Darey retires from Fish & Wildlife Board
George “Gige” Darey, of Lenox, recently announced his retirement from the Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Board. He has served on that Board for 38 years and 35 of them as its Chairman.
The 88-year old Chairman stated that he had missed only 5 monthly meetings in 38 years, and he always felt that he couldn’t have had a more fun job. He enjoyed watching the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) grow with all the new staff over the years. He will now enjoy working with environmentalists and sportsmen closer to home.
He has been appointed to the Board by at least 7 governors and has served with 4 different DFW directors. He stated that the directors were all great people. He expressed his admiration that current Director of DFW Jack Buckley was working so well and so closely with his staff and on so many different projects. Darey is aware of all the things he has been able to accomplish as Chairman, and also some things that were not accomplished. But he believes that it is important to know when to walk away. Rest assured, I intend to do a future column or two on Gige and his remarkable career.
No one has yet been appointed by Governor Baker to replace him representing the Western District. At the December Board Meeting, Dr. Joseph Larson of Pelham was elected the new Chairman and Michael Roche of Orange was elected Vice Chair.
Dr. Larson, is the Board’s specialist in endangered species habitat. He serves as the Board’s liaison to MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from UMASS and a Ph.D. in zoology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He has held research appointments with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the University of Maryland. He is professor emeritus and former Chairman of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management and Director of the Environmental Institute at UMASS.
He has served as Executive Chairman of the National Wetlands Technical Council and Chairman of the U.S. National Ramsar Committee that represents non-governmental interests to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. He received the national Chevron Conservation Award in 1990. Internationally, he has been a member of diplomatic delegations to the Ramsar Convention and has lectured and conducted wetlands training seminars in India, China and Europe. He is a member of the Commission on Ecosystem Management of the World Conservation Union.
Dr. Larson has served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions and the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He drafted original legislation to define wetlands in the Commonwealth and has served on all of the wetland regulation advisory committees convened by the Department of Environmental Protection. He was a member of the Secretary’s Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Committee during the original establishment of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. In 1997 the Massachusetts Wildlife Federation honored him as Conservationist of the Year.
Roche, Secretary of the Board, represents the Connecticut Valley Wildlife District. He is a graduate of Salem State College and holds a Master’s degrees in Administration and Organization from Endicott College.
He teaches social science at Mahar Regional High School as well as forestry and wildlife management electives in the science department. He serves as advisor to the Mahar Fish and Game Club, believed to be the oldest high school fish and game club in the Commonwealth. For four years he was the Regional Director for Ducks Unlimited in Massachusetts. Over the past twenty-five years, he has served as a volunteer hunter education instructor, a member of Massachusetts’ Project WILD advisory committee, and was a staff member and director of the Massachusetts Junior Conservation Camp.
He is an outdoor columnist for the Athol Daily News and has had free-lance work published in various periodicals. He is an active member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
The seven person Fisheries and Wildlife Board was created by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1948 and is assigned the responsibility of supervision and control of the DFW. The Board’s mandate is to protect and manage the wildlife of the Commonwealth as an essential public natural resource for the use and enjoyment of all citizens who hunt, fish, trap, and enjoy nature study and observation. This includes all mammals, birds, and freshwater fish, plus insects, invertebrates and plants that are listed under state and federal regulations as rare, endangered, threatened, or of special concern – over 400 species in total.
State law requires that the Governor appoint one member from each of the five regions of the state, with one being experienced in farming. Of the two additional at-large members, one must be a wildlife biologist and the other must have expertise in endangered species conservation.
The Board Assures Professional Responsibility for the Wildlife Resource by:
· Establishing personnel policies that require persons appointed to positions in the DFW have appropriate professional training.
· Adopting policies and regulations that are based upon sound ecological science.
- Approving appointments of the members of the scientific Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee .
- Fostering research that obtains factual information and data as the science base for regulations and policies.
- Reviewing and approving land acquisitions though use of the Land Stamp Fund, Massachusetts Waterfowl Stamp fund, state bond issue funds, and other financial sources.
