Eaglets Testing Their Wings on Eagle Cam

Eaglets Testing Their Wings on Eagle Cam

The eaglets at the Norfolk Botanical Garden continue to grow. The three young eagles have replaced their downy feathers with their brown juvenile plumage, including their flight feathers. These eaglets won't attain the emblematic white head and tail of an adult eagle until they are 4 or 5 years old.

The eaglets are much more active in the nest now, and have begun to test their wings, catching breezes and getting the feel for what flying will be like. They'll begin to make short hopping glides to adjacent branches, gaining coordination and strength in their flight muscles. Sometime around Memorial Day we expect these eaglets will start fledging. They'll stay in the vicinity for a few weeks and may often return to the nest where their parents will continue to feed them. The immature birds will follow their parents - who may continue to be fed by them. The young eagles will eventually learn to hunt on their own, and will subsist largely on scavenged fish until they gain the skills necessary to catch live prey.

Be sure to follow the progress of the eaglets on the VDGIF/Norfolk Botanical Garden Eagle Cam. VDGIF maintains a blog with news and information about the birds.

Eagle Cam Named Top 10 in World

Recently the Web site EarthCam.com selected the VDGIF/Norfolk Botanical Garden Eagle Cam one of the Top 10 webcams in the world. The Top 10 webcams are chosen by a panel of EarthCam producers who select the best out of hundreds of popular webcam submissions. The criteria used for judging includes image quality, uniqueness of the content, and overall technical achievement in webcam technology. The Web site describes the winners as, "the cameras that have amused, amazed, or astounded us."

Check out EarthCam's Top 10 list or visit the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' Eagle Cam Blog.

Virginia Hunter Education Challenge Recognizes Champions

The Annual Virginia Hunter Education Challenge was conducted at Holiday Lake 4-H Center in Appomattox May 4-6, 2007. One hundred and eleven youth on 22 teams from across the Commonwealth competed in shotgun, rifle, archery, a skills trail incorporating "shoot/don't shoot" scenarios, and a comprehensive test encompassing knowledge of wildlife behavior and wildlife identification. The participants were divided into two groups. The Junior Division consisted of participants up to age 14. Seniors were 15 to 19 years old. The following individuals and teams finished at the top:

Overall Individual
Junior 3rd Place Overall
Culpeper
Zach Beaver
Junior 2nd Place Overall
Nottoway
Will Outlaw
Junior 1st Place Overall
Nottoway
Quincy Elder
Senior 3rd Place Overall
Powhatan
Connor Mulherin
Senior 2nd Place Overall
Culpeper
Brett Woodward
Senior 1st Place Overall
Powhatan
Travis Wagner

Overall Champions
Junior Team Champions
3rd Place
Culpeper
Junior Team Champions
2nd Place
Powhatan
Junior Team Champions
1st Place
Nottoway
Senior Team Champions
3rd Place
Shenandoah
Senior Team Champions
2nd Place
Powhatan
Senior Team Champions
1st Place
Nottoway

Sgt. David Dodson, Hunter Education Coordinator, expressed appreciation for the outstanding efforts by the participants, team coaches, Hunter Education Volunteer Instructors and VDGIF staff for their tireless efforts in making this annual event one of the most successful and efficiently operated events of its kind conducted in the past 20 years.

Capt. Bobby Mawyer, Hunter Education Program Manager, commented that the volunteer hunter education instructors provide thousands of hours of invaluable service to sportsmen and sportswomen in numerous events in addition to their classes. The ten-hour Hunter Education Class is mandatory in Virginia for new hunters age 12 and over to obtain a hunting license. Last year, 320 classes were conducted for over 14,000 students by more than 750 certified volunteer instructors.

Virginia Trappers Association

Virginia Trappers Association

My Dad used to say he was retiring so he could hunt, fish and trap! I have never been trapping but you can bet your bottom dollar that the next class these guys have, I will be in attendance!

Quick pictures from todays spring turkey hunt

This morning I hunted with the shotgun because I wanted to get into an area that I had not hunted and hear some birds. I did hear one gobbler 3 times at 6:30 am and then nothing! I moved closer called lightly till 8am and then moved to explore the area. I was hunting in unit 16A and it has some really nice little areas. I look forward to coming back in deer season and I am hoping to get back tomorrow morning bright and early to get a little closer to where I think that gobbler was roosted.

