Conservation Group Celebrate 50th Birthday with Giant BBQ

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1 P.O. BOx 548, WiartOn, OntariO n0h 2t0 Yours in Conservation OctOBer 2012 news and VieWs MOntHly newsletter Meetings are the last Thursday of the Month at 7:30 p.m. The Clubhouse is off Old Oliphant Road on Northacres road and off County Road 13 in Wiarton. Next meeting, October 25th Your participation is welcome and anticipated. Editors Tim Lahey or or Kat at Conservation Group Celebrate 50th Birthday with Giant BBQ This barbecue is an annual feast that just keeps getting better. Master chef Ray Marklevitz and his renowned grilling team apple smoked 130 pounds of top grade beef and 100 pounds of premium pork. Club volunteers served several hundred hungry people a tasty three-course meal. Usually it s all about the fish But on Sunday July 15th the cry was, where s the beef? And there was lots of it. The event was the group s annual pork and beef barbecue. It s the club s major fund-raiser of the year and helps keep our hatchery and other conservation programs going. Sponsors for our 2012 pork-beef barbecue included Fletcher Sports, Howell s Fish, Pure Fishing Tackle Distributors, The Toronto Sportsmen s Show, Wendy Wilford of Mother s Fabrics, and Frank Coletta of Royal LePage RCR Realty. BBQ team leaders Murray Garniss and Dennis Morrison have issued a big thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this year s barbecue fundraiser a huge success. And we thank YOU for continuing to support our community efforts.

2 Community Living Fishing on the Pond on September 15th. BPSA for Community Living wishes to thank all the club members for another great day. We know this event has continued rain or shine for over 30 years. Some of the people we support who, as children, fished in the pond are still returning, as adults, year after year for their favorite event. One question.. when was the first event held? If anyone can help us with information about this date it would be interesting to know. We are very appreciative of the clubs commitment to this event and all the effort that goes into planning this day. The Community Living fishing day is a wonderful example of the work the club does to engage people in the outdoors and conservation. BPSA Competition Handgun Team recieived the trophy and banner for winning the 2012 Western Ontario Handgun League. Shown in photo Al Hunter, Bill Hewitson, George Moss, Bill Wattie, Sue Heinzer, Kat McCulloch, Kelly Lang. Missing from photo, Randy Dawson, Krista, Rob and Rod Quesnel, Mark Young, Mario Guindon, Graham Waite, Herb Bloom, Frank Hutter, Mike Lutman, Ed Franczek Stu Patterson with his loot & fish. Largest trout, largest Rainbow and largest trout of the day. Great shots, great guy. Winning fish netted by Nancy Smith, Stu s partner (and coach).

3 In order for an athlete to succeed, they need support; many types of support. I want to send a big thank you to the following people and companies who generously donated to my travel cost and back-up equipment this year. It s been over a month since my return from the London Paralympic games. The jet lag is far over and I m back to a normal schedule again. I may not have come home with a medal but I m happy to say I came home with some of my goals accomplished. I was able to do that with the help of my community. I d like to thank the community and the BPSA members for coming out to support me at the Home Building Centre charity BBQ s in May & Sept. I especially want to thank Dave Morton, the Bruce Peninsula Sportsman s Association members and the BPSA Handgun Club members. I am humbled by their generosity. This was a busy year for Phil and I. We traveled to Bangkok in March, London, ENG and the Czech Republic in June & July for three weeks. In August I traveled alone to Victoria, BC for Nationals then to London, ENG again for the Paralympic Games. It was an exhausting year, but it was necessary travel I needed to gain more experience. My travels and success in Bangkok and the Czech Republic were rewarded by a huge increase in my World Ranking. In 2011 I was ranked 22nd in the world: as of August 2012, I am 5th. (Photos: Phillip MacCallum/Canadian Paralympic Committee) Thunderhead Archers of Delisle, Saskatchewan, Bruce A Restart Employees, Lionesses of Lions Head, Lions Clubs of Wiarton and Sauble, The Odd Fellows Lodge, RBC Wiarton & Lion s Head, and Joanne Brouwer. And to those who supported me in service, thank you Elliott s Garden, Complete Wellness, Bushnell, Caframo, P&O Barrie my prosthetist Jim Low, Jeff Neerhof s Tree Removal, The Top of the Hill B&B in Cheltenham, Harreitt Nixon my yoga teacher, Grant Bradley-Low my massage therapist, Barb Babcock my seamstress, and to my friends & neighbors. And last but not least, Phil Henderson my spouse and coach. Without his support I would not have qualified for the Paralympics. I only wish he was with me in London to remind me to breathe. Thanks to Home Building Center in Wiarton for the Archery charity BBQ held Sunday Sept 30th and I m happy to say we made $ plus $42 from a donation box we put out.

