You do not need a calendar to tell you when spring arrives here in Virginia.  Just like clockwork everywhere around you things start happening. Spring brings the promise of renewal and the circle of life. Temperatures warm, toms start gobbling, the dogwoods begin to bloom and the shad arrive in the James River.

Each year I get so anxious for spring to finally get here. Deer calls have long been put away and my decoys have been sitting wadded up in a ball of maddening tangles for weeks. The cobwebs of February are brushed off and cabin fever finally slips away as the outdoors open up again with some of my favorite activities.

The shad/herring run starts around the end of March here in Richmond. You can tell that they are here when you drive over the I95 bridge and it looks like we are being invaded by some foreign navy. There will be anywhere from twenty to over fifty boats all vying for a relatively small patch of water. Navigating the crowds can get interesting and proper boating etiquette should be used to avoid a coarse word or two. If you like jetskies then more power to you but I would advise you to head down river unless you are some sort of water born ninja capable of matrix like reflexes as the shad darts start flying.

Hunters and anglers laud measures beneficial to fish and wildlife populations, sporting opportunities in most significant conservation legislation enacted in decades
 

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama today signed into law a broad-based public lands bill and ensured the conservation of millions of acres of public lands and hunting and fishing opportunities, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today.

TRCP President and CEO George Cooper attended the White House signing ceremony for the legislation and invoked the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt in assessing the president’s actions.

“Theodore Roosevelt once said, ‘We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune,’” said Cooper. “With today’s events, Roosevelt’s words take on a new and deeper meaning. Ratification of this historic measure represents an important victory for sportsmen, as well as for our natural resources and activities that rely on our nation’s public lands.

Truck giveaway benefits Pheasants Forever's wildlife habitat conservation mission

Saint Paul, Minn. – March 30, 2009 – Pheasants Forever (PF) announces Danielle Hotchkin of Le Grand, Iowa, as the winner of the 2009 Pheasants Forever/Chevy Truck Giveaway. Hotchkin won a 2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 4WD Extended Cab with a suggested retail value of nearly $35,000 after her Dad purchased her ticket to the Jasper County (Iowa) Chapter PF banquet.

Giveaway tickets for the Chevy truck were available at PF chapter events in Chevrolet's North Central Region. Hotchkin attended the annual Jasper County event with her father Dave Kaisand, and then picked up her winning truck at Clemons Chevy in Marshalltown, Iowa.

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING TREVOR SIMMONS, OUR Newest Pro Staff Member!!!!!!!

Here is his newest article:

In the few years I’ve been turkey hunting on more than one occasion I’ve found myself wondering “Where did I go wrong”. I know I’m not alone on this either, if you’re a hunter you’ve asked yourself this question too. So when things didn’t really work out I learned to correct my mistakes. Here are some of the things I learned I was doing wrong.

I learned movement is a big one in the turkey woods. Turkey’s can see about 10 times better than a human so they pick up on movement really quickly. Even if you think that you’re far enough away that they won’t spoke, they will trust me. Those last little call switches and head net adjustments when it’s starting to get just a little daylight will catch their eye too, because they are starting look for predators and other turkeys that are in that area. It’s just like when you where a little kid and you thought your parents weren’t looking and they caught you; turkeys are the same way. My biggest problem was gun movement. When the turkey is moving then you can move your gun, but only as fast as the turkey is moving.

Article Republished by permission of Kip Adams, QDMA Director of Education and Outreach, Northern Region

Herd monitoring is an important but often overlooked QDM Cornerstone.  Some managers neglect to collect the appropriate data because they‚re not sure how to use it for management purposes.  With a little help in analysis and interpretation, managers can use the data they collect to assess the status of their management program within their respective state, as well as compare how well they stack up to other states and/or regions.  To provide a comparison among states, QDMA surveyed state agencies and collected information from 1998 and 2008 on four important management program indices.  This article focuses solely on one of those indices, fawn recruitment rates, and future articles will cover the others.  With respect to our survey, all states didn‚t provide the requested information, but most did and the data provided for meaningful comparisons among states and between years. 

