Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:13 pm
Richmond Times Dispatch Wed. morning edition.
More than 200 people turned out last night to urge the Charles City County Board of Supervisors to adopt a resolution in support of hunting with dogs.
The board voted 3-0 in favor of adopting the proposed resolution.
"I do support the resolution," Supervisor Gilbert A. Smith said. "I'm an avid deer hunter."
Jimmy Fitzgerald, one of the county residents who sought the resolution, said the request was made because of concerns that some newcomers to rural areas want to ban the use of hunting dogs.
ALSO IN THE NEWS
Many reply to bobwhite's calls for help
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 09:41 AM
By ANDY THOMPSON
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
The bobwhite quail may be experiencing tough times in the state of Virginia, but the game bird certainly has some high-powered friends.
Yesterday, at a meeting of the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, those friends made a spirited pitch to take action against habitat loss and other factors threatening Colinus virginianus.
"For years I have been concerned, as have so many people, with the decreasing population of bobwhite quail," said former governor Linwood Holton. "I've mentioned it to several directors. This is the first time, though, that we've been able to get an organized effort, sponsored by the commission, to really take some active participation in restoring the population of this popular bird."
Holton was referring to the Quail Focus Group that the DGIF put together in December to discuss what could be done to stem the tide of population loss in the state. Holton was a member of the focus group, as was former DGIF board chairman Charlie McDaniel.
He and Holton, speaking on behalf of the focus group, recommended that the board enact a Bobwhite Quail Action Plan "encompassing management, research, education, outreach, coordination [with private and public partners], and specifically addressing environmental and other factors limiting quail numbers."
Other citizens, including members of local and regional chapters of Quail Unlimited as well as private landowners and hunters, spoke in support of the measure.
A key provision of the plan would have the DGIF establish official bobwhite quail habitats "to demonstrate the effectiveness of habitat management." Public areas, such as department maintained wildlife management areas, were mentioned as possibilities. So, too, were areas along power transmission lines.
The motion passed unanimously.
The board also heard from Virginia Tech researchers Dr. Steve McMullin and Sara Kozlowski on the findings of the recently completed hound hunting focus-group meetings. The board didn't vote on any issues regarding hound hunting but presented a timeline for action on addressing the concerns of both hunters who hunt with hounds and landowners.
According to McMullin and Kozlowski, there were a few general findings: 1) Virginia is becoming more urban and suburban; 2) New landowners who come in contact with hound hunters don't necessarily understand the culture behind it; 3) the actions of a minority of hound hunters are giving all hound hunters, and hunters in general, a bad reputation.
The next step in the process, McMullin and Kozlowski said, will be to set up a survey on the VDGIF Web site to "further gather information about issues and understand viewpoints of various stakeholder groups." After that, a stakeholder advisory committee will convene to discuss the issues and make recommendations. Once the public and interested parties review those recommendations this summer, the final proposals will be submitted to the board for a vote in October.
The final significant item of business concerned a law passed during the 2007 session of the General Assembly requiring the department to implement a boater-safety education program for all motorboat and personal watercraft operators. According to the law, if implemented by the DGIF on July 1, 2008 as written, all personal watercraft operators must meet specific boating safety education requirements (i.e. must take a class and pass a test). The requirements will be phased in between July of 2009 and July of 2016, depending on the boat operator's age.
Contact Andy Thompson at (804) 649-6579 or outdoors@timesdispatch.com.
More than 200 people turned out last night to urge the Charles City County Board of Supervisors to adopt a resolution in support of hunting with dogs.
The board voted 3-0 in favor of adopting the proposed resolution.
"I do support the resolution," Supervisor Gilbert A. Smith said. "I'm an avid deer hunter."
Jimmy Fitzgerald, one of the county residents who sought the resolution, said the request was made because of concerns that some newcomers to rural areas want to ban the use of hunting dogs.
ALSO IN THE NEWS
Many reply to bobwhite's calls for help
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 09:41 AM
By ANDY THOMPSON
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
The bobwhite quail may be experiencing tough times in the state of Virginia, but the game bird certainly has some high-powered friends.
Yesterday, at a meeting of the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, those friends made a spirited pitch to take action against habitat loss and other factors threatening Colinus virginianus.
"For years I have been concerned, as have so many people, with the decreasing population of bobwhite quail," said former governor Linwood Holton. "I've mentioned it to several directors. This is the first time, though, that we've been able to get an organized effort, sponsored by the commission, to really take some active participation in restoring the population of this popular bird."
Holton was referring to the Quail Focus Group that the DGIF put together in December to discuss what could be done to stem the tide of population loss in the state. Holton was a member of the focus group, as was former DGIF board chairman Charlie McDaniel.
He and Holton, speaking on behalf of the focus group, recommended that the board enact a Bobwhite Quail Action Plan "encompassing management, research, education, outreach, coordination [with private and public partners], and specifically addressing environmental and other factors limiting quail numbers."
Other citizens, including members of local and regional chapters of Quail Unlimited as well as private landowners and hunters, spoke in support of the measure.
A key provision of the plan would have the DGIF establish official bobwhite quail habitats "to demonstrate the effectiveness of habitat management." Public areas, such as department maintained wildlife management areas, were mentioned as possibilities. So, too, were areas along power transmission lines.
The motion passed unanimously.
The board also heard from Virginia Tech researchers Dr. Steve McMullin and Sara Kozlowski on the findings of the recently completed hound hunting focus-group meetings. The board didn't vote on any issues regarding hound hunting but presented a timeline for action on addressing the concerns of both hunters who hunt with hounds and landowners.
According to McMullin and Kozlowski, there were a few general findings: 1) Virginia is becoming more urban and suburban; 2) New landowners who come in contact with hound hunters don't necessarily understand the culture behind it; 3) the actions of a minority of hound hunters are giving all hound hunters, and hunters in general, a bad reputation.
The next step in the process, McMullin and Kozlowski said, will be to set up a survey on the VDGIF Web site to "further gather information about issues and understand viewpoints of various stakeholder groups." After that, a stakeholder advisory committee will convene to discuss the issues and make recommendations. Once the public and interested parties review those recommendations this summer, the final proposals will be submitted to the board for a vote in October.
The final significant item of business concerned a law passed during the 2007 session of the General Assembly requiring the department to implement a boater-safety education program for all motorboat and personal watercraft operators. According to the law, if implemented by the DGIF on July 1, 2008 as written, all personal watercraft operators must meet specific boating safety education requirements (i.e. must take a class and pass a test). The requirements will be phased in between July of 2009 and July of 2016, depending on the boat operator's age.
Contact Andy Thompson at (804) 649-6579 or outdoors@timesdispatch.com.