RI DEM Trout Stocking for Columbus Day

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber

DEM Stocking Local Waters With Trout For Columbus Day Weekend

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will begin stocking trout in ponds across Rhode Island next week in advance of Columbus Day weekend – a popular time for recreational fishing.

The following waters will be stocked with rainbow and brook trout before Columbus Day

• Burrillville – Round Top Ponds
• Charlestown – Lower Shannock, Pawcatuck River
• Coventry – Carbuncle Pond
• Exeter – Breakheart Pond, Browning Mill Pond
• Glocester – Spring Grove Pond
• Lincoln – Olney Pond (Lincoln Woods State Park)
• North Kingstown – Silver Spring Lake
• Richmond – Meadowbrook Pond, Beaver River, Wyoming Pond
• Scituate – Hope Mill Landing, Upper Pawtuxet River
• South Kingstown – Barber Pond
• Other selected areas on the Wood and Pawcatuck Rivers.

For daily stocking updates, follow DEM's outdoor education page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RIFishwildlife/

Anglers and other recreationists are reminded that at this time of the year, the threat of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae may be found in Rhode Island lakes and ponds. Currently there are several advisories statewide. There is an advisory at Spectacle Pond, Blackamore Pond, Cranston; Central Pond, Ten Mile River, Omega Pond, Turner Reservoir, East Providence; Almy Pond, Newport; Tarkiln Pond, North Smithfield; Melville Ponds, Sisson Pond, Portsmouth; Mashapaug Pond, Roosevelt, Willow, Edgewood, and Pleasure Lakes, Japanese Gardens (all in Roger Williams Park), Providence; and Slack Reservoir, Smithfield-Johnston; and Little Pond, Warwick. Anglers and others should avoid these ponds for recreation. Waters with cyanobacteria and/or blue-green algae are toxic to animals.

Vermont: Officials Monitoring CWD Discovery in Quebec Province

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

MONTPELIER, VT -- Canadian officials confirmed on September 14 the first positive case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a captive red deer herd in Quebec province. With the infected deer housed within 100 miles of the Vermont border, wildlife officials expressed concern for its proximity to the state and are carefully monitoring the potential for movement of deer across the border.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department issued a reminder to hunters traveling outside Vermont to hunt--and now particularly to Quebec--that the regulation restricting the importation of deer and elk carcasses, which is designed to protect Vermont's wild deer from chronic wasting disease, remains in effect and will be fully enforced.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal disease of the brain and nervous system in deer and elk. Abnormal prion proteins produce lesions in the brain that cause disorientation and emaciation in conjunction with other abnormal behaviors. For the latest information on CWD, check these websites: www.vtfishandwildlife.co
www.cwd-info

Hunters are also reminded that it is illegal to use deer urine lures in Vermont. Urine lures were banned because of the potential for CWD prion proteins to be introduced to the environment through the bodily fluids of CWD-positive ungulates and then persist in the environment for extended periods of time.

Vermont rules on importing and possession of deer or elk from areas with chronic wasting disease (CWD) and captive hunt areas or farms:

It is illegal to import or possess deer or elk, or parts of deer or elk, from states and Canadian provinces that have had chronic wasting disease, or from captive hunt or farm facilities with the following exceptions:

• • Meat that is cut up, packaged and labeled with hunting license information and not mixed with other deer or elk during processing;
  • Meat that is boneless;
  • Hides or capes with no part of the head attached;
  • Clean skull-cap with antlers attached;
  • Antlers with no other meat or tissue attached;
  • Finished taxidermy heads;
  • Upper canine teeth with no tissue attached.

Vermont's CWD importation regulations apply to hunters bringing in deer or elk carcasses from the following states and provinces, which now includes Quebec province:

Alberta, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New

Youth Duck Hunting Seminar

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

The RI Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited announces the fourth annual mentored Youth Waterfowl Hunt and Training. All youth’s age 12 to 15 that have completed a Hunter Education class are invited to attend!

Registration and participation in the training event on 9/19 is required to participate in the mentored hunt on Saturday, October 27, 2018. More info here: http://bit.ly/2MVP8kd

Youth Waterfowl Hunt Orientation and Training – FREE!
• Wednesday, September 19, 2018 5 PM to 8 PM
• Great Swamp Offices and Shooting Range
277 Great Neck Road, West Kingston, RI 02892
The training session will cover the following topics:
- Proper gear and clothing - Waterfowl equipment
- Rules and Regulations - Waterfowl Identification
- Firearm safety in the field - Hunting with dogs
- Clay target shooting – We will provide safety gear and 12 & 20 gauge ammunition. You may bring your own shotgun or borrow one of ours.
• Food and beverages provided by the Federated Rhode Island Sportsman Club.

Foxes could help combat Lyme disease

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Lyme disease has spread at an alarming rate in Vermont and continues to grow. Last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Vermont was listed at No. 1 in the country for confirmed cases of Lyme disease and is designated as an “endemic state.” In addition, a study done by Dr. Marie J. George of the Infectious Disease Department at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in 2017, found upwards of 63 percent of ticks were infected statewide with at least one tick-borne illness, with some carrying two at the same time.

