Matchups
By Paul Duggan and Dan KeatingWashington Post Staff WritersSunday, November 26, 2006; C01
There's a new map of Maryland that looks like a bad case of the measles, with 5,769 red dots splotched across the landscape.
Each one marks a spot where crews scraped a deer carcass off the highway last year.
Virginia doesn't have a red-dot plotter yet, but more than 1,000 deer collide with cars each year in Fairfax County, and more than 600 are hit on Loudoun County roadways alone.
November is peak mating time for the region's overabundant deer. Bucks chasing does in heat and does playing hard to get don't look both ways before crossing the street. Which is a big reason so many of them end up as roadside carcasses in the fall.
As deer continue to thrive in Washington's suburbs, bedding down in small woods near subdivisions, feeding on shrubs and gardens, thousands of them turn up dead each year along thoroughfares, killed by vehicles. Most collisions occur during the rutting season, late October to early December. Experts hope to identify "hot spots" where they can try to ease the problem.
A familiar story this time of year -- man and nature colliding in suburban traffic.
The deer came bolting out of the darkness "like an apparition," Michelle Marcotte said.
"It was a big one, too, with antlers and everything."
She and her husband, Kenneth Vick, were in their Chrysler PT Cruiser on Nov. 12, headed home from an evening church service in Prince George's County. Vick, 64, was at the wheel when the buck slammed into his door.
"It's pitch-black out; it's raining," said Marcotte, 52. They were in the county's Glendale area, driving about 35 mph. For an instant, the deer "was right up against the window -- eye to eye with my husband." Then came "a giant, crashing, rumbling, awful sound," Marcotte said. "I was very frazzled. I mean, you hit something that large, you could get killed."
For motorists, the crashes can be expensive and dangerous -- even deadly.
"The driver's-side door is smashed and can't be opened," Marcotte said. "The fender has a big dent in it, with paint scratched off. The headlight is hanging out. And then the antlers smashed the hood. . . . I mean, that's an awful lot of damage for one deer."
As for the buck, "it ran off, I guess. We didn't see it."
The damage: $3,370.
No one can say for sure how many deer-vehicle crashes occur each year. The deer often limp away, and police are rarely called.
There are at least as many deer in the Washington area now as in Colonial times, maybe more, experts think. Some rural counties have allowed increased hunting to cull the deer population. Officials in more populated areas sometimes use police or civilian sharpshooters to thin the herds.
Centuries ago, deer in the region had an array of predators to worry about, including "timber wolves, mountain lions and other animals that have basically been eradicated in the East," said James Parkhurst, a wildlife specialist at Virginia Tech. Hunters used to roam the forests year-round. These days, though, a lot of deer enjoy a cushy suburban lifestyle.
"You really can't find a habitat that is much better at providing the essential needs they're looking for," Parkhurst said. There's plenty to munch on: lawns and bushes, flowers and vegetables. And deer are not likely to be shot at in, say, Chevy Chase.
"We've basically given them a predator-free environment filled with resources," Parkhurst said.
But they simply refuse to obey pedestrian rules.
Especially in November.
"All eyes and all attention of the buck are devoted to the doe," Parkhurst said. "In the peak of the rut, the hormones are really dictating behavior. And so once they get fixated on following that doe, they really put blinders on."
As for females, they sometimes play hard to get, because it ensures they're not going to get jumped by a less dominant buck. "They want the most dominant, most genetically fit individual, to assure they'll have a successful breeding," he said. So if a doe doesn't like what she sees, there's a good chance she will run.
It's hard to run far in the suburbs without crossing a road. To make matters worse, deer are most active early mornings and early evenings. Their rush hours coincide with motorists', resulting in increased business for auto-body shops.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions occurred in the country last year, causing $1.1 billion in damage, an average of about $735 per crash. State Farm Insurance Co. said it handled 192,877 such claims in the year ending June 30. The average cost per crash: $2,800. On the company's list of states with the most claims, Virginia ranked sixth.
"I've seen them a lot more than $2,800," said Ron Reece, manager of R.S. Collision Center in Manassas. "I've seen vehicles totaled." At Finn Auto Body in Woodbridge, manager Andrea Mason said: "The worst job we had was a few years back, where it almost killed the lady. The deer went right through the windshield and was kicking right into her chest."
Nationwide, at least 180 motorists died last year (and 204 in 2004) in collisions with animals, mostly deer, up from 101 in 1993, according to a U.S. Transportation Department study. On Oct. 10 in Carroll County, Md., a motorist hit a deer, propelling it into the air. It landed on a van, which went out of control and crashed, killing the 37-year-old man who was driving.
A regional task force has been studying what to do about collisions. The group has discussed wildlife road underpasses with fencing to guide animals through and motion sensors with lights that would flash to warn drivers when the animals get too close to thoroughfares.
In Fairfax, to warn drivers about deer bolting across roads, police have been using large, mobile signs, hoping they will get more attention than smaller, permanent deer-crossing signs, which motorists tend to ignore.
In the Harwood area of Anne Arundel County, George Donaldson left home for work the morning of Nov. 15 in his 1977 Ford F-150 pickup. As always, he watched for the deer living in the woods around his house.
"I see two up in front of me," said Donaldson, 48. He slowed to let them pass. "So I go on up, and I get about a mile from my house, and all of a sudden one shoots out of the woods. I don't even see him. And bam! It hits me."
Donaldson loves that vintage truck, with just 60,000 miles on it. He bought it in mint condition a year ago for $10,000.
The deer ran off, maybe dying, maybe just sore. Donaldson drove to work -- to Glenn Dale Auto Body, which he owns with a partner -- and checked the damage.
"It needs a bumper," he said. "An outer grill shell. An inner grill shell. Headlights. Parking lights. Left front fender needs to be fixed. Moldings need to be replaced. It's roughly a $2,000 job. And we already have two others here."
Including the PT Cruiser.
"I've been driving since I was 16," Donaldson said. "I've never hit a deer before. Because I'm always watching. But there it came."
By Paul Duggan and Dan KeatingWashington Post Staff WritersSunday, November 26, 2006; C01
There's a new map of Maryland that looks like a bad case of the measles, with 5,769 red dots splotched across the landscape.
Each one marks a spot where crews scraped a deer carcass off the highway last year.
Virginia doesn't have a red-dot plotter yet, but more than 1,000 deer collide with cars each year in Fairfax County, and more than 600 are hit on Loudoun County roadways alone.
November is peak mating time for the region's overabundant deer. Bucks chasing does in heat and does playing hard to get don't look both ways before crossing the street. Which is a big reason so many of them end up as roadside carcasses in the fall.
As deer continue to thrive in Washington's suburbs, bedding down in small woods near subdivisions, feeding on shrubs and gardens, thousands of them turn up dead each year along thoroughfares, killed by vehicles. Most collisions occur during the rutting season, late October to early December. Experts hope to identify "hot spots" where they can try to ease the problem.
A familiar story this time of year -- man and nature colliding in suburban traffic.
The deer came bolting out of the darkness "like an apparition," Michelle Marcotte said.
"It was a big one, too, with antlers and everything."
She and her husband, Kenneth Vick, were in their Chrysler PT Cruiser on Nov. 12, headed home from an evening church service in Prince George's County. Vick, 64, was at the wheel when the buck slammed into his door.
"It's pitch-black out; it's raining," said Marcotte, 52. They were in the county's Glendale area, driving about 35 mph. For an instant, the deer "was right up against the window -- eye to eye with my husband." Then came "a giant, crashing, rumbling, awful sound," Marcotte said. "I was very frazzled. I mean, you hit something that large, you could get killed."
For motorists, the crashes can be expensive and dangerous -- even deadly.
"The driver's-side door is smashed and can't be opened," Marcotte said. "The fender has a big dent in it, with paint scratched off. The headlight is hanging out. And then the antlers smashed the hood. . . . I mean, that's an awful lot of damage for one deer."
As for the buck, "it ran off, I guess. We didn't see it."
The damage: $3,370.
No one can say for sure how many deer-vehicle crashes occur each year. The deer often limp away, and police are rarely called.
There are at least as many deer in the Washington area now as in Colonial times, maybe more, experts think. Some rural counties have allowed increased hunting to cull the deer population. Officials in more populated areas sometimes use police or civilian sharpshooters to thin the herds.
Centuries ago, deer in the region had an array of predators to worry about, including "timber wolves, mountain lions and other animals that have basically been eradicated in the East," said James Parkhurst, a wildlife specialist at Virginia Tech. Hunters used to roam the forests year-round. These days, though, a lot of deer enjoy a cushy suburban lifestyle.
"You really can't find a habitat that is much better at providing the essential needs they're looking for," Parkhurst said. There's plenty to munch on: lawns and bushes, flowers and vegetables. And deer are not likely to be shot at in, say, Chevy Chase.
"We've basically given them a predator-free environment filled with resources," Parkhurst said.
But they simply refuse to obey pedestrian rules.
Especially in November.
"All eyes and all attention of the buck are devoted to the doe," Parkhurst said. "In the peak of the rut, the hormones are really dictating behavior. And so once they get fixated on following that doe, they really put blinders on."
As for females, they sometimes play hard to get, because it ensures they're not going to get jumped by a less dominant buck. "They want the most dominant, most genetically fit individual, to assure they'll have a successful breeding," he said. So if a doe doesn't like what she sees, there's a good chance she will run.
It's hard to run far in the suburbs without crossing a road. To make matters worse, deer are most active early mornings and early evenings. Their rush hours coincide with motorists', resulting in increased business for auto-body shops.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions occurred in the country last year, causing $1.1 billion in damage, an average of about $735 per crash. State Farm Insurance Co. said it handled 192,877 such claims in the year ending June 30. The average cost per crash: $2,800. On the company's list of states with the most claims, Virginia ranked sixth.
"I've seen them a lot more than $2,800," said Ron Reece, manager of R.S. Collision Center in Manassas. "I've seen vehicles totaled." At Finn Auto Body in Woodbridge, manager Andrea Mason said: "The worst job we had was a few years back, where it almost killed the lady. The deer went right through the windshield and was kicking right into her chest."
Nationwide, at least 180 motorists died last year (and 204 in 2004) in collisions with animals, mostly deer, up from 101 in 1993, according to a U.S. Transportation Department study. On Oct. 10 in Carroll County, Md., a motorist hit a deer, propelling it into the air. It landed on a van, which went out of control and crashed, killing the 37-year-old man who was driving.
A regional task force has been studying what to do about collisions. The group has discussed wildlife road underpasses with fencing to guide animals through and motion sensors with lights that would flash to warn drivers when the animals get too close to thoroughfares.
In Fairfax, to warn drivers about deer bolting across roads, police have been using large, mobile signs, hoping they will get more attention than smaller, permanent deer-crossing signs, which motorists tend to ignore.
In the Harwood area of Anne Arundel County, George Donaldson left home for work the morning of Nov. 15 in his 1977 Ford F-150 pickup. As always, he watched for the deer living in the woods around his house.
"I see two up in front of me," said Donaldson, 48. He slowed to let them pass. "So I go on up, and I get about a mile from my house, and all of a sudden one shoots out of the woods. I don't even see him. And bam! It hits me."
Donaldson loves that vintage truck, with just 60,000 miles on it. He bought it in mint condition a year ago for $10,000.
The deer ran off, maybe dying, maybe just sore. Donaldson drove to work -- to Glenn Dale Auto Body, which he owns with a partner -- and checked the damage.
"It needs a bumper," he said. "An outer grill shell. An inner grill shell. Headlights. Parking lights. Left front fender needs to be fixed. Moldings need to be replaced. It's roughly a $2,000 job. And we already have two others here."
Including the PT Cruiser.
"I've been driving since I was 16," Donaldson said. "I've never hit a deer before. Because I'm always watching. But there it came."
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Crossbow hunting winning converts
By Bill Cochran
It was just minutes until quitting time, when Penn Riggs would have to climb out of his treestand and call it a day. That’s when things started happening fast.
“I heard branches crackling in the cutover behind me,” Riggs said. Then 7-foot tall reeds begin rustling 10 feet from his perch overlooking a food plot that he had planted.
It was a buck, its head down for dinner. Riggs took aim with his crossbow.
The food plot was a project that Riggs had worked on through the summer, but when crossbow season opened, the wind was always wrong to hunt it.
Finally the back side of a front came roaring out of the west/southwest, then the wind laid just before dark. That’s when the deer appeared and Riggs sent a Spitfire broadhead through both lungs.
The buck weighed about 150 pounds, had an 8-point rack and — get this -- a stomach full of grapes.
It was the third deer of the crossbow season for Riggs, who is a project development team leader for the U.S. Coast Guard. Earlier he killed a 6-point buck, a doe and a 21-pound turkey gobbler.
“I have taken more game with the crossbow this year than I did with a compound in 28 years total,” said Riggs, who lives in Norfolk and hunts the southeastern section of the state. “In the past, my bowhunts were glorified scouting trips for gun hunting. Now I am hunting seriously with the crossbow.”
He isn’t the only one lauding crossbow hunting. While it is too early for a final count, an early look reveals that crossbow licenses are up this year from last year’s initial season, even through their price jumped $12.50 to $18.
Some hunters who watched from the sidelines or participated sparingly last year, took the plunge this time. While the movement included converts from the ranks of traditional bowhunters, that doesn’t account for all the growth. Bow license sales also have been healthy.
“I would expect crossbow deer hunting to increase a little each year for the next 2- to-5 years and then plateau at some relatively low level--at the most 5 to 10 percent of the total deer kill--maybe equal to traditional bows,” said Matt Knox, deer biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Confidence is a key factor in winning new crossbow converts, Riggs believes.
“I’m thinking that the word about their accuracy and ease of use is spreading,” he said. “Lots of folks, like me, don’t have time to practice a great deal and work on form and function, or spend the time necessary to keep their bows in tune. A crossbow builds confidence very quickly; it’s very accurate and doesn’t require much tuning.”
The payoff has been about a 30-percent increase in the crossbow deer kill so far this year. Last year’s reported kill was 5,476 deer.
“But kept in context, it will still only constitute 3-to 4-percent of the total deer harvest,” Knox said.
Crossbows aren’t without demands.
“You still have to hunt within the limitations of the crossbow and practice to become proficient,” Riggs said, adding that scouting, also, is important. He believes the skills he gained through years of bowhunting have helped him become more proficient with a crossbow.
“A lot of crossbow users that I see never bowhunted before,” he said. “Some of these guys don’t know much about deer or habitats, and it will be interesting to see how many of them give it up because they are not seeing deer.”
If the crossbow has a major drawback, it is its bulkiness, Riggs said. “I am hearing complaints about how heavy they are, and awkward, in the woods. But I see myself dragging the heavy beast in the woods for a long time to come.”
It was just minutes until quitting time, when Penn Riggs would have to climb out of his treestand and call it a day. That’s when things started happening fast.
“I heard branches crackling in the cutover behind me,” Riggs said. Then 7-foot tall reeds begin rustling 10 feet from his perch overlooking a food plot that he had planted.
It was a buck, its head down for dinner. Riggs took aim with his crossbow.
The food plot was a project that Riggs had worked on through the summer, but when crossbow season opened, the wind was always wrong to hunt it.
Finally the back side of a front came roaring out of the west/southwest, then the wind laid just before dark. That’s when the deer appeared and Riggs sent a Spitfire broadhead through both lungs.
The buck weighed about 150 pounds, had an 8-point rack and — get this -- a stomach full of grapes.
It was the third deer of the crossbow season for Riggs, who is a project development team leader for the U.S. Coast Guard. Earlier he killed a 6-point buck, a doe and a 21-pound turkey gobbler.
“I have taken more game with the crossbow this year than I did with a compound in 28 years total,” said Riggs, who lives in Norfolk and hunts the southeastern section of the state. “In the past, my bowhunts were glorified scouting trips for gun hunting. Now I am hunting seriously with the crossbow.”
He isn’t the only one lauding crossbow hunting. While it is too early for a final count, an early look reveals that crossbow licenses are up this year from last year’s initial season, even through their price jumped $12.50 to $18.
