Volume 3 Issue 1 - March 2022
Spring is finally here, and we are only about a month away from the spring turkey season! You can also now register for our 2022 spring turkey clinics! Before going out for opening day, don't forget to scout ahead of time and pattern your shotgun. The season is just around the corner. See you outdoors! |
|
Small Game:
-
Woodchuck: 3/15/22-11/15/22
Upland Birds and Turkey:
-
Turkey: 4/27/22-5/28/22 (see guide for area specific closing dates)
|
|
|
|
Glastonbury Range Opening for 2022 |
The Glastonbury Range is scheduled to open on April 23, 2022. Reservations can be made through online licensing. Please be sure to view the range and range usage rules before signing up.
Several Range Safety Officer Positions to work at the range will be open this year. If you are interested, have a strong background in firearms, and are either trained as a Range Safety Officer (or willing to be trained), you should check the CT Jobs site for Seasonal Resource Assistant – Range Safety Officer to apply.
|
|
Register Now for a 2022 Wild Turkey Hunting Clinic |
Both experienced and first-time turkey hunters stand to benefit from attending one of these clinics. They provide hunting information, which includes safe hunting practices, specialized equipment, calls and decoys, site setup, and other strategies for harvesting turkeys. Participants will have an opportunity to pattern their shotguns for turkey hunting following classroom instruction.
|
|
Turkey Fanning: It Is Not Worth the Risk |
Hunters have adopted safe hunting practices over the years. We recognize that we should not be carrying game over our shoulders when we leave the woods for fear that someone will shoot at that game. We universally acknowledge the importance of wearing blaze orange so we are visible to our fellow hunters. We wear full body harnesses to prevent ourselves from serious bodily injury or possible death in the event of a tree stand fall. Waterfowl hunters where PFDs when on the water and shoot within their safe zone of fire shooting at birds in flight. And, as a turkey hunter, we know not to wear red, white, blue, or black while in the woods so we do not appear to other hunters to be the same game we are hunting. With all these safe practices in place, why are hunters turning to turkey fanning as a hunting method?
The practice of turkey fanning was glorified and popularized nearly a decade ago through social media, primarily YouTube. Even a simple Google search for “What is turkey fanning” produces the result “the exciting tactic of hiding behind a turkey fan or decoy while sneaking toward a gobbler in an effort to entice the bird to come charging toward you.” Turkey fanning has been called exciting, a rush, and an effective means of harvesting a turkey. But what all these outlets fail to mention is the inherent dangers involved with turkey fanning.
If we, as hunters, take many precautions to maintain our safety, why are we actively choosing to disguise and pass ourselves off as another turkey? We would not wear red, white, blue, or black in the field for fear of being mistaken as a bird, but we attach a fan to the end of our shotgun or hide behind decoys to sneak up on and get closer to the same bird another hunter may be targeting as well? Hunting related incidents happen because of this carelessness. Turkey fanning is not just “an exciting tactic”; it is unwise, and dangerous. Is the potential excitement worth losing your life? Neither logic nor excuses will ever change the dangers involved with turkey fanning. You can never guarantee another hunter will not blindly and wrongfully shoot at movement, and you can never guarantee you are the only hunter in the woods – even private land may not be private if others are illegally on the property (and let us be honest, if a poacher does not concern themselves with the land they are hunting, they may also not concern themselves with fully identifying their target prior to taking their shot).
As spring turkey season nears, the Connecticut Hunter Education Team encourages you to use your time safely and wisely. Scout your areas, practice your turkey calling, and properly pattern your shotgun to ensure sure you can take an ethical shot at appropriate distances. We wish all our hunters a safe and successful spring turkey hunting season. But remember, your safety begins and ends with you and is dictated by the decisions you make in the field.
|
|
Deer Harvest Down in 2021 |
Last year continued to bring about many changes in our lives that left many of us with less opportunities to get into the field for hunting. An early tally shared by Deer Program Biologist Andy Labonte shows that nearly 2,000 fewer deer permits were issued compared to 2020. In total, 8,971 deer were harvested in Connecticut, a 19% decline from last year. Fewer deer were harvested in each category of hunting method but was most significant for state and private land muzzleloader seasons, which saw 48% and 30% declines, respectively. While the deer population is not in decline, hunter opportunity was limited by changes in lifestyle and notably poor weather conditions for hunting. This past fall and early winter were warmer, wetter, and windier than average, which reduced the need for deer to travel to find food and be as vulnerable to nearby hunters.
Look for the complete 2021 Deer Program Summary in the coming months!
|
|
Sportsmen and Women Helping Make the Bobcat Project a Success |
Scientific research is a cornerstone of the North American Model of Conservation, and sportsmen and women continue to play an important role here in Connecticut. The Wildlife Division has been conducting research on the state’s bobcat population for the past several years and is in its final season of data collection.
With the help of experienced local trappers, sportsmen and women, and interested landowners, more than 25 bobcats have already been trapped, tagged, and released in just the last few months within the focal areas of Hartford, Windsor, Bloomfield, West Hartford, Avon, and Simsbury.
Most of these bobcats have been fitted with GPS collars to learn more about how these predators move throughout our urban and suburban landscapes. At the end of the project, the collars will automatically detach and be collected by Wildlife Division staff.
|
|
Seasonal Recipes: Venison Liver Bacon and Onions |
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. venison liver
- 3 large yellow onions
- 1/4 lb. bacon
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Warm water
Cooking Instructions
Slice liver into approximately 1/4 inch strips and place in deep glass baking dish or bowl. Cover liver with warm water and add lemon juice. Cover container with plastic wrap and allow to soak in refrigerator overnight.
