ACE Magazine - Summer 2010

8/8/2019 ACE Magazine - Summer 2010

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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE ALABAMA CONSERVATION ENFORCEMENT OFFICER ASSOCIATION

SUMMER 2010

MATT WEATHERS

2010 ACEOA

TOP GUN

MATT WEATHERS

2010 ACEOA

TOP GUN


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EDITOR:

Warren Hinson

ASSISTANT EDITOR:

Gayle Morrow

PUBLISHER:

Brent-Wyatt West

601 Interstate Park Drive

Montgomery, Alabama 36109

SALES OFFICES:

Bryan Elkins, Sr.

Jim Downing

601 Interstate Park DriveMontgomery, Alabama 36109

(334) 213-6229

in this issue...Presidents Message ................................................................................5Notes from the Trenches ..........................................................................92010 State Officers and Directors ..........................................................11State Top Gun........................................................................................15BP Oil Spill ............................................................................................252010 Jackson County FFA Summer Camp............................................31Quality Deer Management Tour ............................................................37ACEOA District I Convention and Top Gun Qualification ......................43ACEOA District II Convention 2010 ......................................................51Team Fowl Best of Competition With BP Bottom Dwellers Bang-Up ......57Hunting With Children ............................................................................61State of the Bay Remains Strong ........................................................69Dauphin Island Sea Lab Monitors Gulf Ecosystem..................................77ACEOA District III Convention................................................................85Kids Korner ............................................................................................91Blue Springs, Catfish and Kids ..............................................................95Nonresidents Now Have Available of $10 Annual Pier License ............103Mussel Creek Camp for Kids Succeeds In Connecting Youth to Nature107

Renew Our Rivers Smith Lake Clean-up............................................115ACEOA District IV Top Gun Convention ..............................................121ACEOA Top Gun Convention for District V and VI ..............................129Waterfoul Season Outlook Encouraging ..............................................135Kayak Fishing Becoming New Mainstream ..........................................139ACEOA Sponsors Talladega County Youth Event ................................147Yellow Catfish ......................................................................................151Butler County Fishing Event ................................................................1572010 Eufaula Youth Fishing Rodeo ......................................................161Bankhead Kids Fishing Derby ..............................................................169Early Signs Successful for Eastern Indigo Partnership..........................175

Corps of Engineers Host Youth Catfish Rodeos ....................................183Pike Road Fishing Rodeo......................................................................187Advertisers Index..................................................................................231Business Directory ..............................................................................244

ACE Magazine is the official publication of the Alabama Conservation Enforcement Officer Association. Purchase of

advertising space does not entitle the advertisers to any privileges or favors from members. ACE Magazine does not

assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by any contributor. This magazine is created and produced

by Brent-Wyatt West. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

SUMMER 2010WWW.ACEOA.ORG

Official Publication of the ACEOA

ON THE COVER

ACEOA 2010 Top Gun Winner MattWeathers in the heat of competitionat the State Top Gun finals held atthe Southern Sportsman Lodge.

Photo by Chris Jaworoski.


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Greetings ACEOA members and supporters! Ihope this issue ofACE Magazine finds you inthe air conditioning. After a summer of record

high temperatures, an oil spill in the gulf, and a

gloomy economy, I thought it would be a good ideato give all of you some good news. ACEOA is

stronger than ever and has big plans for the future.Though ACEOA, like most organizations, has felt

the crunch of the economy, I am proud to report

that support of ACEOA from Alabama businesseshas not wavered. Thanks to contributions through

the purchase of ads in ACE Magazine, ACEOA hasfunded conservation oriented events across the

state. Hundreds of youngsters have enjoyed our

shooting sports trailer while learning to shoot shot-guns, rifles, and handguns under the close supervi-

sion of our ACEOA firearms instructors.Other summer activities this year included Youth

Fishing events, Top Gun qualifiers, and DistrictConferences across the state. Thanks to the con

tinued support of ACEOA from businesses acrossthe state we are planning to sponsor even moreoutdoor events this year in order to share our

knowledge with the next generation hunters, fisher-men, and conservationists. I hope that you enjoy

this issue of ACE Magazine and appreciate yoursupport of ACEOA and Conservation Enforcement

Officers in Alabama.

Presidents Cornerby Chris Jaworowski- Wildlife Biologist and ACEOA President

ACE Magazine 5


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Iread the headlines and watch the news daily andobserve that there are daily incidents that require lawenforcement to respond. I watch the police in Phoenix

Arizona get mugged and abused by angry protestors. Iwatch the border patrol in these same areas battle a con-stant flow of illegal immigrants entering our country with-out help from our Federal Government.

Law enforcement often gets a bad rap. They are madeout to be the bad guys. I worry that it may be the trend.The public should sit back and visualize what our coun-try would be like if we did not have the dedicated lawenforcement officers to protect us. Our safety is too oftentaken for granted.

The obstacles for todays law enforcement agenciesare never ending. How do they stay ahead? Most agen-cies prepare through extensive training giving their offi-cers the advantage and hopefully the information thatcould save their lives.

No law enforcement agency is safer than another.Conservation Officers jurisdictions have doubled with theflow of illegal drugs into the rural areas. They are faced

with serious problems much like the officers in urbanareas. They encounter many subjects that may be trans-porting or using Methamphetamine (Meth) or othermind-altering drugs. These people are a serious threat toour officers. Before my retirement I began to see the ruralareas of Lowndes County become a hot spot for MethLabs. They would cook in the back of their trucks andreturn to Montgomery with the finished product.

