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WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023

- BOATING -
Law enforcement officers and technicians with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and other agencies had a busy holiday weekend, working to inspect and decontaminate boats across the state. Their efforts focused on preventing the invasive quagga mussels in Lake Powell and in other states from spreading to other Utah waterbodies.
- COMPETITION -
Last week, the Association of Collegiate Anglers contested its 18th BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship.
Registration is now available for the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s annual New England Games, Highpower Rifle and Pistol Matches. The outdoor event is set to be held Sept. 16-24, 2023, at the Camp Ethan Allen National Guard Training Site in Vermont.
Federal Ammunition congratulates sponsored shooter Derrick Mein for becoming the 2023 Men's Trap National Champion at the Shotgun National Championships held in Hillsdale, Michigan, May 25-28, 2023. Mein, a member of USA Shooting's Shotgun National Team, was awarded a gold medal after achieving the top score at the match.
- CONSERVATION -
A grant from the Manitoba Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund is providing valuable resources to grow Delta Waterfowl’s Hen House program and enhance duck production efforts in Canada.

- FACILITIES -
Petrarca Range, located on the grounds of Camp Perry, is a covered range open on Mondays to the public and features electronic targets equipped with the most innovative technology on the market.
- FISHING TOURNAMENTS -
For just the second time in its young history, the Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX will head to Possum Kingdom Lake June 3-4
During the recent Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour Toro Stage Four on Lake Guntersville, Alabama, Fish Monkey pro angler Jacob Wall finished in second place and Randall Tharp finished in ninth place overall.
- GEAR -
A new video from Backwoods Pursuit on YouTube TV gives a concise look at both the GPO RANGEGUIDE 32 and RANGEGUIDE 5O, how they compare and which might be right for each individuals’ needs.

- GRANTS -
Whitetails Unlimited recently granted more than $11,000 to Quest Ministries of Michigan. The group focuses on providing hunting and fishing experiences for special needs youth and Purple Heart recipients.
- HUNTING -
Only a few days remain to apply for 2023 fall hunt permit-tags, which means hopeful hunters now fall into one of two camps: those who are chronic putter-offers, telling themselves that they have plenty of time before the June 6 deadline, and those who jumped on their computers and filled out an application the moment that the draw opened three weeks ago.
Wild turkey hunters in Ohio checked 15,673 birds during the spring season which concluded on Sunday, May 28, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
- INDUSTRY -
QuietKat, a manufacturer of all-terrain electric bicycles, announced its alliance with law enforcement and military agencies to provide a fast and reliable e-bike fleet program.

THROOM Targets has announced that PMI -- Professional Marketing Inc. -- will be responsible for all retail sales to include dealers, distributors, mass retailers in the midwestern states.
Buck Knives, Inc. offers a rarity in today’s knife manufacturing arena — the opportunity for a customer to create a custom knife. The company’s Custom Knife Shop employs seven highly-skilled craftsmen who have more than 145 years of combined knife building experience.
Taurus USA sponsored the 2023 CMP National Action Pistol Championship Production Division, better known as the Bianchi Cup, over May 23rd through May 26th.
Kelly Brand Management (KBM) has been chosen to represent Earth Blinds to manage its US brick-and-mortar and eCommerce sales.

- LEGISLATION -
NSSF commends North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for signing legislation to protect the financial privacy of purchases with credit cards at firearm retailers. Gov. Burgum signed the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act to prohibit the use of a special Merchant Category Code for credit card purchases and prevent personal financial information from being shared by financial institutions.
- NEW PRODUCTS -
Challenge yourself with these THROOM BOUNCEBACK Series Varmint targets. Different shapes and sizes will keep you on your toes, shooting in a head-to-head challenge against a friend or just trying to beat your best time.
Legacy Sports is eager to announce its newest pattern for the CITADEL TRAKR’s – the YOTE camo pattern. The design is perfect for a blend in a wide range of terrain and cover or to simply show off at the range.
The first holster fits from CrossBreed for the brawny P320-XTEN are now available and cover a wide range of carry styles.

Magnum Research and Auto-Ordnance have partnered again to create the "Trump Promise" Desert Eagle and the "Trump One" 1911.
- NOW STREAMING -
This week GameKeepers is thrilled to be joined by Carlton Ward and Tori Linder from the Path of the Panther project.
- ORGANIZATIONS -
Capitol Armory has renewed their Tier 3 sponsorship of the American Suppressor Association for 2023. They have been serving NFA customers nationwide since 2009.
A major multi-phase recreational expansion project at Missouri’s popular Cuivre River State Park is one step closer to completion thanks to teamwork among the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, several union locals and a handful of nearby businesses.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom should “button his lip instead of trying to blame a new permitless carry law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis for a Memorial Day shooting in Florida when the law is not yet in effect, especially when shootings continue in the Golden State,” the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said yesterday.
The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) was recently accepted as an Associate Member of the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE).
A major multi-phase recreational expansion project at Missouri’s popular Cuivre River State Park is one step closer to completion thanks to teamwork among the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), several union locals and a handful of nearby businesses.
- RECREATION -
You may fish without a license again this year, during the first weekend in June. Take advantage of the free fishing days, June 2-4 and enjoy the great outdoors with your family and friends without having to spend money for a fishing license.
- RETAIL -
Bear Creek Arsenal produces high-quality rimfire firearms that allow the popular .22 LR, .22 WMR, and .17 HMR to be fired from a mil-spec AR-15 lower.
Brimstone pellets and slugs are precision crafted to minimize defects that reduce accuracy. The low-drag and carefully balanced shape is designed to dump as much kinetic energy into the target as possible.
- STATE PARKS -
From June 1 – Oct. 31, Iowa State Park Passport holders can earn points by checking into more than 60 state parks and forests using the online app.
- STATES -
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock and Tulsa Districts are seeking public input on the MKARNS 12-foot Channel Deepening Project. Public comment for the draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment will be held between June 5 and July 8.
Anti-Second Amendment forces are trying to repeal Preemption in Ohio. SB 78 is a dangerous bill that if passed would repeal the entirety of Ohio’s preemption law, including Knife Law Preemption which was just enacted last year after six years of Knife Rights' efforts.
- TELEVISION -
Shooting USA is there as the top competitors assemble at the PRS Finale at K & M Precision in Finger, Tennessee. Plus, the inexpensive Grease Gun is now one of History’s Guns from WW-II.
- WILDLIFE -
When encountering young wildlife, be it deer, birds, raccoons or other animals, the best thing you can do is leave it alone. While some young animals might appear to be abandoned, usually they are not.
 

