Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bill comments on the bills
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Here is a summary of the legislation that impacted sportsmen during the 2008 Virginia General Assembly, with some personal comments:
>Sunday hunting failed again and will continue to do so until some credible, well-organized effort comes along to prop up the effort. Right now, there just aren’t that many people with passion for hunting on Sunday, including hunters.
>Organized bear hound hunters had hoped to be granted the chance to pursue bears all night during the chase season, but they didn’t quite succeed. They made some progress, however. The chase time was expanded from one-half hour after sunset to four and one-half hours after sunset. That means more chase time for the working man and cooler times for the hounds and bears.
>A bill that would have reconstituted the way board members of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries are appointed failed, but the closeness of the vote suggests that the DGIF continues to have credibility problems with lawmakers. The House vote was 47 yes, 52 no.
Other legislation directed at the agency and approved includes a House resolution that requests that DGIF provide better communication and opportunities for the public to participate when hunting, fishing and boating regulations are proposed or changed.
Still other legislation confirmed the appointment of Bob Duncan as executive director of the DGIF. A bill requiring the director to report quarterly to the Secretary of Natural Resources on the expenses he has control over failed in the Senate after passing the House.
>Ranking as one of the worst bills for outdoorsmen in the 2008 session was a measure that would have imposed stiff, new penalties for anyone convicted of carrying a gun or bow onto private property without permission while retrieving his hunting dogs. If convicted, the hunter would have to forfeit his gun or bow and would lose his right to hunt that year and the next.
While trespass is a problem, this bill had several flaws. For one, the DGIF has a major hound hunting study under way and recommendations from it should be considered before hound laws are passed. For another, the bill is one that could turn inadvertent mistakes into criminal offenses. It also singles out hound hunters. And what’s this part about bows and arrows? When was the last time you saw a hound hunter carrying a bow?
The bill cleared the Senate with a single negative vote but was tabled in a House committee. If case you are wondering, the lone negative Senate vote, thankfully, came from freshman Sen. Ralph Smith, R-Botetourt County.
>Legislation calling for changes in the state’s blaze orange requirements failed.
> Project Healing Waters, a program that provides therapy for wounded servicemen through fly-fishing, will benefit from legislation that allows military and veteran’s hospital patients and outpatients in the program to fish trout water in Virginia without a license.
Other successful legislation exempts non-disabled persons from having to obtain a fishing license when assisting a disabled person to fish as long as the disable person possesses a valid fishing license.
>A law that micromanaged the patrols of Conservation Police on Smith Mountain Lake was replaced with a less intrusive one that says DGIF shall have “an enhanced enforcement effort that is commensurate with the level of boating activity from Memorial Day through Labor Day." This better enables the police to apply enforcement when needed, not when directed.
>Baiting deer long has been an outlaw act in Virginia, but there was no opposition to legislation that will allow deer to be taken over bait in counties/cities that request this option during a special late-antlerless season designed to control nuisance deer.
>Every year a bill is introduced to require kids age 12 and under to wear a life preserver in many boating situations, and every year the bill fails. This session was no exception.
>A bill that would have authorized localities to prohibit hunting turkey with a rifle was stricken by the patron.
BILL
HOWLING OVER HOUND COMMITTEE NO SURPRISE
The naming of 16 people to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ hound hunting advisory committee has resulted in considerable second guessing and even verbal attacks on some members. That didn’t surprise Dr. Steve McMullin, facilitator of the program.
“There are some folks out there who are more interested in derailing this process than they are in achieving the worthy goal of the project,” said McMullin, associate professor of Virginia Tech’s Department of Fishery and Wildlife.
The goal is to preserve the tradition of hunting with dogs while addressing the growing trespass concerns of landowners, he said.
Half of the stakeholder advisory committee is composed of hound hunters.
“That is exactly what we were striving for, a committee that balances the interest of the major stakeholders,” said McMullin.
