THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING, REMEMBER THE DATE: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13TH, 7:30 PM,  AT THE CLUB HOUSE, LINCOLN PARK ROAD, IN DERBY TOWNSHIP.

Since the speaker Grant had lined up for the November general meeting decided he could not come, the program for the meeting is up in the air. Grant is attempting to come up with an alternative on very short notice. Since the deadline for getting the newsletter to the printer has arrived, the alternate must remain a surprise. Plan to attend and find out what Grant was able to arrange.

New Members

The following new members have joined the S S A
 

Kevin Barber Adult Steve Klerks Adult

THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER

We note that club member Carol Barfoot is running for Deputy Mayor of the town of Georgian Bluffs. How does this affect us, as the members of the Sydenham Sportsmen's Association? For one thing, we are well aware that municipal land use planning decisions often have a very direct effect on anglers and hunters. As a councilor, Carol has demonstrated a good understanding of fish and wildlife concerns, and therefore, her involvement in municipal affairs is much appreciated.

Speaking of municipal elections in general, now is the time to ask the candidates in your area where they stand on issues that you see impacting on hunting and fishing.

The recent provincial election has resulted in a resounding victory for the Liberals. It will be interesting to see what this bodes for fish and wildlife, and anglers and hunters in general. Will there be any increase in MNR field staff? will the Liberals reiterate their commitment to have strict enforcement of the misguided federal firearms registration program? In this respect, it would behoove us to have our firearms registration certificates on our persons for any firearms we are carrying.

The annual Zone H meeting is to be held at the Orillia Sundial Inn on Saturday, November 22nd, starting at 9 a.m. Lloyd Mohr from the Lake Superior/Lake Huron Management Unit is going to be the keynote speaker. He is to give us the latest information on problems with the Lake Huron salmonid fishery, as determined by fisheries scientists on both sides of the lake. If this is a topic of interest to you, perhaps you should attend.

All SSA members are automatically OFAH Zone H members, and are welcome to attend. It is a great opportunity to hear what's going on, to be part of the discussions of matters of interest in Zone H, and, most importantly, to exercise your democratic right to express your concerns.

Hope to see you there.

Blake Smith President

Youth Activities Program

The Youth Activities Program has been busy this month with fish stocking and egg collecting. We had a good turn out for both events and everyone had a great time. We would like to thank all of the juniors and adults that helped out.

The date for the junior turkey shoot will be set at a later date and juniors will be called when the date is set. November 22nd is the Festival in the Park at Harrison Park. It is from 1:00-4:00 PM and we will be looking for help.

The YAP will be holding a Christmas party and meeting in December to discuss future activities for our club. Juniors will be called when more activities are planned. If you have any questions please call me at 363-9845.

Sarah Stephenson
YAP President

FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

A few days and a lot of hours later our volunteers were able to complete the collection of our salmon eggs bringing in around 200,000 to our hatchery. The clubs from Thunder Bay, Sarnia and Lake Huron also made collections at the fish ladders in Owen Sound and Thornbury .
We will be putting in a request through the Lake Huron M.N.R. office to obtain 125,000 brown trout eggs from their Normandale hatchery. Along with 40,000 rainbow trout already in the trays our hatchery is getting full and needs systematic attention.

Coy Currie could use some more help at the hatchery .The best arrangement is if two volunteers could agree to work together on the same shift. This would be just a couple of hours a week doing some feeding and cleaning. On the job training is available. A number of regular volunteers have been helping out for a long time and need a bit of a break. Remember that if we all just do a little it makes it easier for all of us. Phone Coy Currie at 376-2942.

The crews working at the mill dam noticed an increase in the number of rainbow trout going up the fishway with usually 5 to 6 fish per day and up to 15 on one day. This is a significant increase from past years and hopefully a promising sign for the future. A few Lake Trout were also handled. Most of the salmon handled were in the 8 to 14 pound range which was typical of the salmon derby catches. Their was one female at 30 pounds.

We finally got working on the Pringle Creek project on the Peter Hood property in Sullivan Twp. Thanks in a big way to Tom Sloan, one of our new members, we were able to get the posts pounded in around the buffer of the creek in preparation for electric fencing. The fencing is still to be done and once again we need help. Please phone me at
371-3827 if you have some experience in this type of work or could lend a hand.

Mike Prevost 
F.A.C. Chairperson

FORESTS & WILDLIFE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Sydenham Conservation Foundation recently received a favourable courtroom response in its efforts to ensure fish and wildlife management on the Shallow Lake wetland. This wetland has an extremely high potential for waterfowl production and hunting, as well as supporting a reasonable fishery, but it has been virtually destroyed by vandals
releasing the water, in order to create a mud buggy/dirt bike heaven.

The group trying to right the ecological damage to the wetland has been very fortunate in having a retired lawyer, David Beard, from the Thornbury area, engage his old law firm to do a tremendous amount of work at a very reasonable rate. We are very grateful for the consideration that this law firm has shown us.

The actual ownership of the subject lands was virtually impossible to ascertain, but the law firm, through the courts, managed to obtain tentative ownership for the Sydenham Conservation Foundation providing that certain conditions, such as an environmental assessment and a survey of the subject lands are met.

Murray Smart has devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort to this project, and he is still playing "good shepherd" to the ongoing court requirements. We sportsmen owe Murray a great big vote of thanks.

Management strategies, partner involvement and final court decisions are still to be worked out...but it does look like there is an excellent chance to save one of the best wetlands and waterfowl hunting areas in southern Ontario.

Blake Smith Co Chairperson
FWAC