Three Barnet Men Arrested in Deer Poaching Incident

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Three Barnet Men Arrested in Deer Poaching Incident

One Man Previously Convicted of Two Dozen Fish and Wildlife Crimes

 

DANVILLE, Vt. – Three Barnet men were recently arrested and charged with multiple counts related to a nighttime deer poaching incident. 

 

Carl Sanborn, 47, and his son Jonathan Sanborn, 20, allegedly shot with a bow and arrow at a deer decoy on the night of Saturday, October 21.  The decoy was placed by Vermont State Game Wardens in an area in Danville with a strong history of poaching activity.  The vehicle, a convertible driven by a juvenile, aged 16, then led wardens on a high-speed pursuit.  Another 13-year-old juvenile was also in the vehicle and is not being charged. 

 

During the pursuit, a bow and rangefinder were thrown from the vehicle and recovered by wardens.  An official Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department emblem, owned by the State of Vermont, was found affixed to the front of the vehicle at the time it was stopped. 

 

Carl Sanborn is being charged with seven counts, including taking big game by illegal means, hunting while under revocation, failure to stop for a game warden, and contributing to juvenile delinquency.  He faces more than two years in prison and $14,000 in fines.  Sanborn has previously been convicted of 24 fish and wildlife crimes dating back to 1993, and was sentenced to 81 days and fined $6,800 because of the convictions. 

 

Jonathan Sanborn was charged with six counts and faces more than two years in prison and $8,000 in fines. 

 

The 16-year-old will be processed as a juvenile.  He was charged with eight counts, including a felony charge for attempting to elude police, and faces more than eight years in prison and $12,000 in fines.

 

The car, registered to Carl Sanborn, along with the bow, rangefinder, and light were all seized and stand to be forfeited to the state upon conviction.  All three men also stand to lose their hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for three years. 

 

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is asking anyone with information about any poaching activity to call their local warden through their nearest state police dispatch, or they may leave an anonymous tip to Operation Game Thief at 1-800-75ALERT (1-800-752-5378).  

 

Return for a fifth time, our special guest, Maine Guide Lorenda DayCoombs.

Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

News, Fish Stockings, Abstract Changes, Solunar Tables, Community and Event Calendar and interviews too !

Today taking a day off from guiding and her ever growing real estate business will be Lorenda DayCoombs of     www.southernmaineguideservice.com

Thank You, to our listeners and quality E-mails on todays program

Maine Fisherman Sentenced for Illegally Trafficking American Eels

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Richard D. Austin was sentenced to 24 months' imprisonment yesterday for trafficking juvenile American eels (also called "elvers" or "glass eels") in violation of the Lacey Act, following a hearing in federal district court in Norfolk, Virginia. The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Dana J. Boente.

In April 2017, Austin, who has several previous wildlife-related convictions, pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act by selling elvers in interstate commerce that he had harvested illegally in Virginia and Massachusetts. Court documents indicate that Austin trafficked at least 147 pounds of elvers, which is approximately 300,000 individual eels, and worth more than $162,000. Austin sold these eels to exporters, who then exported them from the United States to international markets.

"Illegal harvesting and trafficking of wildlife represents a dire threat to our critical ecosystems," said U.S. Attorney Boente. "This case reaffirms our commitment to protecting Virginia's natural resources for future generations."

"Today's sentencing sends a strong message to those who choose to exploit and illegally traffic our native wildlife," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Chief of Law Enforcement, Ed Grace. "We appreciate the dedication of the Department of Justice, and our partners involved in this case, and will continue to work with federal, state, and local conservation law enforcement officials to combat the illegal wildlife trade."

