What Your Branch Needs to Know This Month

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1 As of the end of January 2014 What Your Branch Needs to Know This Month REGISTER FOR THE SASKATCHEWAN WILDLIFE FEDERATION S 85TH ANNUAL CONVENTION FEBRUARY 13 15, 2014 HERITAGE INN MOOSE JAW, SK Please see the new Agenda for Convention in this Branch Memo. If this is your first time to convention, we invite you for a complementary lunch on Thursday February 13th at 11:15 am with the SWF Board of Directors and Central Office Staff. This is a great opportunity to get to know other first time delegates and get a sneak preview of the weekend. Be sure to mark your registration form that you will be joining us. Resolutions that will be presented at the convention are included in December s month end mail please review at the branch level prior to casting your branch vote at the convention. A Called Vote can be called by any member on any issue at convention. In the case of a called vote, the procedures are: (as per constitution) Every branch is entitled to one vote for the first 50 members or fraction thereof over 15 and one additional vote for every 50 members over the first 50 members up to a maximum of five votes. The number of votes would be based on the membership numbers as of December 31, Please make sure you bring your hide collection ballots (filled in and pulled apart) to convention. If you have any questions, please contact Central Office at Six draws will be made at the convention on Saturday at noon. Don t forget to bring your photographs to Convention for the Photography Awards. Each branch may submit one photo per category Wildlife and Scenery and the delegates will vote for their favorites. If you want to be included in the parade of cheques at Convention, but for some reason can not send a delegate, please contact Central Office at and we will make sure to read out your donation. Our new website is up and running it is still located at Be sure to get your tickets to the Retirement Roast for Jim Kroshus in Moose Jaw on March 29. Call Central Office at If you require a hotel room, rooms have been blocked at: Moose Jaw Hotel (Best Western Plus) 350 Diefenbaker Dr Moose Jaw, SK S6J 1N2 Ph (306) Fax (306) We can provide plaques to the branches for your annual awards. Please send us your order with details, and the date you require them by fax or sask.wildlife@sasktel.net. Please make sure to let us know of any changes to your executive by calling or ing SWF Central Office. This is most important for mail outs and s. Mark your calendars for the Henry Kelsey & Provincial Angling Awards Banquet April 5th in Balgonie! Registration opens for the SWF 10th Annual Habitat Trust Golf Tournament and Great Canadian Sausage Cook off on March 3 Conservation Camp dates for 2014 have been set: Girls Camp July Boys Camp July Applications are now available on our website and are due May15th. Calendar of Events Feb th Annual SWF Convention Moose Jaw Feb 22 Yorkton Annual Banquet & Fundraiser St. Mary's Cultural Center Mar 1 Esterhazy Annual Awards Banquet S.N. Boreen Hall Mar 3 Registration opens for the SWF 10th Annual Habitat Trust Golf Tournament and Great Canadian Sausage Cook off Mar 6 9 Saskatoon Sports & Leisure Show Mar 15 Melville Fish & Game Annual Awards and Fundraising Banquet Mar 15 Weyburn Wildlife Federation Annual Fred Garner Memorial Banquet and Awards Night Mar 15 Preeceville Wildlife Federation 64th Annual Awards Night & Banquet Fundraiser Mar 15 Ice Shack Removal Mar 22 Whitesand Wildlife Awards and Banquet Night Good Spirit Golf Resort Mar 23 Region 3 Spring Meeting Foam Lake Mar 29 Retirement Roast for Jim Kroshus Moose Jaw Mar Estevan Wildlife Federation First Annual Pistol Club Gun Show Mar 31 Fishing Season Closes Apr 5 Henry Kelsey & Provincial Angling Awards Banquet Balgonie Apr 6 Region 6 Spring Meeting Swift Current Apr 6 Region 4 Spring Meeting Grenfell Apr 12 Estevan Wildlife Federation's Annual Fundraiser Wylie Mitchell Building Apr 12 Souris Moose Creek Wildlife Federation 2014 Annual Fundraiser Dinner and Auction Apr 13 Region 1 Spring Meeting Rose Valley Apr 13 Region 5 Spring Meeting Outlook Apr 14 Porcupine Wildlife Federation Annual Banquet Check our website for more information on these and other events at

Delegates to the 85th Annual Convention in Moose Jaw will enjoy: Keynote Address ~ Branch Project Presentations ~ Hospitality Room ~ Ministry of Environment Enforcement Compliance Presentation and