The Board fosters close working partnerships between the DFW and other state and federal agencies, private conservation organizations, sportsmen’s organizations, municipal conservation commissions, land trusts and private firms. It operates under multiple layers of public oversight – the Governor, the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game and The USFWS on federally funded projects.
90 year old Lou Carmel’s Saskatchewan deer
![IMG_2062[1]](https://www.berkshireoutdoorsman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_20621-1.jpg)
You are never too old to go deer hunting
There is no doubt about it. Lou Carmel, of Hinsdale, MA, loves to deer hunt. The table top full of large deer racks in his cellar gives testimony to his love of and success in the sport. And there aren’t too many places in North America that he won’t travel to bag a large antlered buck, even at age 90. The attached picture of him and his big buck was taken earlier in Saskatchewan, Canada, near Candle Lake. None of his friends or family could join him on that hunt, so he went alone. Incidentally, the last buck he got there was in 2015, the last time he made it up there.
He has been hunting Saskatchewan for about 12 years now going after big trophies. He flies into Saskatoon, and then has a 5 or 6 hour automobile trip to his hunting spot. The main road is good but off of that it gets kind of rough. He usually camped on Candle Lake and there you have to hire local guides. They drove him by 4-wheeler to his ground stand (blind) in the morning and picked him up at night or whenever he wanted.
He always hunted the first week of the season due to the cold weather up there. It frequently gets down to 10 below zero. For the last several years a 15 degree day was a good day. “You have to open the blind to shoot out and it doesn’t take long to get cold”, he said. About two years ago, someone suggested that he have the guides put a little heater in his blind. He did that and it made all of the difference. Incidentally, the last deer he got there was in 2015, the last time he made it up there.
I asked him how he got the deer meat back to Massachusetts as there are regulations here regarding the importation of deer from some Canadian Provinces in order to curb the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease. He said that after he shot the deer he would keep the antlers and never saw it again. There are a lot of poor people up there and he always left the meat for them.
I asked him how it came about that he started hunting up in Saskatchewan. He said that a deer hunter from Adams heard that he liked to hunt in Canada. He was going to Albany to buy some hunting clothes and invited Lou to accompany him to meet John Kilmartin, a guy who booked hunting trips to upper Canada. After meeting him and discussions, Lou decided to go hunting there. He went by himself. The only problems that he encountered were flight connections in Toronto and he missed his plane. The airline put him up for the night and got him to Saskatoon, SK the next day. After he made 2 or 3 trips with similar problems, he learned to go through Minneapolis rather than through Toronto. It was a lot easier.
The last three years that he went to Candle Lake his son-in-law Kevin Farrell of Dalton went with him. Candle Lake was exceptional, with thousands of acres to hunt; however, the outfitter decided to convert it archery hunting only. After that Lou went with another outfitter run by natives. The last few years he went alone.
I asked him the size of his biggest deer and he said 150. The picture that I saw certainly had a bigger deer than that in it. But when Lou talks deer numbers, it is not in weights, it is in inches of the antlers as determined by the Boone & Crockett official scoring system. Incidentally, while looking at Lou’s photo album of all of the deer that he bagged in Saskatchewan, I noticed that he was usually all dressed in white. Lou said that wearing white is mandatory when you hunt there in Canada.
According to Lou, the cost of such a trip would be roughly $3,500 which includes air and stay at Candle Lake. To stay over a night in Saskatoon would probably be another $100 or so.
Lou has been hunting since he was around 15 or 16. He starting hunting with his father who was a fox hunter. After he came home from school, he used to immediately head for the woods with him fox hunting. His father also taught him how to trap muskrats, beavers, etc., and many a morning he would get up at 4 AM and check his traps before going to work.
In addition to hunting around here, he used to hunt the Allagash region of Maine. He hunted there for more than 25 years with the late John Zuber of Pittsfield and also with Clem Caryofiles also of Pittsfield. If their names sound familiar, both of these well known hunters won numerous sportsmen awards from the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen as well as the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council. They also moose hunted in Labrador with Lou a couple of times.