Some hunters who watched from the sidelines or participated sparingly last year, took the plunge this time. While the movement included converts from the ranks of traditional bowhunters, that doesn’t account for all the growth. Bow license sales also have been healthy.
“I would expect crossbow deer hunting to increase a little each year for the next 2- to-5 years and then plateau at some relatively low level--at the most 5 to 10 percent of the total deer kill--maybe equal to traditional bows,” said Matt Knox, deer biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Confidence is a key factor in winning new crossbow converts, Riggs believes.
“I’m thinking that the word about their accuracy and ease of use is spreading,” he said. “Lots of folks, like me, don’t have time to practice a great deal and work on form and function, or spend the time necessary to keep their bows in tune. A crossbow builds confidence very quickly; it’s very accurate and doesn’t require much tuning.”
The payoff has been about a 30-percent increase in the crossbow deer kill so far this year. Last year’s reported kill was 5,476 deer.
“But kept in context, it will still only constitute 3-to 4-percent of the total deer harvest,” Knox said.
Crossbows aren’t without demands.
“You still have to hunt within the limitations of the crossbow and practice to become proficient,” Riggs said, adding that scouting, also, is important. He believes the skills he gained through years of bowhunting have helped him become more proficient with a crossbow.
“A lot of crossbow users that I see never bowhunted before,” he said. “Some of these guys don’t know much about deer or habitats, and it will be interesting to see how many of them give it up because they are not seeing deer.”
If the crossbow has a major drawback, it is its bulkiness, Riggs said. “I am hearing complaints about how heavy they are, and awkward, in the woods. But I see myself dragging the heavy beast in the woods for a long time to come.”
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Field Reports
By Bill Cochran
Grouse season holds little promise
This isn’t an easy time to be a grouse hunter. The population of this popular game bird is on the skids.
There has been a 3.1-percent annual decline in the breeding population the past 10 years, according to analyses of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. That amounts to more than a 30-percent decline in a decade.
Last year, hunters flushed a measly 0.85 grouse per hour of hunting, the worst flush rate in 17 years, and the third worst since records have been kept starting with the 1973-74 season. In the Southern Appalachians, hunters report a return of one grouse for every 10 hours of hunting.
With the new season opening just five days ago, it is too early to determine if flushes will go up or down this time, but the prospects for a recovery aren’t there. The breeding population remains low, according to Gary Norman, a DGIF biologist.
Just what is behind the downward trend is debatable, but Norman has a pretty good idea. Early successional habitat, the kind grouse need for food and cover, has declined on most public lands, particularly on the national forests in Virginia. That’s because logging has declined. The result is that while the national forest once was the place to pursue grouse, flush rates now are better on private land--1.08 compared to 0.73.
Add to the problem, mast conditions have been poor during three of the last five years. Recent research reveals that grouse reproduction is closely tied to the wellbeing of the females, and the females are in the best conditions when the acorn crop hits, as it has this year.
It should come as no surprise that hunters using dogs flush and kill more grouse than non-dog hunters. But the DGIF annual grouse survey reveals that hunter satisfaction last season was slightly higher among sportsmen who did not use dogs.
Maybe there simply aren’t enough grouse nowadays to train a dog to become the kind of grouse hunting companion it has potential of being, thus the result is frustration.
So why bother with grouse hunting?
“It nevertheless can be very enjoyable, particularly on those days when the dogs work well, the birds hold tight and your aim is true,” said Norman.
TURKEYS ABUNDANT
Five hunting days into the fall turkey season indicates that hunter success is high. Flocks are plentiful. The weather, apart from the raining/windy opening day, has been cooperative.
“There are more turkeys that I’ve seen in my entire life,” said Ellen Horn, who operates Hunter’s Den gun/hunting shop near New Castle.
“Brood reports were up this year, throughout the state” said Gary Norman, turkey biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Up also is the acorn crop. “The good mast crop tends to depress hunting success rates,” Norman said.
But the big birds are there for hunters who want to work for them.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reported that cost-cutting efforts will require it to reduce its wildlife refuge staff by 10 percent. That means 90 positions in the South region where it manages 128 national refuges and employs 748 workers.
Research by the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows that the average lifetime outlay for firearms, ammunition and other gear totals $20,219 per hunter/shooter. Add licenses, lodging, food, fuel, magazines, meat processing, dues, contributions and other associated items, the average lifetime grand total rises to $109,568 per person. Multiply that by 20 million hunters and 20 million shooters and you get $4.3 trillion.
Grouse season holds little promise
This isn’t an easy time to be a grouse hunter. The population of this popular game bird is on the skids.
There has been a 3.1-percent annual decline in the breeding population the past 10 years, according to analyses of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. That amounts to more than a 30-percent decline in a decade.
Last year, hunters flushed a measly 0.85 grouse per hour of hunting, the worst flush rate in 17 years, and the third worst since records have been kept starting with the 1973-74 season. In the Southern Appalachians, hunters report a return of one grouse for every 10 hours of hunting.
With the new season opening just five days ago, it is too early to determine if flushes will go up or down this time, but the prospects for a recovery aren’t there. The breeding population remains low, according to Gary Norman, a DGIF biologist.
Just what is behind the downward trend is debatable, but Norman has a pretty good idea. Early successional habitat, the kind grouse need for food and cover, has declined on most public lands, particularly on the national forests in Virginia. That’s because logging has declined. The result is that while the national forest once was the place to pursue grouse, flush rates now are better on private land--1.08 compared to 0.73.
Add to the problem, mast conditions have been poor during three of the last five years. Recent research reveals that grouse reproduction is closely tied to the wellbeing of the females, and the females are in the best conditions when the acorn crop hits, as it has this year.
It should come as no surprise that hunters using dogs flush and kill more grouse than non-dog hunters. But the DGIF annual grouse survey reveals that hunter satisfaction last season was slightly higher among sportsmen who did not use dogs.
Maybe there simply aren’t enough grouse nowadays to train a dog to become the kind of grouse hunting companion it has potential of being, thus the result is frustration.
So why bother with grouse hunting?
“It nevertheless can be very enjoyable, particularly on those days when the dogs work well, the birds hold tight and your aim is true,” said Norman.
TURKEYS ABUNDANT
Five hunting days into the fall turkey season indicates that hunter success is high. Flocks are plentiful. The weather, apart from the raining/windy opening day, has been cooperative.
“There are more turkeys that I’ve seen in my entire life,” said Ellen Horn, who operates Hunter’s Den gun/hunting shop near New Castle.
“Brood reports were up this year, throughout the state” said Gary Norman, turkey biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Up also is the acorn crop. “The good mast crop tends to depress hunting success rates,” Norman said.
But the big birds are there for hunters who want to work for them.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reported that cost-cutting efforts will require it to reduce its wildlife refuge staff by 10 percent. That means 90 positions in the South region where it manages 128 national refuges and employs 748 workers.
Research by the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows that the average lifetime outlay for firearms, ammunition and other gear totals $20,219 per hunter/shooter. Add licenses, lodging, food, fuel, magazines, meat processing, dues, contributions and other associated items, the average lifetime grand total rises to $109,568 per person. Multiply that by 20 million hunters and 20 million shooters and you get $4.3 trillion.
New DGIF chief talks about Sunday hunting
By Bill Cochran
Advocates of Sunday hunting are wondering if the new executive director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will be the ally they had hoped for and need.
Carlton Courter, who was appointed the top DGIF position last week, comes from a strong agriculture background, the kind that has been hostile to Sunday hunting in the past. He has been Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for more than a dozen years. He and his family own a farm that has been in the Courter name since 1737.
Surveys have revealed that residents with rural roots have less love for Sunday hunting than most other citizen groups. The powerful Virginia Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, has been opposed to Sunday hunting for years, and it underscored that fact the day Courter got the DGIF job.
Here’s what Sunday hunting advocate Todd Barnes said about Courter”
“I’m sure he is a nice guy, but from what I’ve read about him, I do not have a warm, fuzzy [feeling] about his possible stance on Sunday hunting.”
I asked Courter about his position on the controversial issue.
“I haven’t taken a position on Sunday hunting,” he said. “As you know, I will work for the [DGIF] board. The board will determine what their position is.”
In the past, the DGIF board has been cool toward Sunday hunting. In 1999 it even passed a resolution that stated it really didn’t want to discuss the issue, because Sunday hunting is a matter for the General Assembly.
It is true: the DGIF does not have authority to approve Sunday hunting. That is a task of the General Assembly, but legislators weigh heavily the agency’s opinion.
In August, the board decided to take another look at Sunday hunting. Hunting license sales need a boost. What’s more, Sunday hunting frequently was requested by participants in a public input process on increasing hunting license fees.
The DGIF board assigned a committee to draft a questionnaire on Sunday hunting that would go out to 5,000 hunting license buyers. It was to be ready for approval at last week’s board meeting in Richmond, but it didn’t happen. The committee chairman, James Hazel of Oakton, said the group hadn’t meet, but added that it soon would.
Wilmer Stoneman of the Virginia Farm Bureau showed up at the board meeting to reaffirm his group’s opposition to Sunday hunting.
“We oppose Sunday hunting,” he said. “That position is deep in our social background. Our members still believe in going to church on Sunday.”
Even so, the bureau “is working hard to expand hunting opportunities,” Stoneman said. He said that he didn’t see the two as being in conflict.
There may be room for middle ground on the Sunday hunting issue, said Courter.
“The other thing I primarily hear from the farm community is significant crop damage by wildlife, particularly white-tailed deer,” he said. “If we meet in the middle on a goal to manage that population, would that include Sunday hunting? There are several ways you could do it: afternoon hunting only, still hunting without dogs.”
“It’s all about what’s right and wrong,” said Barnes, whose family owns a farm near Pungo. “We should be able to hunt on Sunday no matter what the argument. I feel that if the state just opened it up, there would not be this total crash of the civilized world that everyone against lifting the ban is afraid of.”
Advocates of Sunday hunting are wondering if the new executive director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will be the ally they had hoped for and need.
Carlton Courter, who was appointed the top DGIF position last week, comes from a strong agriculture background, the kind that has been hostile to Sunday hunting in the past. He has been Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for more than a dozen years. He and his family own a farm that has been in the Courter name since 1737.
Surveys have revealed that residents with rural roots have less love for Sunday hunting than most other citizen groups. The powerful Virginia Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, has been opposed to Sunday hunting for years, and it underscored that fact the day Courter got the DGIF job.
Here’s what Sunday hunting advocate Todd Barnes said about Courter”
“I’m sure he is a nice guy, but from what I’ve read about him, I do not have a warm, fuzzy [feeling] about his possible stance on Sunday hunting.”
I asked Courter about his position on the controversial issue.
“I haven’t taken a position on Sunday hunting,” he said. “As you know, I will work for the [DGIF] board. The board will determine what their position is.”
In the past, the DGIF board has been cool toward Sunday hunting. In 1999 it even passed a resolution that stated it really didn’t want to discuss the issue, because Sunday hunting is a matter for the General Assembly.
It is true: the DGIF does not have authority to approve Sunday hunting. That is a task of the General Assembly, but legislators weigh heavily the agency’s opinion.
In August, the board decided to take another look at Sunday hunting. Hunting license sales need a boost. What’s more, Sunday hunting frequently was requested by participants in a public input process on increasing hunting license fees.
The DGIF board assigned a committee to draft a questionnaire on Sunday hunting that would go out to 5,000 hunting license buyers. It was to be ready for approval at last week’s board meeting in Richmond, but it didn’t happen. The committee chairman, James Hazel of Oakton, said the group hadn’t meet, but added that it soon would.
Wilmer Stoneman of the Virginia Farm Bureau showed up at the board meeting to reaffirm his group’s opposition to Sunday hunting.
“We oppose Sunday hunting,” he said. “That position is deep in our social background. Our members still believe in going to church on Sunday.”
Even so, the bureau “is working hard to expand hunting opportunities,” Stoneman said. He said that he didn’t see the two as being in conflict.
There may be room for middle ground on the Sunday hunting issue, said Courter.
“The other thing I primarily hear from the farm community is significant crop damage by wildlife, particularly white-tailed deer,” he said. “If we meet in the middle on a goal to manage that population, would that include Sunday hunting? There are several ways you could do it: afternoon hunting only, still hunting without dogs.”
“It’s all about what’s right and wrong,” said Barnes, whose family owns a farm near Pungo. “We should be able to hunt on Sunday no matter what the argument. I feel that if the state just opened it up, there would not be this total crash of the civilized world that everyone against lifting the ban is afraid of.”
Monday, October 30, 2006
Turkey dogs
Until today, I thought turkey dogs were something healthy you bought at the supermarket to eat.
That was until I a saw someone hunting turkey with dogs on Gary Younkin's property.
Yes, it's legal in Virginia.
For more information see the web page of the American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association:
American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association/
That was until I a saw someone hunting turkey with dogs on Gary Younkin's property.
Yes, it's legal in Virginia.
For more information see the web page of the American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association:
American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association/
Monday, October 16, 2006
Should Virginia allow hunting on Sunday?
Tell me what you think. This is a poll just for us VARC members.
NRA's position
Sunday Hunting Petition
NRA's position
Sunday Hunting Petition
Sunday, October 15, 2006
A quest for more deer in the Shenandoah Valley
By Bill Cochran
Last deer season, Myron Reedy and Randy Mongold booked a hunting trip in Kentucky because they had little confidence that their home territory of western Rockingham County, in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, would produce a mature buck.
“We were sitting there saying, ‘Why in the world do we have to drive all the way to Kentucky to have a chance at a whitetail deer when we have all these nice agricultural lands and big mountains here,’ ” Mongold said.
Rockingham County has had a reputation of being big buck country, but many hunters are saying that’s no longer the case on national forest land, which covers about 30 percent of the county.
They get no argument from Al Bourgeois, a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wildlife biologist. “The deer are lower on national forest in that part of the world,” he said.
Mongold and Reedy have been perplexed about the disappearance of deer.
“We have seen a drastic decline in number and quality of the deer herd on the national forest and some private lands here in the valley,” said Reedy.
“When we were kids we would hunt and you’d see 20 or 30 deer a day,” said Mongold. “Now you are lucky to see two in two weeks. The trails aren’t there. The deer aren’t there. You aren’t seeing any sign of dee r-- no manure, no horning.”
In May, following five months of meetings and discussions, Mongold and Moody formed the Shenandoah Valley Sportsman’s Alliance LLC with the goal of bringing back the good old days of hunting. Reedy heads the organization. He says its purpose is to provide quality hunting experiences for youngsters and to promulgate the long-standing tradition of deer hunting for families in their valley.
Support has come from the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors. In a resolution, the board told the DGIF and national forest officials that it wants to enhance the quality and quantity of deer on the national forest while keeping them in proper balance on farms and around communities.
The Alliance has circulated information that shows a 26 percent decline in Rockingham County’s deer kill from 2000 to 2005 and a 38-percent decline on national forest land during the same time period. Only 656 deer were reported killed last season on national forest land.
The organizers admit that it is going against the grain to talk about establishing more deer when in many sections of the state the goal is to reduce overabundant herds.
“There are people who look at us like we are crazy,” Mongold said.
Why have the deer declined on the national forest?
That’s something that the Alliance is working with the DGIF and other organizations to determine, Mongold said. Right now there are two primary considerations:
1. Liberal hunting regulations designed to control the herd on private land have resulted in overkill on national forest property where the animals are less abundant.
2. A reduction in timber harvest on the national forest has meant poorer quality deer habitat and a reduction in the herd.
Again, Biologist Bourgeois is in agreement.
“The deer aren’t staying on private land,” he said. “They are living on the national forest and coming down on private land.”
This is a challenge for many counties in the western section of the state where there are large areas of national forest land. Micromanaging herds is difficult because deer don’t recognize boundaries. When they walk off national forest property they are hit by more liberal regulations. When they move back to the national forest, the habitat has less to offer them.
Environmental interests have drastically lessened timber harvest and other habitat restoration efforts on the forest, the kind that stimulates understory growth needed to establish food and cover for deer, grouse, woodcock, golden-winged warblers and other wildlife.
Bourgeois throws in a couple other factors.
