Frankfort, Kentucky - Kentucky farmers can earn extra cash in the Dove Field Hunt Program offered by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Initiated in 1998, the Dove Field Hunt Program, formerly known as the Dove Field Lease Program, has been successful not only in providing expanded public hunting opportunities, but also in generating important new income for Kentucky farmers.

Fields planted in the spring specifically as prescribed for dove hunting next fall can generate as much as $2,500 for a landowner when leased to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife for public hunting. Crops such as sunflowers or millet qualify, or an idle or fallow field planted to winter wheat also could be considered. By working with your local wildlife biologist, any field previously intended for silage production can easily become a dove-hunting field.

“Larger fields up to 20 acres are preferred. However, in the past, we have had some excellent smaller fields enrolled in the program. Therefore, all fields regardless of size will be evaluated and considered for the program,” said Migratory Bird Program Coordinator Rocky Pritchert.

Area farmers interested in the program should contact their local wildlife biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, or their Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) liaison no later than February 29.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologists, NRCS liaisons and their contact information are listed on the department’s web site at fw.ky.gov. Click on “wildlife,” then “contacts.” You may also call the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Information Center during normal weekday working hours at 1-800-858-1549.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources manages, regulates, enforces and promotes responsible use of all fish and wildlife species, their habitats, public wildlife areas and waterways for the benefit of those resources and for public enjoyment. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, an agency of the Commerce Cabinet, has an economic impact to the state of $4.8 billion annually. For more information on the department, visit our web site at fw.ky.gov.

FAIRFAX, Va. – The National Rifle Association has selected three of its top Junior Members to receive the 2007 Outstanding Achievement Youth Award, recognizing them for their active participation in the community, the classroom, and the shooting sports.  Overall, $10,000 in scholarship money was awarded to the winners thanks to a generous donation from Brownells, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of firearms accessories and gunsmithing tools.

A $5,000 scholarship was awarded to first-place winner Juliann Terry, 18, of Newcastle, Wyo.  A member of the Rapid City Rifle Club, Terry placed first in .22 rifle at the 2006 Wyoming 4-H Shooting Sports competition and later represented the state of Wyoming at the 2006 4-H Nationals, placing fifth in the country in smallbore competition.  In addition to being a fine shooter, Terry is also active in her community, having presented the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program to local elementary school students and volunteering as a teen leader at 4-H workshops and summer camps in her home county.  She excels in the classroom as well, sporting a 4.0 grade point average while playing clarinet in the Newcastle High School Band.    

“Juliann exemplifies all of the qualities that we look for in awarding the Outstanding Achievement Youth Award,” said NRA Youth Programs Manager Larry Quandahl.  “She is an exceptional young person, one who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership qualities, complete dedication in the classroom, and an unwavering commitment to the shooting sports.”

The second-place award and its accompanying $3,000 scholarship went to eighteen-year-old Scott Thomas of Poca, W.Va.  Thomas, an NRA Life Member, is a member of the Putnam County Gun Club Junior Smallbore Team.  He is a three-time smallbore competitor in the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, and he has served as a volunteer at numerous shooting camps.  Thomas was selected to attend the 2006 Youth Education Summit (YES) in Washington, D.C., earning a hunting trip for his exceptional performance at the event.  He hopes to one day shoot on the West Virginia University rifle team. 

Jonathan Warhol, 16, of Leonardo, N.J., was the third-place winner, earning a $2,000 scholarship.  Warhol is an apprentice NRA Certified Shotgun Instructor and has achieved the rating of Distinguished Expert in the shotgun course of fire of the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program.  Warhol has distinguished himself on the skeet field, becoming the 2006 New Jersey Junior Champion in 28 gauge.  An honor student at New Jersey’s Mater Dei High School, Warhol teaches others the joys of shotgun shooting through the Women On Target® Program, youth day events, and the junior shooting program at the Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club. 