When I asked Lou if he intended to hunt in Saskatchewan again, he said that he would think about it provided his wife Pauline was sufficiently recovered from some health issues.
Lou will be the first to admit that he has no super human genes. He has had his share of serious medical issues over the years, but has overcome them. He attributes his hunting longevity to immediately contacting a doctor when he didn’t feel right and getting the best doctor he could afford.
Lou Carmel, an inspiration to us all.
Updated State Wildlife Action Plan is presented
Recently, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) presented the 2015 update to the Massachusetts SWAP as required by Congress. The Plan presents the 570 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Commonwealth, the 24 types of habitat that support these species, and the actions necessary to conserve them.
Upon releasing the plan, DFW Director Jack Buckley made the following comments: “The citizens of Massachusetts have a long history of working together to conserve our state’s biodiversity. The state Fisheries Commission, the predecessor to the current Division, was permanently established almost 150 years ago, in 1886. The first land trust in the country was The Trustees of Reservations, still a highly successful force in Massachusetts conservation today. The Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, one of the strongest in the country, was enacted a quarter-century ago. Today, more than 25 % of the state’s acreage is protected from development, an astounding achievement in such a densely populated state.”
“With so much land protected, our focus going forward now moves to an equal emphasis on land acquisition and the management of these conserved lands. The Division itself has made a strong commitment to habitat management on our own 200,000 acres, particularly on the areas–the Key Sites–with the highest and best concentrations of rare species and other elements of biodiversity.
As well, we intend to assist our dedicated conservation partners in determining appropriate habitat management on their own lands.
It is the continued, strong dedication of the Commonwealth’s citizens to our natural resources that has made these accomplishments possible, and it is in concert with our many conservation partners that we intend to move forward with the goals of this plan.”
You can read this plan by clicking onto the MassWildlife web page. Allow yourself some time for it is about 500 pages long.
Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Massachusetts
MassWildlife recently announced the release of the Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Massachusetts. This 94-page book includes vibrant, detailed photographs and descriptions of the frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes, and turtles – including sea turtles – found in the Commonwealth. The field guide, the only guide of its kind specific to Massachusetts, features species accounts, images of common pattern and color variations, and information about reptile and amphibian conservation.
Lead author Peter Mirick, an avid herpetologist and recently retired editor of Massachusetts Wildlife magazine, combined and updated materials from magazine issues on reptiles and amphibians with additional contributions from MassWildlife’s Dr. Tom French and biologist Jacob Kubel. The majority of the photographs were taken by MassWildlife’s talented photographer Bill Byrne with supplemental images generously shared by agency staff, herpetologists, scientists, and photographers.
If you order your copy today you’ll be ready for spring outings and summertime hikes. The field guide also makes a great Christmas gift for the wildlife lover on your list. Hopefully, its not too late to order it.
Youth Artists, take note
There is still time to enter the Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) contest,” advises MassWildlife’s Wildlife Education Specialist Pam Landry. “Any student, from kindergarten through grade 12, regardless of whether they attend public or private school or are home-schooled, can submit original artwork in this fun and educational competition. Even if students do not enter the art competition, the related information can serve as a valuable resource in art or science classrooms.” The entry deadline is February 15, 2017.
The JDS program links the study of wetlands and waterfowl conservation with the creation of original artwork. Students in grades K-12 learn about the habitat requirements of various kinds of ducks and geese and then express their knowledge of the beauty, diversity, and interdependence of these species artistically, by creating a drawing or painting which can be submitted to the JDS art contest. The art is judged in four age group categories in a statewide competition; the entry judged Best of Show moves on to represent Massachusetts in the national JDS competition. Art teachers, science teachers, and parents who home-school can visit the MassWildlife website for an information packet and entry information.
