This diorama reminds me of the one I saw at the new Cabela’s in East Hartford, Connecticut in their wildlife museum.

By: Rick Kratzke

A new diorama with six record-holding sheep, deer and pronghorn are on display at the Boone and Crockett Club below the Higgins Avenue Bridge. Each animal holds the highest rank for its kind of antler or horn.
Photo by ASHLEY McKEE/Missoulian

Lots of hunters make a pilgrimage stop at the Boone and Crockett Club’s national headquarters in Missoula. This year, they’ll be met at the door by the current record holders of all their favorite species.

A new diorama of six deer, sheep and pronghorn takes up most of the south wall of the club’s lobby. Each animal holds the top rank for its kind of antler or horn. Seen together, it’s enough to make any big-game enthusiast swoon.

“They’re all mine,” joked records management specialist Keith Balfourd. “Actually, there’s probably nowhere else in the country that’s got a collection like this.”

Arlee taxidermist Shawn Andres mounted three of the animals and also built the rock outcropping they stand on. It took three days just to install and arrange the display in the former Milwaukee Road train depot below the Higgins Avenue Bridge.

The animals aren’t simply a trophy shelf for big racks. As far as the Boone and Crockett Club is concerned, they are proof of the organization’s success in its mission.

“People talk about the good old days, but we’re kind of living in the good old days right now,” said Tony Schoonen, the club’s chief of staff. “Our records started in the1930s as a way to check how effective our management practices were.”

President Theodore Roosevelt founded the club in 1887, along with National Audubon Society founder George Bird Grinnell, artist Albert Bierstadt and others. Aldo Leopold helped develop its wildlife management theories, which led to legislation banning market hunting of big game, establishment of national parks and wildlife refuges, and the drafting and enforcement of big-game hunting seasons and limits. Its members helped fund the purchase of Montana’s National Bison Range in 1908.

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

Read complete story:

Last year I attended my very first Northeast Big Buck Club annual banquet and let me just say that I had a great time and this year looks to be no different. Even though I can not attend this years banquet I still feel the need to mention to you all that there is still time to get your tickets. They go fast so don’t delay.

ALL Photo’s were taken by me at the 2007 Banquet:

By: Rick Kratzke

NBBC 2008 Awards Ceremony

At the banquet, awards will be given to the largest typical and non-typical bucks harvested in the previous year with a bow, gun and muzzleloader, from MA, CT, VT, RI, ME, NH, NY and PA.

These are the best of the best! With over 100 of the northeast’s best heads on display, many scoring over 170″.

When: Saturday, July 19, 2008
Time: 1:00 pm TO 8:00 pm

• Mulit-course sit-down dinner
• State-of-the-art computer generated and
  full narrated awards ceremony
• Many incredible hunts auctioned and raffled
• Wildlife art auctions
• Door prizes
• Awards for ladies, teens and seniors

$35.00 per person. No tickets sold at the door.

Please note that any deer that is entered into the NBBC record book from May 1, 2007, until May 1, 2008 is eligible to receive a beautiful 7 x 9 inch laser-engraved plaque recognizing your trophy. These are not the laser-engraved plaques that we give to award winners, but one that will still give all the details of your buck and will be an eye-catching memento to hang on the wall next to your trophy. These solid-wood plaques, a $35 value, will be handed out, FREE OF CHARGE, at the Awards Ceremony*. Please contact Paul Chapdelaine at deerrunacres@comcast.net for more information.

Click Here To Download Ticket Order Form

Click Here To Download Plaque Order Form

Here are a few more pictures from last year, just a taste of what you might see if you are able to go this year. I know I wish I was going.

The Connecticut River Valley Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association held a seminar at the Cabela’s store in East Hartford last night. The seminar was about “Deer Management in Connecticut” and a “Introduction to Food Plots”.

The night started off with a chance to purchase raffle tickets for a shotgun, ladder stand and numerous smaller items such as rattle bags,scent away for your cloths and video’s plus more. Cabela’s was gracious enough to supply coffee and snacks which was very nice of them.

