Thursday, May 05, 2005
Redbuds on hillsides and in book
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Last week Katherine and I planted our potato patch in the bottomland behind our Catawba Valley home. Every time I rested my back, which is more often these days, I cast my eyes on the hillside and enjoyed the bounty of millions of rich blossoms of redbuds.
Redbuds are thick here in the valley and on into Craig County each April and May. Their dark pink to purple flowers cling to leafless limbs looking a good bit like pea blossoms. Indeed, the plant is a member of the pea family.
When my fried Leonard Adkins wrote his wonderful “Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail,” published in 1999, it became an instant guidebook favorite of mine, but I mercilessly chastised him for leaving out redbuds. Adkins fought back, saying redbuds were a bush or tree, not a wildflower.
Bush or tree -- call it what you wish -- Adkins newest wildflower guide embraces redbuds. It is titled “Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains,” and it merits a ride in your knapsack next time you explore the woods, hillsides and marshes looking for wildflowers. Now is the time to do just that.
The written descriptions, of everything from late-winter skunk cabbage to late-autumn witch hazel, are certain to contain some information you didn’t know. Joe Cook accents the prose with beautiful Fuji-chrome photography. Cook’s work is as good as you’ll find on the subject.
The slick, 264-page book is published by Menasha Ridge press and is available at bookstores, online or direct from Menasha at menasharidge.com.
One drawback: Adkin’s new book looks so much like the earlier one that some of his fans may mistake the two and overlook the new volume. That would be like missing a stately trillium on a hillside, which I almost did one day this week.
BILL
BOARD MEMBERS CALL FOR RESIGNATIONS
Frank Sutton III and Dr. George Sheppard have added their names to the list of former board members of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries calling for the resignation of William Woodfin, the agency’s executive director. Both Sutton and Sheppard served as chairman of the board.
Other board chairmen who earlier called for Woodfin’s resignation include Leon Turner, Frank Everest, Eli Jones, J. Carson Quarles and Jack Randolph.
In addition, the following board members are on the list, according to Turner who complied it: Frank Chapman, Jim Davenport, Billy Cramer, Bill Fears, Tom Leggett, Elsa Porter, Latane Trice, Catherine Tucker, Richard Walker and Robert Wheeler.
“I am overwhelmed with the amount of support,” said Turner.
The former board members also have called for two top game wardens, Col. Terry Bradbery and Maj. Mike Caison, to step down. The requests have been made to current board members, Gov. Mark Warner and W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr. secretary of natural resources.
The spending and management practices of the DGIF are the subject of an ongoing state audit that is expected to be made public shortly.
BILL
WILDERNESS IS FINE, BUT LET’S ALSO DO SOME LOGGING
Last week came the announcement that nearly 55,000 acres of national forest in Southwest Virginia would be designated as wilderness or national scenic areas by legislation introduced in Congress.
I like wilderness. One of the most profound experiences of my life was a backpack trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana when I was college age.
A number of years ago, when bills were first introduced to establish wilderness in Virginia I was an active supporter.
Wilderness is worthy, but we also need to have areas of the national forest that are managed for timber and wildlife, where a forest of various ages -- young, old and in-between -- meets the needs of wildlife like deer, turkey, grouse, woodcock and certain songbird species.
Many of the people who champion wilderness are promoting a no-cut philosophy for the entire national forest. They oppose sound scientific management practices in favor of a no-human-intervention concept. As a result, wildlife habitat for many species is declining and our national forests are being cast into a roll they never were intended to play.
Members of the no-cut gang welcome help when it comes to setting aside land for wilderness, but they are unbending when it comes to providing some acreage for, say, ruffed grouse.
BILL
KID’S TOURNAMENT A SUCCESS
William Houser IV reeled in a 9.2-pound carp to win the big-fish category of the Bill Cochran Youth Tournament sponsored by the Cave Spring Optimist Club. Allan Yopp, who entered a .6-pound bluegill, won the small-fish category. Both first-place contestants were awarded a $100 U.S. Savings Bond, fishing tackle and a shirt.
Other youngsters who placed in the new tournament include Clay Matney, Cynthia Musgrove, Brandon Purdue and Dennis St. Clair.
I was honored when the Optimist Club named this event after me, and I appreciate all the coverage provided by Mark Taylor, outdoor editor of The Roanoke Times. If we are to preserve the tradition of outdoor sports we must introduce youngsters to the joys of fishing and other outdoor pursuits. “What can we do for the kids?” should be a question applied to everything we do in the outdoors nowadays.
Hunting and fishing license sales have been dropping sharply. This means a smaller base of funding to maintain staffs of biologists, educators and enforcement personnel. That should be an alarming thought for all of us who love the outdoors.
The youngsters we attract to the outdoors now will be paying the bills in just a few years. Something else I have learned as I have aged: the kid you take fishing one day will be the guy who takes you fishing in the future.