Fawn recruitment rate is a measure of the number of fawns per adult doe (1.5 years and older) alive in the fall pre-hunt population.  Basically, this index records the number of fawns that survive to approximately six months of age and expresses that number in relation to the number of adult does in the population.  The fawn recruitment rate is lower than the number of fetuses per doe and the number of fawns born in the spring, since not all fetuses survive to become fawns and not all fawns survive until fall.  This rate is a good measure of a deer herd‚s productivity, and it is an important factor when determining the biologically appropriate number of does to harvest.  Monitoring the fawn recruitment rate also provides insight into herd health, and it alerts managers to potential problems such as high fawn predation rates.

House vote follows Senate approval of legislation, which would have significant  positive repercussions for public-lands hunting and fishing 

WASHINGTON – In a move lauded by hunters and anglers, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a sweeping public-lands bill that will safeguard millions of acres of fish and wildlife habitat and sporting opportunities, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today. With this afternoon’s 285-140 vote, the Omnibus Public Lands Act moves on to consideration by President Barack Obama, who is expected to ratify the legislation.

A package of more than 150 public lands, water and resources bills, the omnibus bill features numerous measures of importance to sportsmen, such as the Wyoming Range Legacy Act and National Landscape Conservation System. The legislation also includes the Altmire amendment, which would maintain access for hunters and anglers in areas currently open to those activities and uphold the ability of states to manage fish and wildlife populations.

“This landmark legislation will enable citizens’ continued enjoyment of public-lands sporting activities by safeguarding crucial fish and wildlife habitat and upholding access to sportsmen’s traditional mountains, plains and waters,” said TRCP Senior Vice President Tom Franklin. “Today’s House vote has enormous positive implications for the future of hunting and fishing in America. Our nation’s sportsmen have reason to celebrate.” 

MISSOULA, Mont.—U.S. Forest Service employees in California, Colorado and Oregon are earning special recognition for their work enhancing and conserving habitat for elk and other wildlife. Each has received a 2009 Elk Country Award presented by the Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

“This year’s awards honor some of the finest conservationists and conservation efforts anywhere in North America. We’re proud to call these professionals our partners,” said Jack Blackwell, vice president of lands and conservation for the Elk Foundation.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- In support of a new youth target shooting initiative, the National Shooting Sports Foundation will contribute $50,000 to the Scholastic Steel Challenge program of the United States Practical Shooting Association and Steel Challenge Shooting Association.

"Developing new target shooters through programs that teach safe and responsible handling of firearms is a priority of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and we're proud to help a program get off the ground that holds so much potential for introducing new shooters to a lifetime sport," said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms and shooting sports industry.

The Scholastic Steel Challenge program is being modeled after the NSSF-developed Scholastic Clay Target Program that in addition to safety emphasizes building character and citizenship through teamwork.

Josh Morrissey Interviews Greg Miller

The Central Wyoming Chapter, Safari Club International will be raffling a complimentary big game license for the 2009 Wyoming big game hunting season. The license will be valid for one specific species (either antelope, deer or elk) and for one specific region or hunt area to be designated by the raffle winner. Holders of complimentary licenses are exempt from the provisions of Wyoming State Law limiting the number of licenses an individual can possess in any one calendar year. Please note that complimentary elk licenses are not valid for elk hunt areas 75, 76 and 79 which are located within Grand Teton National Park. The winner will be responsible for applicable license fees. For more information and license particulars, please contact: Robert M. Anderson at 307-473-1268 or Click here for Entry Form . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drawing will be held on April 18th, 2009.

1 Ticket: $20

6 Tickets: $100

13 Tickets: $200

Check, Mastercard or Visa accepted.

This is your chance to get a coveted Wyoming Commissioners Tag and help a great friend to Hunters, the Safari Club International. Tickets for the fundraising dinner are also available.