Thursday, July 21, 2005
Bonds paying dividends in state parks
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Vacations don’t get much better than those spent in a rustic state park cabin. The pastime is so popular that it can be a challenge to find a vacancy.
Maybe that won’t be as difficult in the future. Some 69 new state park cabins are scheduled to be completed this year. Funding for them, and other park improvements and land acquisition, is from the State Park and Natural Areas General Obligations Bonds approved by the 2002 General Assembly.
Completed earlier this month were eight two-bedroom cabins at Lake Anna State Park. They contain a full kitchen, bath and living room with a fireplace.
These are the park’s first cabins. Two more are scheduled to be finished before the end of the year, according to Gary Waugh of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The bond money also is scheduled to provide 210 new campsites in five parks and 132 camping site upgrades in two parks.
Other bond developments scheduled for completion this year are new visitor centers at Belle Isle and Wilderness Road; new meeting facilities at Bear Creek and Claytor Lake; new boat docks and picnic shelter at Leesylvania and nine new bathhouses.
BILL
LICENSE HEARINGS ATTRACT FEW
Public hearings to address proposed increases in saltwater and commercial license fees have attracted modest number of participants. Only six anglers spoke during a meeting in Norfolk.
Some sportsmen have charged that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission has done a poor job of advertising the hearings. Organizations like the Coastal Conservation Association have been slow to respond to the increases.
There have been charges that license fees favor commercial fishermen over sports anglers. Several sport fishermen testified that commercial fishermen should pay their own way and not be supplemented by sport fishermen.
The General Assembly gave VMRC authority to raise license fees beginning July 1, 2004.
BILL
GOOD NEWS FROM DGIF
For too many years, when a citizen made a request before the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries it appeared to fall into a great, black hole never to be heard of again. That defect appears to have been corrected by the new interim director, W. Gerald Massengill.
Two citizen requests that came up during the board’s June meeting are scheduled to be addressed at the board’s July 28 meeting, according to the meeting’s agenda. The topics are deer farming and a local ordinance that eliminates the muzzleloading season in Southampton County.
The board also will hear a report from its search committee on its efforts to secure a new executive director to replace Bill Woodfin, who resigned amid controversy. The agency will continue to address the corrective action plan outlined by a state auditor, according to the agenda.
The July meeting also is the traditional time to establish waterfowl hunting regulations.
The meeting is set for 9 a.m. at the DGIF headquarters, 400 W. Broad St., Richmond.
BILL
MENHADEN DEBATES HEAT UP
Here’s a quiz: What are the three biggest U.S. ports for commercial fish landings?
The answer: Empire-Venice, La., Dutch Harbor, Alaska and -- get this -- little Reedville, Va.
Reedville, on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay ranks that high on a National Marine Fisheries Service list because it is a major port for menhaden catches, which are used for everything from cat food to health supplements.
Menhaden also are a choice food for several sport-fish species in the Bay, especially the highly sought striped bass. Many sports anglers believe over fishing by commercial interests is cutting too deeply into the menhaden stock. Striped bass are suffering as a result, and so is the quality of the water because the Bay benefits from the filtering qualities of menhaden.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which is the multi-state agency that manages menhaden and other species, has been discussing the idea of imposing a cap on menhaden catches. Recent hearings on the idea attracted participants who generally favored controls.
They also attracted Greenpeace, the activist group. Greenpeace wants commercial harvests to end until the status of the bay’s stock of menhaden can be determined. To make its point, the organization plans a protest July 23.
Omega Protein, which employs 250 people in its commercial fishing efforts, says the stock of menhaden is healthy and there is nothing to suggest that commercial fishing activities should be slowed or stopped in the Bay.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to attempt to sort out things at a meeting next month.
BILL
OUTDOOR SPORTSMAN SHOW IN AUGUST
For more than 20 years the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show has been jump-starting the fall hunting season. It should be no different this year, when the event, sponsored by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, opens at the ShowPlace in Richmond Aug. 12-14.
The show will feature outdoor experts who will present a bevy of free seminars. There also will be the Virginia Deer Classic trophy show; the Virginia Gobbler Classic for trophy turkey; the Virginia State Turkey Calling Championship and, new this year, the Virginia State Champion Duck Calling Contest. Included will be 270 exhibition booths featuring all kinds of equipment and services, according to Hugh Crittenden, show manager.
Show hours, admission fees and additional information can be found on sportsmanshow.com.
BILL
PRACTICE FOR CLASSIC WAS LOUSY
You better hope you go to heaven when you die, because fishing in hell is apt to be a lot like it is in the Monongahela and Ohio rivers near Pittsburg. That happens to be site of the July 29-31 Bassmaster Classic.
The pros who practice at the competition site came away discouraged and baffled, and using words like “lousy” to describe their success. Bites were few and the fish caught were skinny. Some anglers reported that their best day of practice produced just three keepers.
BASS tried to put a good spin on it by saying all contenders will be laboring on the same playing field.
BILL
FISHING REPORT
Chris Harris of Got The Blues Guide Service www.gottheblues.net reported the following recent citations for blue catfish from the James River. Mike McMenamin, 30 pounds; John Stanley, 30, 35 and 40 pounds; Wayne Thikey, 30, 35 and 38 pounds; Sara Thikey-38, 40 and 46 pounds; Tawn Tipsword, 40 pounds; Nathan Murphy, 43 pounds; John Kain, 46, 48 and 49; Roger Dean, 51 and 56 pounds; Pete Brownley, 39, 44, 47 and 50 pounds.