Now the flow of Meth is coming across our borders andentering our communities. Distribution is still taking placein our rural areas. These people are dangerous and offera serious risk to our Conservation Enforcement Officers.

I mention only a few of the challenges our officers facein todays society. Meanness and hate is widespread.Please support your local law enforcement and dont betoo quick to judge. Put yourself in their situation with allthey face each day. Their goal is oftentimes to keep youalive and keep themselves alive in the process.

I spent twenty-five years as a law enforcement officer.I managed to do those twenty-five years without hurtinganyone or personally getting seriously hurt. Today, Ibelieve that would be very difficult to do. In a twenty-fiveyear career, I believe an officer has a very good possibil-ity of having to hurt someone or personally being hurt. Ican offer no statistics for this assumption. I just see the

events going on in oursociety today. I believethe enforcement agen-cies see this also andspend more time inpreparing their officersfor the streets. Thisrequires stronger and smarter law enforcement officers. Iis not a job for the faint of heart. What I recommend to al

my friends in law enforcement is that when their time isup RETIRE. Leave the enforcement duties to the youngofficers. It is often even difficult for them. The older offi-cers in todays society are at a disadvantage. I dont carehow macho they are.

My wife, Gayle, and I recently attended the retirementparty for my former partner, Keith Mickle. He accumu-lated over thirty years in law enforcement and he wascertainly one that I had hoped would hang it up. I want-ed him to know there was more to life than chasing badguys. He will have so much more quality time with hisfamily and friends. He is what I refer to as a survivor.

We had a great time at the party and enjoyedexchanging war stories about Keith. My ole buddy, JoeMcClure, was on hand to help roast Keith. You mayremember Joe as the guy in the floppy hat in the storyIs This Enough Orange?(Spring Issue ACE Magazine)Joe is always a hoot!

Maybe well hear from Keith in future issues ofACEMagazine. There is still much more to write about fromthe early years in Lowndes County.

I always go out of my way to thank military personnefor their dedication, service and sacrifice. I would encourage you to do the same. Remember also that your locaand state law enforcement officers are also dedicated to

their job and make sacrifices daily to keep you safe andpreserve the environment for future generations. Thankthem as well when you have an opportunity.

Our conservation officers are blessed to have supporfrom all of our corporate sponsors in Ace Magazine. Theyappreciate what we do. They express it with donations tofund our programs. We are forever grateful to ourCorporate Sponsors.

Enjoy the Summer Issue ofACE Magazine. When youare finished share it with a friend.

Notes from the Trenchesby Rusty Morrow, ACEOA Executive Director

ACE Magazine 9


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2010 State Officers and DirectorsExecutive Director

Rusty Morrow

2010 ACEOA State OfficersPresident Chris Jaworowski

Vice President Trey Pose

Secretary/Treasurer Chris Lewis

2010 District Directors and Associate DirectorsDistrict I Director Ernie Stephens

District I Associate Director Wendell FulksDistrict II Director Scott Kellenberger

District II Associate Director Jerry Fincher

District III Director Jeff Makemson

District III Associate Director Cliff RobinsonDistrict IV Director Grady Myers

District IV Associate Director Heath Walls

District V Director Vance WoodsDistrict V Associate Director Bo Willis

District VI Director John Bozeman

District VI Associate Director Don Reaves

ACE Magazine 1


6/65ACE Magazine 15

Once again shooters gathered at the Southern

Sportsmen Lodge for the 3rd Annual ACEOA Top

Gun event. Shooters from all 6 ACEOA Districts

met at the lodge to compete against each other and the

sweltering July heat. This year officers tested their

marksmanship skill and themselves on 4 challenging

courses of fire. This years courses of fire included 2

challenging courses requiring shooters to carry

sandbags, run, complete a tire pull, and engage steel

targets as well as multiple bowling pins while racing

against the clock and other shooters. Shooters also fired

the FBI Bullseye Course and the APOST pistol

qualification course. Between the challenging courses of

fire and the heat of the July sun the competitors were

certainly tested to see who would win a new Taurus

PT1911 45ACP.

This years competitors were Hasty Hudson, Chris

Champion, Joe Little, Tommy Haynes, Matt Weathers

and David Smith. After the first bowling pin challenge

that included a sandbag carry, run, and tire pull and the

APOST pistol qualification course it looked like anyones

competition to win. Moving into the FBI Bullseye course

all of the competitors seemed focused and hot. In the

middle of the Bullseye course shooters were given a

break when the backstop and targets collapsed. A short

break and some new target stands later shooters were

back on the firing line completing the Bullseye course

After scoring the Bullseye course a front runner emerged

and with one course of fire left to shoot everyone was

watching how the competition would end. The fina

ACEOA State Top Gun Competitionby Trey Pose, ACEOA Vice President

continued on 17

ACEOA State Top Gun Finalists.


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ACE Magazine 17

State Top Gun continued

course of fire was a steel and bowling pin challengerequiring shooters to race the clock and clear the course

with a limited amount of ammunition.After all the courses were fired and the scores

tabulated a clear winner emerged. With a possible 475

points up for grabs Matt Weathers won this yearscompetition with a score of 422 points. Congratulations

to Matt and we hope he enjoys his new pistol. In secondplace this year, winning a Ruger LCP .380, was JoeLittle. In third winning a gift certificate to Gulf States was

Hasty Hudson. The ACEOA would like to congratulateall the shooters and thank them for competing in this

years competition.

