Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association

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1 Newsletter August 2017 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association P.O. Box 3177 Courtenay, B.C. V9N 5N4 Terry Kerton President * Wayne Guthrie Vice President * Noel Chaney Vice President * Shirley Leggett Treasurer * Joanne Assen Secretary Greetings members, I hope you have enjoyed the summer so far. There were lots of activities at Courtenay and District Fish and Game since the last newsletter such as the 25 th Annual Outdoor Recreation Show, the BC Family Fishing Weekend, the Fishing Forever Program, the Kids Fishing Derby, the Region One Kids Camp, the North American Long Bow Safari, just to name a few. About 160 Canadian Youth Rangers were in attendance and received some archery and canoe activities. They paid it forward by cleaning up archery trails, making trail stairs and walks and picking up shotgun wads from the range. All of these events needed club volunteers who took time out from their busy schedules to assist and I thank them very much. I did my best to attend all events and meet a lot of you. I encourage you all to come out to the next General Meeting on 11 September. The day to day operation of this fine Association requires your attendance and input. Yours in Conservation, Terry Kerton, President Request for Proposal for Food Services Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association The successful applicant will be a qualified person/ business to provide the following: - the food services liason for VIHA - lunches prepared Thursdays and Sundays - meal for several social night functions in the year - meals for the various venues special events, competitions etc - food during the camping season. Fri steak night, lunches Proposals will be accepted until August 15, 2017 For more information and proposal submission thompson@shaw.ca

helped with other Association activities as well. Their work involves keeping equipment running, maintenance, etc.

2 Boomtown upkeep - a labour of love! Thumbs up this quarter goes to Pat Tyson and Bruce Munro. These members are not noticed so much as most of their volunteer work on an almost daily basis is done up at the Shotgun Facility, but they have helped with other Association activities as well. Their work involves keeping equipment running, maintenance, etc. And it is not a surprise to hear that supplies are purchased on their dime as a donation, like other members of this Association do. Thanks for your work, gentlemen. Deserving Members Corner By Gail Eggiman Public Relations

3 Cowboy Report August 2017 This summer we've started a new tradition at Boomtown. In the past, we've held work parties, one Saturday a month, where several energetic cowboys and cowgirls get together to get as much done as they can in one day. However, as some buildings are getting finished, more buildings and improvements are being planned. Maintenance and repairs take up a fair bit of time and effort too. We maintain an inventory of at least 150 steel targets in various states of repair which need regular welding. Our building and stage signage is an ongoing job for our talented and artistic crew. We have hundreds of props ranging from decks of cards to life-sized horses, coffins, and costumed mannequins. Keeping track of, and on top of, all these club assets takes a lot of time. So in July we held a weekend-long work party. Many of our shooters live out of town, and enticing them to drive to Boomtown for a work party is easier if they can stay overnight and socialize at the end of the day before putting in a second full day's work. Prairie Buck and Miss BeaDazzled turned one of the shooting bay buildings into a fully-featured camp cookhouse. The workers were greeted both mornings with an amazing array of scrumptious camp grub, including bacon, sausage, flapjacks, homemade soda biscuits, eggs, juice, and plenty of hot coffee. Little Edgy made sure the energy level stayed high with his world-famous Little Edgy Burgers at noon. And the amount of work that got done was every bit as dazzling. Turns out that well-fed workers are pretty darned motivated. I'd say that the experiment was a success. We're now ready for our annual match Showdown in the Valley over the August long weekend. One of the benefits of joining Cowboy Action shooting is traveling to other clubs for their matches. About 14 of us took our covered wagons to the Malahat for our sister club's fun match in July, and will return in August for their annual match. Other clubs on the mainland have their annual matches over the summer and we try to visit them also. Kamloops is holding the SASS 2017 National Championship (we held it in Courtenay last year) so a lot of us are looking forward to that trip. If you are interested in more information about Cowboy Action shooting, check out our website: valleyregulators.com. Our fun matches are the third Saturday of every month and the shootin' starts at 10:00 am. Spectators are welcome!

