pheasant program update

Don't be the target, be on target!
It's not enough just to vote in elections
v
Your legislators need to hear from you regularly!
v
So does the Governor !

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All the state stands to lose is revenue ~ revenue that, ironically, pays for the program

The DEEP has not been successful in convincing the Governor's Office to reverse their decision to end the pheasant program. The only thing that can change this now is political pressure applied by sportsmen and others affected by the decision.

Here are some "official" DEEP Bureau of Natural Resources figures to ponder.

 • 2011 Revenue generated towards program:
 • Sale of pheasant stamps = $139,000
 • Sale of licenses to pheasant hunters = $85,000 Total Revenue = $224,000

Amount of Revenue (CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE) expected to be lost if program is eliminated:
 • Sale of pheasant stamps = $139,000
 • License Sales to pheasant hunters = $27,000** Total Revenue lost = $166,000

**Note that this figure was determined by breaking down the license fees among all buyers, to those who ONLY purchased a basic hunting and pheasant stamps (no deer, turkey, etc.), and assumes they would not continue to purchase a hunting license if the program was eliminated. We know that more revenue would be lost due to anger among the sportsmen, especially after enduring a 40% increase in license fees and a 100% increase in pheasant stamp fees.

Since 1983, when sportsmen began contributing pheasant tag fees to provide additional program support, we have used the entire amount of revenue generated in the previous year (as in the $224,000 above) to establish our budget for the program in the following year. There is an expectation among sportsmen that they are paying for the next year's program.

Regardless of the figures used, there will not be any $ savings by eliminating the $160,000 called for in the Governor's proposed budget. The State simply loses revenue.

Once again, here's a link with the phone number to Governor Dannel Malloy's Office.
Be civil, politie and to the point when you call.

An initiative for the future of hunting

Families Afield is an education and outreach program to help states create hunting opportunities for youth, so that more families may enjoy America's greatest outdoor tradition together.

If you live in or represent a state where laws or regulations restrict young people from hunting, you can join the Families Afield effort and make a difference. Success depends on partners and volunteers!

The Core Values of Families Afield Are:
  •   Safety first, always.
  •   Hunting instills traditional values, connectivity with nature and healthy lifestyles.
  •   Parents, not politics, should decide an appropriate hunting age for their children.
  •   When introducing youths into hunting, earlier is better.
  •   Youths experience hunting with an adult mentor, then attend a hunter education class.

Hunting is Important
  •  Hunters pump more than $30 billion per year into the American economy, much of it directed at rural communities as hunters spend dollars on food, lodging, gas and more.
  •  About a million jobs in America are supported by hunters.
  •  In the last 40 years, hunters have spent $13.4 billion purchasing hunting licenses, tags and permits. This revenue supports wildlife conservation.
  •  America's recreational hunters and shooters have paid more than $5 billion in excise taxes since 1937 to support wildlife conservation and education.

Hunter Numbers are Declining
  •  For every 100 adult hunters today, only 69 youth hunters are coming up to take their place.
  •  If allowed to continue, economic projections indicate funding for wildlife conservation could drop 25 percent by 2025. This decline could cause a 24 percent drop in revenue for the hunting industry.

The Families Afield Website has been developed in partnership with National Shooting Sports Foundation, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, National Wild Turkey Federation, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and the National Rifle Association.

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Families Afield Initiative for Future Hunting Program © 2012

Hearings on Sunday Hunting set for March 8th

Connecticut: Environment Committee to Hear
Sunday Hunting Legislation Tomorrow
from the National Rifle Association of America Institute for Legislative Action, © 2012

Tomorrow, Wednesday. March 8th, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2 B of the Legislative Office Building (LOB), the Environment Committee will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 83 which seeks to allow Sunday hunting with bow and arrow on private property.

Currently, Connecticut is one of only six states in the country that strictly bans hunting on Sunday. This prohibition threatens the very future of our hunting heritage by discouraging hunter recruitment and retention. In addition, this antiquated ban harms Connecticut’s economy.

Due to increasingly demanding work, family and extracurricular schedules, older and younger hunters alike often have only Sundays available to hunt. The ban keeps them from remaining or becoming hooked on hunting. There is a reason that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a radical group whose ultimate goal is to end all hunting in America, is one of the most active advocates of maintaining the ban. Our opponents know that the future of hunting is at stake and you should too.

At a time when the economy is struggling and too many people are out of work, legislators must not continue to refuse the enormous economic benefits associated with allowing hunting on Sundays. Comprehensive research from the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows that allowing hunting on Sundays would generate a total annual economic impact estimated at $38 million and create 500 jobs.

If you are interested in testifying, please submit 40 copies of written testimony to the committee staff one hour prior to the start of the hearing in Room 2B of the LOB, or submit testimony electronically to Jason.Bowsza@cga.ct.gov. Electronic submissions are preferred. Sign-up for the hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Room 2B of the LOB at 300 Capitol Avenue in Harford. The first hour of the hearing is reserved for public officials. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony.