All NRA Junior Members (or NRA Regular or Life Members under age 18) who are current members of an NRA-affiliated club or state association and who have completed one NRA Basic Firearm Training Course are eligible for the award.  Applicants must also have earned at least one rating through the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program and submitted three letters of recommendation, a copy of their school transcript, and a 1,000-word essay entitled, “What the Shooting Sports has Taught Me.”

Aside from these core requirements, applicants must have participated in at least five NRA-sponsored programs.  These elective requirements include presenting the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program, attending the Youth Education Summit, competing in the Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC), entering the NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest, or participating in the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, among others.

Applications for next year’s Outstanding Achievement Youth Award are due at NRA Headquarters no later than May 1, 2008.  To learn more about the program or how to apply, please contact NRA’s Youth Programs Department at (703) 267-1505 or visit www.nrahq.org/youth/achievement.asp.  To learn more about Brownells, Inc., visit www.brownells.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The National Wild Turkey Federation has reached a milestone, having donated more than $1 million to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and the fight to protect hunting in America.

On Oct. 5 at the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, Tammy Sapp, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF)’s senior vice president of communications, presented a $100,000 check to Rick Story, senior vice president of the USSA.

The contribution makes NWTF one of the top donors of all time to the nation’s leading sportsmen’s rights advocacy organization.

“This benchmark speaks volumes about the NWTF and its deep and steadfast commitment to the defense of outdoor sports,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president & CEO. “Its investment in the battle to protect sportsmen’s rights has paid dividends for hunters from Maine to California.”

The NWTF and USSA have partnered on many projects to promote and protect hunting. The team, along with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, established the Families Afield program to eliminate unnecessary hunting age restrictions and ease hunter education mandates for first time hunters.

“Removing youth hunting barriers is one way to help ensure the future of our hunting heritage for generations to come,” said Rob Keck, CEO of the NWTF. “By fighting for sportsmen’s rights, the USSA is making a significant difference and we’re proud to support them.”

The NWTF has also fought alongside the USSA to ensure the defeat of ballot issues to ban bear hunting in Alaska and Maine and defeat legislation to ban dove hunting in California.

They have also defeated a bill that would have kicked sportsmen off of the New Jersey Fish and Game Council, replacing them with environmental and animal rights activists. In Ohio, the two organizations worked to protect dove hunting at the ballot box.

“The NWTF understands that the anti-hunting threats to dove hunting or bear hunting are the tip of the iceberg, and if one of those pastimes falls, the turkey hunters will be one of the next in line,” said Pidgeon. “Its support of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance demonstrates its commitment to the future of all hunting and wildlife conservation nationwide.”

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protect the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs.

For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, ussportsmen.org.

CAPE COD, Mass. — The National Park Service has approved a plan to permit a century-old hunting tradition to resume on the Cape Cod National Seashore, a popular federal hunting area in New England.

On Oct. 12, the National Park Service announced the reinstatement of pheasant stocking at the Cape Cod National Seashore for the next 17 years and pheasant hunting indefinitely.

The agency will also increase upland bird habitat and establish a spring turkey hunt. The plans are part of a court-ordered environmental assessment of the Seashore’s hunting program.

“Since the anti-hunters filed suit five years ago to stop the hunt, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and sportsmen have encouraged the Park Service to do what it must to maintain Cape Cod’s hunting heritage, which has existed there since the early 1900s,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president & CEO. “The Foundation applauds the decision to maintain and augment hunting opportunities. It demonstrates that the sport is not a detriment to the Seashore.”

The issue was sparked by a federal suit that anti-hunting groups brought in 2002 to stop hunting on the Cape Cod National Seashore. The USSAF, along with the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council Inc., Barnstable County League of Sportsmen’s Clubs and sportsman Michael Veloza of Manomet, Massachusetts, joined the lawsuit to protect hunting on this and other federal land holdings.

The court ruled in 2003 that the pheasant program be halted while an Environmental Impact Statement was completed. The USSA urged the NPS to swiftly complete the EIS, and encouraged sportsmen to support options within the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that allowed the hunt.