“Personally, I feel that we have had a couple of mast failures leading up to this, and that probably didn’t help. Then you throw a little bit of coyote predation on top of that and there are a lot of factors working.”
Mongold believes the trend can be reversed. Bourgeois is less confident.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, we are not going to reverse them totally unless the national forest has a big change of heart and creates the habitat,” he said.
To that effort, Bourgeois and other DGIF officials have been involved in the review process of the George Washington National Forest management plan, asking for the creation of more early succession forest. A number of sportsmen are backing that effort, including members of the Alliance, but it is not the hot-button issue that it should be among deer, turkey, grouse and woodcock hunters.
The Alliance is soliciting members and donations to cover its expenses. You can e-mail them.
Last deer season, Myron Reedy and Randy Mongold booked a hunting trip in Kentucky because they had little confidence that their home territory of western Rockingham County, in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, would produce a mature buck.
“We were sitting there saying, ‘Why in the world do we have to drive all the way to Kentucky to have a chance at a whitetail deer when we have all these nice agricultural lands and big mountains here,’ ” Mongold said.
Rockingham County has had a reputation of being big buck country, but many hunters are saying that’s no longer the case on national forest land, which covers about 30 percent of the county.
They get no argument from Al Bourgeois, a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wildlife biologist. “The deer are lower on national forest in that part of the world,” he said.
Mongold and Reedy have been perplexed about the disappearance of deer.
“We have seen a drastic decline in number and quality of the deer herd on the national forest and some private lands here in the valley,” said Reedy.
“When we were kids we would hunt and you’d see 20 or 30 deer a day,” said Mongold. “Now you are lucky to see two in two weeks. The trails aren’t there. The deer aren’t there. You aren’t seeing any sign of dee r-- no manure, no horning.”
In May, following five months of meetings and discussions, Mongold and Moody formed the Shenandoah Valley Sportsman’s Alliance LLC with the goal of bringing back the good old days of hunting. Reedy heads the organization. He says its purpose is to provide quality hunting experiences for youngsters and to promulgate the long-standing tradition of deer hunting for families in their valley.
Support has come from the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors. In a resolution, the board told the DGIF and national forest officials that it wants to enhance the quality and quantity of deer on the national forest while keeping them in proper balance on farms and around communities.
The Alliance has circulated information that shows a 26 percent decline in Rockingham County’s deer kill from 2000 to 2005 and a 38-percent decline on national forest land during the same time period. Only 656 deer were reported killed last season on national forest land.
The organizers admit that it is going against the grain to talk about establishing more deer when in many sections of the state the goal is to reduce overabundant herds.
“There are people who look at us like we are crazy,” Mongold said.
Why have the deer declined on the national forest?
That’s something that the Alliance is working with the DGIF and other organizations to determine, Mongold said. Right now there are two primary considerations:
1. Liberal hunting regulations designed to control the herd on private land have resulted in overkill on national forest property where the animals are less abundant.
2. A reduction in timber harvest on the national forest has meant poorer quality deer habitat and a reduction in the herd.
Again, Biologist Bourgeois is in agreement.
“The deer aren’t staying on private land,” he said. “They are living on the national forest and coming down on private land.”
This is a challenge for many counties in the western section of the state where there are large areas of national forest land. Micromanaging herds is difficult because deer don’t recognize boundaries. When they walk off national forest property they are hit by more liberal regulations. When they move back to the national forest, the habitat has less to offer them.
Environmental interests have drastically lessened timber harvest and other habitat restoration efforts on the forest, the kind that stimulates understory growth needed to establish food and cover for deer, grouse, woodcock, golden-winged warblers and other wildlife.
Bourgeois throws in a couple other factors.
“Personally, I feel that we have had a couple of mast failures leading up to this, and that probably didn’t help. Then you throw a little bit of coyote predation on top of that and there are a lot of factors working.”
Mongold believes the trend can be reversed. Bourgeois is less confident.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, we are not going to reverse them totally unless the national forest has a big change of heart and creates the habitat,” he said.
To that effort, Bourgeois and other DGIF officials have been involved in the review process of the George Washington National Forest management plan, asking for the creation of more early succession forest. A number of sportsmen are backing that effort, including members of the Alliance, but it is not the hot-button issue that it should be among deer, turkey, grouse and woodcock hunters.
The Alliance is soliciting members and donations to cover its expenses. You can e-mail them.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
G & S WILD COUNTRY OUTFITTERS
I highly recommend stopping in at G&S Wild Country Outfitters
on the way to the cabin.
This is a fairly new gun store and outfitters, and they deserve your patronage.
It is really good to have a good source for hunting supplies near the hunt club.
Mac and I bought our crossbows from them last year, and I received the best customer service and attention that I have ever gotten from a store.
Gene (the owner) not only helped set up my crossbow, but spent hours with me showing how to use it, and sighting it in with the sights and the red dot scope.
They have all kind of hunting and fishing supplies and are a firearms dealer. Stop in and talk to Gene and Sheila, let them know you are from VARC.
G&S Wild Country Outfitters
23987 Senedo RD Woodstock, VA 22664 (rt 42 just past the Walmart on the right)
(540)459-7787
Some of the items they carry:
http://www.bucksdeer.com
Email: bucks2@rica.net
on the way to the cabin.
This is a fairly new gun store and outfitters, and they deserve your patronage.
It is really good to have a good source for hunting supplies near the hunt club.
Mac and I bought our crossbows from them last year, and I received the best customer service and attention that I have ever gotten from a store.
Gene (the owner) not only helped set up my crossbow, but spent hours with me showing how to use it, and sighting it in with the sights and the red dot scope.
They have all kind of hunting and fishing supplies and are a firearms dealer. Stop in and talk to Gene and Sheila, let them know you are from VARC.
G&S Wild Country Outfitters
23987 Senedo RD Woodstock, VA 22664 (rt 42 just past the Walmart on the right)
(540)459-7787
Some of the items they carry:
http://www.bucksdeer.com
Email: bucks2@rica.net
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Cabin Addition Update
Carl and George were up to the cabin over the weekend. They wired the new addition.
Work that can be done now:
Insulate the walls, the wiring is finished. Not the ceiling, the duct work still needs to be run.
Connect and run duct work from the furness to the new room and honeymoon suite. See Carl for details.
Finish front of addition. Cover with plywood.
Build overhang on side of addition.
Shingle the roof.
Put in exterior doors.
Apply siding.
Work that can be done now:
Insulate the walls, the wiring is finished. Not the ceiling, the duct work still needs to be run.
Connect and run duct work from the furness to the new room and honeymoon suite. See Carl for details.
Finish front of addition. Cover with plywood.
Build overhang on side of addition.
Shingle the roof.
Put in exterior doors.
Apply siding.
New Virginia electronic license sales system
New electric license sales system highlights good and bad
By Bill Cochran
Sportsmen buying their hunting and fishing licenses and agents selling them have been working under a new electronic system since July 1.
How is it going?
Good and bad, according to whom you are addressing.
Gone is the old system of an agent filling out a thick book of license forms. Most licenses now are being sold by agents of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries who use a computer to fill in the license form. Some are being purchased online or by phone.
Here are some observations on the new system:
>Some license buyers, as well as license agents, say it takes longer to issue a license under the new system. One outdoor writer has been saying, “Better get your license early or expect to stand in line.”
Virgil Kopf, assistant director of administration of the DGIF, said he had hear the “it takes longer” chant, but when he put a stopwatch to the new system he found little difference. During the early going, 90 percent of the sales have been completed in 5 minutes or less. No question, the process speeds up multi-sales.
Logging onto the Internet is not included in Kopf’s time check. Agents have been given the option of remaining logged on during inactive periods. Some choose to, others don’t.
The agents who have told me that it takes longer to issue a license also admit that after-sale paperwork goes much faster, which is in their favor.
>If you purchase a license online this year, look for the process to go much quicker next year because the data filled in the initial time will pop back up. As for this year, don’t wait until the day before deer season to buy your licenses, even though Kopf predicts that several enhancements to the process should be in place before the rush of deer hunting. He anticipated that this will include an express issuing process for license buyers who already are in the system.
>Some of the country stores and other shops where licenses have been sold in the past no longer sell them. On July 1, more than 130 agents had dropped out, saying they did not want to automate; however, another 61 who never had sold licenses signed onto the new system, Kopf said. The number of agents has continued to grow since July, with the figure passing 450, which is lower than this time last year.
The DGIF has a goal of establishing an agent within a 30-minute drive of consumers in 90 percent of the state. “That has been exceeded,” said Kopf.
>One license agent on Eastern Shore told me that there needs to be a protocol license that can be issued when the system is down. For example, it doesn’t make for a happy camper when someone is in her shop early morning planning to go fishing and the system won’t let her issue a license. She said that a hand-written form needs to be available to show that the sportsmen attempted to purchase a license.
A backup system is not justifiable because of the paperwork and cost involved, said Kopf. DGIF is addressing the downtime problem by attempting to eliminate system failure. There were some lost hours during the early going of the new system, and lessons were learned, he said. Stress testing has been taking place to verify the ability of the system to handle the huge volume of sales expected prior to the deer season.
>The majority of the licenses continue to be sold through agents, but licenses also may be purchased on line via the DGIF Web site: www.dgif.virginia.gov, and by phone. The toll-free phone is 866-693-9157.
>Unlike in the past, hunting and fishing licenses will be good for one year after the date of purchase. In the past, hunting licenses have expired June 30 and fishing license Dec. 31 no matter the date purchased. There are two exceptions to the new process. The big game license and the national forest stamp will be valid July 1-June 30.
>There is a distinct advantage to buying all of your licenses at one time. It saves time and the licenses will be printed out on one single piece of paper.
>License buyers may check off a $2 contribution to Hunters For the Hungry, but few are doing so. I have had license agents have told me they can’t find the prompt necessary to make the contribution. This is perplexing to Kopf because the check-off is highlighted by a blaze orange band at the top of the license sales form.
An end of August tally showed that there were sales of approximately 44,000 hunting license, 35,000 big game license, 21,000 muzzleloading license and 11,000 bow license, but only just over 1,150 $2 check-offs for Hunters For the Hungry.
License agents simply aren’t asking buyer if they want to contribute to this program. That was a problem with the old system. It was thought that the electronic license system would change that, but it hasn’t.
>Anglers who fish the state’s three public fee-fishing areas--Douthat State Park, Crooked Creek and Big Tumbling Creek--now can purchase their daily fee from any license agent, online or by phone. This eliminates the need to spend extra time standing in line at the site. Permits no longer will be available onsite at Big Tumbling Creek and license agents will not be available at Douthat Park and Crooked Creek after Sept. 30.
>You can purchase a state waterfowl stamp under the new system, but not a federal stamp. That could change in the future. Under a pilot program approved by Congress, 15 states are selling federal duck stamps over the phone or Internet this season. Virginia is not one of them, but likely will be part of the system in the future.
Licence Information
Online sales
By Bill Cochran
Sportsmen buying their hunting and fishing licenses and agents selling them have been working under a new electronic system since July 1.
How is it going?
Good and bad, according to whom you are addressing.
Gone is the old system of an agent filling out a thick book of license forms. Most licenses now are being sold by agents of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries who use a computer to fill in the license form. Some are being purchased online or by phone.
Here are some observations on the new system:
>Some license buyers, as well as license agents, say it takes longer to issue a license under the new system. One outdoor writer has been saying, “Better get your license early or expect to stand in line.”
Virgil Kopf, assistant director of administration of the DGIF, said he had hear the “it takes longer” chant, but when he put a stopwatch to the new system he found little difference. During the early going, 90 percent of the sales have been completed in 5 minutes or less. No question, the process speeds up multi-sales.
Logging onto the Internet is not included in Kopf’s time check. Agents have been given the option of remaining logged on during inactive periods. Some choose to, others don’t.
The agents who have told me that it takes longer to issue a license also admit that after-sale paperwork goes much faster, which is in their favor.
>If you purchase a license online this year, look for the process to go much quicker next year because the data filled in the initial time will pop back up. As for this year, don’t wait until the day before deer season to buy your licenses, even though Kopf predicts that several enhancements to the process should be in place before the rush of deer hunting. He anticipated that this will include an express issuing process for license buyers who already are in the system.
>Some of the country stores and other shops where licenses have been sold in the past no longer sell them. On July 1, more than 130 agents had dropped out, saying they did not want to automate; however, another 61 who never had sold licenses signed onto the new system, Kopf said. The number of agents has continued to grow since July, with the figure passing 450, which is lower than this time last year.
The DGIF has a goal of establishing an agent within a 30-minute drive of consumers in 90 percent of the state. “That has been exceeded,” said Kopf.
>One license agent on Eastern Shore told me that there needs to be a protocol license that can be issued when the system is down. For example, it doesn’t make for a happy camper when someone is in her shop early morning planning to go fishing and the system won’t let her issue a license. She said that a hand-written form needs to be available to show that the sportsmen attempted to purchase a license.
A backup system is not justifiable because of the paperwork and cost involved, said Kopf. DGIF is addressing the downtime problem by attempting to eliminate system failure. There were some lost hours during the early going of the new system, and lessons were learned, he said. Stress testing has been taking place to verify the ability of the system to handle the huge volume of sales expected prior to the deer season.
>The majority of the licenses continue to be sold through agents, but licenses also may be purchased on line via the DGIF Web site: www.dgif.virginia.gov, and by phone. The toll-free phone is 866-693-9157.
>Unlike in the past, hunting and fishing licenses will be good for one year after the date of purchase. In the past, hunting licenses have expired June 30 and fishing license Dec. 31 no matter the date purchased. There are two exceptions to the new process. The big game license and the national forest stamp will be valid July 1-June 30.
>There is a distinct advantage to buying all of your licenses at one time. It saves time and the licenses will be printed out on one single piece of paper.
>License buyers may check off a $2 contribution to Hunters For the Hungry, but few are doing so. I have had license agents have told me they can’t find the prompt necessary to make the contribution. This is perplexing to Kopf because the check-off is highlighted by a blaze orange band at the top of the license sales form.
An end of August tally showed that there were sales of approximately 44,000 hunting license, 35,000 big game license, 21,000 muzzleloading license and 11,000 bow license, but only just over 1,150 $2 check-offs for Hunters For the Hungry.
License agents simply aren’t asking buyer if they want to contribute to this program. That was a problem with the old system. It was thought that the electronic license system would change that, but it hasn’t.
>Anglers who fish the state’s three public fee-fishing areas--Douthat State Park, Crooked Creek and Big Tumbling Creek--now can purchase their daily fee from any license agent, online or by phone. This eliminates the need to spend extra time standing in line at the site. Permits no longer will be available onsite at Big Tumbling Creek and license agents will not be available at Douthat Park and Crooked Creek after Sept. 30.
>You can purchase a state waterfowl stamp under the new system, but not a federal stamp. That could change in the future. Under a pilot program approved by Congress, 15 states are selling federal duck stamps over the phone or Internet this season. Virginia is not one of them, but likely will be part of the system in the future.
Licence Information
Online sales
Monday, September 11, 2006
Success!
We finally got the roof on the cabin addition! It is now more or less weather tight. And best of all, no one was injured.
Thanks to everyone that helped out this weekend including Carl and George, Pleze, Joe, Jack, Vance, Ray, Dave, George Smith. Also stopping by to provide moral support were Mac, and later Levin.
We still need to finish the front with plywood and tar paper, put the shingles on the roof, and install the doors and siding.
I will post some photos later.
Rut is a three-letter word for deer hunting success
By Bill Cochran
Matt Knox won’t soon forget that morning he spent in a treestand the second week of last year’s muzzleloading deer season. By the time he climbed out of his stand at 10:30 a.m. he had seen eight different antlered bucks.
“They appeared to be everywhere, coursing the property like bird dogs looking for does. It was amazing,” said Knox, who is the deer biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Hunters use one word to describe what was happening around Knox’s treestand. That word is “rut.”
You might say that “rut” is another three-letter word for sex in the life of a deer. It is a time of heightened sexual interest and without it there would be a whole lot fewer trophy deer killed each season. The rut can cause a buck to cast aside some of his survival instincts and take chances that he normally wouldn’t take. It is the clink in his armor.
