Barnstable County League of Sportsman s Clubs Notes The meeting was held at Falmouth Rod and Gun Club on Thursday February 26 2015 Page 1 of 5 28 February 2015 There was a quorum 14 of 16 clubs present. Secretary s report was accepted as printed. Treasurer s report was accepted as read by Mike Veloza. Three clubs are behind on dues - Cape Cod Salties, Highland Fish and Game, and Falmouth Skeet Club. Correspondence:. Handouts: Updated club roster - Falmouth Fishermen. Poster - Cranberry Longbeards - see for the good of the order below. Poster - Monument Beach Sportsman's Club Sporting goods and Gun Show - see for the good of the order below. Poster May 2nd - 3rd - Holbrook Sportsmen's Show, Rte 53 Holbrook, MA Show - see for the good of the order below. Committees: National Seashore Craig Thatcher Was not present. He sent an e-mail announcing that the Spring Turkey Hunt applications are available at the Seashore website: http://www.nps.gov/caco/parkmgmt/hunting-information.htm Craig Thatcher North District Ranger Cape Cod National Seashore 508-487-2100, ext. 0910 www.nps.gov/caco Marine Fisheries Ross Kessler reported: 1. Public Access Update Should be starting work on Cashman Park Pier in Newburyport soon Will be providing $10K to Habitat Conservation Plan in a partnership with Mass Natural Heritage. 2. MRIP Hiring Contact David Martins for Details.
3. New Commissioner George N. Peterson, Jr. of Grafton has been appointed to serve as the Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game; Mary-Lee King of Hudson will serve as Deputy Commissioner. 4. Lobster Management- Recreational permit amount going from $40 to $55 first increase since 1988 but the $15 increase will go to a dedicated fund,- protected by statute. 5. Show Schedule MSBA March 28-29 6. Conservation Engineering- Put a bulletin on the List Serve, How to avoid Cod. Cod are at 4% of historical SSB. In an effort to minimize bottom impacts, increase gear selectivity, and reduce fuel consumption MDMF has secured methods that draggers can lease semi-pelagic off bottom doors from two different manufacturers. 7. Anadromous The first sustainable fisheries plan is being written for the Lakeville Middleborough Herring Commission and the Nemasket R. This plan will be ready in 2016 at the EARLIEST. Brad Chase is soliciting comments from everyone. 8. Environmental Review Eelgrass assessment of Duxbury Bay, loss of 700 acres since the 1950s, 64% loss since 1961. Main effects on birds and winter flounder Beach nourishment projects are becoming a focus Sand mining is another focus of this New release of the Ocean Management Plan, first since inaugural release in 2009 Coastal Erosion Commission being formed comments due April 7, 2015. Next meeting will be in Marshfield March 5 from 5-7PM 9. ASMFC Species Bluefish 10 Striped Bass- pending Recommended 1 @ 28 Scup- status quo, likely Tautog- Pending BSB- Need to accomplish a cut of 33%-37% i. May 16 August 2 (starts the same day as 2014, the third Saturday in May) ii. May 23 August 27 (captures the Memorial Day weekend and gets more August) iii. June 6 September 7 (captures the Labor Day weekend at the expense of opening date) Fluke- Pending- probably status quo - 5 fish 16 Squeteague-1 @16 Michael S. Bednarski, Ph.D. Stock Assessment Specialist mike.bednarski@state.ma.us Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries 1213 Purchase St. New Bedford, MA 02740 Page 2 of 5
508 990 2860 x 114 Ross Kessler ross.kessler@state.ma.us Aquatic Biologist II Facility: SSO (508)990-2860 x143 Mass Wildlife Jason Zimmer Grassland Project is delayed due to snow. Personnel Changes - Department of Fish and Game Commissioner - George Peterson, Department of Fish and Game Deputy Commissioner - Mary-Lee King, Director of the Division of Fish and Game Wayne MacCallum is retiring, and they are interviewing for his replacement, and Mr. Mark Tisa is the new Deputy Director of the Division of Fish and Game. Otis Hunts There was a meeting at Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) to discuss the upcoming hunting seasons on Otis. It turned out to be a briefing, and Jason Zimmer attended, but the Otis Fish and Game Club was not included. It turned out to be a briefing more than a meeting as no comments were allowed. Jason relayed our request to have the military hunt early in the first week but it fell on deaf ears. Because Saturday was a lousy day with low turnout they feel that they did not get a good indication of the impact on the civilian hunt the following Monday. Also, we are back to preregistering every year. The new form allows you to check off all hunts you may participate in, so you only have to register once. JBCC Hunting Dates - The 2015 dates are: Youth Turkey Hunt - Saturday, Apr 25 Spring Turkey Hunt, Monday May 18 through Friday May 22 Paraplegic Deer Hunt, Thursday October 29 through Saturday October 31 Archery Deer Hunt, Thursday November 5 through Saturday November 7 Military Deer Hunt, Friday December 4 through Saturday December 5 Shotgun Deer Hunt, Monday December 7 through Saturday December 12 Muzzleloader Deer Hunt, Friday December 18 through Saturday December 19 N.E. Cottontail survey - The survey is still going on, and they still want rabbit heads from hunters. Black Duck banding - has been going on the NE and SE district and is about to finish. 1200 have been banded in the Southeast District. Facebook - The Division now has a facebook page containing a lot of Web site info. Division Stewardship - The district has filled a new position, a District Stewardship Specialist, Aaron Betts Blue Hill Deer Management - no news, but it will probably be a controlled hunt the way Quabbin is. Archery in the schools There is a national program promoting archery in the schools. A link to the page of the web site is: http://www.naspschools.org/history/ Mass Wildlife has bought a kit, and if a school is interested, they can contact Jason. The only cost is $40 per teacher training kit and training takes 2 weeks. No info on which Schools if any have signed up. Youth deer hunt Was approved by the 7 person fish and game board. The hunt is planned for the 4th Saturday in September, or the first Saturday of October. Joint Base Cape Cod wants to support the hunt, and the National Seashore may also support the hunt. Because of all the snow, Governor Baker has put all regulatory considerations on hold, so it remains to be seen if the process can be accomplished in time for this year. Mass Wildlife Site: http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfw_toc.htm South East District Office Page 3 of 5