There were two major criteria for determining who made the committee, he said. “(1) The participants had to agree with the goal of the process and (2) the participants had to be as willing to listen to the viewpoint of others as much as they were willing to express their own.”
The committee met for the first time last week.
“We were pleased to see that all members were taking their responsibilities seriously and recognized how important their task is to hunters and landowners in Virginia,” said McMullin.
“All of them believe in the goal of the project. Not one of them indicated that he/she wanted to do away with hunting with hounds. Nonetheless, they understand that there are significant issues related to hunting with hounds that need to be addressed.”
Citizens who are not part of the committee are being given opportunities to voice their opinions. Final recommendations are scheduled to be made to the DGIF board in October. A source of information on the hound study is the DGIF Web site.
BILL
NO CWD FOUND IN VIRGINIA
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said this week that it has found no evidence of the deadly chronic wasting disease in Virginia’s deer herd. The agency has tested deer from every county in the state. During the 2007-08 hunting season, it collected samples from 1,140 deer, all of which came back free of disease.
“This is clearly good news,” said Bob Duncan, director of DGIF.
CWD surveillance will continue this spring, particularly in Frederick County along the West Virginia border, where a CWD-positive deer was found just 2.5 miles inside West Virginia.
CWD is a fatal disease that attacks the brain and nervous system of deer and elk.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>>Plenty of striped bass remain along the Virginia coast and in the lower end of the Chesapeake Bay, which means the winter season is going to mesh into the spring season with no scarcity of fish. Boaters have been enjoying good catches just off the beach, with the best hauls coming from the Cape Henry area, according to angler Dr. Julie Ball. Some fish have weighed more than 50 pounds. Seventeen citations were weighed one day at the Rudee Inlet Fishing Center.
>>The NRA is urging its members and others to attend a March 25 hearing of the Charles City County Board of Supervisors to protest proposed changes in the county ordinance that could negatively impact hunting with rifles. There have been no shooting-related incidents with rifles since they became legal for hunting in the country two years ago.
>>Stoneybrook, a 13,000-acre hunting destination near Union, W.Va., is opening its gates to the Highland Drummer Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society for a fun hunt/field trial April 5. Money collected will benefit the society. Hunters are invited to enter dogs in pointing and flushing divisions. Provisions are being made for spectators. Todd Spencer, of Lewisburg, is Hunt Chairman, 7 Coleman Drive, Lewisburg, W.Va 24901, 304-645-7039.
>>Three Virginians, including former governor Jim Gilmore, have been nominated or re-nominated to serve as directors of the NRA. Gilmore, of Richmond, is a current board member. Also on the ballot are Allan Cors, current board member from McLean, and Todd Walker, also of McLean.
>>Stephen Richardson, the newly crowned National Wild Turkey Federation Gobbling Champion will be on the Late Show with Dave Letterman tonight, March 13, at 11:30 p.m. on CBS
>>A March 19 event scheduled to honor renowned fly angler Lefty Kreh was postponed after Kreh fell from a casting platform at a Florida boat show and was scheduled for knee surgery. A new date will be set, probably in the fall.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Mid-Atlantic Kayak Fishing Symposium, March 15, Great Neck Community Recreation Center, Virginia Beach, information from 575-431-8566.
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, April 4, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center, program by Dan Wilson, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist.
New River Valley Friends of NRA banquet, March 8, 5:30 p.m., Custom Catering in Blacksburg, tickets $40; $60 couples, information/tickets from 540-357-0150.
Augusta County Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation, JAKES event, March 22, 8-4, register by calling 540-248-4564.
Youth spring gobbler day, April 5
Spring gobbler season, April 12-May 17.
Chester Ducks Unlimited Banquet, Kings Korner Restaurant, Chester, April 12, tickets $55/$80, information from Kenny Bowman.
Virginia Mountains Chapter Ruffed Grouse Society banquet, Roanoke Plaza Hotel (formerly Wyndham), April 12, 6 p.m., tickets and membership $55, spouse $30, information/tickets from Brandon Harper.
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.