4 BPSA News and Views Monthly Bulletin September 2012 Moment of Silence for Dennis Hewitson Dennis was a long time member of the Handgun Group who passed away Thursday August 23rd. Monthly BPSA minutes September 2012 The regular monthly meeting was held on Thursday September 27, 2012 with 25 members present. Club President Tim Lahey asked if the June 2012 meeting minutes had any errors or omissions as posted in the News and Views Bulletin. A motion to adopt the minutes of the June meeting by Al Hunter seconded by Mel Urbshott carried. Guest Speaker -none New Members / Guests- Scott Andrews Correspondence The October issue of SSA Newsletter has a Happy 50th Birthday message to BPSA Treasury - Mel Urbshott July September Roy Hamilton Deer Feeding Fund $ 3476 Receipts $ 2978 Expenses $ 2143 Ways and means balance $ 1200 Beef and pork BBQ Revenues $3308- Expense $2024 Membership - Larrilee Leckie / Forbes Symon Will report the final 2012 numbers next month. Committee Reports and Discussions Archery: Karen Van Nest- tel (Note new number) kvn10@bell.net Tuesday evening archery shoots are closed down for October, but will resume November 6th A 4H Archery program, on Friday evenings, started in mid September and will run for six weeks. This year 15 girls have joined the archery group. Karen gave an overview of her Paralympics participation this summer and expressed her deepest thank you to all BPSA members and other community groups and businesses that supported her. A fund raising BBQ will be held at the Wiarton Home Hardware Builders Supplies on Saturday September 29th. Bulletin Phil Henderson Phil is now doing all aspects of the Bulletin stuffing and mailing. Web Site: Kat McCulloch n/r All members are encouraged to continue forwarding information and pictures of club activities to Kat. Fish Committee-Hatchery: Ray Marklevitz / Gord Smith Bruce Mallard needs volunteers to feed the fish in the hatchery. If you can help, please call him at All the Brown trout in the hatchery were stocked due to low water flows. SSA received 45,000 Rainbow Trout fingerlings and they are in good shape. Barrow Bay will get 5,000 Rainbow and this will leave about 35,000 in the hatchery. This year s drought had a serious impact on the fish in the hatchery forcing heavy chemical treatment. Losses have been reduced due to improved water flow, to 13 gallons /minute, with the recent rains. We have yet to receive CFWIP grants to help support Hatchery operating costs and will probably not receive Stream Rehabilitation funding due to Provincial Government funding cutbacks. Fish Management Zones-13 Lake Huron-14 Georgian Bay Stewardship Councils: Dennis Morrison The FMZ council meeting was held in Midland on September 15, Only 5 of the 11 council members were in attendance, which was insufficient for a quorum. The theme of the meeting was Fish habitat. Some of the agenda topics were: Protecting, sustaining, and enhancing native fish species. Low water levels have had a significant impact on near shore nurseries. Lake Nippissing fishery is very poor A float plane is monitoring fishing activity on the Great Lakes. The Lake Trout Rehabilitation Program was based on only 300 people responding to the MNR survey. Comments can still be communicated to EBR or through to david.m.reid@ontario.ca prior to the end of October. The MNR are insisting on a 3 fish limit for Bass and not the 5 fish limit that the Bass Angler Tournaments want. The number of fishing lines per person. Two lines are permitted in most of the Great Lakes but in Georgian Bay only 1 line is allowed. Consideration might be given to allow 2 lines on the western, cold water, side of the bay, while maintaining a one line rule on the eastern, warm water, side. The MNR had not decided on hatchery egg collection quantities, but by meetings end they decided to leave them at last years levels. Handgun Club- Kelly Lang / Bill Wattie /Al Hunter Regular shooting dates of Monday and Wednesday 7pm for.22 rim fire and Wednesday afternoons for center-fire. The CFO has requested that a new outside alarm

