mmm: — r Enjojing Virginia's Natural Resources by Governor GeorgeAllen With huntingseason uponus,Virginia's wildlifeandabun- WilliamL. Woodfin,Jr dantnaturalresourcesprovide greatopportunitiesforenjoying Eachwow/^VirginiaWildlife theoutdoors. Sportsmen providestimelyinformationtoour hunters,fishermenandothermen constituents. Inthisspace, weinform andwomenwhoaremem—bersof youofouraccomplishmentsandhoiv thesportingcommunity appre- wecarryoutthemissionofthe ciatethevalueandvirtueof DepartmentofGameandlnhind healthyresources. Webelievethis Fisheries. Thismonthitisour outofanunderstandinggained — distinctprivilegetoprovideyouthis onlythroughexperience notbe- messagefom GovernorAllen. causeanarticle,politician,orgov- sibilitytoensurethatfiituregenera- ernmentbureaucratdeclareditas tionsolVirginiansareabletoshare WilliamL. Woodfin,J truth. intheoutdooradventuresourfore- -Director fathersexperiencedevenwhilewe Virginiassportsmenaresome ourselvesareenjoyingthem. ofthemostdedicatedstewardsof wildlifeandwildlifehabitats. We Hunters, fishermenandothers haveaspecialviewofthevalue whoenjoythegreatVirginiaout- anddynamicnatureofVirginia's doorsmustworktogethertoensure wildlife. Since 1988,Virginiahas thatourchildrencanalsohunt,fish, re-opened96milesofstream- swimandexplore. Throughoutthe spawninghabitatforshad,herring historyoftheCom—monwealth,this andstripedbass. Deerandwild hasbeenthecase thosewhoutilize turkeyarenowfarmoreabundant andexperiencetheenvironment thantheyhavebeenatanypoint anditswildlifearetheoneswhotake inthelastfourdecades. Thesere- theinitiativetopreserveanden- sultsareinlargepartduetothe hancethem. Solutionstoenviron- workofprivateassociationslike mentalchallengescomewheneach huntclubsandnonprofitorgani- ofustakesanactivepartinourown zations, inconjunctionwithVir- communitiesandwildlifeareasto ginia'sownfineDepartmentof guaranteethatfiaturegenerationsof GameandInlandFisheries. Virginianscanappreciateallour naturalresources. Hunting,fishingandother outdooractivitieshavebeenfa- So,haveagreatandsafetime. voritepastimesforgenerationsof TakeadvantageofVirginia'sfine Virginians. TheCommonwealth huntingthisseasonandtheunique isfortunatetohavesomeofthe naturalbeautyandbountyofour bestforests,waterwaysandbeach- greatCommonwealththroughout esinthecountry. Itisourrespon- theyear. RGINIA V3 \n D L L F E I Cover: Photoby©DwightDyke Features 4 APowerfulWetlandbyPatKeyser Sendingpowertototirstates,Virginia'sCloverPowerStation providesawetliuidoasisforavarietyofwaterfowl. 8 HuntingWithoutDogs,ASilentArtbyBobGooch Youcanhaveaquietdayinthewoodsandstillbeasuccessful deerhunter. 12 TheHuntforOctoberSmallmouthsbyBruceIngram Here'showtocatchVirginiasmalhnouthbassinthefall. 16 TealandWoodDucks,aColorfulBeginning byCurtisBadger Withducknumbersup,thisyear'searlyseasonmaybeone toremember. 20 Virginia'sHottestNewDeerSeasonbyDennyQuaiff BlacKpowderhuntersnowhaveavarietyofequipment choicesfromhistorictomodern. OctoberJournal 25 News 31 OctoberAfield 29 Habitat 32 PhotoTips 30 BoatingSafety 33 Recipes Dedicatedto theConservation ofVirginia'sWildlifeandNaturalResources VOLUME NUMBER 57 10 V m£. byPatKeyser As you adjust to the sight of one representVirginia's largestcomplex of the largest capital investments in of managed wetlands west ofTide- the history of Virginia, another sur- water. Afterwindingthroughmiles prise awaits you. On 419 acres of Whiledeer,turkey,owls,andper- ofbackroadsthatcrisscross floodplains located inimediately haps an occasional black bear may cornfields, tobacco patches below the plant is the Virginia De- dowellinthisarea, the realwiiTiiers androllinggreenpastureswherethe partment ofGame and Inland Fish- could turn out to be the dozens of greatest hub of human activity is a eries' Open Space Easement. Life in species of waterbirds native to Vir- quiet country store, you're just not theeasementisasdifferentfrom the