Smart hunters plan their activities around the rut. So the question for many along about this time of the year is this: “When will the peak of the rut occur in 2006?”
When I received that question from reader Jason Hale, I relayed it to Knox.
“This one is easy,” he said. “We have been collecting reproductive data from across the state for several years and although the peak date of breeding varies a little from year to year, the average is always around mid-November.”
While the best time to go hunting during the deer season is anytime you can get away, be aware if you are looking for a buck the peak hunting is going to be Nov. 11-17 of the muzzleloading season and Nov. 18-25 of the general firearms seasons. Sure, big deer will be killed outside of those dates, but if you want proof about the impact of the rut just go to a big game trophy show and see how the trophy heads line up with the dates of the peak of the rut. I recall cataloging trophy deer that had been entered in a contest and an amazing number of them had been killed the same day.
There are many clubhouse theories on what jumpstarts the rut; cold temperatures, the moon phrase, the food supply among them. Most of it is what Knox calls “bunk.”
The rut is triggered by photo period, he said. The seasonal change of light affects the pituitary glands in bucks, which stimulates the release of testosterone, a male sex hormone produced in the testes.
There are some secondary factors involved. “Healthier deer with a more balanced sex ratio and an older buck age structure will have an earlier and more intense rut,” Knox said. This can explain some of the variance in the timing of the rut.
While outdoor magazine writers churn out lots of copy on the pre-rut, the rut and the post-rut, in reality most does are bred in a pretty short period and then the rut is over, he said.
When you are afield at the magical peak time, you can be rewarded with a parade of bucks like Knox observed last muzzleloading season. It is a show that you won’t want to miss.
Matt Knox won’t soon forget that morning he spent in a treestand the second week of last year’s muzzleloading deer season. By the time he climbed out of his stand at 10:30 a.m. he had seen eight different antlered bucks.
“They appeared to be everywhere, coursing the property like bird dogs looking for does. It was amazing,” said Knox, who is the deer biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Hunters use one word to describe what was happening around Knox’s treestand. That word is “rut.”
You might say that “rut” is another three-letter word for sex in the life of a deer. It is a time of heightened sexual interest and without it there would be a whole lot fewer trophy deer killed each season. The rut can cause a buck to cast aside some of his survival instincts and take chances that he normally wouldn’t take. It is the clink in his armor.
Smart hunters plan their activities around the rut. So the question for many along about this time of the year is this: “When will the peak of the rut occur in 2006?”
When I received that question from reader Jason Hale, I relayed it to Knox.
“This one is easy,” he said. “We have been collecting reproductive data from across the state for several years and although the peak date of breeding varies a little from year to year, the average is always around mid-November.”
While the best time to go hunting during the deer season is anytime you can get away, be aware if you are looking for a buck the peak hunting is going to be Nov. 11-17 of the muzzleloading season and Nov. 18-25 of the general firearms seasons. Sure, big deer will be killed outside of those dates, but if you want proof about the impact of the rut just go to a big game trophy show and see how the trophy heads line up with the dates of the peak of the rut. I recall cataloging trophy deer that had been entered in a contest and an amazing number of them had been killed the same day.
There are many clubhouse theories on what jumpstarts the rut; cold temperatures, the moon phrase, the food supply among them. Most of it is what Knox calls “bunk.”
The rut is triggered by photo period, he said. The seasonal change of light affects the pituitary glands in bucks, which stimulates the release of testosterone, a male sex hormone produced in the testes.
There are some secondary factors involved. “Healthier deer with a more balanced sex ratio and an older buck age structure will have an earlier and more intense rut,” Knox said. This can explain some of the variance in the timing of the rut.
While outdoor magazine writers churn out lots of copy on the pre-rut, the rut and the post-rut, in reality most does are bred in a pretty short period and then the rut is over, he said.
When you are afield at the magical peak time, you can be rewarded with a parade of bucks like Knox observed last muzzleloading season. It is a show that you won’t want to miss.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Let's work on the cabin this weekend.
We really need to get it weather tight.
Roll call as of 9/8/06
Mac and Pleze will be up on Friday.
Jack, Vance, Dave, Levin, Joe, Carl are in.
John Bratch, Mike, Jimie and Don can't make it.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Shipping Container for Storage
I checked with L and H Storage of Martinsburg, WV about a shipping container we could use for storage.
A 20 ft unit runs $1800 - $2500 depending on condition.
They have several now for $2000.
A 40 Ft unit runs $2000 - $3000 depending on condition.
They have several now for $2800.
Delivery to the cabin by rollback truck is $200.00
They need 13' 6" height and 8' 6" width clearance to get in.
A 20 ft unit should fit.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Let's take a break.
Thank's to every one who came up and helped work on the cabin this weekend. We made a great deal of progress, but we still do not have it weather tight.
We will take a break next week end and give everyone a rest and time to heal up.
We will plan to return after labor day.
We will take a break next week end and give everyone a rest and time to heal up.
We will plan to return after labor day.
Carrying the banner for Sunday hunting
By Bill Cochran
Butch Ammon might as well have been carrying a sign that said “The End Is Near!” considering all the attention he was getting at the weekend Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show.
The Richmond sportsman was wearing a t-shirt that he and his wife and daughter had designed. On the front was: “I Support Sunday Hunting. How About You?”
On the back was a list of things you can do on Sunday—fish, boat, Jet Ski, target shoot, play golf, tennis or baseball, go to football games, drink beer.” Then came the words, “But You Can Not Go Hunting.”
As Ammon moved through the record crowds at the Showplace in the Richmond area, most of the responses he received on the controversial issue of Sunday hunting were what he'd hoped to hear.
“A lot of people stopped me to talk to me and pat me on the back or give me a thumbs-up and basically make a ton of positive comments about Sunday hunting,” he said.
There were exceptions. When Ammon stood in line to buy a coke and hot dog a guy in back of him said, “You should be in church on Sunday.”
Said Ammon: “Yes, but we all should have a choice on whether or not we want to hunt on Sunday.”
That choice has been debated but shot down on a number of occasions during recent years, leaving Virginia one of seven states, all in the east, where most forms of hunting are ban on Sunday. Just this past General Assembly session, three bills that would have permitted at least partial Sunday hunting were killed.
But things appear to be changing:
>The governor says he favors an end to the ban.
>Several other states, including New York, Ohio and Michigan, recently have backed away from the prohibition of Sunday hunting with few apparent problems.
>There are national organizations, including the powerful NRA, who says people have a right to hunt on Sunday.
>The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has recognized that the time has come to discuss Sunday hunting, a subject it mostly has avoided in the past. A committee of its board is scheduled to discuss the issue at a meeting 3 p.m. next Monday.
The board is facing some constituents who are demanding more hunting opportunities following a significant boost in license fees. DGIF admits that Sunday hunting would have little biological impact on wildlife. It is a social or cultural issue.
One major question, would it boost hunting license sales and attract newcomers and nonresidents to hunting in Virginia? Or would it cause problems for hunters from landowners and other outdoorsmen who welcome a day free of hunting?
Viewed as one of the major hurdles to Sunday hunting, along with DGIF and the General Assembly, is the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, the sponsor of the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show. And that's where Ammon and other advocates set up the past weekend.
Two groups were involved. Ammon was part of a group of deer hunters, mostly from the western end of the state, who rally around a Web site, www.vadeer.com . The other group, which had a booth at the show, was the Virginia Waterfowlers Association.
Both groups handed out “I support Sunday Hunting in Virginia” stickers. Vadeer.com stopped show visitors and asked them to take part in a poll. The reported result was 90 percent in favor of Sunday hunting.
Polls conducted by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, as late as last year, have revealed that more than 60 percent of its members opposed Sunday hunting. Some sportsmen who advocate Sunday hunting say that the association has worded its question in a way that encourages a negative vote.
That is not the intent, said Denny Quaff, an association officer.
“I want to get a better feel for what people think,” he said.
With that in mind, he plans to expand the number of questions on Sunday hunting when the survey is circulated in the future. A hunter who would say “No” to Sunday hunting if only given that choice may say “Yes” to Sunday hunting that doesn't start until noon, he said.
When Ammon took his walking billboard to the booth of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association he said he met his stiffest opposition and was told that Sunday hunting would anger non-hunters and there are way more of them than hunters. The result could hurt hunting
This reveals that hunters themselves are sharply divided on the issue, and while it appears advocates of Sunday hunting are gaining ground they are a long way from victory.
Butch Ammon might as well have been carrying a sign that said “The End Is Near!” considering all the attention he was getting at the weekend Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show.
The Richmond sportsman was wearing a t-shirt that he and his wife and daughter had designed. On the front was: “I Support Sunday Hunting. How About You?”
On the back was a list of things you can do on Sunday—fish, boat, Jet Ski, target shoot, play golf, tennis or baseball, go to football games, drink beer.” Then came the words, “But You Can Not Go Hunting.”
As Ammon moved through the record crowds at the Showplace in the Richmond area, most of the responses he received on the controversial issue of Sunday hunting were what he'd hoped to hear.
“A lot of people stopped me to talk to me and pat me on the back or give me a thumbs-up and basically make a ton of positive comments about Sunday hunting,” he said.
There were exceptions. When Ammon stood in line to buy a coke and hot dog a guy in back of him said, “You should be in church on Sunday.”
Said Ammon: “Yes, but we all should have a choice on whether or not we want to hunt on Sunday.”
That choice has been debated but shot down on a number of occasions during recent years, leaving Virginia one of seven states, all in the east, where most forms of hunting are ban on Sunday. Just this past General Assembly session, three bills that would have permitted at least partial Sunday hunting were killed.
But things appear to be changing:
>The governor says he favors an end to the ban.
>Several other states, including New York, Ohio and Michigan, recently have backed away from the prohibition of Sunday hunting with few apparent problems.
>There are national organizations, including the powerful NRA, who says people have a right to hunt on Sunday.
>The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has recognized that the time has come to discuss Sunday hunting, a subject it mostly has avoided in the past. A committee of its board is scheduled to discuss the issue at a meeting 3 p.m. next Monday.
The board is facing some constituents who are demanding more hunting opportunities following a significant boost in license fees. DGIF admits that Sunday hunting would have little biological impact on wildlife. It is a social or cultural issue.
One major question, would it boost hunting license sales and attract newcomers and nonresidents to hunting in Virginia? Or would it cause problems for hunters from landowners and other outdoorsmen who welcome a day free of hunting?
Viewed as one of the major hurdles to Sunday hunting, along with DGIF and the General Assembly, is the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, the sponsor of the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show. And that's where Ammon and other advocates set up the past weekend.
Two groups were involved. Ammon was part of a group of deer hunters, mostly from the western end of the state, who rally around a Web site, www.vadeer.com . The other group, which had a booth at the show, was the Virginia Waterfowlers Association.
Both groups handed out “I support Sunday Hunting in Virginia” stickers. Vadeer.com stopped show visitors and asked them to take part in a poll. The reported result was 90 percent in favor of Sunday hunting.
Polls conducted by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, as late as last year, have revealed that more than 60 percent of its members opposed Sunday hunting. Some sportsmen who advocate Sunday hunting say that the association has worded its question in a way that encourages a negative vote.
That is not the intent, said Denny Quaff, an association officer.
“I want to get a better feel for what people think,” he said.
With that in mind, he plans to expand the number of questions on Sunday hunting when the survey is circulated in the future. A hunter who would say “No” to Sunday hunting if only given that choice may say “Yes” to Sunday hunting that doesn't start until noon, he said.
When Ammon took his walking billboard to the booth of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association he said he met his stiffest opposition and was told that Sunday hunting would anger non-hunters and there are way more of them than hunters. The result could hurt hunting
This reveals that hunters themselves are sharply divided on the issue, and while it appears advocates of Sunday hunting are gaining ground they are a long way from victory.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Let's get the roof on this week!
Last weekend's work trip went well and we were really productive.
We got the walls to the cabin addition up, and partially sheathed.
Now, we need to get back and get the roof on before it rains.
Carl is going to get the materials and be at the cabin, ready to work this
Friday, August 18th.
Please come and lend a hand if you can on Friday and Saturday.
Let me know if you can come.
Dave
We got the walls to the cabin addition up, and partially sheathed.
Now, we need to get back and get the roof on before it rains.
Carl is going to get the materials and be at the cabin, ready to work this
Friday, August 18th.
Please come and lend a hand if you can on Friday and Saturday.
Let me know if you can come.
Dave
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Cabin Crew
Thanks to every one that showed up for the work party. We made a lot of progress on the addition to the cabin. I guess I won't have to hire some illegals after all.
We are tentatively planning on the next work party the 2nd weekend in August, the 12th-13th. We plan on raising the walls that weekend.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Warning: Troopers to Focus On I-81 this Weekend!
Troopers Focus On I-81 & I-95
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Drivers on two Virginia interstate highways will see a lot of state troopers the next four days.
Virginia State Police have launched what they call Operation Air, Land & Speed on Interstates 95 and 81. Troopers will ``saturate'' the two highways -- today through Monday -- with extra patrols and aerial speed enforcement.
The agency decided to beef up its patrols in response to an increase of more than 30 percent in traffic deaths during the long Fourth of July weekend.
There were 21 traffic deaths last weekend. That's compared to 16 over the Fourth of July weekend last year. Colonel Steven Flaherty, the state police superintendent, says the special weekend enforcement effort is not about speed traps or writing tickets.
He says it's about safety, and getting drivers to modify their behavior. He says troopers will target speeders, drunken drivers, people not wearing seat belts and those driving recklessly.
Flaherty says police will crank up enforcement efforts again on chosen weekends in August and September.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Drivers on two Virginia interstate highways will see a lot of state troopers the next four days.
Virginia State Police have launched what they call Operation Air, Land & Speed on Interstates 95 and 81. Troopers will ``saturate'' the two highways -- today through Monday -- with extra patrols and aerial speed enforcement.
The agency decided to beef up its patrols in response to an increase of more than 30 percent in traffic deaths during the long Fourth of July weekend.
There were 21 traffic deaths last weekend. That's compared to 16 over the Fourth of July weekend last year. Colonel Steven Flaherty, the state police superintendent, says the special weekend enforcement effort is not about speed traps or writing tickets.
He says it's about safety, and getting drivers to modify their behavior. He says troopers will target speeders, drunken drivers, people not wearing seat belts and those driving recklessly.
Flaherty says police will crank up enforcement efforts again on chosen weekends in August and September.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Links to an older photo album
Here are some pictures taken a few years ago.
http://daveshaw.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=varc
Forest Service Contact Numbers
Over the 4th of July weekend a tree fell across Forest service road 252 almost blocking access to the cabin. Fortunately we were able to squeeze under it, but were worried we would not get out.
Not to fear, the Forest Service was on top of things and early Monday morning came out and cut down the tree.
For future reference the contact information for them is:
Lee Ranger District
109 Molineu Rd.Edinburg, VA 22824
(540) 984-4101
mailto:Mailroom_R8_George_Washington_Jefferson@fs.fed.us?subject=LeeRD
Not to fear, the Forest Service was on top of things and early Monday morning came out and cut down the tree.
For future reference the contact information for them is:
Lee Ranger District
109 Molineu Rd.Edinburg, VA 22824
(540) 984-4101
mailto:Mailroom_R8_George_Washington_Jefferson@fs.fed.us?subject=LeeRD
Friday, June 30, 2006
Work Party July 8-9
We are on for a work party at the cabin the weekend of July 8th and 9th.
So far the following members have said they will attend:
Dave Shaw
Levin Ange
Pleze Shaw
Mac McClanahan
Vance Wortman (Friday)
Randy Weyandt
Carl and George Benckert (Friday)
Jimmie Benckert
John Uecke
Jack Bauer
John Brasch
Mike Michaelis
Gary Younkin, our new neighbor will be stopping by.
Anyone else responding, I will add you to the list.
George and Carl have put in the footers for the addition to the cabin. We plan to at least install the floor joists and decking this weekend, so bring you carpentry gear.
Finishing up on the pump and water system are also in the plans.