Primitive Deer Hunting
Primitive Firearms Deer Hunting season, also known as Black Powder season and Muzzleloader season opened last Monday and it is much too early to forecast how the season will go. As of this writing, the weather certainly is cooperating, save for the frigid temperatures. There is a nice snow cover for tracking and if you hunt the mountains, there should be enough snow to strap on the snowshoes. Primitive deer hunting and snowshoeing seems to go together. Just don’t wear a coonskin cap. Regulations require you to wear a blaze orange cap and vest.
Hunting on snowshoes can be very strenuous, especially if you are dragging a deer. Take your time and enjoy the moment.
Incidentally, if you plan to hunt during this season, or if you know someone who does, DFW Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden has a request. If someone shoots a doe in Zone 2 or Zones 4N or 4S, please contact his office in Dalton. DFW would like to look at the deer’s age in order to boost the numbers from these zones in their data base so that they can feed that into the population model. During the muzzleloader season, successful hunters are allowed to check in their deer online and are not required to check them in at a station. However; if hunters just want to drop off the deer head at his office or even call him, someone will pick it up if it is somewhere convenient. Obviously, they would prefer a recently killed deer’s head and not one that is smelly and partially decayed.
2016 was a busy year for MassWildlife
The following information was taken in part from DFW Director Jack Buckley’s annual message: On June 4, MassWildlife celebrated its 150th anniversary. Over 1,000 people visited the new Field Headquarters on that day to celebrate. The event was an opportunity for staff to highlight its diverse programs from archery for kids to black bear research to butterflies. The day was so successful it is planning a similar event for next year.
During the year, it began construction of a water pipeline that will provide gravity-fed, consistently cold water from the Quabbin Reservoir to the McLaughlin Hatchery in Belchertown. Although a significant investment of angler’s dollars, when completed in 2017, this project will produce long-term benefits through reduction of energy costs, establishment of a long-term stable water source for the hatchery, and result in an improvement in the quality of stocked trout.
During the 2016 trout stocking season MassWildlife launched a new web-based tool for trout anglers that provides daily online trout stocking reports. Anglers are encouraged to check out the new tool during the spring trout stocking season at mass.gov/trout. (For those who aren’t into these new fangled computers, I hope to continue providing timely stocking information in this column.)
Making improvements to the Hunter Education program continued to be a focus of the agency. Its goal is to make hunter education easily accessible and convenient without a wait to sign up for a course. Over the past year new Hunter Education staff members were hired to provide enhancements to the program. The primary objectives of these staff are to schedule, plan and conduct Basic Hunter Education courses across the state, particularly in low service areas, as well as to conduct other courses that are developed and administered by the program.
In 2016, the Hunter Education Program staff concentrated solely on: 1) increasing the number of Basic Hunter Education Courses being offered in underserved areas of the state such as Boston and Springfield, and 2) increasing the number of participating students. This past year, 94 Basic Hunter Education courses were held across the State, a 14.6% increase over the previous year. A total of 3,952 students participated in the basic course representing a nearly 6% increase in attendance.
MassWildlife is implementing the Learn-to-Hunt Program assisting new Hunter Education
graduates in the transition from the classroom to the field. Designed for adult Basic Hunter Education graduates with little or no hunting experience, participants can sign up for a one-day clinic or a 3-day in-depth workshop. Classroom and outdoor exercises help new hunters learn more about the skills and techniques used to hunt different game animals. Taught by Division staff and volunteers from sporting clubs and related organizations, this program utilizes the experience and knowledge of seasoned sportsmen and women. In the first year of this new program, 321 hunters participated.
During the year, it expanded programs in archery and recreational shooting resulting in the development of the Explore Archery Program. This program was created to promote a lifelong interest and participation in the sport of archery to participants of all ages. MassWildlife continued to train and certify instructors from recreation departments, nature centers, Scouting organizations, and schools. Successful completion of this program allows any certified instructor the ability to offer an archery program in their area and to borrow equipment from MassWildlife free of charge.
It has continued its very successful Youth Deer Hunt Day. Beyond the intrinsic benefits, this hunt serves as a great recruiting tool for developing hunting mentors.