ginia. Blue-winged teal, gadwaU, looking for anything too modern, 24-hour-a-day bustle of generating widgeon, wood ducks, blackducks, too technological. But there, above power, as the plant is from tlie sur- mallards, and ringnecks could all oaksbarely stirred by a lazy breeze, roundingcountryside. become commonvisitors. Alsoben- are two 444 foot tall towers! From Stretched along almost three efittingfromthehabitatwillbegreat the next ridge you see that these milesoftheStauntonRiver,theease- blue herons, green-backed herons, chimneys are connected to a large mentareahasbeendevelopedintoa American egrets, and kingfishers. sprawlingcomplex. maze of wetlands and hardwood You might even see ospreys in the Located just outside the quiet forests. In nearly 160 acres of man- areaorevenanoccasionalwiiitering southside town of Clover (popula- madewetlandsthereare14different baldeagle. tion215), on abluffoverlooking the impoundments. And just for good Perhaps one of the least obvious Staunton River, is the recently com- measure, an enterprising colony of but most amazing visitors are the pleted Clover Power Station. Con- beavershasmadetheircontribution shorebirds, such as the greater and structionbeganonVirginia'snewest bybuildingabout25 acres of "natu- lesseryellow legsandsolitary sand- electric power generating facility in ral" wetlands. Another 50 acres has pipers. They will visit the wetlands 1992. Four years later, the two-unit been planted back to bottomland mainlyduringspringmigration. It's 848megawattcoal-fired stationwas oaks to begin restoring the native critical for these birds to have high sendingelectricityacrossfourstates. floodplainforests.Alltogetherthese cjuality feeding areas as tliey work Sendingpower tofour states, Virginia's Clover etiand Power Stationprovides a wetland oasisfor a variety ofwaterfowl (Left)Otilynfrwliiiiuiivdi/rtnfsbcknvthetirwf.tntc-of-tlic-nrtCloverPoztvi-Station;salu<tiWiihvid.(Smallphotoslefttoright)Egicts(photohiAllenHcanic)are amongthemanyregularvisitorstothesewetlands. FlashboardriserswillbeusedtoeoiitrolwaterIrvelsinordertoproduceanabundanceofwaterfowlplantssuchas smartiL'ced(pink)andSpanishneedleixjellow).Precisecontrolofwaterlevelsalsoenablescreationofagoodmixofiypeiiwateramiivetlaud-vegetationbiiportantforwa- terbirds.Theshallowestareasintheivetlandshaveagreatvarietyofvegetationincludingtheextremeh/importantduckfood,wildmillet(foreground).Ducksliketheblue- wingedtealwillbenefitfromtheseareas. OCTOBER 1996 5 their way back north and prepare Each is laid off to ensure that no to waterfowl. This whole process, fornesting.Thisisespeciallyimpor- more than about 18" of water is in known as "moist-soil manage- tant—when you consi—der their tiny the impoundment at full pool. This ment," mimics natural wetland cy- size about80grams andtheirin- in turn allows for fairly precise con- cles and thus provides an abun- credible migration from southern trol of water levels. The timing, danceofnativefoods. SouthAmericatotheArctic! depthanddurationoffloodinghasa The plantingofthousandsofoak (Topleft)TheserenityofClover'swetlandsarearemarkabletestamenttotheabilityof)iatureto It certainly helps these tiny birds thrivenextdoortothe24-hoiir-a-daygenerationof848megazoattsofelectricitxj. (Above)Virginia that the Clover wetlands are strate- Poweremployee,BillBolin(right),discussesplacementofiooodduckboxesontheprojectareawith PatKei/ser, VDGITbiologist. gically located along the Staunton River. This river, like many others, l(oAobkoinvgetlheefwte)tCloaonpdesr.atPohrostpolsabnyf©orDzthLeucgohmtplDeytkieo.nofthefirstoftwowildlifeobservationtowersover- servesasaflywayformigratingwa- (Oppositepage)The Cloverwetlands arestrategically locatedalong thebanks ofthe Staunton terbirds. Many ducks travelling River,akeywaterfoivlflyway.GraphicsbyPets. from nesting areas in the Great LakesandeasternCanadianprairies great deal of