Native prairie destruction up 40 percent - Sodsaver needed

The amount of native prairie destroyed in the Prairie Pothole Region has skyrocketed by at least 40 percent in the last year. Ducks Unlimited says this increase validates concerns that duck populations and the viability of ranching operations are threatened.

New statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture show the amount of grassland being converted to cropland in North Dakota and Montana is 6,000 acres higher this year than it was in 2006. Landowners in the two states plowed up 30,000 acres of native prairie in 2007. More than 20,000 of those acres were in the Prairie Pothole Region.

“Loss figures this high for these two states are not a good sign when we haven’t yet seen South Dakota’s data,” said Scott Stephens, DU’s director of conservation planning for the Great Plains Region. In recent years, South Dakota has shown the largest annual losses.

The Prairie Pothole Region includes the eastern Dakotas as well as portions of Montana, Minnesota and Iowa. Abundant with wetlands and grassland, the region is widely known as North America’s “duck factory.” Most ducks nest in grass so a significant loss of grass will mean fewer ducks produced in the spring. Converting grassland to cropland also threatens small wetlands on the land.

“Research shows for every one percent loss of grassland, we can expect 25,000 fewer ducks in the fall flight,” Stephens said. “If we lose just two percent a year, half of the grasslands will be gone in 35 years.”

According to DU Executive Vice President Don Young, this significant loss in nesting habitat is further evidence of the need for a strong Sodsaver provision in the 2007 Farm Bill. The Sodsaver provision will remove federal farm payments from converted native prairie where there is no previous cropping history.

“It’s clear native prairie loss is continuing. This is bad news for duck production,” Young said. “Some current farm programs, like crop insurance, only encourage more cultivation on land not well-suited for crops. Sodsaver will fix this problem and focus government incentives on our best farmland to help keep farming and ranching viable. It will help us fulfill the idea of ‘Farm the best, conserve the rest’.”

Young says this new information is timely as the U.S. Senate is currently deliberating its version of the farm bill.

“The latest proof of an increase in the destruction of native prairie provides Congress with further evidence of an ongoing problem,” Young said. “The House has already included a provision to slow grassland conversion. We expect the Senate will build upon these efforts and include a stronger Sodsaver provision in its farm bill.”

Young encourages people who enjoy seeing or hunting ducks to contact their Senators about the importance of conservation provisions like Sodsaver in the farm bill. For information on contacting your Senator go to: www.ducks.org/TakeAction/FarmBill

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.

Media Contact:
Becky Jones Mahlum, Ducks Unlimited (701) 426-5171 bjonesmahlum@ducks.org

Crisp, cool autumn weather signals the beginning of the upland bird hunting and waterfowl seasons. Don’t let this season go by without inviting family and friends out to hunt. Everyone will enjoy great dog work and challenging, hard flying birds.

Use NSSF’s portal Web site, www.huntandshoot.org, to locate a gamebird preserve near you. Companies in the hunting and shooting sports industries can help promote this great resource by including a link to HuntandShoot.org on their Web sites and in their catalogs. Learn more by contacting Dave Miles, NSSF’s director of marketing, at dmiles@nssf.org.

