Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Trout program spawns in classrooms
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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After a small-scale launch in the Roanoke Valley last year, the Trout in the Classroom program will undergo a major expansion in the region this school year.
Thirteen new classrooms are set to join the program, adding to the three already in place.
And, because the local Trout Unlimited chapter was so successful in its fundraising efforts, it's likely that even more classrooms will be able to participate in the program.
"I've never seen a program take off as fast as this," said Karl Miller, the Trout Unlimited volunteer who is the program's coordinator. "It's been a real valley effort."
Trout in the Classroom is a national program that enables students to take an active role in cold-water conservation. As they rear trout in chilled aquariums, kids learn lessons ranging from fish biology to stream ecology.
Teachers and volunteers point out that a key component to the program is the connection students form with the environment.
When students release the trout they've helped nurture, they take ownership of the stream and become more aware of potential threats to the water.
The Roanoke Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited raised more than $22,000 to expand the program, which was started last fall in Glenvar, Hidden Valley and Roanoke Catholic middle schools.
Supporters included lead financial contributor John S. Oakey and Sons, with businesses including Kroger, Orvis, Roanoke Cement, Big Pine Trout Farm, Virginia Capital Strategies, Environmental Services and Consulting, and American Electric Power also participating.
Lowes and Home Depot helped with supplies donations, while PetSmart offered the required large aquariums for a discounted price.
Another donor was longtime Trout Unlimited member Dover England, who, along with his wife, Betty, financed a full set-up at a school.
In addition to the Roanoke, Salem and Vinton middle schools that will be participating this coming year, trout will also be in classrooms in Craig County, Shawsville and Staunton River middle schools, as well as the Gereau Center in Rocky Mount.
An orientation for teachers and the Trout Unlimited volunteers who will serve as site coordinators drew more than 50 people last week, Miller said.
Miller said the plan is to get the 13 new sites up and running, then come back in a few weeks to set up any additional sites.
Because extra money is allowing for the unexpected expansion, Miller is inviting high school and elementary school teachers who are interested in participating to contact him at 989-6549 or knj_miller@msn.com.
A little bit of a break after getting the 13 new sites going won't hurt.
"We've actually bought out PetSmart of their supply of aquariums," said Miller, who added that there's also a wait for obtaining the chillers necessary to keep the tank water temperatures at trout-safe levels.
The fingerling trout raised by last year's three participants all were stocked in the spring in Roaring Run in Botetourt County.
Miller said he's not sure where this year's trout will end up, saying that determination won't be made until early 2010.
If the survival rate of this year's trout is comparable to last year, the program could produce nearly 5,000 trout.
More importantly, more than 4,000 students in the region will have gotten exposure to the lessons the program helps convey.
Spring turkey kill rises
Virginia's turkey hunters enjoyed a better-than-expected gobbler season this past spring.
The total turkey kill was 16,611, a jump of 10.5 percent over the 2008 kill of 15,037, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
"I'm pleasantly surprised," said Gary Norman, the DGIF's head turkey biologist.
Norman said reproduction was well below normal in 2007. Because 2-year-olds account for a large percentage of the birds taken by hunters, Norman said he expected the kill to be more in line with the 2008 total.
The kill west of the Blue Ridge was 5,505, an increase of 6 percent. The jump was more significant in the East, where the tally climbed 13 percent to 9,840.
Norman said he thought it was possible a regulation change that shifted forward the second segment of the fall firearms season in the East might have contributed to the jump.
The change was intended to protect mature female turkeys, which data showed had been getting hammered by deer hunters during that final week of the season.
"But we may have pulled some males along with [the adult females that were preserved]," Norman said.
Bedford was again the top county, contributing 543 birds to the total. Next was Franklin, where the kill climbed from 446 in 2008 to 528 this past spring.
Interestingly, Botetourt had the largest drop of any county in the state.
In 2008 the kill was 311, which was sixth best in the state. This past spring the kill was only 222, a decline of 29 percent.
