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2012  CONTENTS 


B 


"It's  Your  Nature" 

by  Virginia  Shepherd 

For  75  years,  the  WSFR  Program  has  been  the 
engine  driving  fish  and  wildlife  management. 


Deer  Management  101 

by  David  Hart 

Building  a  healthy  deer  herd  begins  with  a  good 
plan  and  some  trigger  restraint. 


18 


22 


26 


30 


Hot  Fishing  Action  for 
Hot  Weather 

by  Mark  Fike 

When  summer  temps  heat  up, it's  time  to  explore 
the  finer  points  of  croaker  fishing. 


Wild  Rebound: 

A  Tale  of  Golden  Eagles 

by  Todd  Katzner  and  Jeff  Cooper 

In  spiteof  a  convoluted  history  here  in  the  East, 
this  raptor  appears  to  be  making  a  comeback. 

Savage  Neck  Dunes 

by  Curtis  J.  Badger 

What's  good  for  the  dunes  along  the  Chesapeake  is 
good  for  a  rare  beetle  and  a  host  of  other  wildlife. 


Volunteer  for  Wildlife 

by  Cristina  Santiestevan 

A  genuine  interest  in  wildlife  is  the  only  prerequisite 
needed  to  join  the  CWF  Program. 


34    New  Access  Fee  •  King  Montgomery 

35  AFIELD  AND  AFLOAT 

38     Angler  Hall  of  Fame  •  40  Photo  Tips 
41     On  the  Water  •  42  Dining  In 

ABOUT  THE  COVER:   White-tailed  bucks  in  velvet.  '  Bill  Lea 


BOB  MCDONNELL 
Governor 


1 


CERTIFICATE  ofRECOQNITION 

By  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  Governor  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  there  u  hereby  officially  recognised: 

75^  ANNIVERSARY  of  the 
WILDLIFE  A^a)  SPORT  FISH  RESTORATION  PROGRAMS 

WHEREAS,  ii  IS  importani  lo  protect  and  manage  fisb  and  resident  wildlife  ■mthiD  our  Commonwealth,  and 

>^'HEREAS,  hunters,  onglen.  and  trappen  in  Virginia  and  other  states  were  among  the  first  conservationists  to 
support  the  establishment  of  agencies  to  conserve  fish  and  wildlife  and  thetr  habitats,  and  upon  realizing  thai  license  fees  alone 
were  insufHcicnt  lo  restore  and  sustain  healthy  fish  and  wildlife  populations  supported  the  development  of  a  system  to  raise 
additional  funds  to  support  restoration;  and 

WHEREAS,  in  1937  a  Virginian.  United  Slates  Representative  A.  Willis  Robertson,  former  member  of  the  Senate  of 
Virginia  and  former  Chairman  of  the  Virginia  Game  Commission,  co-sponsored  the  Federal  Aid  in  Wildlife  Restoration  Act. 
which  became  known  as  the  Pittman- Robertson  Act;  and 

WHEREAS.  ihePittman-Robcrtson  Act  led  to  a  user  pay-public  boiefit  system  so  successful  that  in  1950  a 
companion  Federal  Aid  in  Sport  Fish  Restoration  Act  was  passed;  and 

WHEREAS,  by  ensuring  dedicated  liindiag  derived  from  sales  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  boating  equipment,  the 
Pittman -Robertson  program  has  contributed  to  die  rc-enforcement  of  sound  biological  ^\iIdlife  management  and  helped  lo  shape 
the  core  concepts  of  the  North  Amencan  Model  of  Wildlife  Conservation  in  Virgmia  and  across  the  country,  and 

WHEREAS,    the  combined  contnbuiion  of  the  Wildlife  and  Sport  Fish  Rcsioraiion  Programs  (WSFR)  to  stale  fish 
and  vkildlife  ageiKies  has  exceeded  S 1 3  billion  lutionwide  and  constitutes  the  American  System  of  Conservahon  Funding;  and 

WHEREAS,  the  WSFR  Programs  have  proved  to  be  the  milestone  for  wildlife  management  and  conservabon  ethics, 
while  continuing  to  provide  of^rtuniry  for  all  lo  enjoy  n-ildlife.  fishing,  boating  and  related  outdoor  recreation  and  to  work 
diligently  lo  safeguard  the  nghis  of  the  people  to  hunt,  fish  and  har\'esi  game  as  provided  for  in  the  Constitution  of  Virginia;  and 

WHEREAS,  the  manufacturers  of  hunting,  fishmg,  and  boating  equipment  haw  supported  the  WSFR  Programs  and 
conunue  lo  exhibit  a  spirit  of  cooperation  with  stale  fUh  and  wildlife  agaicies,  including  tlie  Commonwealth's  Department  of 
Game  and  Inland  Fisheries  and  Marine  Resources  Commission;  and 

WHEREAS,  this  cooperative  partnership  has  resulted  in  the  most  successful  model  of  fish  and  wildlife  managenicnl 
in  the  uorid.  restonng  fish  and  wildlife  populations  throughout  Virginia  and  ihe  nanon; 

NOW,  THEREFORE.  I,  Robert  F  McDonnell,  do  hereby  recognize  the  75*  ANNIVXRSARV  OF  THE 
WlLDLIFi:  AND  SPORT  FISH  RESTORATION  PROGRAMS  m  our  COMMONWEALTH  OF  VIRGINIA,  and  I  call 
this  observance  to  the  attention  of  our  citizens;  and 

IN  TESTIMONY'  WHEREOF.  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  to  be  affixed  the  I  Aser  Seal  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Virginia  this  «ixieenth  k>f  Ma>.  twi>  thousand  twelve  year  and  m  the  iwo  hundred  thirry-suih  year  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Virgmia. 


O'^^V  ^(AAjJc 


MISSION  ST/VITM INT 

To  nunap  Virginia't  wildlife  and  inUnd  fith  lo  nuinuin  opiimum  popuUiioni  of  all  ipccics  lo  Km  ihc  nrcdi  ol'ihc  Commonwealth:  To 
pnwidc  opfMinuniiy  fur  all  lo  rn|ay  wildlife,  inland  tuh,  hiutin|i  and  related  (lutdtMtr  rrtrrariun  and  to  work  diligrntlv  to  safeguard  the  rights 
of  rhc  people  to  hunt,  (iih  and  harveti  ^amc  a>  pnivided  fi>r  in  the  Omitiiuiion  ol  VirKinia.  Ti>  promoie  ufety  h)r  perwn\  and  pt\)periv  in 
(onncciton  with  ImaiinK.  hunting  and  hihin^t:  To  provide  educarional  ourreaih  proKranit  and  maieriali  that  finier  an  awareneu  of  and  appre- 
(latinn  foe  Vii|pnia'i  h<h  and  wildlile  mounx>,  rheir  hahilatt.  and  hunring.  hdiinfi.  and  louiing  op|>oriuniiici. 

Dedicated  to  the  Conservation  of  Virginia's  Wildlife  and  Natural  Resources 


VOLIIMF  73 


MIMBf-RS  7&8 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  VIRGI 
Bob  McDonnell,  Governor 

HUNTING  &  FISHING 
LICENSE  FEES 

Subsidized  this  publication 

SECRETARY  OF  NATURAL  RESOUP 
Douglas  W.  Domenech 

DEPARTMENT  OF  GAME  AND 

INLAND  FLSHERIES 

Bob  Duncan 

Executive  Director 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD 

Lisa  Caruso,  Church  Road 
J.  Brent  Clarke,  lU,  Great  Falls 
Curtis  D.  Colgate,  Virginia  Beach 
Ben  Davenport,  Chatham 
Garry  L.  Gray,  Bowling  Green 
James  W.  Hazel,  Oakton 
Randy  J.  Kozuch,  Alexandria 
Hugh  Palmer.  Highland  Springs 
F.  Scott  Reed,  jr.,  Manakin-Sabot 
Leon  O.  Turner,  Fincastle 
Charles  S.  Yates,  Cleveland 

MAG.\Z1NF  STAFF 

Sally  Mills,  Editor 

Lee  Walker,  Ron  Messina,  Contributing  1 

Emily  Pels,  Art  Director 

Carol  Kushlak,  Produaion  Manager 

Tom  Guess,  Staff  Contributor 

Printing  by  Progress  Printing  Plus,  Lynchbu 

Virginia  Wildlife  (ISSN  0042  6792)  is  published  i 
by  the  Virginia  Departtnent  of  Game  and  Inland  I 
Send  all  subscription  orders  and  address  changes  to  1 
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POSTMASTER:  Please  send  all  address  changa  B>  I 
Viildlifc.  PO.  Box  830,  Boone,  Iowa  100.%.  I 
riodicals  paid  at  Richmond,  Virginia  and  addici 
offices. 

Copyright  2012  by  the  Virginia  Depanment  of  C 
Inland  Fisheries.  All  rights  reserved. 

The  Department  of  dame  and  Inland  Rsheriesi 
to  all  persons  an  equal  access  to  Department  | 
facilities  without  regard  to  race,  color,  religion. 
gin.  di.s,ibility.  sex,  or  age.  II  tou  believe  that  TOU I 
discriminated  against  in  any  program,  activity  « 
please  write  to;  Virginia  Department  ol  i.jmi-  and 
Pi.sheries,  ATTN:  (.ompliance  OffiiTi 
.Street.)  P  O.  Box  11104.  Richmond,  \  n. 

This  publication  is  intended  for  general  inftJin 

poses  only  and  orry  elTort  has  b— '    ■■' 

curacy.  Ihc  inturmation  coniaiiu 
a  legal  rcprcsrniaiion  of  hsh  and  \v 
The  Virginia  I^partment  o(  Ciame  and  I 
not  avsume  re>p*insibility  for  any  chain 
tions.  or  information  that  may  occut  ahci  pul' 


l\'ii 


«S" 


•'iwITufcV^^'' 


(Mf^ 


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it 


^' 


hot  bypresf^pf^y  of  ideas.  Real 
reforms  are  always  home-made. " 

-Aldo  Leopold,  1930 


by  Virginia  Shepherd 


t  was  a  close  call.  So  close  it 
makes  you  catch  your  breath. 
By  1862,  thirty-two  million 
Americans  had  hopped  aboard  a  runaway 
train  barreling  toward  a  natural  resources  dis- 
aster— and  most  of  them  didn't  even  know  it. 
^X'hile  they  were  busy  creating  the  richest  and 
most  powerful  nation  in  the  world,  they  were 
also  laying  waste  to  its  very  foundation:  four 
million  square  miles  of  some  of  the  richest 
fish  and  wildlife  habitat  on  Earth. 

By  the  time  the  first  transcontinental 
railway  system  broke  open  the  West  in  1869, 
vast  herds  of  100  million  bison  and  40  mil- 
lion pronghorn  antelope  pounding  across  the 
plains  had  vanished.  An  estimated  60  million 
beavers  had  been  reduced  to  100,000.  Ihirty 
to  40  million  passenger  pigeons,  so  dense  in 
numbers  that  reports  said  it  took  literally 
hours  for  the  skies  to  clear  during  their  migra- 
tions, had  disappeared.  Waterlowl  popula- 
tions had  plummeted.  Swamps  had  been 
drained,  prime  habitat  converted  to  agricul- 


ture, and  market  hunting  continued  unabat- 
ed. Women  in  America  and  in  Europe  were 
parading  the  street  in  hats  festooned  with  the 
feathers  of  egrets,  herons,  and  40  varieties  of 
native  birds.  They  would  soon  be  wearing  the 
entire  bodies  of  birds  on  their  heads.  We  were 
plucking  America  bare. 

Nevertheless,  most  Americans  at  the 
time  were  not  parading  the  streets  with  plac- 
ards demanding  conservation  reform  from 
their  legislatures.  Rather,  they  were  toasting 
their  good  fortune  built  on  the  incalculable 
wealth  of  their  land's  rich  soil,  their  free  access 
to  the  silver  and  gold  veins  to  be  mined  just 
under  America's  skin,  and  the  seemingly 
limitless  forests  thrown  over  the  country's 
mountains  and  lowlands  like  a  cloak  hiding  a 
treasure  of  wildlife.  America  was  just  too  vast, 
too  fabulously  abundant  a  landscape  to  suc- 
cimib  to  the  pinprick  of  mere  mortds — or  so 
we  believctl.  We  could nt  have  been  more 
wrong. 

Ii  w;is  a  matter  of  taking  too  much  with 
too  little  knowledge  of  the  conset)uences — 
and  fer  too  little  restraint.  From  New  York  to 
("-;ilifornia,  from  North  D.ikot.i  to  Florida, 


In  1937  a  Virginian,  United  States  Representative  A.  Wi 
Robertson,  former  member  of  the  Senate  of  Virginia  ar 
former  Chairman  of  the  Virginia  Game  Commission, 
co-sponsored  the  Federal  Aid  in  Wildlife  Restoration  Ac 
which  became  known  as  the  Pittman-Robertson  Act. 


VIRGINIA  WJLDLIfE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.conn 


we  all  were  to  blame.  But  as  history  has 
proved  so  often,  it  would  be  the  incremental 
steps  of  the  few,  committed  for  a  lifetime,  to 
wake  the  conservation  consciousness  of  a 
slumbering  nation.  And  it  would  take  75 
years— nearly  a  century — to  secure  the 
restoration  and  ftiture  of  America's  fish  and 
wildlife. 

Awakening  America  to  the  need  for  con- 
servation was  a  painftilly  slow  process,  with  a 
monumental  learning  curve.  We  simply  did 
not  understand  the  intricate  workings  of  the 
natural  systems  we  were  destroying.  We  did 
not  understand  predator-prey  relationships, 
or  habitat  or  range  requirements.  We  did  not 
understand  the  inter-relatedness  of  all  living 
things. 

Nevertheless,  by  the  late  1 800s  and  early 
1900s,  a  handful  of  unorthodox  and  strong- 
minded  free  thinkers  emerged  with  the  politi- 
cal will  and  commitment  to  save  what  they 
recognized  as  America's  greatest  treasure. 
They  were,  by  and  large,  America's  sports- 
men. In  the  first  half  of  the  20'''  century,  near 
total  responsibility  for  natural  resources  fell 
directly  on  their  shoulders.  That's  because 
state  hunting  and  fishing  license  revenue  pro- 
vided the  one  stable  funding  source  to  pro- 


tea,  restore,  and  manage  fish  and  wildlife  re- 
sources. With  the  creation  of  state  fish  and 
game  agencies  in  the  early  20*  centut)',  fish 
and  wildlife  were  given  a  legislative  voice — 
and  a  bank  account.  But  it  was  not  enough. 
Underfunded,  understaffed,  and  prone  to 
political  interference,  these  fledgling  wildlife 
agencies  more  often  than  not  confronted 
frustration  and  failure  rather  than  success. 
The  science  offish  and  wildlife  management 
simply  did  not  exist,  and  funds  to  better  un- 
derstand the  principles  of  fish  and  wildlife 
restoration  were  non-existent.  Litde  money 
was  available  to  acquire  land  or  pursue  in- 
formed re-stocking  schemes.  Law  enforce- 
ment was  a  slip-shod  ineffective  aflair,  often 
the  work  of  ill-equipped,  political  appointees. 
Nevertheless,  like  it  or  not,  fish  and 
game  agencies  were  the  sole  stewards  and 
watchdogs  of  their  state's  natural  resources, 
operating  in  an  unrestricted  free-for-all, 
where  horrific  fish  kills  from  industrial  ninofF 
were  commonplace  and  protective  environ- 
mental legislation,  an  affront  to  a  free-market 
economy.  To  top  it  off,  agencies'  precious 
hunting  and  fishing  license  revenues  were 
perpetually  threatened  by  cash-strapped  state 
legislatures  for  diversion  to  other  projects.  As 


fish  and  wildlife  populations  continued  their 
nosedive,  there  seemed  very  litde  that  those 
who  cared  most  deeply  about  our  country's 
fish  and  wildlife  legacy  could  do  about  it.  In 
1929,  a  weary  A.  Willis  Robertson,  then  di- 
rector of  Virginia's  state  fish  and  game  agency, 
wrote  to  his  good  friend  Billy  Reed:  "/  have 
been  rushed  to  death  all  of  the  summer  and 
owing  to  the  unsettled  political  conditions,  or  the 
inactivity  of  our  wardens,  or  a  growing  con- 
sciousness of  the  value  ofwiUlife,  I  have  gotten 
more  kicks  recently  concerning  various  and 
sundry  matters  than  at  any  time  during  the  past 
three  years  and  it  has  kept  me  busy  trying  to  keep 
the  various  complainers  and  criticizers  satisfied 

"Anyone  who  has  an  idea  that  a  public  job 
is  a  bed  of  roses  should  jt4st  lie  on  it  for  a  few 
months  and  he  will  so  find  that  the  thorns  are 
more  prominent  d}an  the  perfume. " 

But  such  men  did  not  give  up.  All  across 
the  countrv',  men  like  Robertson  dug  in,  put 
their  heads  down, 
and  pushed  forward. 
It  took  decades  of 
persistence,  of  pa- 
tience, and  the 
certain  cultivated     f 
wiliness  of  born 


Charged  to  protect  their  state's  legacy,  fish  and  game  agencies  were— without 
exception— underfunded,  understaffed,  and  politically  controlled.  Most  relied  on 
hunting  and  fishing  license  fees  as  their  chief  source  of  income  to  carry  out  their 
enormous  responsibilities.  But  these  funds  were  sorely  inadequate  and  perpetually 
threatened  by  cash-strapped  state  legislatures. 


