Travis Buttle is Vermont’s Warden of the Year

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

MONTPELIER, Vt. – State Game Warden Sergeant Travis Buttle of Shaftsbury is Vermont's Game Warden of the Year.  A game warden since 1996, Buttle was nominated by his peers and received the award in recognition of his excellent service.

 

"I want to thank Travis for his outstanding performance in protecting Vermont's fish and wildlife resources and serving the people of Vermont," said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter.  “Sergeant Buttle was chosen for his integrity, professionalism and high motivation in all of his work duties, and because he has earned respect from other wardens and the public.”

 

“This nomination by Sergeant Buttle’s peers is in recognition of his outstanding work ethic, his ability to conduct thorough investigations, his building of community support for fish and wildlife enforcement while acting as the department’s spokesperson in his community, and for providing training to the Vermont Law Enforcement community at large,” said Colonel Jason Batchelder, Vermont’s chief game warden. 

 

“Sergeant Buttle has been in the Southern District for 24 years, assigned to the Bennington District for that entire time.  He is a reliable and dependable warden and a fair and impartial investigator who serves with distinction on a regular basis.  Travis is a prime example of a community-oriented law enforcement officer who is empathetic, courteous, professional, and responsive to the public.”

Travis Buttle’s warden district includes the towns of Shaftsbury, Glastenbury, Bennington, Woodford, Pownal, and Stamford.

Governor Lamont Signs Order Opening Connecticut’s Fishing Season Early

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Trout Fishing Season Opening Early to Encourage Social Distancing, Anglers Reminded to Exercise Caution if Fishing on Late-Season Ice

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed an executive order removing closed seasons for fishing on all inland waters in Connecticut, and opening additional lakes, ponds, as well as rivers and streams to fishing statewide, effective today. The governor signed a similar order last year to open the state’s fishing season early at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Executive Order No. 10B removes prohibitions on fishing for trout, effectively advancing opening day of trout season from April 10, 2021 to today. The governor said that opening the fishing season early permits anglers to enjoy additional access to outdoor recreation, which has been a help to residents’ mental and physical health.

“Opening the fishing season early helps to reduce opening day crowds and limit the potential for spread of COVID-19,” Governor Lamont said. “Anglers are encouraged to continue to practice social distancing, and we encourage fishing to be enjoyed only with members of your immediate household and not as a group activity.”

Connecticut saw a 17 percent increase in new fishing and hunting license sales last year, evidence of how residents are enjoying the state’s spectacular fisheries and natural resources as a safe respite during the pandemic.

The Fisheries Division of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) began its 2021 spring stocking of all traditional trout fishing areas in early February. There are also plenty of opportunities to fish for bass, pike, walleye, catfish, and carp in areas that are usually closed at this time of year. Anglers are reminded to purchase 2021 fishing licenses, Trout & Salmon Stamp, and Youth Fishing Passports online, through DEEP’s mobile friendly website or access through DEEP’s main fishing website.

Important Reminders

Rivers & Streams: DEEP will be stocking throughout March and early April and anglers are encouraged to enjoy early season fishing on rivers and streams that are traditionally closed during this time.

Ice Fishing: Ice fishing opportunities may exist on some waters in parts of Connecticut. DEEP does not monitor ice thickness and warns all anglers to exercise caution if planning to fish on the ice. DEEP reminds winter anglers that safety comes first. Be aware that ice thickness varies on all waterbodies due to a number of environmental factors, including in-lake water circulatory patterns. Please check the late season ice carefully before venturing out and check repeatedly to make sure that ice thicknesses are sufficient. Remember, late season ice is not as safe as early season ice. Thickness that would be safe at the beginning of the season should be viewed with caution now. If in doubt, DO NOT GO. Always let someone know where you are going and when you will return. Visit the DEEP Ice Safety webpage for more information.

Social Distancing: Anglers should maintain a distance of at least six feet from others, practice good personal hygiene, and stay home and away from others if you feel sick. If you arrive at a favorite fishing spot and see that crowds are forming, choose a different location, or return another day or time. Please respect social distancing for your safety and that of our staff if you encounter DEEP’s hard-working staff stocking trout.