4 RANGES TERRY O'TOOLE Have received a few questions on the following, reactive targets and explosive/ incendiary targets. A reactive target can be made of metal or rubber material. In both cases the target reacts to a bullet strike, either by sound/movement or just by movement. The club allows reactive targets to be used with the following restrictions: 1. Metal targets must direct the bullet into the ground, so no horozontal spinners, knock downs,etc 2. The minimum safe distance is 10 meters from the shooter to the target 3. Place reactive targets on or as close as possible to the butts to reduce the chance of a ricochet exiting the butts or berms Exposive/incendiary targets are not allowed on any of the club ranges. These include binary (trade name "Tannerite") or incendiary discs which ignite when hit producing a sound and flash. Just a few more items that have come up over the summer: - Range hours, for all club ranges, are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm - There is no casual use of the trap/skeet ranges or the cowboy action ranges. A range official must be present for both areas. - There are also ammunition restrictions, maximum shot size is 7 1/2 for shotgun. Cartridges must be low velocity and bullets must be made of lead for cowboy action. Hearing and eye protection is mandatory on all ranges for shooters and observers. No exceptions! Website Reno - Will Build to Suit! Have a look at your website at Notice anything on the website that s out of date? Something missing? Something you d like to see? Something you think could be clearer? We re in the process of trying to get information out to you, the members in a way that makes sense to you and will keep you informed about what s going on. We re thinking of adding a page that will give you all of the volunteer opportunities available so that you can plan which are the ones you can make it to sound like a good idea? Make your voice heard! Let us know what you d like to see it s YOUR website! Send your ideas to webmaster@courtenayfishandgame.org, and we ll see what we can do to make it happen!

News From UP THE HILL Shotgun has once again had a busy season with a number of trap and skeet tournaments culminating in the BC Provincial Skeet Championships held June 9-11.

5 News From UP THE HILL Shotgun has once again had a busy season with a number of trap and skeet tournaments culminating in the BC Provincial Skeet Championships held June Several CF&G shooters won honours at the event, including Lorne Wigard (2 Man Team in 12 and 20 ga, and second in C class 20 ga and D class doubles), Perry Snyder (D2 in 20 ga), and Lisa Cunningham (winner of D 12 ga and BC Ladies Champion). The top winner of the tournament was Bob LaRue from Kelowna. Our youth squad of Will Gee (L), Jenna Leggett, and Chris Watters(R) performed exceptionally well. Will is a Cowboy Action shooter who has transferred his exceptional skill to skeet as well, and Chris has been shooting only just over a year and is able to compete at tournament level. Jenna is a graduate of CF&G s first youth camp in 2014, and in this tournament won D class in 20 ga, High Over All in D class, and High All Around in D class, becoming BC Junior Champion. Jenna went on to win D class 12 ga and the Western Canadian Junior Championship in Langley July Courtenay is working with other shooting clubs from Alberta and throughout BC to encourage more youth participation in the sport, and developing options to subsidize both programs and competition. Skeet houses at Shotgun are receiving a face lift. Ralph Thompson and Lorne Wigard have been devoting many hours to painting the buildings, and Pat Tyson has been repairing the stairs going up into the houses. The Junior Rangers and all their supervisors are also thanked for their assistance in cleaning up the wads and broken targets from the fields. Due to the extreme fire hazard with the dry conditions, sporting clays have been cancelled until some rains return and fire danger passes. The Grid will be operating as a substitute, and trap and skeet are always open on regular shooting days. On Aug Courtenay hosts the Zone 8 Skeet Championships. Be sure to check the website for more Trap and Skeet Tournaments or special shoots. New shooters are always welcome. Instruction is available. See you UP THE HILL, Jim Leggett

6 Conservation Update We are busy building a business plan for the new hatchery proposed for the Association. As you know, part of the negotiations for the sale of the land includes a water supply from the new deep water intake for a new hatchery. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to gain access to a dependable cold water supply for the hatchery. We plan to use the hatchery not only to support our Trent River Coho enhancement program, which has raised 50,000 Coho fry per year since we started, but also to help Puntledge Hatchery raise another 50,000 Coho smolts per year to support an in-river fishery. Puntledge suspended their Coho smolt program several years ago when they suffered a complete loss of a brood cycle because of hot water in the river. We are looking at locating the hatchery close to the proposed water pump house, above the boat launch parking lot. Once we get approval from the Association we will be making application to the Pacific Salmon Foundation to help build the hatchery. It will be several years before the hatchery starts production since the new water intake won't be ready until That gives us time to plan the hatchery, seek funding partners, get all the approvals and build the facility. It will be a show piece for our Association and its conservation programming. We have also completed the first part of a Kokanee study in Comox Lake with funding from the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program of BC Hydro. This was a preliminary look at the spawning grounds for Kokanee which shows that the lake spawning sites may be susceptible to exposure during the winter resulting in freezing the eggs in the beach. This study needs to be followed up with more a focused study on the sites identified this year. We will be applying for funding to carry this program this fall. Brendan Anderson from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Resource Operations reported on his ongoing Cutthroat study. He and his crew, with a few Association volunteers, have tagged several Cutties and need fishermen to report any tagged fish caught so they can get an idea of their range and catchability. Brendan is also looking for any avid fishermen who would be willing to keep a diary of their catches to help fill in the data from this tag recovery program. Please call me at if you can help Brendan out. Wayne White Warm enough for you? The extreme heat gripping the Comox Valley affects everything. It stresses our forests, our wildlife, our members and our facility. Please take special measures during this period to prevent accidental fires and to safeguard your own health. In addition, please respect the difficult decisions made by venue chairs and board members to restrict activities or even close facilities as a safeguard. Your cooperation is both needed and appreciated.