Jt)LY/AUGUST2012 


sportsmen,  because  the  problem  of  develop- 
ing an  effective  program  to  restore  our  failing 
fish  and  wildlife  populations  was  not  only 
ecologically  complex,  it  was  politically  com- 
plicated as  well.  Unlike  our  European  coun- 
terparts, the  United  States  had  embraced  a 
bold  philosophy  concerning  its  wildlife  re- 
sources. We  claimed  our  wildlife  heritage  as  a 
public  treasure,  not  a  private  one.  Our  unique 
North  American  Model  of  Wildlife  Conser- 
vation designated  the  country's  wildlife  legacy 
a  public  responsibilit)'  owned  by  all,  not  by 
the  few.  But. . .  if  America's  wildlife  belonged 
to  the  people,  and  not  to  the  landowners  on 
whose  land  it  might  be  found,  then  under 
whose  jurisdiction  did  fish  and  wildlife  gover- 
nance fell?  Was  it  a  state  or  federal  responsibil- 
ity? And  who  then  should  foot  the  bill? 


It  was  during  the  years  of  1 900  to  1 937 
that  such  questions  were  ironed  out  and  the 
most  effective  program  of  fish  and  wildlife 
conser\'ation  in  the  world  emerged.  When 
Teddy  Roosevelt  was  ushered  into  the  White 
House  in  1 90 1 ,  federal  legislation  got  a  presi- 
dential jumpstart.  Emergency  protective 
measures  were  launched,  designed  to  secure 
great  swaths  of  land  as  refiages  for  belea- 
guered wildlife.  By  1913,  the  federal  govern- 
ment had  claimed  custody  of  the  migrator)' 
birds  of  the  nation,  establishing  waterfowl 
hunting  seasons  in  every  state,  and  soon  es- 
tablished protective  international  treaties. 
State  fish  and  game  agencies  assumed  re- 
sponsibility for  virtually  all  non-migratory 
fish  and  wildlife. 

Nevertheless,  the  essential  funding 
mechanisms  necessary  to  fund  long-term 
wildlife  restoration  programs  on  both  state 
and  federal  levels  was  lacking.  There  simply 
wasn't  enough  money  available  to  imple- 
ment what  people  were  beginning  to  realize 
would  be  a  long-term  and  monumental  task 
involving  close  state  and  federal  cooperation 
and  organizational  partnerships.  It  took 


Carl  Shoemaker  was  appointed  to  the  U.S. 
Senate  Special  Committee  on  Conservation  of 
Wildlife  Resources  and  was  the  author  of  the 
Pittman-Robertson  Wildlife  Restoration  Act. 
He  enlisted  the  support  of  Sen.  Key  Pittman 
(below)  of  Nevada  to  introduce  the  Wildlife 
Restoration  bill  in  the  Senate  and  approached 
Congressman  A.  Willis  Robertson  for  support 
in  the  House  of  Representatives. 


Using  PR  funds,  adult  deer  were  purchased  from  several  other  states  and  released  into  areas  of  suitable  habitat.  So  significant  was  the  success 
of  these  restoration  efforts  that  from  1930  to  1957,  Virginia's  deer  harvest  rose  from  1,299  to  a  record  22,473.  Today,  the  state  boasts  an  annual 
harvest  of  231,000  and  a  deer  population  of  one  million  animals. 


8 


VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFlshVA.conn 


more  than  thirty  years  of  coalition  building, 
endless  proposals  and  defeated  legislation, 
bitter  disappointment  and  deteriorating  land 
use  before  an  unusual  opportunity'  arose  and 
the  conditions,  miraculously  right  to  grab  it. 

In  1936,  a  ten  percent  federal  excise  tax 
on  sporting  guns  and  ammunition  existed  on 
the  books.  Congress  at  the  time  was  in  the 
process  of  abolishing  such  excise  taxes,  but 
sportsmen  groups  and  other  conservationists 
saw  instead  an  opportunity  to  propose  a  di- 
version rather  than  a  repeal  of  the  tax.  The 
idea  was  to  divert  the  proceeds  from  the  tax  to 
the  states  for  wildlife  restoration  projects  to  be 
matched  on  a  3: 1  basis  with  state  hunting  and 
fishing  license  revenue.  The  ammunition 
companies  supported  the  proposal,  and  Carl 
Shoemaker,  former  chief  of  the  Oregon  De- 
partment of  Fish  and  Game,  drafted  the  legis- 
lation. Shoemaker  enlisted  the  support  of 
Senator  Key  Pittman  of  Nevada  to  introduce 
the  bill  in  the  Senate.  On  the  House  side. 
Shoemaker  approached  Congressman  A. 
Willis  Robertson,  who  had  moved  to  Con- 
gress from  the  Virginia  Game  Department 
four  years  earlier.  When  Shoemaker  sat  down 


with  Robertson  and  handed  him  the  bill, 
Robertson  penciled  in  29  words:  "...and 
which  shall  include  a  prohibition  against  the 
diversion  of  license  fees  paid  by  hunters  for 
any  other  purpose  than  the  administration  of 
said  State  fish  and  game  department."  With 
those  words,  Robertson  secured  the  ftiture  of 
our  fish  and  wildlife  legacy.  Robertsons  work 
in  Virginia  had  taught  him  how  capricious 
state  legislatures  could  be  with  their  income, 
and  he  wanted  to  make  sure  that  the  science 
of  fish  and  wildlife  management  was  taken 
out  of  the  political  arena.  If  a  state  wanted 
federal  money  to  help  them  restore  their 
wildlife,  they  had  to  guarantee  their  fish  and 
game  department's  right  to  use  every  dime  of 
hunting  and  fishing  license  revenue  to  sup- 
port it.  Period. 

The  Pittman-Robertson  (P-R)  Federal 
Aid  to  Wildlife  Restoration  Act  sailed 
through  Congress.  President  Franklin  D. 
Roosevelt  signed  the  bill  into  law  on  Septem- 
ber 2,  1 937,  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  protests 
from  his  budget  office  insisting  that  earmark- 
ing fiinds  from  excise  taxes  was  not  in  the 
country's  best  interest.  Today,  on  its  75'^ 


Essentially,  the  only  real  management  tools 
fish  and  wildlife  agencies  had  at  their  disposal 
were  the  setting  of  hunting  seasons,  bag  limits, 
and  methods  of  hunting. 


anniversary,  the  program  has  proved  without 
a  doubt  that  it  has  been  in  the  very  best  of  its 
country's  interest.  Its  success  has  been  iwthing 
short  of  astounding. 


When  an  effective  technique  for  live-trapping  wild  turkeys  was  developed  in  the  mid-1950s,  Virginia  wildlife 
biologists  began  a  nearly  40-year  effort  to  restore  turkeys  to  suitable  habitat  around  the  state.  Today's 
estimated  population  at  150,000  birds  supports  both  a  spring  and  fall  season  for  60,000  to  70,000  hunters. 

JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦ 


From  the  outset,  approved  P-R  projects 
included  the  purchase  of  land  for  wildlife 
restoration  purposes;  improvement  of  land 
for  wildlife;  and  research  projects  directed  at 
solving  wildlife  restoration  problems.  Ala- 
bama used  P-R  funds  to  re-establish  white- 
tailed  deer  on  nearly  30  million  acres  of  range, 
and  wild  turkey  on  20  million  acres.  Alaska 
used  P-R  money  to  learn  about  the  habitat  re- 
quirements, reproductive  biolog)',  and  inter- 
relationships between  species  of  Dall  sheep, 
grizzly  bear,  moose,  caribou,  and  wolves. 
Connecticut  acquired  nearly  10,000  acres  of 
land,  including  key  wedands  along  Long  Is- 
land Sound  and  the  Connecticut  River. 
Kansas  purchased  57,000  acres  of  wildlife 
habitat.  Maine's  first  P-R  project  live-trapped 
and  banded  waterfowl  in  order  to  learn  more 
about  migration  routes,  age  and  sex  ratios, 
and  the  numbers  of  local  nesting  species. 


If^f 


Built  in  1931,  the  Montebello  Fish  Cultural  Station  is 
still  in  use  today,  thanks  to  the  continued  support  and 
funding  contributed  through  the  WSFR  Program. 


In  1950,  following  the  success  of  the  P-R  Program,  the  Sport  Fish 
Restoration  Program  was  established  to  secure  funding  for 
America's  fisheries. 


And  that  was  just  the  beginning.  The  list 
goes  on  and  on.  The  P-R  program  birthed  the 
science  of  wildlife  management  in  this  coun- 
try. The  program  has  always  focused  on  "can- 
do"  projects,  like  making  white-tailed  deer 
restoration  possible  by  Rinding  research  on 
how  to  trap  and  transpon  deer  to  repopulate 
their  historic  range.  And  it  has  made  partner- 
ing with  sportsmen's  groups  like  the  National 
Wild  Turkey  Federation  and  Ducks  Unlimited 
a  priority;  partnerships  which  provide  match- 
ing hands  and  support  for  research  projects 
which  embody  the  North  American  Model's 
philosophy  of  "public  responsibility"  for 
wildlife.  Since  1937,  more  than  $6.4  billion 
have  been  invested  in  wildlife  restoration 
through  the  P-R  program.  It  has  turned  into 
one  of  the  most  successful  federal-statc-conser- 
vationist-sportsmen  pannerships  in  histor)'. 

With  the  pa.ssagc  of  the  P-R  Act  in  1 937, 
sportsmen  and  other  conservationists  had 
built  up  a  head  of  steam  they  were  bound  and 
determined  to  keep  using.  A  companion  bill  to 
establish  a  stable  and  secure  metlianism  lo 
lund  the  restoration  of  America's  fisheries  was 
iIh-  next  goal.  In  California,  Congressman 
liank  H.  Buck  introduced  Ic-gislation  in  1939 
designed  along  the  lines  of  the  P-R  Act  to  im- 


10        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    «    www.HunfFisfiVA.conn 


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Wildlife  Manaecment  Area 


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A  Partnership  in  Cunservalioii 


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for  by  sportsmen,  supported  by  sportsmen, 
but  open  to  all. 

And  if  you  are  hunter,  shooter,  angler,  or 
boater?  Well,  A.  Willis  Robertson  would  pipe 
up  just  about  now  that  you  ought  to  stop 
everything  and  march  yourself  right  out  into 
the  great  outdoors.  In  1932,  he  wrote  "...I 
feel  that  the  high  tension  at  which  the  average 
man  has  been  li\'ing  is  wrecking  entirely  too 
many  nervous  systems.  Hunting  and  fishing 
is  the  best  nerve  tonic  I  know,  and  I  believe 
that  a  greater  opportunity  for  the  average  citi- 
zen to  engage  in  this  type  of  outdoor  recre- 
ation would  greatly  promote  both  the  health 
and  happiness  of  our  people." 

Join  us  and  you  will  see  why  "it's  your 
nature"  to  help  preserve  our  nations  wildlife 
resources.    ?f 

Former  editor  Virginia  Shepherd  has  beeti  a  freelance 
writer  for  the  past  15  years. 


Whether  It's  purchasing  critical  habitat  (above)  or  restoring  bald  eagles  (right),  hunters, 
shooters,  anglers,  boaters,  and  manufacturers  of  outdoor  sporting  equipment  have 
contributed  over  $12  billion  In  the  past  75  years  to  the  most  successful  conservation 
movennent  In  the  world. 


pose  a  1 0  percent  manufacturers'  excise  tax  on 
fishing  equipment  and  lures  used  for  recre- 
ational fishing.  Unfortunately,  the  bill  died  in 
committee.  Undaunted,  Congressman  Buck 
introduced  a  similar  bill  two  years  later,  but 
World  War  II  halted  its  progress.  Six  years 
later  in  1947,  Congressman  John  Dingell,  Sr. 
of  Michigan  revived  the  fisheries  restoration 
bill,  but  it  failed  again  to  pass.  Senator  Edwin 
John.son  of  Colorado  introduced  an  identical 
bill  the  following  year.  Still,  it  would  not  be 
until  1 950  that  the  United  States  finally  had  a 
Federal  Aid  in  Sport  Fish  Restoration  Act  that 
would  be  the  genesis  of  a  reliable  fijnding 
source  that  has  generated  more  than  $5.4  bil- 
lion for  fisheries  research,  habitat  restoration, 
recreational  boating  access,  construction  of 
fish  hatcheries,  and  aquatic  education. 

Through  excise  taxes  and  license  rev- 
enues, sportsmen  have  contributed  more 
than  $12  billion  to  conservation  through  the 
Wildlife  and  Sport  Fish  Restoration  Pro- 
grams (WSFR),  and  annually  provide  more 
than  80  percent  of  the  funding  for  most  state 
fish  and  wildlife  agencies. 

For  75  years,  WSFR  has  been  the  engine 
driving  the  restoration  and  management  of 
our  fish  and  wildlife  resources.  It  has  been 


justly  called  the  most  successful 
conservation  management  pro- 
gram in  the  world.  America's 
hunters,  shooters,  anglers,  and 
boaters  should  be  proud  that  they 
have  held  the  program  on  their 
shoulders  for  75  years.  But  WSFR 
is  not  the  exclusive  club  of  the 
sporting  community.  As  Aldo 
Leopold,  one  of  our  country's 
greatest  conservationists  and 
crafiers  of  the  P-R  Act  reminds  us: 
"One  cannot  divorce  esthetics 
from  utility,  qualit)'  from  quanti- 
ty, present  from  fiature,  either  in 
deciding  what  is  done  to  or  for 
soil,  or  in  educating  the  persons 
delegated  to  do  it.  All  land-uses 
and  land-users  are  interdepend- 
ent, and  the  forces  which  con- 
nect them  follow  channels  still 
largely  unknown." 

So,  buy  a  hunting  license 
even  if  you  don't  hunt.  Buy  a 
fishing  license  not  because  you 
fish,  but  as  an  affirmation  of 
what  is  worth  saving  in  this  great  country  of 
ours.  WSFR  is  an  American  legacy,  fought 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     11 


Cycle 
of  Success 


Anglers,  hunters, 

and  boaters 
purchase 
fishing/hunting 
equipment  & 
watercraft 
fuels. 


^OR\^^ 


Manufacturers  pay 
excise  tax  on  that 
equipment  and 
boaters  pay  fuel 
taxes. 


U.S.  Fish  &  Wildlife 
Service  allocates 
funds  to  state  fish  and 
wildlife  agencies. 


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©Bill  Lea 


You  can  build 
a  better  deer  herd. 

by  David  Hart 

Frank  Myers  and  Stephen  Wright 
have  killed  plenty  of  deer  in 
Brunswick  County  over  the  years. 
But  it  wasn't  until  the  two  brothers-in-law 
started  hunting  other  states  did  they  realize 
there  was  something  missing  from  their 
backyard:  quality  deer. 

"We  have  a  lot  of  deer,  but  we  just  never 
saw  many  big  ones.  Then  we  started  traveling 
to  hunt  places  like  Texas  and  Missouri.  They 
produce  some  pretty  big  deer  because  the 
landowners  manage  them,"  recalls  Myers,  a 
52-ycar-old  logger.  "We  decided  we  wanted 
to  try  some  new  things  on  the  land  we  hunt 
to  sec  if  wc  could  have  some  better  bucks." 


So  in  2005  they  signed  up  for  DGIF's 
Deer  Management  Assistance  Program.  They 
devised  a  basic  management  plan,  contacted 
the  Department,  and  spent  part  of  a  day  tour- 
ing their  property  with  a  biologist  who  sug- 
gested ways  to  grow  a  better,  healthier  deer 
herd. 

It  not  only  worked,  it's  been  a  dramatic 
success.  They've  seen  a  tremendous  improve- 
ment in  the  quality  of  the  bucks,  the  age 
structure  is  better  than  it  was  when  they  first 
started  hunting  the  land  ten  years  ago,  and 
the  average  weight  of  the  deer  they  harvest  has 
increased,  as  well. 

It  hasn't  been  an  easy  process,  though. 
Myers  and  Wright,  along  with  the  rest  of  the 
group  that  hunts  the  land,  record  cvcrjihing 
from  the  weight  and  age  of  e;ich  deer  iIkt  kill 
to  the  specific  location  and  harvest  date  ot 
each  animal.  Nor  has  it  been  cheap.  Tliey 
plant  about  1  ()()  acres  of  food  plots  and  main- 
tain and  monitor  15  remote  cameras  scat- 


tered across  2, 1 00  acres.  They'll  also  climb  into 
their  blinds  throughout  the  summer  just  to  get 
an  idea  of  exacdy  how  many  deer  are  using 
their  land. 

"It's  almost  a  fiJI-time  job, "  says  Wright,  a 
42-year-old  logger  from  Gasburg. 

Managing  your  local  deer  herd  doesn't 
have  to  be  so  complicated.  And  it  doesn't  have 
to  empty  your  bank  account,  it  can  be  as  com- 
plex and  expensive  or  as  simple  and  cheap  as 
you  want  it  to  be.  However,  what  you  put  into 
it  will  equal  what  you  get  out  of  it. 

Trigger  Management 

Some  hunters,  like  76-ycar-old  Kej-svillc  resi- 
dent Terr\'  Miller,  don't  get  too  wrapped  up  in 
the  details  of  deer  management.  He  relies  on 
what  some  biologists  call  "trigger  manage- 
ment." Miller  simply  passes  up  smaller  bucks 
so  they  have  a  chance  to  grow  bigger.  A  lifelong 
hunter,  he  has  taken  countless  deer,  including 


14        VIRGINIA  WILDUFE    ♦    www.HuntFlshVA.com 


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Good  habitat  management  and  forest  thinning  create  new  food  sources  and  cover  for  deer  and 

other  wildlife. 


Creating  open  areas  promotes  new  understory  growth  as  well  as  space  In  which  both  small 
and  large  game  can  browse. 


lots  and  lots  of  smaller  bucks,  so  he's  not  in- 
terested in  pulling  the  trigger  on  a  basket- 
racked  eight  pointer  anymore.  Instead,  he 
holds  out  for  an  older  buck  with  a  bi^er  set 
of  antlers.  Some  years  he  sees  one,  some  years 
he  doesn't,  but  that's  not  to  say  he  doesn't  har- 
vest a  few  deer  each  season. 