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IMAGE CREDIT: Found at: Accurate Shooter Newsletter. From a posting about the Families Afield Initiative for Future Hunting Program © 2012

General information about the Club and membership

Who we are:The Moodus Sportsmen's Club is a voluntary association of hunters, fishermen and trappers based in Moodus, Connecticut. The organization was founded in 1942 by local residents and veterans.
• The club has maintained a presence on its present site since the 1940s when members were first permitted to meet and build a club house there by the Moodus Reservoir Water Company.
• Over the years the MSC has been an active participant in civil events and is one of the principal founders (and sponsors) of the annual East Haddam "Earth Day" Roadside Clean-up; held during April every year.

Statement of Purpose: The Purposes of the Moodus Sportsmen’s Club shall be to
• Promote and bind together sportsmen in the sports of hunting, fishing and associated activities;
• Ensure that these sports will continue through education and conservation measures;
• Teach and pass on the pleasures, benefits, responsibilities and ethics associated with hunting and fishing practices.

What Do We Do? The Club hosts several public functions each year including:

Winter ~ Annual Tri-Lakes Ice Fishing Tournament
April ~ Earth Day Roadside Clean-up
May ~ Youth Fishing Derby
June ~ Annual Shad Bake - the Sunday after Father's Day
September ~ Annual Summer Harvest Fest
November ~ Prime Rib + Shrimp Dinner*
Game Dinners* Held during winter months.
(*The Game Dinners and the Prime Rib + Shrimp Dinner are by advance reservation only)
Local Scout Troop # 22 meets at the club on Thursday evenings.
CT DEEP Approved Archery & Firearms Safety Classes Held every Spring + Autumn. Attendees must reserve their spot in the class with the CT-DEEP Conservation Education and Firearms Safety Program web page.
NRA Certified Pistol / Firearms Classes are scheduled and held at various times of the year.

Membership details:
• Membership meetings are held on the first Monday of each month.
• Anyone interested in joining the Moodus Sportsman's Club must be sponsored into the club by a member in good standing. Prospective members names are brought to the floor at a monthly meeting; after announcement, a decision on a new member's application is tabled until the next month. At the next meeting, the prospective member is expected to attend, but will leave the meeting with a decision is made on the applicant's membership request.
• All new members first go through a six-month probationary period; their sponsoring member is expected to help them get better acquainted with the club and its routines.
• Work Requirements: ALL members are required to work a set number of hours per year, as well as regularly participate in club activities, including monthly meetings [attendance is credited to "work time" requirements] as well as other nominal requirements.
• The club membership also includes Junior Members (under the age of 18) who must have a sponsor who knows the junior member well; as well as senior "emeritus" memberships.

Dues and Initiation Fees:
• Annual membership dues are $150 and are due the 1st of July of each year.
• New Member initiation fees are $475 (paid in increments over the first three years of membership).
• New members, upon acceptance, pay $325 the first year; $225 the second + third year. After that, annual dues of $150 are incurred.
• All members are required to be a member of the National Rifle Association.
•  Members who have not paid dues by October 31st of the year may be subject to termination of membership. Any membership lapsed because of unpaid dues can be re-applied for without prejudice.

Where we are: Moodus Sportsmen's Club facilities are located at 299-A Old East Haddam-Colchester Turnpike,, just up the hill from the Moodus Reservoir and the East Haddam town beach.
The club has maintained a presence on the site since the 1940s when members were first permitted to meet and build there by the Moodus Reservoir Water Company.

For Further Information: Write us at moodussportsman@gmail.com

State pheasant hunting in jeopardy

Copied directly from Connecticut Sportsman's Coalition email newsletter:
This issue impacts Every Sportsman! A question I've been asked is "What's Next - Hatcheries?" COMMUNICATE! Most won't know what you want unless you tell them! Many won't know the basics of the program unless you inform them. There will be no Public Hearing on this issue. DO IT NOW- Communicate as you did on the License Fee Reduction issue. Be polite.

In the Governor's Midterm Budget Adjustments under DEEP p.67, the following statement is found: "Reduce Funding for Sportsmen's Programs - Funding is eliminated for the pheasant stocking program $ - 160,000."

After convincing the Legislature in 2010 that a 100% license fee increase would severely impact license/tag/permit sales/recruitment reducing revenue to both the state and DEP, we are now faced with presenting similar arguments. Someone, OPM (Office of Policy and Management), the Governor's Office, or budgetary officials clearly don't understand the funding, economic impact, and detrimental effect on licensing/recruitment of this proposal. In the opinion of many, the Elimination of the Pheasant Program action is a uninformed budgetary rip-off that benefits neither the state or its citizens.

The Pheasant Stocking Program is Sportsmen funded and is self sustaining - NOTHING comes from the General Fund. Elimination of the program saves the state nothing and in the future reduces revenue to DEEP through reduced license sales, and to the state in terms of economic impact. The methodology is to count revenue generated from Pheasant Stamps ($28) and Small Game licenses ($19/$11 Junior) from those who purchased the stamps to get a total revenue. This number then determines the number of Pheasants that will be stocked in the following year. The $160,000 to be cut is the revenue generated last year and constitutes the stocking program for 2012.