5 system, be installed that does not sound when initially activated. The Handgun Club is looking at what is available. BPSA hosted a meeting of other clubs to plan WOHL competition activities for this year. Youth Programs: Rob and Krista Quesnel / Karen Van Nest and Phil Henderson n/r Native Affairs: Ray Reidel n/r Someone reported that the commercial fishing tug at the Colpoy s dock had 11 totes of fish and were selling Salmon and Trout on the dock. O.F.A.H.: Stu Paterson OFAH Zone H report September In the summer, in a video conference with MNR staff David O Toole the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources is cutting 70 million dollars worth of programs. There will be staff cuts. The Ministry will be operating out of fewer locations and taking a regional approach. Stewardship and partnership funding will be reduced. His main quote In 3 years we will be a smaller organization. 2. Now the OFAH has responded. The OFAH focus is on the slashing of the Community Fisheries and Wildlife Involvement Program we know it as CFWIP. The statement says in part the OFAH is outraged that the province is slashing funding by nearly 50%. This puts an unceremonious end to hundreds of volunteer driven community based conservation projects. The statement continues this is an insult, a slap in the face to tens of thousands of volunteers who work to improve the provinces environmental footprint. Angelo Lombardo the OFAH executive director says, this is the tip of the iceberg. He points out the MNR has been ordered to cut tens of millions of dollars from its budget over the next 3 years. And adds the government is turning its back on grassroots volunteer conservation work. So it is obvious the province is turning its back on us. We are part of the CFWIP cost sharing program that inspires more than 35 thousand volunteers who spend over 200,000 hours restoring streams, stocking fish, building fish ladders, and planting trees. Most CFWIP programs are located in smaller rural areas. There is a general feeling that cutting the funds of CFWIP makes a mockery of the MNR core strategy of engaging people in conservation. 3.Zone H OFAH chair Wayne Forgrave reports the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund is offering non-profit groups up to 25-thousand dollars per project, for cleanup of beaches shorelines, restoring wetlands, or the creation of coastal or riverside trails on Great Lakes. Any streams or rivers that flow into the Great Lakes qualify. For more info go to environment/en and click on to Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund. Applications will no longer be accepted after Friday Oct. 12,2012 at 5pm. 4. The OFAH remains concerned that a Tennessee based company is handling the electronic licensing for the MNR. The federation claims this poses a threat to member s personal privacy. Information required to renew your outdoor card for instance could end up in the hands of US Homeland Security. If you agree that this is not a good thing contact your MPP ASAP and complain. 5. Zone H is donating $3,000 to the Sydenham Sportsmen s Association for stream improvement work. 6. Total membership in OFAH is just over 84,000. Our Zone H is up by 300 members to 11, The Federation has responded to our Zone H resolution calling for and end to the MNR s Lake Trout stocking plan. The OFAH quotes a 2009 survey which states less than one of 33 interested individuals involved with stocking, or fishing advisory groups target lake trout It says a majority of Lake Huron Georgian Bay anglers do not prefer to target lake trout. It recommends the MNR focus on protecting wild lakers and minimizing the commercial harvesting of lakers. The OFAH reminds the MNR that the money we pay for fishing licenses, pays for lake trout stocking and the MNR should keep this mind when studies continue to point out sports anglers prefer walleye salmon and rainbow trout. The letter concludes OFAH does not support a strong focus on laker rehabilitation at the expense of other important fish species, including Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and brown trout. So it is nice to see that action we launched at a zone H OFAH meeting does result in action by the OFAH fish biologists. The letter including our concerns was sent to the MNR August 20th.