"I  shoot  plenty  of  does  for  meat,"  says 
MiUer. 

Trigger  management  is  perhaps  the 
most  effective,  or  at  least  the  most  tangible, 
ingredient  in  a  successful  management  plan, 
says  Quality  Deer  Management  Associadon 
outreach  and  education  director  Kip  Adams, 
also  a  certified  wildlife  biologist.  Ihe  QDMA 
lists  four  basic  ingredients  in  the  recipe  for 
successful  management:  hunter  manage- 
ment, herd  management,  habitat  manage- 
ment, and  herd  monitoring.  Adams  says  of 
those  four,  holding  off  on  smaller  bucks  is 
one  of  the  best  ways  to  improve  the  overall 
age  structure. 

"Trigger  management  can  also  mean 
harvesting  more  does,  which  is  an  important 
pan  of  the  quality  deer  management  equa- 
tion, especially  if  you  have  more  deer  than  the 
habitat  can  support,'  he  adds.  "For  most  peo- 
ple, though,  voluntary  restraint  in  the  form  of 
passing  up  small  bucks  will  have  noticeable 
results  in  the  next  couple  of  years." 

Myers  agrees.  He  and  the  others  who 
hunt  their  2,100  acres  are  so  serious  about 
herd  management  they  shot  just  two  antlered 
bucks  last  season  and  about  a  dozen  does. 

"We  could  kill  a  lot  more  deer,  but  we  all 
like  seeing  deer,"  says  Myers.  "We  have  an  un- 
written rule  that  if  you  shoot  a  buck,  you 
mount  it.  It  works.  Most  of  the  bucks  we  kill 
are  at  least  140  inches  (Boone  &  Crockett 
score)  and  we  shoot  a  few  over  160  inches 
every  once  in  a  while.  That's  pretty  darn  good 
for  southern  Virginia." 

Habitat  Matters 

It  helps  that  Myers  and  the  others  in  the  club 
have  lots  of  land,  but  equally  important  are 
the  habitat  improvements  they've  undertak- 
en as  pan  of  their  management  plan.  A  dozen 
does  in  an  entire  season  may  not  seem  like 
enough  to  keep  the  population  down,  but  the 
two  hunters  have  enough  quality  habitat  to 
support  lots  of  deer.  Thanks  in  part  to  their 
background  as  loggers,  Myers  and  Wright 
understand  the  benefits  of  cutting  trees, 
which  produces  new  food  sources  that  don't 


JULY/AUGUST2012    ♦     15 


What  is 

DMAP? 


Want  to  start  a  management 
plan?  Consider  signing  up  for 
the  Department's  Deer  Management 
Assistance  Program,  or  DMAP,  an 
open-ended,  goal-oriented  deer  man- 
agement program  that  involves 
hunters,  landowners,  and  DGIF  biolo- 
gists. The  goals  can  vary,  but  most 
hunters  typically  want  to  improve  the 
overall  age  structure  of  the  bucks,  im- 
prove the  health  of  antlerless  deer, 
and  create  better  habitat  for  all  types 
of  wildlife.  A  typical  DMAP  prescrip- 
tion usually  includes  harvesting  fewer 
bucks  and  more  does,  and  it  can  in- 
volve some  extensive  habitat  improve- 
ments. Landowners,  on  the  other 
hand,  can  use  DMAP  to  reduce  overall 
deer  numbers  to  protect  crops  or  na- 
tive habitat. 

Interested  individuals  or  groups 
must  submit  an  application  with  a 
written  management  objective  along 
with  a  map  of  the  property.  Once  ac- 
cepted, hunters  must  collect  such  data 
as  date  of  kill,  weight  of  harvested  ani- 
mals, and  a  jawbone  so  biologists  can 
age  individual  deer  The  data  is  ana- 
lyzed by  a  Department  biologist  who 
suggests  specific  actions  that  can  in- 
clude additional  antlerless  harvest  and 
a  reduced  buck  harvest. 

About  860  clubs  or  individuals 
are  enrolled,  and  they  manage  1.5  mil- 
lion acres  throughout  Virginia. 


Interested?  Visit  www.dgif 
virginia.gov/wildlife/deer/dmap.asp 
or  the  Quality  Deer  Management 
Association  at  www.qdma.org. 


The  use  of  remote  or  trail  cameras  can  be  important  to  any  management  plan.  You  have  to  know 
what's  out  there  in  order  to  manage  it. 


exist  in  a  mature  forest.  The  dense  growth 
that  springs  up  in  clear-cuts  also  creates  bed- 
ding and  escape  cover,  another  vital  part  of 
their  management  plan. 

"We  have  places  we  never  hunt  or  never 
even  walk  through  at  all,  even  in  the  summer. 
That  makes  the  deer  feel  more  comfortable. 
We  actually  see  more  deer  later  in  the  season 
because  they  aren't  getting  pushed  around 
like  they  do  on  the  surrounding  land, "  notes 
Myers. 

Along  with  refuges  and  thick  cover, 
Myers  and  Wright  also  plant  food  plots,  lots 


of  them.  They  staned  with  a  handful  of  small- 
er plots,  but  the  deer  gobbled  them  up  so  fast 
there  was  litdc  left  when  the  season  staned. 
They  now  have  about  1 00  acres  in  com,  beans 
and  wheat,  three  high-quality  crops  that  last 
throughout  the  season.  Because  the  deer  have 
so  much  food — both  planted  and  natural — 
their  land  can  support  more  deer.  Adams 
warns,  however,  that  food  plots  alone  won't 
boost  deer  numbers  or  ander  size,  which  is 
primarily  influenced  by  age. 

"You  have  to  look  at  all  of  the  habiut. 
Just  because  you  have  a  thousand  acres  doesn  i 


16       VIRGINIA  WILDUFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.com 


Food  plotscan  help  II, 


lagement  plan  when  combined  with  other  efforts.  Include  kids  in 


your  plan,  too,  even  if  it  means  harvesting  a  deer  that  doesn't  meet  your  standards. 


mean  you  can  see  much  of  an  improvement 
in  age  structure,  population,  and  body  weight 
if  you  put  in  a  few  food  plots,"  he  says.  "Tim- 
ber management  is  an  excellent  way  to  im- 
prove the  habitat  because  mature  forests 
usually  don't  offer  a  lot  of  food  for  whitetails. 
Native  vegetation  also  tends  to  survive  ex- 
treme conditions  like  drought  better  than 
food  plots." 

Bigger  Is  Better 

rhe  best  habitat  management  plan  involves 
both  food  plots  and  natural  habitat  enhance- 


ment, something  Myers  and  Wright  have  the 
ability  to  do  because  they  hunt  over  2,000 
acres.  Miller  hunts  about  200  acres.  He  does 
plant  food  plots,  but  he  understands  they 
don't  guarantee  bigger  or  more  deer.  Al- 
though there  is  no  magic  acreage,  DGIF  deer 
project  leader  Matt  Knox  says  the  larger  the 
tract  of  land,  the  more  you  can  do  with  it  and 
the  better  the  results  will  be. 

"The  problem  with  a  smaller  tract  is  that 
your  neighbors  might  shoot  the  deer  you  are 
trying  to  protect,"  he  says.  "It's  impossible  to 
keep  deer  on  50  acres  or  even  200  acres." 


That's  not  to  say  you  can't  have  some  suc- 
cess on  a  small  parcel,  particularly  if  your  land 
is  bordered  by  a  refuge  like  a  park  or  a  farm 
that  isn't  hunted.  If  that's  not  the  case,  you  can 
form  some  sort  of  cooperative  agreement 
with  surrounding  landowners.  It  can  take 
some  effort  to  get  others  on  board,  but  as 
more  hunters  understand  the  benefits  of  a 
management  plan,  getting  them  to  agree  may 
be  as  simple  as  asking. 

"A  lot  of  hunters  have  shot  enough  small 
bucks  over  the  years  that  they  are  now  inter- 
ested in  seeing  bigger  deer,"  says  Adams.  "In- 
terest in  quality  deer  management  has 
exploded  in  the  past  ten  years  or  so. " 

Results 
May  Vary 

Don't  expect  to  see  a  giant  buck  every  time 
you  climb  into  a  tree  stand,  even  if  you  under- 
take some  serious  habitat  improvement  ef- 
forts. The  success  of  Myers  and  Wright  is 
proof  that  an  active  and  thorough  deer  man- 
agement plan  can  have  noticeable  results,  but 
they  control  over  2, 1 00  acres,  or  more  than 
three  square  miles.  Considering  the  average 
statewide  buck  harvest  is  just  three  per  square 
mile,  Knox  says  hunters  should  not  expect  a 
miracle,  no  matter  how  much  work  they  put 
into  management,  especially  if  they  only  have 
a  few  hundred  acres  or  less. 

"You  aren't  going  to  see  a  bunch  of  giant 
bucks  running  around  even  if  you  haven't 
shot  a  little  buck  in  a  few  years,"  says  Knox. 
"Anything  you  do  to  improve  the  land  or  pro- 
tect younger  age-class  deer  will  help,  but  you 
need  to  be  realistic." 

You  also  need  to  keep  it  in  perspective. 
Adams  says  some  hunters  get  so  wrapped  up 
in  whitetail  management  they  refuse  to  let 
even  young  hunters  shoot  a  buck  if  it  doesn't 
meet  a  certain  criteria.  Not  Wright.  He  gets  as 
much  thrill  from  seeing  the  smile  on  the  face 
of  a  child  who  just  harvested  a  spike  as  he  does 
from  shooting  a  giant  buck  himself 

"Taking  a  small  buck  or  two  isn't  going 
to  make  a  big  difference  in  the  long  run, "  says 
Wright.  "However,  allowing  children  the 
freedom  to  take  a  small  buck  will  make  a  big 
difference  in  the  future  of  hunting. "    ?f 


David  Hart  is  a  jiill-rime  freelance  writer  and 
photographer  from  Rice.  He  is  a  regular  contributor 
to  numerous  national  hunting  and  fishing 
magazines. 


JULY/AUGUST2012    ♦     17 


/ 


v>» 


18 


^ 


/ 


t 


rreilifig  Action 

ifor  Hot  Weather 


Croaker  remain  a  staple 
for  good  summertime 

fisliing,  but  you  may  need 
to  adapt  your  routine. 


by  Mark  Fike 

All  salrwater  anglers  can  tell  the 
same  story.  The  summer  sun  is 
bearing  down,  the  temperature 
and  humidity  has  your  shirt  soaked  through, 
fried  bloodworm  pieces  litter  the  bait  tray  or 
gunnels,  and  the  mood  on  your  boat  has 
changed  for  the  worse.  Ilie  croaker  bite  was 
once  a  sure  thing,  but  has  now  morphed  into 
a  contest  to  see  who  can  waterlog  the  most 
bait.  The  solution  to  turning  those  sweat)' 
frowns  upside  down  is  as  simple  as  starting  up 
the  boat  or  pulling  the  anchor. 

Although  the  croaker  bite  is  widely 
known  as  the  most  reliable  bite  in  the  bay, 
summer  temperatures  and  bright  sunshine 
can  easily  put  a  damper  on  the  action  if  an- 
glers are  not  willing  to  move  around. 

Where  to  Look  for  Hardheads 

Atlantic  croaker,  also  known  as  hardheads,  in- 
habit all  of  Virginias  briny  waters  to  include 
lower  tidal  rivers,  the  Chesapeake  Bay  proper, 
and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Ooakers  are  bottom 
dwellers  that  delight  anglers  with  their  surly 
fight  on  light  tackle.  Ihcsc  scrappy  fish  gener- 
ally average  a  pound  or  two  and  commonly 
measure  12  to  16  inches  long.  Some  fish  will 
stretch  over  the  18-inch  mark  and  nudge  the 
scales  over  three  pounds.  It  you  are  fortunate 


and  hook  one  that  size,  you  won't  forget  it. 
They  fight  like  a  fish  three  times  their  weight. 
Try  that  on  light  tackle! 

Croaker  prefer  structure  and  they  tend 
to  gravitate  to  a  hard  bottom.  Oyster  reefs, 
riprap,  old  asphalt  piles,  and  reefs  are  excel- 
lent places  to  begin  your  search.  This  is  where 
a  chart  of  the  bay  or  ocean  is  key  to  knowing 
where  to  start.  Take  time  to  look  through  the 
nautical  charts  of  the  area  where  you  usually 
launch  your  boat  and  find  marked  under- 
water structure.  If  you  have  a  GPS  or  sonar 
unit,  use  it  to  locate  those  marked  areas. 

Some  anglers  immediately  go  deep  dur- 
ing the  hottest  part  of  the  summer,  but  croak- 
er are  not  always  found  in  deeper  water. 
Although  thirty  feet  or  more  of  salty  depths 
can  be  enticing  to  a  fish  seeking  reRige  from 
the  heat  and  sunlight,  sometimes  croaker  are 
found  in  ver)'  shallow  water  where  structure  is 
present.  An  open  mind  is  an  important  tool 
in  your  pursuit.  A  sonar  unit  can  be  used  to 
locate  ledges  and  drop-offs.  Consider  not 
only  the  main  channel  in  the  rivers  and  the 
bay,  but  also  back  channels  and  secondary 
channels  coming  out  of  tributary  creeks. 
Looking  for  humps  or  holes  in  shallow  water 
is  also  a  wise  move. 

In  fact,  shallow  water  that  is  close  to 
deep  water  in  conjunction  with  structure 


often  proves  to  be  the  sweet  spot  during  a 
midday  run  for  fish.  Motor  uptide  or  upwind 
of  the  structure,  depending  on  which  is 
stronger;  then  drop  the  bait,  allowing  it  to 
drift  into  the  zone  where  the  fish  are  located. 
The  wind,  tide,  and  current  are  all  variables  to 
strongly  consider  when  positioning  your  boat 
to  put  your  lines  out. 

Drift  Fishing 

A  stiff  tide  or  strong  wind  will  make  for  a  fast 
drift.  Therefore,  a  heavier  sinker  and  more 
lead  time  uptide  or  upwind  of  the  structure  is 
needed  to  get  the  bait  in  the  proper  strike 
zone.  In  fact,  during  a  ripping  tide  or  heavy 
wind  it  may  be  more  efficient  to  throw  an  an- 
chor overboard  to  slow  the  drift.  Leave  just 
enough  rope  out  to  let  the  anchor  drag  the 
bottom  but  not  enough  to  hold  fast.  If  there 
are  fish  in  the  area  and  the  water  is  moving 
fast,  they  will  often  hunker  down  behind 
structure  anyway.  With  this  in  mind,  I  often 
position  my  boat  even  farther  uptide  or  up- 
wind than  the  main  structure  so  that  when  I 
drop  my  line  overboard  it  drifts  right  into  the 
perfect  zxjne  where  the  fish  are  holding  out  of 
the  current. 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     19 


Croaker  rigs  are  simple  to  make 
or  tie,  using  a  three-way  swivel, 
a  12-inch  piece  of  4-8  pound  test 
line,  and  appropriate  size  sinker. 
Tie  on  an  18-inch  piece  of  14-20 
pound  test  list  with  a  1  or  1/0  size 
hook.  You  can  also  use  snelled 
hooks  with  flashers  on  them. 
Then  simply  tie  this  to  the  end  of 
your  line.  A  piece  of  bucktail 
dresses  up  your  hook  and  adds 
attraction  to  the  bait. 


While  a  bortom  rig  will  work,  it  has  been 
my  experience  that  a  hand-tied  rig  will  often 
perform  better.  A  flounder  rig  will  work  won- 
ders compared  to  a  bottom  rig  while  drifting. 
To  make  your  own  rig,  de  a  number  1  or  1  /O 
hook  to  an  1 8-inch  piece  of  14-  to  20-pound 
test  leader.  Attach  this  to  a  three-way  swivel. 
Next,  use  a  1 2-inch  piece  of  4-  to  8-pound 
test  weight  line  to  attach  your  sinker  to  the 
swivel.  Tie  the  rig  to  the  end  of  your  line. 
Sometimes  I  will  add  flashers  or  spinners  or 
even  bucktail,  creating  more  attention  widi 
the  additional  hardware  on  my  line. 

Bait  choice  is  always  a  personal  prefer- 
ence. The  common-sense  rule  of  thumb  is  to 
give  the  fish  what  they  want.  Some  days  the 
fish  prefer  something  different,  such  as  fresh 
clams.  Other  days  Fishbites  are  the  way  to  go, 
and  yet  on  other  days  bait  shrimp  is  the  only 
thing  you  can  really  entice  them  with.  Over 
the  past  few  years  I  have  done  very  well  with 
shrimp  as  my  bait.  Bloodworms  are  a  sure 
thing  if  there  are  croakers  aroimd,  but  keep- 
ing these  expensive  worms  fresh  makes  them 
less  attractive  unless  the  fish  are  really  being 


THINGS  TO 
REMEMBER 

♦  Ifyou  fish  at  night,  be  sure  to  have 
the  proper  lights  on  your  boat  and 
use  them. 

♦  Wear  a  PFD  at  all  times  and  let 
someone  know  where  you  plan  to 
fish.  A  cell  phone  and/or  a  marine 
radio  should  be  handy  too. 

♦  Keep  an  eye  on  the  weather  condi- 
tions. Storms  can  rapidly  approach, 
altering  conditions  on  the  water  in 
a  hurry. 

♦  Take  plenty  of  sports  drinks  and 
water,  and  drink  them. 

♦  Wear  sunscreen,  a  long-sleeved 
light  fishing  shirt,  and  a  hat.  Skin 
cancer  occurrence  is  on  the  rise. 

