The Outdoor Blogosphere Version 2

The Idaho Fishin Times Blog is a great read with some good pictures of some really great pictures. I spent a couple of years cruising by the St. Joe River and never got a chance to actually drop a fly line in that river. I used to drool over some of those stream pockets and wish I could get three good hours of time on that stream. Someday I will get the chance to fish some of those steams and tributaries.

Heartland Outdoorsman has some great blogs and a great little forum going on over at their site! I really enjoy flipping through the forums and seeing what the readers have had to say. They have a bloggers network going on and are trying to make a business of it! I wish them luck and hope they keep up the great work.

Missouri Sports and Outdooors has a nice little blog that covers a bit more then hunting and fishing but its a great read none the less. I killed my first turkey near Festus, MO on a friends farm called appropriately THE WILDERNESS. I chased that bird up and down over 5 hills and close to a mile and half. He would be on the top of one hill and then in the bottoms and then on top of the hill and then in the bottoms.. finally I gave up and gave a long cutting sequence and took a break... He came running in and I dropped him at 20 yards. A great bird with a great friend on a great farm.... Cant wait to get back there!

Riding in the Backcountry is a great read on all things horses and mules. Russ Barnett is based out of Montana and owns an Outfitters Supply Company in Columbia Falls. His knowledge of horses and mules is excellent and his writing is topnotch.

More to come in Version 3.......

Virginia Outdoors Issues.

Ken Perrotte has written another fantastic article and this one should is incredibly important for all Virginia sportsmen! Here is a link to that fantastic article! Ken Perrotte, Free Lance Star, Give your Opinions on Outdoor Issues.

This particular article is very important to me because it lets you know that we can have a voice with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. We can only hope that they will listen to the public and begin to make some choices on how best to manage our game resources in the best possible way.

I have three issues in regards to the VDGIF that I think are incredibly important issues that I personally want them to address. Direct link to the Virginia Recommendations and Comment Board

The first issue is in regards to the ability to hunt on Sundays. As a working father of 3 kids, it is not always easy for me to take off days to go hunting in Virginia with my current schedule. I know this to be true of almost every hunter I run into in the state. Some Saturdays with busy soccer schedules and dance classes, I need to spend time with my children. I would like the option of being able to hunt on Sundays. In the state of Virginia we have a tremendous over population of deer in many areas of the state. Part of the reason that these herds cannot be controlled is that there are not enough people who have the time to get out and hunt these deer.

The second issue I have in regards to the management of deer in Virginia is that in the state parks and in some of the battlefields where we have tremendous over population of deer herds, they are bringing in sharpshooters. In some of these areas the deer are in my opinion unhealthy, inbred and have literally devastated the forests. In these areas there is almost no vegetation under 6 feet that is left. The deer have wiped out every native species of plants. In some of these areas they have brought in sharpshooters at night and spotlighted deer to eradicate them and reduce the herds. It is my understanding that the meat is donated to the Hunters for the Hungry program but I cannot confirm that. I think these areas would be much better suited to drawing type hunts that offer youth, female and handicap hunters the opportunity to assist in this process. Anything we can do to create public opportunities to assist in the process of deer management is better then sharpshooters. If these hunts do not bring in enough hunters, then they could open it up to lottery type hunts and charge a small fee to apply with the money going towards management fees and conservation programs to replant areas of these forests with native browse. (I believe this to be true of all states and in all national parks where we have these kinds of situations.)

The third issue I have in regards to the VDGIF is the situation with elk in the state of Virginia. I do not believe it is in the best interests of the citizens of Virginia to allow hunters to take elk with their deer tags. The state currently allows any citizen to hunt elk in the state of Virginia with a deer tag with the intent to eliminate all elk in Virginia.

The herd is currently not established and has moved into the area because of the tremendous habitat that Virginia offers to elk. Elk used to thrive in our state and were a native species in Virginia for hundreds of years. When settlers moved into Virginia they were eliminated for food and by market hunters.

The states of Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Pennsylvania with the assistance of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have worked hard to reintroduce elk back into the Eastern and Southern States. West Virginia is currently considering a proposal to do the same thing, hopefully it will be successful. The elk in the state of Virginia have migrated into Virginia from Kentucky and the VDGIF's position statement for the past 5 years has been that elk have CWD and they are afraid of an outbreak. The reality is that every elk taken in the state of Virginia and in Kentucky has been tested as CWD free.