In 2017, to complement the above programs, MassWildlife plans to partner with the UMASS Extension 4-H Youth Development Program to launch a 4-H© Shooting Sports Program in Massachusetts. It will focus on youth development and will be designed to empower young people with skills they can use for a lifetime. Young people will develop an understanding of natural resources and conservation ethics while learning marksmanship, the safe and responsible use of firearms, the principles of hunting and archery, and other valuable life skills including self-confidence, personal discipline, responsibility, and sportsmanship.
MassWildlife has updated its logo and has begun re-designing agency publications, signs and web pages for a consistent look and easily recognizable agency identity.
Director Buckley and his staff have got to be proud of the above accomplishments. However; Buckley acknowledges that what the Division does would not be possible without the strong support of hunters, anglers, and trappers. “Although we manage wildlife for the benefit and enjoyment of all citizens of the Commonwealth, the sportsmen and women are the financial backbone of MassWildlife. Your willingness to step up in supporting everything from land acquisition to the conservation of rare and endangered species demonstrates the broad view of the interconnectedness and importance of all wildlife … Thank you!”
Hoosic River Ranger
The mission of the Hoosic River Revival is to reconnect the community to a healthy, scenic, accessible, flood-controlled river, which will enhance North Adams’ recreational, cultural, and economic vitality.
The Hoosic River Revival has collaborated with the North Adams Public School System in the creation of an outdoor education curriculum which focuses on the historical and environmental learning opportunities along the Hoosic River levees at Noel Field in North Adams. This new offering, called “the Hoosic River Ranger” program, is an inter-active, interpretive walking tour for elementary school children.
Supplementing the River Ranger outdoor education curriculum is a new self-guided brochure from the Hoosic River Revival: the “Hoosic River Family Wildlife Walk” brochure. Created by Johanna Wasserman and the River Revival’s Social Media advisor, Bert Lamb, the brochure highlights a half-mile walk from Joe Wolfe Field to Hunter Foundry Road, and is now available in the North Adams Public Library, and at the Colegrove and Brayton schools. The brochure may also be downloaded from the Revival website: http://bit.ly/HRRwildlifewalk
2016 shotgun deer hunting season off to a good start
As of noon last Wednesday, 82 deer were checked in at the DFW Western District Headquarters in Dalton, MA. Some 52 were checked in on opening day. That figure is significantly higher than last year’s figure at the same time. Some of those deer were bruisers with beautiful antlers and good body weights.. For example, Peter Derby shot a 6 point buck in Hinsdale that weighed in at 202 lbs. Thomas Wiencek shot a 9 point buck in Cheshire that weighed 198 lbs. These were field dressed weights. To estimate their actual live weights, multiply the field dressed weight by 1.26. So the estimated live weight of Derby’s deer was approximately 255 lbs and Wiencik’s deer weighed approximately 249 lbs. Nice deer, ey?
The season was only two and a half days old and preliminary harvest numbers were not available from the outlying check stations. We do know that the Mill River check station weighed three huge deer; a 10 pointer weighing 181 lbs, an 8 pointer weighed in at 186 lbs and another 10 pointer which weighed 157 lbs. There was an 8 pointer shot in Richmond that weighed 176 lbs, an 8 pointer that weighed 179 lbs and a 10 pointer weighing 184 lbs shot in Lee. There was an 11 pointer that weighed in at 164 lbs in Monterey and a 12 pointer taken off of Mt Greylock that weighed 174 lbs. These large deer were in addition to the “normal” sized deer.
DFW Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden said that his office and the outlying check stations all exceeded last year’s harvest numbers for opening day. He attributed the high harvest numbers to the almost ideal conditions: ample snow for tracking and pleasant temperatures. On Tuesday and Wednesday, when I was at the office, the conditions were less than ideal with pretty good downpours. Even so, the hunters were not deterred. Around noon time on Tuesday there was a steady stream of hunters checking in their deer. That kept Madden and Wildlife Technician Derek McDermott out in the rain most of the day checking them in.