Youth Top Shooters. Vickie Haynes Wins 22 Rifle Competition.

Top 3 Top Guns receive kits from Otis Technology. Hasty Hudson is congratulated as 3rd place Top Gun Winner.

Shotgun Competition.


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Matt Weathers receives his new Taurus 1911 pistol. Break and reload!

Joe Little, 2nd place Top Gun receives his Ruger LCP .380. Matt Weathers2010 Top Gun Winner!

Sporting the 2010 Top Gun Shirt! Trey, ScottandVance managing the shoot.


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Six strong competitors hoping for a sure shot.

Competitors Shooting combat course. Firing away!


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On April 20th 2010 one of the worst

environmental disasters in US history

began. The oil rig Deepwater Horizon

exploded killing 11 workers onboard. The rig was

located in the Mississippi Canyon of the Gulf of

Mexico in the United States exclusive economic

zone, about 41 miles off the Louisiana coast. This

tragic loss of life was only the beginning of what

would become the worst oil spill in US history.

BP Oil Spillby Bo Willis, District 5 Associate Director

continued on 27



The explosion of the oil rig left an open pipe 5000feet below the surface that was spewing an estimated

1,500,000 to 4,200,000 gallons of oil a day. Theoperator of the oil rig BP was unable to cap the well,and the oil continued to flow. As the world watched, theoil began to spread, the resulting oil slick covered atleast 2,500 square miles. This growing oil slickprompted the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) to close approximately 81,181square miles of the Gulf of Mexico to commercial andrecreational fishing.

As the oil began to spread and move toward land andthe sensitive marsh areas, the affected states began tomobilize and put into action plans to limit the impact andtry to avoid what looked like certain disaster. The

Alabama response included members of the AlabamaMarine Police, Alabama Marine Resources officers andbiologists, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries officers andbiologists, Alabama Department of EnvironmentalManagement, Alabama Department of Public Healthalong with many local and county agencies.

The Marine Police and Marine Resources officers wereinitially tasked with patrolling and searching for any oilthat may be moving into the area. Shortly after theincident began to unfold a computer program was writtenspecifically for the Marine Police and Marine Resourcesofficers to use that allowed them to map every foot of oilboom put into place. This information was uploaded in

real-time allowing those working at the UnifiedCommand Center (UCC) to see where boom wasactually placed. This allowed those at the UCC to seewhere boom was needed and to identify damaged ormissing boom.

Both Marine Police Officers and Marine ResourcesOfficers were called in on many other details that wereassociated with the oil spill. Both agencies played amajor part in providing security for visiting dignitaries,from the many visits of Governor Riley to assessprogress to the visits of both the President of the UnitedStates and Vice President of the United States. Alabama

Marine Police and Alabama Marine Resources Officerswere also called in to assist Bayou La Batre PD onseveral occasions due to protests and unrest related tothe Vessels of Opportunity.

The oil initially impacted Alabama when NOAA beganshutting down commercial and recreational fishing inFederal waters. The closures immediately impacted theCharter Boat industry just as red snapper season opened.The closure rippled through all commercial fisheries.With no incoming seafood, the Seafood dealers inAlabama began to feel the pinch.

The oil initially showed up on June 9th at Perdido Passin Baldwin County. Shortly afterwards the oil began to

make landfall on Fort Morgan, Dauphin Island andMississippi Sound areas. BP has hired crews that havebeen working nonstop picking up oil on the beachesalong with skimming oil in the bays and waterways inMobile and Baldwin Counties. Alabama Dept oConservation Biologists have been monitoring waterquality and taking hundreds of samples from both the

sea bottom and waters themselves.On July 15th the pipe was finally capped and the oilstopped flowing. However this cap is only temporary tostop the flow of oil until the well can be pluggedpermanently. This is amazing news and is the beginningof truly cleaning up the waters and shore line of the GulCoast. The environmental impact of the oil spill may nobe fully known for many years.

During the time the oil was flowing it is estimated thathe Deepwater Horizon spews every 8 to 9 days more oithan was spilled by the Exxon Valdez. This spill has alsosurpassed the 1979 oil spill that occurred off the coast oMexico.

Oil Spill continued


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The annual Jackson County FFA Summer Camp

has been sponsored by ACEOA for the past

several years. The camp is organized byJ.R. Poe

of Pisgah and is staffed by local Agriculture teachers and

volunteers. This year's camp was held June 21 through

24 at Paint Rock Valley Lodge and was attended by

approximately twenty - five local students. The camp

provided classes on a wide range of outdoor subjects.

The Department of Conservation provided firearms

training with their shooting sports trailer and instructor

Don Howell. The students also had classes in the use of

map and compass and GPS use, orienteering, water

2010 JACKSON COUNTYFFA SUMMER CAMPSPONSORED BY ACEOA

by Scott Kellenberger, District II Director

continued on 33



FFA Summer Camp continued

safety, forestry and water quality, with field trips in the

area to see some of the practices in use. The quality of

instruction, abundant natural resources, and comfortable

setting of the Lodge make the FFA summer camp a

success year after year, and the ACEOA is proud to

support it with the help of our advertisers and sponsors.