6 8. Saturday November 17th is the date of the next Zone H annual meeting. The meeting will be hosted by the Georgian Triangle Anglers Association in Collingwood. The meeting is at the Leisure Club 100 Minnesota Street just off Huron St.(Hwy26 Pretty River Parkway) next to the cop shop in Collingwood across from the harbour. Property: Ron Snelling n/r Bruce Mallard and his staff fixed the rotted beam and the run off water system that caused the problem under the new section of the club house Rankin Resource Group- Larry Isbester- n/r Scheduling: Ron Snelling- n/r Special Events: the special events for 2012 are: Family Day Holiday- Don Elliott - February 20, noon to 2 pm. (successfully competed) A special thank you to all BPSA members that participated. Fish Derby Jack Seatter May 4-6, All contestants tried hard but unfortunately the fish had lock jaw. Fish Fry Martha and Jim Martell May 6, :00-4:00pm.The food and prizes were great and everyone had a good time. Ken Barrett has volunteered to coordinate this event in Kids Fishing Day- Don Elliott-July 7, pm. A great time was had by all and a few more fish were caught this year. About 85 folks attended the event. A special thanks to all who helped to supply food, worms hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream cones, and J&S Tackle for fishing kits and The Toronto Sportsman Show for rod and real packages for each of the youth participants. Beef and Pork BBQ- Murray Garniss and Dennis Morrison- July 15, 2012 from 4-6:30pm.Again another fantastic success with great support from the public. Community Living-Fishing on the Pond Sunday September 16, pm. The pond yielded about 20 nice Rainbow. Again this year there was a great turnout, good weather, delicious food, excellent music and a great day was had by all. Potluck Diner Saturday November Social time from 5pm with dinner at 6:00pm.This event is not restricted to the main club but we would also encourage and welcome participation from the handgun and archery groups. A plaque made up to recognize the founding Directors of BPSA on our 50th anniversary and have it presented to the surviving members. Family Handgun Day-Kelly Lang September 29, 2012 from 10am to 4pm. Conflicting events contributed to the late cancellation of the event for this year. Wildlife: We need someone to volunteer for this function. Al reported the following: Jody Scheifly wants an address for the new Wildlife Chairpersons so he can interface with BPSA MNR dropped Wildlife Packages, for Rabies control, from a plane over our area September If you find one in a field or forest area, please leave it in place. Bob Cat fur price at a recent auction was $557 The State of Michigan has cut back on fish slot limits. The recent outsource of Ontario Hunting licenses to a Tennessee company has resulted in many hunters not receiving their deer licenses. Hunters who have not received theirs should call the MNR and go to the office in Owen Sound to get their tag. Awards: Don Elliott-n/r Entry forms are in the hatchery. Please enter the completed forms for the fish you caught this summer, enter your antlers scores after drying for 30 days, and the weights of your spring and fall turkey. The awards presentation and dinner will be in late February or early March. Old Business: Volunteers for the positions of Vice President, Native Affairs, Ways and Means, and Wild Life are required, anyone who would like to volunteer for any of these functions or know someone who would be a good candidate are asked to contact Mike Lutman or Tim Lahey The Barrow Bay Anglers Fish Fry tickets were used by Murry Garniss, Ken Barrett, and Jim and Martha Martell. Tim Nicol of Carruthers-Nicol Insurance sent Tim his comments on the various potential insurance carriers. He could not recommend the best one as he would need written clarification on several different questions. Tim and Mel will follow up in an attempt to resolve. It sounds like all the carriers have enough legal jargon and ambiguities in their contracts to avoid having to pay any claims. Tim received a package of old BPSA Newsletters from Robert Paton. He will review them for any amendments to the Constitution or Bylaws and then store them. It is important that a permanent record be kept of the official minutes of all meetings. The Secretary will file a copy of all minutes in a known place within