An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog that just may be the biggest pig ever found.
Jamison Stone’s father says the hog his son killed weighed a 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. Think hams as big as car tires.
If the claims are accurate, Jamison’s trophy boar would be bigger than Hogzilla, the famed wild hog that grew to seemingly mythical proportions after being killed in south Georgia in 2004.
Hogzilla originally was thought to weigh 1,000 pounds and measure 12 feet in length. National Geographic experts who unearthed its remains believe the animal actually weighed about 800 pounds and was 8 feet long.
After seeing the pig in person, taxidermist Jerry Cunningham told The Anniston Star it was “the biggest thing I’d ever seen … it’s huge.”
The Anniston Star reported that the feral hog was weighed at the Clay County Farmer’s Exchange in Lineville. Workers at the co-op verified that the basic truck scales used were recently certified by the state. But no workers from the co-op were present when the hog was weighed.
Jamison is reveling in the attention over his pig, which has a Web site put up by his father — http://www.monsterpig.com — that is generating Internet buzz.
“It feels really good,” Jamison, of Pickensville, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “It’s a good accomplishment. I probably won’t ever kill anything else that big.”
Jamison, who killed his first deer at age 5, was hunting with father Mike Stone and two guides in east Alabama on May 3 when he bagged Hogzilla II. He said he shot the huge animal eight times with a .50-caliber revolver and chased it for three hours through hilly woods before finishing it off with a point-blank shot.
Through it all there was the fear that the animal would turn and charge them, as wild boars have a reputation of doing.
“I was a little bit scared, a little bit excited,” said Jamison, who just finished the sixth grade on the honor roll at Christian Heritage Academy, a small, private school.
His father said that, just to be extra safe, he and the guides had high-powered rifles aimed and ready to fire in case the beast with 5-inch tusks decided to charge.
With the pig finally dead in a creek bed on the 2,500-acre Lost Creek Plantation, a commercial hunting preserve in Delta, trees had to be cut down and a backhoe brought in to bring Jamison’s prize out of the woods.
It was hauled on a truck to the Clay County Farmers Exchange in Lineville, where Jeff Kinder said they used his scale, which was recently calibrated, to weigh the hog.
Kinder, who didn’t witness the weigh-in, said he was baffled to hear the reported weight of 1,051 pounds because his scale — an old, manual style with sliding weights — only measures to the nearest 10.
“I didn’t quite understand that,” he said.
Mike Stone said the scale balanced one notch past the 1,050-pound mark, and he thought it meant a weight of 1,051 pounds.
“It probably weighed 1,060 pounds. We were just afraid to change it once the story was out,” he said.
The hog’s head is now being mounted on an extra-large foam form by Cunningham of Jerry’s Taxidermy in Oxford. Cunningham said the animal measured 54 inches around the head, 74 inches around the shoulders and 11 inches from the eyes to the end of its snout.
Mike Stone is having sausage made from the rest of the animal. “We’ll probably get 500 to 700 pounds,” he said.
Jamison, meanwhile, has been offered a small part in “The Legend of Hogzilla,” a small-time horror flick based on the tale of the Georgia boar. The movie is holding casting calls with plans to begin filming in Georgia.
The Anniston Star reported that congratulatory calls have come all the way from California, where Jamison appeared on a radio talk show. Jamison apparently has gotten words of congratulation from Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd, country music star Kenny Chesney, Tom Knapp of Benelli firearms and Jerry Miculek of Smith and Wesson.
Jamison is enjoying the newfound celebrity generated by the hog hunt, but he said he prefers hunting pheasants to monster pigs.
“They are a little less dangerous.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Virginia sportsmen are being called to take grassroots action to protect the rights of houndsmen who need to retrieve strayed hunting dogs.
Bill Criminalizes Retrieval of Hunting Dogs from Private Property
On Jan. 10, Delegate Steven Landes, R-Waynesboro, introduced HB 2531. The bill beefs up trespass laws to make the retrieval of a hunting dog from private property without landowner permission a crime.
“House Bill 2531 makes the unjust assumption that a hunting dog on private property was intentionally released there to illegally hunt,” said Rob Sexton, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance vice president for government affairs. “Sportsmen support the strong trespass laws that the state has already established, but they should oppose this bill, which turns the recovery of a hunting dog that has strayed into a criminal offense.”
House Bill 2531 will be heard by the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee on Jan. 25 at 7:30 AM. The hearing will be at the State Capitol in the West Conference Room on the 8th floor. Sportsmen are encouraged to attend and demonstrate opposition to the bill.
Bills Reinforce Positive Relations between Sportsmen and Private Landowners
Two additional bills have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that will simplify the retrieval of strayed hunting dogs.
Senate Bill 884, introduced by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, will require a sportsman who is retrieving a hunting dog on another’s property to identify himself if asked to do so by the landowner. The bill passed the Senate on Jan. 18 by a vote of 39-0. It now moves to the House of Delegates for committee assignment.
“A landowner has the right to know who is on his property and what brings him there,” said Sexton. “It is a way to maintain good relations with private property-owners near your hunting grounds.”
Virginia houndsmen are also encouraged to support SB 1180, which makes it a crime to remove a dog’s collar without the owner’s authority. Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, introduced the bill that prohibits removal of tracking collars from strayed hounds. Such a collar makes it easier for a sportsman whose dog may have strayed to locate and retrieve the animal.
Take Action!
Virginia sporting dog owners are urged to attend the Jan. 25 hearing on HB 2531. The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee will convene at 7:30 AM in the West Conference Room, 8th Floor of the State Capitol. Sportsmen should demonstrate opposition to the bill.
Those who cannot attend should contact their delegates to oppose HB 2531. The bill violates hunting dog owners’ rights and assumes their guilt until they can prove themselves innocent. To find and contact your delegate, call 698-1500. Sportsmen may also use the Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org. The resource allows visitors to find and send messages to their lawmakers.
Virginia sporting dog owners are urged to ask their delegates and senators to support SB 884 and SB 1180. The bills enhance sportsmen’s relations with landowners, and help ensure convenient retrieval of a strayed hunting dog. To find and contact your senator or delegate, call 698-1500 or use the Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Neither gunfire nor two days in a refrigerator could slay this duck.
When the wife of the hunter who shot it opened the refrigerator door, the duck lifted its head, giving her a scare.
The man’s wife “was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn’t been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her,” said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital. “She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there.”
The 1-pound female ring-neck ended up at Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated since Tuesday for wounds to its wing and leg.
Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 percent chance of survival, but probably won’t ever be well enough to be released back into the wild.
He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times. And he said he understands how the hunter thought the duck was dead.
“This duck is very passive,” Hale said. “It’s not like trying to pick up a Muscovy at Lake Ella, where you put your life in your hands.”