Pheasant Hunting is a Gateway Activity for new hunters. Youngsters and some adults (particularly women) who have completed the mandatory Hunter Safety Course and purchased their Small Game License (mandatory for All hunting) look for a hunting activity. Hunting on state Pheasant Program stocked lands is the least expensive and a traditional family activity for new hunters. Other species available in the past have been Rabbits, Grouse, and Woodcock, but are no longer due to state lack of funding for habitat management. The Pheasant Program is THE new hunter entry vehicle and is used as such in DEEP Junior Hunting Training Day to increase hunting participation.

The economic impact of eliminating Pheasant Hunting is substantial. ALL Resident hunters averaged 12.2 trips and nonresidents 3.0 trips in Connecticut. Pheasant hunters number 4000-5000. Based on 2010 hunting licensees, resident hunters undertook 770.0 thousand trips and nonresident hunters 9.8 thousand. Total Hunting expenditures in Connecticut are impressive at $109.3 million in 2010 dollars. http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/outdoor_recreation/2011economicimpactstudy.pdf Table 3.2.3. Using a few of the most common costs (in 1,000s $): Food and Lodging 2,801.5; Hunting Equipment 29,266.3; Transportation 5,365.5, with approximately 60,000 hunters in the state and dividing the totals by 4-5000, economic loss to retail sales is substantial.

It is imperative you write, call, e-mail your state Senator and Representative and all the members of the Appropriations Committee expressing your position. E-mail addresses for the complete Appropriations Committee can be found at http://www.ctsportsmen.com Under "Legislation". To find your legislators with their addresses, tel numbers, etc. go to "How to Find Your Legislators" on the Legislative page. Contact Gov. Malloy "Share Your Opinion" http://www.governor.ct.gov/malloy/cwp/view.asp?a=3998&q=479088 . Contact the Commissioner DEEP Dan Esty (860) 424-3001 and Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette (860) 424-3005.

UPDATE: Since Feb. 16 when we sent this original message little has been accomplished to solve the Pheasant Stocking problem either by the administration or the Appropriations Comm.. We have heard that Summer temps at State Parks, etc may be cut to insure the Pheasant program is implemented in the Fall - this we feel is unlikely. As it stands now, there will be no Pheasant program. We cannot conclude this budget item concerning our interests is nothing but a rip-off - after all it is Sportsmen's money! It is inconceivable to us that The Gov. and members of the Legislature don't recognize that the $160,000 cut will be negatively offset by the loss of state revenue through sales, recreation, and political impact. According to Sen.. Williams (Pres. Pro Tem of the Senate) in a Press Conference a few years ago said "DEP hasn't been adequately funded in over 30 years." We agree - more appropriations, not cuts are needed. Currently, sportsmen pay for 80-90% of the activities of DEP bureau of Natural Resources (Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, etc.) through License fees, tags, stamps, and in effect we pay to "field manage" wildlife - a DEEP statutory management responsibility. This is an extremely important issue and will seriously impact our outdoor activities in the future. What's the next cut for the DEEP (BNR)-Fish Stocking? What percentage of the 20 Billion $ budget is $160,000? Is this cut necessary? We need ALL Sportsmen to communicate to the Governor and the Appropriations Committee that this cut is both economically and politically inappropriate.

A different kind of ice fishing

Gathering mussels under the ice, in Kangiqsujuaq, Quebec, Canada.


Closer to Moodus, Lake Champlain the liquid border between Northern New York and Vermont, has been ice-free from Crown Point to up by Rouses Point; and in Saskatchewan, only this

past Sunday [01/29/2012] a truck lost battle with the ice while trying to pull their fishing shanty off Last Mountain Lake.

A - Moodus, CT
B - Lake Champlain
C - Kangiqsujuaq, Québec, Canada
D - Last Mountain Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada

So, we are still figuring out what will happen on February 12th, but with warm weather again the rest of this week, the ice fishing derby does not seem promising.

Ice Fishing Derby again postponed ~ until February 12th

IMAGE CREDIT: US Army Corp of Engineers - Might as well be Moodus reservoir

As you can see from the predicted weather posted below, there will be no ice this weekend.  Therefore the ice fishing derby is postponed again to February 12th.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Light north wind. 

Thursday: A slight chance of rain after 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 42. Light north wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%. 

Thursday Night: Rain likely, mainly after 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 34. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

Friday: Rain likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. '

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 41. 

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.

Here is a revised schedule of events

January 28 - This Saturday - Squirrel hunting day?  meet at the club at 7:30 and return by noon?  or let Jim V know if you are in and show up at noon for lunch. Just one rule - if you hunt, you have to help clean the squirrels!
    Lunch - venison chili, eggplant parmesan, beverages.
WHO IS IN ?- CALL JV OR THE CLUB THIS FRIDAY 5PM TO 7PM.