Harris reports that recent rains have lowered the water temperatures and the catfish bite has been fantastic.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Early Times Whisky has released 25 tagged bass in Smith Mountain Lake and 25 in Lake Anna. Catching one will enter you into a contest with a $50,000 first-place prize. Details can be found on earlytime.com.
>Landowners at Lake Gaston are asking North Carolina legislators to give them the authority to tax themselves so they can pay to control invasive aquatic weeds in the lake.
>Virginia is one of several states that has been losing its forest areas to housing projects, according to a new U.S. Forest Service study. The nationwide rate of conversion has been 1 million acres a year, according to the latest information. The result is decreases in native wildlife populations; more opportunities for invasion of nonnative species invasions; reductions in water quality; decreases in forest management; elevated fire risks and changes in scenic qualities and recreational opportunities.
>Thirteen authors have collaborated to compile a new book on mountain lions/cougars titled “Cougar Management Guidelines.” The book targets wildlife managers but should be interesting to the growing number of people who are fascinated by this species. Additional information can be found on opalcreekpress.com/cougar.
>The Rivanna River will be the focal point of a $1 million Nature Conservancy pilot program to address the well-being of the river.
>Add veteran angler Gary Klein to the list of Bassmaster Classic contenders. BASS says it has been determined that Klein has qualified for both the 2005 and 2006 classic. It ruled in the interest of Klein “after a degree of ambiguity was created by the manner in which points were awarded on the third and fourth days of the Lake Wissota Bassmaster Elite 50 in Chippewa Falls, Wis., on June 15-18.”
>The recent court decision to allow the state of Maryland to control mute swans is a major victory toward improving the Chesapeake Bay, according to Ducks Unlimited. Mute swans, which were introduced to the Bay region for their ornamental value, have had an increasingly negative effect on the ecology of the Bay, said DU.
>The Outdoor Channel’s “Step Outside” television program is into its second season with 13 new episodes tracking the adventures of newcomers to the outdoors. The show airs Wednesdays at 9 a.m., Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9 a.m. on The Outdoor Channel.
*There are many guides designed to identify birds, now comes one that takes aim at bird nests, eggs and nestlings. An inch and one-quarter thick, the Princeton University Press field guide is a scholarly book, but also should be of interest to anyone intent on identifying the nest, eggs and young of 670 species. The title is “Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Information is available on pupress.princeton.edu.
BILL
SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
Here are the standings in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:
BLACK DRUM: 93 pounds, Keith Harlan, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
COBIA: 88 pounds, 6 ounces, Fern Kuhn, Parkersburg, W. Va., lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 4-pounds, 8 ounces, Elliott Souldourian, Virginia Beach, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
DOLPHIN: 31 pounds, Jeremy Creason, Buena Vista, off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 17 pounds, 2 ounces, Hopie Firth, Poquoson, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 14 ounces, William Flipin, Hayes, upper eastern Chesapeake Bay.
KING MACKEREL, 35 pounds, Robert Pillote, Jr., Bethesda, Md., off Eastern Shore.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 12 ounces, Damon Moore, Sterling, off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Chad Stoker, Chesapeake, caught off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 14 pounds, 2 ounces, Bryan Noel, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 12 pounds, 5 ounces, Todd Hawk, Maidens, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 7 pounds, David Turner, Chesapeake, ocean off Virginia Beach.
SPECKLED TROUT: 11 pounds, 3 ounces, Brain Pomije, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 4 ounces, Robert Richardson, Richmond, Elizabeth River.
STRIPED BASS: 63 pounds, 8 ounces, state record, Paul Leckner, Greenbackville, Bradford Bay.
TAUTOG: 18 pounds, 4 ounces, Larry Larue, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
TUNA (BLUEFIN) 111 pounds, 2 ounces, Terri Smot, Pasadena, Md. ocean off Eastern Shore.
TUNA: 90 pounds, 8 ounces, John Mackey, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Kanawha Valley Chapter Ruffed Grouse Society Fun Shoot, July 23, White Oak Mountain Sporting Clays, Beckley, W.Va. $90 per shooter, information from Larry Rodgers, 304-206-3303.
Public hearing on proposed saltwater fishing license increases, July 25, 7 p.m., Eastern Shore Community College, Melfa.
Public hearing on proposed saltwater fishing license increases, July 26, noon, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, Newport News.
Meeting of the Board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 9 a.m. July 28 at DGIF headquarters, 4000 W. Board St., Richmond.
New River Valley Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation banquet, July 30, Custom Catering, Blacksburg, single tickets $45, couples $60. Ticket purchase and information from Chris Kaknis, 540-552-8230.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show/Virginia Deer Classic, Aug. 12-14, Showplace, Mechanicsville, contact Denny Quaiff, 804-743-1290.
Inaugural Highland Drummer Chapter Ruffed Grouse Society banquet, Aug. 27, Brier Inn, Lewisburg, W.Va. $45 pr $65 for couple, ticket information from Todd Spencer, 304-645-7039.
Western Division of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 10 and 11, Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, see vpsa.org for details.
Urban archery season, Sept. 17-30 and Jan. 9-25.
Eastern Division and state finals of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 24 and 25, Southampton County Fairgrounds, Franklin, see vpsa.org for details.
Bowhunting/crossbow season, Oct. 1-Nov. 18 and Dec. 5-Jan. 7.
Fall turkey hunting season, Oct. 31-Nov. 12; Nov. 24 and Dec. 12-Jan. 7.
Muzzleloading season east of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 5-18.
Muzzleloading season west of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 12-18
Deer hunting season west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 19-Dec. 3
Deer hunting season east of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 19-Jan. 7
Late muzzleloading season, Dec. 17-Jan. 7.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