Eels are highly valued in east Asia for human consumption. Historically, Japanese and European eels were harvested to meet this demand; however, overfishing has led to a decline in these populations. As a result, harvesters have turned to the American eel to fill the void. American eels spawn in the Sargasso Sea, an area of the North Atlantic Ocean bounded on all sides by ocean currents. They then travel as larvae from the Sargasso to the coastal waters of the eastern United States, where they enter a juvenile or elver stage, swim upriver and grow to adulthood in fresh water. Elvers are exported for aquaculture in East Asia, where they are raised to adult size and sold for food. Harvesters and exporters of American eels in the United States can sell elvers to East Asia for more than $2,000 per pound.

Because of the threat of overfishing, Atlantic Coast states have cooperatively prohibited elver harvesting in all but two states: Maine and South Carolina. Maine and South Carolina heavily regulate elver fisheries, requiring that individuals be licensed and report all quantities of harvested eels to state authorities. Other Atlantic coast states, including Virginia, have commercial fisheries for adult or "yellow" eels.

This case was the result of "Operation Broken Glass," a multi-jurisdiction U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigation into the illegal trafficking of American eels. To date, the investigation has resulted in guilty pleas for 18 individuals whose combined conduct resulted in the illegal trafficking of more than $5 million worth of elvers.

"In this operation, we are actively partnering with state and federal law enforcement agencies in order to protect our nation's marine resources from further exploitation." said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood.

Operation Broken Glass was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section in collaboration with the Maine Marine Patrol, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Bureau of Law Enforcement, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Conservation Police, Virginia Marine Resources Commission Police, USFWS Refuge Law Enforcement, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, Massachusetts Environmental Police, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Law Enforcement, New York State Environmental Conservation Police, New Hampshire Fish and Game Division of Law Enforcement, Maryland Natural Resources Police, North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission Division of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Yarmouth, Massachusetts Division of Natural Resources, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Police Department and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Habitat Restoration Project Underway in Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

A multi-dam removal and habitat restoration project is underway at Hamant Brook in Sturbridge, MA.

Sturbridge — A multi-dam removal and habitat restoration project is underway at Hamant Brook in Sturbridge, MA. Hamant Brook is a coldwater stream running through 880 acres of protected municipal conservation land named the Leadmine Conservation Area. To restore ¾ of a mile of coldwater stream, three consecutive dams will be removed on Hamant Brook: the Upper and Middle Pond Dams, owned by the Town of Sturbridge, and the Lower Dam, owned by Old Sturbridge Village. The dam removals will eliminate a public safety hazard, improve water quality, reduce flooding risks, and restore habitat for native trout, endangered turtles, and other wildlife. Additionally, the project will improve parking and public access to a popular town conservation area with the installation of educational and trail kiosks. Public access to this site is prohibited while construction is underway.
 “Investments in projects like this not only enhances ecological and safety values but also recreational value,” said Ron Amidon, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Commissioner. “Restoring the coldwater habitat here will furnish an exceptional opportunity for anglers to catch native brook trout.”
"This habitat restoration project enhances ongoing habitat management efforts by MassWildlife and other conservation-minded public and private landowners," said Jack Buckley, MassWildlife Director. "It also complements the state's collaborative land protection efforts in the Sturbridge area."
In 2006, MassWildlife obtained a Conservation Restriction from the Town of Sturbridge on the Leadmine Mountain Conservation Area. This effort nearly doubled the size of protected open space adjacent to MassWildlife’s own Leadmine Wildlife Management Area. This land conservation collaborative contributed nearly 2,000 acres of protected land open to the public in the southern part of Sturbridge.
The Hamant Brook Project also affords opportunities for scientists to document the effects of dam removal on a coldwater stream. Following the completion of the project, MassWildlife fisheries biologists will conduct surveys on a periodic basis to monitor the fish communities living in this important habitat over time. “These dam removals will improve water quality within Hamant Brook, reduce stream temperatures and improve the resiliency of the stream to the impacts of climate change,” said Todd Richards, MassWildlife Assistant Director of Fisheries. “The broader goal of the work is to improve water quality and habitat in the Quinebaug River.”
“The Hamant Brook restoration project is a success thanks to the great efforts of many partners. With the removal of these three dams, we not only permanently reconnect the stream habitat, but also multiply the public land conservation efforts and restore the former impoundments to improve water quality and restore coldwater habitat within a protected conservation area,” said Amy Singler, Project Manager at American Rivers.
Funding for the Hamant Brook Restoration Project is provided by Millennium Power and many other project partners, including the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture.