Boat Launches: All of DEEP’s 117 boat launches located throughout the state remain open provided the launch is free from snow/ice, although docks will not be in place yet. DEEP reminds boaters that social distancing rules still apply and all boaters are encouraged to consider the size of the vessel, the number of people on board, and the ability of people to keep separation distances. From October 1st through May 31st, you must wear a Life Jacket (state law). All children 12 and under must wear a Life Jacket. Whether fishing from a kayak, canoe, rowboat, or outboard a PFD can save your life should you capsize.

While Executive Order No. 10B opens water to fishing, all other fishing laws and regulations, including requirements for a fishing license and trout and salmon stamp when needed, and all methods, creel limits and length limits remain in effect. The executive order does not change the regulations for Trout Management Areas that are currently open for catch and release fishing only nor does it change the one fish per day, 16 inch minimum length, currently in effect at Trout Management Lakes.

DEEP has many great sources of information available to anglers through social media, email, and the agency’s improved website. The 2021 Connecticut Fishing Guide has loads of valuable information for anglers, as do the DEEP Fisheries and Wildlife pages on Facebook (facebook.com/CTFishandWildlife) and Twitter (twitter.com/CTFishWildlife). Questions about fish or fishing can be emailed directly to mike.beauchene@ct.gov, who can provide assistance in as timely a manner as possible during normal working hours.

Abenaki Chef Jessee Lawyer to Join Vermont Wild Kitchen March 18

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber  Photos by Wayne G. Barber 

Since spring of 2020, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has partnered with the Vermont Farm to Plate Network to host the Vermont Wild Kitchen, a Facebook Live cooking show taking place on the third Thursday of each month.  March’s episode will feature Abenaki Chef Jessee Lawyer who will prepare traditional Abenaki ingredients with a modern twist.  Some wild and local ingredients Lawyer plans on using include deer shank, bear fat, garlic, sumac, and more.

“We’re so grateful for Chef Jessee to join us in the Vermont Wild Kitchen to demonstrate how to create a seasonal meal showcasing Native techniques and ingredients,” said Shane Rogers, Farm to Plate communications manager at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.  “He brings such a wealth of knowledge to the table and we are excited to be able to help share that to Vermonters around the state.”

Since the first episode aired in April, the series has gained a considerable following by featuring easy recipes using wild and local Vermont ingredients available to anyone along with demonstrations on how to identify and process wild ingredients.  All of the featured guests are home cooks who are also hunters, anglers, foragers, and farmers demonstrating their own favorite recipes utilizing local foods that are rooted in Vermont.  Segments have included how to fillet and fry a fish, roasting squash au gratin, and preparing nettles.

“Vermont Wild Kitchen allows us to explore wild food and make it more accessible to Vermonters,” said Nicole Meier, Hunter Education Program Coordinator for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.  “With the episodes being unscripted and run by home cooks in their own kitchens, it has been such a fun way to connect to Vermonters, especially as many of us are doing more cooking at home and looking for new and fun ingredients to work it.”

The next episode of Vermont Wild Kitchen will air on March 18, 2021 at 5pm on Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/rootedinvermont.

The Mourning Dove will always have a special place at our feeders.

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photos Credit is Wayne G. Barber Library

The Mourning Dove holds a special place in a birders heart, and ears. This scribe describes  them as the "Turtle Dove of Connecticut". My memory recalls a famous Christmas song with them also called the 12 days of Christmas. In the past century the pigeon/dove type bird was called the Carolina Dove. It breeds throughout North America from southern Canada to Mexico and winters from south of the Great Lakes to Panama. Since 1920 it has become more common in the northern part of its range. Mourning Doves do migrate, at least in the north and the birds you are now seeing came down in winter from up farther on the continent , not the same individuals you fed and saw all summer.

