THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING, REMEMBER THE DATE: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 11TH, 7:30 PM, AT THE CLUB HOUSE, LINCOLN PARK ROAD, IN DERBY TOWNSHIP.

The November general meeting speaker will be Trevor Aljoe, who will discuss deer and/or turkey hunting, as requested by the members. Plan to attend.

THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER

It seems like the leaves just came out, and now they are brown and blowing off the trees. Fall is indeed upon us and fishing is winding down and hunting is at its peak. It's a sad time for some and the best of times for others. Lucky indeed are those who enjoy both rod and gun. For them, all year is the best of times.

The Zone H annual meeting and election of officers is coming up on November 19th and 20th in Midland. Several SSA members will be attending that we know of. Just remember that the Zone meetings are open to all OFAH members. Everyone is welcome.

Our annual submissions have been entered in the competition for three Zone H awards for: a) the ,Derlyn Valley best club award for doing the most for conservation. b) the Gord Maher junior conservationist award (Sara Stephenson) and c) the Os McArthur senior conservationist award. (Gerry Powers one more time) .We wish everyone good luck.

Speaking of the OFAH, how many of you have noticed John Ford's portrait adorning the OFAH President's column in the Ontario Out-of-Doors publication? John, your election to this prestigious post most certainly reflects your devotion to the outdoor sports and the conservation of our natural resources. We SSA members appreciate this honour bestowed on one of our own.

We will be looking for a good, used trailer to replace the Derby business trailer. If anyone knows of a good deal, get hold of Murray Smart. Speaking of trailers, didn't Jack Doherty and his helpers do a terrific job fixing up our new fish cleaning trailer? Our thanks to Jack for a job well done, and to all-those who pitched in to help.

We note that the Gun Registry is on the table for the federal government's expenditure review this fall. Wouldn't it be great if they put this misguided boondoggle out of its wretched misery?

Everyone please be aware that, because of the deer season, our November General Meeting will be held on the second Thursday (November llth) rather than the first Thursday.

We really regret Mary Stephenson's resignation from the SSA's youth portfolio. However, we certainly do understand her reasons for retirement. Mary, you have done a truly magnificent job with the young people, and the Sydenham Sportsmen's Association extends a great big "thank you" for your dedication, and for all the good things you have accomplished.

Blake Smith, President

Get Outdoors Youth Activities Program

This will be one of my last newsletters as I will be finished running this program at the end of the year. I have had a wonderful time working for the past ten years with the Youth Activities Program, first with Gord and then with Tim & Cheryl. The youth of our club are amazing and such a fun bunch to work with. I still get a friendly greeting from the former youth who have grown up and moved on. They all have wonderful memories of their time in the club.

The highlights for the youth members are of course, the campouts complete with snipe hunts, kids fishing day, the derby, Haliburton Leadership Camp, OFAH Conference, stocking fish, collecting salmon eggs, indoor air rifle and the 22 shoot. They have also helped with numerous work activities and we get many request from different groups to come and build bird feeders. All active youth members have benefited greatly from their involvement in this club. They have learned how to work with adults, how to get along with other kids and many hunting and fishing skills. They have also learned to have a great respect for the outdoors and conservation. These are our future and I hope someone will step forward and take over this very worthwhile program. We need our youth to be involved from a very early age so that they will come back as adults and continue the great work our club does.

Mary Stephenson Youth Activities Coordinator

NATIVE AFFAIRS

The most recent information from the MNR is that, although there have been negotiations regarding commercial fishing, with the Cape Croker, and Saugeen bands, nothing significant is happening.

It is our understanding that the heavy-duty items, such as salmon stocking and fishing in heretofore closed bays have not even been brought up yet.

The Metis situation that we reported on in the last bulletin is undergoing further negotiations at top levels. It is our understanding that Metis leader Belcourt's statements regarding Metis rights, at least in southern Ontario, may have been a bit premature. Further, we understand that there may be a requirement to meet the tests for Metis status, as prescribed in the supreme court decision in the R. vs Powley case.

FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

By the time of this newsletter we should have released the remaining 60,000 brown trout to make room for our oncoming salmon. The browns did very well this year ,putting on a lot of growth, and should fair well in our natural environment.

We hope to arrange to have our resident rainbow trout fin clipped soon so that they too can be stocked out in a couple of weeks

Salmon egg collection has been finished so thanks to all of who helped. If you wanted to help but didn't get a call please let me know. Our crew was able to squeeze out about 158,000 eggs over the run. They thought the run was slow but steady and had to make several visits to get our count. On the up side there were a lot of rainbow seen in the raceway.

Clubs from Sarnia, Thunder Bay and Lake Huron were also able to get their collections of around 150,000 eggs.

Mike Prevost F.A.C. Chairman

FORESTS & WILDLIFE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

We are certainly making a great many turkey sightings. If there happens to be a mild winter without too much fluffy snow, the smaller birds just might be able to make it through and give us a banner spring hunt.

A recent inspection tour in the Long Swamp showed us that Doug Murdoch has been doing some terrific wildlife improvement work by opening plantations and freeing up fruit trees.

John Ford is once more into the American chestnut planting, and has branched out into a saw-toothed oak experimental program. We wish both Doug and John the best with all the wildlife improvement projects that they undertake.

Our correspondence shows that the OFAH has been quite active in dealings with the MNR by representing. the concerns of sportsmen, covering such varied topics as deer/elk farming, cormorant control, wolf/coyote legislation, natives and Metis problems, wild game dinners, etc. It is indeed good to know that our membership dollars are going to an organization that is willing to go right to the top of government to address issues of vital concern to us.

The OFAH certainly does a lot for us, but sometimes the individual OFAH employees seem to be working too hard. Greg Farrant, Government Relations and Communications Manager, has been doing an outstanding job representing sportsmen on many major issues. Greg recently suffered a severe heart attack.

Greg, we are very sorry to hear about your illness, and wish you a most speedy recovery. We really appreciate all the good things you do for us.

Blake Smith, Chairperson
Forests and Wildlife Advisory Committee