BILL
SALTWATER STRIPER SEASON
Virginia’s saltwater striped bass season opened Sunday and is expected to offer good action as fish drift back down the Chesapeake Bay from their spawning grounds.
“I expect a really good season, said Capt. Ferrell McLain, a charter boat skippers.
Ferrell and other Virginia anglers have been fishing the Maryland portion of the Bay, where the season opens earlier.
“All the fish to the north will soon be coming down past Smith Point,” he said.
Trolling is Ferrel’s method of fishing, and “the best bite has been morning,” he said.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Anglers on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River have reported finding dead fish. When the Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Game and Inland Fisheries investigated officials found a few dead fish, but they also discovered that many of the stream’s live fish contained sores, parasites, lesions or fin rot. Roughly one-half of the 50 smallmouth bass captured had sores or injuries. The cause is unknown.
>Members of the Smith Mountain Striper Club are being asked by club president Ron Curtis to express their opinions on new regulations for striper fishing on the Smith Mountain Lake. Included are size limits, slot limits, creel limits and stocking rates proposed by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. For background, check my March 24 column titled “A new approach to Smith Mountain Lake Stripers.”
>Todd Schaaf of Hume finished a strong fifth as Virginia’s entry in the BASS Federation Championship held on Walt Disney World’s Bay Lake in Florida. He was one spot short of qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. The winner was Pennsylvania angler Ed Cowan, who did well in the Federation Championship way back when it was held at Smith Mountain Lake. Others qualifying for the Classic were Jami Fralick of South Dakota; Dave Palmer, Oregon and Jeff Hager, North Carolina.
>A request to construct a firing range near the Warrenton-Fauquier Airport is being opposed by several residents who express concern over noise, safety and the potential for dwindling land values.
>An all-tackle, world-record for spot has been granted by the International Game Fish Association for a 1-pound, 4-ounce catch by Steven York, who landed the fish in the Virginia section of the Chesapeake Bay on Sept. 20, 2004.
>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that state fish and wildlife agencies will share more than $530 million in excise taxes paid by America's recreational shooters, hunters, anglers and boaters to support fish and wildlife conservation and education programs.
>North Carolina officials are discussing a new license system that would reduce by nearly two-thirds the number of commercial fishermen allowed to target striped bass. The proposal would mostly impact Dare County but it could potentially hit some fishermen working the central coast.
>The National Shooting Sports Foundation says NASCAR fans are far more likely to hunt and shoot than average Americans.
>Bass boats are being ripped off by vandals, according to the Boat U.S. Marine Insurance Division. Not two-legged vandals, but backyard wildlife. Claims researchers have found that bass boats are 25-percent more likely to be damaged by critters such as raccoons, squirrels and mice than by humans.
>North Carolina wildlife officials have expressed concern that CWD has been found in deer on the East Coast (New York) and they are discussing the idea of no longer issuing permits for citizens to keep deer.
BILL
SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
Who says big flounder can’t be caught on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The new leader in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament is a 11-pound, 7-ounce flounder landed in the Bradford Bay area of Wachapreague by Michael Behe, Sr. of Franklin, Pa. Here are the standings:
FLOUNDER: 11 pounds, 7 ounces, Michael Behe, Sr. Franklin, Pa. Bradford Bay area of Wachapreague.
SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Chad Stoker, Chesapeake, caught off Virginia Beach.
SPECKLED TROUT: 11 pounds, 3 ounces, Brain Pomije, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
STRIPED BASS: 63 pounds, 8 ounces, state record, Paul Leckner, Greenbackville, Bradford Bay.
TAUTOG: 15 pounds, 8 ounces, Barclay Shepard, Poquoson, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Smith River Trout Unlimited Chapter meeting, 7 p.m. May 5, Rania’s Restaurant, Martinsville (147 E. Main Street), dinner and a program featuring Kay Slaughter of Southern Environmental Law Center, guests welcome, information from Shane Pinkston, 276-638-3757 or Ted Tomczak, 276-629-2962.
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, 7 p.m., May 6, Moneta Community Center.
Wildflower program by Leonard Adkins at Byrd Visitor Center, Milepost 51, Shenandoah National park, May 7, 1 p.m. Adkins will introduce his latest book, “Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains.”
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s American Outdoor Experience, Bristol Motor Speedway, May 13-15, information from americanoutdoorexperience.com.
Wilderness First Aid, May 17-18, Blacksburg, an 18-hour, two-day class that results in a two-year certification, $160, registration/information from wfa.net.
Migratory Bird Festival, Mountain Lake Hotel, May 20-22, $15 single day; $30 three days, information and registration at mountainlakebirding.com.
Western Division of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 10 and 11, Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, see vpsa.org for details.
Eastern Division and state finals of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 24 and 25, Southampton County Fairgrounds, Franklin, see vpsa.org for details.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