We may also work on the Ray's bridge.
See you there.
So far the following members have said they will attend:
Dave Shaw
Levin Ange
Pleze Shaw
Mac McClanahan
Vance Wortman (Friday)
Randy Weyandt
Carl and George Benckert (Friday)
Jimmie Benckert
John Uecke
Jack Bauer
John Brasch
Mike Michaelis
Gary Younkin, our new neighbor will be stopping by.
Anyone else responding, I will add you to the list.
George and Carl have put in the footers for the addition to the cabin. We plan to at least install the floor joists and decking this weekend, so bring you carpentry gear.
Finishing up on the pump and water system are also in the plans.
We may also work on the Ray's bridge.
See you there.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Sportsmen react to proposed hunting/fishing license increases
By Bill Cochran
“Are you crazy? We pay too much now. I can't afford to hunt now and you want more.”
That is the reaction of Michael Mchale of Newport News to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' proposal to boost the price of nearly 60 hunting and fishing licenses and permits by $5. Make that $5.50 if you include the license agent's fee.
The department has received a less-than-enthusiastic endorsement of its proposal, which is scheduled to get final action in Richmond on June 20. During a 31-day public involvement period, that ended June 1, the agency registered a total of 269 comments. All but 11 came via its Web site online comment system.
“In very general terms, of the 269 comments received, more expressed opposition to the license fee increase rather than expressed support for them,” said Phil Smith, the department's policy analyst, regulator coordinator and freedom of information officer.
That is contrary to past experiences when hunters and fishermen generally have lined up to support the financial needs of the DGIF. Basic licenses have not seen an across-the-board increase since 1988; however, there have been new fees initiated, including a crossbow license and state duck stamp.
“A lot of people are starting to get priced right out of the sport,” said Lynn Vaughan of Richmond, who expressed opposition to the proposed license increase.
Others had a different opinion.
“My vote is to go for it,” said Ralph Huppert of Sterling . “I can't help but say, anyone who howls at this proposal is either ignorant of the facts or they are too self-centered to care.”
“What other board or agency or even business has not had increases in operating fees since 1988?” said Sue Mayo of Crewe .
Several people who made comments said that they recognized the need for the DGIF to receive additional funding, but $5 in one swoop is too much. A $1 to $3 increase frequently was suggested. Some warned that there would be buyer resistance, leading to people dropping out of hunting and fishing or participating without a license.
“Why not go up a little each year instead of one lump?” said Terry Rohr of Staunton.
If the DGIF board backs off from its proposal, a reduction in the proposed $5 fee is the most likely approach. It depends on how firm board members are willing to stand. No question, additional funding is needed, but a number of sportsmen said they will support the proposed increases only if they get something in return.
“I fail to see why there will be an increase of fees without an increase of services,” said Robert Plummer of Manassas.
On the list of what sportsmen want in exchange for higher license fee is better management of DGIF wildlife management areas; improvements in the trout program; a boost in the deer population on national forest land and—the biggie—Sunday hunting.
A significant number of participants made the public input process a referendum on Sunday hunting.
“With these proposed increases in license fees, many hunters feel that it is time that the VDGIF openly and publicly support the effort to have Sunday hunting approved,” said Brian Sanders of Warsaw.
“I would pay $20 per tag if I were allowed to hunt on Sunday,” said Steven Barnes of Virginia Beach.
While Sunday hunting is an issue for the General Assembly, support from the DGIF likely would be required for it to have any chance for success. That support has been withheld in the past, a fact that is ripe for change.
Several participants, who appeared to be members of an equestrian group, voiced opposition to Sunday hunting.
Throughout the thread of comments was the frequent question: Why expect hunters and anglers to pay for all of the state's outdoor recreation?
“Bird watchers, horse riders, joggers, cyclists and others benefit from the sportsmen dollars without contributing to the system,” said John Thomas of Ruckersville.
The DGIF has authority to increase its license fees up to $5 every three years. Under the proposal now on the table, basis hunting and fishing license fees would jump from $12.50 to $18, including the increase in the agent's fee.
Why not boost nonresident licenses even more, a number of participants asked. “I believe DGIF should be charging out-of-state hunters and fishermen at least five times what it cost Virginia residents,” said Marty Davies of Stuarts Draft.
The DGIF, however, only has authority to raise nonresident licenses under the same guidelines as resident fees. A trip to the 2007 General Assembly likely will be made to get that changed.
The comments were laced with references to recent mismanagement charges against DGIF that resulted in the dismissal of its executive director and the resignation of its board chairman.
“In light of the recent management scandal, I don't think most Virginia hunters feel they can trust that DGIF is doing the best job to ensure our hunting heritage,” said Donald Blosser of Fredericksburg.
“Are you crazy? We pay too much now. I can't afford to hunt now and you want more.”
That is the reaction of Michael Mchale of Newport News to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' proposal to boost the price of nearly 60 hunting and fishing licenses and permits by $5. Make that $5.50 if you include the license agent's fee.
The department has received a less-than-enthusiastic endorsement of its proposal, which is scheduled to get final action in Richmond on June 20. During a 31-day public involvement period, that ended June 1, the agency registered a total of 269 comments. All but 11 came via its Web site online comment system.
“In very general terms, of the 269 comments received, more expressed opposition to the license fee increase rather than expressed support for them,” said Phil Smith, the department's policy analyst, regulator coordinator and freedom of information officer.
That is contrary to past experiences when hunters and fishermen generally have lined up to support the financial needs of the DGIF. Basic licenses have not seen an across-the-board increase since 1988; however, there have been new fees initiated, including a crossbow license and state duck stamp.
“A lot of people are starting to get priced right out of the sport,” said Lynn Vaughan of Richmond, who expressed opposition to the proposed license increase.
Others had a different opinion.
“My vote is to go for it,” said Ralph Huppert of Sterling . “I can't help but say, anyone who howls at this proposal is either ignorant of the facts or they are too self-centered to care.”
“What other board or agency or even business has not had increases in operating fees since 1988?” said Sue Mayo of Crewe .
Several people who made comments said that they recognized the need for the DGIF to receive additional funding, but $5 in one swoop is too much. A $1 to $3 increase frequently was suggested. Some warned that there would be buyer resistance, leading to people dropping out of hunting and fishing or participating without a license.
“Why not go up a little each year instead of one lump?” said Terry Rohr of Staunton.
If the DGIF board backs off from its proposal, a reduction in the proposed $5 fee is the most likely approach. It depends on how firm board members are willing to stand. No question, additional funding is needed, but a number of sportsmen said they will support the proposed increases only if they get something in return.
“I fail to see why there will be an increase of fees without an increase of services,” said Robert Plummer of Manassas.
On the list of what sportsmen want in exchange for higher license fee is better management of DGIF wildlife management areas; improvements in the trout program; a boost in the deer population on national forest land and—the biggie—Sunday hunting.
A significant number of participants made the public input process a referendum on Sunday hunting.
“With these proposed increases in license fees, many hunters feel that it is time that the VDGIF openly and publicly support the effort to have Sunday hunting approved,” said Brian Sanders of Warsaw.
“I would pay $20 per tag if I were allowed to hunt on Sunday,” said Steven Barnes of Virginia Beach.
While Sunday hunting is an issue for the General Assembly, support from the DGIF likely would be required for it to have any chance for success. That support has been withheld in the past, a fact that is ripe for change.
Several participants, who appeared to be members of an equestrian group, voiced opposition to Sunday hunting.
Throughout the thread of comments was the frequent question: Why expect hunters and anglers to pay for all of the state's outdoor recreation?
“Bird watchers, horse riders, joggers, cyclists and others benefit from the sportsmen dollars without contributing to the system,” said John Thomas of Ruckersville.
The DGIF has authority to increase its license fees up to $5 every three years. Under the proposal now on the table, basis hunting and fishing license fees would jump from $12.50 to $18, including the increase in the agent's fee.
Why not boost nonresident licenses even more, a number of participants asked. “I believe DGIF should be charging out-of-state hunters and fishermen at least five times what it cost Virginia residents,” said Marty Davies of Stuarts Draft.
The DGIF, however, only has authority to raise nonresident licenses under the same guidelines as resident fees. A trip to the 2007 General Assembly likely will be made to get that changed.
The comments were laced with references to recent mismanagement charges against DGIF that resulted in the dismissal of its executive director and the resignation of its board chairman.
“In light of the recent management scandal, I don't think most Virginia hunters feel they can trust that DGIF is doing the best job to ensure our hunting heritage,” said Donald Blosser of Fredericksburg.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Hunting propects are promising
By Bill Cochran
Look for above average hunting this fall and winter. I know, it is early to make such a prediction, but a bunch of things have lined up to enhance the well being of most wildlife species.
To begin with, the 2005-06 winter was relative mild, with few major snows. What’s more, the mast crop last fall was decent. Put these together -- the absence of harsh winter weather and the abundance of food -- and nearly every species that is hunted comes through the winter in healthy shape. This enhances the weights and reproduction success of wildlife, and, in the case of deer, promotes antler development.
The mild winter meant an early and quick green-up in the spring, a condition that benefits most wildlife species with shot-in-the arm food supply.
The spring has been dry, too dry, really. But this has meant the absence of long, cold rains that can be catastrophic to young turkey and grouse poults.
The absence of hard freezes this spring should benefit all kinds of seed and mast production, meaning plenty of food this fall. Soft mast species, including blackberries and hawthorns, have experience heavy blooms and young fruit. Flowering on several oak species was heavy.
What is needed now is ample rain to bring mast crops to maturity and to stimulate vigorous growth of cover to help game species find protection from predators.
Here is a species-by-species look at what is happening:
Turkey
Remember during the spring gobbler season how big the toms were? There were tons of 20-pounders. Well, this means the hens were in good shape, too, thanks to a mild winter, a decent food supply and a quick green-up. Hens that are healthy are better equipped for nesting success. On the downside, March was a tad cold and low temperatures that time of year can delay the onset of breeding and nesting, which can diminish reproduction success.
There was an absence of heavy rainfall during the nesting season. Rain can assist predators in finding nesting hens and it can increase the mortality of poults when they hatch. When you do want some rain is in June, in order to improve habitat quality and insect production. Late May and early June have been extremely dry, and that is starting to impacted habitat quality and could lessen the quality of soft and hard mast.
At this point, there are more positives than negatives for turkeys.
Grouse
Everything said about turkeys also applies to grouse. Like turkeys, grouse have suffered through a string of poor recruitment years, and the species is due a break.
Deer
The deer I am seeing have a sleek, healthy look. When they come through the winter in good condition, the result of mild weather and a decent food supply, the does are equipped to produce larger, healthier fawns and the bucks have more body reserves to put into antler development.
Look for the 2006-07 hunting season to be a year of trophy bucks, especially in areas where the herd is in balance with its food supply and where sportsmen practice quality deer management.
What is needed now is ample rain to provide quality habitat and mast production.
Quail
I am seeing and hearing more quail this spring than I have in recent years. Last year pretty much was a silent spring when it came to the call of the Bob White. What quail need now into the summer months is rain to produce lush habitat conditions with plenty of nesting cover and lots of insects for broods. If we get that, we may see more birds than we have in a long while, but populations have fallen too low to expect anything that resembles a return of the good-old days.
Squirrel
Look for an outstanding squirrel season this fall. Squirrels came through the winter in excellent shape meaning they were equipped to bring off healthy litters February through March and the same should be true of July through August. The large number of squirrels being observed dead on roadways is an indication of an overflow population.
If the mast crop is abundant this fall the woods will be alive with squirrels.
Rabbit
The mild winter certainly favored this species. I have been seeing large numbers of rabbits this spring and they are big and healthy. Look for them to take advantage of favorable conditions with their legendary reproductive capabilities. I’ve already observed several sizes of young-of-the year bunnies.
What rabbits need now is more rain to provide escape cover and lots of nutritious green foods. The cover is good now, but continued dry weather could become a negative factor.
Dove
These birds have benefited from a mild, mostly snow-free winter. I am observing good numbers of them as they pair up go into their nesting activities. Rain is needed to enhance doves' food supply, which includes weed and grain producing plants.
Bear
The blackberry vines are white with blooms, an indicator that bears should find plenty of soft mast to consume this summer. They already have benefited from a mild winter and decent mast crop in 2005. Conditions are prime for Virginia’s growing bear population to climb even higher. I get the feeling that early season bowhunters will score big with bear this fall.
Look for above average hunting this fall and winter. I know, it is early to make such a prediction, but a bunch of things have lined up to enhance the well being of most wildlife species.
To begin with, the 2005-06 winter was relative mild, with few major snows. What’s more, the mast crop last fall was decent. Put these together -- the absence of harsh winter weather and the abundance of food -- and nearly every species that is hunted comes through the winter in healthy shape. This enhances the weights and reproduction success of wildlife, and, in the case of deer, promotes antler development.
The mild winter meant an early and quick green-up in the spring, a condition that benefits most wildlife species with shot-in-the arm food supply.
The spring has been dry, too dry, really. But this has meant the absence of long, cold rains that can be catastrophic to young turkey and grouse poults.
The absence of hard freezes this spring should benefit all kinds of seed and mast production, meaning plenty of food this fall. Soft mast species, including blackberries and hawthorns, have experience heavy blooms and young fruit. Flowering on several oak species was heavy.
What is needed now is ample rain to bring mast crops to maturity and to stimulate vigorous growth of cover to help game species find protection from predators.
Here is a species-by-species look at what is happening:
Turkey
Remember during the spring gobbler season how big the toms were? There were tons of 20-pounders. Well, this means the hens were in good shape, too, thanks to a mild winter, a decent food supply and a quick green-up. Hens that are healthy are better equipped for nesting success. On the downside, March was a tad cold and low temperatures that time of year can delay the onset of breeding and nesting, which can diminish reproduction success.
There was an absence of heavy rainfall during the nesting season. Rain can assist predators in finding nesting hens and it can increase the mortality of poults when they hatch. When you do want some rain is in June, in order to improve habitat quality and insect production. Late May and early June have been extremely dry, and that is starting to impacted habitat quality and could lessen the quality of soft and hard mast.
At this point, there are more positives than negatives for turkeys.
Grouse
Everything said about turkeys also applies to grouse. Like turkeys, grouse have suffered through a string of poor recruitment years, and the species is due a break.
Deer
The deer I am seeing have a sleek, healthy look. When they come through the winter in good condition, the result of mild weather and a decent food supply, the does are equipped to produce larger, healthier fawns and the bucks have more body reserves to put into antler development.
Look for the 2006-07 hunting season to be a year of trophy bucks, especially in areas where the herd is in balance with its food supply and where sportsmen practice quality deer management.
What is needed now is ample rain to provide quality habitat and mast production.
Quail
I am seeing and hearing more quail this spring than I have in recent years. Last year pretty much was a silent spring when it came to the call of the Bob White. What quail need now into the summer months is rain to produce lush habitat conditions with plenty of nesting cover and lots of insects for broods. If we get that, we may see more birds than we have in a long while, but populations have fallen too low to expect anything that resembles a return of the good-old days.
Squirrel
Look for an outstanding squirrel season this fall. Squirrels came through the winter in excellent shape meaning they were equipped to bring off healthy litters February through March and the same should be true of July through August. The large number of squirrels being observed dead on roadways is an indication of an overflow population.
If the mast crop is abundant this fall the woods will be alive with squirrels.
Rabbit
The mild winter certainly favored this species. I have been seeing large numbers of rabbits this spring and they are big and healthy. Look for them to take advantage of favorable conditions with their legendary reproductive capabilities. I’ve already observed several sizes of young-of-the year bunnies.
What rabbits need now is more rain to provide escape cover and lots of nutritious green foods. The cover is good now, but continued dry weather could become a negative factor.
Dove
These birds have benefited from a mild, mostly snow-free winter. I am observing good numbers of them as they pair up go into their nesting activities. Rain is needed to enhance doves' food supply, which includes weed and grain producing plants.