The seminar started off with the President of the Connecticut River Valley Branch Mr. Ron Reeves a very nice and warm welcome to approximately 70 people who attended, me included.

Then Mr. Howard Kilpatrick who is a Wildlife Biologist for the Department of Environmental Protection for the state of Connecticut. He spoke about the deer management part and that was very informative, He also spoke briefly of changes and/or possible changes for the future. Just as an example of what he touched on which was surprising to me the number of deer in Connecticut taken from a air survey was approximately 63,000 in Connecticut but, realistically that number is doubled because of mis counting and skipping over deer that were not seen so you could be looking at a more closer figure of 120,000 +/- in Connecticut. It is pretty amazing what the average person does not know about statistics like that.

The second half which was about Food Plots was delivered by Mr. Matt Ross who is the New England/Canada Regional Director for the QDMA. Matt is a licensed Forester and also a Wildlife Biologist. He gave a very nice and also very informative basis for Food Plots and how to get one started. There was so much to that topic that he could only touch basics but it was enough to get the point across.

After at the end they held the raffle which I think went very well partly because I had the winning raffle ticket for the shotgun. I honestly was very surprised because I never win anything. It was a very nice prize and will do me well. My take on this seminar is that it was worth taking the night off from work to go. Whitetail Deer and Deer Hunting mean a whole lot to me and the only way to carry that on and protect it for our children is to do what the QDMA is trying to do. I very much believe in what they do and even though I don’t own a lot of land there is still a lot I can do as a Deer Manager to help and maintain the deer herds for future generations to come.

I want to thank Ron Reeves, Matt Ross, Howard Kilpatrick and all the others who worked at the seminar for putting on a very nice and informative seminar and I look forward to many more.

The Quality Deer Management Association will be having a FREE seminar about Deer Management & Food Plot Development and it will be at the new Cabela’s in East Hartford, Connecticut in one of their conference rooms. As a member of the “QDMA” and a hunter who is interested in Quality Deer Management I will be attending this seminar and will gladly try to fill you in on how it went.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has been doing everything in their part to better our state and it’s wildlife. Through the past few years it has made quite a few accomplishments. We should acknowledge them and their hard work by doing what we can to promote conservation and wildlife safety.

Efforts to protect and restore habitat and natural resources, including the reforestation of Connecticut have contributed to a diversified and healthy wildlife population throughout the state. Over the last two decades there has been the re-emergence of the wild turkey, the establishment of a resident bear population, increased moose activity, and greater numbers of nesting eagles and peregrine falcons in the state. The re-emergence of wildlife throughout the state presents a number of challenges and opportunities. To address these challenges the Department has developed a number of programs to manage wildlife populations, whether it be through habitat restoration projects or regulated hunting seasons. Complementing management efforts, the Department is engaged in a comprehensive outreach and education effort to make the public more aware of the wildlife that can be found throughout the state.

The DEP Wildlife Division has developed a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) for Connecticut. This will allow the Department and its partners to integrate the management of natural resources, build valuable partnerships, and support regional and national efforts to secure long-term funding for wildlife conservation.Connecticut’s strategy identifies species of greatest conservation need and their affiliated habitats. The strategy also identifies the priority research needs and conservation actions needed to address problems facing these species and habitats.

Goals of Connecticut’s CWCS The intent of the CWCS is to provide guidance and vision for wildlife conservation in Connecticut. Accordingly, the strategy:

1. Addresses the broad array of all fish, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrate species.
2. Uses available funding to address the species in greatest need of conservation and their habitats.
3. Identifies actions needed to conserve species diversity and keep common species common.
4. Builds upon past efforts to conserve all species of wildlife.
5. Encourages the creation of partnerships with conservation organizations at local, state and regional levels to enhance opportunities for implementation of actions to conserve wildlife.

Background: Through passage of the Forsythe-Chaffee Nongame Act of 1980, Congress recognized the need for new sources of federal funding for state wildlife conservation programs to complement funding provided through the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs. Key elements in the success of the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs have been long-term stability, equitable and reasonably predictable annual allocations, and safeguards against diversion of such funds away from the purposes established by Congress.

