The Satuit Nimrod -- February, 2010

Winter doldrums; everything is cold, wet and grey. The last week of February was one continuous rain storm with scattered snow flurries — actually there were several storms, just as one was winding down the next would hit.

We were fortunate in that we got rain with just a few flurries, further inland it was white, not wet.

Plymouth County League Meeting
February saw us host the monthly meeting of the Plymouth County League. The meeting was well attended by the representatives from the clubs in Plymouth County. Truth be told, they came for the grub!

We always put on a good feed for the PCL meeting and this month was no exception with Rich Greim slaving away in the kitchen ably assisted by Bill Ryan who donned a white apron and played the part of waiter.

Skeet
The skeet shooters continue in their attempts to eradicate those pesky clay birds who continue to fly down field after the shooter just knows he dusted their backsides with a good dose of #9 shot.

We’ve received several inquiries from members regarding instruction. Jack Kecskemety will hold a clinic for beginning skeet shooters in the near future. This will be held, most likely, on a Sunday.

We will also entertain requests from members for one-on-one clinics for those who wish to practice specific stations or pattern their shotguns. These clinics will be held on other than Sundays and Wednesday evenings. Contact a member of the Skeet Committee or a Club officer for more information.

For junior shooters, and those of smaller stature, we have re-stocked the 20ga. 1100 with a youth model stock.

For those who remember Barry Freedman; he recently shot the Senior Olympics in Arizona where he now resides. Barry did very well taking the Gold in 28ga. and the Silver in 20ga. Way to go Barry!

Cowboy Action Shooting
The Gunnysackers who trekked out to the Winter Range shoot at the Ben Avery range located north of Phoenix, Arizona are now wending their weary ways back home.

With over 650 shooters shooting 12 stages over a three day period, our Gunnysackers made a very respectable showing in their categories:

• Ron Rice 15th in Frontier Cartridge
• Jean Alexander 2nd in Ladies Frontier Cartridge
• Al Bonney 22nd in Elder Statesman
• Dee Bonny 3rd in Grand Dame
• Connie Carter 13th in Lady 49er
• Paul Carter 18th in Gunfighter

On The Legal Front
We have submitted a proposal for our 50 yard range. The proposal is for a dynamic design that allows shooters to shoot from any location on the range while the target remains fixed at the 50 yard location.

The heart of this design is a set of overhead baffles spaced on 9 inches apart. This design traps bullets other than those within 10º of vertical and those will fall on our property.

The next teleconference with Judge Hely is set for the second week in March; we’ll see what the plaintiffs counter with.

Turkey Hunters
You’ll need to get your applications for a turkey permit in by March 15 if you want to hunt gobblers this year. Note that this year the season is one month long.

Controlled Turkey Hunt at Camp Edwards
The 2010 Camp Edwards controlled wild turkey hunt on Cape Cod will be held during the second week of the spring turkey season from Monday May 3rd through Friday May 7th.

Hunters wishing to participate must check in at the Otis Fish & Game Club each day and receive a daily hunting permit. Hunters must provide their valid hunting or sporting license, FID or LTC card and valid 2010 Turkey Permit in order to participate in the hunt.

The Otis Fish and Game Club will open at 4:00 a.m. daily for the turkey hunt.

For directions and other information, go to:
www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/hunting/hunting_opportunities.htm

Remember Endangered Species On Your Tax Form
Join the thousands of “in-the-know” people who use their state tax form to make a big difference for rare species in Massachusetts!

Since 1983, Massachusetts tax filers of Form 1 have had the option of donating to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Fund when filing their state income tax (Line 32a: “Endangered Wildlife Conservation”), and tens of thousands of people have done so over the years. All contributions go directly into the Fund, currently the source of a significant portion of the annual operating budget of MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP), which conserves and protects endangered species and their habitats in Massachusetts.

Over 20,000 tax filers support the program with over $200,000 in critically-important donations each year.

Won’t you join them? With your contributions to the Fund, you directly help to study, protect, and restore rare and endangered animals and plants and their habitats. If you have made contributions in this manner, thank you for supporting the Program and its conservation efforts!

Past donations have helped restore populations and conserve and maintain habitat for Northern harriers in grassland habitats and Northern Red-bellied Cooters. You can also make contributions directly to the Fund by sending a check payable to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Fund to: Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd, Westborough, MA 01581.

245-Acre Land Acquisition In Wareham And Plymouth
Recently, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles announced the purchase of 245 acres of land on Red Brook in Wareham and Plymouth that will protect one of the most diverse fish and wildlife habitats in the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) acquired the land, known as Century Bog, from A.D. Makepeace Company for $3 million. The acquisition – through conservation and ongoing ecological restoration – will protect the Red Brook watershed and protect habitat for 11 rare species, several kinds of fish and other wildlife.