I love Quantico, amazing area, filled with wildlife but I really really wish we could go in the evening and roost birds and not be hunting so blindly. I guess in time I will learn the areas much better! Today I was the only person in this entire area of at least 500 acres or more...Back at it tomorrow at 4:45am!

Virginia Dogwoods!


Unknown tree but I like them! I was told once by Richard Rose the name of this tree and how they are very prized in Japan for the wood and flowers. I understand they used to fly over areas and look for them in ultralights and then sweep in and if they were honest, buy them from the landowner and if they were dishonest steal them.

Where are the gobblers?

Well the beard on my face is getting thicker and the lack of gobbles in the woods has me perplexed. I walked all over 6C in Quantico and I never heard a bird gobble. For turkey season, getting an archery pass to hunt is very very easy! Those who were looking for shotgun areas were running out of good places to go!

This was my first attempts at hunting out of a blind and I am already learning a couple of lessons. First of all this blind is about 15 lbs and with my tripod, my video camera some turkey calls, my Mathews Switchback and a cold soda I hit the woods before dark and set about a third of a mile from the truck. Not a single gobble. I hung out and called sparingly and then aggressively and nothing! I headed out of the woods to hit the other side of 6C and found the edge of a trout stream and some steeper hills. I climbed up one and set up on the top of a hill and did some more calling until 11:15 and backed off the mountain. I stopped by to drop off my pass and got back on the road home. I did not ask how many turkeys were taken this fine Saturday but I am sure some folks got lucky.

This week my goal is to get in two good mornings of hunting and I am going to be bringing my shotgun to get in some run and gun time in so I can explore some new areas. I need to find a loud aggressive gobbler with a bit of luck on my side before 9am so I can get on the road to the office. If it takes longer, it takes longer so be it. I have never been a big run and gun hunter for spring gobblers but I am going to try and make it happen. Wish me luck and I am more then willing to take advise in the comments section!

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!

A comment on the VIrginia Tech massacre.

As a Virginia resident, as a United States resident, and as a father I am deeply saddened by the events in Blacksburg, VA today. The horrible actions of individuals(or groups of individuals) continue to shock me! Our world is changing for the worse and I am afraid we as a society have no real answers. I listened to CSpan on the way home tonight to try and listen to what was going on and to hear some updated reports of what was going on. For close to 20 minutes I got to hear a number of callers giving their condolences to the state of Virginia, the calls were from all across the country and about 20% of the calls began to call for more gun control. This saddened me even more.

We still do not know who did this?
We still do not know why someone would do this?
We still do not know how many people were involved in this violence?
We still do not know if their was one or two separate instances?
We do not know how this could of happened?

What I believe is that bad people do bad things! People with evil in their hearts will always be evil! Criminals used to have to pay for their crimes by death! Our jails used to try and rehabilitate small time offenders and teach them a road back into society. Do we do that now?

We used to take care of our children. We used to teach them the difference between right and wrong? We used to get a spanking if we chose to be bad. We used to watch Sesame Street and the Electric Company and the Muppets and now kids watch cartoons and TV shows filled with violence. We used to be kicked outside to play all day and if we watched more then an hour of TV it was a rare day. We used to ride bikes, skateboards, play touch football, pick up baseball and tag and we knew if we were winners or losers by the score at the end of the game. We used to play dodge ball and we learned to be quick or get hit. We knew not to hit someone in the head, or the group would stop the game and we would get a beating. We knew that if we did wrong there was a price to pay. We used to be able to explore and we had to walk or ride our bikes to school.

We used to learn about the golden rule and the 10 commandments. We used to go to Vacation Bible School and Catachism and we used to say the pledge of allegiance every day in class until I was in 9th grade and if we ever wanted to pray in class it was encouraged. I don't remember ever praying in class as a group but we used to have a moment of silence for all kinds of events and almost all of the class would say amen under their breath or aloud at the end of the moment. I remember praying to myself on many occasions in school.