Connecticut; DEEP Reports Small Die-off in Local White-tailed Deer Herd Hemorrhagic disease confirmed in Middletown deer

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

DEEP Reports Small Die-off in Local White-tailed Deer Herd
Hemorrhagic disease confirmed in Middletown deer.

Since early September, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Division has documented in more than 50 white-tailed deer exhibiting symptoms associated with Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHDV-6), primarily in the towns of Middletown and Portland, with a few in Chester, Haddam, and Lyme.

EHDV-6 is transmitted to deer by tiny biting flies (midges). Although the virus has also been detected in other mammals, including mule deer, elk, and domestic cattle, white-tailed deer represent 95% of the affected animals. Once infected, the disease progresses rapidly with deer exhibiting symptoms that include swollen head, neck, tongue, or eyelids with a bloody discharge from the nasal cavity; ulcers on the tongue; and hemorrhaging of the heart and lungs followed by death within three to five days. The virus also creates high feverish conditions, causing infected deer to sometimes be found in or near water sources.

Concern over hemorrhagic disease should not limit hunter willingness to harvest deer during the hunting season. The disease does not infect humans, and people are not at risk by eating venison from or handling infected deer, or by being bitten by infected midges. The disease rarely causes illness in domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, and cats. However, hunters are advised to exercise caution if they observe a deer that is behaving abnormally or appears sick and avoid shooting, handling, or consuming that animal. When field dressing deer, hunters should wear latex or rubber gloves and disinfect any instruments that come in contact with the animal.

The DEEP Wildlife Division first learned of several dead deer in the Portland/Middletown area from a concerned hunter. The reported deer were in various stages of decay with some lying along the river bank, while others were floating in the water. On October 15, 2017, the DEEP received confirmation from the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study group that a deer from Middletown tested positive for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 6 (EHDV-6).

Prior to 2004, only two subtypes of Hemorrhagic Disease were documented in North America (EHDV-1, 2). EHDV-6 was first detected in 2006 in Indiana and Illinois, and has since been reported throughout the Midwest, and from Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland.
Outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease routinely occur during late summer and early fall as the number of midges increase, and ceases with the onset of a hard frost, which kills the midges carrying the virus. Although temperatures have dipped into the upper 30’s along the Connecticut River in recent days, a hard frost has not occurred.

The DEEP is encouraging anyone who observes deer appearing emaciated, behaving strangely, or lying dead along the edge of waterbodies to report the information, along with the closest address, to the DEEP’s 24-hour Emergency Dispatch Center at 860-424-3333, the DEEP Wildlife Division at 860-418-5921, or send an email to Andrew.labonte@ct.gov.

State experts predict uptick in tick-borne diseases will continue

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

A blacklegged tick, commonly known as a deer tick. Photo courtesy of Vermont Department of Health

Health officials fear that record numbers of Vermonters will acquire tick-borne diseases this fall after a record-setting summer.

