At a recent meeting of the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen (BCLS) four area outdoor sportspeople/conservationists were selected to receive awards. They are as follows:
Louis Robesch, of Pittsfield, will receive the Sportsman of the Year Award. He has been a Hunter Education Instructor for 45 years. He taught many young students at both Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School. He is credited for educating many family generations to be responsible hunters and fishermen with his knowledge and guidance. He is a member of the Lee Sportsmen’s Association and the Lenox Sportsmen’s Club.
Incidentally, while serving as a private in the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Delta Co 3rd Herd for 4 years, he received a Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam.
Jason Sniezek, of Adams, will receive the Outstanding Achievement Award. He is a physical education teacher at Hoosac Valley High School in Cheshire, who was instrumental in working with the BCLS and other organizations to bring the National Archery In Schools Program to Hoosac Valley.
This past fall “Jay” launched an inaugural program crafted as a “Hunter Safety Course”. Using pieces from the Mass Hunter Education Program, the NASP standards, and life/practical experience, he took a small group of students with only one active hunter, on an adventure to learn new skills. They learned to put up a tree stand, animal tracking (with fake blood), archery and outdoor survival which included building lean-tos with materials they found around them, fire building and celebrating it all with a hot dog roast on their fire!
The confidence building and skills learned will last this group for a lifetime. This program was featured as a Berkshire Eagle Classroom of the Week. Jason is hopeful that Hoosac Valley will continue this program with the possibility of expanding it to include hiking and camping as well.
Incidentally, he is the long-time coach of the Hoosac Valley golf team and was instrumental in bringing that team to the Western Mass Division II title last fall, and was recently recognized as Coach of the Year by the Berkshire Eagle.
Virginia DuBois, of Lee, will receive the Sportsmen’s Appreciation Award. She has been a Lee Sportsmen’s Association (LSA) member for many years and has become a huge asset of the club. Besides being a Board member and Membership Chairman, she finds time to help with many youth programs including the SCTP Buckshots clay team, youth archery, youth fishing derbies, ice fishing derbies and turkey shoots. She is co-chair of the LSA and DU Youth Fund Raising Gala and the Steak & Lobster dinner. The LSA sends two youths every year to the Mass Junior Conservation Camp and Virginia is part making that happen.
Jane Winn of Pittsfield will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award
Long an environmental advocate and mobilizer of community interest and involvement in wetlands permitting deliberations and open space preservation in the Berkshires, Jane Winn is fierce in her determination and seldom willing to take “no” for a final answer. She has demonstrated many times that perseverance is a powerful advocacy skill. Her interest in protecting wildlife and the health of natural systems led to the creation of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT).
The Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissioners (MACC) said of her, “With the creation, fundraising, nurturing and day-to-day management of BEAT and the weekly e-publication of The BEAT News, Jane has become a leading spokesperson on environmental issues. Her courage, dedication, and boundless energy have already produced stunning successes – and are creating a broad constituency of knowledgeable, caring activists and stewards to carry the work forward.”

Jane has either led or was involved in numerous culvert projects, stream teams and river clean-ups. A few years back she played a pivotal role in stopping a train near Morewood Lake which certainly would have derailed due to a railbed washout.

Last year, in cooperation with the Housatonic Valley Association, BEAT was involved in a culvert replacement project on Hancock Road in Pittsfield. Swapping out old and inadequate cement pipes allowed brook trout to migrate on Churchill Brook, which feeds into Onota Lake. The roughly $400,000 cost of the project was paid for by a Natural Resources Damages Fund related to the GE clean-up.

BEAT has organized forums and workshops on certifying vernal pools, has trained more than 350 volunteers in various projects from wildlife habitat assessment to river clean ups to road/stream wildlife crossings, and serves on the organizing committee for the Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference, as well as organizing many other smaller walks, talks, and information sessions

BEAT is a member of the Citizens Coordinating Council, advocating for higher standards for cleaning up GE’s contamination of the Housatonic River.

BEAT monitors, watchdogs, informs, surveys, tracks, educates, trains, organizes and advocates.
BEAT has a free weekly newsletter, a website (with a great tutorial on the Wetlands Protection Act among other resources) and hosts Pittsfield Green Drinks, a monthly gathering of environmentally-minded individuals.

When a new fracked gas pipeline was proposed for the area, BEAT started holding meetings and giving presentations. In a small town of Cummington (pop. 3000), they filled a church. The crowd immediately began organizing.
BEAT began videotaping the Pittsfield Conservation Commission hearings which are now broadcast by Pittsfield Community Television. BEAT also videotapes for broadcast the Berkshire Metropolitan Planning Organization meetings, and many other meetings about environmental activities. These meetings are broadcast on local community access television.

Beat has also worked hand in hand with the BCLS on projects and initiatives supported by both organizations both locally and Nationally, such as the ACEC designation of October Mountain, the Clean Air Act, The Mercury Rule as well as others. She has received numerous awards and certificates of appreciation from various environmental organizations. Space does not allow me to list them all which have been attributable to Jane, her husband Bruce and BEAT. (I hope to list more of them when I report on the upcoming Conte Memorial Awards Banquet.)

The above awards will be presented at the BCLS Silvio O. Conte Memorial Awards Dinner at the Cheshire Rod and Gun Club on Saturday evening April 27. This year the event will also be in honor of the late George “Gige” Darey.
Please note that the social hour and dinner times have changed. The social hour now begins at 4:30 with dinner at 6:00 PM. Tickets which cost $30 can be obtained from any BCLS delegate.
Incidentally, at the last elections, the following individuals were elected officers of the BCLS: President – Wayne McLain of North Adams, VP – Robert McCarthy of Williamstown, Treasurer – Dan Kruszyna of Cheshire and the Secretary is me.
Ice fishing season is about over

Time to call it quits for ice fishing this year. For some, including Dylan and Camden Blake of Lenox, it was a very good year. Fishing with their father James, grandpa Peter and friend Les on a small lake in West Stockbridge earlier this month, they caught the pictured pickerel, some bass and perch. According to Peter, it was a day with” a great blue sky, little wind and willing fish to be caught and released”.

5th Annual Ducks Unlimited and Lee Sportsmen’s Club Association’s Gala
The Gala will take place on Saturday, April 6 at the Pittsfield Country Club, 39 South Street, Pittsfield, from 4:00 to 10:00 pm. It is billed as an evening of fantastic food, great raffle prizes, silent and live auctions…all to support the youth sportsmen of the Berkshires and Ducks Unlimited’s mission of wetlands conservation.
They will be auctioning off hunting trips locally and around the world, trips to wine country, Belize, Costa Rica, St. Thomas, Cabo, Pebble Beach Golf excursions and more.
Tickets can be bought by calling Virginia DuBois @ 413-446-5404.