Hunting advocacy organizations have launched new campaigns in a number of states to tear down age and other barriers that prevent people from hunting.
The effort is part of the national Families Afield campaign, established by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, National Shooting Sports Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation to urge states to review and eliminate unnecessary hunting age restrictions and ease hunter education mandates.
Legislation addressing these concerns is being prepared and introduced in California, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin in 2007. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its partners have been consulting with state officials and sportsmen’s leaders to craft legislation that addresses the specific needs of the five states, while removing and reducing unnecessary restrictions on hunting. The National Rifle Association is backing the bills in North and South Dakota, and is expected to join the effort in the remaining states. The groups advocate the concept that newcomers to outdoor sports should have the opportunity to experience hunting before making large investments of time and money in equipment and training.
“These states are taking bold first steps to ensure hunting traditions continue to be passed on to the next generation,” said Chris Dolnack, NSSF senior vice president. “Our Families Afield partnership with the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and National Wild Turkey Federation is squarely aimed at helping to eliminate barriers to entry and to increase opportunities for participation. It will truly make a difference for the future of hunting.”
To date, Families Afield legislation and regulations have been approved in 12 states. Two of those states, Michigan and Ohio, established apprentice hunting programs. First-year results appear extremely promising. More than 17,500 apprentice licenses were sold in Michigan, plus over 9,500 in Ohio, during 2006. These 27,000 new hunters suggest a 33 percent jump in the two states’ combined population of hunters age 15 and under.
Families Afield was developed after results of a study, called the Youth Hunting Report, showed that youngsters are less likely to take up hunting in states that have more restrictive requirements for youth participation. However, states that have removed barriers to youth hunting have a much higher youth recruitment rate.
Studies have also shown that supervised youth are the safest class of hunters.
“Hunting is a remarkably safe sport to begin with, and hunting accidents are even rarer in states where parents decide at what age their children are allowed to hunt,” said Dolnack. “Another up-side to an early introduction is the fact that youth who are permitted to try hunting at an early age are more likely to continue their involvement in the sport, which would help reverse the trend of declining sportsman numbers.”
Take Action!
Sportsmen are encouraged to support the Families Afield bills in their state legislatures. To make grassroots action easy, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance features the Legislative Action Center on its website, www.ussportsmen.org. The resource allows visitors to find and send messages to their lawmakers.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations. It protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

