New Year- Photographs and Thoughts

I have been blogging since October of 2007 and I find it increasingly difficult to make a blog post.  It is not so hard if one puts up a few photographs with minimal commentary--at least if one is having good success with photographic opportunities.  This time of year can be especially difficult in the area where I live as rifle deer season puts the damper on whitetail buck photography.  The countryside is also drab looking when there is no snow on the ground.  I am conflicted about this as I do not like having to deal with snow, but I do like to see and photograph wildlife in it. We have had a bit of snow off and on and I photographed a mature gobbler one morning as he preened and basked in the morning sunlight at the edge of a meadow.

Mature Gobbler Preening: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0  L IS - ISO 200-1/500 sec. f 5.0

This was a was a welcome change from the usual bare ground, but the snow was gone within a few days.

Distant Whitetails: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm F4.0 L IS - ISO 400-1/1000 sec. f 5.0

It is good to see and photograph deer under any conditions, but photographing them in falling snow is especially rewarding.

Doe in Falling Snow: Canon 7D-Canon 70-200 mm F 2.8  L IS II - ISO 400-1/100 sec. f 4.0

I included an old manure spreader in the background of the photograph shown below to add to the atmosphere, but I am not sure if it is a plus or a minus composition wise.

A Snowy Day: Canon 7D-Canon 17-40mm F4.0  L@40mm - ISO 400-1/80 sec. f 7.1

It should be easier to get good wildlife photographs once the late flintlock & archery deer season is over and wildlife populations calm down a bit, which brings me to a point that I wish to address briefly.

While it is not difficult to make a post such as this one has been so far, it is difficult to write about controversial subjects and one can spend hours or parts of several days in writing a post about this type of subject matter. The problem is that I feel compelled to write about wildlife issues from the perspective of a wildlife photographer as it seems to me that much of the writing done about wildlife issues in the public media is from the perspective of the hunting community.  While it is true that at this point wildlife conservation programs are primarily funded by hunting license dollars, I  think that persons who are interested in wildlife for other reasons should have a voice in wildlife management  and they should be responsible for bearing a fair share of the cost of  wildlife management.

State conservation agencies in general and The Pennsylvania Game Commission in particular, are faced with declining hunter numbers and a  corresponding loss of revenue from license sales, while the legislature steadfastly refuses to give the agency a license increase.  So far the problem has been staved off by funding from timber sales, and Marcellus shale leasing,etc. but this will not carry the load forever.  As a result, there is a frantic effort to attract new hunters and to entice those that have quit hunting back into the fold.  There is a continual clamor for more and longer seasons, special seasons, mentored youth hunts, mentored adult hunts and on and on. At the same time, a substantial-or at least very vocal portion- of the hunting public believes that the whitetail deer population has been decimated by the excessive killing of does and this is the primary reason for the loss of interest in hunting.

This situation provides a fertile field for discussion and I hope to write about some of these issues in the coming year along with the usual photography content.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard  Hill.

Meadow Grounds Lake Drawdown Faces Public Resistance

State Senator John Eichelberger Faces Concerned Citizens At Central Fulton High School

Last evening, March 21sh, The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, (PFBC) held a public meeting at Central Fulton High School in McConnellsburg to explain the reasons for the total Drawdown of Meadow Grounds Lake, which is located in a valley nestled high in the nearby mountains of Southcentral Pennsylvania.  For a bit of background on this and great photos of the area please visit the Country Captures Blog and be certain to read the post, "Meadow Grounds Lake: Good-bye Old Friend".

State Senator John Eichelberger

The meeting was moderated by State Senator John Eichelberger and  began with a presentation by officials from the PFBC and The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which gave an overview and brief history of Meadow Grounds Lake.

PFBC Employee Giving Presentation

Roger Adams: Chief -Division of Dam Safety-DEP

Officials then went on to explain why they are implementing a total Drawdown of the lake. The following points were stressed: 163 downstream residents are at risk if there is a total dam failure, but according to the Power-point presentation ,the current condition is not "A Dam Hazard Emergency", Dam Deficiencies  that exist are: uncontrolled seepage on the right side of the spillway outlet, Inadequate spillway-56% of required capacity. The dam is considered "Unsafe", the draining of the reservoir greatly lessens the risk of dam failure. Draining of the reservoir halts further damage to the embankment and foundation from seepage. Reservoir needs to be drained to do the repair.