Jason Zimmer, District Manager Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Buzzards Bay, MA 02532. Tel: (508) 759-3406 Fax: (508) 759-0381 Mass State Council of Sportsmen (MSC) Stan Bazycki and Charlie Lewis Legislation There are 160 bills on the watch list. Legislator Appointments - Charlie Lewis read a list of Senatorial and House leadership and committee appointments. The list was very long, but I found some links to some of the info: https://malegislature.gov/committees http://hcacouncil.org/news/215447/2015-2016-massachusetts-senate-committee-and-leadership- Appointments-Announced.htm Notably, Under House Leadership, Sarah Peake, Provincetown, is third division chair, under House Minority Leadership, Vinny demacedo, Plymouth, is ranking Senate Ways and Means Member, under Environmental, Natural Resources & Agriculture Brian Mannal, Barnstable is Vice Chair, and under Labor and Work Force Committee, Dan Wolf, Harwich, is Senate Chair. Raffle tickets - Are available! Tickets are $5 each or $10 for a book of 4. Again this year if a club member sells a book his or her club receives $1 reduction in their Barnstable County League dues. There are 17 prizes; first prize is a Benelli SBE II, 28 inch barrel. Old Business Rabies Charlie said that trapping is ongoing but there have been no positive cases. Mo Beach range The Long Rifle Range will experience delayed openings Monday thru Friday beginning immediately thru March 31, 2015 to allow for a wildlife survey. This means the LRR will be closed from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Archery in the schools: See Jason s report above. Barnstable Shooting Range - Mike Veloza sent a letter from the League to the Barnstable Town Council supporting the land swap that will allow the shooting range to reopen. (NOTE: -The vote was postponed because Dr. Petticord, who was to present an environmental assessment, couldn't make the meeting due to weather. The vote is expected to be taken May 21) New Business: Hunter Safety Instructor Class - Bass River Yarmouth Discharge of Firearms Petition Article - Mike Cerbone and Board of Directors of the Bass River Rod & Gun Club met with the Board of Selectmen and Chief of Police on the subject. The Bottom Line they were told (as we suspected) that if this Article Passes at Town Meeting May 2 nd the Bass River Rod & Gun Club will be ordered to discontinue any and all Discharge of Firearms on their property. We must not let this happen this will be the beginning to the end of any discharging of any firearms in the town that is their end game, get the word out to anyone we know that lives in the Town of Yarmouth to get to the Town Meeting on May 2 nd and vote this Article Down. We also need them to understand that once they are successful in defeating this they need to stay at Town Meeting until it is over and officially closed because according to the meeting rules any article Page 4 of 5
maybe reconsidered at any time during the meeting until the meeting is officially ended. This means they could watch to see how many people leave and then bring the article back up for reconsideration if they think they have the votes to win. There is also a petition article to ban motorcycles in Yarmouth, the Bass River Rod & Gun Club is forming an alliance with the group that will be fighting this motorcycle ban to help fight the discharge ban therefor we will need to back them also to help fight the motorcycle ban. President Mike Veloza emphasized how important it is to stop this Article from Passing, he has notified the State Council & GOAL and they are both on board. He also wants the Bass River Rod & Gun Club, the Cape Cod Fish & Game Club and all Member Organizations to know that we are totally committed to helping to Defeat this Article and any and all of our resources are at their disposal, just let us know what we can do. MSC Banquet April 11 th : The League voted to buy two tables at the Mass Sportsmen's Council Banquet, anyone wishing to go needs to Contact Vice President Ken Teixeira. These seats will be as normal if you can afford the $35 per seat you can reimburse the League if not the seats are paid for. Cranberry Longbeards Banquet 28 March 5:30 PM: The League also voted to buy a Boss Gobbler Package Table (8 Seats) $1250.00, if you would like to go contact President Mike Veloza. These Seats are $156.25 each that you will have to reimburse the League, guaranteed someone at the Table will win a Firearm of some kind plus several other things that come with the price of the ticket contact Mike for details. For the Good of the Order: (In addition to those mentioned above in Committee Reports) 7 March 4:00 PM: Otis Fish and Game Club - Game dinner. 21 March 6:00 PM: Brewster Sportsman and Civic Club Game Dinner. 28 March 10 AM to 5 PM, 29 March 9 AM to 4 PM, 2015 Mass Striped Bass Association Annual Sport Fishing Expo, NEW LOCATION: 20 J5 University Sports Complex/Starland, Route 53 Hanover, MA. Adults $10, Children 14 and under $% Cranberry Longbeards Banquet 28 March 5:30 PM -.Kevin Antovich 508 737 1383 11 April Monument Beach Sportsman Show 11/12 April Otis Fish and Game 3-D Shoot http://www.otisfishandgame.com Phone: 508-564-6442 11 April Mass State Council banquet -American Legion, Sutton, MA. 2 & 3 May: Holbrook Sportsmen s Show, Rte 53 Holbrook, Next meeting: Next league meeting is scheduled for Feb 26 at Shawme, Falmouth. Cocktails 6:30 PM, Dinner at 7:00 PM, and meeting at 8:00 PM. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:44 PM. Jim Hanks e-mail: jphanks@comcast.net Page 5 of 5