♦  Polarized  sunglasses  will  protect 
your  eyes  and  give  you  an  edge 
when  navigating  and  fishing  the 
shallows. 


Conversely,  a  slack  tide,  light  breeze,  or 
combination  of  both  may  dictate  a  very  small 
amount  of  weight  to  get  the  bait  to  the  bot- 
tom and  no  use  of  the  anchor.  During  these 
conditions,  a  drift  is  almost  always  better  than 
anchoring.  In  fact,  with  the  right  wind  direc- 
non,  one  can  cover  some  prime  territory  with 
little  to  no  maneuvering  of  the  boat. 

Gearing  Up  and  Baiting  Up 

Drifting  for  croaker  requires  no  more  sophis- 
ticated gear  than  you  would  use  for  any  other 
method  of  fishing  for  these  chunky  panfish. 
However,  while  drifting  there  is  always  a 
greater  possibility  of  getting  hung  up.  For  this 
reason,  a  reel  spooled  with  a  higher  test  line 
such  as  20-pound  test,  the  use  of  a  drop  line 
of  lighter  test  weight  such  as  6-pound  test 
(with  your  sinker  on  it  so  the  whole  rig  is  not 
lost),  and  possibly  a  heavier  rod  to  work  out 
snags  would  be  a  good  idea. 

Baitcasting  reels  and  rods  seem  to  be  a 
fevorite  among  anglers  using  this  taaic  be-     ^ 
caii.sc  of  the  added  strength  and  raw  reeling    "^ 
power  for  pulling  fish  out  of  structure  or    £ 
yanking  a  hook  free  of  an  obstruction.  How- 
c-vcr,  don't  overlook  a  medium  action  spin- 
ning set-up  cither.  Ihe  fight  is  pure  delight. 


Croaker,  or  hardheads  as  they  are  commonly 
known,  are  a  delight  for  anglers  of  any  age  and 
easily  caught  throughout  the  summer. 


20       VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.com 


picky.  Try  shrimp  and  bloodworm  flavored 
Fishbites  first.  Fresh  cutbait  or  squid  tipped 
with  a  minnow  picks  up  more  than  their 
share  offish  too. 

Low  Light  or  Night  Action 

Not  ail  anglers  are  cut  out  for  sitting  in  a 
boat  during  the  midday  heat.  The  good 
news  is  that  low  light  periods,  overcast  days, 
and  night  action  are  even  better  during  the 
summer  than  are  midday  options.  The 
water  is  often  free  of  other  anglers  and  many 
times  the  wind  calms  down,  eliminating 
one  of  the  variables  of  positioning  your  bait. 

Jetties  or  riprap  banks  are  very  good 
spots  to  find  croaker  on  overcast  days  or  as 
the  sun  fades.  The  structure  draws  baitfish 
and  crabs  which,  in  turn,  brings  in  the 
croaker.  Shoals  or  reefs  are  also  good  spots  to 
fish.  One  last  location  to  consider  is  small 
estuaries  or  inlets  holding  grass  beds  or 
shoals. 

At  night  the  fish  go  shallow  in  search  of 
food.  Anglers  will  find  it  much  easier  to 


anchor  at  night  and  fish  in  the  shallows  near 
land  and  it  is  safer,  too.  At  night  anglers  can 
often  forego  large  weights  if  the  conditions 
are  calm.  Use  small  weights  and  give  your 
baits  a  tug  every  minute  or  so,  or  even  drag 
them  back  toward  you  with  a  few  cranks  of 
the  reel  to  stir  up  the  bottom.  Keep  a  tight 
grip  on  your  reel  and  rod  because  the  croaker 
will  hit  suddenly  and  quite  hard.  Unattend- 
ed rods  end  up  overboard! 

Just  because  the  summer  sun  is  bearing 
down  hard  enough  to  make  the  devil  sigh 
does  not  mean  that  the  croaker  bite  is  over. 
The  location  and  tactics  just  changed  a  bit.  If 
you  will  change  with  the  conditions,  your 
rods  will  bend  more,  bait  will  actually  get 
used  up,  and  that  familiar  croaking  sound 
coming  from  the  cooler  or  fish  box  will 
cause  smiles  to  spread  around  the  boat. 
Consider  some  changes  to  your  croaker 
game  plan  to  put  more  of  these  tasty  game 
fish  on  ice  this  summer!    <*f 


Mark  Fike  is  a  freelance  writer  and  photographer 
from  King  George. 


m 


Sanders  shows  off  a  croaker  caught  by  dragging 
a  bottom  rig  in  a  small,  secondary  channel. 


Look  for  structure  such  as  pilings,  riprap,  or  jetties  to  pull  in  your  share  of  croaker. 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     21 


X-: 


,.' »-. 


>>' 


4 


iV-  V, 


•U v,/  ■; 


-m{^^ 


TJ 


by  Todd  Katzner 
and  Jeff  Cooper 


r^^^^^V^plly  a  few  of  Earth's  creatures 
^^^P^^^^are  truly  evocative  of  wilder- 
^  -^^^    ness.  In  the  East,  we  have 

en  ofFor  assimilated  the  wildest  of  them. 
Wolves  and  cougars  were  exterminated  over  a 
century  ago.  Bald  eagles,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  once  rare  but  now  are  found  in  abun- 
dance throughout  eastern  Virginia  and  the 
Chesapeake  region.  Even  peregrine  falcons 
have  abandoned  their  cliff-side  haunts  and 
now  breed  best  in  urban  environments,  on 
the  ledges  of  high  buildings. 

However,  one  wild  and  surreal  creature 
still  roams  our  woods.  This  spectacular  ani- 
mal is  so  secretive  that  most  easterners  don't 
even  know  it  exists  in  remote  areas  of  the  Ap- 
palachian Mountains.  It  is  truly  indicative  of 
wild  places,  and  its  numbers  are  on  the  up- 
swing. 

What  is  it?  The  golden  eagle. 

In  the  rest  of  the  world,  golden  eagles  are 
known  to  be  a  bird  of  high,  jagged  moun- 
tains and  open,  windswept  country.  These 
majestic  eagles  are  typically  found  near  their 
prey — medium-sized  birds  and  mammals 
such  as  the  chucker  partridge,  red  grouse, 
marmot,  and  jackrabbit.  Here  in  the  U.S., 
the  golden  eagle's  closest  relative  is  its  distant 
second  cousin  and  our  national  bird,  the  bald 
eagle.  In  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  though, 
there  are  many  closer  relatives — first  cousins, 
including  central  Asia's  imperial  and  steppe 
eagles,  Africa's  tawny  and  black  eagles,  and 
Europe's  greater  and  lesser  spotted  eagles. 
Globally,  this  group  of  raptors  is  known  as 
the  "booted  eagles"  because  of  their  heavily 
feathered  legs.  All  are  brown  with  tawny 


A  golden  eagle  ascends  after  release.  The  telemetry  units  used  in  this  research  were 
designed  by  wildlife  biologist  Michael  Lanzone.  The  unit  collects  data  on  its  location 
every  30  seconds,  allowing  for  detailed  tracking  of  movement.  Photo  courtesy  of 
Randy  Flament.  Left,  Dave  Kramar  from  Virginia  Tech  releases  a  golden  eagle  over  the 
Blue  Ridge  Mountains. 


markings,  often  with  white  on  the  wings  and 
light  yellow-gold  feathers  on  the  back  of  the 
head. 

Golden  eagles  in  eastern  North  America 
have  a  long  and  complex  relationship  with 
people.  Like  so  many  other  species,  they  were 
once  far  more  common  than  they  are  today. 
Years  ago  these  birds  bred  in  the  northern 
reaches  of  the  Appalachians — in  New  York 
and  throughout  New  England,  as  far  south  as 
Massachusetts.  As  recently  as  1997,  golden 
eagles  were  defending  breeding  territories  in 
remote  parts  of  northern  Maine.  However, 
since  that  time  there  has  been  no  record  of 
golden  eagles  nesting  in  eastern  North  Amer- 
ica. Instead,  these  regal  birds  now  breed  only 
in  Canada,  but  they  winter  in  large  numbers 
in  the  Appalachian  range. 

What  caused  the  decline  in  eastern  gold- 
en eagle  numbers?  Two  factors  primarily,  llie 
first  is  a  combination  of  persecution  by  peo- 
ple and  habitat  change.  There  was  a  time 
when  birds  of  prey — not  just  eagles,  but 
hawks,  falcons,  and  vultures  too — were  shot 
on  sight.  When  combined  with  the  loss  of 
habitat  to  farming  and  urbanization  from  ex- 
panding human  populations,  these  activities 
took  their  toll.  The  second  factor  was  chemi- 
cal toxins,  primarily  DDT,  which  caiLse  bird 
eggshells  to  be  catastrophically  thin.  Golden 
eagles  ingest  DDT  when  their  prey  includes 


piscivorous  birds — fish-eating  cormorants 
and  herons — that  accumulate  the  pesticide  in 
their  diet.  DDT  caused  reproductive  failure 
over  the  ten  years  that  golden  eagles  last  tried 
unsuccessfully  to  breed  in  the  eastern  U.S. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  parts  to  the 
tale  of  Eastern  golden  eagles  is  their  strange 
history  in  the  southern  Appalachians.  There  is 
no  reliable  evidence  that  golden  eagles  have, 
in  recent  times,  bred  south  of  upstate  New 
York.  Nevertheless,  groups  of  well-inten- 
tioned but  misguided  people  have  tried  to 
"reintroduce"  golden  eagles  to  the  southern 
Appalachians:  in  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Nonh 
Carolina,  and  even  Pennsylvania.  All  told, 
over  200  birds  from  western  North  America 
were  released  in  these  states. 

Because  golden  eagles  didn't  breed  in  the 
southern  Appalachians,  these  efforts  intro- 
duced a  non-native  breeding  species  to  a  novel 
environment.  Introduction  of  exotic  species 
or  new  bloodlines  is  generally  considered  bad 
conservation  practice.  Think  of  starlings, 
house  sparrows  (featured  in  the  June  issue), 
pigeons,  and  nutria,  all  exotic  species  released 
into  this  country  with  the  best  of  intentions 
but  worst  of  outcomes.  Additionally,  and  per- 
haps even  more  importantly,  there  already  are 
a  couple  of  thousand  golden  eagles  in  eastern 
North  America.  These  birds  may  have  once 
been  genetically  distinct,  with  their  own 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     23 


Over  the  past  three  springs,  the  research 
team  has  followed  ~50  golden  eagles, 
collecting  many  tens  of  thousands  of  data 
points  to  pinpoint  flight  paths  and  habitats. 
From  these,  they  have  created  fine-grained 
GIS  maps  and  models  of  migration  behavior 
between  Quebec,  where  the  birds  summer, 
and  Virginia  and  West  Virginia,  where  the 
birds  winter.  Map  courtesy  of  Irish  Miller, 
WVU/PSU. 


unique  adaptations  to  their  eastern  habitats, 
lliat  genetic  distinctness  is  likely  now  gone,  as 
the  addition  of  foreign  genes  in  such  large 
numbers  would  have  homogenized  eastern 
and  western  populations. 

In  spite  of  their  convoluted  history, 
today's  Eastern  golden  eagle  populations  ap- 
pear to  be  undergoing  a  resurgence.  From 
about  1 990  to  2005,  the  numbers  of  birds  ob- 
served at  autumn  migration  hawk  counts 
have  increased  steadily.  Likewise,  the  number 
of  birds  seen  during  winter  also  is  on  the  ri.se, 
and  this  population  is  receiving  increjused  at- 
tention as  recognition  grows  of  its  special  sta- 
tus and  unique  importance  to  tht- 
Appalachians. 

In  Virginia,  our  team  composed  of  aca- 
demic researchers  from  West  Virginia  Univer- 
sity and  biologists  from  the  Department  of 


Game  and  Inland  Fisheries  is  tracking  move- 
ments of  golden  eagles  in  winter  and  studying 
their  migration  to  Canada.  Each  year,  we 
leave  our  warm  homes  and  head  uphill,  into 
the  peaks  of  the  rolling  Appalachians.  Once 
there,  we  collect  roadkill  deer  and  place  them 
next  to  a  motion-sensitive  camera  in  small 
clearings  on  mountaintops.  Golden  eagles 
come  visit  these  bait  sites,  to  feed  on  the  food 
we  provide.  When  they  and  their  scavenging 
brethren  feed,  the  camera  photographs  them, 
giving  us  a  record  of  local  wildlife.  Once  we 
confirm  the  presence  of  the  eagles,  we  secretly 
install  traps  and  capture  the  birds  when  they 
return  to  the  bait.  After  capture,  we  outfit  the 
eagles  with  telemetry  backpacks  and  let  them 
go,  back  to  their  business.  These  small  units 
don't  impact  the  birds,  but  they  do  constantly 
collect  GPS  readings  and  send  that  data  back 
to  us  over  a  cell  phone  system,  letting  us  track 
the  eagles'  movements  year-round. 

What  are  we  learning  from  this  research 
in  Virginia's  high  country?  Most  importantly, 
we  are  generating  reams  of  natural  history 
data  on  the  travels  of  these  birds — where  and 
how  they  move  and  how  much  space  they  use. 
Previously,  only  a  few  individual  golden  eagles 
had  been  tracked  in  the  East.  To  date,  our 
team  has  tracked  over  50  Eastern  golden  ea- 
gles, most  of  them  trapped  in  Virginia.  Now 
we  know  where  these  remarkable  birds  go  in 
the  summer  (usually,  to  northern  Quebec) 
and  how  they  get  there  (most  often,  migrating 
along  or  near  to  the  Appalachian  ridges  that 


stretch  from  Virginia  to  upstate  New  York). 
We  know  how  much  these  birds  move  in  win- 
ter (they  cover  huge  areas,  hundreds  of  square 
miles)  and  how  high  they  fly  when  on  winter 
ranges  (relatively  low,  only  100-200  feet 
above  the  ground)  and  on  migration  (low 
when  following  ridges,  higher  over  gender  ter- 
rain). Finally,  we  are  beginning  to  understand 
how  many  of  these  birds  there  actually  are 
(probably  between  1 ,500  and  5,000)  and  how 
their  lives  progress,  from  hatchling  to  adult. 

We  are  also  learning  things  about  the 
threats  golden  eagles  face  in  the  post-DDT 
era.  Still  today,  there  are  those  who  shoot  ea- 
gles, and  other  dangers  persist — such  as  lead 
exposure  and  inadvertent  capmre  in  traps. 

Looking  to  the  future,  our  eagle  tracking 
informs  the  promise  of  alternative  energy 
sources.  Our  research  is  geared  toward  under- 
standing how  golden  eagles  move,  so  that 
wind  energy — so  critical  to  an  energy-inde- 
pendent future  for  the  U.S. —  can  be  devel- 
oped in  ways  that  don't  negatively  impact 
soaring  birds  of  prey. 

What  does  the  recovery  of  golden  eagles 
mean  for  conser\'ation  of  natural  resources  in 
Virginia?  First,  it  means  that  management  of 
habitats,  pesticides,  and  wildlife  is  working. 
Golden  eagles  are  an  important  indicator 
species.  They  rely  upon  the  rest  of  their  ecos\'s- 
tem  for  food  and  for  shelter,  and  if  those 
things  are  not  in  place,  eagles  would  not  sur- 
vive. Thus,  the  presence  of  golden  eagles  tells 
an  important  story  about  the  habitats  on 


Image  from  a  farm  in  West  Virginia,  showing  an  adult  bald  and  a  young  golden  eagle 
squabbling  over  a  bait  pile.  Photo  courtesy  of  Chuck  Waggy,  WVDNR. 


24        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.com 


.vrA 


,     ,t  » 


Above,  Jeff  Cooper  with  DGIF  and  Dave  Kramar,  of  VT,  assess  the  plumage 
characteristics  of  an  adult  golden  eagle  that  is  about  to  be  released  with  a 
cellular  tracking  transmitter.  Inset,  Michael  Lanzone  of  Cellular  Tracking 
Technologies  and  Trish  Miller  of  WVU/PSU  measure  the  footpad  of  an  eagle. 
Footpad  size  can  be  used  to  determine  the  bird's  sex.  Inset  photo  courtesy 
of  Trish  Miller,  WVU/PSU. 


A  golden  eagle  photographed  by  a  trail 
camera  at  a  bait  site  in  West  Virginia. 


which  they  depend.  But  the  tale  of  eagles  also 
reminds  us  that  there  are  still  threats  in  our 
woods — serious  threats  that  can  be  ad- 
dressed, but  that  require  management  if  they 
are  not  to  constrain  the  rebound  of  this  re- 
markable bird. 

The  increase  in  golden  eagle  numbers 
tells  a  positive  story  about  the  management 
of  Virginia's  wild  lands.  As  this  bird  is  one  of 
the  few  truly  wild  species  in  our  woods,  it  is 
critical  that  we  humans  listen  to  what  it  has  to 
say.  The  coming  years  are  important  for  gold- 
en eagles  and  other  wildlife  that  share  the  nat- 
iiral  abundance  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains.  Challenges  in  the  environment 
may  impact  the  trajectory  of  populations  of 
this  extraordinary  bird.  However,  if  we  as  a 
people  can  continue  to  be  good  stewards  of 
their  habitat  and  if  we  can  effectively  mitigate 


Sally  Mill! 


the  threats  golden  eagles  face,  our  children 
and  theirs  will  likely  continue  to  regard  this 
bird  as  we  do  today— as  an  exceptional  sym- 
bol of  true  wilderness.    ?f 

ToddKatzner  is  a  research  assistant  professor  in  the 
Division  of  Forestry  and  Natural  Resources  at  West 
Virginia  University.  He  has  studied  eagles frmore 
than  1 5  years  in  North  America  and  Central  Asia. 
Jeff  Cooper  has  coordinated  nongame  avian  projects 
for  DGIF  for  the  past  1 1  years  and  worked  with 
birds  for  over  20  years.  His  current  research  inchides 
golden  eagle  wintering  ecology. 