ANBY, Ore. — Confronted with a deer whose antlers were tangled in a rope swing at a rural home, two officers saw no good choices.
They weren’t about to try to free the animal themselves. It weighed several hundred pounds and was thrashing wildly.
A bullet in the skull seemed the alternative.
“They thought they were going to have to kill it out of compassion,” Lt. Jim Strovink of the Clackamas County sheriff’s office said Wednesday. “It was going to die a slow, agonizing death.”
Then Deputy Jeff Miller thought of the stun gun used to immobilize out-of-control prisoners or suspects.
Zap!
The deer stopped moving.
The officers, one a sheriff’s deputy, the other a state trooper, untangled the rope, which was dangling from a tree limb, and freed the buck.
Not long after, the deer “took off happy as a clam,” Strovink said. “That was pretty good thinking.”

Fox Sports Net, which provides regional sports programming to 85 million households, will no longer run an anti-trapping advertisement produced by the nation’s largest animal rights group, the Humane Society of the United States.
Thousands of angry sportsmen nationwide had sounded off to the network in December after the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance , the nation’s leading sportsman advocacy organization, exposed the network’s decision to air the political advertisement as a gratis public service announcement.
Fox Sports Net told USSA that the 15-second, anti-trapping commercial expired on Dec. 31 and will not run again. The advertisement featured Humane Society of the United States leader Wayne Pacelle and a second animal activist urging viewers to support trapping bans. To add to the sensationalism, the spot opened with a loud clank as a foot hold trap with teeth - a trap that has been banned throughout the country for decades - snapped shut.
“Sportsmen delivered a message to Fox Sports that they want the network to scrutinize the public service announcements it receives so that anti-trapping and anti-hunting political advertisements like this HSUS spot do not receive approval in the future,” said Rick Story, USSA senior vice president. “Based on discussions USSA has had with the network, we anticipate that in the future it will pay much closer attention to ads that reflect such political viewpoints.”
Trapping is recognized by every wildlife agency at the state and federal level as a viable and important conservation tool. It helps keep furbearer populations at healthy levels and is important in stemming the spread of wildlife diseases that threaten animals and humans.
The Humane Society of the United States opposes all animal use, including trapping, hunting and fishing. It has a multi-million dollar budget that it invests in legislative and ballot campaigns to ban trapping and hunting. It also has a legal arm to challenge sportsmen’s rights in court.
Sportsmen can subscribe to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance E-mail Network at www.ussportsmen.org to stay informed about this and other issues that impact the future of America’s outdoor heritage.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

Since NSSF helped launch Families Afield nearly two years ago, 10 states have passed new laws creating additional opportunities for young people to get involved in hunting. Now, as hunting seasons near, some of those states are preparing for larger-than-normal numbers of newcomers.
In Michigan, a group of Perry sportsmen are rounding up prizes for youngsters who participate in the third annual “Youth Hunt Buck Pole.” Organizers are expecting “dramatic increases” in young hunters this year. In Ohio, Department of Natural Resources personnel are utilizing the media to inform the public of new hunting opportunities as well as new apprentice hunting license requirements.
Click here for more information on Families Afield.

“It’s preseason football time, but not ‘officially’ football season. And like preseason football, it’s also preseason for hunting,” writes Sheboygan Press columnist Shawn Clark. Clark points out that while hunting seasons are approaching, visiting a hunting preserve is a perfect preseason warm-up.
A searchable Web site, www.wingshootingusa.org, features links to preserves throughout the country. The site was developed by NSSF to offer hunters “a place to hunt for bird hunting places.”