2 Delegates to the 85th Annual Convention in Moose Jaw will enjoy: Keynote Address ~ Branch Project Presentations ~ Hospitality Room ~ Ministry of Environment Enforcement Compliance Presentation and Question and Answer Time ~ Seminars ~ Fundraising Banquet ~ Wildlife Advisory Presentation ~ Networking opportunities ~ Henry Kelsey Report ~ Firearms Legislation ~ SWF President s Report ~ Banquets ~ Best Resolution ~ Photography Winners ~ Clayton Young Memorial ~ Ed Begin Conservation Project ~ Resource Management Conservation Award ~ Gordon Lund Memorial If this is your first convention, delegates are invited to a free lunch where they will meet the SWF Board of Directors and Central Office staff and find out what to expect at Convention. Please make note on your convention registration form that you would like to attend the New Delegate's luncheon Keynote Speaker Steve Mealey Vice President for Conservation - Boone and Crockett Club We are thrilled to have Steve Mealey as the Keynote Speaker at the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation 85th Annual Convention in Moose Jaw. Mealey is an Honorary Life Member of the Boone and Crockett Club, and Vice President for Conservation. Currently retired in Oregon, his professional career spanned 30 years and included wildlife (grizzly bear) research as well as management and administration for federal [U.S. Forest Service (USFS)], state (Idaho Department of Fish and Game), and private (Boise Cascade Corporation) natural resources based organizations. The Boone and Crockett Club was founded by Theodore Roosevelt in It is America s oldest hunter/ conservationist organization with national focus. The Club s mission is to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship in North America. The Boone and Crockett Club has a great legacy of protecting wildlife, especially big game, as well as federal land habitat. Mealey's most notable awards include the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame; Honorary Life Member Boone and Crockett Club; and the Bronze Star Medal (Meritorious Service, US Air Force, Viet Nam, ) Steve and Marty, his wife of almost 50 years, live near Leaburg, Oregon on the McKenzie River. Accommodation Information The Host Hotel: HERITAGE INN Main St. N., Moose Jaw, SK S6J 1L Room rates run $ plus tax and up depending on the room. Reservations must be made prior to January 12, Additional Accommodation Shuttles will be provided to and from the Heritage Inn to: COMFORT INN Thatcher Dr. W., Moose Jaw, SK S6J 1M Reservations must be made 60 days prior to convention date. Rates are $ plus tax and up depending on room. Includes hot & cold breakfast and WIFI. SUPER Main St. N., Moose Jaw, SK S6J 1L Reservations must be made by January 12th, Rates are $ plus tax depending on the room. Includes hot and cold breakfast and WIFI. DAYS INN hotel-overview 1720 Main St. N., Moose Jaw, SK S6J 1L Reservations must be made prior to January 15, Rates are $ plus tax depending on the room. Includes hot and cold breakfast, WIFI, pool, hot tub, water slide, business center & fitness room. More hotel info on

Education Report By Ian Kutarna, SWF Education Program Coordinator As always, the BigFOOT snowshoe program is busy this month despite low temperatures and high wind chills.

3 Education Report By Ian Kutarna, SWF Education Program Coordinator As always, the BigFOOT snowshoe program is busy this month despite low temperatures and high wind chills. Archery in the School (NASP) continues to grow with new schools starting up regularly. Big news in NASP is the Provincial Tournament (Yorkton March 28 29) and the first ever on site National Tournament (Regina May 2 3). The latest poster in the SWF s wildlife poster series will be released at this year s convention. And of course, I look forward to seeing and visiting with as many of you as possible in Moose Jaw at the 85th Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Convention. We Asked You Answered We want to know what you think! So we ve established a monthly poll right on our website at Check back each month and submit your opinion to the latest hot topic for SWF. These are the results of our December and January questions. December Poll: Was your whitetail season successful? Fisheries Report 15% 4% 55% 26% I chose not to harvest any animals I harvested a buck I harvested a doe/fawn Adam Matichuk Fisheries Project Coordinator amatichuk.swf@sasktel.net Convention is just around the corner! We hope to see representatives from your branch there. Tyler and I will give a full report there and we have some interesting fisheries presentations lined up. You don t want to miss it! I was unsuccessful Habitat Trust Report January Poll: Should SK seniors be required to have an angling licence? 31% 69% Yes No Daren Newberry Habitat Trust Coordinator dnewberry.swf@sasktel.net I look forward to seeing everyone at Convention! Thank you to the Branches who are participating in the Hide Collection Program. Please make sure you bring your hide collection ballots (filled in and pulled apart) to convention. If you have any questions, please contact Central Office at Six draws will be made at the convention on Saturday at noon. Antler Collection we have begun another fundraising venture for the Habitat Trust Fund. We will be collecting antlers at so if you have some on hand, or there is someone in your branch that has a shed full of sheds, please contact our office. We will keep you posted on the progress/success of this program.

