THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240211
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Charles H. ``Chuck'' Cunningham, who works for Pat Roberton's Christian Coalition, has been named to the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
He replaces Walter P. Conrad Jr. of Norfolk, chairman of the board for the past 13 turbulent months. Conrad was named to the board 6 1/2 years ago by Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, a Democrat.
The change was made by Gov. George Allen, a Republican. Allen also named Russell Garrison of Colonial Heights to replace Omar W. Ball of Powhatan. The board then elected Dr. Lawrence R. Jahn of Vienna chairman.
The 10-person board regulates hunting, boating and freshwater fishing in Virginia.
Cunningham, 35, is a native of Hampton and a graduate of James Madison University. He was a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association for 10 years. He is ``a deer hunter and bass fisherman'' and has served eight years on the board of the Virginia Wildlife Federation, a coalition of hunting, fishing and outdoor clubs.
``People are probably going to say this is a political appointment for Rev. Robertson,'' he said. ``But I've been a close friend of the governor for several years and I told him that this was the one board to which I would like to be appointed.''
The Christian Coalition is a political arm of Robertson's sprawling religious, political and broadcasting empire, which is headquartered in Virginia Beach.
Cunningham has lived in Virginia Beach since Jan. 30, when he moved from Northern Virginia. His office is in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake.
Conrad, 58, lives in Norfolk and owns Conrad Bros. Construction Co. of Chesapeake.
He has been credited with leading the board through one of its most crucial periods.
During his tenure, the board removed Bud Bristow as executive director and had to contend with a serious fund shortage, in part the result of sloppy bookkeeping and in part declining revenues from hunting and fishing licenses.
DOVE DATE: The first segment of Virginia's three-part dove-hunting season will open Sept. 3 and will run through Sept. 30, with hunting allowed from noon until sunset and a daily bag limit of 12 birds.
The two other seasons will be Oct. 1-29 and Dec. 26 through Jan. 7. In each, hunting hours will be a half-hour before sunrise until sunset, also with 12-bird limits.
The railbird season will be Sept. 12 through Nov. 20. The limit will be 15 clappers and king rails, and 25 sora or Virginia rails.
Snipe hunting will be legal Oct. 17 through Jan. 31, with a bag limit of eight, while woodcock hunting will be allowed Oct. 31 through Nov. 26 and Dec. 21 through Jan. 7, with a bag of three birds. Railbird, snipe and woodcock may be hunted from a half-hour before sunrise until sunset.
A special resident Canada goose season will run Sept. 6-15, with a bag limit of five birds. Special permits, available free from any office of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, will be required.
HOT TOPICS: Two of the hottest items to confront the board of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will be settled when the group meets Friday at in Newport News.
The board will vote on allowing commercial hook-and-line fishermen to exceed daily fish bag limits set for recreational fishermen, and will finalize a plan designed to reduce the overall catch of gray trout by 19 percent this year and by 25 percent starting next April.
In a recent workshop, the five (of nine) commission members present approved the commercial hook-and-line exemption, but with some serious restrictions. This plan will be presented to the full commission as the agency's staff recommendation.
The restrictions include: Limiting participants to those presently registered as commercial fishermen; and requiring commercial hook-and-line fishermen to give up any other existing gear licenses. In addition, the commercial hook-and-liners must be able to prove that they have landed fish by the method in the past two years. The board is also expected to restrictions on commercial hook-and-liners fishing along such structures as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
These restrictions are not expected to be effective until Jan. 1, 1995. Meanwhile, commercial hook-and-liners will be required to abide by recreational bag limits.
The gray trout plan, which would become effective Aug. 1, would limit, on a daily basis, recreational fishermen to either 10 fish of at least 14 inches, six fish of at least 13 inches or three fish of at least 10 inches.
Commercial fishermen would see their trout catch restricted as well.
The commission will also set the dates and regulations for Virginia's 1994 striped bass season and will discuss management plans for bluefish.
Commission meetings normally are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month, but this month's meeting was moved back to Friday. Fishery items will be heard at noon. Commission headquarters are at 2600 Washington Ave. Newport News.
DANDY FOR DUCKS: A lot of ducks apparently were successful in their reproduction efforts this spring.
It was the most prolific breeding season in decades, according to biologists for Ducks Unlimited, an international waterfowl conservation organization.
``Our biologists have seen near-perfect water and cover conditions in much of the primary duck-producing region of the U.S. and improved conditions on the Canadian prairies,'' said Ducks Unlimited spokesman Jeff Nelson.
Projections of the fall waterfowl migration have not yet been made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has reported declining flights for several years. The 1993 fall migration of 62 million birds was an all-time recorded low.
SHORT CASTS: The Virginia Deer Classic, a trophy-deer contest, will be held in Richmond Aug. 12-14 as part of the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show. It'll be at The Show Place, 3000 Mechanicsville Turnpike. The classic is staged by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association. You can get details from Denny Quaiff at 1-743-1290. . . . More than 100 displays and exhibits will be open for the Virginia Outdoor and Sport Exposition, to be held Aug. 5-7 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg. For details, Ray Yowell at 1-703-377-5777. . . . Production of freshwater trout by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has reached a record high of 705,355 pounds for the year that ends July 30. The old mark was 687,000 pounds. The trout are stocked in Virginia streams and lakes, including one at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake. by CNB