Our world is changing and all of this technology is not helping to teach our children the skills of being able to discern from right or wrong. When I rode my skateboard too fast, I fell down and got a bruise. When I was mean to someone, I learned that it came back to me 10 fold. When I took something without asking, I got a spanking. When I lied, I got grounded. When I got poor grades, I was taught to work harder. I learned about right or wrong.

When I was young, I started shooting at age 5 with a small BB gun. From day one I was taught to never point it in the direction of another person. That lesson was repeated over and over and over for the rest of my life and I now repeat it to every person I come in contact with when I am around guns. It did not matter whether I was shooting a bb gun, a shotgun, a high powered rifle, an olympic target gun, or a 50 caliber at tremendous distances. I knew to never point it a person.

I have been blessed to have never been put in the situation where I would have to defend my life or the lives of my family. I know that I will not hesitate one second to protect my family with whatever means necessary to do so and I not show mercy. I would not ever shoot someone to hurt them or stop them, I will never point a weapon at someone unless I have to protect my family and it is the last resort. If put in that situation I will be shooting over and over until I am assured that threat has been eliminated. I know my father would of done the same for me, and his father before that would of done the same for him and so on.

It will never be the gun that chooses to kill someone! It is always the person who makes that choice. We need to do more to show the good in our society, to downplay the violence in our worlds, to highlight good over evil. We need to teach our children and youth that guns can be used for hunting, target practice or to bring friends together in camaraderie. We need to teach that guns in the hands of evil people are dangerous and we must teach our children how to defend themselves from evil.

We need to enforce the laws that are already on our books in regards to guns. WE DO NOT NEED MORE LAWS that are not being enforced. I know there is more then enough laws on the books in regards to assault, murder, killing people, brandishing a weapon in a public area, shooting in a public area. No laws stopped this from happening, more laws will not prevent it in the future! What will make a difference is people helping people learn the difference between right and wrong! I encourage all of society to get out there and make a difference in at least one persons life! Call it Pay it Forward, call it common sense, call it whatever you want, but if every one of us can make a difference in at least one or two peoples lives in a good way, we are going to have a lot less problems in our world!

This was sent to me as I was writing this post and it rings so true that I am going to add it to what I have written. Please go out there and make a difference!!!!!!!!!


DARRELL SCOTT TESTIMONY

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every
so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA.

I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers
themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!



"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occur s -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right t! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.

To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to
you a sincere challenge.

Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech..

Opening Day of Turkey Season

I hunted Quantico for opening day and I was not successful but this guy was one of the lucky 7 who took birds off of Quantico Marine Base! The weather is going to make a really tough first week so I am going to play fair weather turkey hunter for the rest of the week and get back to it on Saturday! More pictures and the complete story of my first mornings hunt coming later tonight!

Virginia Hunters for the Hungry

Virginia had a total of 356,054 pounds of meat surpassing the goals of the organization of 350,000 total. What an amazing accomplishment! Every pound of this meat takes money to process it and distribute it to foodbanks, soup kitchens, church food pantries and salvation armies. This takes tons of volunteers and money to get that done.

With a huge budget like this the Hunters for the Hungry have some great partners out there like the Ruritan Clubs of Virginia along with the NWTF and several others!

I encourage you to check out their website at www.h4hungry.org!

They are having a golf tournament in Downing, VA on May 9th, 2007 at 1:00pm. If you are interested in playing in the tournament or sponsoring a hole, please contact Hunters for the Hungry at 800-352-4868.

Fredericksburg, VA National Wild Turkey Banquet

Saturday, April 7th started off with snow on the ground. There has not been snow on the ground in April in like 20+ years! Luckily it was only 2 inches and the roads were nice and clear. I had a local National Wild Turkey Foundation banquet to attend and work at. The local committee has doubled up the attendance this year and the banquet promised to be a good one. I got there at 9am ready to set up and the team pulled together and got everything ready.

The raffle table being picked over for great tickets on countless prizes and some great guns.

Some of our raffles girls and auction girls.

Brandon McGuire working over at the Jakes table helping to sign up new Jakes members and raffle off a new bicycle.

