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QDMA NEPA Branch 2207
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Newsletters Major Program
Sponsors
Local Program
Sponsors
********** Pa. County Coordinators Pike County Coordinator & Processors Monroe County Coordinator & Processors HSH Pike County Program Sponsors Pennsylvania Game Commission Search HSH ********** ********** ********* |
Pike County Quality Deer Management Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Quality Deer Management (QDM) is a philosophy or practice for landowners and hunters to work together toward producing healthy deer herds by not harvesting young bucks but harvesting enough does to better balance the herd and maintain quality sustainable habitat. Public awareness and continued hunter education is vital for sound decisions in deer management practices. The National QDMA office is located in Bogart, Georgia. National website: www.qdma.com. Branch website: www.QDMAPikeCountyPa.com.
New QDMA Regional Director
Banquet to Feature Works of “Local” Artist, and Living Historian’s Presentation
The Banquet this year is Friday evening, Sept. 29, at Ehrhardt’s on Route 507 at Lake Wallenpaupack in Hawley. Professional Auctioneer Jamie Lovins (at left) will keep you amused during the live auction for some great prizes and prints. This year, we are pleased to feature works by a "local artist" of wildlife in Pike County settings. Other prizes include rifles, pistol, rangefinder, binoculars, sculptures, butchering kit, Native American flint knife, some leather items, and much more! Our ladies raffle will include some wonderful prizes for hunters and non-hunters alike. Leonard Boyer is a living historian and member of the Navasing Long Rifles based in Jefferson, N.Y. Members conduct extensive research for accuracy in their collection and craft. Leonard will give a special presentation on early pioneers and hunting methods. His collection of crude tools, small but efficient cooking utensils, and other possessions typically owned by a colonial woodsman prior to the Revolution will be displayed. This is an exceptional presentation not to be missed! Join us for a great time at this sportsmens and womens annual fundraising event. Doors open for registration at 6 p.m. & dinner is at 7:30 p.m. There will be live & silent auctions, raffles, & cash prizes. Tickets are $50 for adults & include a full course dinner and 1-year QDMA membership. An adult with a spouse is $70 and include two dinners & one QDMA membership. For Early Bird Raffle Tickets, $100 buys $300 value if purchased up to one week prior to the banquet. On banquet night, $100 buys $100 worth of raffle tickets. Send your registration (name, address, phone, email, number attending and whether you are a new QDMA member or renewal) to Pike County QDMA, P.O. Box 1147, Milford, PA 18337. Your tickets will be waiting for you at the registration table. We look forward to seeing you there!
Second Annual Youth Event – July 15 Our second annual Youth Event was a success with 25 youth signed up to participate this year, our maximum. They were accompanied by a parent or grandparent and all enjoyed the 1-day program despite some rain showers & hazy, hot, humid conditions. Co-Chairs Scott Savini & Nicole Bernarsky coordinated the event for youth age 7 – 12. Skill stations were archery, shotgun, and .22 rim fire. Presentations included a Wildlife Identification and Track Pit by Mike Brubaker from Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC); Orienteering and GPS Introduction by Directors Robin Wildermuth, vice pres., and Tad McAlpin; and Being Prepared in the Outdoors by Director and treas. John Crerand. We greatly appreciate all our sponsors that helped make the day possible. They include HTE Instructors Bob Gallagher, Chuck Lombaerde, and Scane Renner; Mike Brubaker from PEEC; Camasta Plumbing; Fenkners Septic for donation of a port-a-potty; Pennsylvania Game Commission; Pike County Outfitters; US Forest Service at Grey Towers National Historic Site; and Wallenpaupack Sport Shop.
QDMA Director & Youth Event Co-Chair Scott Savini (left) welcomes all. HTE Instructor Bob Gallagher (center) gives classroom style instruction. On right, Northeast Regional Director Ken Allein gives an overview about QDMA.
Mike Brubaker (left) from PEEC displays hides and holds a skunk pelt. He passed them around for everyone to get a close-up look. QDMA Director Bill Edwards (center) gives instruction at the archery station. Scane Renner (right) instructs youth at the rifle station.
On left, HTE instructor Chuck Lombaerde observes a father and son participant at the archery station. At center, QDMA Director John Crerand talks about being prepared in the field in all weather conditions. On right, Co-chairs Nicole Bernarsky, standing on left, and Scott Savini, seated on left, conduct a challenging quiz for youth to win prizes by answering questions about what they learned throughout the day. At the end of the program, all completed a survey and even the parents got a chance to complete a survey. Our Branch received some excellent feedback from the adults as well as youth. We are also pleased that 3 youth that attended our first event last year, signed up again this year. We look forward to next year’s program!
Short Course and Pike County QDMA Debuts New Display Whitetail deer, their health and future, hunting techniques, & how Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) affects the deer population when a test turns out positive were the topics at the April 22 Short Course. Between presentations, Branch pres. Peter Pinchot and vice pres. Robin Wildermuth provided updates on Branch activities and programs in Pike County. Dr. Dave Samuel, editor of Bowhunter Magazine, columnist for Whitetail Journal, former Pope & Young board member and author of the book “Know Hunting,” talked about the home range of deer. He also discussed DNA and said twin fawns usually have different fathers, adding that some old bucks don't even participate in breeding. Duane Diefenbach, PhD, Prof. of Wildlife Ecology, Penn State and Asst. Unit Leader of the Pennsylvania Coop. Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, reviewed two fawn survey studies done in Pa., radio-tagged deer, study of deer hunters that determined most stay within a half mile of roads; and aerial surveys that linked hunter movements with deer harvest results. Walt Cottrell, DVM, the new Wildlife Veterinarian with the PA Game Commission (PGC) heads up monitoring and response planning for CWD, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (prion disease) that affects deer, elk, and moose. He called it an organism that is sticky and lives in the soil, and remains infectious. There is no immunity to it, no cure, and no vaccine. The incubation period is estimated between 12 and 24 months. There is no evidence that it affects humans. He suggests you do not harvest an animal that appears ill and let the PGC know about the animal. Wear rubber gloves when handling meat. Bone out meat. Consider having it tested. Observe the parts ban. Dave DeCalesta, PhD, certified Wildlife Biologist-Consultant and former Research Wildlife Biologist with the US Forest Service NE Research Station, talked about his work coordinating the Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative, which is a partnership between hunters and landowners on 75,000 acres in northwest Pennsylvania to measure the deer herd and habitat while striving to balance a healthy deer herd with the forests. They reduced the deer impact on the region and used adaptive management.
On left are Short Course speakers, from left: Dr. Dave Samuel, Branch pres. Peter Pinchot, Walt Cottrell, DVM, Dave DeCalesta, PhD, Duane Diefenbach, PhD, Branch vice pres. Robin Wildermuth. On right is the new Branch display with educational material about forests severely damaged by deer overbrowse, deer health & antler growth info., enhanced with 3 sets of antlers provided by Wildermuth. Our sincere thanks go to Joani (former treas.) & Greg Bucksbee for taking on the main construction phase of this project. |
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