influence over what seedlings and construction of the usethisflywayastheywingtoward typeofwetlandhabitatdevelops. numerous levees that created the the Atlantic coast. At Clover these To further ensure proper control wetland areas was no accident. weary travelers can find an abun- offlooding, each impoundmenthas Rather, it was the result of several dance of high quality feeding and its own flashboard riser, a water- years of planning, designing and restinghabitat. level control device which will en- most of all cooperating. What has Oneofthe purposes ofhavingso able floodingand dewateringofthe takenplaceatCloveriscertainlyim- many different wetland impound- site as needed. Normally, water is pressive for wildlife. But it may be ments at Clover is to ensure a high pulledoffanareaslowlyoveraperi- even more impressive when you diversity of habitats can be created od of several weeks in early sum- considerallofthepartnersthatcame Thisdiversitycanincludeareasbest mer. Later, toward the end of the togethertomakeanideaintoareali- suited to fall migrating ducks, growing season, the impoundment spring migrating shorebirds or is gradually reflooded Every few In the mid '80s Old Dominion breedingheronsandegrets. years the soil in the unit will be Electric Cooperative and Virginia This is accomplished in part by disced during the drawdown to Power began planning for a new the design of the impoundments. help stimulate vegetation valuable power plant. As the process moved VIRGINIAWILDLIFE on, the idea of donating the flood- And all of this almost literally m with a bald eagle chasing ducks plain areas that were acquired as a the shadows of two massive steam across a marsh, you just haven't D part of the plant site took shape. turbines spinning at an astounding beentoClover. Soon the Game Department and 3600 rpms! If burning 314 tons of Pat Kei/ser isa wildlifebiologistwith theDe- Ducks Unlimited became a part of coalperhour,24hoursadaytospin partment's WildlifeDivision.Heworksoutof thepicture.Togetherthesefourpart- these turbines doesn't seem to fit theFannvilleFieldOffice. ners contributed 25 percent each to the cost of constructing the wet- lands. Later, as plans fora liistorical park at the site were explored, the Department of Conservation and Recreation became involved. Clear- anceswereobtained fromtheCorps of Engineers and the State Historic Preservation Officebeforeconstruc- tion began in 1995. Work should be completedin1996. Anadditionalpartnerbecamein- volved this summer that should make what is available to the ducks and sandpipers available for every- one to enjoy. Landmark Volunteers, agroup thatgivesoutstandinghigh schoolstudents summerserviceop- portunities,cameonsiteandhelped construct a 20-foot tall observation tower overlooking the wetlands. Localcitizenshelpedthe12students outduringthetwoweeksinHalifax by providing housing, leadership andahomeawayfromhome. Thetowerisaccessedbyanature trail built by yet another new part- ner: the Virginia Army National Guard. As a part of the Virginian's for Virginia program, these soldiers cameon siteand built partofthe y4- mile long nature trail. Plans are al- ready underway to build a second observation tower along the trail nextsummer. Although this project is just now taking shape, the possibilities are exciting. These wetlands may be hometohundredsperhaps even thousands of migrat- ing waterfowl and other waterbirds. These wetlands will also, be accessible to school groups, bird-watchers, duck-lovers, and anybody else who knows the thrillofwatchinga flight ofduckscuppingtheirwingsasthey setfleintoaautumnmarsh. OCTOBER 1996 -.