Tom Worrell and our local Virginia Fish and Game Officer talking about a recent bust of a poacher in Virginia. There is nothing I hate more then poachers! They are stealing the game that belongs to us all.
John Shaw who is a local artist here in Fredericksburg and his work is absolutely amazing. Every year he donates a couple of his great works to our chapter and they always do very well for the NWTF.

Some of our committee members!


Kelly Strauss and Family! His young daughter is getting a hair cut on Tuesday, one of her very first hair cuts and the her hair is being donated to Locks of Love. For the last several years, Kelly has been donating his services as our auctioneer and he does a great job with our crew! I have been lucky enough to be a spotter at several of these banquets and love it! I get to yell and have fun, what more can you ask for! Kelly, you have an amazing family!

We gave Brandon McGuire his scholarship for college and I got a moment to thank him for being a great friend! This chapter means a lot to me because it was at their Jakes Day that I was at passing out fishing rods to the kids where I met Brandon and Holly! I look forward to many more years of hunting with Brandon as he is has become a great friend.

Holly McGuire, Brandon McGuire, Bill Newman(Chapter Chair, Fredericksburg NWTF), myself and Kevin Grubbs(Virginia NWTF Regional Director).


Veronika walking around with a Thomas Kincaide print at our banquet!

Brandon with his scholarship.

Our live auction brought in $15,360.00 dollars for wild turkey habitat and conservation! With our raffles, silent auction, and memberships the committee had a wonderful night! Thank you to all the hunter conservationists who attended this event.

Friends of NRA

The Culpeper, VA chapter of the Friends of NRA is holding its 9th annual Fund Raising Banquet on Saturday, March 24th, 2007. Tickets are $35.00 per person and $200.00 for sponsorship. If you are interested in attending this fantastic event please call Johna Inskeep at 540-825-6761 or Bill Marsh at 540-825-9335.

I talked with the guys last night and they promised me that this was going to be a fantastic event. I have already committed to being at another banquet that night but they promised me some great pictures for the blog! Please try and make it out to attend this event!

The 2007 Friends of NRA Gun of the Year is a Smith & Wesson XVR .460! That sounds like a raffle I should get in on. Might make one heck of a bear gun!

Elk Hunting in Virginia

For the last several years this has really bothered me and I have kept my mouth shut about this issue! By all means I believe that each state has the right to make their own choices in regards to game management! That being said as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am entitled to my own private opinion about those decisions that are made! I personally think that this decision stinks! Elk once roamed the mountains of Virginia as a wild and free species and I believe that if we allow the herd to grow it will provide tourism dollars to the counties in the area where the elk are, hunting opportunities when the herd is strong enough to support it, and opportunities for revenue for Virginia to support the management of that herd. We should embrace these animals and allow them continue to grow and develop. If you are a Virginia sportsman or Sportswoman please contact the VDGIF and let them know how you feel and contact your Virginia state representatives as well.

Apparently Others feel the same way!
Commentary in the Fredericksburg, VA Free Lance Star

Elk Hunting in Virginia

Where are the elk in Virginia?

Most free-roaming elk in Virginia emigrated from eastern Kentucky, where Kentucky DNR has released them since 1998. There are only a few elk in Virginia, so your chances of seeing elk are not high. However, the closer you are to Kentucky, the greater the probability of encountering elk. All known elk harvests in recent years have been in Wise County.

How many elk did Virginia hunters take last hunting season?

Hunters harvested two elk in Virginia during the 2004-2005 hunting season and eight elk during the 2003-2004 hunting season. Total harvests by county since the 2000-2001 hunting season are:

County	Elk Harvested
Buchanan	2
Bland	0
Dickenson	0
Lee	0
Russell	3
Scott	3
Smyth	0
Tazewell	0
Washington	1
Wise	16

What is the best place to hunt elk in Virginia?

Most elk occur in the Kentucky border area. Much of southwestern Virginia is privately owned and if you have friends or relatives near Kentucky, you may want to check with them about opportunities for elk hunting on private land.