Effective last year, a third black bear hunting season was started which runs through the 2 week shotgun deer hunting season. As of noon on Wednesday, 4 bear were checked in at the Western District Check Stations. According to Madden, this indicates that all of the bears have not yet denned up for the winter in spite of the large snowfall which occurred the previous week. He did say; however, that hunters can still tag bears online during this season, so he doesn’t yet know what the tally is.
With the hard rainfall and fog on Tuesday and Wednesday, much of the snow melted and tracking might have been more difficult. But there was plenty of mud and soft ground so it was still possible to track the deer.
The shotgun deer hunting season runs until next Saturday, December 10. If you haven’t been able to get out yet, don’t worry. There appears to be a lot more deer out there this year, possibly due to the mild winter we had last year. This year’s shotgun harvest numbers should be relatively high. After that season, the primitive firearms (black powder) deer hunting season opens on Monday, December 12 and runs through Saturday, December 31.
Coyote Derby
Dave’s Sporting Goods in Pittsfield is having its Coyote Derby again this year. It will run until the end of coyote hunting season which is March 8, 2017. Entrance fee is $10 and prizes will be awarded to the person who bags the most coyotes, the largest coyote and there will also be a random draw.
Licenses on sale
The 2017 hunting, sporting, freshwater fishing, and trapping licenses are available for purchase through MassFishHunt, at a license vendor location, or at a DFW office. Good news! There are no increases in the license fees this year. In fact, there has not been a license fee increase since 1996.
At that time, Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Board Chairman George “Gige” Darey of Lenox, and the then DFW Director Wayne MacCallum calculated that with the $10 fee increase they imposed, they wouldn’t have to request another increase until the year 2006. It has now been twenty years.
How is that possible, you ask? Darey attributes it to several factors: good grant writing, division downsizing, modernization and priority. Darey said that during the downsizing, no one lost their jobs. One examples of modernization is that more and more pheasants are being bought, rather than raising then. This allows for excellent birds at lower prices because they are saving money on manpower costs. The Division is also utilizing more economical ways of raising the fish, too.
2016 Guides are available
You can now download your 2017 Massachusetts Guide to Hunting, Freshwater Fishing and Trapping Laws (formerly called the abstracts) or pick one up at a licensed vender or at a DFW office. This year’s cover has a nice picture of a coyote.
Listed in the 2017 Guide are the following changes: 1) Migratory game bird seasons and bag limits are now set in the Spring; 2) Federal Migratory Game Bird Stamps may be purchased online through MassFishHunt (mass.gov/massfishhunt) when purchasing your hunting license and state waterfowl stamp and 3)There are new Learn-to-Hunt and Explore archery and bowhunting programs that provide unique opportunities for new hunters and archers to gain important knowledge and skills.
In the 2017 Guide, DFW Director Jack Buckley highlighted some of the Division’s accomplishments during 2016. I plan to list them in next week’s column.
Shotgun deer hunting season opens tomorrow
Well, here we go again. Another sleepless night tossing and turning in anticipation of tomorrow’s opening day of shotgun deer hunting. Memories of previous opening days will undoubtedly flash through our minds. In my case, with the exception of a few years serving Uncle Sam, I have 59 such opening days to relive tonight. I might as well not even go to bed as I’ll be up before 4 AM anyway.
One memory that comes up regularly each year was the 1990 deer season. I had hunted in West Stockbridge one day with no luck, not seeing any deer or fresh tracks. Around noon, I was getting cold and decided to call it quits and go home early. Just before pulling onto my street, I changed my mind and decided to go up on October Mountain and hunt there for an hour or two.
Once there, I entered the woods behind where the old fire tower used to be. (Remember that place old timers?) My plan was to go down the wooded hill until I reached the edge of the swamp and take a stand there until around 3 PM. Then I planned to make a u-turn and come back to my truck.
