If you want to get a really good idea of where to find good hunting this fall, check out the West Virginia Divsion of Natural Resources’ 2009 Mast Survey and Hunting Outlook.
The report, compiled in late August and early September each year by DNR wildlife biologists and game managers, tells which wildlife food sources “hit,” which ones “missed,” and where mast is most abundant.
You can download a .PDF file from the DNR’s Web site, or you can pick up a copy at any DNR regional office.
A couple of days ago, in a post about West Virginia’s new September deer seasons, I predicted that Division of Natural Resources biologists would provide a quick tally of all the antlerless deer killed during those seasons.
Ain’t gonna happen.
Paul Johansen, the DNR’s assistant wildlife chief, says game-checking tags for the September seasons would be picked up at the same time as all the other tags — after all the deer seasons end in December.
“We won’t know the results of those seasons until we get all the tags run through the computer sometime in January,” he said.
It’s a fact of life. To live, critters who eat meat must eat other critters.
Corey Bowles was roaming some beaver ponds on Deer Creek near Cass when he spotted an Eastern water snake devouring a fish. Corey captured the scene with a Nikon D70 digital camera.
A special thanks to Corey’s grandma, Teresa Perdue, who forwarded Corey’s photo to the Gazette.
The photo reminds me of something I saw while fishing Monroe County’s Rich Creek a couple of decades ago. The creek’s smooth-flowing waters suddenly churned to a froth as a humongous water snake and a 14-inch brown trout fought to the death. The snake won that battle, too.
The mists of time sometimes obscure the accomplishments of previous generations. A case in point: A superb trophy buck taken in Gilmer County in 1960.
Brooks Reed killed the buck, which sported 24 antler points, on Leading Creek. The trophy, on display at Willy’s Sporting Goods near Glenville, has remained in the Reed family’s possession ever since.
Bill Looney of Amma took the accompanying photo.
“We respectfully urge you to repeal this measure and to engage in a community dialogue about how to most effectively address these issues.”
So ended a recent letter from Sarah Sprouse, government relations manager of the American Kennel Club, to Kanawha County Commission Chairman Kent Carper.
Carper and other commission members had railroaded through a countywide dog-tethering ordinance that made some unusual – and some say unreasonable — demands on dog owners.
For instance, the ordinance required dogs to be taken indoors during “extreme weather” — defined as temperatures greater than 85 degrees Fahrenheit or less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The ordinance also required at least 100 squre feet of living space per dog, regardless of breed.
In her letter, Sprouse rightly pointed out that malamutes, Siberian huskies and Akitas are perfectly comfortable in below-freezing temperatures. She also pointed out that many sporting breeds are comfortable in hot or cold weather. And she pointed out that Chihuauas don’t have the same space requirements as Labrador retrievers.
“The ’Exceptions’ section [of the ordinance] seems to imply that the county recognized some of the inherent fallacies of this provision, but still allows for arbitrary decisions that may cost a responsible dog owner thousands of dollars to rectify or even worse, may force them to surrender the animals,” Sprouse wrote.
In her closing remarks, Sprouse recommended that commissioners work with dog owners to create a more reasonable set of regulations.
Dog owners throughout the county hope the commissioners listen.
Yesterday marked the end of West Virginia’s September muzzleloader season for antlerless deer — six days of hunting on private lands in 35 counties. That season began immediately after a similar six-day archery hunt.
Division of Natural Resources officials say both seasons were “well subscribed” — their special way of saying that hunters bought licenses and showed up to hunt.
No word yet on how many deer were killed. Unless I miss my guess, though, DNR biologists will be scurrying around collecting tags from game-checking stations this week in an effort to determine exactly what happened. I’ll stay in touch with the DNR to get a jump on those numbers. When I find them out, you’ll read them here.
Now, as my friend Ken Ward reports in his Coal Tattoo blog, officials from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection are blaming the Dunkard Creek fish kill on a bloom of golden-brown algae.
DEP director Randy Huffman acknowledged, however, that high chloride levels from deep-mine discharges likely created conditions in which the algae could thrive.
Fishermen on the WVAngler.com Web site have posted some pretty witty comments about Huffman’s statement.
One likened Huffman’s words to saying a cocaine overdose victim died of a heart attack while ignoring the cocaine that caused the heart to beat out of control.
Another — my personal favorite — was even more acerbic:
“In a related story, West Virginia DEP director Randy Huffman now says that a foreign airborne bacteria is responsible for acid rain. ‘The good news,’ Huffman said, ’is that researchers have found a way to combat this bacteria. By burning huge amounts of high-sulfur coal in power plants along the Ohio Valley, we should be able to wipe out acid rain by 2020.’”
How does a firearm become an icon?
Well, it certainly helps to have 10 million of them in the hands of hunting and shooting enthusiasts around the world. In a full-page ad published today in USA Today, Remington Arms Co. annouced the manufacture of its 10 millionth Model 870 pump-action shotgun. Long renowned for reliability, the 870 is the best-selling shotgun model of all time.
I have a great fondness for things that work. That’s why I own three Model 870s.
In its USA Today ad, Remington also announced a “10 millionth Model 870 Shotgun Sweepstakes.” Entries will be accepted from now to Dec. 31. Anyone 18 years or older can enter by clicking here and following the directions. Ten entrants will be chosen to receive 870s of their own.
Don’t forget this weekend’s National Hunting and Fishing Days celebration at West Virginia’s Stonewall Jackson Resort Park.
Weather permitting, organizers expect as many as 19,000 people to attend the two-day event, which features seminars and exhibitions of hunting-, fishing-, and wildlife-related activities. Folks who attend also can choose from a myriad of ”hands-on” outdoor activities.
Thirty antler points. A 20-plus-inch inside spread. A live weight estimated at 225 pounds. When Wayne Schumacher of Fond du Lac, Wis., bagged the whitetail known locally as “The Lucky Buck,” he also claimed the creature’s long list of superlatives.
More on the story from the Appleton Post Crescent.
Hat tip: J.R. Absher in The Outdoor Pressroom.
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