There are two public hunting areas on the Kentucky border. The first of these is the Clinch Ranger District of the Jefferson National Forest (276-328-2931). Clinch Ranger District is mostly in Wise County, with portions in Scott, Lee, and Dickenson counties. The second public hunting area is the Flanagan Reservoir in Dickenson County, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (276-835-9544). Call these land management offices for maps and recommendations on accommodations in the respective communities.

Can antlerless elk be taken in areas where hunters are allowed to take only antlered white-tailed deer?

Yes!

Do harvested elk have to be checked-in?
What tags do I use?
Can I quarter the elk before moving it from the kill location?

Yes, a successful hunter must check an elk, just as you must check-in a white-tailed deer. You validate a deer tag on your Big Game before moving the carcass from the kill location. Elk must be checked in at a check station and cannot be checked by phone. You may dismember an elk to get it out of the woods, but do not destroy the sexual identity of the animal.

Why does Virginia allow elk hunting?

For the past several years, the state of Kentucky has undertaken an ambitious elk restoration program in southeastern Kentucky, which has resulted in a population of over 4,000 animals in Kentucky. The Kentucky elk restoration area borders Virginia in Buchanan, Dickenson, Wise, and Lee counties. Over the past several years, several of these elk have moved into Virginia, and capturing and returning these elk to Kentucky has not proved to be a practical management option. Therefore, as a proactive management option designed to keep these elk from becoming established in Virginia at this time, the VDGIF has established a full season either-sex elk hunt to run concurrent with all open deer seasons.

Why does Virginia want to keep elk from being established at this time?

One of the primary reasons the Department has been opposed to elk restoration is the potential for transmission of diseases to our valuable white-tailed deer herd. A serious disease that could be introduced by elk is Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). To date, the disease has only been found in cervids (members of the deer family) in North America. CWD is a contagious neurological disease affecting deer and elk. It causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death.

The movement of live animals is one of the greatest risk factors in spreading CWD into new areas. Natural movements of wild deer and elk contribute to the spread of the disease, and human-aided transportation of both captive and wild animals greatly exacerbates this risk factor. There are several potential routes for CWD infection of Virginia's white-tailed deer herd. One possible route is the movement of CWD-infected elk through state-sponsored elk restoration projects. Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky have all released elk recently. Another possible route for CWD infection is through movement of elk and deer between deer farms in neighboring states. While Virginia has very restrictive regulations governing the possession and movement of captive cervids, several of our border states have many deer farms.

VDGIF is working to protect Virginia's hunting economy by taking every precaution to prevent CWD infection of our deer herd. Visit our Chronic Wasting Disease page for more information on VDGIF's effort to keep CWD out of Virginia.

Virginia Outdoor Report

Subscribe to the VIRGINIA OUTDOOR REPORT at: http://enews.vi.virginia.gov/dgif/eoptinform.cfm

You will receive great articles and information enclosed in a handy email just like the information below. Please sign up and stay informed!




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.

Pictures from the 1st ever sanctioned Elk Calling Contest in Virginia

Picture of a proud Torie Smallwood with her trophy. She was a favorite of the attendees and made a big impression for the youth in the outdoors. She calls with her mouth and was fantastic!

Pictured left to right, Adam Campbell, second place winner in Intermediate division and Dakota Clouser, first place winner in the Youth Elk Calling Contest.
This is pictures of the elk calling winners and P.J. Wright, the promoter of the show. The names in the pictures apply left to right. P.J. Wright, Larry Smallwood ( winner of draw for seven day elk hunt), in front of Larry is Torie Smallwood, Larry's daughter. Torie won a trophy in the Pee Wee division, next is Bryan Zuber first place winner in Senior division and Dakota Clouser, he was winner of the Intermediate division.

The following is the placing for the elk calling contest in order: Bryan Zuber, Daymon Davis, Wayne Cowles, Gene Hyatt, Keven Weaver, Eddie Dean, Larry Smallwood, Kurtis Russell, Allen Burke, Dwight Corlk and Wilson Wenger .

The Judges were Toni Wilt, David Campbell, Ricky Campbell and Kevin Paulson.

I had the pleasure of judging this fantastic contest and hats off to the Staunton, VA Chapter of the RMEF for their tremendous support!