RESOURCES 

•  http://katznerlab.com 

•  www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/birds/ 
golden-eagle 

•  www.wildlifecenterorg 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     25 


ilPdaey 


he  tallest  point  on  Virginia's 
Eastern  Shore,  towering  more 
than  50  feet  above  sea  level,  is  a 
sandy  ridge  running  for  nearly  a  mile  along  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  near  the  town  of  Eastville. 
When  it  comes  to  geological  features,  the  East- 
ern Shore  tends  to  be  understated:  lots  of  woods 
and  farm  fields,  wide  salt  marshes,  shallow  bays, 
and  low-slung  barrier  islands.  But  stand  here  on 
this  ridge,  look  down  the  cliff  edge  where  the 
dune  spills  abruptly  into  a  loblolly  pine  forest, 
and  the  landscape  becomes  anything  but  subtle. 
These  dunes,  which  geologists  believe  may 
be  more  than  10,000  years  old,  are  one  of  the 
more  emphatic  features  of  Savage  Neck  Dunes 
Natural  Area  Preserve,  which  was  established  in 


Custis  Pond  is  a  natural  freshwater  pond  geologists  believe  was  part  of  an  ancient  Muscadine  grape  is  an  important  food  for  birds  and  n 

dune  system. 


VIRGINIA  WILDUFE    ♦    vmw.HuntFlshVA.com 


:A-4' 


utes 


by  Curtis  J.  Badger 


the  late  1 990s  by  the  Virginia  Depanment  of 
Conservation  and  Recreation  (DCR).  These 
rare  ancient  dunes,  and  the  plants  associated 
with  them,  are  one  of  the  reasons  the  state  ga\  c 
the  site  such  a  high  priority  for  protection. 

The  other  reason  is  a  bit  less  dramatic  and 
obvious.  A  trail  crosses  the  dune  ridge  and 
emerges  onto  a  sandy  beach  on  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  Here,  burrowing  in  the  sand,  is  a 
tiny  beetle  with  a  five  dollar  name.  The  north- 
eastern beach  tiger  beetle  (Cicindela  dorsalis 
dorsalis)  was  once  abundant  along  the  north- 
east coast  from  Massachusetts  to  New  Jersey  as 
well  as  along  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  But  this 
tiger  beetle  depends  upon  undisturbed  beach 
habitat  tor  its  survival,  and  over  the  past  two 


centuries  we  have  left  very  litde  of  our  north- 
eastern beaches  undisturbed.  Consequendy, 
only  two  populadons  of  the  beetle  remain 
along  the  entire  Atlantic  coast,  along  with  a 
more  stable  colony  along  the  Chesapeake 
Bay.  (See  photo  below.) 

Ihe  tiger  beetle  has  been  placed  on  the 
federally  threatened  list,  and  Savage  Neck 
Dunes  has  one  of  the  largest  populations 
along  the  bay.  The  tiger  beetles  spend  most  of 
their  lives  as  larvae  living  in  biu^rows  four  to 
eight  inches  deep  between  the  high  tide  line 
and  the  primary  dunes.  When  the  weather 
warms  in  June  the  adult  insects  will  emerge, 
spend  the  summer  foraging  for  food  that  the 
high  tide  brings  in,  and  then  breed  and  die. 


In  late  summer  the  e^  will  hatch,  larvae  will 
again  burrow  into  the  sand,  and  the  next  gen- 
eration will  again  await  the  coming  summer. 

The  plight  of  the  northeastern  beach 
tiger  beede  is  emblematic  of  what  happens 
when  humans  monkey  around  with  natural 
systems.  Beaches  and  similar  coastal  ecosys- 
tems are  particularly  vulnerable,  both  because 
of  their  fragility  and  their  desirability.  People 
want  to  live  on  the  water,  and  we  want  easy 
and  unlimited  access  to  the  beach.  As  our 
northeastern  beaches  lose  their  namesake  bug, 
the  importance  of  places  like  Savage  Neck 
Dunes  becomes  all  the  more  important. 

Savage  Neck  Dunes  has  plant  communi- 
ties that  once  were  common  along  the  coast. 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2 


>    '    •   •     •,■■       '        ^    /--  f.  •  Vi.V.-'- 


.v-.rv  ^yr./O 


The  dunes  at  Savage  Neck  NAP  stretch  for  a  mile  along  Chesapeake  Bay  shoreline.  ©Curtis  Badger 


but  in  the  past  centur\'  or  so,  as  natural  dunes 
have  been  altered,  they  have  become  increas- 
ingly rare.  A  dune  system  can  be  a  harsh  envi- 
ronment, and  not  just  any  plant  can  survive 
there.  The  dunes  are  just  a  short  distance  from 
the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  are  subject  to  salt- 
laden  breezes,  occasional  storm  tides,  and 
sometimes  strong  onshore  winds.  An  unusual 
group  of  plants  has  adapted  well  to  these  con- 
ditions and  they  make  up  a  community  of 
flora  that  are  dependent  upon  each  other  for 
their  survival.  Some  of  the  plants,  such  as  salt- 
meadow  hay  (Spanina patens),  are  more  com- 
monly found  in  tidal  wedands.  Others,  such 
as  beach  bean  (Strophostyles  helvola)  and  Car- 
olina thisde  (Sahola  kali),  thrive  in  arid  envi- 
ronments. Perhaps  the  reason  Savage  Neck 
Dunes  has  such  a  diverse  plant  community  is 
because  the  dunes  are  both  arid  and  subject  to 
occasional  infusions  of  salt  water. 

Ihc  plants  of  the  dunes  could  be  called 
the  architectural  superstructure  that  holds  the 
dunes  together.  Below  the  surface  of  the  sand, 
roots  and  rhizomes  of  American  beach  gniss 
(Ammophila  breviligulata)  and  panic  grass 
(Panicum  amaruni  amarulum)  provide  a 
framework  for  the  sand  to  build  around.  And 
on  the  surface  of  the  dunes,  low  growing 
spurges  such  as  seaside  sandmat  (Chamaesyce 


polygonigolia)  trap  sand  carried  by  the  breeze 
and  hold  it  in  place  on  the  dune  surface. 

Here  we  have  the  iJtimate  symbiotic  re- 
lationship. The  dunes  survive  because  the 
plants  are  there,  and  the  plant  community 
survives  because  of  the  dunes.  Few  natural 
dune  grassland  communities  survive  any- 
more, and  once  they  are  gone  they  are  diffi- 
cult to  regain.  Sometimes  dunes  are  lost  to 
residential  or  recreational  development,  and 
frequently  they  are  lost  because  of  our  need  to 
stop  beach  erosion.  Beaches  are  made  of  sand 
and  they  move  readily  with  tides  and  wind, 
and  the  fact  that  sea  level  is  rising  does  not 
help.  NX'Tien  communities  invest  millions  of 
dollars  in  infrastructure,  they  want  a  sense  of 
permanence  that  a  migrating  beach  does  not 
afford.  That's  usually  when  the  bulldozers  ap- 
pear and  the  beach  replenishment  begins. 

llic  dunes  at  Savage  Neck  have  never 
felt  the  blade  of  a  bulldozer.  Instead,  Ameri- 
can beach  grass  and  panic  grass  are  sending 
roots  and  rhizomes  into  the  core  of  the  dune. 
Seaside  sandmat  and  beach  heather  trap 
blowing  sand  particles.  Sand  builds  up 
around  sprouting  saltmeadow  hay.  And  far- 
ther upland  grow  wild  black  cherr)',  sweet 
gum,  loblolly  pine,  and  wax  myrtle.  All  help 
anchor  the  dunes  and  protect  the  integrity  of 


Buttonvveed  (Diodia  teres)  is  a  fragile  looking 
plant  that  has  adapted  well  to  the  dunes. 


A  sandy  trail  leads  through  the  m 
to  the  dunes. 


'I  est 


28        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HunfFishVA.com 


Panicum,  shown  here,  and  American  beach  grass  are  two  of  the  foundation  plants  of  the  dunes. 


the  system.  These  dunes  have  been  here  for 
hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  of  years.  Not 
exactly  in  the  same  spot,  perhaps,  but  here 
nonetheless. 

Once  a  dune  system  loses  this  natural 
balance  of  sand  and  structure,  it  is  likely  gone 
for  good.  Many  of  Virginia's  coastal  beaches, 
including  Assateague  National  Seashore,  are 
manipulated  by  machines,  which  re-build 
parking  areas  after  storms  and  push  up  tem- 
porary protective  dune  lines. 

Savage  Neck  Dunes  became  the  proper- 
ty of  the  state  in  the  late  1 990s  when  two  ad- 
joining farms  were  purchased  to  create  a 
preserve  of  nearly  300  acres,  with  a  mile  of 
beach  frontage.  Access  to  the  dunes  and  the 
beach  is  via  a  hiking  trail  that  begins  in  a  small 
parking  lot  on  Savage  Neck  Road,  about  two 
miles  west  of  Eastville.  The  trail  runs  along- 
side a  farm  field  that  is  being  converted  to 
grassland  and  scrubland.  It  then  enters  a 
loblolly  pine  forest  and  pxsses  C'ustis  Pond,  a 
natural  freshwater  pond  that  geologists  be- 
lieve was  part  of  an  old  coastal  dune  system. 
Once  the  trail  enters  the  woods,  the  footing 
gradually  goes  from  hard-packed  clay  to  loose 
sand  as  it  nears  the  dunes.  The  pines  become  a 
bit  stunted,  and  as  the  dunes  become  larger, 
some  of  the  trees  appear  to  have  limbs  unnat- 
urally close  to  the  ground. 


In  the  dunes,  the  forest  is  an  open 
canopy  woodland  consisting  mainly  of  pines, 
sassafras,  wild  black  cherry,  and  eastern  red 
cedar.  These  secondary  dunes  are  more  than 
50  feet  tall,  and  in  some  places  the  dunes 
drop  off  steeply  into  the  pine  forest  below.  A 
smaller  ridge  of  primarv'  dunes  separates  the 
secondary  dunes  and  the  forest  from  the 
beach. 

In  less  than  a  mile,  the  trail  passes 
through  grassland  and  scrub,  pine  forest, 
freshwater  wetlands,  maritime  dunes,  beach, 
and  finally  open  bay.  This  diversity'  of  habitat 
can  provide  some  pretty  spectacular  wildlife 
watching.  The  forest  is  part  of  a  wooded  mi- 
grator)' corridor  used  by  songbirds  as  the\' 
move  up  and  down  the  coast,  and  the  bay  and 
Custis  Pond  are  home  to  waterfowl,  shore- 
birds,  gulls,  and  terns.  So  on  a  given  day  at 
Savage  Neck  Dunes  you  could  see  anything 
from  a  Northern  gannet  to  a  prothonotary 
warbler.  In  addition.  Savage  Neck  supports  a 
varied  community  of  mammals.  Fox  tracks 
are  routinely  seen  all  along  the  sandy  dunes, 
and  in  a  sheltered  v;illcy  between  two  large 
dunes  fox  dens  are  cut  through  the  sand  and 
into  the  subsoil.  Raccoons  are  often  seen  for- 
aging along  the  beach,  and  deer  are  plentiful 
in  the  forest  and  fields. 

On  a  recent  trip  to  Savage  Neck,  I  met  a 


visitor  from  Virginia  Beach  who  was  leaving 
the  preserve  as  I  arrived.  Assuming  I  was  a 
first-time  visitor,  he  gave  me  a  lengthy  de- 
scription of  the  preserve  and  told  me  what  a 
wonderful  place  it  was.  "What  we  have  here," 
he  exclaimed,  "is  a  good  example  of  the  gov- 
ernment doing  something  right."    ?f 

Curtis  Btuiger,  whose  most  recent  hook  is  A  Natural 
History  of  Quiet  Waters  (UVA  Press),  has  written 
widely  about  natural  history  and  wildlife  art.  He  lives 
on  Virginia's  Eastern  Shore. 


The  sassafras  tree  produces  berries  in  the  fall 
on  bright  red  stalks. 

JULY/AUGUST  201 2   ♦     29 


\ 


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■^'•JSS!? 


.'•KT^^v 


^^ 


(j>, 


Volunteer 

for  Wildlife 


by  Cristino  Santiestevan 

Whether  you're  a  hunter,  a 
wildflower  enthusiast,  or  a 
retired  accountant,  the  De- 
partment of  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries 
(DGIF)  has  a  volunteer  opportunity  that's  per- 
fect for  you.  Through  the  Complementary 
Work  Force  Program  (C^X^),  volunteers  assist 
staff  with  essential  tasks  in  the  field,  at  commu- 
nity events,  and  behind  desks  or  computers. 

The  Complementary  Work  Force  Pro- 
gram is  named  appropriately.  This  team  of  vol- 
unteers works  closely  with  DGIF  staff 
wherever  needed.  In  short,  the  volunteers 
complement  the  staff,  effectively  increasing 
the  workforce  of  DGIF  and  allowing  the  De- 
partment to  extend  its  reach  to  include  activi- 
ties that  might  otherwise  be  eliminated. 


"Their  contributions  have  such  a 
tremendous  impact,"  says  Estella  Randolph, 
DGIF  volunteer  administrator.  According  to 
Randolph,  more  than  300  volunteers  donat- 
ed 8,753  total  hours  to  the  Department 
through  CWF  in  20 11.  And  2012  looks  to 
be  even  busier;  nearly  250  C^T  volunteers 
had  already  donated  more  than  5,300  hours 
by  the  end  of  Februan.'. 

These  donated  hours  are  valuable.  "Vol- 
unteer time  for  201 1  was  valued  at  S21.79 
per  hour,"  says  Randolph.  The  value  of 
S2 1 .79  is  calculated  by  Independent  Sector,  a 
national  nonprofit  that  provides  suppon  for 
other  nonprofits,  charitable  groups,  and 
other  volunteer-supported  organizations. 
"So,  for  2011,  volunteers  donated  time 
worth  an  estimated  value  of  Si 90,000,"  ex- 
plains Randolph.  By  using  the  same  hourly 
rate  for  this  vear,  we  can  see  that  volunteers 


CWF  volunteers  perform  a  range  of  services, 
including  assistance  at  public  events  and 
providing  another  set  of  hands  in  the  field. 


had  already  donated  time  valued  at 
$  1 1 6,000  by  the  end  of  February. 

But,  the  value  of  this  program  extends 
far  be)'ond  dollars  and  budgets.  According 
to  Randolph,  CWF  volimteers  are  an  essen- 
tial part  of  extending  DGIF's  reach  through- 
out the  state.  "For  example,"  explains 
Randolph,  "we  get  dozens  of  requests  for 
DGIF  to  participate  in  community-based 
programs  or  shows,  and  sometimes  we  aren't 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     31 


HOW  TO  VOLUNTEER 

No  matter  your  interests  or  experience,  the  Complementary  Work  Force  Program 
has  volunteer  opportunities  that  are  bound  to  appeal.  Registering  is  simple: 

•  Registeronlineatwww.dgif.virginia.gov/volunteer/ 

•  Or,  contact  Estella  Randolph,  VDGIF  Volunteer  Administrator,  with  your 
questions  orto  request  an  application: 

Email:  estella.randolph@dgif.virginia.gov 
Phone:804-367-4331 

Once  registered  as  a  CWF  volunteer,  you  can  review  volunteer  opportunities 
atwww.dgif.virginia.gov/volunteer/cwf/opportunities. 

Regional  Coordinators: 

Eastern- Ray  Philbates  (804)  829-6580         Ray.Philbates@dgif.virginia.gov 

Northcentral-ThomasGoldston  (540)  899-4169    Thomas.Goldston@dgif.virginia.gov 


Five  Reasons  to  Volunteer  with  Us 


1. 


This  is  not  your  typical  volunteer  op- 
portunity. Unlike  many  volunteer  pro- 
grams, CWF  allows  participants  to  pick  and 
choose  how  and  when  they  will  help.  Vol- 
unteers register  with  their  regional  offices, 
and  then  receive  updates  when  new  volun- 
teer opportunities  become  available.  And, 
because  those  opportunities  range  from 
office  support  to  field  projects,  there  really 
is  something  for  everyone. 


3. 


Virginia's  wildlife  needs  you.  Many 
CWF  volunteers  help  with  wildlife  manage- 
ment activities.  As  a  volunteer,  you  may 
help  stock  trout  streams,  assist  with  wildlife 
research  projects,  or  contribute  to  habitat 
restoration  projects  at  Powhatan  Lakes  or 
elsewhere. 


4. 


2. 


Your  time  is  valuable.  According  to  In- 
dependent Sector— a  national  nonprofit 
that  supports  charitable  organizations- 
volunteer  time  was  valued  at  $21.79  per 
hour  in  2011.  This  means  that  Virginia's 
CWF  volunteers  donated  more  than 
$190,000  worth  of  their  time  to  DGIF  in 
2011.  And,  by  the  end  of  February  2012, 
CWF  participants  had  already  donated  ap- 
proximately $116,000  in  volunteer  hours.  If 
you're  eager  to  give  back,  this  is  a  great  way 
to  do  so. 


Virginia's  people  need  you.  As  a  CWF 
volunteer,  you  may  choose  to  answer  ques- 
tions about  wildlife  at  community  events, 
assist  with  the  daily  operations  at  shooting 
ranges,  or  inspect  and  maintain  waterway 
markers  to  aid  boaters  navigating  through 
Virginia's  waters. 

