Thursday, September 27, 2007
More loss of innocence than money for DGIF
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Last week, when three former top officials of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries were indicted on charges of misusing state funds for a questionable 2004 African Safari, many outdoorsmen were saying it was about time there was some movement in the case.
A scathing 51 page state auditor’s report released May 2005 had outlined fiscal improprieties, along with department cronyism and abuse of employees. A state police investigation followed, but wasn’t heard from publicly in more than two years. In the minds of many outdoorsmen, right or wrong, the tardiness of the report cast doubts on the Attorney General’s office that it was being handled on the up and up. Attorney General Bob McDonnell took some heat that isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.
The frustrated outdoorsmen and others who were exerting behind the scene’s pressure in an effort to break the logjam weren’t being vindictive. They simply realized that the unresolved case was like a dark cloud hanging over the agency, even though the DGIF board has been working hard, and with success, toward putting the department back on track. With so many closets holding ghosts, there was just so much even a squeaky-clean approach could accomplish.
Indicted were former director William Woodfin Jr. and former game warden special units officer Maj. Michael Caison, both two counts, and former game warden chief Terry Bradbery, with one count. Each count is a felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The DGIF quickly distanced itself from the three former employees, saying they no longer are with the agency.
The attorney general’s office said no additional indictments are anticipated, but many eyes will be watching the twists and turns this case is likely to take; that is, if it goes to trail. Two lawyers for the indicted have been quoted as saying their clients did nothing wrong, one saying that his client, Woodfin, had permission from superiors to do everything he did.
It isn’t that a lot of money has been lost by the DGIF. What hurts is the agency’s loss of integrity, loss of innocence and loss of constituency support. During a period of autocratic rule, which was so obvious it should have been halted by board members, many loyal and talented DGIF staff members were thwarted, even abused. Sportsmen who had worked hand-in-hand for years chose sides and in too many cases they remain at odds today. It is going to take a decade or more before this sad chapter is fully put to rest by an agency that otherwise has had an impeccable reputation in its services to the citizens of the commonwealth.
BILL
TIDBITS FROM BIG GAME SHOW
This week’s Cochran Column tells the story of how Tony Hodges killed the biggest buck of Virginia’s 2006-07 deer season. There were other tidbits from the Big Game Trophy Show held Sunday in Franklin. Among them:
Charles Welcher of Roanoke (right) and his son, Charles Jr, and the buck that won them fame at the Virginia Big Game Trophy Show
>Charles Welcher of Roanoke didn’t have the biggest buck in the contest, although his 8-point, Roanoke County kill, was impressive and won its class with a 184 2/16 score. What Welcher had was the biggest grin and best story. That won the hearts of show attendees.
Welcher is a 68-year old retired public school painter who has had serious health problems. He walks with a cane. But that doesn’t keep him from hunting, with some help from his son, Charles Jr.
Last deer season, Charles Jr. set his dad up in a ground blind in Roanoke County and left him. About 9 a.m., Welcher Sr. decided to eat some breakfast that he had brought with him.
“I say grace over my meals. I prayed for my brother, on the account he had cancer. I raised my head up and said, ‘My gracious, there’s a deer!’”
Welcher shot quickly without paying much attention to whether it was a buck or doe. When he went to the deer and saw the size of its massive 8 points, he exclaimed, “Oh, My Lord!” The buck was so bulky that Welcher was knocked down three times while field dressing it.
The challenges continued when it came time to get the deer to the state contest in Tidewater Virginia. Welcher picked up roadside aluminum cans to help pay for the trip. Other family members pitched in money for gas, meals and motel. This would be the longest and most expensive trip of their lives. A neighbor helped them find the way.
“We are just some old hillbillies and we don’t know much about such things,” said Welcher’s wife.
Venders at the show fell in love with the family and collected money to help with expenses. David Coffman of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries gathered a bagful of goodies. Gary Arrington of Hunters for the Hungry contributed a venison cook book.
Welcher said he was just happy to get his name in the paper some place other than then obituaries.
>As a rule, a 6-point buck isn’t all that big of a trophy, but one killed in Charlotte County by Ray Bowlin Jr. of Powhatan was absolutely massive and set a Virginia record for its class (muzzleloading, bucks 6 points and below).
But that wasn’t why Bowlin was considered the luckiest hunter at the big game show. The luck came after the kill. It happened this way.
After killing the buck, Bowlin took the huge rack to a taxidermist in Powhatan. A few days later, he got a call from the taxidermist.
“He sounded like he had lost his best friend,” said Bowlin.
What he had lost was Bowlin’s prize rack. Someone had stolen it from the taxidermist’s back porch. The authorities were called. Pictures of the deer were posted. A $500 reward was offered. Friends kept an eye out.
“It went six months,” said Bowlin, “and the taxidermist called and said, ‘You ain’t going to believe this, but the horns have shown up on my porch.’”
Bowlin figures someone’s conscience must have been hurting or maybe the heat was too much for them.
The rack scored 161 4/16.
>The highest-scoring turkeys in Virginia generally come from east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but that wasn’t the case this time. The top three in the tournament were western birds. The largest was a Grayson County tom killed by Jacob Phipps. It scored 77 4/16.
The best bear was a Suffolk kill by Charles Deuso. It scored 29 4/16. Breathing down its neck was a Roanoke County bear killed by Frederick Blankenship. It scored 29 2/16.
