Thursday, December 28, 2006
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Big happenings for outdoorsmen in 2006
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
Bill Cochran's Outdoors
Recent columns
- Hunters and anglers still in the conservation business
- Drum fishing on Virginia’s Coast comes in two colors
- Elk advocate finally gets his day
- Turkeys are plentiful, so why are hunting regulations so tight fisted?
- Column archive
Bill's Mailbag
Bill's Field Reports
- Eagles are up; black rail are down
- A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
- Field reports archive
Resources
For outdoor sportsmen, 2006 was an eventual year. Here’s a look at some of the top stories:
DGIF GETS NEW DIRECTOR
As a kid growing up on a dairy farm in Amelia County, J. Carlton Courter III said he thought that a position with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries would be the “best job in the world.” No, he wasn’t talking about being a game warden or game biologists. He had his eye on the top job -- executive director.
At age 49, Courter moved into that position on Nov. 1, taking over an agency that is getting back on its feet after being staggered by scandal and mismanagement. Courter, who served 12 ½ years as commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, describes himself as an avid hunter. John Montgomery Jr. , chairman of the DGIF board, introduced Courter as having “a track record for getting things done.”
LICENSE SALES ARE STEADY
When the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries proposed raising basic hunting and fishing license fees by $5 each, more people opposed the idea than supported it during a 31 day public involvement period. Many sportsmen had difficulty looking beyond the recent front-page reports of misuse of funds by top DGIF officials.
The DGIF board had little choice but to approve the increase, the first in 18 years, but the big question: would sportsmen respond with buyer resistance? As it turned out, they didn’t. License sales have been strong. Add to that, a new electronic license sales system that went online July 1 also has been well received.
A DEPARTED FRIEND
For 30 years, A. Victor Thomas, the General Assembly delegate from Roanoke, was known as “Friend of the Sportsman.” Anytime an outdoor issue surfaced, Thomas was there with a plain-spoken, common-sense approach. Since his death in April, he has been greatly missed.
Thomas championed the causes of outdoor sportsmen and conservationists on many fronts, including funding for fish hatcheries, game wardens, and the preservation of wildlife habitat and recreation land. He protected the rights of gun owners and promoted a state constitution amendment that guarantees the right to hunt and fish. His influence won’t easily be replaced.
SHENANDOAH RIVER OF DEATH
The Shenandoah River, beloved for its beauty, history and smallmouth bass, has been a river of death the past three years. A task force of biologists has been perplexed by the massive die-offs of bass and red-ear sunfish that have wiped out as much as 80 percent of the adult population and left others fish with open sores.
The reality that the problems are far from over was evident earlier this month when still another kill occurred, this one involving northern hogsuckers.
SUNDAY HUNTING DEBATED
The ban on Sunday hunting in Virginia has been debated by sportsmen for years. Fact is, in 1999 the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said it had had enough and passed a resolution that basically said it would not talk about the issue any longer.
That attitude changed earlier this year when the DGIF decided to survey 5,000 licensed hunters on the issue. The survey-return rate has been high and the results are expected in January.
Why the new interest? For one thing, when public input was gathered on a proposed increase in hunting and license fees, many participants expressed interest in Sunday hunting; as in, “if you are going to charge us more then offer us additional hunting opportunities.”
BOATING LOSES ITS INNOCENCE
A horrible boat accident on Smith Mountain Lake that took the lives of Lawrence and Judith Lewis and ruined the life of Mark de Tournillon occurred Aug. 2005, and the impact continued to be felt in 2006. In September, de Tournillon was sentenced to 15 years in prison and agreed to $2.75 million in wrongful death settlements. He was charged with driving his 38-foot, high-performance boat into the cabin cruiser occupied by the Lewises.
The accident spawned a bevy of boating bill in the 2006 General Assembly. Most of them were batted down, with the exception of one that requires a boater to take a safety course if convicted of certain boating violations. Others bills are anticipated when legislators convene in Richmond in January, including one that calls for mandatory boating safety training before anyone can operate a watercraft.
Look for the second installment of top stories next week.