3.  You'll  have  fun.  When  was  the  last 
time  you  stocked  a  trout  stream,  assisted  a 
wildlife  biologist,  or  answered  a  child's 
questions  about  nature?  Never?  Well, 
here's  your  chance. 


I 


able  to  respond  to  all  of  these  requests.  But, 
many  times  we  are  able  to  rely  on  our  volun- 
teer corps  for  these  shows.  This  allows  us  to 
have  a  presence  at  many  more  community 
events  than  perhaps  we  would  be  able  to  do 
with  just  our  staff." 

Volunteers  at  educational  events  help 
with  setting  up  and  dismanding  exhibits,  an- 
swering questions,  and  leading  educational 
presentations.  While  some  events  rely  on 
both  staff  and  volunteers,  others  are  entirely 
volunteer-run.  "This  has  been  an  area  where 
the  volunteer  support  has  been  just  tremen- 
dous," says  Randolph. 

Beyond  classrooms  and  community  pre- 
sentations, volunteers  have  countless  oppor- 
tunities to  get  their  hands  dirty  in  the  field. 
Trout  stocking,  for  example,  is  an  ongoing — 
and  popular — CWF  opportunity.  Volunteers 
assist  staff  by  carrying  and  releasing  buckets 
of  hatchery-raised  fish  to  confidential  release 
sites,  helping  with  road  safety,  and  keeping 
records  or  making  reports,  as  needed. 

State  biologists  occasionally  call  upon 
CWF  volunteers  to  assist  with  data  collection 
in  the  field.  For  example,  CWF  volunteers  are 
helping  biologists  monitor  for  chronic  wast- 
ing disease  by  collecting  samples  from  road- 
killed  and  hunter-harvested  deer.  Elsewhere, 
CWF  volunteers  conduct  wildlife  damage  in- 
spections and  issue  Official  Kill  Permits 
where  appropriate,  volunteer  at  their  local 
shooting  range,  or  conduct  annual  inspec- 
tions of  Virginias  regulatory  markers  within 
the  state's  inland  waterways.  And,  volunteers 
who  are  handy  with  tools  can  assist  with 
equipment  repair  and  maintenance,  grounds 
keeping,  and  occasional  construction  or  dem- 
olition projects. 

Volunteers  who  prefer  a  desk  are  also  in 
luck;  they  may  assist  administrative  staff  at 
DCIF's  regional  offices  by  answering  phones, 
greeting  visitors,  and  helping  with  generd  of- 
fice work. 

"A  lot  of  our  volunteers  have  a  back- 
ground with  natural  resources,"  says  Ran- 
dolph. "But  many  of  them  do  not.  You  dont 
have  to  be  an  outdoorsman  to  volunteer." 
There  are  some  requirements  for  potential 
volunteers,  however,  including  the  submis- 
sion of  an  application  and  a  background 
chtxk.  Regular  volunttrrs  must  beat  kust  18. 
Junior  Volunteers — who  must  be  sujx"r\'isal 
by  an  adult  or  guardian — may  be  14  to  18 
years  old.  Since  adult  .super\'ision  is  required 
for  younger  volunttrrs,  m.in\  participate  .in 


32        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HunfFishVA.com 


groups  through  Boy  Scout  or  Girl  Scout 
troops,  classrooms,  or  community  groups. 

College  students  have  a  new  opportuni- 
ty to  volunteer  this  year  through  the  Wildlife 
Internship  Network,  which  is  managed  as 
part  of  the  Complementary  Work  Force  Pro- 
gram. Participating  students  must  be  cur- 
rently enrolled  in  an  accredited  college  or 
university  in  Virginia,  and  will  have  the  op- 
portunity to  gain  experience  by  working  with 
professionals  throughout  DGIF,  from  fish- 
eries management  and  wildlife  biology  to 
marketing  and  information  technology.  "The 
staff  is  very  supportive  of  this,  because  many 
of  them  had  the  opponunity,  when  they  were 
in  college,  to  do  internships,"  says  Randolph. 
"Our  staff  are  committed  to  making  these 
opportunities  available  for  students." 

DGIF's  Complementary  Work  Force 
Program  is  just  a  few  years  old,  and  doesn't  yet 
span  the  entire  state.  "Right  now,  the  Com- 
plementary Work  Force  Program  is  only  ac- 
tive in  Regions  1  and  4,"  explains  Randolph. 
"We  do  not  have  an  active  CWF  Program  in 
Regions  2  and  3."  Randolph  explains  that  the 
Agency  will  need  to  hire  regional  coordina- 
tors in  order  to  incorporate  those  regions. 
"We  are  optimistic  that  we  will  be  able  to  ex- 
pand the  program  statewide."  Until  then,  res- 
idents in  these  regions  are  encouraged  to 
consider  other  volunteer  opportunities 
through  DGIF. 

"People  come  for  so  many  different  rea- 
sons," says  Randolph.  "It  could  be  that 
they've  received  some  past  benefit  from 
DGIF  and  they  want  to  give  back.  It  could  be 
because  they  enjoy  the  outdoors,  and  the\' 
want  to  do  their  part  to  conserve  it.  Or,  it 
could  be  that  they  just  want  some  new  chal- 
lenge." Whatever  the  reason,  the  CWF  re- 
gional coordinator  works  with  each  CWF 
volunteer  to  ensure  they  receive  the  opportu- 
nities that  best  fit  their  interests.  "It  is  truly  a 
volunteer  opportunity  where  the  volunteers 
are  the  final  decision  maker  in  whether  they 
participate  in  a  given  activity."  In  other 
words,  whether  you'd  prefer  to  operate  a  boat, 
chat  with  students,  or  assist  in  a  regional  of- 
fice, the  Complementary  Work  Force  Pro- 
gram will  help  you  find  a  volunteer 
opportunity  that  fits  your  schedule  and  your 
interests,    i* 


Cristina  Santiestevart  tvrites  about  wildlife  and  the 
environmnn  from  her  home  in  Virginia's  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains. 


.*  yry^-^-:  >^ 


,V  /-• 


Top,  surveys  are  often  conducted  under  tight  timelines,  and  volunteers  help  staff  witfi 
data  collection.  Here,  many  CWF  members  have  wildlife-related  knowledge  to  share. 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     33 


essay  by  King  Montgomery 


M 


y  father  used  to  say,  "There's 
no  such  thing  as  a  free 
lunch."  I  soon  learned  that 
even  though  something  is  "free,"  someone  is 
paying  for  it.  And  that  has  been  the  case  with 
the  Departments  39  Wildlife  Management 
Areas  (WMAs)  and  DGIF-owned  fishing 
lakes  until  this  year. 

Only  some  of  the  many  thousands  of 
visitors  to  the  WMAs  and  the  lakes  have  paid 
their  way;  licensed  hunters,  anglers,  trappers, 
and  those  who  register  boats  are  in  this  group. 
Since  the  inception  of  WMAs,  these  folks 
have  provided  a  "free  lunch"  for  all  the  other 
visitors — wildlife  and  bird  watchers,  wildlife 
photographers,  hikers,  and  in  some  WMAs 
campers,  horseback  riders,  and  those  who  use 
sighting-in  ranges. 

Since  January  1,  2012,  visitors  over  17 
years  of  age  to  WMAs  and  state  lakes  who  do 
not  have  a  valid  hunting,  fishing,  or  trapping 
license,  or  current  boat  registration,  must  pay 
a  Daily  Access  Fee  of  $4  or  an  Annual  Access 
Fee  of  $23.  Payment  may  be  made  either 
through  the  DGIF  website,  by  calling  1  -866- 
721-691  I ,  or  through  I. itcnsing  Agents.  This 
evens  the  playing  held  and  all  visitors  now 
must  "pay  to  play,"  which  will  help  with 
WMA  wildlife  habit.ii  management  and  im- 
provemeni  costs,  niainicn.ince  costs,  person- 
nel costs,  and  the  like. 


New  Access  Fee  to  Visit 

Wildlife 
Management  Areas 


The  WMA  systems  primary  mission  is 
to  maintain  and  enhance  wildlife  habitats 
that  support  game  and  non-game  wildlife 
while  providing  opportunities  to  hunt,  fish, 
trap,  and  view  wildlife.  Now,  with  the  new 
fees  in  place,  all  users  can  contribute  to  main- 
taining and  growing  the  WMA  program. 

The  decision  to  levy  access  fees  to  the 
WMAs  was  not  lighdy  made.  Over  4,000 
WMA  visitors  were  queried  on-site  and  many 
thousands  more  were  surveyed  on  the  Inter- 
net. The  vast  majority  of  responders  favored 
the  Access  Fee  because  it  is  the  equitable  and 
fair  thing  to  do. 

Executive  Director  Bob  Duncan  en- 
courages "folks  who  will  now  have  to  buy  an 
Access  Permit  to  consider  purchasing  a  hunt- 
ing or  fishing  license  instead."  He  continues, 
"The  operation  and  maintenance  of  this 
statewide  system  of  WMAs  would  be  fiirther 


enhanced  because  a  hunting  or  fishing  license 
brings  federal  matching  dollars  as  well,  where 
the  Access  Permit  does  not." 

It  makes  sense,  then,  to  get  a  hunting  or 
fishing  license  that  is  cheaper  than  a  WMA 
Annual  Permit  and  brings  in  more  operating 
funds.  And  a  big  plus,  says  Duncan,  is  that 
"DGIF  has  a  ntunber  of  outreach  programs 
to  get  folks  involved  in  hunting  and  fishing. 
Those  citizens  who  don't  now  hunt  or  fish 
may  find  that  they  enjoy  it  once  they  have  the 
opportunity  to  experience  the  pleasures  of 
these  time-honored  traditions." 

For  more  information,  call  804-367- 
1000  or  go  to  www.dgifvirginia.gov/access- 
permit.    ?f 

King  Montgomery  is  a  freelance  outdoors/travel  writer 
and  photographer  from  Burke  and  a  frequent  contri- 
butor to  Virginia  Wildlife.  Contact  him  at 
kinganglerl  @aol.  com. 


34        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.com 


AFIELD  AND  AFLOAT 


Outdoor 
Classics 


One  With  the  Wilderness:  Passions  of 
a  Solo  Bowhunter,  2nd  edition 

Mike  Mitten 

2009  Herd  Bull  Productions  & 
James  W.  Smith  Printing  Company 
Hardcover  with  color  photographs 
$38.00 

\\-\vw.brothersofThebow.com 
641-693-9100 

"To  be  alone  in  nature  is  not  to  be  lonely.  The 
companionship  of  the  elements  surrounds  us  on 
every  side,  enveloping  us  in  a  living  web  of  vital- 
ity and  movement.  Within  that  mantle  we  are 
enabled  to  find  our  own  place,  uninfluenced  by 
the  demands  and  bustle  of  everyday  life.  We  are 
able  to  hear  the  wisdom  that  wells  up  from  our 
unique  perspective — wisdom  that  the  elements 
alone  can  amplify  bud  enough  for  us  to  hear 
and  understand. " 

-Caitlin  Matthews 

What  a  privilege  it  is  to  read  such  an  action- 
packed  and  heartfelt  account  of  one  hunter's 
true-life  adventure  stories.  From  the  begin- 
ning, Mike  Mitten's  life  has  been  immersed  in 
outdoor  tradition.  So  organic  is  hunting  to 
his  way  of  life,  that  his  biology  degree  from 
Northern  Illinois  University  was  partially  fi- 
nanced by  fijr  trapping  and  by  hunting  rac- 
coon with  his  beloved  hounds.  Mitten  reveals 
how  self-reliance,  reverence  for  nature,  and 
sharply-honed  woodsmanship  skills  have 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  spend  multiple 
weeks  alone  in  the  wilderness  with  pack  and 
bow  (often  at  the  mercy  of  the  elements  and 
unpredictable  wildlife),  getting  up  close  and 
personal  with  the  species  he  hunts:  deer,  feral 
hog,  caribou,  moose,  bear,  and  elk,  just  to 
name  a  few. 


The  action  is  lively,  and  as  Mitten  re- 
counts his  bowhunting  and  fishing  experi- 
ences in  the  Alaskan  bush  and  in  the 
wilderness  areas  of  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Col- 
orado, Texas,  and  Canada,  we  wonder  with 
each  turn  of  the  page,  "WTiat's  going  to  hap- 
pen next?!"  I  won't  spoil  it  for  you,  but  by  the 
end  of  the  book  you'll  understand: 

^  Why  it's  not  a  good  thing  to  pitch  your 
tent  too  close  to  your  bear  pole. 

^  Why  a  dead  moose  isn't  always  a  dead 
moose. 

4  Why  Ziploc  bags  can  be  your  best 
friend. 

4  Why  we  must  be  confidently  prepared 
for  hunting  success,  but  humble  enough 
to  appreciate  how  the  web  of  life  works 
when  the  hunt  doesn't  go  our  way. 

Mitten  tackles  a  few  controversial  topics 
such  as  predator,  and  trophy,  hunting. 
Through  his  thoughtful  narrative,  and  be- 
cause Mitten  is  both  scientist  and  outdoor 
philosopher,  one  can  begin  to  understand  the 
occasional,  ethical,  and  area-specific  'selective' 
hunting  of  certain  animals  from  a  conserva- 
tion perspective.  This  is  a  discussion  not  every 
hunter  is  either  emotionally  or  intellectually 
equipped  to  carry  off  with  any  depth,  but 
Mitten's  perceptions  add  much  to  the  debate. 

Aside  from  .some  pretty  gripping  tales, 
there  are  poignant  tributes  to  fellow  hunters 
and  friends  who  have  passed  on  to  other 
hunting  grounds,  and  tips-of-the-cap  to  myr- 
iad outdoor  mentors  who've  helped  inspire 
his  quests.  He's  honest  about  his  triumphs  as 
well  as  his  mistakes,  and  he  doesn't  sugarcoat 
the  real  dangers  involved  in  hunting  isolated 
areas.  Mitten  extols  the  wonders  present  in 
pre-hunt  scouting  trips  and  days  afield  when 
the  hunter  goes  empty-handed.  During  these 
moments,  tree  canopies  become  woodland 
cathedrals,  and  the  appreciative  hunter  can 
still  thrill  to  the  sound  of  birdcall  or  bugling 
elk.  Ihis  book  will  appeal  to  hunter  and  non- 
hunter  alike,  and  will  surely  cause  the  avid 
bowhunter  to  nock  arrows  in  his  or  her 
dreams. 

I'll  let  Mitten  speak  for  himself  as  he  de- 
scribes outdoor  tradition  coming  fiall  circle 
on  family  land  he  has  tended  and  hunted  for 
years: 


"My father  and  I  replanted  the  trees.  Even- 
tually the  trees  took  hold,  and  out  grew  the  grass- 
es, growingover  a  foot  per  year.  Five  years  later,  I 
hid  behind  one  of  those  trees  as  a  group  of  deer 
fed  from  a  clover  field  back  into  the  stand  of 
evergreens  we  planted.  A  big  doe  passed  out  of 
range,  but  her  button  buck  trotted  past  as  I  drew 
and  released.  This  first  deer  was  so  special  to 
me...  It  was  a  special  deer  because  the  trees  we 
planted  provided  secure  cover  for  the  deer,  and 
also  provided  me  with  structure  to  hide  behind.  I 
was  never  more  connected  to  the  web  of  life  than 
when  I  took  my  first  deer.  The  romance  of  taking 
a  deer  while  hiding  behind  a  tree  returned  thir- 
ty-years later,  telling  my  fifreen-year-old  son  the 
story  of  my  first  deer  while  we  hung  in  a  tree- 
stand  in  one  of  the  trees  I  had  planted.  It  mat- 
tered not  that  we  didn't  get  any  shots  at  deer  that 
evening;  we  were  in  a  sacred  place  on  grandpa's 
land  held  alofi  by  a  sturdy  tree  trunk  that  once 
slipped  through  my  fingers  into  a  slit  in  the 
ground. " 


While  fishing  a  private  pond  in  Spotsylvania 
County  on  the  afternoon  of  February  4, 2012 
with  Dad  (Jason  Rawlings)  and  grandfather 
(Bobby  Rawlings),  Guy  Robert  Rawlings  (three 
years  old)  lands  a  largemouth  bass.  Reeling  the 
fish  in  was  quite  a  chore  but  Guy  caught  this 
one  all  by  himself,  and  much  to  his  surprise  it 
was  a  citation  for  length  In  Virginia. 

JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     35 


At  Kiptopeke,  50  Years 
of  Banding  Birds 

by  Curtis  Badger 

Kiptopeke  State  Park,  a  high  bluff  overlook- 
ing the  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  once  the  site  of  a 
ferry  terminal.  Before  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
Bridge-Tunnel  opened  in  1964,  people 
would  drive  to  Kiptopeke  and  catch  the  boat 
to  Linle  Creek  and  points  south.  A  few  rem- 
nants of  that  era  still  remain.  On  a  sandy  hill 
just  beyond  the  terminal  area  a  rusting  metal 
sign  advenises  "Tourinns  Motor  Court  -  Free 
TV."  Tourinns  provided  food  and  lodging  for 
ferry  passengers,  and  it  played  a  part  in  anoth- 
er chapter  of  Kiptopeke  history  that  contin- 
ues today. 

In  the  fall  of  1 963  a  group  of  friends 
who  shared  an  interest  in  birds  stopped  for 
lunch  at  the  restaurant  prior  to  boarding  the 
ferry.  While  there,  they  noticed  a  great  num- 
ber of  birds  in  the  nearby  woods  and  fields. 
They  realized  that  the  birds  were  gathering  at 
the  tip  of  the  peninsula  before  making  the  1 7- 
mile  Chesapeake  Bay  crossing.  And  they  had 
an  idea.  What  if  they  were  to  set  up  a  banding 
station  and  collect  data  that  could  be  used  to 
study  the  movement  of  songbirds  along  the 
coast? 