Bear
The blackberry vines are white with blooms, an indicator that bears should find plenty of soft mast to consume this summer. They already have benefited from a mild winter and decent mast crop in 2005. Conditions are prime for Virginia’s growing bear population to climb even higher. I get the feeling that early season bowhunters will score big with bear this fall.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Antique Tractor show June 8-10th
Massanutten Antique Tractor and Gasoline Engine Club 17th Annual Show
Organization: Massanutten Antique Tractor and Gasoline Engine Club
June 8-10, 2006
Shenandoah County Fairgrounds, I-81 Exit 283
Woodstock, Virginia
Feature: John Deere.
Show's Contact Information
William Green
403 Palmyra Road Edinburg, Virginia 22824
(540) 984-4044
Organization: Massanutten Antique Tractor and Gasoline Engine Club
June 8-10, 2006
Shenandoah County Fairgrounds, I-81 Exit 283
Woodstock, Virginia
Feature: John Deere.
Show's Contact Information
William Green
403 Palmyra Road Edinburg, Virginia 22824
(540) 984-4044
Friday, May 12, 2006
Sportsmen react to proposed license increase
Sportsmen react to proposed license increase
By Bill Cochran
Bill Cochran
Butch Ammon says he may give up hunting and fishing in Virginia if the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries gets its way with a proposal to increase hunting and fishing license fees by $5 per license.
Kirby Burch believes that the timing of the proposed license increase is bad. The DGIF is under a State Police criminal investigation and the agency’s board is “tone death to the calls to get their house in order and restore public confidence. Financial woes are not the biggest problem facing the DGIF,” he said.
Hank Hall said he will support the license increase, but DGIF officials need to look for ways to offer more value for the price of a license. For Hall, that means removing the ban on Sunday hunting.
Todd Barnes is in agreement that Sunday hunting would help soothe the sting of higher license fees.
“Why is the state contemplating raising the general license fees by $5 each and not arranging some sort of mitigation to the hunters, like more hunting days?” he said.
Walt Hampton, a former DGIF wildlife biologist, said his support of the license increase rides on changes being made in hunting regulations.
“Expanding rifle deer season west of the Blue Ridge, reinstatement of fall turkey hunting in the gun deer season and doing away with daily bag limits on deer and turkey would be a good start,” he said. “All of these proposals are biologically sound and none of them would cost the DGIF a penny.”
John Sherman said he had been a frequent angler on Virginia water since he became a resident of the state two years ago, and “I’ve never seen a single enforcement agent.” Maybe the extra license fee could be used to hire more game wardens, he said, but there is a chance that it also could sharply decrease the number of license buyers.
Sherman thinks raising licenses every 3 years, as the DGIF board has authority to do, is too frequent and fees should not be increased for nonresidents because that would cut into tourism.
These are some of the comments made by readers of this Web site.
The DGIF board proposed a $5 increase in nearly 60 licenses and permits during its April 25 board meeting. Public comments are being taken until June 1 via the agency’s Web site: www.dgif.virginia.gov. Final action on the proposal is scheduled June 20 by the board during a hearing in Richmond.
An unexpected high number of hunters are making the license increase a referendum on Sunday hunting. That means DGIF board members may have to revisit the issue, a fact some have admitted.
In the past, neither the board nor the General Assembly has been excited about Sunday hunting. Three bills that addressed the issue failed in the 2006 General Assembly. The idea has not received support from major sportsmen groups, including the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, which posts an annual survey results that shows the majority of its members oppose Sunday hunting.
Todd Barnes believes that this survey and others are flawed. He urges that hunters be given the opportunity to vote on the issue when they purchase their licenses.
Come July 1, license sales across the state will become totally electronic, which will give officials an opportunity to poll hunters on their opinions.
“You all have got to seriously consider allowing Sunday hunting if you want Virginia sportsmen to keep the tradition and sport of hunting and fishing alive,” Butch Ammon, told wildlife officials. “I feel like I am getting robbed.”
By Bill Cochran
Bill Cochran
Butch Ammon says he may give up hunting and fishing in Virginia if the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries gets its way with a proposal to increase hunting and fishing license fees by $5 per license.
Kirby Burch believes that the timing of the proposed license increase is bad. The DGIF is under a State Police criminal investigation and the agency’s board is “tone death to the calls to get their house in order and restore public confidence. Financial woes are not the biggest problem facing the DGIF,” he said.
Hank Hall said he will support the license increase, but DGIF officials need to look for ways to offer more value for the price of a license. For Hall, that means removing the ban on Sunday hunting.
Todd Barnes is in agreement that Sunday hunting would help soothe the sting of higher license fees.
“Why is the state contemplating raising the general license fees by $5 each and not arranging some sort of mitigation to the hunters, like more hunting days?” he said.
Walt Hampton, a former DGIF wildlife biologist, said his support of the license increase rides on changes being made in hunting regulations.
“Expanding rifle deer season west of the Blue Ridge, reinstatement of fall turkey hunting in the gun deer season and doing away with daily bag limits on deer and turkey would be a good start,” he said. “All of these proposals are biologically sound and none of them would cost the DGIF a penny.”
John Sherman said he had been a frequent angler on Virginia water since he became a resident of the state two years ago, and “I’ve never seen a single enforcement agent.” Maybe the extra license fee could be used to hire more game wardens, he said, but there is a chance that it also could sharply decrease the number of license buyers.
Sherman thinks raising licenses every 3 years, as the DGIF board has authority to do, is too frequent and fees should not be increased for nonresidents because that would cut into tourism.
These are some of the comments made by readers of this Web site.
The DGIF board proposed a $5 increase in nearly 60 licenses and permits during its April 25 board meeting. Public comments are being taken until June 1 via the agency’s Web site: www.dgif.virginia.gov. Final action on the proposal is scheduled June 20 by the board during a hearing in Richmond.
An unexpected high number of hunters are making the license increase a referendum on Sunday hunting. That means DGIF board members may have to revisit the issue, a fact some have admitted.
In the past, neither the board nor the General Assembly has been excited about Sunday hunting. Three bills that addressed the issue failed in the 2006 General Assembly. The idea has not received support from major sportsmen groups, including the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, which posts an annual survey results that shows the majority of its members oppose Sunday hunting.
Todd Barnes believes that this survey and others are flawed. He urges that hunters be given the opportunity to vote on the issue when they purchase their licenses.
Come July 1, license sales across the state will become totally electronic, which will give officials an opportunity to poll hunters on their opinions.
“You all have got to seriously consider allowing Sunday hunting if you want Virginia sportsmen to keep the tradition and sport of hunting and fishing alive,” Butch Ammon, told wildlife officials. “I feel like I am getting robbed.”
Friday, May 05, 2006
Deer Control Has Bambi in Crosshairs
Deer Control Has Bambi in Crosshairs
More Area Suburbs Using Sharpshooters
By Amit R. Paley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 5, 2006; A01
Phil Norman wriggled into his blood-splattered overalls and got ready to shoot some deer. He had everything he needed for an evening hunting trip: a Remington Model 700 rifle, night-vision binoculars and a map of the terrain.
Not that it was particularly hard terrain to navigate.
Norman was stalking white-tailed deer amid the suburban cul-de-sacs of Columbia. Just a few hundred yards from where a little girl had been playing on a yellow swing on Nightshade Court, he crept, under cover of darkness, through part of a 300-acre park. Before he was done, he shot six deer.
Norman, a Howard County employee, said he aims away from the houses, uses a silencing device and takes only shots that could not ricochet toward people. County rules prevent him from firing within 150 yards of any occupied structure.
"It might sound strange to think of deer SWAT teams in the suburbs," said Norman, 50, a soft-spoken pastor with wire-rimmed glasses. "But if we don't do something pretty soon the deer will be stampeding down the streets."
Desperate to control exploding deer populations, some Washington area communities have turned in recent years to organized hunts -- often by recreational hunters -- to thin the herds. Now they are relying more and more on sharpshooters and police SWAT teams to hunt the animals even in some densely populated neighborhoods.
The District and Fairfax and Montgomery counties --not to mention private citizens -- have hired professional sharpshooters to kill the animals.
There are perhaps a dozen registered deer sharpshooters in the region.
Even in an area where development often collides with nature, the rise of the suburban sharpshooter stands out as problematic.
The practice of shooting deer in residential areas has ignited a fierce debate over safety, with some residents recoiling at the thought of gunfire outside their homes. Even some families are divided.
"I'm so petrified to leave my house that I've become a prisoner in my own bedroom," said Kim Thompson, whose back yard borders the park where Norman shoots deer. It's not sharpshooters she's afraid of, however, it's the deer, which are notorious for darting in front of cars.
Her husband, Joe, shook his head. "I don't want bullets whizzing around here," he said. "I'm much more afraid of guns than any deer."
There is little argument about the scope of the region's deer problem. The construction boom has destroyed deer habitat, forcing the animals to wander in search of food. Suburban greenery offers the highly adaptable deer a new habitat, one with few predators.
Deer control measures that have been tried or considered include supervised hunts for recreational shooters in public parks, programs to capture animals and relocate them to rural areas and the use of birth control to reduce fertility.
But deer control experts say the use of sharpshooters is often a safer or most efficient way to reduce the number of animals in densely populated residential areas.
Earl Hodnett, Fairfax County's wildlife biologist, said the county realized in 1998 that it had to take drastic steps when it found as many as 400 deer per square mile in some parks, more than 20 times the ecologically desirable level. Members of the police SWAT team have been assigned to hunt deer, shooting from the back of an olive drab pickup truck in parks near homes in such places as Great Falls and Clifton.
In Montgomery, which also uses police tactical officers as deer sharpshooters, the number of deer killed in organized hunts in county parks has skyrocketed from 19 in 1999, the year the program began, to 535 this year.
And what if you're a fed-up private citizen? Under the right conditions, a professional sharpshooter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will snipe the critters for $100 to $200 a head.
The deer snipers have sometimes met with fierce controversy. Some people involved with a sharpshooting program at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton received death threats. Recently a deer carcass was found on the doorstep of an employee's home, said Bill Hamilton, a wildlife ecologist with Montgomery's Department of Park and Planning.
In Howard County, which launched a sharpshooting program this year, neighbors said they received a flier that warned them that their children were in danger. But county officials, who are worried about ecological damage to parks, said the feedback has been almost entirely positive.
Phil Norman, the sharpshooter in Howard County, said he received a call from an angry-sounding woman demanding to know whether hunters would be traipsing all over her back yard. As he began to explain the county's tightly regulated program, she cut him off.
"No, no, no, you don't understand," he recalled her saying. "I'm in my back yard right now, and there are six deer. I want hunters here to shoot them right now!"
On a recent afternoon, Norman entered Blandair Park in Columbia to shoot some deer. As he drove through the woods in a white sport-utility vehicle to make sure that no one was there, he gazed at homes just a few hundred yards away. Young children played in one yard; a young woman jogged in a cul-de-sac.
Does it worry him to shoot so close to houses? Not at all. Norman began hunting as an undergraduate in upstate New York in the 1970s, and he went through a rigorous state process to become a sharpshooter. Norman, who is also the deer project manager for the county, said it is safer to have one highly trained sharpshooter than dozens of recreational hunters in the park.
Rules for sharpshooters vary by jurisdiction. Howard, for instance, forbids sharpshooters to fire within 100 yards of a road or right of way, in addition to having the prohibition on shooting within 150 yards of an occupied structure. State approval is required for every property on which a sharpshooter operates.
Norman shot six deer between 5 and 9 p.m. that day and took the meat to a food program at the nondenominational church in Baltimore where he is a pastor. County officials refused to let a reporter accompany him while he was shooting.
"We don't want anyone to think we're a deer SWAT team," he joked.
But on Nightshade Court, where houses border the park, some people already do. Tom Morton, 62, a graphic designer, said he doesn't see a need to kill deer.
"I just hate to see the poor things be shot," he said. "Why can't they just load their guns with tranquilizer and take the deer somewhere where they can live happily ever after?"
For some residents who spend thousands of dollars on landscaping, shooting deer is an appropriate way to limit the damage. Randall Good, 42, a maintenance worker, said he has fenced in his yard to try and keep the animals out.
"The deer are out of control," he said. "They'll eat any plant you have."
Even some supporters of the program, however, said they were angered that the county did not notify residents or the homeowners association.
County officials put out a news release about the program and said they tried to notify residents. But Alison Pasternak -- whose 2- and 4-year-old daughters play in a back yard that borders the woods -- said she heard about the program from a reporter.
"My goodness, they use bullets?" asked Pasternak, 35, an economist with the U.S. Department of Labor. "A high-powered rifle right behind our house? I can't imagine anyone would support that."
A few cul-de-sacs over, on Goldamber Garth, Kim Thompson has no patience for those opposed to the sharpshooters. She has noticed groups of five or six deer roaming about her street, and she is constantly worried that one will total her car or wander into her house.
"If these people love the deer so much, they can go adopt them," she said. "Me? I say bring in the snipers and shoot 'em up."
More Area Suburbs Using Sharpshooters
By Amit R. Paley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 5, 2006; A01
Phil Norman wriggled into his blood-splattered overalls and got ready to shoot some deer. He had everything he needed for an evening hunting trip: a Remington Model 700 rifle, night-vision binoculars and a map of the terrain.
Not that it was particularly hard terrain to navigate.
Norman was stalking white-tailed deer amid the suburban cul-de-sacs of Columbia. Just a few hundred yards from where a little girl had been playing on a yellow swing on Nightshade Court, he crept, under cover of darkness, through part of a 300-acre park. Before he was done, he shot six deer.
Norman, a Howard County employee, said he aims away from the houses, uses a silencing device and takes only shots that could not ricochet toward people. County rules prevent him from firing within 150 yards of any occupied structure.
"It might sound strange to think of deer SWAT teams in the suburbs," said Norman, 50, a soft-spoken pastor with wire-rimmed glasses. "But if we don't do something pretty soon the deer will be stampeding down the streets."
Desperate to control exploding deer populations, some Washington area communities have turned in recent years to organized hunts -- often by recreational hunters -- to thin the herds. Now they are relying more and more on sharpshooters and police SWAT teams to hunt the animals even in some densely populated neighborhoods.
The District and Fairfax and Montgomery counties --not to mention private citizens -- have hired professional sharpshooters to kill the animals.
There are perhaps a dozen registered deer sharpshooters in the region.
Even in an area where development often collides with nature, the rise of the suburban sharpshooter stands out as problematic.
The practice of shooting deer in residential areas has ignited a fierce debate over safety, with some residents recoiling at the thought of gunfire outside their homes. Even some families are divided.
"I'm so petrified to leave my house that I've become a prisoner in my own bedroom," said Kim Thompson, whose back yard borders the park where Norman shoots deer. It's not sharpshooters she's afraid of, however, it's the deer, which are notorious for darting in front of cars.
Her husband, Joe, shook his head. "I don't want bullets whizzing around here," he said. "I'm much more afraid of guns than any deer."
There is little argument about the scope of the region's deer problem. The construction boom has destroyed deer habitat, forcing the animals to wander in search of food. Suburban greenery offers the highly adaptable deer a new habitat, one with few predators.
Deer control measures that have been tried or considered include supervised hunts for recreational shooters in public parks, programs to capture animals and relocate them to rural areas and the use of birth control to reduce fertility.
But deer control experts say the use of sharpshooters is often a safer or most efficient way to reduce the number of animals in densely populated residential areas.
Earl Hodnett, Fairfax County's wildlife biologist, said the county realized in 1998 that it had to take drastic steps when it found as many as 400 deer per square mile in some parks, more than 20 times the ecologically desirable level. Members of the police SWAT team have been assigned to hunt deer, shooting from the back of an olive drab pickup truck in parks near homes in such places as Great Falls and Clifton.
In Montgomery, which also uses police tactical officers as deer sharpshooters, the number of deer killed in organized hunts in county parks has skyrocketed from 19 in 1999, the year the program began, to 535 this year.
And what if you're a fed-up private citizen? Under the right conditions, a professional sharpshooter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will snipe the critters for $100 to $200 a head.
The deer snipers have sometimes met with fierce controversy. Some people involved with a sharpshooting program at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton received death threats. Recently a deer carcass was found on the doorstep of an employee's home, said Bill Hamilton, a wildlife ecologist with Montgomery's Department of Park and Planning.