4 Bringing You the Facts By Greg Illerbrun, SWF Firearms Chairman I don t have much to report, but what I have is all positive! In spite of predictions of dire consequences by the anti gun groups as more and more states allowed concealed carry, crime is actually down in all of these states. Here in Canada, the scrapping of the long gun registry has not resulted in any increase in crime, in fact the downward trend in gun crimes continues, which had actually started before the Liberals enacted Bill C 68. More and more science is coming in from around the world that gun control does not accomplish any of the results the "antis" claim. Hunter numbers are up almost everywhere including here in Saskatchewan, with the biggest increase coming from female numbers joining the ranks! This is fantastic news as these new voices can only add an even more positive spin on consumptive use of wildlife. Even environmentalists are coming on board as they see wild meat as 100% organic, who would have ever seen this coming! Could it be that the pendulum is actually starting to swing the other way? LET S HOPE! Provincial Henry Kelsey Big Game Records Chairman Report By Pat McKenzie, Provincial Henry Kelsey Big Game Records Chairman Meanwhile we are waiting patiently as our representatives work diligently on getting more changes to our crazy gun laws. Hopefully we will have some more positive news to report in the near future. As Usual, Never Forgive Never Forget Mark your calendars and purchase tickets early for the Henry Kelsey & Provincial Angling Awards Banquet April 5th in Balgonie!

5 Membership Update *** Indicates branches that have met or exceeded their Membership target. Congratulations! REGION ONE (28) REGION THREE (29) REGION FIVE (17) Basin Lake 33 0 Bruno Carrot River Creighton Cub Hills Cudworth Humboldt La Ronge Lake Lenore Leask Marcelin Lucien Lake Mallard Melfort Mistatim Naiverdale Nipawin Park View Porcupine Prince Albert St.Brieux St.Peters Shellbrook Stony Rapids Struthers Lake Tisdale Valley Trails Wakaw 22 0 Weldon Regional REGION TWO (17) Battlefords Beaver River Cut Knife Dorintosh Fielding Lloydminster Lost Horse Creek Macklin Meadow Lake Redberry Lake St. Walburg Thickwood Hills Turtle River Unity Wilkie Witchekan Regional Sask Falconry Assoc Beaver Hills Buchanan Canora Delwood 35 0 East Shore Endeavor 56 0 Esterhazy Foam Lake Fort Qu'Appelle Hudson Bay Kamsack Kuroki Langenburg Leroy 96 0 Loon Creek Melville Norquay Parkland Pheasant Creek Preeceville River Ridge Sturgis Timberline Touchwood Hills Valley View Watson Whitesand Willowbrook Yorkton Regional REGION FOUR (15) Target Regular Affiliate Branches should check their totals to this sheet every month. If there are discrepancies between the two totals, please contact Central Office. Actual Boggy Creek Broadview Estevan Grenfell Indian Head Moose Mountain Radville Redvers Regina Rocanville Saveagoose Souris Moose Creek Wapella Pipestone Wawota Weyburn Regional Arm River Biggar Brightwater Blackstrap Central Butte Eagle Creek Elbow Kerrobert Kindersley Kyle Luseland 79 0 Outlook Rosetown 71 0 Saskatoon Snipe Lake Viscount 42 0 Watrous Young Regional REGION SIX (13) Target Regular Affiliate Actual Assiniboia Buffalo Lake 63 0 Deep South 60 0 Dirt Hills Great Sandhills Maple Creek Moose Jaw Shaunavon South Shore 41 0 Swift Current Willow Bunch 72 0 Wiwa Creek Regional Branches exceeding their 2014 target 102 Regular Members 5934 Affiliate Members 4585 Provincial Members 118 Corporate Members Memberships to Jan 31, , Memberships to Jan 31, ,113 INCREASE 6,531 Target Actual To Go % Region % Region % Region % Region % Region % Region %

What Your Branch Needs to Know This Month

As of the end of October 2013 What Your Branch Needs to Know This Month Regional Elections - the SWF Board of Directors has passed a motion to realign the elections for regional positions to make them