The property consists of 176 acres in Wareham and 69 acres in Plymouth, beginning at the southern end of White Island Pond and linking to MassWildlife’s 673-acre Red Brook Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Combining the Red Brook WMA acreage with the adjacent 210-acre Lyman Reserve owned by The Trustees of Reservations, the Century Bog acquisition now helps to permanently protect 883 acres of contiguous land, from the headwaters of Red Brook all the way to Buttermilk Bay, a shallow estuary located at the head of Buzzards Bay. Funding for the acquisition comes from the $1.7 billion Energy and Environment Bond Bill signed by Governor Patrick in August 2008.

A.D. Makepeace – the world’s largest cranberry grower and the largest private landowner in eastern Massachusetts – has been an active participant in ongoing habitat restoration efforts on Red Brook. During the term of a six-year lease agreement, the company has agreed to provide further restoration services on the property. A.D. Makepeace also has the right to continue its cranberry operations at the 70-acre Century Bog for five years.

Saltwater Anglers Must Register In 2010
The Division of Marine Fisheries is alerting saltwater anglers to new saltwater fishing registration requirements that are occurring in 2010 and 2011. A new federal law that took effect January 1, 2010 requires most Massachusetts recreational saltwater fishermen 16 years old and older to register with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) either online via www.countmyfish.noaa.gov or by calling (888) MRIP-411 [(888) 674-7411]. There is no fee for federal registration in 2010. People fishing on saltwater charter or head-boats will not be required to register. Private boat or family registrations are not available. This year, non-residents planning saltwater fishing trips in Massachusetts must possess a saltwater fishing permit from any state or from the federal saltwater registration system.

Beginning in 2011, saltwater anglers need to be aware that a new state law will require purchase of a state recreational fishing permit for saltwater fishing. The fee for this permit is estimated to be $10 and will be the same cost for all anglers, including non-residents. As in 2010, anyone 16 or older will be required to purchase a saltwater fishing permit. Saltwater fishermen 60 or older will be required obtain a permit, but the permit will be free. Saltwater anglers in the state will not register with the federal registration system in 2011.

Via Reuters. By James Vicini and Jeremy Pelofsky

The Supreme Court appears likely to extend the federal right to own guns to state and local governments, but some justices said firearms still could face regulations and restrictions.

In a legal challenge to Chicago’s 28-year-old handgun ban, the high court seemed deeply divided along conservative and liberal lines in considering how broadly to extend its landmark 2008 ruling that individual Americans have a federal right to own guns to all the states and cities.

Gun rights cases have been among the country’s most divisive social, political and legal issues. Some 90 million people in the United States have an estimated 200 million guns, according to a study cited in the case.

During arguments in one of the court’s most important cases this term, the justices vigorously questioned lawyers on both sides on the reach of gun rights and whether it extended beyond keeping a handgun in a home for self-defense.

The justices also seemed to suggest a total handgun ban might be struck down because the right to bear arms was written in the U.S. Constitution, but that reasonable firearm regulations would be allowed.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, a moderate conservative who often casts the decisive vote, said other rights in the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states in such a way to still allow substantial latitude in adopting reasonable regulations.

“Why can’t we do the same thing with firearms?” Kennedy asked the lawyer for the city of Chicago who defended a strict gun control law that bans handgun ownership in most cases.

Gun control advocates have urged the Supreme Court to adopt a test that would allow for gun regulations if the laws were a reasonable exercise of state or local power to protect public safety.

The Supreme Court gave no clear indication of how broadly it would rule in its decision expected by the end of June.

Alan Gura, an attorney representing four Chicago-area residents and two gun rights groups, argued the individual right to own guns, which was found in the 2008 ruling on the Second Amendment, also extended to states and cities.

But liberal justices questioned the scope of the right.

Right To Carry Guns In The Streets?
Justice John Paul Stevens asked if it applied only in the home or if an individual had the right carry guns in the streets.

Justice Stephen Breyer asked Gura how to decide such a case that that pitted the city saying its law saves hundreds of lives every year and the other side disputing that.

Paul Clement, the Bush administration’s solicitor general, represented the politically powerful National Rifle Association and argued it would be easier if the same rules applied to the federal government and the states.

James Feldman, a lawyer defending the Chicago law, said firearms are designed to injure and kill and should be subject to state regulation to cut down on violent crimes like murder, suicides and accidental deaths.

The city came “up with something within our traditions,” he argued. Gura retorted that it was “not who has the better statistics.”

The conservative justices rejected Feldman’s argument.

“It’s either there or not,” Justice Antonin Scalia said of the right to keep firearms.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the court could hold the right to own a firearm applied to states and cities, but that it still would be subject to the political process which could allow some regulation or restrictions.

In its 2008 ruling, the court said gun rights were limited. It said the decision did not cast doubt on prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, on laws forbidding firearms in places like schools and government buildings and on laws imposing conditions on gun sales.

The Scituate Rod & Gun Club holds its meetings at 8:00 PM on the first and third Mondays of every Month at the Club House located off Route 3A in North Scituate. Members and guests are invited to attend. Call (781) 545-1510.