I was hunting alone and it was a cold, windy day with a few spits of snow flurries. There was no snow on the ground for tracking, but upon approaching the swamp, I detected some freshly disturbed leaves indicating that a deer had recently passed through. I carefully, silently tracked the deer into the swamp. After a while I spotted it about 50 yards ahead in thick brush. It was motionless facing the other direction and had not detected me. I got down on one knee to steady my aim but there was a problem. Its legs and back were clearly visible but I couldn’t clearly see its head in the brush and couldn’t determine if it was a buck or doe. I didn’t have a doe permit.
After staying down on one knee for the longest time, my leg started to ache. I finally dropped onto two knees, but that didn’t spook the deer. It seemed like an hour passed with neither of us moving. I didn’t want to move my arm to see what time it was but I knew it was getting late…..perhaps 3 PM. Realizing I could stay no longer, I stood up and the deer spotted me and bounded off. I’ll never know what its sex was.
It was time to turn around and head back up the hill to my truck. While heading back out of the swamp, I began encountering thicker vegetation and the ground was becoming soggier. I didn’t remember it being that wet when I went in. After a while, it became clear that I had entered the swamp at some other location, with firmer, drier ground. I tried getting out of it at several different places but with no avail. It never occurred to me to use my compass as I only went into the woods a short way, plus I could see the hill that I wanted to get to on the other side of the swamp.
About then I was really concerned because the sun had set and it was becoming steadily darker. Reality was setting in that I was “turned around”. (Hunters don’t get lost, they just get turned around). They say not to panic at times like this and I kept telling myself just that. After all, I reasoned, I am not in some endless wild kingdom, but on October Mountain where I spent many hours hunting snowshoe hares with my beagles. In spite of that, my heart was pounding rapidly.
Experienced outdoorsmen say not to roam around in the dark, but get a good place against a lean-to or some other makeshift shelter, hunker down, light a fire if you can and wait until morning when you can see better. Don’t you know, I left my thermos, munchies and flashlight in the truck, thinking I wouldn’t be there long.
Then I remembered that I told my wife Jan that I would be hunting in West Stockbridge. No one knew I was here! There was no way to call her as cell phones weren’t around back then. When she gets home from work and finds me not there, she will probably call the police and report me missing and tell them I was hunting in West Stockbridge. After a while, there would perhaps be search parties, sirens, etc. Oh, the embarrassment of it all!
Well, I thought, if I am going to spend the night in these woods, I might as well spend it out of this swamp and on the dry hill behind me. Who knows, perhaps when I get high enough, I might be able to see where I originally crossed that swamp.
I was nearing the top of the hill, when I saw something shining up ahead. It was the moon reflecting off of my truck! Apparently in pursuit of that deer, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I am ever so grateful that I didn’t shoot that deer and for not persisting on crossing that swamp. If I did, I would still be there dragging it in the wrong direction.
I sure made some blunders that day. Can you name them all?
Here’s hoping you deer hunters have a safe and enjoyable hunt, and don’t make the blunders that I made that day
License to Carry Class:
The Lenox Sportsmen’s Club is sponsoring a Mass State Police Compliant LTC Course on Saturday, December 3, from 9 AM to 1 PM. The cost is $70.00 per person. Preregistration is required. If interested contact Tom Nadolny at 413-822-6451 or tnadolny1@gmail.com
Nick Lentine’s bucks
He got a couple of bucks
Last Saturday morning, Nick Lentine of Pownal, VT (formerly of North Adams, MA) left his house at 4 AM and went bowhunting in North Adams.
At 10:20 AM a 4 point buck chased a doe only about 12 yards away from his tree stand. About 20 minutes later a big 8-point buck came by and Nick made a perfect shot with his bow. He sat in his stand about 5 minutes and was getting ready to get down to check on the buck when, to his astonishment, a 13-point buck came by. He quickly grabbed another arrow and made a second perfect shot. (Hunters are allowed to take two bucks in the same day in Massachusetts.)
He said that it took him and his friends 5 hours to get those two deer out of the woods. No wonder for the 8-point buck weighed 198 lbs dressed and the 13-pointer weighed in at 178 lbs. He couldn’t thank his friends enough for dropping what they were doing to come and help and share this special moment with him
As Nick said, “The joy they all shared together will be a memory forever. It was a once in a lifetime (occurrence)! (It is) every hunter’s dream.”