7 the club house, that is accessible by all members of the Executive. John McGill thanked the BPSA members who helped with the SSA Salmon Spectacular especially the 31 who helped raise the tent and 18 who helped tear it down. New Business: BPSA is now 50 years old. To honour the first founding Directors that are still alive, Irvin Sutter and Terry Walker, a motion by Don Elliott seconded by David Morton to purchase BPSA Jackets from Ram Trophy s and present them to the recipients at the November 24th potluck dinner carried. A plaque listing the names of all first directors Irvin Sutter, Terry Walker, William Sam, Murdock McKenzie and John Craig will also be presented at the November potluck dinner. The plaque will then be hung in a placed place of honour in the clubhouse. Bill Nafziger requested a letter of support and assistance for the Hepworth Anglers in their application for a Great Lakes Guardian Community Grant. A motion to support this grant application by Stu Paterson seconded by Jim McKane carried. Bill will draft the letter for Tim s signature. Some opposed to the motion as the stream rehabilitation is on private land that does not allow fishing by anyone who is not a club member. The motion passed based on the recognition that Spring Creek is a nursery that contributes to the Great Lakes Fishery. Jim McKane presented a lottery possibility with substantial prizes, to raise funds for the club. He indicated that the potential to raise funds is great but it would take dedicated members to run the lottery and be prepared to spend hours at many locations throughout the year to sell the tickets. There was little support to take on the idea by anyone in attendance at the meeting, consequently the lottery idea will not go forward. Stu Paterson detailed his Salmon Spectacular win for the biggest Trout 15.21# for the Derby Other BPSA competitors and winners in the Derby were: 8/24 Murry Garniss 4th place salmon 17.58# 8/25 Eric Plein 4th place trout 5 # 8/26 George Garton 1st place -trout 4.33# 8/29 Carl Schroeder 1st place trout 10.03# 8/30 Ray Marklevitz1st place Salmon 16.69# 9/2 -Jaxon Gawel kids draw Winners of Draw Prizes Rod & Reel Ken Barrett, Al Hunter Scarf Dennis Morrison Lures Dennis Morrison, Stu Paterson Tackle box Ian McGregor, John McGill Hat Eric Plein Fish Crisp Bill Nafziger, John Mcgill, George McQuire A motion by Stu Paterson to adjourn carried, ending the September 2012 meeting at 10:10 pm. President s Message - October 2012 Welcome back after a really nice Summer! But Fall is passing far too quickly and Winter seems imminent. The Kids Fishing Day, Beef and Pork BBQ, and Community Living Events were well-attended as usual, and provided a good time for the participants. Thanks to the organizers of these events for doing such a good job! Ken Barrett has volunteered to take on the job of organizing the Mothers Day Fish Fry for Thanks for stepping forward to take this on, Ken! And of course, many thanks to Martha and Jim Martell for doing such a fantastic job for the past many years!! The procedure binder you have prepared should be a big help to Ken. The Handgun Team is preparing for the new season of competition in the WOHL, hoping to repeat their firstplace standing from last year. Good luck! Ray, Gord and crew have been busy with the hatchery, doing the best they could under the very dry conditions this Summer. It is a lot of work, and we all thank the many volunteers for the long hours they contribute to the success of that operation. Last month, I initiated the process of sending out via an Agenda for the upcoming General Meeting of the club. I think this is important for keeping the membership advised of issues that will be discussed at the meetings, so you can attend and provide your input on items that you feel strongly about. I plan to continue this. Unfortunately, the timing of the newsletter does not lend itself to including an agenda, as it is prepared well before the agenda is set. If you don t have , and would like to be aware of any s that go out to the membership, I would suggest that you might find an Internet Buddy who does receive the s, and who might keep you in the loop. Hope to see you at the October meeting! Happy hunting and fishing! Tim