And  so  they  did.  Thanks  to  their  dedica- 
tion, we'll  soon  have  a  half-century  of  unin- 
terrupted data  on  the  fall  migration.  The 
original  banding  station  began  as  a  modest 


operation  run  by  six  volunteers:  Fred  Scott, 
Charlie  Hacker,  Mike  and  Dorothy  Mitchell, 
and  Walter  and  Doris  Smith.  Today  the  sta- 
tion is  run  by  the  Coastal  Virginia  Wildlife 
Observatory  (www.cvwo.org),  a  non-profit 
organization  dedicated  to  field  research,  edu- 
cation, and  habitat  conservation.  CVWO 
operates  the  banding  station  from  mid- 
August  until  late  November,  as  well  as  a  near- 
by hawk  observatory,  just  across  a  grassy  field 
from  the  old  Tourinns  sign.  Each  year,  the 
station  will  band  around  10,000  birds  repre- 
senting about  100  different  species.  When 
the  birds  are  banded  they  are  quickly  identi- 
fied, measured,  and  evaluated  for  age,  sex, 
and  fat  stores.  Information  is  entered  into  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  Bird  Banding 
Laboratory  database  (www.doi.gov/data 
base). 

As  the  Kiptopeke  banding  station  cele- 
brates its  50*  year,  it  will  continue  a  mission 
that  has  become  increasingly  important  in  re- 
cent years:  educating  the  public  about  bird 
migration  and  the  need  to  protect  the  habitat 
birds  rely  upon  during  their  travels.  Virginias 
Eastern  Shore  acts  as  a  natural  funnel,  nar- 
rowing at  its  southern  tip,  a  place  where  birds 
gather  in  great  numbers  before  crossing  the 
mouth  of  the  bay.  While  here,  they  must  rest 
and  build  up  fat  reserves  to  fuel  the  remain- 
der of  their  journey.  So  protection  of  natural 
habitat  here  is  a  vital  step  in  providing  food 
and  cover 


Fortunately,  over  the  past  several  years 
much  habitat  on  the  southern  tip  of  the  East- 
ern Shore  has  been  protected  by  state,  federal, 
and  private  conservation  ownership.  In  addi- 
tion to  Kiptopeke  State  Park  and  the  vision- 
ary land  conservation  efforts  by  the  Coastal 
Program  at  the  Department  of  Environmen- 
tal Quality,  there  is  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Vir- 
ginia National  Wildlife  Refuge  and 
Fisherman  Island  NWR,  as  well  as  Magothy 
Bay,  Cape  Charles,  and  Savage  Neck  Dunes 
(see  feature  in  this  issue)  natural  area  pre- 
serves. The  barrier  islands  along  the  coast  are 
protected  by  The  Nature  Conservancy,  pro- 
viding a  green  corridor  that  runs  from  the 
ocean  to  the  bay.  It  is  a  place  where  birds  can 
gather,  rest,  and  refuel  as  they  head  for  points 
south,  much  as  humans  once  did  during  the 
days  when  the  ferries  sailed. 


IMAGE  OF  THE  MONTH 


Congratulations  go  to  Paul  A.  Block  of  Williamsburg 
for  his  awesome  photograph  of  a  robber  fly  taken  in 
July  of  2009.  Paul  shot  this  image  using  a  Canon 
PowerShot  SD600,  no  ISO  recorded,  l/500th,  f/5.6. 
The  green  background  really  makes  the  bug  stand 
out,  emphasizing  the  alien  appearance  of  this 
impressive  fly.  I  LOVE  this  shot!!!  Way  to  go,  Paul! 

You  are  invited  to  submit  one  to  five  of  your  best 
photographs  to  "Image  of  the  Month,"  Virginia 
Wildlife  Magazine,  P.O.  Box  11104,  4010  West  Broad 
Street,  Richmond,  VA  23230-1104.  Send  original 
slides,  super  high-quality  prints,  or  high-res  jpeg, 
tiff,  or  raw  files  on  a  disk  and  include  a  self-ad- 
dressed, stamped  envelope  or  other  shipping 
method  for  return.  Also,  please  include  any  pertinent 
information  regarding  how  and  where  you  captured 
the  image  and  what  camera  and  settings  you  used, 
along  with  your  phone  number.  We  look  fonvard  to 
seeing  and  sharing  your  work  with  our  readers. 


36        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    «    www.HuntFishVA.com 


Effective  July  1,  DGIh  began  selling  the  2012 
Virginia  State  Migratory  Waterfowl  Conser- 
vation Stamp.  The  artwork  for  the  stamp, 
painted  by  John  Obolewicz,  is  entitled  "Buf- 
fleheads  at  Cape  Henry  Light"  and  depicts  a 
pair  of  buffleheads  arching  up  with  wings 
outspread  over  the  water.  Funds  generated 
from  all  sales  of  the  Virginia  Migratory  Wa- 
terfowl Conservation  Stamp  are  placed  in 
the  Department's  Game  Protection  Fund 
and  are  accounted  for  separately,  designat- 
ed as  the  Virginia  Migratory  Waterfowl  Con- 
servation Stamp  Fund.  Monies  are  used  to 
contract  with  appropriate  nonprofit  organi- 
zations for  cooperative  waterfowl  habitat 
improvement  projects  to:  protect,  preserve, 
restore,  enhance  and  develop  waterfowl 
habitat  in  Virginia  through  the  Department's 
waterfowl  program;  and,  offset  the  adminis- 
trative costs  associated  with  production,  is- 
suance of,  and  accounting  for  the  stamp.  The 
annual  Migratory  Waterfowl  Conservation 
Stamp  can  be  purchased  for  a  fee  of  $10  (res- 
ident or  non-resident)  at  license  agents  or 
clerks  who  sell  Virginia  hunting  licenses  or 
from  the  Department's  website. 


Virginia 
Herpetological 
Society  Events 

August  1 8:  1-Day  Survey  Event,  CaJedon 
Natural  Area  State  Park 

More  information  at: 

www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/ 
201 2-e\cnt.s/201 2-vhs-events/index.htm 


Buy  Your  Lifetime 

Hunting  or  Fishing  License 

1-866-721-6911 


Black  Bear 
Management 

Bear  populations  have  increased  in  Virginia 
and  throughout  the  eastern  U.S.  during  the 
past  quarter-century.  Harvest  management, 
reforestation,  public  land  purchases,  oak  for- 
est maturation,  bear  restoration  efforts,  and 
natural  range  expansions  have  all  contributed 
to  bear  population  growth  here.  Although 
this  growing  population  has  been  welcomed 
by  many  people,  the  abundance  of  bears  can 
also  create  concerns  for  others. 

Since  2001,  Virginia's  Black  Bear  Man- 
agement Plan  (BBMP)  has  provided  the 
blueprint  for  black  bear  management  to  meet 
the  Department's  mission  of  managing 
"wildlife... to  maintain  optimum  popula- 
tions... to  serve  the  needs  of  the  Common- 
wealth. " 

For  six  weeks  during  June  and  July,  we 
are  asking  for  public  input  on  the  revised 
BBMP  This  plan  has  been  constructed  over 
the  past  two  years  through  guidance  from 
public  Stakeholder  Advisory  Committees 
and  the  DGIF  Technical  Committee.  The 
goals  in  the  revised  BBMP  reflect  the  values 
of  a  diverse  public  and  are  broad  statements 
of  principles  and  ideals  about  what  should  be 
accomplished  with  bear  management  in  Vir- 
ginia. This  plan  will  guide  black  bear  man- 
agement across  the  commonwealth  over  the 
next  ten  years. 

We  encourage  you  to  review  ;ind  com- 
ment on  the  draft  BBMP,  which  will  be  post- 
ed at  www.dgil. virginia.gov/coninieni. 


Congratulations, 
Writers! 

Congratulations  are  in  order  to  the  recent 
winners  of  the  Virginia  Outdoor  Writers 
Association's  high  school  and  collegiate 
writing  competitions.  Announcements  and 
awards  were  made  during  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  association  held  in  Warm 
Springs,  Bath  Count)',  in  late  March. 

In  the  high  school  contest,  first  place 
went  to  William  Perkins  of  Lancaster  High 
School  for  his  essay  about  a  sea  camp  he  at- 
tended in  the  Florida  Keys.  Second  place 
was  awarded  to  Matthew  Reilly  of  Fluvan- 
na High  School,  whose  story  recounted  fiy 
fishing  adventures  with  his  dad  in  the  Blue 
Ridge  foothills.  Sarah  Smith  of  Lancaster 
High  School  took  third  place  for  her  story 
honoring  her  grandfather  and  their  last 
fishing  trip  together. 

Awards  to  college  undergraduates 
were  as  follows.  Nikita  Jathan  of  VCU  won 
first  place  for  her  entry, "Big  Dreams," about 
her  work  with  elephants  in  Thailand. 
Nicholas  Lenderking-Brill  of  the  Universi- 
ty of  Virginia  took  second  place  for  his  tale 
about  a  trek  along  the  Appalachian  Trail — a 
"coming  of  age"  story. 

Winning  essays  may  be  viewed  online, 
at  www.\'owa.org. 

Kudos  also  are  in  order  for  VOWA 
members  Marie  Majarov  and  Beau  Beasley, 
who  recendy  took  honors  for  their  photog- 
raphy and  writing  skills  during  the  annual 
conference  of  the  Mason-Dixon  Outdoor 
Writers  Association. 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     37 


nia  Department  of  Game  and  Inland  Fishenc^y 

Angler  Recognition  Program 


Trophy  Fifth  AwBi 


201 1  Ang 


The  Virginia  Department  of  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries'  Hall  of  Fame  list  is  a 
^_^_^__^^__^__^^_^_______^___^_^  compilation  of  all  the  freshwater  anglers  who  qualified  for  advanced  awards 

in  the  Angler  Recognition  Program. 
To  achieve  the  status  of  Master  Angler  I,  five  trophy  fish  of  different  species  must  be  caught  and  registered  with  the  Virginia 
Angler  Recognition  Program.  For  Master  II,  10  trophy  fish  of  different  species  must  be  caught,  and  so  on  for  the  Master  III,  IV,  or 
V  level.  Expert  anglers  must  catch  and  register  10  trophy  fish  of  the  same  species. 

Each  angler  that  accomplishes  this  feat  receives  a  Master  Angler  or  Expert  Angler  certificate  and  patch.  Expert  patches  in- 
clude the  species  on  the  patch.  There  is  no  fee  or  application  for  Master  or  Expert. 

If  you  have  records  prior  to  1995  and  believe  you  may  have  obtained  this  angling  status,  please  call  the  Virginia  Angler 
Recognition  Program  at  (804)  367-7800  to  have  your  records  checked. 

The  Creel-of-the-Year  Award  recognizes  the  angler  who  accounts  for  the  most  trophy-size  fish  caught  and  registered  in  the 
Angler  Recognition  Program  from  January  1  through  December  31,  annually. 


MASTER  LEVEL  I 

Roy  L  Allen 
G.E.  Ballard,  Jr 
DuaneA.  Barlow 
MelanieA.  Bayford 
Dean  Blankenship 
Robert  W.  Breeden 
TroyM.  Brooks 
David  L.  Brown 
Andrew  V.  Brunk 
Scott  A.  Buffington 
Michael  E.Carbaugh 
Gary  P  Carter 
RussellL  Conner,  III 
Tommy  E.  Conner 
Kyle  V.  Cox 

Ramon  B.  Deisher,  Sr. 
Hershel  R.  Dotson 
Mark  C.  Eavers 
Timothy  C.  Fields 
William  E.  Filomarino 
ShaunM.  Fleming 
Mark  W.Fletcher 
Charles  F.  Fochtman 
Lewis  W  Graves,  Sr. 
Roger  Lee  Haynes 
Ronald  Hill,  II 
Tom  Hippie 
Donald  R.  Holtz 


Kenneth  D.Howell 
Christopher  Huffman 
Jimmy  R.  Hunziker 
Corey  W.Janecky 
David  W.Jenkins 
James  C.Jenkins 
Robert  B.  Kump,  Sr 
Larry  A.  Long 
Thomas  L.  Mantio 
Charles  G.  McDaniel 
Steven  P  Mitchell 
Willard  K.  Moger 
Emmette  Mohler 
Richard  D.  Moody 
Steward  N.  Moore,  Sr 
Joe  Niamtu 
Michael  J.  Padgett 
Darryl  W.  Peery 
Sean  Perdue 
Jack  D.  Rakes,  Jr 
Ronald  W.  Reinhard 
David  W.  Reynolds 
M.Todd  Sadler 
Donald  I.  Satterfield 
Herbert  T  Shepherd 
Darlene  M.  Simmons 
Logan  Smith 
Thomas  C.  Spencer,  Jr 
Andrew  P.  Spencley 


Matthew  E.  Stone 
David  R  Turner 
Allen  R.  Vandergrift 
Ben  D.Williams 
Glaten  C.  Wood 
Jonathan  R  Woods 
Chad  R.  Woodson 

MASTER  LEVEL  II 

Homer  S.  Brewer 
Jeffery  Downey 
ZaneHuffines 
David  Marsico 
Matthew  C.Miller 
Thomas  W.  Pearce,  Jr. 
James  D.  Pearman,Jr. 
Jerry  Dean  Reynolds 
Otis  B.  Rose,  IV 
Anthony  M.Smith 
Larry  D.  Wells 

MASTER  LEVEL  III 

William  L.  Nicar 

EXPERTS 

Largemouth  Bass 
Punk  Baker 
Carl  K.  Bex 


Mitchell  C.Bundick 
Gregory  W.  Hedrick 
JarodS.  Mann 
Joe  Niamtu 
JoelTParcell,Sr 
Michael  P  Schneider 
EricC.  Schrock 
Robert  C.Scott,  Jr. 
Robert  S.  Scruggs 

Smallmouth  Bass 

R.Collins 
Jeffrey  W.  Cox 
Jimmie  W.  Edwards 
Joshua  T  Elliott 
Richard  E.  Franklin,  Jr. 
Martin  V.  Hanbury 
Stephen  J.  Miklandric 
Leon  M.  O'Leary 
EdgarR.  Pettry,  II 

Grapple 

Richard  B.  Abrahamian 
Gregory  M.  Clark 
Richard  W.CIegg 
ZacharyS.  Crum 
Richard  C.lnsley 
Michael  W.Jones 
Willard  K.  Moger 


Gray  A.  Moss 
John  A.  Nicholson 

Sunfish 

Kenneth  C.  Behnken 
Jerry  B.Gallagher 
Gary  Harmon 
Kenneth  D.  Howell 
Benjamin  A.  Lane 
Tony  L.  Mitchell 
William  L.  Nicar 
Milan  S.Osborne,  Jr. 
Robert  G.  Wagner 

Channel  Catfish 

John  A.  Cubbage 
Robert  L.Jimerson,Jr 
Michael  W.Jones 
Keith  R.  Keeter 
John  W.  Woods 

Blue  Catfish 

Thomas  A.  Biller 
Vernon  L.  Bryant,  Sr 

Flathead  Catfish 
Robert  L.Jimerson,  III 
Anthonys.  Martin,  Jr 
William  J.  Puccio 


38       VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.com 


&r  Hall  of  Fame 


Rainbow  Trout 

Norman  E.  Cox,  Jr. 
Elijah  C.  Edwards 
Robert  H.ElamJr 
James  W.  Ferguson,  Sr 
Robert  W.  Henegar,  Sr 
Thomas  R.Panko,Jr 


Kenneth  T.  Swain 
Randall  TTilley 

Brown  Trout 

Darlene  M.Simmons 

Walleye 

Caren  N.  Hundley 


Yellow  Perch 

Mark  W.Fletcher 
Stephen  H.  Helvin 
Claude  W.Hudson 
Richard  C.  Insley 
Walter  K.  Obst 
Daniel  Salvitti 


Kevin  D.  Stewart 
Guy  W.Woods 

Gar 

Dale  L.  Sturdifen 


Creel  Award 

Derek  Mayhew  (38) 
Largemouth  Bass  (2), 
Crappie(l),  Blue  Catfish 
(30),  Flathead  Catfish  (4), 
Walleye  (1) 


201 1  ANGLERS  OF  THE  YEAR 


SPECIES/SIZE 

Largemouth  Bass,  12  lbs.,  25/2  in. 

Smallmouth  Bass,  7  lbs.  10  oz.,  2VA  in. 

Crappie,  4  lbs.,  18%  in. 

Rock  Bass,  1  lb.  13  oz.,  l^'A  in. 

Sunfish,  3  lbs.  1  oz.,  14  in. 

White  Bass,  2  lbs.  10  oz.,  IS'A  in. 

Hybrid  Striped  Bass,  11  lbs.  8  oz.,  287:  in. 

Freshwater  Drum,  24  lbs.  4  oz.,  37%  in. 

Striped  Bass,  33  lbs.,  44  in. 

White  Perch,  2  lb.,  2  oz. 
2  1b.,  2  oz. 

Channel  Catfish,  25  lbs.  8  oz. 

BlueCatfish,  143lbs.,  57in. 

Flathead  Catfish,  52  lbs. 

Rainbow  Trout,  14  lbs.  6  oz. 

Brook  Trout,  4  lbs.  13  oz.,  20/2  in. 
4lbs.  13oz.,  20in. 

Brown  Trout,  14  lbs.  2  oz. 

Chain  Pickerel,  4  lbs.  12  oz.,  26  in. 

Muskellunge,  37  lbs.,  52  in. 

Northern  Pike,  6  lbs.  10  oz.,  32  in. 

Walleye,  10  lbs.,  10  oz.,  28'/*  in. 

Yellow  Perch,  2  lbs.,  4  oz.,  15  in. 