The newly formed Lake Martin Quality Deer

Management Association Chapter partnered with

Alabama Conservation Enforcement Officer

Association (ACEOA), The Farmers Federation Wildlife

Committees from Tallapoosa, Coosa and Clay Counties,

The Coosa County Forestry Planning Committee,

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division and

individuals to educate hunters and landowners on habitat

management and herd management for whitetail deer.

On Saturday, June 19th, 2010, a Wildlife Habitat Tour

and Field Day was held on the property of Jerry and

Genelle Brown near Hackneyville. Since the county line

runs through the yard of their home, the habitat tour took

place in Clay County and the other activities took place

in Tallapoosa County.

Quality Deer Management Tourby Jerry Brown, President, Lake Martin Chapter QDMA

continued on 39

Michael East, Tallapoosa County CEO returns a deer rack to thedisplay wall after scoring by Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater

Fisheries personnel.

Joel Glover, Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Biologist andNatural Resource Conservation Service Private Lands Biologist, explainsthe scoring procedure for Whitetail Deer racks.

Attendees stand in the welcomed shade of a large pecan tree on a hotJune day waiting for their names to be called during the drawing of doorprizes.

The tour group looks over an example of fawn cover while Joel Gloverexplains what to look for and how to get the desired cover by prescribedburning, disking or use of herbicides.



Quality Deer continued

Tour stop included Native Food Identification and

Management, Quality Vegetation Management and

Development, and Distribution of Fawn Cover. Attendees

observed a diversity of natural foods and heard how to

obtain them from the seed bank already present in the

soil by prescribed burning, disking, and herbicide use.

Good fawning cover to protect young deer from

predators was pointed out. The same methods thatproduce natural foods can also produce good cover for

fawns and other wildlife.

Featured speakers were Joel Glover, Wildlife Biologist

with Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries along

with NRCS Regional Private Lands Biologist and Ryan

Shurette, Botanist with the USDA Forest Service.

Scorers from the Alabama Department o

Conservation and Natural Resources were on hand to

measure deer racks for the records of Alabama Whitetai

Deer. Thirty-four racks were measured and mounted on

a wall for display. Joel Glover explained the scoring

system and the factor affecting the score.Over 70 attendees enjoyed a free lunch, door prizes, a

vendor's display, and plenty of conversation at the

conclusion of the tour.

Ryan Shurette, USDA Forest Service Botanist, identifies different forbsand grasses in a field of native warm season grasses during a stop on thetour.

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries personnel scoring whitetaideer racks were: Back Row L-RMerwyn Harrison,Brett Abbot; Fron

Row L-R Stewart Abrams, Brandon Howell, Andy Hughes; RighStandingMichael Eastheaded up the collection and display.



District One held our Convention and Top Gun

Qualification on June 12, 2010 on Mr. BillSnoddys property in Double Springs, Alabama.

What a majestic piece of Gods creation that was shared

with us by such a kind and generous man. Special thanksto Mr. Snoddy for such a generous act.

During our convention, we enjoyed great food,

shooting sports events, and a beautiful lake for fishing,swimming and paddle boating. We had a great turn-outwith 38 officers, wives, children, and special guests.

Chris Champion will represent our district in the stateTop Gun Competition in July. Congratulations Chris!

The ACEOA gave away three weapons. Mike Nicholswon the 22 caliber MP15 rifle as the top shooter in the

rifle competition. Bryan Fisher was the recipient of the12 gauge shotgun by drawing. Also, by drawing, BarryBaird won the 22 semi-automatic pistol.

ACEOA District I Convention TopGun Qualificationby Wendell Fulks, District II Associate Director

continued on 45

Competitors in action!

Bryan Fisherwins shotgun.



District 1 continued

Gayle Morrow and DirectorErnie Stephen. Great food!

Great fun! Lt.Mike Nichols in action.

Lt.Mike Nichols wins rifle competition. Mrs. Nichols wins a gift certificate.




Lt.Mike Nichols wins rifle competition.

Wendell Fulks and Ernie Stephens with Top Gun Winners


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District Two held their convention May 7, 2010 atPaint Rock Valley Lodge, in Jackson County. Theweather was just about perfect and everyone who

attended had a good time.The district Top Gun competition was held in a two

stage format. A slow fire bulls eye course was followedby a combat course consisting of steel poppers and

bowling pins. The combat stage pitted a pair of officersagainst each other. The officer who knocked down themost targets was the winner. Matt Weathers shot an

impressive bulls eye target and also won his heat on thecombat course.

Tiger McKee, from Shootrite Academy, held a carbinemanipulations class for the officers after the Top Gunshoot. Many, if not most, officers are now carrying some

variation of AR 15 rifle on duty. Tiger gave us an hourpacked with information on the most effective and

efficient means of operating this type of rifle. Hopefully

ACEOA District II Convention 2010by Scott Kellenberger, ACEOA District II Director

continued on 53




we will only get to use it on the range.

ACEOA President Chris Jaworowski was good

enough to drive all the way up from Lowndes County toassist and take photos. Rusty and Gayle were busy atanother district down south and were unable to attend

this time. We really missed Ms. Gayle.Leon McCamey catered a great supper for us, followed

by live music under the pavilion. It is always good to ge

together with officers from different divisions and far

away counties. The ACEOA has provided me theopportunity to meet and become friends with officers probably would have never met otherwise, and to me

that makes the time and effort of hosting a convention abargain indeed.