%** - -tSSf ^Lr byBobGooch deer hunting. Just look at the vast confused, the term still-hunting is west of the Blue Ridge country often app—lied incorrectly to stand- On where the use of dogs to huiit deer hunting I suppose because the a wall in the drawing has been illegal for years. Or hunterdoesn'tmove aboutorwalk. roon^ of Ashlawn, the throughout most of the United Evenhoundhuntersusestands,but Albemarle County home States for that matter. Hunting deer tlieydonotstill-hunt. ofJames Monroe the fifth President withhoundsisanexceptioninstead Nope, the stand-hunter doesn't of the United States, is a mural of a ofthe rule. So let's rule out dogs for move. In fact when a deer is ap- red deer being chased by hounds. thepurposesofthisdiscussion. proachingMs stand hedoesn'teven That says several things to the With modern archery tackle and breathe! In most hunting clubs modern deer hunter. It points out, muzzleloading firearnis comple- where hounds are used, the hunter for example, that the rich eastern menting conventional firearms, is placed on a stand with orders not Virginia tradition of hunting deer today's deer hunter enjoys a lot of to move from it until the hunt mas- with hounds goes back a long time; options. The compound bow has terreturns. not just to the early days of this Stand-hunting is also popular country, but even to the Old World among those who hunt without wherechasingreddeerwithhounds dogs. The stand may be on the was very popular with the landed ground or an elevated one. The ele- gentry. It also says that when the vated stand takes many forms. It early president wrote his famous may be a folding elevated stand Monroe Doctrine declaring Ameri- ^till be A ^ucct^^{u[ such as is often used in the brush can independence of European in- country of Texas. Such a stand is fluence he made an exception for Attr ku^ttr. portable. Itiseasilyerected ortaken huntingdeerwithhounds. down for moving to another more Obviously hunting deer with hounds predates the discovery of America. Talkabouta richtradition! Even so the practice is being threatened today by a mushroom- ing population that is eating up hunting land at an alarming rate. Justfindingaplacetohuntisbecom- ing a problem for many hunters. The desire to hunt with hounds compounds that problem. A pair of standorstill-hunterscanenjoygood deer hunting on a 10-acre plot of land, but turn loose a pack of hounds on that same 10 acres and the community erupts. In today's hunting environment it just won't work,orasthepoliticiansliketosay "thatdogwon'thunt." Today most deer hunting with made the archer a highly effective Still-luintin^^ischalleiigiiigbutpwbablifnotas hounds is done in clubs where the hunter, and the modern muz- productivenshitntiugfromawell-placedtree stand. members pool their resources to zleloading rifles are a tremendous lease large tracts of land, often the improvement over those used dur- land of eastern timber companies. ing the period ofhistory they repre- promising point. In Virginia, how- Given sufficient acreage away from sent. Dogs cannot be used during ever, this stand is rarely used. One human populations, they can hunt the special a—rchery and blackpow- reason is the abundance of forest- successfully without disttirbing the der seasons even in eastern Vir- lands and the ready-made stands in nonhuntingpublic. giniawheredeerdogsareotherwise thewayoftrees.Portabletreestands Smaller clubs or groups of legal. are very popular. There are many hunters may u—se only a few small Throughout the vast range ofthe differentstylesonthemarketandall beagle hounds or even bird dogs white-tailed deer, hunters employ a can be moved easily and quickly. todrivedeer. Man drivesare anoth- pair of generally accepted hunting The other approach is a perma- erpossibility. methods, stand-hunting or still- nent stand. These also take many But hounds or dogs of other hunting. Most other methods are forms.Oftenitisnomorethanalad- breedsarenotessential tosuccessful variationsofthese.Thetwoareoften der to a platform in the crotch of a OCTOBER 1996 tree, a sturdy and comfortable seat standputsthehunterabovethenor- on which