At the conclusion of the presentation Senator Eichelberger invited comments or questions from the Fulton County Commissioners. Commissioner, Rodney McCray took the floor and asked state officials to clarify for his understanding that this is two problems, a seepage  problem and a spillway problem, which they agreed was correct.   McCray went on say,"I know that this is going to be an ongoing conversation  between our office and the departments so I want to frame my questions very carefully because I want to be able to carry on a conversation in the future".  McCray asked by for a show of hands from the officials if they had in fact personally visited the dam site and all indicated they had. McCray further stated that the primary concerns of the Commissioners was to save the dam and the safety of those downstream.

Several concerned citizens also spoke.  One expressed concerns that the taxpayers would be stuck with paying the bill, while another said, "The Game Commission owns it, DER owns it, the Fish Commission owns it" and then went on to question what became of all of the money taken in from hunting and fishing licenses, and the timber sale money from when the back side of the mountain was cut off

Other comments ranged from the one from a recent retiree who is concerned about the loss of the lake as a fishing spot and the possible effect on the water table, to one by a long time resident who lives directly downstream from the dam.  He explained that if the dam failed the water first comes through a 75-80' wide gorge and it  would come like a bullet or like a shot out of a cannon.

McConnellsburg realtor, Anthony D'Anna made a lengthy, and impassioned plea to officials and the audience.  He began by asking the panel how many lived in Fulton County and none did.  Then he asked where each was from and the responses were: Blair, Centre,Cumberland, and Perry counties.  

Anthony D'Anna  Asks, "What is the action Plan?"

He then asked if anyone had done a study about the economic impact on Fulton County of the loss of the Meadow Grounds Dam. D'Anna  explained how this personally affected him as a real estate agent, but took pains to emphasize that he was using his personal example to illustrate the broader problem and that the influx of residents attracted by areas such as The Meadow Grounds and Cowans Gap is beneficial to the economy of the county as a whole. He went on to say this about the decision to drain the dam “This doesn't seem, it doesn't feel like it was really thought out, this just seems like all of a sudden, hey lets go close the Meadow Grounds Lake down and it just doesn't seem from what you are saying that this is really thought out. I mean I think we all feel the same way, right from the beginning when we read this article in the Public Opinon--the Commissioners didn't know about it (D'Anna's talking is drowned in applause from audience at this point) " I'm asking you ,did you? have you thought about it? as far as it sounds like you're tempting us basically with a little bit of an action plan with starting to get a grass roots movement-I think it's already here-this is the grass roots movement, we're looking to you for what is the action plan for saving the lake.OK”

This brings us to the crux of the problem.  The lack of communication between agencies and officials on this problem has been little short of astounding.  The PFBC and DEP acted alone in studying the problem and deciding what to do and then presented local officials and the public with what is literally an accomplished fact.  It certainly has the appearance of being done in such a manner that no one would have a chance to oppose it until was too late.  At this point if it is not too late to reverse the decision, it is certainly at the eleventh hour and the clock is ticking rapidly as the lake gets lower each day.  

Migratory Waterfowl, and Other Wildlife Will Be Negatively Impacted By Loss Of Lake

Now it seems the most likely outcome will be for the dam to remain empty for an extended time, while officials develop a rehabilitation plan and try to secure funding to implement it.  Would it not have been better for all  agencies and officials involved to interface with each other and the public from the first moment that problems were first perceived with the dam and started working toward a solution.  They could have worked on securing funding in the intervening years, but now it is extremely likely that at best the lake will remain empty for several years to come. This will have a negative impact on the citizens of Fulton County, the oudoor enthusiasts from a wide surrounding area, and last but not least a thriving aquatic community, and large numbers of migratory waterfowl.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

A Tale of Duplicity and Greed!