In times of trouble, Ive always considered it a virtueto maintain a sense of humor lesson learned frommy mother, who always seems to find a reason to

laugh at almost any situation.Take, for instance, as tragic as the Gulf oil spill

appears to be, the folks who participated in the AlabamaWildlife Federations Wild Game Cook-Off recently onMobile Bay, couldnt help but cook a little levity into thesituation.

While there were several dishes named in BPs honor,there was one dish that excelled Team Fowl Mouths BPBottom Dwellers Bang-Up. The dish not only took thetop place in the fish category, it also was voted the bestdish in the entire competition. As one of the judges, I canassure you that was quite an accomplishment. Theoverall victory sends Team Fowl Mouth to the StateFinals Aug. 7 in Millbrook.

As for the winning dish, ChefJamie Roussos and hiscohorts Scott Stimpson and Billy Bixler (Jay Beck, aregular team member had a scheduling conflict) basedthe dish on pond-raised catfish, a resource that wont beaffected by the oil spill except that demand may increasesignificantly.

All humor aside, the dish is more practically calledBlackened Catfish and Crab Cakes with Cajun ShrimpCream Sauce.

Roussos said he blackens a six- to seven-ouncecatfish filet by coating the fish with melted butter andblackened seasoning (he prefers Paul Pruhommesversion with a little salt added) and then searing quicklyin a skillet set on medium high. It should take no morethan two to three minutes per side.

The crab cake ingredients follow:

One-half cup green onionOne-quarter cup chopped parsleyThree-quarters cup bread crumbsOne-quarter cup yellow onionOne-quarter cup mayonnaiseOne-quarter cup celeryOne-quarter cup bell pepper2 to 3 eggs

3 tablespoons Cajun mustard1 tablespoon lemon juice1 tablespoon minced garlicCajun seasoning, to tasteSalt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste1 pound lump or claw crab meat

The preparation of the crab cakes goes like this:Combine onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to po

with hot butter about 1/2 stick. Cook until semi tender

and add crab meat. Cook another few minutes. Cut theheat and add the remainder of ingredients andthoroughly mix.

Shape equal-sized crab cakes.Cover the bottom of a saut pan with oil. Heat oil over

medium heat.Place crab cakes in hot oil and saut 4 to 5 minutes

per side or until golden brown and cooked through.

For the Shrimp Sauce, use the following ingredients:

1.5 pounds of medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)

Team Fowl Best of Competition WithBP Bottom Dwellers Bang-Upby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Team Fowl Mouth, from left, Billy Bixler, Jamie Roussos and ScottStimpson, claimed the overall prize at the Alabama Wildlife

Federations Gulf Coast Wild Game Cook-Off held recently on Battle-ship Parkway. Photo by David Rainer

continued on 59



Team Fowl continued

One-half cup yellow onionOne-half cup mushrooms

One-quarter cup celery1/2 cup red and green bell pepper1 tablespoon minced garlic1/2 cup green onion1 stick butter

1 quart half and half4 to 5 tablespoons all purpose flourCajun seasoning, to taste1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

In large sauce pot on medium high heat add butter andgarlic. Cook for a couple minutes and add peppers,celery, mushrooms, and onions cook until tender. Add

shrimp and cook halfway. Add seasoning and flour andcook another 2 to 3 minutes to make roux. Whisk in thehalf and half and tomato paste. Roussos looks for theconsistency of a thick and creamy bisque. Stir in greenonions, let rest for a few minutes and serve.

The other teams that placed in the fish category wereDirt and Whiskey with a crawfish boudin and black-eyedpea po-boy and Bluegill Blues Brothers with a crab andcorn bisque.

In the game category, Dirt and Whiskey served up thewinning dish Venison Juicy Lucy with Tomatillo Sauce.

This was a delicious take on the traditional venisonburger that was tasty and didnt suffer from a lack of

juices, as the name implies. One of the tricks was to stuffthe burgers with pimento and cheese, but not with justany old cheese like cheddar.

Team member Philip Davis said they use Colby andpepper jack cheese with red pimentos, half and half andmayonnaise to make the stuffy. He also suggests formingthe venison burgers and then put them in the fridge to getthem nice and cold before adding the stuffing.

The burgers are then skillet-fried to retain the juices.The tomatillo sauce is made by combining the

minced tomatillos with minced red onions, mincedjalapenos (charred and peeled), a teaspoon of lime juice

and a teaspoon of sugar. Combine and spoon over thehot burgers.The winners put the burger and sauce on

pumpernickel bread, which really added a savorysensation to the dish.

In second, a very close second I might add, in thegame division was CCA Alabamas Mama Mia Lasagnafollowed by Team Buckshires Venison Chim Churri.

The winning dish in the fowl category was TeamBuckshires Boudin-Stuffed Quail with Mango Sauce. tried unsuccessfully to get the recipe, but the name of thedish pretty much spells it out.

Second in fowl was Dirt and Whiskeys Smoke Quai

and Fried Green Tomato Panini, followed by ChoctawBluffs Wild Turkey Pookytaya.

Of course, there were plenty of serious moments at thecook-off, as well. AWF Executive Director Tim Gothardwas busy signing up attendees for a database of potentiavolunteers to combat the effects of the oil spill.

Gothard said the wild game cook-offs have been a bigpart of AWFs outreach effort for the past 15 years. AWFestablished in 1935, has 30,000 members and sup-porters. Gothard said the groups mission is to be anadvocate for the wise use and responsible stewardship oour native wildlife resources.