In Howard County, which launched a sharpshooting program this year, neighbors said they received a flier that warned them that their children were in danger. But county officials, who are worried about ecological damage to parks, said the feedback has been almost entirely positive.
Phil Norman, the sharpshooter in Howard County, said he received a call from an angry-sounding woman demanding to know whether hunters would be traipsing all over her back yard. As he began to explain the county's tightly regulated program, she cut him off.
"No, no, no, you don't understand," he recalled her saying. "I'm in my back yard right now, and there are six deer. I want hunters here to shoot them right now!"
On a recent afternoon, Norman entered Blandair Park in Columbia to shoot some deer. As he drove through the woods in a white sport-utility vehicle to make sure that no one was there, he gazed at homes just a few hundred yards away. Young children played in one yard; a young woman jogged in a cul-de-sac.
Does it worry him to shoot so close to houses? Not at all. Norman began hunting as an undergraduate in upstate New York in the 1970s, and he went through a rigorous state process to become a sharpshooter. Norman, who is also the deer project manager for the county, said it is safer to have one highly trained sharpshooter than dozens of recreational hunters in the park.
Rules for sharpshooters vary by jurisdiction. Howard, for instance, forbids sharpshooters to fire within 100 yards of a road or right of way, in addition to having the prohibition on shooting within 150 yards of an occupied structure. State approval is required for every property on which a sharpshooter operates.
Norman shot six deer between 5 and 9 p.m. that day and took the meat to a food program at the nondenominational church in Baltimore where he is a pastor. County officials refused to let a reporter accompany him while he was shooting.
"We don't want anyone to think we're a deer SWAT team," he joked.
But on Nightshade Court, where houses border the park, some people already do. Tom Morton, 62, a graphic designer, said he doesn't see a need to kill deer.
"I just hate to see the poor things be shot," he said. "Why can't they just load their guns with tranquilizer and take the deer somewhere where they can live happily ever after?"
For some residents who spend thousands of dollars on landscaping, shooting deer is an appropriate way to limit the damage. Randall Good, 42, a maintenance worker, said he has fenced in his yard to try and keep the animals out.
"The deer are out of control," he said. "They'll eat any plant you have."
Even some supporters of the program, however, said they were angered that the county did not notify residents or the homeowners association.
County officials put out a news release about the program and said they tried to notify residents. But Alison Pasternak -- whose 2- and 4-year-old daughters play in a back yard that borders the woods -- said she heard about the program from a reporter.
"My goodness, they use bullets?" asked Pasternak, 35, an economist with the U.S. Department of Labor. "A high-powered rifle right behind our house? I can't imagine anyone would support that."
A few cul-de-sacs over, on Goldamber Garth, Kim Thompson has no patience for those opposed to the sharpshooters. She has noticed groups of five or six deer roaming about her street, and she is constantly worried that one will total her car or wander into her house.
"If these people love the deer so much, they can go adopt them," she said. "Me? I say bring in the snipers and shoot 'em up."
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
Black Bear Attack
BENTON, Tenn. — A black bear that attacked a family, killing a 6-year-old girl and critically injuring her 2-year-old brother and mother, may have been stalking them, authorities said Friday.
The bear attacked the family about 4:30 p.m. Thursday as they left a pool below a waterfall on Benton Springs Road in the Chilhowee Mountains in southeastern Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The 640,000-acre park runs along the Tennessee-North Carolina line southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the attack site is about 70 miles southwest of Knoxville.
A witness told authorities the children had run ahead of their mother on a trail leading from the wading pool when they saw the bear, TWRA spokesman Dan Hicks said.
They turned around and ran back to her while the bear paralleled them on the trail before attacking the boy, Hicks said the witness told authorities.
The bear then attacked the mother who was trying to fend it off her son and was found standing over the girl’s body about 100 yards down a trail from the attack scene.
"I think there is a very good chance this is a predatory attack," said Bob Miller, a spokesman for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
"People forget sometimes that bears are predatory animals and may have simply seen her as something to eat."
The acorn mast, a primary staple for black bears, is low this year and other sustenance, such as berries, is not available.
The bears are subsisting on grubs and worms, he said.
"Little morsels" are all they can get, Miller said.
A witness used a cell phone to alert authorities to the attack, saying a bear had injured a boy and girl was missing. Another witness drove to a nearby ranger station.
The family, whose identities have not been released, are from Ohio and were believed to be day visitors and not campers. They were with a large group of people at the wading pool when they departed.
The bear grabbed the boy’s head in his mouth, Hicks said witnesses told investigators. The mother and other visitors began battling the bear with sticks and rocks when she was attacked.
The bear dragged the woman about 50 yards off the trail, Hicks said, before being frightened off.
The other visitors realized the girl was missing and began searching for her. About 10 minutes into their search, the visitors were joined by some members of the West Polk Fire and Rescue Squad.
After an intense 20-minute search they discovered the girl’s badly mangled body about 100 yards down a trail with the bear standing over her, Hicks said.
Squad member Danny Stinnett shot the bear once with a .380-caliber pistol, Hicks said, and it ran away from the girl. Stinnett said he hit the bear.
No blood was found at the scene, authorities said, and the bear has not been seen since.
A search for the animal was suspended about 2 a.m. Friday, and authorities placed two culvert-type traps baited with honey buns and donuts trying to lure the bear.
Friday morning they were awaiting six more traps and snare-type traps.
The search has been called while they see if the traps will be successful. All of the campers in the area, which has 88 campsites, have been removed.
The trapping area is 1,000 acres around the waterfalls and is about 10 miles from the nearest highway.
The boy and mother were taken to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga where both were in surgery until early today.
The boy had puncture and claw wounds, particularly to the back of his head, Hicks said. His prognosis is good, but he is in critical condition.
The mother had lacerations and punctures to her right upper arm and thigh, Hicks said. She is under sedation, in critical condition and unable to talk.
"We have not been able to talk to her," Hicks said. "She may not remember the attack at all."
The bear actually picked up the mother in its mouth, Hicks said.
"A bear that could this would probably weigh between 350 and 400 pounds," Hicks said.
The little girl’s body was taken to a mortuary in Cleveland, funeral home owner Ralph Buckner said.
While authorities don’t know the gender of the bear or the cause of the attack, Hicks said bears are territorial.
"Male bears, however, this time of year get very territorially," Hicks said. "That may have been what happened to these people, he was protecting his territory."
Black bears rarely attack people, and authorities also are considering whether it is suffering from a disease that affected its behavior.
"It is possible that the bear has some kind of disease, possibly even rabies, that have caused this," Hicks said. "It might even be a parasite."
Any bears found in the area will be euthanized and taken to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine where a necropsy will be performed.
There have been 42 sightings of bears in the national forest in the past two weeks, Hicks said, but this is the time of year that bears become active.
In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg in the national park. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
Miller said that attack was a predatory one."
The bear attacked the family about 4:30 p.m. Thursday as they left a pool below a waterfall on Benton Springs Road in the Chilhowee Mountains in southeastern Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
The 640,000-acre park runs along the Tennessee-North Carolina line southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the attack site is about 70 miles southwest of Knoxville.
A witness told authorities the children had run ahead of their mother on a trail leading from the wading pool when they saw the bear, TWRA spokesman Dan Hicks said.
They turned around and ran back to her while the bear paralleled them on the trail before attacking the boy, Hicks said the witness told authorities.
The bear then attacked the mother who was trying to fend it off her son and was found standing over the girl’s body about 100 yards down a trail from the attack scene.
"I think there is a very good chance this is a predatory attack," said Bob Miller, a spokesman for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
"People forget sometimes that bears are predatory animals and may have simply seen her as something to eat."
The acorn mast, a primary staple for black bears, is low this year and other sustenance, such as berries, is not available.
The bears are subsisting on grubs and worms, he said.
"Little morsels" are all they can get, Miller said.
A witness used a cell phone to alert authorities to the attack, saying a bear had injured a boy and girl was missing. Another witness drove to a nearby ranger station.
The family, whose identities have not been released, are from Ohio and were believed to be day visitors and not campers. They were with a large group of people at the wading pool when they departed.
The bear grabbed the boy’s head in his mouth, Hicks said witnesses told investigators. The mother and other visitors began battling the bear with sticks and rocks when she was attacked.
The bear dragged the woman about 50 yards off the trail, Hicks said, before being frightened off.
The other visitors realized the girl was missing and began searching for her. About 10 minutes into their search, the visitors were joined by some members of the West Polk Fire and Rescue Squad.
After an intense 20-minute search they discovered the girl’s badly mangled body about 100 yards down a trail with the bear standing over her, Hicks said.
Squad member Danny Stinnett shot the bear once with a .380-caliber pistol, Hicks said, and it ran away from the girl. Stinnett said he hit the bear.
No blood was found at the scene, authorities said, and the bear has not been seen since.
A search for the animal was suspended about 2 a.m. Friday, and authorities placed two culvert-type traps baited with honey buns and donuts trying to lure the bear.
Friday morning they were awaiting six more traps and snare-type traps.
The search has been called while they see if the traps will be successful. All of the campers in the area, which has 88 campsites, have been removed.
The trapping area is 1,000 acres around the waterfalls and is about 10 miles from the nearest highway.
The boy and mother were taken to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga where both were in surgery until early today.
The boy had puncture and claw wounds, particularly to the back of his head, Hicks said. His prognosis is good, but he is in critical condition.
The mother had lacerations and punctures to her right upper arm and thigh, Hicks said. She is under sedation, in critical condition and unable to talk.
"We have not been able to talk to her," Hicks said. "She may not remember the attack at all."
The bear actually picked up the mother in its mouth, Hicks said.
"A bear that could this would probably weigh between 350 and 400 pounds," Hicks said.
The little girl’s body was taken to a mortuary in Cleveland, funeral home owner Ralph Buckner said.
While authorities don’t know the gender of the bear or the cause of the attack, Hicks said bears are territorial.
"Male bears, however, this time of year get very territorially," Hicks said. "That may have been what happened to these people, he was protecting his territory."
Black bears rarely attack people, and authorities also are considering whether it is suffering from a disease that affected its behavior.
"It is possible that the bear has some kind of disease, possibly even rabies, that have caused this," Hicks said. "It might even be a parasite."
Any bears found in the area will be euthanized and taken to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine where a necropsy will be performed.
There have been 42 sightings of bears in the national forest in the past two weeks, Hicks said, but this is the time of year that bears become active.
In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg in the national park. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
Miller said that attack was a predatory one."
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Proposed Road Location
Click on the pictures to view them full sized.
Forest Service corner of our property with Hotel California in background.
Flagged path of proposed road.
Flagged path of proposed road.
Looking North on FS road to entrance to proposed road.
Forest Service corner of our property with Hotel California in background.
Flagged path of proposed road.
Flagged path of proposed road.
Looking North on FS road to entrance to proposed road.
Tractor for the Club
Club member Jim Benckert has found a good deal on a tractor for the club.
We need to come to a decision soon on whether to buy the tractor. Jim could store it until we made arrangements for a secure storage location.
Here are some pictures of a similar units:
and a drawing of the exact unit:
A review of the tractor can be found at:http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/2002_April_May/A_Perfect_Homestead_Tractor
Dave
Here is the information provided by Jim:
1952 FORD FERGUSON T O 30
30 H. P.
* it was recently converted from 6volt to 12volt
* it has a new starter
* it has a new alternator
* it has new brakes
* it has new lights
* it has a new PTO seal
* it has a new suspension cushion vinyl seat
* it was painted one year ago with the original color grey
* the rear tires are loaded
* it uses a three point lift system
* it comes with a 5 foot bush-hog
Total cost $2,500.00
I can also get:
_ a set of discs for $295.00 (new)
_ a drag hare for $225.00 (used)
_ a boom pole $ 80.00 (new)
_ a carry-all frame $ 85.00 (new)
These items would be a necessity for planting our fields. We would also need some chain for use with the boom pole and some wood for the carry-all frame, and a spreader for the lime and fertilizer to go behind a "4-wheeler".
My friend and I will deliver the tractor and implements for the cost of getting them to the cabin from North Carolina and the fuel home. I will be glad to store the tractor and implements in my backyard until such time that the club wants them delivered.
Jim Benckert
We need to come to a decision soon on whether to buy the tractor. Jim could store it until we made arrangements for a secure storage location.
Here are some pictures of a similar units:
and a drawing of the exact unit:
A review of the tractor can be found at:http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/2002_April_May/A_Perfect_Homestead_Tractor
Dave
Here is the information provided by Jim:
1952 FORD FERGUSON T O 30
30 H. P.
* it was recently converted from 6volt to 12volt
* it has a new starter
* it has a new alternator
* it has new brakes
* it has new lights
* it has a new PTO seal
* it has a new suspension cushion vinyl seat
* it was painted one year ago with the original color grey
* the rear tires are loaded
* it uses a three point lift system
* it comes with a 5 foot bush-hog
Total cost $2,500.00
I can also get:
_ a set of discs for $295.00 (new)
_ a drag hare for $225.00 (used)
_ a boom pole $ 80.00 (new)
_ a carry-all frame $ 85.00 (new)
These items would be a necessity for planting our fields. We would also need some chain for use with the boom pole and some wood for the carry-all frame, and a spreader for the lime and fertilizer to go behind a "4-wheeler".
My friend and I will deliver the tractor and implements for the cost of getting them to the cabin from North Carolina and the fuel home. I will be glad to store the tractor and implements in my backyard until such time that the club wants them delivered.
Jim Benckert
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Spring 2006 - April work trip
Many thanks to those that attended the April work trip and a apology to those that were not informed of it in time.
Thanks to Vance for helping contact everyone by phone about the meeting.
A special thanks to our former president John Uecke for his year of service and for providing the food and cooking an absolutely outstanding supper and breakfast this weekend.
While we didn't cross off many of the tasks on the list, we did manage to clean out the logs and debris from the creek, hopefully helping to prevent further flooding. We also detected and attempted to correct another leak in the roof.
Most importantly, we met our new neighbors and this appears at this time, to be the start of a good thing. As for the road access, I have contacted Don to investigate and deal with the issue.
Attending were:
Lee Alexander and son
Robert Ange
Jack Bauer
John Bratch
Ray Comley
Joe McDermott
Mike Michaelis
George Smith
Dave Shaw
Pleze Shaw
John Uecke
Vance Wortman
Working the previous weekend were:
Robert Ange
George Benckert
Jimmie Benckert
Dave Shaw
Dave Shaw
Thanks to Vance for helping contact everyone by phone about the meeting.
A special thanks to our former president John Uecke for his year of service and for providing the food and cooking an absolutely outstanding supper and breakfast this weekend.
While we didn't cross off many of the tasks on the list, we did manage to clean out the logs and debris from the creek, hopefully helping to prevent further flooding. We also detected and attempted to correct another leak in the roof.
Most importantly, we met our new neighbors and this appears at this time, to be the start of a good thing. As for the road access, I have contacted Don to investigate and deal with the issue.
Attending were:
Lee Alexander and son
Robert Ange
Jack Bauer
John Bratch
Ray Comley
Joe McDermott
Mike Michaelis
George Smith
Dave Shaw
Pleze Shaw
John Uecke
Vance Wortman
Working the previous weekend were:
Robert Ange
George Benckert
Jimmie Benckert
Dave Shaw
Dave Shaw
What's happening to our turkeys?
What's happening to our turkeys?
By Bill Cochran
My wife, Katherine, and I recently were driving along a rural road on Virginia’s Eastern Shore when she said, “Look at that big flock of turkeys!”
I scanned a table-top flat field on my side of the road and spotted about 10 turkeys. The late afternoon sun was radiating a metallic sheen off their chestnut-colored feathers. A nice bunch of birds, I thought, but not exactly a big flock.
Then I noticed what Katherine had been viewing. On her side of the road was a second flock, this one probably numbering 40 turkeys. We were in the middle of 50 turkeys.
Not many years ago, it was rare to spot a flock of turkeys along a rural road, or anywhere else. Now I see them from the Interstate. There were 30 parading across our back yard not long ago.