 Many passionate backyard birders find the soft, distinctive cooing of this dove to be calming and utterly peaceful. The birds constantly vocalize and that's where they get their name, because of their mournful call. The dove is a bird of lawns, shade trees, orchards, open woodlands,  roadsides, barnyards, farmlands, sand dunes, beaches and open meadows. In the west it frequents plains  and mountains, and breads to the elevation of 8,000 feet. The species has benefited by the settlement of North America, Fields, woodlots, hedgerows also overgrazed pastures and abandoned farms.

 On the ground the bird walks instead of hopping and bobs its head as it walks. The gravel it picks up is used in its crop as an aid to digestion. Like other doves and pigeons, but unlike most birds, it can drink without raising its head. Ours love to bask in the sun on a sandy spot, with its breast flat on the ground and its head bent back over its shoulder. It sometimes tries to lure intruders from its nest by limping along the ground, pretending, it has a broken wing. Its flight is swift, 55 mph, and it is usually direct, but many times be erratic, particularly in the wind.. Their wings beat 147 times per minute. I have observed that they regularly fly in by three bird formation. The two adults and one off-spring In the North, the average bird adult weight is 140 grams and the in the South it is 100 grams. This follows Barber's rule that individuals of the same species tend to become larger in cooler climates. Males outnumber females by 13 percent when immature, by 28 per cent when adult.

Both sexes share in incubation and brooding. The male sits for 8 hours and the female sits the remainder of the time. She raises two broods each year in the North and three or four in the South.

Description:  About 12 inches in length, small head: bill is slender and swollen at the base: wings and tail, long and pointed: legs, short. Brown head: buffy gray body with a slight bluish cast on wings: black spot below eye. Incubation in my yard is about 14to 15 days. I would say the young stay at the nest for 13 to 15 days. Both parents secrete a milky substance and are fed this for at least 7 days from the lining of the adult crop and regurgitated into the mouths of the young. The muscles of its throat seem to twitch and the birds milk come up for the young to swallow. Very popular hunting bird down south and the hunter will scout the watering holes that the birds every day repeat going back to twice. My good friends at the Audubon Society census show the bird in the top 25 most common in our annual nationwide bird counts. Normally will only feed on the ground and to encourage the gorgeous Turtle Doves to visit your yard, install an open platform feeder or just scatter seeds across the ground. Wild grasses, grains and ragweed are part of their varied diet and they will eat larger sunflower seeds and a shelled peanut too on occasion. Turtle Doves and Pigeons are a favorite warm meal for domestic cats, ferrel cats and dogs and our local Northern Goshawk and our Red Tailed Hawk who are part of our back yard eco-system. Do you have a favorite at your feeders ?

Take MassWildlife’s bathymetry data on your next ice fishing trip!

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Pull up the digital map on your phone, find your location, and view depth of waters under the ice.

If you’re fishing on one of the 168 Massachusetts ponds with digital bathymetry (depth) information, you can use your mobile device to access a pond map and see this depth information in real time as you walk. Gone are the days of drilling a hole only to find you’ve hit a shallow, weedy area. By using the My Location feature on the Go Fish MA! digital map, you can target fish species based on depth. Jigging for perch? Find a depth where the fish are feeding and then follow that depth around the lake. Want to target bass or pickerel? Stick to flats or edges of drop-offs.

To get started:

• Launch the Go Fish Here! digital fishing map
• Use the filter tool at the bottom center of the map to narrow your search to show ponds with Digital Depth, then zoom in to see the bathymetry
• If you’re at a pond, click the My Location button (looks like a circle or crosshair, see image above) to show your movements in real time

Ponds without digital bathymetry still offer valuable information about the waterbody. Use the map to find pond map summaries for details about access and fish populations for that waterbody along with a pdf bathymetric map.

Always consider ice to be potentially dangerous, and review these ice strength and safety tips before you head out.

Let us know how we’re doing. Leave feedback about this map and its functionality at the bottom of the web page. Source; Mass Wildlife 

Let's Go Ice Fishing

Night Ice Fishing in you State ?

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Please send me a reply to waynewnri@yahoo.com  If you have ever tried this on your hard water.