|
|
Minutes of the Berkshire
County League of Sportsmen Meeting at Cheshire Rod & Gun Club June
2, 2011 Call to Order: President Mark
Jester called the Meeting to order at 7:10 PM. 9 clubs and/or organizations were represented. Jim
Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL was present. Secretary's Report:
The Minutes from the May 5, 2011 meeting, which had been previously distributed, were unanimously approved. Treasurer's
Report: No Treasurer's Report was presented as the Treasurer was unable to attend. DFW
Western District June 2011- Andrew Madden reported the following: - Turkey -
Preliminary totals for WD indicate a "solid season". 760 birds this year vs. 685 in 2010. Two additional
check stations added: Mill River General Store and Chesterfield General Store.
- Site Walks - Designed to provide
an opportunity for people to observe habitat management operations that benefit declining types of wildlife. At Stafford
Hill WMA on June 3, Eugene Moran WMA on September 8 and Hiram Fox WMA on September 29.
- Fisheries Surveys - District
staff will be conducting fish population monitoring throughout the Berkshires. Some major lakes and ponds in the area
are scheduled for sampling as well as a number of smaller streams.
- Free Fishing Weekend June 4 & 5on the ocean
or inland waters.
- Anadromous Fish Counts - Counts of fish migrating upriver in the Connecticut River basin are updated
daily and posted online at http://www.fws.gov/r5crc/fish/daily.html. So far: 179,110 American Shad, 286 Gizzard Shad, 32 Atlantic Salmon, 13,891 Sea Lamprey, 129 Blueback Herring
and 20 Striped Bass.
- F&W Board Meeting and Hearing at Westborough on Friday, June 10 at 10:30 AM. At 3:00
PM the board will be holding a public hearing to consider proposed changes regarding youth turkey hunting permits. Proposed
change would allow DFW to issue licensed youths aged 12-14 years a permit with 2 tags that can be used through the duration
of the spring turkey season.
- 58 bobcats harvested this season
- BOW Program has been cancelled
Fish & Wildlife Board Report - Chairman George (Gige) Darey reported the following: Ellie Horwitz retiring this year and she did an excellent job Francis Sargent
Awarded to be awarded to Bob Durand at the June 10 Board Meeting DFW did "ok" with
regards to its proposed budget for f/y 2012 Archery in the school program going over big.
Very positive effects on the kids. Larson, Van Roo and Winthrop were reappointed to the F&W
Board by the Governor
GOAL -Jim Wallace gave the report: Gave an update on all of the pending bills working their way through the Massachusetts Legislature. He also discussed flaws in the FA10 forms. Discussed the June 18 GOAL Banquet
at the Boxboro Holiday Inn. Wayne LaPierre and Ken Edwards will be there. He discussed the ticket prices. GOAL is doing well. In 2007 there were 11,000 members and currently there are 14,000.
Old Business Archery Program - Wayne Mclain and Mark met with McCann Tech and they are interested in
the program. Since last month, Mark has been in contact with a couple people trying to set up some corporate sponsorships.
Tom O'Shea is willing to come out to do a presentation with any school about the program. Discussed
the Youth Outreach fishing program on Reynolds Pond in Cheshire on Saturday, June 4. All set to go and volunteers are
encouraged.
New Business Mark was contacted by the National Wildlife Federation and hired to contact sportsmen in an effort to get the
Clean Air Act enforced. He is trying to get Sen Brown, Kerry and Rep Olver to sign on and vote to allow the EPA to change
the rules on emissions. Part of his job is to get BCLS and similar organizations in MA and ME to sign on as supporters.
After discussion it was unanimously voted that the BCLS sign up requesting the EPA
to enforce portions of the Clean Air Act, which was originally passed in the 1970s, to restrict the emissions of toxic
chemicals such as mercury. Discussions were conducted regarding DCR's forest preserve
program which was explained at a BCC seminar. Most BCLS members did not have a high regard for it as it did not take
into consideration the management of food and habitat for the wildlife. A motion was
made from the floor to make additional donations of $1,000 to the GOAL Organization and $1,000 to the Berkshire Natural Resources
Council but it was not seconded. It unanimously voted to table such discussions until the September Meeting when the
Treasurer can give his report and provide input.
For the Good of the Clubs Next
meeting is scheduled for the Lee Sportsmen's Assn. on September 1 at 7:00 PM . Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM. Respectfully
submitted - Gene Chague, BCLS Secretary pro tem |
|
|
