Thursday, February 07, 2008
Bob Duncan named DGIF chief
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Bob Duncan, a wildlife biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for the past 30 years, was named executive director of the agency Wednesday. That drew a standing ovation from the leaders of sportsmen groups and board members in attendance.
Duncan assumes leadership of an organization that has been beset with problems, with one previous director awaiting a mid-April embezzlement trial and another fired after just 13 months on the job.
“Job No. 1 is to improve communications, particularly external communications, but internal communications as well,” said James Hazel, DGIF board chairman.
“You need to be close to your customers,” said Duncan. “We have drifted a little bit. We are going to have to overcome decisions that were made in the past. Building trust takes time. We will have to deal with that every chance we can.”
Duncan, who is 59 and has been chief of the Wildlife Division for 18 years, was chosen from 29 applicants, Hazel said.
“We wanted a wildlife professional, somebody with a long history and experience in wildlife and wildlife management,” he said.
A number of excellent applications were received, but when Duncan’s arrived “it helped focus the search very quickly,” said Hazel.
“He met the wildlife professional requirement we were looking for and he also was very much an alumni to not just the board but to pretty much every hunting group in Virginia.”
Duncan is a native of Radford, where he grew up hunting small game in the nearby national forest and groundhogs in the farm fields of Pulaski County. That was before huntable populations of deer and turkey, which his career would help develop.
He completed his Master of Science in Wildlife Management in 1974 at the University of Tennessee and worked for wildlife agencies in Kansas and Tennessee before becoming a DGIF district biologist in Southwest Virginia in 1978.
Duncan said his goal in leading the 455-employees agency is “to put our resource first while balancing public opinion and good science.”
His replacement as wildlife chief has not been named.
BILL
The big cats of Bedford County
Mountain lions: you either believe they are here or you don’t. The believers got a big boost that was followed by disappointment recently when a series of four pictures of a mountain lion close-up on a snowy porch were circulated on the Internet. The pictures were reported to have been taken in Giles County. Ah, proof positive that the big cats are in Virginia.
Some good work by Roanoke Times outdoor writer Mark Taylor traced the origin of the pictures to Wyoming where they were taken more than a half-dozen years ago. Taylor reported his finding in his Sunday Roanoke Times’ column and on roanoke.com.
But even a hoax doesn’t daunt the true believers. In the mail this week came the January/February issue of The Eastern Puma Network News with reports of mountain lion sightings in Bedford County. The network is the work of true believer John Lutz, who lives in West Virginia.
Here’s what Lutz had to say about Virginia:
“Multiple sightings are occurring in Bedford County, Va., where a puma was seen chasing and bringing a deer down by law enforcement. When contacting the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department, we discovered events were by credible witnesses between Montvale in western Bedford County and the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Peaks of Otter.
“The Peaks has been a vivid showcase of repeated cougar incidents for well over 100 years. In 1990, my wife, Linda, and I spent a week there, which is vast wilderness with no year-round residents.
“In talking with National Park Service Rangers, patrolling the parkway in Virginia and North Carolina, several have seen cougars themselves. They are trained observers and make ideal witnesses, yet their data is suppressed and cannot be make known to the public due to federal agency policies. Visitors have also reported dozens of sightings, which are ignored by the National Park and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“On Virginia’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Website, they continue to deny a confirmed cougar presence despite confirmed evidence to the contrary. They do admit to sightings in each county bordering West Virginia.”
The website for the Puma Network is easternpumaresearch.com.
BILL
NOW THAT’S A BUNCH OF OMELETS
West Virginia has much to offer the outdoor sportsman, and Leonard Adkins has missed very little of it in his newest guidebook titled “West Virginia: An Explorer’s Guide.”
Adkins lives in Virginia's Botetourt County, but West Virginia is his native state. His thick book, a bargain at $19.95, covers both well know and the little known attractions of the Mountain State.
Adkins is a hand’s-on writer who visits the places he writes about. You have to wonder how he could look another omelet in the eye, considering he stayed at more than 100 bed and breakfast inns as part of his research.
The guide is a fun read in itself, but it is at its best when you cram it in your glove box or your daypack and do some exploring.
It is available at bookstores and online sources, including from the publisher, the Countryman Press.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>>Sally Mills has been named editor of Virginia Wildlife, replacing Lee Walker who has transferred to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries video production unit. Mills has held an editor’s position with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
>>Merrimac Farm, a more than 300-acre property in Prince William County, is the latest addition to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Wildlife Management System. The new tract is expected to be open to the public in the spring. It is located in one of the fastest growing communities in the nation, and will preserve forested wetlands and vernal pools while offering hunting, fishing and wildlife watching.
>> While striped bass fishing continues to dominate Virginia’s saltwater action, some anglers have been heading well offshore to catch trophy sea bass holding to deep water -- like 300 feet -- wrecks. Boats are reporting limit catches of bass that weigh up to 6 pounds. A smattering of bluefish and togs, along with an occasional blueline tilefish are mixed in with the catches, according to Dr. Julie Ball, the Virginia Beach International Game Fish Association representative.
>>The SHOT Show, the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry's largest trade show, smashed all-time records in its 30th year, posting new highs in attendance, exhibition space, exhibiting companies and media turnout. The event was held recently in Las Vegas.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Fredericksburg Outdoor Show, Fredericksburg Expo Center, Feb. 8-10 Info@woodsandwatersmagazine.com.
Fly Fishing and Wingshooting Show, Feb. 8-10, Charlotte Merchandise mart, Charlotte, N.C., www.flyfishingshoweast.com
Richmond Boat Show, Feb. 14-17, Richmond Raceway Complex, information from agievents.com.
Western Virginia Sport Show, Feb. 15-17, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, westernvasportshow.com
The Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, Feb. 15-17, 2008, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, Harrisonburg, vasportsshow.com.
The Virginia Outdoor Sportsmen’s Classic, Feb. 22-24, Roanoke Civic Center, vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com.
National Wild Turkey Federation conference, Feb. 21-14, Georgia World Conference Center, Atlanta.
Dixie Deer Classic, Feb. 28-March 2, North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, dixiedeerclassic.org.
Southwest Virginia Boat Show, Feb. 29-March 2, Roanoke Civic Center.
National Capital Boat Show, March 7-9, Dulles Expo Center, information from agievents.com..
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, April 4, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center, program by Dan Wilson, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist.
Youth spring gobbler day, April 5
Spring gobbler season, April 12-May 17.
Seventh Annual David H. Horne Memorial Hunters for the Hungry Golf Tournament, May 7, Birkdale Golf Course, Richmond, contact Braxton Bell, 804-739-3010.
Twenty-fifth annual Bluefish Derby, June 13 & 14, Reedville, information from Jett’s Hardware, 804-453-5325.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Oct. 18.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
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