A Step Toward A Different Outlook

Late one Saturday morning during Pennsylvania’s spring gobbler season, I was patrolling a backwoods area by driving slowly along a narrow township road, which passed through prime turkey habitat. There were several spots in this area where one frequently found turkey hunters parked. As I topped a steep hill I came upon three hunters by the roadside. Hunting hours ended at 12:00 noon, and these individuals had quit slightly early and were gathered around their vehicles waiting for other persons yet in the woods to return from the hunt. I soon found I was dealing with two parties; one was hunting by alone, while the other two were traveling together.

After a perfunctory license check, I engaged the persons in conversation. It soon became apparent that one, Jim Stallings, was an excellent raconteur. He also loved to hear a good story and encouraged his companion to tell several hunting tales. Jim was likely in his middle 50s to early 60s, while the others were perhaps 70 years old. Jim’s eyes shone as the tales were recounted and he repeatedly stated that this was what hunting was all about. The kill was not important, but rather the ethical pursuit of the bird or animal and remembering, and sharing the great experiences that one had during the hunt. I left the encounter believing that this was one of the finest sportsmen I had met during my career.

Spring Gobbler hunting is a popular sport in Pennsylvania with only bearded birds being legal!

Time passed, perhaps several years. At that time Pennsylvania had a three-day antlerless deer season. Rifle buck season came in the Monday after Thanksgiving and lasted for two weeks. On the following Monday, doe season, as it was commonly called came in and it was usually a blood bath on the first morning. It was quite effective for an officer to patrol the back roads on that day as they were continually checking deer after the hunters had time to drag them from the woods. Many hunters followed the old principle of “making hay while the sun shines”, and it was common to find untagged deer, hunters with more than the legal limit, hunters without licenses for antlerless deer and other lesser violations.

Deer hunting sometimes brings out the worst in a certain type of individual and it seems that antlerless deer are often victims to some of the worst depredations!

To get back to the case at hand, Salty and I received a call the night before from an informant in a neighboring county. He asked if we knew Jim Stallings, which of course we did. But then he dropped a bombshell on us. He said that he went to the same church as Jim and he considered himself to be a good Christian, but he went on to say that what Jim and his group did when they hunted gave Christians a bad name and he wanted to see them brought to justice. He called us because he knew that we were familiar with the area in which this gang operated.

At that time one was required to have an Antlerless license, which was good only for the county in which it was issued. According to the informant, it was common for these people to use licenses issued to the county they were from and not Fulton County, where they were hunting. They were also known to kill more deer than they had tags for.

With the passing of the years, many details have become hazy, but I recall that we checked some other area at dawn and then headed for the area where the Stallings gang was hunting. We arrived about 8:30 in the morning and the rifles were still thundering about us. Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer, Anthony “Andy” Carbaugh, was with us, and he and I circled the killing zone while Salty approached from another angle. At the appointed time we converged on the spot where the shooting had come from and the carnage we discovered was disgusting. At this point I cannot remember how many deer were killed or the exact description of the violations, but they were numerous. I do recall that one hunter was still carrying a loaded weapon, and trying to kill another deer in excess of the legal limit.

We seized the rifles and other pertinent evidence and told the violators to meet us at the vehicles, which were at the same spot where we had the wonderful conversation in spring gobbler season. We arrived there before the violators and there was Jim Stallings. He was still quite a talker, but he wasn’t telling wonderful hunting stories now. Instead he was protesting that he just couldn’t believe the boys would do a thing like that, and he had no idea they were outlaws. We actually had nothing on Jim, but the rest of his group was a different story and it doesn’t seem possible that the illegal activity was done without his knowledge or approval, especially since our informant said that Jim was involved and in fact bragged openly on how he had the wardens fooled.

This incident and many more like it were to eventually have a major impact on reshaping my views toward wildlife conservation and management.

*Jim Stallings is a fictitous name, but the character is very real and described accurately to the best of my ability. The officer’s names are real with the exception that my brother was not known as “Salty” at the time, but currently uses that nickname on his blog, Country Captures, and the name has caught on around home as well.