Milford Township
Fish, Game, and Forestry Association


The Straight Shooter

News

Presidents Column -- October/November

2011  

George D. Honeywell

With great sadness I am reporting the loss of (2) long time Club members. On October 7 Clarence Applegate passed away at home. Clarence helped on Club projects over the years and always helped out at the Spring and Fall shoots.

On Sunday October 16 Bob Meas passed away in St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem. His health was declining in the past year but that did not stop him from coming out to the meetings and visiting us on the weekends while we worked on the Clubhouse. Bob was a mainstay at the Club working as a Director, Chairman of the Fish Committee, ordering fish for the Kid’s Rodeo, getting and distributing the raffle cards to offset the cost of the Rodeo. Bob was a key participant in getting the property preserved working with Land’s Trust and acting as a contact with the Township.

Our sincerest condolences go out to the families of both Men.

George D. Honeywell

 For the Good of the Association

Nominations for Officers for 2012 and (4) Directors for 2012/2013 will begin at the November General Membership Meeting with final nominations and elections at the December meeting. Anyone interested should come out to the meetings we will be glad to vote for you if you are sincere.

Membership renewals take place in November, December and January. If you do not renew by January 31st you will have to pay the Initiation Fee again so come out, renew and volunteer for a committee or throw your hat into the ring for the elections.

We need people to take over the following committees: Fish (Schedule the rodeo, obtain, distribute and manage the raffle cards, report on fishing). Shoot (responsible for planning and running the Spring and Fall shoots). Game (report on the items of interest regarding game and non game animals we may encounter), Forestry (responsible for making sure the timber is cared for in the best management practices).

Guests may come to the Club but must be accompanied by a Member. There are forms in the clubhouse door which need to be filled out and deposited with the $10.00 fee in the slot box in the door. Both the member and guest must sign in at the range boxes. No guests are allowed in November and December.

The ranges are for Members only with the exception of paying guests as outlined above. In the last (2) years there have been several instances of Non-Members using their Member parents card to sign in and shoot at the ranges. This is a violation of Club rules and will not be tolerated. If you don’t qualify under the Family Membership due to age you need to become a member or shoot elsewhere.

George D. Honeywell

 Building Committee

The interior has been painted and the wall cabinets are installed, the flooring will be done by Monday Oct. 24 after which we will install the doors and trim, kitchen base cabinets and ceiling tile. We are working hard to get done for the Nov. 13 shoot but there is only a few of us showing up to get it done.

As noted in the schedule of events we are having the Grand Opening for the new Clubhouse on Sunday November 13th coinciding with the fall shoot. We hope to see all members come out ant take a tour of the facility and maybe take a few shot at the shoot.

The doors will open at 10 a.m. the shoot will start at noon.

Please call for the work schedule if you can help out for a day.

George D. Honeywell

 Pamphlet

Any Member that would like to add something to the newsletter can do so by sending me an email @ bonefish@ptd.net or send it to the Club.

The bi-monthly newsletter can be viewed on the Club website www.milfordstraightshooter.com

If you know of anyone that would like to advertise in the newsletter let us know and we will contact them.

George D. Honeywell

 Membership

Received $170; brings yearly total to $8,910.  New Memberships are closed until January.

Libby and Matt Bauman

 Fishing

No report.

Bob Meas

 Game

They are out there, go and get em.

Club Game Spotlight: Ruffed Grouse

The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is the PA state bird and is widely distributed across the state. Ruffed Grouse have two distinct color phases, grey and brown. Favored haunts are along the edges of meadows and in mountain laurel and rhododendron. Grouse are omnivores, eating buds, leaves, berries, seeds, and insects.

The ruffs are on the sides of the neck in both genders. They also have a crest on top of their head, which sometimes lies flat. Both sexes are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. The female often has a broken subterminal tail band, while males often have unbroken tail bands. Another fairly accurate sign is that rump feathers with a single white dot indicate a female; rump feathers with more than one white dot indicate a male.

Males attract females by drumming, beating their wings loudly, often while on a fallen log. The peak of the mating season is late April. Nests are placed on the ground, usually in dense forest in a depression next to a tree trunk or stump. Hens lay about 10 to 14 eggs that hatch in 23 days. The male grouse has no parenting role. The chicks stay with the hen until late September and are fully grown in 16 weeks.

Though I have not seen any in the past few years I have hunted Grouse on the Club property.

George D. Honeywell

Forestry

Columbia Gas has had the pipeline cleared to the edge of the right of way including mowing and removal of any brush and trees. The brush and limbs were chipped and blown on the pipeline and the tree trunks stacked along the wood line. This will allow easy access for any Members wanting a wood cutting permit.

There is more timber down and available for firewood, please contact the Club or President George Honeywell and we will get you in touch with the Forestry Chairman.

Club Timber Spotlight: Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata)

The name Populus grandidentata references the coarse teeth that occur on the leaves from the Latin Populus for poplar, grandi meaning large, and dentata meaning teeth. Populus gradidentata is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to North America, found mostly in the northeastern states and southeastern Canada. Leaves are similar to trembling aspen only slightly larger and having larger teeth. The leaves tremble in the wind as quaking/trembling aspen does. Bark of younger trees is olive-green, thin and smooth; after 30–40 years the bark is grey, thicker and rough with grooves. Bigtooth aspen are medium-sized deciduous trees with a straight trunk and gently ascending branches. Height at maturity is around 60'-80' with diameters of 8'-10'. They are fast growers and are relatively short-lived; stands will begin to deteriorate after 60–70 years, while individuals can live up to 100 years. They often constitute early successional species of their landscapes. Roots are shallow and wide spreading; lateral root growth in a forest may be as far as 60 feet. Generally, four to five lateral roots originate from the tree and then branch within 2'; vertical, penetrating roots near the base anchor the tree.

Archery

We will post the 2012 shoot schedule in the next newsletter along with a final accounting for this year.

George D. Honeywell

 Shoots

The fall turkey shoot is set for Sunday November 13th with a noon start time. We will have dead and flying board shoots, baked goods raffles, splatter board and the kids .22 shoot.

Please bring some baked goods for the raffle.

George D. Honeywell

 Ranges

The ranges are in good shape.

Phil Fachet

 PA Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs

September 8th meeting:  7 WMU’s still have doe tags available.  Mentoring youth can use the adults tag for a buck or doe.  Mike Johnson is the new area Fish Warden. The Federation is still looking for a youth for Conservation Camp for 2012.

Dennis Young

 Public Relations

Rick will look at marking the rental of the clubhouse.  Capacity is 99, we will need to purchase more tables and chairs.

Richard Ruth

 Work Parties

The Trac-Vac was connected to the tractor for leaf pickup.

Gary Erbe

Activities

None

John Burke

50/50 and Membership Drawings

There were (2) cash prizes in the 50/50.

Member #152 was drawn and was not present; next month: $55.

 

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