Subsequent to the passage of the Forsythe-Chaffee Nongame Act, an unprecedented national grassroots coalition (Teaming With Wildlife) was created. This coalition comprises all 50 states, their governmental and nongovernmental partners in conservation, and the corporate sector. For over a decade, the coalition has developed strong Congressional support to fund the conservation of nongame species. Since 2001, this effort has resulted in annual appropriations to states under the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program (WCRP) and State Wildlife Grant program (SWG).

Under the new federal SWG and WCRP programs, Congress has provided a historic opportunity to state fish and wildlife agencies and their partners to design and implement a comprehensive vision for the conservation of America’s wildlife. Under SWG, each State, Territory, and the District of Columbia was required to complete a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy by October 1, 2005. After a review process, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted approval to Connecticut’s CWCS in January 2006

“Creating a vision for the future of wildlife conservation”

A program has been in place since 1999 and Stony Creek this year is taking a break from deer management to reassess how the deer herd is doing. This could be a very positive thing meaning that if the can take a year and not perform deer management than their efforts must be paying off.

By Kristyne E. Demske
C & G Staff Writer

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — A program that’s been in place since the 1999-2000 hunting season is taking a break this year, leaving the deer herds at Stony Creek Metropark be for the first time in more than five years.

“We are not … conducting any deer management programs this year in any of the metroparks,” said Denise Semion, chief of communications for the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.

The year she’s referring too constitutes the deer-hunting season, which runs from the fall of one year through the winter of the next, in this case the fall of 2007 into the winter of 2008. The program began in the fall of 1999 when bow and gun hunters were given special permission to help cull the deer herds at certain metroparks, and then rangers would use sharpshooters after the season ended to finish the job during January and February.

“The decision was made last summer that we would not cull any deer,” she said. “We have found that we could take a year off and reassess the population.”

Paul Muelle, chief of natural resources at Huron-Clinton Metroparks, said they have to keep an eye on the deer population each year to make sure it doesn’t take out too many of the parks’ other resources.

“We are looking at managing entire ecosystems. Trying to maintain biodiversity within those systems,” he said. “To do that, you take a look at all those things that affect that system, and over the years, we have seen quite a large negative effect” from the deer.

Semion said they conduct annual aerial surveys of the population each February, but the 2007 survey was not deemed very reliable because of the lack of snow on the ground and patchy fog that made it difficult to see exactly how many deer were in the park.

Nevertheless, the park authority estimated the 2007 deer population for Stony Creek at 168, giving a density of 27 deer per square mile. Park officials prefer to have a density of 15 to 20 deer per square mile, but that number was down from the 2006 estimate of 226 deer in the park.

“We’d like to have the population at about 124 deer, total,” Semion said. “The deer, whenever we do a deer count, we’re only doing a snapshot of the number of deer at the time. The deer come and go into these parks from the surrounding areas.”

After the aerial count is done, Muelle said, they take a look at the number of females and use their normal reproductive rate to estimate the population for the upcoming year.

“We compare what our estimation may be to what we feel the carrying capacity of the park may be,” he said.

He said staff members look at various indicator plants for clues to the health of the ecosystem and use that information to decide how much the herd needs to be cut down each year.

“We’re looking at the big picture,” he said.

This time of year all sorts of organizations come out and really show what they are made of. They should be mentioned so good deeds like this do not go unnoticed. I recently just heard about this organization which just happens to be located in my state of Connecticut. I will be looking into their accomplishments and goals for the future and have hope of bringing more info to your attention.

Food Bank Receives Donation

OXFORD - WhiteTail Solutions, a deer management group, recently donated $2,500 to Large Game Company Venison Butcher of Oxford and Connecticut Food Bank for the current hunting season, which began September 15.

The organization donated nearly 1,000 pounds of venison to the food bank via its “Hunt to Feed” program last year. To continue the program, WhiteTail is asking landowners seeking safe and ethical hunters to manage deer on their property to contact them.