It’s not clear what’s causing the increased number of tick-borne diseases, but the trend doesn’t appear to be solely the result of better testing or greater awareness, said Bradley Tompkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Vermont Health Department.
Health workers have already seen a record number of anaplasmosis cases, Tompkins said, and there are indications that pattern will continue through the fall.
Tick-borne illnesses will continue to be a concern at least through Thanksgiving, Tompkins said. While mosquito-borne illnesses are generally a problem only until the first hard frost, ticks don’t respond to seasonal weather in the same way, he said.
Anaplasmosis is spread by the blacklegged tick, the same species that transmits Lyme disease, babesiosis, Powassan virus and the bacteria Borrelia miyamotoi, which also cause disease.
In rare instances anaplasmosis may prove fatal. The most common symptoms are fever, malaise, muscle aches and headaches. Research in recent years by Lyndon State College faculty and state scientists suggests that about 7 percent to 10 percent of Vermont ticks carry the bacteria that cause it.
During those studies, ticks carrying anaplasmosis were found almost exclusively in the southern half of the state.
More than half the ticks tested across the state carried the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease. Ticks with this bacteria were found throughout the state.
The incidence of tick-borne diseases in Vermont has steadily increased since at least 2010, Tompkins said.
This rise can’t be explained by better testing methods, or by greater numbers of Vermonters alerting health professionals after they’ve been bitten, he said.
But it’s not clear what is driving the increase, he said.
Climate change is likely a contributing factor, but it’s hard to say to what degree, said Jared Ulmer, the climate and health program coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health.
Establishing links between climate change and certain ailments, such as heat illnesses, is a pretty straightforward task, Ulmer said. It’s much more difficult to find what relation exists between the Earth’s warming and things like Lyme disease, he said.
An example Tompkins related might illustrate why.
Research in New York has shown that trees like oak, walnut and beech undergo yearslong cycles of seed production, Tompkins said. Some years bring more nuts than others, he said.
Years with heavy nut production tend to encourage larger populations of white-footed mice in the following year, Tompkins said. This species of mouse is a particularly well-suited vector for Lyme disease, he said.
The year after these white-footed mice populations expand, Tompkins said, Lyme disease incidence in humans is typically greater than normal.
A number of other natural and artificial factors influence the prevalence of tick-borne illnesses, Tompkins said. Human development, for instance, creates good habitat for white-footed mice, he said.
Ticks also prefer warm, moist areas, he said. Research indicates that global temperature increases are likely to bring both these conditions to New England, Ulmer said.
White-footed mice, shrews and Eastern chipmunks are all known “reservoirs” for tick-borne diseases, Tompkins said. This is in part because these animals don’t mount an immune response to the Lyme disease bacteria, he said, which allows the bacteria to thrive as long as their host survives.
Ticks born in the spring typically feed on small mammals that spring or summer, and over the following year they mature into nymphs, Tompkins said. These nymphs typically feed again — this time on a variety of animals, including humans — the spring or summer following their first birthday.
Adult female ticks often feed again in the fall, as do a few nymphs and males, in preparation for the winter, Tompkins said.
This fall “blood meal” is the one Vermont authorities are concerned could break records again this year, he said.
The high number of anaplasmosis cases Vermont health workers encountered this summer is an early indication that high numbers of tick-borne diseases are likely in the fall, Tompkins said.
It’s important to note that the most common tick-borne disease, Lyme disease, is curable, he said.
A popular misconception exists that people who contract Lyme disease will carry it for the remainder of their lives, he said.
“That’s simply not true,” Tompkins said.
Existing antibiotics can cure Lyme disease, he said, although some of the effects of the disease may linger for months afterward.
Nevertheless, Tompkins said, early treatment is important, as this reduces the likelihood of lingering symptoms.
Vermonters bitten by ticks can contribute to a state database at a Health Department tick tracker, found here.