He is getting both heads mounted by Rick LaBlue Taxidermy in North Adams. The Pope & Young “green scores” are: 8-pt – 138 7/8 and 13- pt – 158 3/8 which may put him into the record book.
Many thanks go to Nick’s wife Jocelyn for bringing this story to our attention. She is every bit as excited and proud as he is over his great feat.
Keep CWD away
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious neurological disease that is fatal to deer, elk, and moose. It attacks the brains of infected animals, resulting in their becoming emaciated, exhibiting abnormal behavior, and eventually dying. Infected deer may spread the infectious agents through urine, feces, saliva, etc., for months before showing any clinical symptoms.
According to MA DFW Deer & Moose Project Leader David Stainbrook, no CWD infected deer have been found in Massachusetts.
In order to keep CWD from coming into MA, certain restrictions to the movement of deer and deer parts have been put in place. It is illegal to import deer parts from states or provinces where CWD has been detected in OH, MD, NY, PA, VA, WV, and at least 17 other states and two Canadian Provinces. It is legal to import deboned meat, clean skull caps, hides without the head, or a fixed taxidermy mount. No live deer of any species may be brought into Massachusetts for any purpose.
Recently the State of VT joined Arizona, Virginia, Ontario, and parts of Pennsylvania in banning the use of natural deer urine lures by hunters. As previously noted, CWD is spread by deer urine and other bodily fluids. After infected fluid is deposited in soil, it can remain infectious for decades. Deer are able to contract CWD and spread the disease for up to a year before they demonstrate any symptoms of the disease.
Deer can only be tested for CWD after they die. Therefore, facilities may be producing and selling deer urine lures from deer herds that show no symptoms of the disease but are actually infected with CWD. According to the VT Fish & Wildlife, this happened in Pennsylvania – the first case of CWD was recorded in a captive deer facility that claimed to be “CWD-free” and was selling deer urine lures online.
It is impossible to track and recall bottles of lure that have been sold from an infected facility, so hunters could unknowingly continue to use urine that likely contains CWD prions and risk spreading the disease. Even if most captive deer herds are actually “CWD-free, ” urine lures from different sources are commonly mixed so all it would take is one infected herd to create a problem.
Once CWD is established in wild deer herds, no state has been able to control it despite considerable effort and expense. They urge hunters to destroy existing urine lures. Synthetic lures and food-scented lures pose no threat to the herd and are still permitted for use by hunters in Vermont
Stainbrook agrees that the prions can remain infectious in the landscape for years and even be taken up by plants. So adding urine to the landscape can certainly increase the risk of CWD being introduced to new areas and increase disease transmission. There is no cheap or easy way to test for these prions (e.g., to make sure a bottle of urine is CWD free). He suggests using the artificial replacements instead. He said that to date, they do not have a proposal in Massachusetts to ban natural deer urine.
Incidentally, if you see a deer or moose in Massachusetts exhibiting any signs of this disease or any other disease, please contact MassWildlife at 508-389-6300.
An Up-Close Look at Wildlife
The Liebowitz Center for International Studies in Great Barrington will be hosting an event entitled, “An Up-Close Look at Wildlife” on Wednesday, November 30, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. The Center is located at the corner of Alford Road and Hurlburt Road in Great Barrington.
You are invited to join them for an evening of photographs and videos of wildlife found in Berkshire County. While we’ve often had bear sightings, do you ever wonder about their behavior beyond the glimpses we get? Dr. Richard Greene, a local outdoors enthusiast, will talk about a technique called “camera trapping,” discuss its use in conservation and science, and show photos and videos that he’s taken using this technique.
This free event is co-hosted by the Sustainability Committee and the Cool Sightings book project. For more information contact Karen at (413)528-7247. Space is limited.
Questions/comments: Berkwoodsandwaters@roadrunner.com. Phone: (413) 637-1818