The World Hunting Association today announced that the organization will shift to a traditional harvest format in time for the organization’s inaugural tournament this fall. The announcement was made by World Hunting Association commissioner David Farbman.
Detroit, MI. - The World Hunting Association today announced that the organization will shift to a traditional harvest format in time for the organization’s inaugural tournament this fall. The announcement was made by World Hunting Association commissioner David Farbman.
Over the past two months, we have met one-on-one with fellow hunters, major hunters’ rights organizations, industry leaders and top outdoor journalists from all over the country to gain their perspectives. Consistently, their major concerns centered on the proposed use of non-fatal darting, said Farbman. The World Hunting Association is committed to growing the sport of hunting and increasing participation among youth, women and minority groups. We regret that the darting format upset other individuals with those same goals, said Farbman. “The The World Hunting Associationis made up of longtime hunters who are incredibly passionate about the sport. Everyone associated with The World Hunting Association wants what is best for hunting. We feel confident we are now on the right path.”
The organization has also altered the competition’s prize money structure, eliminating a bounty level system, and offering awards based on a more general point system. The first tournaments in 2006 will be held at Lost Arrow Ranch in Gladwin, Michigan. The use of the 1,000 acre preserve for the tournaments not only allows for a controlled competition, it also insures that the tournaments will not adversely impact wild game populations or infringe upon hunting opportunities on public and private land for regularly licensed hunters.
The World Hunting Association is committed to education and elevating awareness of hunting via its interactive Web site and televised tour events, offering fans an opportunity to step inside the lives of eight diverse professional hunters from across the United States. Individual hunting strategies, techniques, and skill sets will all be showcased. A key goal of the organization is to recruit and retain more youth, women, minorities and non-hunters into the sport and reverse a two decade-long decline in hunting.
The hunting tour will feature 12-day tournaments during which the pro hunters can take up to six deer — four does, one management buck and one trophy buck. Certain bucks that are featured and studied on the internet portal will not be eligible for harvest during competition, but the hunters can gain bonus points for bringing the deer into effective range and capturing the footage on camera. A bow, rifle and a muzzle loader will be used over the course of the tournament: At least one deer must be taken with each of the three throughout a competition.
In keeping with the organization’s belief of providing assistance and support to a variety of charitable organizations, a portion of the deer harvested will be donated to area homeless shelters. Food donations are just one of the many ways that the World Hunting Association expects to participate in community outreach in the future.
Set to launch in mid-September, the official interactive domain replaces the organization’s temporary website. The new online experience boasts numerous high-tech multimedia features unlike anything else offered within the hunting community — making the thrill and tradition of hunting accessible to everyone across the globe. The user-friendly site provides hours of streaming footage of the tournaments, exciting interactive games, a highly educational and fun GPS tracking tool and other innovative features.
About the World Hunting Association
The World Hunting Association™ is a global competitive sporting establishment dedicated to organizing and promoting the sport of hunting and conservation and growing youth and non-hunter participation. The World Hunting Association includes a ground-breaking, professional, competitive hunting tour, spotlighting professional tour hunters from all over the United States who will compete with cameras present at all times. WHA will incorporate several patent-pending technologies that will enhance the viewer experience. More information about the World Hunting Association is available at www.worldhunt.com.

Chronic wasting disease was not detected in samples taken from hunter-killed deer during the state’s 2005 hunting season, according to Dr. Walt Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian.
As CWD has been identified in New York and West Virginia in 2005, Cottrell noted that the agency continues to increase the number of deer samples collected for testing.
In 2005, 3,834 samples were tested from hunter-killed deer, and CWD was not detected. In 2004, 3,613 hunter-killed deer samples were tested, compared to the 2,004 deer sampled in 2003, and 558 in 2002. CWD was not detected in previous year’s samples. Results showing that the CWD tests of hunter-killed elk from 2005 were all negative and were announced on Jan. 23.