the hunter sits quietly. mal vision of the deer, that doesn't Once in place, it becomes pretty mean that he can throw caution to mucha fixture. Iliketoadd astrong thewind. Hestillneedstositasqui- line with which I can pull up or etly and inconspicuously as possi- lowermyboworfirearm.Ideallythe ble. permanent stand should be en- Andwhilehishumanscentisless closedwithnetting,canvas,orsome ofaproblemonanelevatedstand,it other material that conceals the can still reach an approaching deer. hunter. For years I've heard that Maskingscentsareagoodidea,par- deer don't look up, but I'm not so ticularlyforthebowhunter,and toa sureanymore.Attheminimumthey less extent for the muzzleloading seem to be able to sense a hunter's hunterortheconventionalrifleman. presence even when there is no Ialwaysenjoyasessiononanele- wind to carry his scent to them. vatedstandevenifIdon'tgetadeer. Sometreestandsevenhaveroofsfor Theopportunitytowatchwildlifeis protection from the weather. A real enhanced by the elevation. Just this joyonarainyday. past season I had a dozen squirrels The location of a stand, particu- play around my stand for hours. larly a permanent one, is critical. Songbirds flit about close by, and Thearcherwhoserange isvery lim- honking geese pass overhead. ited has to place his stand with that Stand hunters often bag turkeys as inmind. Theidealplaceisjustoffof wellasdeer.Theygenerallypassup awell-used trail.Anothergoodspot shots at squirrels or other small (Above)Locationofyourtreestandiscritical is a white oak ridge, but it may not game, feeling the critters are not forsuccess. be productive during years when worth the disturbance shooting (Beloiu) Deerarewaryandalmost^anymove the mast crop is low. Just keep in themcreates. by ahunteron theground-willhenoticed. mind that your stand should give Still-hunring is an entirely differ- you a shot at 30 yards or less. And ent game, one difficult for the make sure there are good shooting bowhuntertousebecauseofhislim- lanes. Having a deer well within ited range. The still-hunter moves, range, but completely blocked by hoping that by doing so he can get heavy foliage can be very frustrat- within range of a deer before the ing. deerdetects him. It's a look and lis- Firearms hunters have more op- ten,move,andlookand listenagain tionsinthelocationofstands. Akey approach. Most deer are taken dur- i requirement here is good visibility ing the looking and listening stops. for a reasonable distance. For muz- Adeerislesslikelytoseethehunter zleloadersashotof100yardsisasafe then than when he is on the move. ¥ one, and the rifleman has consider- Still-hunting is a very challenging ably more range. Long range shots waytohunt,butprobablyalittleless from elevated stands are possible if effective than hunting from a well- the visibility is good. This usually placedstand. means a stand overlooking a large Still-hunting is a good choice fieldorotheropenspace.Beingcare- whenhuntingnewterritorythatthe ful about thebackground is a cardi- hunterhasn't had a chance to scout. nal rule of safety in hunting with a This does not, however, mean that rifle,butitislessofaproblemforthe scouting prior to the hunt is umiec- hunter shooting from an elevated essary. Scouting will tell the hunter stand. If he misses, the angle of his whenandwheretoexpectdeer,and shotwillmostlikelyputhisbulletin he can concentrate his efforts in thegroundinthevicinityofthespot thoseareas. where stood the deer that escaped The still-hunting technique is him. somewhat simple, but it calls for The successful deer hunter sees good woodsmanship. The hunter the deer before the deer sees him. selects the area he wants to hunt, This is theadvantageofanelevated checksthewind,andmovesintoitif stand. It gives the hunter the jump possible. This blows his scent away on his quarry. While the elevated fromdeerhemightbeapproaching. 10 VIRGINIA WILDLIFE