7 Calling All Members! On behalf of the Board, Lyndsey Douglas is facilitating an Information Gathering Workshop on Thursday August 17 th, at 6:30pm in the Main Hall. This is an opportunity for all members to have their voices heard. The overall purpose of this workshop is to see where the membership sees the club in the next 5 to 10 years. The information gathered will be provided to the hard working Strategic Planning Committee and the Board of Directors. Specific Workshop Objectives include: CDFGPA Future focus: To explore our understanding, from different members perspectives, of issues/opportunities that have the potential to impact the future of the club. Selecting Priority Areas: To identify high priority areas that might trigger significant positive change in the promotion and overall growth of the club over the next five years. Taking Critical Steps Forward: To develop some critical actions that could be implemented by club s membership to move these high priority areas forward in the future. Please RSVP to lyndseyjdouglas@gmail.com by August 14, 2017 with Workshop in the subject line and the names of who will attend. Please note there is a maximum of 224 people! Since June s Open House the Archery Venue has hosted three groups of local school students, two sponsor events, the North American Longbow Safari, youth from the BCWF Kids camp and last week we rounded things up with 160 youth from the Junior Canadian Rangers over a 4 day period. Much appreciated thanks needs to go out to all the volunteers that made these events possible and especially encouraging was the support, help and volunteers from other venues. That s what an organization like ours is all about cooperation. Starting in Sept our monthly Archery Open House Sundays should get back to normal. The next scheduled event is the Ladies 3-D Shoot Sept 24th. This is a fun event that encourages Women from beginners to seasoned Archers to come out and share their passion for Archery with others. (contact Letitia Wilson ) This fall will see a number of our members attending sessions for Certification in Archery Instruction through BCAA. This will open the door to host larger National and International events. Given the ongoing hot weather, there is no smoking allowed on any of the trails. If the hot weather continues, the venue will be considering closing the trails until conditions improve. That s all for now, Larry Epp Archery News

8 Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association Executive President: Vice President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Terry Kerton Wayne Guthrie Noel Chaney Shirley Leggett Joanne Assen Club Caretaker: Dave Munk Monday to Friday, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Jessie Kobelka - Admin. Asst. Office: Monday to Wednesday, 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. Shotgun Facility Campground Caretaker Visit our website at the-office@courtenayfishandgame.org Gail Eggiman Larry Epp Gord Parnham Dave Thompson John Barnhardt Tim Schmitz Wayne White Rick Levigne Chris Baker Jan MacKenzie Rick McClure Ron Gieck Max Rein Ralph Thompson Terry O Toole Eric Robertson Jim Leggett Ray Rogers Linda Marinus TBA TBA TBA TBA DIRECTORS Lyndsey Douglas Eric Robertson Ralph Thompson Perry Snyder Peter Ronning John Shepherd Mike Potts Ronald Handy COMMITTEE/VENUE CHAIRS Admin/Office Archery Bar BCWF Rep Black Powder Boat Launch/Campground Conservation CORE Cowboy Action Fishing Programs Gun Shows Membership Newsletter Property Ranges Trophy Trap & Skeet Watershed Website/IT Environment Kitchen Raffle Social Memberships are available. Cheques should be made payable to Courtenay Fish & Game Association. Bring completed application to a meeting at Comox Lake Meeting Hall (First Monday of the month 7:30 p.m.), or mail to P.O. Box 3177, Courtenay, B.C. V9N 5N4. Memberships are also available at the Main Office Monday thru Wednesday, the Caretaker s Friday thru Sunday, or purchase renewal memberships at one of the businesses below: GONE FISHIN Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay TYEE MARINE & FISHING SUPPLIES 870 Cliff e Avenue, Courtenay Cash or Cheques ONLY

Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association. Outdoor Show Update. Newsletter May 2017 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE. Hi folks,

Newsletter May 2017 Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association P.O. Box 3177 Courtenay, B.C. V9N 5N4 Terry Kerton President * Wayne Guthrie Vice President * Noel Chaney Vice President * Shirley