THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING,  Thursday   March 1, 7:30 PM,  AT THE CLUB HOUSE,
LINCOLN PARK ROAD, IN THE TOWNSHIP OF GEORGIAN BLUFFS. Fire number 082535

PROGRAM  March  Meeting:
Dr. Gino Ferri, our guest for the March meeting, writes a Wilderness Survival column in the Owen Sound Sun Times. Should be an informative talk!

Special Speaker for April:
John Burton will take us through a hiking trip with students from Grey Highlands Secondary School
to NUNAVIT. This promises to be very entertaining!

Future Meeting Events:

May: Dr. Scott Petrie and his experiences with waterfowl research at Longpoint Reserve.
June: Hotdogs and Beer night.      Plus an Auction Sale.

PRESIDENTS CORNER

Some more good news for our Hunters and Shooters.
On February 1st 2007 members of the firearm and outdoors community received confirmation that the ill-fated, inflammatory and highly inaccurate Resolution # 42, has been withdrawn.

Resolution # 42, incorrectly identified certain types of firearms as being illegal for hunting purposes in Canada. It sought to ban them outright, even though these same firearms were identified as being legally used for this same purpose under the much maligned Liberal Bill C-68, which was passed by the former Liberal Chretien government.

Greg Farrant, O.F.A.H. Government Relations Manager stated in his recent new release “O.F.A.H. and firearms community applaud withdrawal of liberal Resolution #42”  

In case you missed it, the following is a paragraph quoted from that release.
“Not only was the resolution completely unnecessary in the first place, worse still, it was based upon highly inaccurate information that contradicted their own firearms legislation passed when they were in power. A the very least, by withdrawing the resolution, the party has acknowledged its mistake and taken steps to correct this procedural gaff. However, this does not speak to the underlying  reason for the resolution and the ongoing attempt by the Liberal Party to demonize legal law-abiding firearms owners in Canada instead of supporting the current government’s efforts to target criminals who use illegal firearms to commit crimes.”

Bill Douglas, President

New Members
SSA welcomes new members: Ken Lawrence - Family,  Barry Mason - Senior,      Mathew Bailey - Adult

Murray Smart submitted the following  links for  Salmon Fishing  enthusiasts:
http://www.bringbackthesalmon.ca
http://www.atlanticsalmonontario.ca

Notice to those who have not renewed their 2007SSA Membership

This will be the last newsletter you will receive if you have not paid your 2007 membership !
Also: If you are renewing your 2007 membership to the SSA through the web site, use the form on the website,
 not the enclosed form. The rates are different!

Information re:April   Presentation

Join John Burton, Teacher of the Environmental Studies Program at Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton, as he takes you along for a ride during a semester with his outdoor education class as well as a two-week wilderness adventure to Canada’s Arctic.  John visited Auyuittuq National Park recently, hiking this magnificent northern national park.

Slideshow No. 1:
Teaching High School Students on the Wild Side
      At Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton, there is a special outdoor education and environmental science program called “The Environmental Studies Program”.  It offers senior high school students a unique opportunity to enhance their academic learning by moving beyond the traditional classroom and incorporating regular field trip learning experiences into the curriculum.  The overall philosophy behind this program is:

“I hear and I forget,
I see and I remember,
I do and I understand.”

      Up to 30 students each year are given the opportunity to explore Grey and Bruce Counties that leads them to a deeper understanding our complex and dynamic world and the challenges it faces by experiencing it first hand.  Students are exposed to a wide variety of environmental issues and outdoor recreational activities that allows them to further develop their education and confidence in their own personal skills. They finish the semester in Temagami in Northern Ontario on a 12-day wilderness canoe trip.  Students are also provided with opportunities to develop skills in teaching by instructing elementary students ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 at the Flesherton Hills Environmental Education Centre.  This program is entering its 17th year being offered at Grey Highlands and is one of the longest running high school level outdoor education program in the province.

Slideshow No. 2:
Backpacking in Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island, Nunavut
Auyuittuq National Park is located on the Cumberland Peninsula at the southeast corner of Baffin Island in Nunavut in Canada’s Arctic. Auyuittuq literally means “the land that never melts”.  The 100 km hiking route begins at sea level and rises over 420 metres.  The hike takes you through deep U-shaped valleys with hanging glaciers, beautiful mountains, huge moraines, and numerous glacial rivers.  It is a very remote and rugged landscape.

Reminder to all Members with  O F A H  Conservation Lottery tickets handed out by John Ford

Please bring your sold ticket stubs and money to the meeting. We will have more tickets to sell if  you wish.
Thanks for your co-operation.

FORESTS, WETLANDS
AND WILDLIFE

The recent number of heavy falls of very loose and fluffy snow are presenting our resident wild turkeys with a most serious survival challenge. As we have pointed out in the past, turkeys find it extremely difficult to move about in the deep, loose snow in search of food. Instead, turkey, more often than not, prefer to roost in conifers until the snow disappears or hardens up enough for overland travel. If the birds stay roosted for too long a time, their fat reserves run out and their motors run out of fuel. They then begin dropping dead right out of the branches; of course this effect is most noticeable in the smaller young—of—the—year birds who have built up the least body mass and fat reserves.