Such observations promote the feeling that Virginia’s turkey population is booming. But is it? Fall kill figures recently released by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries reveal that just the opposite is happening, that the population is in a tailspin.
Hunters last fall reported killing 4,428 turkeys. That is a 22 percent drop from the previous season. You have to go back more than 20 years to find a lower figure. The recent fall kill was slightly more than one-fourth of the number taken in 1990, when the tally reached a record 16,861.
“I got turkey dogs two years ago and the turkey population hits the skids,” said Bob Duncan, chief of the wildlife division of the DGIF.
What’s happening to our turkeys? They appear to be showing up everywhere but in the kill figures.
The spring figures are only slightly better than the fall. Spring gobbler results have been on a downward trend since 2002. The kill last season was 14,355, nearly 4,000 lower than the record 18,345 that occurred in 2002.
In 1995, biologists told hunters that both spring and fall turkey kill figures would increase significantly if sportsmen were willing to give up hunting turkeys during the peak of the deer season, which they did. In 10 years, according to the estimates of biologists, the spring kill would jump by 382 percent and the fall kill by 77 percent. The concept was that the new regulations would save hens and the population would boom.
It didn’t happen. The figures have gone in the other direction.
Most hunters bought into the plan, and many still say it was the right way to go. A rare exception is Richard Pauley, a highly successful turkey hunter from Botetourt County. At the time, Pauley predicted it wouldn’t work. For one thing, there wouldn’t be enough hunters or opportunities to kill all those extra turkeys, he said.
“It turned out worse than I even thought,” Pauley said recently.
Gary Norman, DGIF turkey biologist, admits that the turkey kill hasn’t advanced like the computer model indicated it would. But you have to wonder, he said, where would the population be if the regulation changes hadn’t been made?
This leaves hunters pondering: Is the decline in the turkey kill the result of fewer turkeys or less interest in turkey hunting? Or both? Is the food supply for turkeys changing? Are predators, including coyotes, getting turkeys? Is the decline in the kill a weather factor? Are fewer young hunters coming into the sport because you no longer can hunt turkeys during the peak of the deer season? Has interest in trophy bucks and the muzzleloading deer season taken away from interest in turkey hunting? Are hunters simply failing to register the turkeys they kill because of recent changes in the way big game is checked?
Norman points his finger at the string of poor reproduction years that turkeys have encountered. In 1979, for example, there were 4.9 juvenile birds per hen, an indication of good hatching success. Last year that figure had fallen to 1.9. The past 24 years, the juvenile-to-hen ratio has been 3.2. It dropped to 2.3 the past 10 years and 2.1 the past five. The declines are credited to weather conditions that are unfavorable to young birds in the springtime. But you have to wonder, has the weather changed that much the past decade or so?
Something strange is happening out there in turkey land, and it would be wise for us to get a handle on it.
In the meanwhile, here is a promising observation. The juvenile-to-hen ratio in 2004 was 3.1, the best in 10 years. The 2-year old birds from that positive hatch should provide good hunting during the 2006 spring season which opens April 8. What’s more, we had a mild winter, and a quick late-March green-up so turkeys should be vigorous.
I’m hopeful we’ll have an increase in the spring kill,” said Norman. “Weather, as always, is critical to a good spring harvest, particularly on weekends.”
According to my records, gobbling started about two weeks later than during recent years. Some seasons, the peak has occurred by the time the season opens. That doesn’t appear to be the case this spring.
Look for good numbers of 2-year old toms and poor numbers of 3-year olds and jakes. Tally all of that and the result should be a decent season.
Bill Cochran won the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Botetourt Longbeards, a chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation based in Botetourt County. The organization honored Cochran with a plaque that stated: "We recognize his involvement and dedication to the outdoors, both by his coverage as an outdoor editor for The Roanoke Times, as an author, as an Internet columnist, and, most of all for being the kind of individual you would like to share a hunting or fishing trip with. We thank you for being a friend and role model for all outdoorsmen."
By Bill Cochran
My wife, Katherine, and I recently were driving along a rural road on Virginia’s Eastern Shore when she said, “Look at that big flock of turkeys!”
I scanned a table-top flat field on my side of the road and spotted about 10 turkeys. The late afternoon sun was radiating a metallic sheen off their chestnut-colored feathers. A nice bunch of birds, I thought, but not exactly a big flock.
Then I noticed what Katherine had been viewing. On her side of the road was a second flock, this one probably numbering 40 turkeys. We were in the middle of 50 turkeys.
Not many years ago, it was rare to spot a flock of turkeys along a rural road, or anywhere else. Now I see them from the Interstate. There were 30 parading across our back yard not long ago.
Such observations promote the feeling that Virginia’s turkey population is booming. But is it? Fall kill figures recently released by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries reveal that just the opposite is happening, that the population is in a tailspin.
Hunters last fall reported killing 4,428 turkeys. That is a 22 percent drop from the previous season. You have to go back more than 20 years to find a lower figure. The recent fall kill was slightly more than one-fourth of the number taken in 1990, when the tally reached a record 16,861.
“I got turkey dogs two years ago and the turkey population hits the skids,” said Bob Duncan, chief of the wildlife division of the DGIF.
What’s happening to our turkeys? They appear to be showing up everywhere but in the kill figures.
The spring figures are only slightly better than the fall. Spring gobbler results have been on a downward trend since 2002. The kill last season was 14,355, nearly 4,000 lower than the record 18,345 that occurred in 2002.
In 1995, biologists told hunters that both spring and fall turkey kill figures would increase significantly if sportsmen were willing to give up hunting turkeys during the peak of the deer season, which they did. In 10 years, according to the estimates of biologists, the spring kill would jump by 382 percent and the fall kill by 77 percent. The concept was that the new regulations would save hens and the population would boom.
It didn’t happen. The figures have gone in the other direction.
Most hunters bought into the plan, and many still say it was the right way to go. A rare exception is Richard Pauley, a highly successful turkey hunter from Botetourt County. At the time, Pauley predicted it wouldn’t work. For one thing, there wouldn’t be enough hunters or opportunities to kill all those extra turkeys, he said.
“It turned out worse than I even thought,” Pauley said recently.
Gary Norman, DGIF turkey biologist, admits that the turkey kill hasn’t advanced like the computer model indicated it would. But you have to wonder, he said, where would the population be if the regulation changes hadn’t been made?
This leaves hunters pondering: Is the decline in the turkey kill the result of fewer turkeys or less interest in turkey hunting? Or both? Is the food supply for turkeys changing? Are predators, including coyotes, getting turkeys? Is the decline in the kill a weather factor? Are fewer young hunters coming into the sport because you no longer can hunt turkeys during the peak of the deer season? Has interest in trophy bucks and the muzzleloading deer season taken away from interest in turkey hunting? Are hunters simply failing to register the turkeys they kill because of recent changes in the way big game is checked?
Norman points his finger at the string of poor reproduction years that turkeys have encountered. In 1979, for example, there were 4.9 juvenile birds per hen, an indication of good hatching success. Last year that figure had fallen to 1.9. The past 24 years, the juvenile-to-hen ratio has been 3.2. It dropped to 2.3 the past 10 years and 2.1 the past five. The declines are credited to weather conditions that are unfavorable to young birds in the springtime. But you have to wonder, has the weather changed that much the past decade or so?
Something strange is happening out there in turkey land, and it would be wise for us to get a handle on it.
In the meanwhile, here is a promising observation. The juvenile-to-hen ratio in 2004 was 3.1, the best in 10 years. The 2-year old birds from that positive hatch should provide good hunting during the 2006 spring season which opens April 8. What’s more, we had a mild winter, and a quick late-March green-up so turkeys should be vigorous.
I’m hopeful we’ll have an increase in the spring kill,” said Norman. “Weather, as always, is critical to a good spring harvest, particularly on weekends.”
According to my records, gobbling started about two weeks later than during recent years. Some seasons, the peak has occurred by the time the season opens. That doesn’t appear to be the case this spring.
Look for good numbers of 2-year old toms and poor numbers of 3-year olds and jakes. Tally all of that and the result should be a decent season.
Bill Cochran won the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Botetourt Longbeards, a chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation based in Botetourt County. The organization honored Cochran with a plaque that stated: "We recognize his involvement and dedication to the outdoors, both by his coverage as an outdoor editor for The Roanoke Times, as an author, as an Internet columnist, and, most of all for being the kind of individual you would like to share a hunting or fishing trip with. We thank you for being a friend and role model for all outdoorsmen."
Monday, April 03, 2006
April 7,8,9th Work Party Tasks
I was up over the weekend working with George and Jimmie to install a new water pump and work on the new water system.
George and I created a list of projects to do, most of them inside the cabin.
In no particular order:
1. George left molding in the Honey Moon Suite (HMS) to put around the edge of the ceiling to keep out the mice.
2. He also suggested plugging the holes in the drywall in the walls and ceiling in the HMS with drywall to stop the mice.
3. The door to the HMS needs to be caulked and re-painted.
4. There is molding under Mac's usual bed in the bunk room to use to repair the bunkroom window.
5. In the meeting room, we need to finish patching the dry wall where the tree came in.
6. Shampoo the meeting room carpet where it flooded.
7. Re-attach the hose to the underground water pipe with an extra hose clamp. The force of the new water pump pulled the connection loose from the pipe. Also disassemble part of the piping to tighten one of the fittings that is leaking. I can show you where, if George does not come.
8. There is a large amount of brush in the firepit, but there may be a burning ban.
9. Look into what we can do about the creek eroding up to the cabin. There was a major flood over the winter.
10. Plan what we want to do with building the extra bedroom and storage shed.
11. Plans for replacing the bridges.
12. Jimmie wants to find a way to lengthen the firing range to 200 yards.
13. Extend the back porch roof.
14. Paint the inside of the front door with white paint.
15. Replace, repair the ceiling in the main room and bunk room.
16. Clean the filters to the Jenn-Aire stove.
17. Scrape and repaint the cabinets on the back porch and in the bunkroom.
17. Extend the plywood housing over the pump by another 10 inches or so to enclose the new plumbing.
18. Install new First Aid cabinet, I'm bringing.
Tools and supplies needed:
Dry wall materials (mud, sand paper) and tools.
Extra drywall (small pieces).
1/2" plywood for the pump housing.
Green, white paint.
Carpentry tools: saws, hammers, screwdivers, etc.
1 or 2 2-3" stainless hose clamp.
Large channel lock pliers. teflon tape, pipe dope.
Putty knives, scapers, paint brushes.
Shovels
Saturday, the new landowners of the adjacent property are coming over to meet us.
We will also have our spring meeting and discusss club business.
That should get us started.
Please pass this along to anyone in the club.
Dave Shaw
George and I created a list of projects to do, most of them inside the cabin.
In no particular order:
1. George left molding in the Honey Moon Suite (HMS) to put around the edge of the ceiling to keep out the mice.
2. He also suggested plugging the holes in the drywall in the walls and ceiling in the HMS with drywall to stop the mice.
3. The door to the HMS needs to be caulked and re-painted.
4. There is molding under Mac's usual bed in the bunk room to use to repair the bunkroom window.
5. In the meeting room, we need to finish patching the dry wall where the tree came in.
6. Shampoo the meeting room carpet where it flooded.
7. Re-attach the hose to the underground water pipe with an extra hose clamp. The force of the new water pump pulled the connection loose from the pipe. Also disassemble part of the piping to tighten one of the fittings that is leaking. I can show you where, if George does not come.
8. There is a large amount of brush in the firepit, but there may be a burning ban.
9. Look into what we can do about the creek eroding up to the cabin. There was a major flood over the winter.
10. Plan what we want to do with building the extra bedroom and storage shed.
11. Plans for replacing the bridges.
12. Jimmie wants to find a way to lengthen the firing range to 200 yards.
13. Extend the back porch roof.
14. Paint the inside of the front door with white paint.
15. Replace, repair the ceiling in the main room and bunk room.
16. Clean the filters to the Jenn-Aire stove.
17. Scrape and repaint the cabinets on the back porch and in the bunkroom.
17. Extend the plywood housing over the pump by another 10 inches or so to enclose the new plumbing.
18. Install new First Aid cabinet, I'm bringing.
Tools and supplies needed:
Dry wall materials (mud, sand paper) and tools.
Extra drywall (small pieces).
1/2" plywood for the pump housing.
Green, white paint.
Carpentry tools: saws, hammers, screwdivers, etc.
1 or 2 2-3" stainless hose clamp.
Large channel lock pliers. teflon tape, pipe dope.
Putty knives, scapers, paint brushes.
Shovels
Saturday, the new landowners of the adjacent property are coming over to meet us.
We will also have our spring meeting and discusss club business.
That should get us started.
Please pass this along to anyone in the club.
Dave Shaw
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Spring Meeting April 6,7,8
Mac reminded me we are having our spring meeting and work party on
April 6,7,and 8th. The new owners of the adjoining property will be joining us to meet our members.
April 6,7,and 8th. The new owners of the adjoining property will be joining us to meet our members.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Spring Workday, Saturday May 20th 2006
Canceled for now. See April 7,8,9th meeting and work party.
Gang,
On my calendar I find spring 2006 is almost here. You know what that means, . . . we need a Spring Workday, Saturday 20MAY06.
While I was out of country, I got a voice mail from Jimmy Benckert that the water pump at the stream had gone out. It may be fixed by now, but if not, that's something we'll need to take repair, soon.
Please use email and/or this blog to discuss some of the major projects needed to be accomplished on this workday. Knowing what is desired will likely help all who have some tools to bring the appropriate ones.
I hope to arrive about 0900 Sat morning, 20MAY06.
I'll bring a few sandwich fixings for lunch on Saturday for those who work.
If we work hard maybe Sat evening we can encourage Randy to grill one of his famous pork loins; if he's not back from Texas, I'll throw one on the grill. Again, I'll plan to bring some sweet potatoes for baking, rolls, butter, etc.. . . if someone can bring the 'green beans' or corn for me to fix, it would be appreciated. If someone wants to bring some desert for after dinner; I'm sure no one will complain.
Sunday morning you may have to suffer again, but I'll bring eggs, sausage, scrapple, milk, etc. and maybe get Randy to make some of that good sausage gravy [if Randy is still in Texas, you'll get John's gravy instead], and I'll cook up enough scrambled eggs and hot biscuits for all those workers, . . . remember, " no work Saturday, no eat." Ha!"
Looking forward to seeing each of you and another fun spring weekend at VARC.
Thanks,
John Uecke
PS: Please telephone others that I don't have their e-mail or just forward this msg on if you do have their e-mail address and please send (cc) their address to me.
Gang,
On my calendar I find spring 2006 is almost here. You know what that means, . . . we need a Spring Workday, Saturday 20MAY06.
While I was out of country, I got a voice mail from Jimmy Benckert that the water pump at the stream had gone out. It may be fixed by now, but if not, that's something we'll need to take repair, soon.
Please use email and/or this blog to discuss some of the major projects needed to be accomplished on this workday. Knowing what is desired will likely help all who have some tools to bring the appropriate ones.
I hope to arrive about 0900 Sat morning, 20MAY06.
I'll bring a few sandwich fixings for lunch on Saturday for those who work.
If we work hard maybe Sat evening we can encourage Randy to grill one of his famous pork loins; if he's not back from Texas, I'll throw one on the grill. Again, I'll plan to bring some sweet potatoes for baking, rolls, butter, etc.. . . if someone can bring the 'green beans' or corn for me to fix, it would be appreciated. If someone wants to bring some desert for after dinner; I'm sure no one will complain.
Sunday morning you may have to suffer again, but I'll bring eggs, sausage, scrapple, milk, etc. and maybe get Randy to make some of that good sausage gravy [if Randy is still in Texas, you'll get John's gravy instead], and I'll cook up enough scrambled eggs and hot biscuits for all those workers, . . . remember, " no work Saturday, no eat." Ha!"
Looking forward to seeing each of you and another fun spring weekend at VARC.
Thanks,
John Uecke
PS: Please telephone others that I don't have their e-mail or just forward this msg on if you do have their e-mail address and please send (cc) their address to me.
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