Our cook-offs serve three primary purposes,

Gothard said. Its an opportunity for our members tointeract and our guests to learn more about the AlabamaWildlife Federation. Second and the one that got thiswhole thing started to show as responsible hunters andanglers that we properly utilize the game and fish wetake, and that it makes great table fare. The cook-offsalso generate funds to support our conservation work inthree areas conservation education, resource steward-ship and hunting and angling heritage.


23/65ACE Magazine 6

Ifondly remember following behind my Dad as we

stalked the hardwood ridges of North Alabama in

search of squirrels. We hunted squirrels because, at

that time, there were no deer in our area. On rainy days,Dad would sometimes let me stay home from school to

hunt because wet leaves make no noise, but usually, we

would walk as quietly as possible through the ankle-deep

layer of dry leaves, stopping periodically to let the woodscalm down and watch for movement in the trees. Dad

used these pauses to teach me how to handle a firearm

safely, identify tree species, walk quietly, cross creeks,

identify cut cones and nuts, and a million other things a

boy needs to know.Once I grew up and had a son of my own, I followed

my Dads lead and would take my son hunting as often

as possible. I remember grabbing a diaper, a bottle, and

a 22 rifle and slipping off with him stuffed in acontraption that kept him strapped to my chest. By thetime he was two, I was holding the gun and aiming while

he pulled the trigger. As he grew larger, we expanded the

scope of our hunting to include other species. Finally, we

graduated to deer.

My sons first deer would not be considered a trophyto anyone but us. It was a spike taken off a food plot on

Lowndes WMA. It was covered in ticks and gut shot

twice. However, it was a thing of beauty to us. If someone

had come along after he harvested the deer, Im sure

they would have thought we were a little touched. We

were hugging, laughing, and rolling all over the food plot.Im not sure if our enthusiasm that day stemmed from his

harvesting his first buck or from our relief that it was

finally over.

Prior to that day, we had hunted in an area of St.ClairCounty with very few deer. This made for long, cold,

boring days. The previous year, even though my sons

knee was swollen to the size of a football and he was

running a high fever, we had driven three hours in order

to attend the youth hunt on Lowndes WMA. In short, Iwas forcing the issue and turning what should have been

a great time into a chore.

My sons second buck was taken on a hunting club in

St.Clair County. In spite of hunting hard on the property

we saw and killed a total of two deer the entire season

The day my son killed his deer, the wind was blowingabout twenty miles an hour and the temperature was

hovering around eighteen degrees. We were hanging

from two trees so small that our ole-man stands were

threatening to slide down the trees at any moment

Although this sounds dangerous, it really wasnt. The

small tree diameters only allowed us to climb a few feetoff the ground. We were facing opposite directions

preventing me from seeing the plot when my son, said

Dad theres a deer on the field. I asked what it was, and

he replied that it was a buck. I told him to shoot when thedeer turned broadside to him.

At the report of the rifle, I turned to see antlers

moving through the cut over behind the plot. The deer

ran a short distance before going down, shot behind the

front shoulder.After we climbed down and thanked God for both

Hunting With ChildrenLessons Taught and Lessons Learnedby Jerry L. Fincher, District II Associate Director

continued on 63



Hunting With Children continued

sending us the deer and keeping us from falling out of

our stands, I asked my son what he was thinking when

he first saw the deer. He replied, Well, I was thinking hesure is big, but before that, I was just praying that the sun

would go down so we could go home.

The two hunts just described ended well, but thats not

why I told them. Like all Dads worth their salt, I had

wanted my son to kill his first deer at an early age, and

he had, but at what cost. I had set about trying to help

him accomplish that goal by doing all the wrong things.

Looking back and considering everything I put him

through, its a miracle that he still loves to hunt.

You want to leave a child wanting more, not

remembering a negative experience. After reflecting on

those early deer hunts with my son, I have identified

several lessons learned about hunting with children. I

only wish that I had learned them earlier. If you are a new

Dad or just a Dad new to hunting, I believe that reading

the next few pages will make your hunts with children

more enjoyable for both of you. If you are an old hand at

hunting with kids, you have probably already come to

the same conclusions.

The first lesson is to ease them into it. Doing too much

too soon will do more harm than good. You may be the

type of guy that likes to hunt from daylight to dark, but

expecting a five or six year old child to sit still for hours

is like expecting the front pew in church to fill up first; it

just isnt going to happen.Another lesson, closely related to the first, is to make

the child comfortable. Make sure that the child has

clothing that fits and is compatible with the weather.

Make sure that he or she has a warm, dry, safe place to

sit, some type of rest for their rifle, bug spray if it is hot,

and something to snack on. In addition, make sure they

are using a weapon which fits them and with which that

they have practiced before the hunt. A good food plot

to attract deer, a comfortable shooting house to hide

the movement of little hands and feet, a couple of

Snickers bars, and an electronic game to pass the slow

time will make the experience much more enjoyable for

everyone involved. If a permanent blind is not available,

a folding chair and a rifle rest works well. Last but not

least, ALWAYS BRING TOILET PAPER! Cutting off their

fruit of the looms is expensive and hard to explain to

their mother.