Ticks and Lyme disease are an enormous public health concern that must be addressed immediately. The smartest choice to tackle this issue is to work with Mother Nature rather than against. This means placing a moratorium on the recreational and commercial killing of foxes in Vermont. Foxes are a main predator of white footed mice who are an effective carrier and a key host of Lyme disease. Interventions, such as culling the deer population or spraying harmful tick-killing pesticides on lawns and clothing, have made minimal differences in lessening the spread of ticks and ultimately end up being short-term solutions. Protecting Vermont’s predators such as foxes and allowing their population to grow is getting more to the root of the problem, as opposed to quick fixes.

Research studies have shown that there is a link between the increase of mice populations and activity and the decline of predators that hunt mice, such as foxes. Mice infect up to 95 percent of ticks that feed on them and are responsible for infecting the majority of ticks carrying Lyme disease in the Northeast. If a moratorium is placed on the recreational and commercial killing of foxes in Vermont, there is a strong possibility that we may see a decline in the spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. This increased level of predator activity means fewer mice supplying blood meals for the next generation of ticks, which results in fewer ticks becoming infected. Addressing the root cause of the problem is a commonsense approach that does not present any downsides.

This safe, sensible and effective policy of halting the sport killing of foxes may have tremendous and lifesaving results for the health and safety for Vermont residents.

The health benefits of establishing a moratorium on the hunting and trapping of foxes far outweigh any recreational benefits experienced by a small fraction of Vermonters. No one can equate the paltry price of a fox pelt with the cost of bearing Lyme disease or other tick-borne illnesses. Taking a modest, evidenced-based step to combat the rapidly growing rate of tick-borne diseases is well worth the time and effort of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board to consider.

Please sign the petition online urging the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board to place a moratorium on the commercial and recreational killing of Vermont foxes. I also encourage you to email, write or call Louis Porter, the Commissioner of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, asking him to pass this moratorium.

Source: Lindzey Beal

Vermont’s Archery Deer Season Starts Oct. 6

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

MONTPELIER, Vt. – The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department says hunters are looking forward to Vermont’s upcoming October 6- November 2 and December 1-9archery deer hunting season.

A hunter may take up to two deer in Vermont’s two-part archery season with the purchase of two archery licenses. No more than one of the deer taken during archery season may be a legal buck. Antlerless deer hunting is allowed statewide this year during archery season.

In Vermont a hunter may take up to three deer in a calendar year in any combination of seasons (Archery, Youth Weekend, November Rifle Season, December Muzzleloader). Of these, only two may be legal bucks, and only one buck may be taken in each season. A “legal buck” is a deer with at least one antler having two or more points one inch or longer. All three deer in the annual bag limit may be antlerless deer.

Hunters must have a standard hunting license in order to purchase an add-on archery deer hunting license, except that nonresidents may purchase an "archery only deer license" costing $75. Licenses may be quickly and easily purchased on Fish & Wildlife’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com).

Hunters planning a Vermont archery deer hunting trip should download a copy of the 2017 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report from Fish & Wildlife’s website. It has the number of deer taken in each town in last year’s deer hunting seasons. Hunters took 3,578 deer during the 2017 archery season, and the average of the last three years is 3,481.

For more information and a summary of regulations, download the 2018 Deer Season Guide on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website. For more help, Email (fwinformation@vermont.gov) or call 802-828-1000.

Massachusetts: Events Calendar

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Upcoming events

September 5: Youth Fishing Clinic, Sudbury September 8: Harold Parker State Forest Family Fishing Festival, Andover September 13: Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Advisory Committee Meeting, Westborough September 16: Decoy Placement for Effective Waterfowl Hunting Clinic, Berlin September 18: Family Fishing Clinic, Wakefield September 19: Family Fishing Clinic, Shrewsbury September 23: Massachusetts Outdoor Expo (The Big MOE), Sturbridge September 25: Fisheries and Wildlife Board Meeting, Belchertown September 26: Family Fishing Clinic, Lexington September 29: Fearing Pond Family Fishing Festival, Plymouth October 22: Picking the Right Gear for Deer Hunting Season Clinic, Berlin See Calendar of Events...

Phenoloy Calander For First Two Weeks Of September

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

First Week of September

Monarch butterflies begin their long southward migration.

If tobacco hornworms are visiting your tomato plants, you may also find pupae of the parasitoid braconid wasps attached to the shriveled hornworms. They look a bit like small, white grains of rice.

Ruffed grouse broods begin to break up. Juveniles may move far away.

Luna moth larvae drop from their feeding trees and search for a suitable place to spin a cocoon in which the pupa will hibernate.

Second Week of September

When nights are cold, bumblebees will be found sleeping in flowers the next morning.

Mating season for moose begins and may continue to the first week in October.

The rusty red look of black locust leaves is probably the result of feeding by locust leaf miner larvae earlier in the summer. By now, the adult beetles have entered the litter for the winter.

Coopers hawks are heading south, picking off mourning doves and smaller birds on the way.
Sourc: Virginia Barlow Northern Woodlands