Having a strong herd of elk and the reintroduction of elk in Eastern states has been an economic boom to those states. Pennsylvania and Kentucky currently have lotteries for the opportunity to hunt elk in their states which bring in tremendous dollars for the management of those herds. Along with that the tourist dollars as well as money from hunters coming into those communities is a tremendous resource for those counties in which elk reside. I have been to Kentucky, Pennsylvania and North Carolina just to view the elk in those states and my hard earned dollars were spent in those communities where elk reside. I have been to the counties in Virginia where elk reside as well and spent money in those counties.

I am not asking for the state to reintroduce elk at this time, although it would be wonderful if they would at least consider it. All I am asking for now is that we allow the elk who come into our state be allowed to thrive here and to grow into a viable herd and be protected as a separate species. I want the state to manage the herd as a resource that it truly is for the citizens of our state. The majestic bugle of a bull elk following a herd of cows is a sound that Virginia residents should be rejoicing in, not trying to eliminate.

Please make your comments known to the VDGIF no matter what your issues are and what your opinions are, share them freely. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you must share it to make that opinion valuable.

The wildlife of your state(whatever state you reside in) is owned by the citizens of your state and the management of that wildlife is the responsibility of the citizens. If you do not agree with something happening in your state, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Virginia Outdoor Report

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Kid's Day Trout Fishing in Madison This Weekend!

The annual Kid's Day Trout Fishing event is this Saturday, March 17th on the Robinson River in Madison County where Routes 600 and 643 cross, near the village of Syria. The event is exclusively for children age 12 and under and will start at 9:00 a.m. This is a joint effort of Graves Mountain Lodge, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) and the Rapidan Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Contact Graves Mountain Lodge at (540) 923-4231 for information. This is a great way to celebrate spring with family and friends - take the kids fishing!

Hunters for the Hungry Receives Record Breaking Donations - Tops the Three Million Pound Mark

The generous hunters of Virginia donated 356,054 pounds of venison in 2006, exceeding last year’s record-breaking total by 16,000 pounds. Since the founding of the program in 1991, by the late David Horne, total distribution now exceeds three million pounds of donated venison. Over 12 million servings of nutritious venison have now reached the plates of the less fortunate.

Current Hunters for the Hungry director and long-time employee Laura Newell-Furniss noted, "I think all of us are impressed and pleased with the generosity of Virginia hunters and the financial contributors which have allowed this program to grow into such a success." She continued, "Founder, David Horne, was a caring and intelligent man who, through his work with a nationwide produce salvage program, recognized the need food banks had for lean protein. Being a hunter himself, he also knew that the hunters of Virginia needed to harvest more deer than their families could use to keep the deer herd in proper balance. Being an excellent problem solver, David put these two facts together – the need for the meat, and a vast renewable natural resource and created a charity, which, at the time of his death in 2002, had grown into the largest effort of its kind in the country. We can all be thankful that this wonderful man put his caring and skills together to benefit those in need throughout the Commonwealth." Donations of funds are still needed to pay the costs for processing deer harvested during the extended deer season.

Please consider contributing to Hunters for the Hungry through the $2 check-off when purchasing a license, or at any time through our online Outdoor Catalog.

To learn how you can help, visit www.h4hungry.org or call toll free (800) 352-4868.

Spring Gobbler Forecast Varies Across Regions

Turkey population levels are near record highs for Virginia. Last year 17,195 gobblers were taken in the spring season. Youth hunters took 341 birds on the special youth season hunt. Due to cold rainy springs, reproduction has been down over the past two years. Wildlife biologists do not expect a significant change in the spring gobbler harvest this year. VDGIF Wild Turkey Project Leader Gary Norman noted, "Weather always plays an important role in the spring harvest as good gobbling generally requires good weather conditions. The Department encourages hunters to be safe and identify your target during the spring gobbler season." Only bearded turkeys are legal during the spring season. Hunters can take advantage of all-day hunting during the last two weeks of the season. Afternoon hunting is timed to minimize the incidental kill of female turkeys, which should be nesting at this time. VDGIF annually conducts a survey of spring gobbler hunters. Interested hunters are encouraged to contact Gary Norman at Gary.Norman@dgif.virginia.gov to participate in the survey or call (540) 248-9389.