Karl Meyer: Fish futures on a broken river

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

It’s been decades since migratory fish on New England’s great river got a break — bleak since deregulation came to federally licensed electricity plants on the Connecticut beginning in 1998.
Deregulation turned a regional market into a venture capital free-for-all, opening the door to speculators and foreign interests controlling public resources. In less than 20 years the Vernon hydro station changed hands three times. The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant next door is currently courting a third owner. Downstream the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station and Turners Falls hydro complex flipped four times between investors. Further south, the Holyoke hydro station sold only once, in 2002.
None of this proved healthy for an ecosystem.
The post-deregulation decade saw a steep slide in American shad passing Holyoke Dam. After two decades of averages well above 300,000 fish, yearly numbers plunged to near half that — a far cry from the 720,000 passed in 1992. Things were even more desperate at Turners Falls Dam. There, impacted by the massive water appetite and violent, peaking flows sent downstream by the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station, passage dropped below 1 percent some years. For a decade, just three or four migrating shad in 100 were tallied emerging alive upstream. Today’s numbers languish near 1980s’ levels.
The federal license signed by Holyoke Gas & Electric in 2002 required they complete lift improvements at Holyoke by 2008 to pass endangered shortnose sturgeon upriver. Sturgeon were literally unable to spawn — blocked at that dam from reaching their only documented natural spawning site, a fail-safe refuge known as the Rock Dam Pool at Turners Falls. Year in, year out, that mandate went unenforced. It was finally met last year.
In 2004 federal fish biologist Boyd Kynard handed results of 15 years of Connecticut River shortnose sturgeon research to the National Marine Fisheries Service. He and colleagues had documented that that Rock Dam spawning site for the only federally endangered migratory fish on the river was being decimated by industrial practices. Yearly gatherings failed for the few dozen spawning-ready sturgeon surviving upstream of Holyoke — as they attempted to continue a tenuous 200 million-year-old genetic line. But National Marine Fisheries Service didn’t come to their aid; no watchdog intervened.
Ultimately, decades of research by Kynard and company was compiled into “Life History and Behaviour of Connecticut River Shortnose and other Sturgeons,” published by the World Sturgeon Conservation Society. After experts at the Europe-based society published the book in early 2012, the U.S. Geological Service (where Kynard retired as a federal fish scientist) began making belated objections, halting all publication for a time. Their objections caused a de facto embargo of its sale in the U.S. through that spring.
The USGS cited editorial and style concerns in “recalling” three chapters on sturgeon biology and spawning — including the data and text showing industrial flows caused spawning failure at Turners Falls. Nearly a dozen state, federal and university contributors to the book cried foul, citing censorship and the public’s right to government information. In June, concurrent with press inquiries and a letter from Congressman John Olver questioning the withholding of public science, the USGS suddenly withdrew all its objections — days before an article highlighting the issues appeared in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Federal agencies now had the facts. Yet despite the Endangered Species Act, none took action.
In spring 2014, a popular beer, Shortnose Stout, debuted in the region. Its label displayed Kynard’s website and highlighted spawning conditions at Turners Falls. The Connecticut River Watershed Council soon stepped up to accept donated profits from its sale, but those sturgeon were again left hanging. Today conditions at Rock Dam remain as ruinous as when the first 2004 findings were released.
In 2015 the controversial chapters from Kynard’s book got entered into the public record in the current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s relicensing process for Northfield Mountain and Turners Falls. With that science on the record, things changed at federal proceedings. Sturgeon spawning became a key factor in flow discussions for a future FERC licenses there mandating river conditions. This June, new restoration targets to meet failed 50-year-old federal Anadramous Fish Conservation Act requirements were released by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. With passage failed for half a century at Turners Falls, new shad targets mandate 397,000 fish passing annually. New owner, Canada Public Pension Investments, will be on the hook to build lifts and safeguard sturgeon spawning.
In August a fisherman near Vernon landed an endangered shortnose sturgeon — a fish thought not to exist above Turners Falls. He took a photo and released the fish, sending the picture to officials who confirmed it, then forwarded it to the National Marine Fisheries Service. There is reason to believe that landing may not be an isolated occurrence. The fisheries service is taking the confirmed capture seriously. Is a remnant shortnose population clinging to life in Vermont and New Hampshire waters? Did someone release them there? Either way, federal law requires owners at Vernon Dam, Vermont Yankee and Northfield Mountain to protect the migratory fish of the United States as a public trust. After decades of speculation, it’s high time our fish had their day.Source: Karl Meyer VT Digger