In spite of our heavy snowfalls, people will be seeing turkeys that are actively feeding This feeding will most likely be in relatively snow—free areas, eg windswept fields or manure piles, etc For now, most of our turkeys will be having a very tough time, and some artificial feeding would be helpful.

Whole kernel corn would be a good feed -- -set out in known turkey areas in such a way that turkeys can find it easily and in such an area unlikely to get snowed in. It should be remembered that feeding locations should be moved around to prevent certain diseases caused by build-up of turkey droppings.

If you do find dead turkeys, please bring them to myself or the MNR for evaluation If you wish to do the evaluation yourself, go right ahead — thaw the birds, look them over for general condition such as body fat, breast tissue deterioration, stomach contents or evidence of obvious injury, and give us a report.

Our deer should be alright this year. Our deer, so far, have had mostly excellent conditions and came into the winter in very good shape. Unless deep snow persists well into or beyond March, the whitetails

should fare quite well. Again, please keep an eye on our deer yarding areas If you find dead deer, crack a thighbone open If the marrow is yellowish and reasonable solid, the deer was quite likely in reasonable condition. If the marrow is dark red and runny, the deer will have been in very poor condition, leading to death.

The Peaceful Parks organization is taking a run at coyote, fox, coon and rabbit hunters Their ultimate objective is to abolish all hunting, and they will use any means, ruse, trick or technicality to achieve their objectives.

It appears that they are pressuring MNR to charge hunters with trespassing whose dogs are crossing over or through posted property. This tactic would fall under stopping hunting by any means available to their organization.

Submitted by Blake Smith, Co-Chairman, Forests, Wetlands, & Wildlife.

A BIG GOLD STAR FOR C.O.’s

An MNR initiative has led to a poacher’s contribution to fisheries enhancement. John Lambie, our local MNR Law Enforcement Co-Ordinator, just arranged a most welcome financial assist for our SSA fisheries programs.

It seems that in 2006, our Owen Sound area C.O.’s had apprehended a fish snagger in Harrison Park and summonsed that individual to appear in court. The snagger’s lawyer contacted the MNR to see if the matter could be settled out-of-court. Officer Lambie arranged the following: an
out-of-court settlement was allowed. In addition, an amount corresponding to what the defendant would have paid for defence council to appear in court was instead to be made payable to a sports club to be used for fisheries enhancement.

Mr. Lambie recently presented a cheque for $300.00 to the SSA from the defendant, to be used for a fisheries conservation project.  The only request from the MNR that came with the $300.00 was that the MNR be notified
as to the fisheries project earmarked as beneficiary of the $300.00.

Submitted by Blake Smith, MNR Liaison

HANDGUN

There is now a supply of targets available at the handgun range. The cost is $1.00 for a bundle of twenty and they are in the green box on the bench. The key is the same as the range key.
Please use these targets when shooting for any of the 2007 club awards as this is the only way we can have consistency of scoring.

2007 Awards;
High Score, One Hand hold.

Use any calibre/type of handgun with iron sights held one handed.  Submit your best ten targets to the handgun chair by November 30th. '07.

High Score, Two hand hold.

Use any calibre/type of handgun with iron sights using a two hand hold.  Submit your best ten targets to the handgun chair by November 30th.' 07.

Unrestricted High Score.

Use any calibre/type of handgun with no restriction on sights or method of holding, e.g. benchresting is acceptable as are electronic or glass sights.

Most Improved Shooter

This is the most important award as it allows new shooters to have a goal and to measure their progress without having to compete with experienced shooters who are actually at a disadvantage in this competition.
Use any calibre/type of handgun but use the same gun for all targets. Use one or two hand hold only and use only iron sights.
Submit to the handgun chair a minimum of four sets of five targets (more is better), one set each by May 30th, July 31st, September 30th, and November 30th, 2007.

Range Help is occasionally required for maintenance and , as in February, in snow clearing. This should be a joint effort and volunteers to help out can contact the Handgun Chair who can keep a list of available warm bodies.

Marksmanship Training.
The handgun group has a good mix of both experienced and novice shooters and the sport appears to have a renewal of interest. To nurture and feed this interest we have several experienced shooters who would be willing to spend some time running a marksmanship training course for those interested. It won't be on a regular basis, just as and when required and as and when time permits. Let the handgun chair know if you would like to take advantage of this training.

Submitted by Stew. Wallace, Handgun Chair. 519-794-4423

Disclaimer:
The editorial comments in this Newsletter do not always reflect the policies or opinions of the SSA.

Thanks to those submitting material for this newsletter.

Anyone with articles for this Newsletter should get them to me by the 20th of the  preceding month.

Dave Skelton 519-376-9554, dskel@golden.net