THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 23, 1996 TAG: 9606230198
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 115 lines
Becky Norton Dunlop, Virginia's secretary of natural resources, has answered a question outdoor enthusiasts have been asking for months: What will happen with hunting and fishing at Fort Pickett when management is transferred from the federal government to the Virginia National Guard in October 1997?
The answer: Not very much.
The 40,000 acres open to public hunting and fishing will remain open, including 15 lakes ranging from 1 to 385 acres.
That should come as welcome news, especially for the thousands of hunters, mostly deer hunters, who make annual pilgrimages to the Blackstone-area facility.
Fort Pickett offers excellent hunting for deer, turkey, squirrel, ducks and other wildlife. It has been open to sportsmen since 1956.
Under the change, the Army post will be licensed to the Commonwealth of Virginia as a National Guard training base.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has been working with federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, to iron out details of how hunting and fishing opportunities will be made available, Dunlop said.
``These agencies have been working cooperatively as they begin to consider options for ensuring that the valuable wildlife resources at Fort Pickett will be conserved and that Virginia sportsmen will continue to enjoy public access,'' she said.
Dunlop expects final details soon to be outlined in the agreement that will transfer the facility to the National Guard.
FIRST EXPERT: Denny Dobbins, an attorney from Portsmouth, has become the state's first ``expert angler'' under a program established this year by the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament.
The designation by the state-sponsored contest is available to any angler registering, in one year, citation catches for any six recognized saltwater species.
Dobbins, a former Angler of the Year in the contest, claimed his fifth and sixth citations of the year June 12, when he released a white marlin and a blue marlin from the boat Temptation II.
Earlier, he earned awards for releasing black drum and red drum and for boating a 12-pound, 12-ounce tautog and a 5-15 sea bass.
Dobbins might have seven citation catches had he realized that the minimum for spadefish had been lowered from 9 to 7 pounds.
``I've caught several spadefish over 7 pounds this year,'' he said. ``But I thought the minimum was 8 pounds, so I didn't register them. I could kick myself.''
The ``expert'' designation is part of a two-pronged program the contest inaugurated this year. The other gives ``master angler'' designation to any angler who earns 25 citations in at least five categories over an unlimited period.
Claude Bain, contest director, said it was possible to gain the latter designation in a year, since there are 29 eligible species. ``But we think it's going to take the first master angler at least three years and probably four,'' he said.
HUNTING SEASONS: Virginia hunters will be able to put in their two cents' worth when the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries meets July 2.
The meeting will give hunters a chance to express their opinions on dates, bag limits and other regulations for this year's seasons on dove, railbirds, woodcock and resident Canada geese.
The meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. in the agency's board room at 4010 W. Broad St. in Richmond, and is open to the public.
The department's wildlife staff will first present frameworks for the seasons as established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The board will meet July 18-19 to finalize the seasons.
TOP NAVIGATORS: Each year, five local fleets from the United States Power Squadrons have a ``team rendezvous'' to see which boating club has the best navigators.
The boats follow a prescribed course around buoys on the lower Chesapeake Bay. It's almost as important to make the buoys on time as it is to make the right buoys.
This year's winner was the Nansemond River Power Squadron of Suffolk, represented by the boats Peanut's Egg, Woebegone Daze and Aquatic Antidote. Other fleets represented squadrons from Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Richmond.
The 15-boat competition was held out of Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton.
DUCKY FOR DUCKS: Waterfowl nesting and breeding conditions are the best in 20 years, according to a report from Ducks Unlimited, an international waterfowl conservation organization.
As much as 80 percent of the nation's duck population spends the summers and raises its young on the prairies of the Northern states and south-central Canada.
Duck numbers plummeted for many decades until they finally reversed three years ago. The prolonged decline was blamed on extended dry weather on the breeding grounds, where waterfowl spend the most critical part of their lives.
The drought was broken in 1992, and waterfowl numbers have been climbing steadily since. The 1995 fall migration, estimated at about 80 million birds, was the best in several years.
Ducks Unlimited expects an even larger migration this year.
BEACH CLEANUP: If you like pristine beaches, you might want to join in a beach cleanup on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, is being coordinated by the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association and the National Park Service, which manages the sprawling tract south of Nags Head.
The buggy group will have volunteers at all seashore access ramps, where they will hand out and collect trash bags from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.
This will be the second of three such programs this year, according to Jim Keene of Franklin, buggy association spokesman.
``We've collected a tremendous amount of trash and debris,'' he said. ``You wouldn't believe it.''
SHORT CASTS: Owners of recreational vehicles apparently are not letting high fuel prices take the fun out of their vacation plans. Recent surveys by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association indicate that more RVers will be on the road this summer than last. . . . Anglers who earned citation awards from the Virginia Fresh Water Fishing Program before Jan. 1, 1995, will be able to upgrade their awards to match present citations for $4 each, effective July 1. Starting in 1995, the awards are much more attractive but cost $4. Previously, they were free. You can get details by contacting the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries at 1-804-367-1000. . . . For what it's worth: In 1980, recreational fishermen caught 42.6 million pounds of gray trout, compared with less than a million pounds in 1993. The figures are from the International Game Fish Association, keeper of world angling records. . . . Ted Kramer of Norfolk has earned a citation from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament with a 66 1/2-pound cobia, while Neal Taylor of Chesapeake scored at 55-0. The fish were caught from The Intimidator. . . . Milton Wilkins of Norfolk earned an award with a 6-6 flounder, caught off Ocean View. by CNB