The proposed sanctuary on Lake Erie would cover about 740 square miles off the shore of Pennsylvania's Erie County.

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is considering designating a new national marine sanctuary in Lake Erie, adjacent to Pennsylvania.

Sport fishing is not mentioned in the proposal, but some recreational anglers are nervous about the idea. “Sanctuary” sounds like “no fishing” to some. And this area is famed not only for the lunker smallmouths and walleyes of Lake Erie, but also for steelhead and salmon which grow fast in the lake and then run up the rivers in fall and early winter.

This could be good—that is it’s assumed that fishing will be part of the uses allowed as it has always been. But some anglers are concerned that it could be bad, particularly if some “fish feel pain” types gear up and cram the meetings prior to the designation. Diving is also not mentioned, but all the remarkable shipwrecks in the area currently welcome cold-water divers.

NOAA’s Marine Sanctuary page says this: The majority of the collective waters in national marine sanctuaries are open to recreational fishing, providing opportunities for anglers of all ages and fostering a sense of responsibility for America's great outdoors.”

But remember, this is your federal government at work. There is no telling where bureaucracy may take us once the process starts. And the statement says “the majority”—not “all”.

Erie County, Pennsylvania submitted a nomination in 2015, and NOAA is now considering sanctuary designation to protect the region's maritime heritage resources, including a nationally significant collection of shipwrecks. As part of the designation process, NOAA will establish a local Sanctuary Advisory Council—and it would be wise for local anglers and divers to volunteer to serve on this council.

The proposed Lake Erie Quadrangle National Marine Sanctuary would encompass approximately 740 square miles of Pennsylvania's Lake Erie waters, from the shoreline to the Canadian border. Approximately 75 miles of the proposed sanctuary shoreline would be in Erie County.

NOAA says this area represents a historically and culturally rich region where the long relationship between human activity and the maritime environment has created “meaning and a sense of place, which is expressed and preserved in a wide variety of maritime cultural resources, from sacred places and cultural practices, to lighthouses and historic shipwrecks.” Together, these tangible and intangible elements form a rich maritime cultural landscape.

The sunken ships are a major attraction for divers throughout the area, where shipwrecks extend back to the era of sail.

Nearly every type of vessel that operated on the Great Lakes during the 19th and 20th centuries is represented in the area being considered for sanctuary designation. Based on historical records, 196 vessels may have sunk within the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie, and 35 of these shipwrecks have been identified.

The known shipwrecks span from the 1838 steamboat Chesapeake to speedboats, tugs, barges, and workboats lost before 1940. The collection includes schooners, brigs, and barks; barges and schooner barges; dredges and sand suckers; fishing tugs and trawlers; and sidewheel steamboats and propellers. This area also includes the potential for submerged prehistoric sites and historic properties that may be of religious and cultural significance to Indigenous nations and tribes.

If designated, NOAA's activities would complement the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's efforts to preserve and interpret the area's importance, including its collection of nationally significant historic shipwrecks and other underwater cultural resources. With this designation, NOAA says it could:

  • Use its research and monitoring assets to further locate, document, and monitor the area's significant cultural resources.
  • Provide a national stage for promoting heritage tourism and recreation, which has the potential to increase economic opportunities in local coastal communities.
  • Expand education and outreach activities to build public knowledge of and appreciation for Great Lakes maritime cultural heritage and ties to past and present uses.
  • Prevent damage to irreplaceable historical sites by promoting the responsible use of sanctuary resources.

Submitting Comments

The public can comment on the proposed action through July 18, 2023. Comments may be submitted by any one of the following methods:

In-person public meeting 1

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Erie, PA
Address: Erie County Public Library - Blasco
H.O. Hirt Auditorium
160 East Front Street
Erie, PA 16507

Virtual public meeting 1

Date and Time: Tuesday, June 27, 2023, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Registration: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5727142095178900822

Virtual public meeting 2

Date and Time: , June 28, 2023, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET
Registration: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3840871623612958300

Submit comments online

Submit all electronic public comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, www.regulations.gov. The docket number is NOAA-NOS-2023-0039. Click the "Comment Now!" icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

—- Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com

Sargeant is editor of our companion service, The Water Wire.

 
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