Nancy Lee Laura, 50, of Hanover, Pa., chose to harass five lawful deer hunters several times last fall on her state’s regular rifle season’s opening day. In turn, a Pennsylvania judge chose to find her guilty of violating the state’s Game and Wildlife Code. Along with his decision of guilt was a fine of $500. The charges were followed up by an investigation by game commission wildlife conservation officers.
“If we are notified when these incidents occur, and our investigation finds that crime against lawful hunters or trappers was committed” said wildlife conservation officers Chad R. Eyler, “we will enforce the interference law and protect lawful hunters and trappers from this type of conduct by others.”
Several states have recently added teeth or are currently legislating even stronger hunter-harassment laws than are currently on the books, including Pennsylvania and Arizona.

About half of U.S. hunters live in states where parents - not politicians - decide when their sons and daughters are ready for big-game hunting. More and more states are creating opportunities for families thanks to efforts by NSSF, the National Wild Turkey Federation, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses.
NSSF’s STEP OUTSIDE® program, which encourages hunters to introduce newcomers to the outdoors, offers parents 10 tips on introducing youngsters to hunting.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission will meet Tuesday to consider a formal proposal for the state’s mentored-youth hunting program, but sources say the program is not likely to include deer, reports the Morning Call. A commission spokesman cites concern that a large influx of new hunters could negatively impact the state’s deer herd. However, statistics from other states suggest that hunters age 12 and under would account for only a small fraction of Pennsylvania’s overall deer harvest.
Creating opportunities for young people to hunt deer in an adult-supervised situation was the original intent of the mentored-youth hunting program, which overwhelmingly passed the legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell’s desk late last year. The program is a result of the Families Afield initiative of NSSF, National Wild Turkey Federation, and U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — America’s two largest outdoor magazines, Field and Stream and Outdoor Life, have been publishing hunting, fishing and conservation stories for a combined 219 years.
Today both titles are communicating those stories in another way — through a new sponsorship of National Hunting and Fishing Day, set for Sept. 23, 2006.
The magazines, along with parent company Time4 Outdoors, have offered a sponsorship package to help return the 34-year-old, federally recognized holiday to its early glory as the most successful sporting campaign in American history.
It’s a movement being driven by Wonders of Wildlife, the National Fish and Wildlife Museum and Aquarium. Based in Springfield, Mo., the official home of National Hunting and Fishing Day is the only hunting- and fishing-focused facility that’s both affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
Wonders of Wildlife’s partners include the National Shooting Sports Foundation , which founded National Hunting and Fishing Day, The Outdoor Channel, Bass Pro Shops, Realtree and Woolrich. More are expected to come on board to help unify America’s hunters and anglers into the cohesive force that hallmarked early years of the celebration.
“We are honored to welcome Outdoor Life and Field and Stream to this effort,” said Tony Schoonen, Wonders of Wildlife executive director. “These publications have played an integral role in entertaining and informing hunters and anglers for generations, and they certainly have a place in the ultimate celebration of America’s hunting and fishing traditions.”
“Our magazines are committed to growing and preserving hunting and fishing and supporting National Hunting and Fishing Day is a great opportunity to do just that,” said Eric Zinczenko, group publisher of Field and Stream and Outdoor Life magazines. “We hope the day galvanizes the millions of American outdoorsmen and women to unify in celebration of the sports they love.”
Country music star Tracy Byrd has been named honorary chairman for National Hunting and Fishing Day 2006. Byrd also served that role in 2005.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, formalized by Congress in 1971, was created by NSSF to celebrate the conservation successes of hunters and anglers. From shopping center exhibits to statewide expos, millions of citizens learned to appreciate America’s sportsman-based system of conservation funding. That system now generates more than $1.7 billion per year, benefiting all who appreciate wildlife and wild places.
National Hunting and Fishing Day is observed on the fourth Saturday of every September.
For more information, visit www.nhfday.org.
Time4 Outdoors, publishers of Field and Stream®, Outdoor Life® and SHOT Business®, is a division of Time4 Media®, the world’s leading publisher of enthusiast magazines. Time4 Media is a subsidiary of Time Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner .