Thursday, January 26, 2012
Bill Cochran's Mailbag: Mountain lions and Sunday hunting
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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BILL: I found your article on mountain lions and was very interested. I live about 20 minutes outside of Chilhowie and often ride horses in the Mount Rogers/Whitetop Mountain area of the Jefferson National Forest.
My parents lived at the base of the mountain for a few years and I have often heard their stories of hearing what they believed were mountain lions. I will never forget my mom describing what she said sounded like the chilling screams of a woman and being afraid to even get up and close the windows on a hot summer night because it sounded so close.
I also have seen what I believe to be one of these cats while pulling my horse trailer. Beside the road we saw a huge black cat turning back and looking at us when we passed slowly pulling the heavy trailer. It just so happens the place where we saw this animal is right near where my parents lived some 20 years ago. I have never told anyone about what we saw that night, but have heard many, many rumors that the big cats are in the area. I have always been so curious about this matter.
V.M.
BILL: Hunters are not the only ones in the woods October through January. There are plenty of people who want to camp, hike, run long distance, mountain bike, collect materials for Christmas wreaths, search for arrowheads, dig fossils, commune with God, commune with nature, watch birds, survey boundaries, mend fences, or sit in a patch of woods and quietly read a book. Children, in particular, like to frolic in the autumn woods, collecting acorns and pressing brightly-colored leaves, playing hide-and-seek, climbing trees, making tree forts, or just shuffling loudly through large drifts of dried, fallen leaves.
It is folly to do any of those aforementioned activities in the same woods where hunters might be even if the non-hunters are wearing head-to-toe blaze orange. Blaze orange sounds like a great solution until everyone is standing over a coffin wondering how tragedy could have been avoided.
It is simply not reasonable to ask the citizens of the Commonwealth to relinquish a hunting-free Sunday for the sport of the tiny minority of its citizens.
JOSEPH DAVOLI
BILL: Can you advise me what committee is the House will now take up the bill on Sunday hunting and who are the members of that committee along with their email addresses? I want to email them and voice my support for Sunday hunting.
JOHN WRIGHT
Amherst
JOHN: The bill will go to the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee whose members are listed below:
Delegate Beverly Sherwood: delbsherwood@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1029
Delegate Lee Ware: dellware@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1065
Delegate Tommy Wright: deltwright@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1061
Delegate Bobby Orrock: delborrock@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1054
Delegate Ed Scott: delescott@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1053
Delegate Danny Marshall: deldmarshall@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1014
Delegate Charles Poindexter: delcpoindexter@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1009
Delegate Brenda Pogge: delbpogge@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1096
Delegate Barry Knight: delbknight@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1081
Delegate James Edmunds: deljedmunds@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1060
Delegate Tony Wilt: deltwilt@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1026
Delegate Will Morefield: delwmorefield@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1003
Delegate Michael Webert: delmwebert@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1018
Delegate Margaret Ransone: delmransone@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1099
Delegate Matt Fariss: delmfariss@house.virginia.gov (804) 698-1059