Gar,  26  lbs.  8  oz.,  54  in. 

Bowfin,  15  lbs.,  30/2  in. 

Carp,  46  lbs.,  47/2  in. 


ANGLER'S  NAME/HOME 

Benjamin  W.  Wright,  Palmyra 

Randy  Lobono,  Jr,  Barrington  Hills,  IL 

Rice  Brooks,  Waynesboro 

Anthony  Smith,  Gretna 

Anthony  Smith,  Gretna 

Amy  Jennings,  Brookneal 

Dalton  O'Quinn,  Haysi 

Paul  Denison,  III,  Stem,  NC 

Lawrence  L.  Michael,  Boyds,  MD 

Brett  E.  Old,  Chesapeake 
Howard  Didier,  III,  Chesapeake 

Robert  L.  Jimerson,  Jr.,  Glen  Allen 

Richard  Anderson,  Greenville,  NC 

Samuel  Roach,  Roxboro,  NC 

Mark  Eavers,  Greenville 

Cecil  D.  Miller,  Grottos 
Will  Helmick,  Staunton 

Mark  Eavers,  Greenville 

Elmer  T.  Merryman,  Jr.,  Fredericksburg 

William  P.  Haines,  Christiansburg 

Guy  W.  Woods,  Broadway 

David  W.  Oaks,  Jonesville 

Cameron  Thomas,  III,  Charlottesville 

Arron  Bowen,  Alton 

Trace  E.  Austin,  Chesapeake 

Jacob  A.  McGrady,  Spotsylvania 


BODY  OF  WATER 

Private  Pond 

Smith  Mountain  Lake 

Albemarle  Lake 

Leesville  Lake 

Private  Pond 

Buggs  Island  Lake 

Flannagan  Reservoir 

Buggs  Island  Lake 

Leesville  Lake 

Private  Pond 
Lake  Meade 

James  River 

Buggs  Island  Lake 

Dan  River 

Private  Pond 

Hearthstone  Lake 
Private  Pond 

Private  Pond 

Hunting  Run  Reservoir 

New  River 

Lake  Laura 

Powell  River 

Ragged  Mountain  Res. 

Buggs  Island  Lake 

Northwest  River 

Private  Pond 


DATE 

04/19/2011 

03/25/2011 

08/07/2011 

10/29/2011 

11/02/2011 

11/06/2011 

07/03/2011 

11/25/2011 

06/09/2011 

02/19/2011 
09/26/2011 

11/03/2011 

06/18/2011 

07/22/2011 

10/05/2011 

03/05/2011 
10/21/2011 

11/21/2011 

06/12/2011 

05/18/2011 

05/15/2011 

05/18/2011 

07/10/2011 

09/07/2011 

04/23/2011 

06/21/2011 


PLEASE  NOTE:  You  can  find  all  you  need  to  know  about  the  Trophy  Fish  Program  at 
www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/trophy/  or  call  804-367-7800. 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2    ♦     39 


Photo  Tips 

by  Lynda  Richardson 


There  is  Something  Phoney  About  Cameras  These  Days 


I  am  finally  giving  in  to  some 
of  the  high-fiilutlng  technol- 
ogy that  is  infiltrating. . .  no,  tak- 
ing over  our  daily  lives.  A  few 
months  ago,  I  retired  my  beat  up 
old  flip  phone  and  purchased  a 
fancy  new,  latest  and  greatest 
iPhone  4S. 

"Oh,  you're  going  to  LOVE 
it!"  said  husband  Mike. 

"You  really  NEED  this 
phone.  It  will  make  your  life  so 
much  easier,"  a  friend  agreed. 

Don't  they  know  they're 
talking  to  the  number  one  anti- 
video  game,  gadget  person  on  the 
planet? 

So  I  get  the  iPhone.  Yes,  it  is 
slim.  It's  nice  to  have  e-mail  and 
the  Internet  close  at  hand.  Yes,  I 
did  get  one  mindless  video  game. 
(Angry  Birds  Rio.  Some  of  those 
levels  are  IMPOSSIBLE!)  But  it 
was  the  8-megapixel  camera  and 
bright  f2.4  lens  that  really  in- 
trigued me.  How  good  could  it 
really  be?  And  what  about  all  ol 
those  intriguing  photography 
apps? 

Do  you  have  any  clue  how 
many  photography  apps  are 
available?  I  stopped  counting  at 
1 00  and  spent  no  less  than  an  hour  review- 
ing some  of  them.  There  are  apps  for  creating 
360-dcgrec  panoramic  stitching,  editing  and 
managing  images,  changing  someone's  hair 
color  (yes,  that  is  what  I  said!),  creating 
frames  around  your  photos,  High  Dynamic 
Range  (HDR),  and  switching  people  and/or 
animal's  faces  around,  as  well  us  numerous 
filters  for  creating  vintage  and  many  other 
photographic  process  looks,  fisheye  lens  ef- 
fects, collage  makers,  and  many,  many  more! 
You  can  even  apply  more  than  one  app  to  a 
single  image. 

I  can't  believe  this  wealth  of  cniziness! 


Yes,  I  chiased  Miss  Katie  around  the  hiouse 
wfiile  looking  for  a  great  location  to  try  out  the 
Toon  Camera  app.  I  did  slip  her  a  few  treats  for 
fier  trouble  and  I  think  I  got  a  cool  picture  out 
of  the  deal.  Wfiat  do  you  thiink? 
©Lynda  Richiardson 

Part  of  me  insisted  that  I  could  download 
all  of  my  iPhone  images  into  Photoshop 
and  work  them  that  way,  but  another  part 
of  me  delighted  in  how  much  fim  it  would 
be  to  try  the  different  apps  and  be  able  to 
do  so  right  on  my  phone!  Some  apps  arc 
free  but  others  cost  $0.99  and  higher, 
which  can  .uld  up  if  you  don't  restrain 


yourself  (I  have  only  downloaded 
three...  so  far.) 

One  app  I  panicularly  enjoy  is 
Toon  Camera.  Once  turned  on, 
anywhere  you  point  the  camera 
looks  solarized  and  cartoon-like 
and  you  view  the  effect  in  real- 
time, which  makes  it  even  cooler. 
Right  after  I  first  downloaded  this 
app  I  ran  around  the  house  chas- 
ing my  dogs,  trying  to  take  pic- 
tures of  them.  They  hated  it,  but  I 
really  love  the  efi^ect  it  brings  to  an 
image! 

Yes,  I  know.  Nothing  can  beat 
photographs  taken  with  our 
heavy,  high-end  digital  SLR  cam- 
eras. . .  yet.  But  there  is  something 
really  amazing  about  being  able  to 
use  a  small,  thin  phone  to  capture 
pretty  darn  good  images.  And  it's 
even  more  amazing  that  you  can 
"process"  them  right  in  that  device 
with  a  zillion  creative  and  exciting 
apps  to  choose  from. 

So  if  you're  adventurous  and 
want  to  try  something  fun,  check 
out  photography  apps  that  you 
can  download  for  your  phone. 
Your  next  camera  might  be  a  bit 
phoney — ya  never  know. 


Get  to  know  your 
phone  camera! 

♦  Play  with  composition  and  lighting. 

♦  Don't  limit  yourself  to  one  shot. 

♦  Shoot  a  lot. 

♦  Experiment! 

♦  Don't  be  afraid  to  shoot  ordinary 
subjects  like  shoes,  rocks,  and  trees. 

♦  Watch  out  for  the  digital  zoom. 

♦  Watch  your  backgrounds. 

♦  Get  closer! 

♦  Keep  the  lens  clean. 


40        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.conn 


^' 


On  the  Water 


by  Tom  Guess 


Dude,  You're  Fixing  to  Run  Aground 


In  all  of  my  time  running  boats  I  have 
come  very  close  to  running  aground  but, 
fortunately,  that  has  not  happened — unless  I 
was  planning  on  it.  What  I  mean  is,  if  I  want 
to  nose  my  boat  onto  a  beach  or  island  that  is 
one  thing,  but  to  actually  be  operating  a  boat 
at  speed  and  make  contaa  with  the  bottom . . . 
it's  never  a  good  thing! 

During  my  previous  career  in  the  U.S. 
Coast  Guard  I  learned  a  lot  of  wise  things  that 
kept  me  out  of  trouble.  One  really  helpful 
phrase  I  learned  was,  "Crab  pots  don't  float 
and  birds  don't  walk  on  water."  When  the  sun 
is  glaring  ofFof  the  surface,  it  appears  that  you 
could  run  your  boat  forever  and  be  okay.  Not 
so  fast!  If  you  see  crab  pots  that  appear  to  be 
floating,  it  actually  means  they  are  on  the  bot- 
tom and  the  bottom  is  only  a  few  inches  or 
maybe  a  foot  deep!  If  you  see  birds  walking  on 
water,  it  means  that  the  bottom  is  even  closer 
to  the  surface,  and  this  is  a  place  you  never 
want  to  run  your  boat  or  you  will  soon  experi- 
ence the  unwelcomed  scenario  of  being  "high 
and  dry " — or  hard  aground. 

What  should  you  do  if  you  do  run 
aground?  First  make  sure  that  ever\'one  is 
okay  and  that  there  are  no  injuries,  and  have 
everyone  put  on  a  life  jacket.  It  never  fails  that 
someone  will  get  the  idea  to  step  off^  of  the 
boat  and  push,  and  they  could  find  them- 
selves in  deep  water  quickly  if  the  boat  is  near 
the  edge  of  a  drop-off.  llien,  see  if  you  are 
taking  on  any  water  from  damage  to  the  hull 
of  your  boat.  If  you  are,  don't  panic — because 
you  are  on  the  bottom!  Also,  if  you  are  taking 
on  water  it  is  wise  to  leave  your  boat  aground 
and  radio  or  call  for  assistance.  If  you  have  a 
VHF-FM  radio,  contact  the  U.S.  Coast 
Guard  on  channel  1 6.  If  you  are  using  a  cellu- 
lar phone  dial  911,  but  be  sure  to  tell  the  oper- 
ator where  you  are  because  the  call  may 
bounce  to  a  911  center  in  a  different  county 
or  distant  location. 


Next,  drop  anchor  if  you  are  in  coastal 
waters  so  that  if  you  are  near  a  tidal  change 
you  will  not  drift  until  you  are  ready  to  ma- 
neuver (if  your  boat  is  not  damaged).  Use  a 
boat  hook  or  paddle  and  take  soundings  or 
depths  around  your  boat  to  help  determine 
where  good  or  deeper  water  is. 

If  you  do  decide  to  push,  be  ver\'  careful. 
Many  people  over-exert  themselves  and  go 
into  cardiac  arrest  or  injure  themselves  while 
trying  to  free  their  boat.  If  you  fi-ee  yourself, 
be  sure  to  inspect  your  boat  thoroughly  to  be 
certain  you  are  not  taking  on  water  from 
damage  to  the  hull  before  returning  to  nor- 
mal operations.  It  is  also  wise  to  return  to  your 
trailer  or  boat  dock  and  pull  your  boat  out  to 
visually  inspect  the  hull  before  continuing  on, 
esjjecially  if  you  hit  bottom  hard  or  the  bot- 
tom was  rocky  or  something  other  than  sand 
or  mud. 

All  of  these  steps  will  help  you  safely  get 
out  of  a  difficult  situation — without  making 
it  worse.  Until  next  time:  Be  Responsible,  Be 
Safe,  and  Have  Fim! 

Tom  Guess,  U.S.  Coast  Guard  (Ret),  serves  as  the 
state  boating  law  administrator  at  the  DGIF. 


FWC  and 


Boating  Safety  Courses 
Are  Required 

www.HuwtFishYA.cow 

Personal  Watercraf t  (PWC) 
"JctSkr 

All  ages  by  July  1,2012. 

No  one  under  the  age  of  14 

can  operate  a  PWC 

Motorboat  1 0  hp  or  Greater 

Age  30  or  younger,  July  1, 2012 
Age  40  or  younger,  July  1, 2013 
Age  45  or  younger,  July  1, 2014 
Age  50  or  younger,  July  1, 2015 
All  ages  by  July  1,2016 


JULY/AUGUST  201 2   ♦     41 


•  • 


ining  In 

by  Ken  and  Maria  Perrotte 


Bass  with  Angel  Hair  Pasta  and  Citrus  Cream  Sauce 


Back  in  the  dark  days  before  people  could  win  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  in  tournaments  catching  a  live  well  full 
oi Micropterus salmoides^  the  common  practice  was  to  toss  them 
into  an  ice  chest  for  filleting  or  cleaning. 

Gramp  baited-up  night  crawlers  to  fish  for  everything.  Not 
differentiating  between  largemouth  or  smallmouth  bass,  he'd 
simply  refer  to  them  by  the  more  generic  name,  "black  bass,"  and 
add  the  fish  to  the  stringer. 

We  don't  eat  bass  much  anymore — partly  for  fear  of  those 
who'd  want  us  hung  by  our  thumbs  and  similarly  filleted  for 
killing  these  hard-fighting,  piscatorial  predators.  But  bass  taste 
good,  especially  younger  ones  taken  from  cool,  clean  waters. 

This  dish  is  pan-sauteed  fillet  of  largemouth  bass  served  over 
angel  hair  pasta  and  dressed  with  a  citrus  cream  sauce  that  also  fea- 
tures sun-dried  tomatoes  and  just  enough  pepper  to  balance  out. 

Don't  sacrifice  a  bass  if  it's  against  your  principles.  Most  fish 
that  fillet  well,  except  for  more  uniquely-flavored  ones  such  as 
tuna,  would  work.  This  includes  dolphin  (mahi),  rockfish, 
snapper,  grouper,  and  flounder  on  the  saltwater  side  and  crappie 
or  bluegill  in  fresh  water. 

Angel  hair  pasta  adds  a  nice,  delicate  foundation,  but  proper- 
ly cooked  spaghetti  or  linguine  would  also  suffice  in  a  pinch. 

Cooking  involves  experimentation.  That's  how  this  versatile 
sauce  came  together.  Experiment  ftinher  by  adding  or  omitting 
herbs  and  spices  and  try  it  atop  vegetables  or  other  meats. 
Consider  parsley,  dill,  and  lemon  juice  for  topping  asparagus  or 
broccoli,  or  rosemary  and  basil  for  chicken.  Grated  parmesan  may 
go  well  with  shrimp  or  cauliflower.  If  you  don't  mind  gilding  the 
lily,  add  a  little  crab  meat.  Have  fun! 


Ingredients 

5  tablespoons  olive  oil,  divided 

1  tablespoon  finely  chopped  scallions 

3  thinly  sliced  shallots 

1  clove  minced  garlic 

Vi  cup  dry  white  wine 

8  ounces  bottled  clam  juice 

'/2  cup  orange  juice 

1  tablespoon  lime  juice 

2  tablespoons  diced  sun-dried  tomatoes 
1  teaspoon  Worcestershire  sauce 

1  teaspoon  herbs  de  Provence  (or  Vi  teaspoon  each  basil 

and  thyme) 
1  teaspoon  orange  zest 
Vi  teaspoon  lime  zest 
1  cup  heavy  cream 

8  ounces  angel  hair  pasta  (fresh  is  always  better) 
8  small  bass  fillets  (about  24  ounces  offish) 
All-purpose  flour 
Salt 

Black  pepper 
Cayenne  pepper 
Orange  zest  and  chives  for  garnish 

Heat  2  tablespoons  of  oil  in  a  saucepan  over  medium-high  heat. 
Add  scallions,  shallots,  and  garlic  and  cook  for  a  minute  until 
vegetables  begin  to  soften.  Pour  in  wine,  clam  juice,  orajige  and 
lime  juices.  Stir  in  tomatoes,  Worcestershire  sauce,  herbs,  and 
zest.  Add  the  cream  and  bring  to  a  boil.  Reduce  the  heat  to 
medium-low  and  simmer  for  10  to  1 5  minutes,  until  sauce  is 
reduced  by  half 

Cook  and  drain  the  pasta  according  to  package  directions 
for  al  dente. 

Lighdy  season  the  fish  fillets  with  a  litde  salt  and  pepper. 
Cayenne  pepper  adds  an  extra  kick,  but  don't  overpower  with  it. 
Dredge  in  flour  and  sh;ikc  to  remove  the  excess. 

Heat  the  remaining  3  tablespoons  of  oil  in  a  skillet  over 
medium-high  heat.  Cook  the  fish,  browning  on  both  sides. 
Depending  on  thickness,  the  fillets  will  take  2  to  5  minutes  on 
each  side  to  cook  through. 

Toss  the  pasta  with  half  the  sauce.  Add  the  fish  and  top 
with  the  remaining  sauce.  Ciarnish  with  orange  zest  ;uid  chives. 

Pairing 

1  X-spite  the  citrus  flavors,  the  cream  and  savory  nuances  help 
this  dish  pair  well  with  a  C'hardonnay  or  Chablis,  although  a 
S.iuvignon  Blanc  or  Pinot  Grigio  may  al.so  work. 


42        VIRGINIA  WILDLIFE    ♦    www.HuntFishVA.com 


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now;  complete  information  about  the  new  contest 
will  be  posted  by  July  1,  at: 

www.dgif.virginia.gov/virginia-wildlife 


■hn^tj 


Outdoor  Catalog 


Virginia  Birding 

and  Wildlife  Trail  Guide 

Provides  information  on  the  nation's 
first  statewide  wildlife  viewing  trail  all  in 
one  convenient  book.  This  400-pg. 
color  publication  provides  information 
on  over  670  sites  with  updated  maps, 
detailed  driving  directions,  and  contact 
information  for  each  site. 


Item  n  VW-226 


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Canvas  Tote  Bag 

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and  field  guides.  Show  your  support  for 
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