The third lesson is to make sure that there is a high

probability of success. Success doesnt necessarily mean

harvesting an animal, but you should be fairly certain

that you will at least see something. You wouldnt take a

kid fishing in a lake with only one fish in it, and by the

same token, you shouldnt take a child deer hunting

where he or she will not likely see deer. A childs

attention span is shorter than the line for people who

think they should pay more taxes, or one of those Taco

Bell dogs without legs. You may not harvest an animal,but as long as something shows up, the trip will be a

success. You should always have a good pair of

binoculars around, and, for Gods sake, do not make a

child which has never taken a buck pass on a small buck

unless you are fairly certain a bigger one will show itself

Probably the most important lesson is to focus on the

process not the product. In other words, make the trip the

adventure. Im glad that my Dad started me out hunting

squirrels instead of deer. We didnt have to worry about

scents, talking out loud, or taking a side trip to

investigate a beaver lodge. In short, teach them about al

that the outdoors has to offer. Harvesting an animal may

not be nearly as interesting to the child as finding abeaver-chewed limb, a stream worn rock, or following

the tracks of a fox or raccoon. If you are really lucky, you

may even find an arrowhead or a fossil. If you do, please

let the child keep it; you can find one for you later.

I know that earlier I advocated the use of shooting

houses and food plots and explained the need for using

them, and they have their place, especially in the

beginning. However, if your hunt always consists of

nothing more walking from the pickup to the blind, you

are missing out. Using food plots to the exclusion of

scouting is a recipe for creating a shooter not a hunter.

There is nothing wrong with shooting a deer coming to agreen field, but it cant compare to the feeling of

accomplishment experienced by locating a bucks

bedding area, food sources, travel corridors and

harvesting it there.

I learned the hard way to always be positive. If you tel

someone not to think about pink elephants, it is

impossible for that individual not to visualize a pink

elephant. Instead, use positive terms to tell them what

you want them to do. For example, my son had a

problem flinching when shooting a rifle, the result of

shooting on a trap team. So, I kept telling him not to

flinch. I might as well been saying, O.K. now flinch!

This cost him several nice bucks. I finally learned to say,Concentrate on your crosshairs and apply slow steady

pressure on the trigger. He wasnt the one who needed

training; I was.

Unless you like being in the dog house, you must

learn the next lesson well. Never, ever, under any

circumstances give a childs game away!Sometimes time

constraints will make you want to donate game to a

needy family rather than take it home and clean it. If

after showing it off and processing it you would like to

give it to someone else and the child agrees, let the child

continued on 65



Hunting With Children continued

give it away. If you give away game that you harvested

without taking it home, showing it off, and eating it, the

child may not like it, but he or she will probably forgiveyou. On the other hand, if you give away game that the

child had a hand in harvesting, you will live to regret it.

You will belittle his or her accomplishment and deprive

them of the joy of showing it to the rest of the family.

Believe me; the guilt felt afterwards will be much more

costly than any processing fee.

The last lesson that I will touch on is one that affects

the adult as much or more than the child. You should

always try to share the experience if possible. As the child

gets older, the tendency is to move farther apart until

finally you are hunting separately. Two years ago, I

underwent some minor surgery on my right arm that left

me unable to shoot a bow. This resulted in the besthunting season I have ever known. Although I was

unable to shoot and did not harvest a deer, I could climb

a tree and hold a camera. My son and I scouted together,

and I filmed his hunts. Sharing his hunting experiences

was more satisfying than I could have ever imagined.

This concept of sharing the hunt doesnt only apply

to hunting with children. Hunting with others allows

you to build memories and relive them long after the

hunt has ended. It keeps the social aspect of hunting

alive and reduces the competitive nature exhibited by

many modern hunters. When hunting is reduced to a

competition, we all lose. Sometimes there may bereasons other than fellowship to stay close to your

hunting partner. I once left my Dad by himself after

repeatedly telling him that the rule on the property was

eight point or better. I returned to find him proudly

displaying a cow-horn spike. Smiling he said, I made

sure that his antlers were at least eight inches long just

like you said. My only defense was that he was

seventy eight.

In summary, remember that the true prize of hunting is

in spending time with the people you love and teaching

them about Gods creation and the traditions of the sport.

Harvesting an animal is simply gravy, so dont cheat

yourself. Ive heard it said that if you teach your child tohunt, you will never have to hunt your child. Im not

suggesting that simply taking a child hunting will override

all of the negative influences that face the youth of today

but you must admit that it is a great place to start. Just

keep in mind the mistakes that I made, dont repeat

them, always keep a camera handy, and take a child

hunting. They dont bite, well, not very hard anyway.



Capt. Joey Abruscato was in the midst of cleaningspeckled trout hed caught in Mobile Bay recentlywhen a visitor approached the fish-cleaning table

at Dauphin Island Marina.I was cleaning fish at the marina and the catfish and

pelicans were hanging around just like they normallydo, Abruscato said. A lady from Indiana, I think fromEvansville, was taking pictures. She came up to me andsaid, I thought all these pelicans were covered with oil.I just kind of looked at her. Then she said, The nationalpress has done yall a lot of injustice because the viewfrom up there is that everything is covered in oil.

At a State of the Bay gathering of concernedoutdoorsmen and women at the Delta Fish House on theBattleship Parkway (Causeway), Abruscato expressedhis concerns about the effects of the Deepwater Horizonoil spill on coastal Alabama and the need for anglers,hunters and people who love the outdoors to return to

their favorite endeavors.You hear all the doom and gloom and not to

undermine it because it is a bad deal but we need to goout and do what we need to do boat, fish, sail,whatever, he said. Dont let this prevent you from doingwhat you like to do. Since the oil spill, its been a darkcloud over me, over all of us. Its been depressing is allIve got to say. Then I decided to go out and do what Ilove to do and thats go out into the bay, whether toguide or just fish with friends. Im not making light of this,but its time to go fishing.