Information about the program is available on the organization’s web sites, including www.ctfoodbank.org/spotlight/index.cfm, www.whitetailsolutionsllc.com and www.FindAHunter. com. Information is also available by calling Joe Tucker at 202-305-3874.

After speaking to John Navan the Taxidermist from Woodstock, CT. that I just recently did an interview with I decided to apply to become a Certified NBBC Measurer.

I have been fascinated with antlers ever since I started hunting and have been collecting them for as long. If you think about it they are like finger prints on a humans hand. There is no two antlers that are alike. It surely is fascinating that they can be measured and scored and I have thought about doing that for quite some time. I just came back from putting my application in the mailbox and I look forward to hearing from them. This will be just another addition to my whitetail obsession.

Become an Official NBBC Measurer

The NBBC provides in-depth, intensive training for it’s measurers. If you are invited to attend a measuring seminar, you will spend 6 hours learning how to use the Boone & Crockett measuring system to measure Typical and Non-Typical whitetails. Because we measure whitetails only, we provide the most intensive and complete measuring training available. And we do this at no charge to you. All we ask in return is that you represent the NBBC actively, and that you help us to promote our programs, events and services.

Download an application:  nbbc%20measurer%20application.pdf

I think this is something that should be made available to our children at school for the purpose of learning how to co exist with the Whitetail Deer because they are a very large part of nature and our environment.

Living With White-Tailed Deer

The Quality Deer Management Association has released a landmark multimedia educational program that explores the unique deer-management and biodiversity issues founded in ever-growing urban and suburban deer herds.

Read a news release on the program

Details and ordering information

Contact: Tim Lilley
(800) 209-3337
tlilley@qdma.com

…………………..QDMA … Better deer, better deer hunting…………………………………..

The Whitetail Institute of North America is at it again. They have created another tasty forage for deer to consume. This should be a must read for someone who wants to get into Food plotting to enhance the environment and the deer herd in your area. If I had enough land I would definately want to think about and consider putting in a food plot for whitetails. Here is a little history about the Whitetail Institute.

History Of The Whitetail Institute

For years, well-known fisherman and avid deer hunter Ray Scott was on the trail of the best forage planting for his deer herd west of Montgomery, Alabama. But every time he asked a fellow hunter, or a university wildlife biologist or seed specialist, he got a different answer. Some swore by oats, some wheat, and some rye.

In the fall of 1986 a friend recommended that Scott try some clover in his testing.

– Imperial Whitetail “Chic” Magnet, a new forage product from The Whitetail Institute of North America, features WINA-100 Brand Perennial Forage Chicory, designed specifically for whitetail deer.

Already available as a component of Imperial Chicory Plus, Alfa-Rack Plus and Extreme, The Whitetail Institute’s WINA-100 Brand perennial forage chicory is now packaged separately as Imperial Whitetail “Chic” Magnet.

“Chic” Magnet is less waxy and vastly more palatable than chicory varieties traditionally planted for deer in the past.

Many Whitetail Institute field testers have already discovered that “Chic” Magnet can be planted alone, or overseeded into existing forages to provide huge gains in attractiveness, and drought-resistance. Plus, “Chic” Magnet is high in protein which assures you of maximum deer attraction and antler-growing nutrition even through extreme summer conditions.

“Chic” Magnet is recommended for planting in heavier soils that hold moisture or moderately drained soils. It can be planted in the spring or fall in most areas, and it can last up to 3 years with a single planting. “Chic” Magnet is available in 3-pound bags which will cover up to 1 acre, and 9-pound bags which will cover up to 3 acres.

So, if you’ve been looking for a forage that will add attractiveness, is resistant to drought and features incredible drawing power, look no further than Imperial Whitetail “Chic” Magnet from The Whitetail Institute.

For more information or to order “Chic” Magnet, call The Whitetail Institute at 1-800-688-3030 or, to order online, visit www.whitetailinstitute.com/products.

I saw this article in a Google Alert and it is from Buckmasters.com which is a site to check out when you have time.