Remove liver from soaking solution and pat dry. Heat skillet to medium heat and cook bacon strips. Remove bacon from skillet and set aside to cool before chopping.
Slice onions into rings, add to skillet with bacon grease, cook until translucent then add bourbon. Continue cooking until deep golden brown.
Increase skillet temperature, season liver strips with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook strips for 2-3 minutes each side until liquid turns clear but not longer. Remove liver strips. Turn off heat to skillet.
Add cooked onion, chopped bacon and liver strips back to skillet and combine. Serve immediately.
Photo courtesy of Matthew Balnis
|
|
Habitat and Hunting Area Update |
The Barn Island WMA culvert replacement and road maintenance project is continuing again in March. Three culverts that restrict tidal flow will be replaced and access will be limited during the work. Signage will be present for this temporary closure and again, Palmer Rd will be impacted. Of note, this phase of work will result in improvements to the parking area and roadway to the pheasant fields off Stewart Rd.
Mulching and mowing operations at Nathan Hale State Forest are underway to maintain and enhance early successional habitat.
A 24-acre tree removal is being conducted at Franklin Swamp WMA to enhance young forest on the site. This work will benefit rabbit, woodcock, and turkey hunters for years to come as well as a host of non-game species.
Portions of the Woodville Block of Wyantenock State Forest remain closed for a 27-acre timber harvest. This closure affects the parking area off Route 341.
Logging operations at two parcels within Tunxis State Forest may impact use in Barkhamsted and Hartland. Pine Mountain Road, off Route 179, in the Hartland Hollow Block of Tunxis State Forest, Barkhamsted is closed. Active logging is occurring near the road and there is frequent log trucking activity. This project will renew habitat used by ruffed grouse known to be in the area as well as provide opportunity to salvage hemlocks killed by hemlock scale and drought stress. Wilderness Road, hunter parking area, and the road system through the gate, are closed in the West Hartland Block of Tunxis State Forest, Hartland. There is logging along the road and forwarding on the road; the public parking area is being used as a log landing. This project will allow for salvage of ash trees throughout the stand and opening of patches where woodcock have been observed.
A controlled burn is planned later this spring for Suffield WMA. The WMA will be closed during the one or two days burning is conducted and the Town of Suffield will be notified. The 117-acre area has been divided into six burn units that will be treated on a 2-10 year interval to help sustain grasslands on the property.
From December through March, no additions were made to hunting areas within the state.
Please note: Recently acquired parcels need to be border marked and so indicated as open before hunting can take place. If you have any questions, please contact the district biologist for the area (East: 860-295-9523; West: 860-424-3011).
|
|
Mountain Laurel vs. Rhododendron - Whitetail Strategies |
The state flower of Connecticut is mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). This woody shrub is distributed across the state and is known for growing in dense thickets that are exceptionally difficult to walk through. Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.) occupies a very similar niche within Connecticut’s forests, and it can often be difficult to differentiate between these two woodland shrub species. The thickets that these shrubs grow into often hold valuable secrets any hunter would wish to know.
|
|
Hunter Profile: Casey Saunders |
Would you like to be our next featured hunter?! If so, please send us a short write-up (less than 500 words) about yourself and a photo to deep.ctwildlife@ct.gov, and you may be featured in our next issue!
My best memories from when I was a young kid was hiking with my dad. We would hike here in Connecticut at Sleeping Giant, and we would go to New Hampshire to hike Mount Washington and the other surrounding mountains. I can remember camping out in a tent and waking up to the smell of bacon on the griddle and the sounds of the birds, trees, leaves, wind, and bonfires burning out.
Being outdoors isn't just exercise or time to spend with friends and family, it's a form of therapy. It allows me to shut out the outside world and enjoy the calmness and beauty nature provides. In 2012, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. and served 4 years of active duty and deployed twice. After getting out of the marines and transitioning to the civilian world, I realized that I didn't have much in common with people I used to know and were friends with. This created a big hole in my life that I didn't think could be filled. After several years of working and going to school, I started to look into taking a hunter education course so that I could spend more time outdoors and meet people I could relate to. Hunting has filled that hole that I thought couldn't be filled. I have met other hunters, anglers, and trappers who have made such a positive impact on my life. I have been lucky enough to be mentored by two hunters who have given me amazing experiences in my first year of hunting. This first year has been successful because of my mentors as well as my love of the outdoors.
I look forward to continuing my journey hunting, fishing, and trapping and expanding my knowledge. I hope to one day become a mentor and help others find a passion they might not know they had.
|
|
You are making a difference and we thank you for your support!
|
|
Need to contact the DEEP Wildlife Division? Send email to deep.wildlife@ct.gov or call 860-424-3011
|
|
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are seeking a communication aid or service, have limited proficiency in English, wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint, or require some other accommodation, including equipment to facilitate virtual participation, please contact the DEEP Office of Diversity and Equity at 860-418-5910 or by email at deep.accommodations@ct.gov. Any person needing an accommodation for hearing impairment may call the State of Connecticut relay number - 711. In order to facilitate efforts to provide an accommodation, please request all accommodations as soon as possible following notice of any agency hearing, meeting, program or event.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