>The major media recently has been reporting -- sometimes gloating -- that the number of hunters across the country is on a decline. One reason, kids aren’t getting into it.
But that wasn’t evident at the state big game show. A bunch of youngsters won awards, and a high percentage of them were girls.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Virginia saltwater striped bass anglers will be fishing under more restrictive regulations this fall and winter, an effort to cut back on the take and give the fishery some breathing room. This week the Virginia Marine Resources Commission set a slot limit that prohibits the keeping of stripers between 28 and 34 inches along with a one-fish per day limit Dec. 10-31. The season opens Oct. 4
>Recent reports have emphasized how hunting and fishing license sales have declined. Maybe so, but outdoor sportsmen remain a major economic factor. Spending by sportsmen generates $76 billion annually; provides $25 billion in taxes; results in 1.6- million jobs. Hunters and anglers are the original green movement, spending more than $1 billion on licenses and fees which fund wildlife conservation programs.
>An update on the Philpott Lake/Smith River (Section 216) study is available on the Web.
>Add West Virginia to the list of states that include Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky, where deer are being lost to Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. Deer mortality has occurred in about 15 West Virginia counties.
>Hobie, a manufacturer of sailing craft and kayaks, has introduced two MirageDrive (pedal) inflatable kayaks, one single and one tandem. “We showed them to a group of retailers a couple of weeks ago and within a few hours we were sold out for the month,” said Ingrid Niehaus, a company representative. Check hobiecat.com.
>On the heels of a successful season-ending Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Florida’s Lake Tohopekaliga, BASS announced this week that the Florida fishery will be site of the 2008 Federation Nation Championship Nov. 8-10 out of Kissimmee, Fla.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
A cobia weighing 8 ounces less than 100 pounds is a new entry in the Virginia Saltwater Tournament. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 95 pounds caught by James Tran of Virginia Beach in Lynnhaven Bay.
BLUEFISH: 16 pounds, Peter Carey of Fredericksburg in the lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
BLUELINE TILEFISH: 20 pound, 7 ounce, Robert Holtz, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
COBIA: 99 pounds, 8 ounces, Richard Norman, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Coast.
CROAKER: 8 pounds, 11 ounces, Norman Jenkins, Portsmouth, off New Port Light.
DOLPHIN: 53 pounds, 9 ounces, Greg Welch, Charlotte, N.C., ocean off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 7 ounces, Dennis Curcio, Philadelphia, Pa., lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 10 ounces, Geoffrey Filer, Chesapeake, ocean off Virginia Beach.
GRAY TROUT: 9 pounds, 9 ounces, Claude Shifflett III, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
KING MACKEREL: 63 pounds, 1 ounce, state record, Susan Smith, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 12 ounces, Kasey Price, Virginia Beach, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay..
POMPANO: 3 pounds, 5 ounces, Shane Walker, Virginia Beach, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 7 ounces, David Howard, Leesburg, ocean off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 14 pounds, Andy Thompson, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, Mark Ottarson, North, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 5 pounds, 8 ounces, Corbin Watson, Richmond, upper-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 10 ounces, Michael Tomesch, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 8 ounce, Wayne Rickman, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
STRIPED BASS: 62 pounds, 1 ounce, Wayne Rickman, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 22 pounds, 2 ounce, Lester Johnson, Newport News, off Virginia Beach.
BLUEFIN TUNA: 573 pound state record, Bo Haycox, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
TUNA: 241 pounds, Eric Kuester, Ashland, off Virginia Beach.
WAHOO: 93 pounds, Louis Biro, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
David H. Horne Memorial Hunters for the Hungry Annual Golf Tournament, Oct. 3, 1:30 p.m., London Downs Golf Course, Forest, captain’s choice, $280 per foursome, includes greens fee, cart, awards, hole prizes, door prizes, beverages, catered dinner. Proceeds benefit Hunters for the Hungry.
Early duck season Oct. 4-8.
Snipe season Oct. 4-28; Oct. 22-Jan. 31.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 16, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Oct. 20, Salem Civic Center, tickets $40 single, $70 couple, tickets or information from Mike Kessler, 540-884-8917; Al Milton, 540-563-1422 or Harvey Bulaski, 540-343-9040.
Youth waterfowl hunting day, Oct. 20.
Eighteenth annual H.C. Edwards Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society Banquet, Oct 27, 6 p.m... Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, tickets $55 individual or $75 couple from Matt Smith, 540-459-3559.
Woodcock season Oct. 27-Nov. 10; Dec. 22-Jan. 5.
Snow goose season, Nov. 1-Dec. 1; Dec. 8-March 10.
Opening of Atlantic zone Canada goose season, Nov. 17-Dec. 1; Dec. 21-Jan 26.
Reopening of duck season, Nov. 17-Dec. 1.
Western zone Canada goose season Nov. 17-Dec. 1; Dec. 15-Jan. 14; Jan 15-Feb. 15.
Atlantic brant season, Nov. 24-Dec. 1; Dec. 8-Jan. 26.
Tundra swan season, Dec. 1-Jan. 31.
Reopening of duck season, Dec. 8-Jan. 26.
Reopening of western zone Canada goose season, Dec. 15-Jan. 14.
Reopening of Atlantic Zone Canada goose season, Dec. 21-Jan. 26.
Back Bay Canada Goose season, Dec. 24-Jan. 26.
Reopening of western zone Canada goose season, Jan. 15-Feb. 15.
The Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, Feb. 15-17, 2008, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, Harrisonburg, vasportsshow.com.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