Other than being one of the captains in A-TeamFishing Adventures charter service with his brotherBobby and Chip Duepree, Joey also is a pilot boatcaptain.

Between the pilot boat and fishing on charters or withfriends, of the 101 days (of the spill), Ive probably beenon the water 91 or 92 days of that, Abruscato said. Thefishing is great in Mobile Bay. Im seeing the things youwould normally see in July. There are a lot of trout.Theres not as many people fishing, but there are plentyof fish out there. So I encourage you to do that.

I even talked to people who pull nets for bait, like theJemisons and Chief down at (Dauphin) island andtheyre seeing things in the nets that youre supposed to

see. They havent seen any oil. So dont let this prevenyou from doing what you love to do.

Getting back to the perception that all shore birdsalong the Gulf Coast are covered with oil, Ken Riceformer U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, addressedthat fallacy.

Rice, who now directs the efforts to rehabilitate thewildlife affected by the oil spill out of the UnifiedCommand in Mobile, said as bad as it, its not that bad.

To date, as far as bird impacts, weve had about 350

alive oiled birds, he said. Overall, weve had about 750birds impacted. When you think about it, thats a smalnumber. You dont want to lose any, but its not a largenumber compared to the overall makeup for this area.

Rice has a long history in dealing with the aftermathsof oil spills, including the enormous Ixtoc spill in the Bayof Campeche, as well as the spills that occurred in thewake of Hurricane Katrina.

The thing I can tell you is there is life after oil spills,Rice said. It will come back.

Rice also praised the efforts of the organizers of the

State of the Bay Remains StrongPart One of Two stories on the Gulf Oil Spillby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

continued on 71

A group of pelicans affected by the oil spill preen their feathers aftegoing through the rehabilitation center in Theodore. After going througha cleaning process and stabilization period, the birds were released

along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Photo by Billy Pope


27/65ACE Magazine 7

State of the Bay continued

event on the Causeway, which included the MobileCounty Wildlife and Conservation Association, CCA

Alabama, Alabama Coastal Fishermens Association,Alabama Wildlife Federation, Delta Waterfowl, DucksUnlimited and Committed for Waterfowl. Rice said thatbecause the government cant take care of all theresources, people need to get personally involved.

Im glad to see all these groups come together likethis, he said. These non-governmental organizationsmean so much to efforts like this.

When Rice joined the effort to mitigate the oil spill, hismission was to stop or reduce the impact to wildlife andhabitat.

My first fear was, Oh, my gosh, all of these clean-upcontractors are coming in here, he said. Theyre

coming into sensitive areas and are going to do far moredamage than the oil. Youve seen the boats out there.And this was not the most ideal time for an oil spill.Youve got sea turtles coming down the coast to nest.Youve got all these bird rookeries, so theres a lot ofactivity.

Rice and his crew immediately set up a wildlife hotline(866-557-1401) with a goal to respond as quickly aspossible with a goal of one hour.

Weve got three rehab facilities for birds, one inGulfport, Miss., one in Theodore and one in Pensacola,Fla., he said. Weve also got turtle issues. For anymarine mammal issues, weve got facilities in Gulfport,Fort Walton Beach and Panama City.

The other aspect is the sensitive lands all NationalSeashore and the wildlife refuges like Bon Secour, St.Marks and St. Vincents. How are you going to protectthese areas with all these people on the beach? What weestablished was people called resource advisers. Theseadvisers tell the clean-up crews where to walk and wherethe wildlife is likely to be. We have people walking infront of the machinery to make sure no turtles or otherwildlife are run over. As far as I know, there hasnt beenone turtle egg broken.

Rice said although oil on the beach is unsightly and

causes much damage to the tourism industry, it is amuch better place to deal with the contamination than in

other areas.Ideally, the beach is a pretty good collection place for

oil if you want to compare it to our estuaries, ourmarshes, he said. I told the captain as the oil wasstarting to come ashore between the west end ofDauphin Island and Petit Bois, that this is a goal-linestand. If you want to see photos of what you see inLouisiana, then let that oil get through. Its going to getall the rookery islands, Portersville Bay and get into themarshes. Were going to have real problems.

From day one, weve tried to get the oil before it gotinto those sensitive areas. If it gets on the beaches, wecan clean that up. Yes, it does affect tourism. But if it

gets in a marsh area, what you dont want to do is go inthere and do more damage than good.

Despite the loss of animals during the spill, Rice saidthose victims will further the research into the effect ofcontact with oil. All the carcasses have been saved sothat necropsies can be performed and determine exactlywhat caused their demise.

Were going to have some residual tar ball incidentsand things like that, he said. Youre going to have oiledbirds for a few more weeks. But things will graduallytaper off. Things will get back to normal. Well get to ourfisheries and everything else. We will be here until thingsget cleaned up. Ive told BP and other folks that theyneed to be responsible for everything that has occurredto the environment. But theyre not responsible foreverything out there. There is natural mortality. Thatswhy we document everything and it will all come out. Butit will take years.

If there is anything positive that comes out of this spill,its the amount of research going into it. Were looking attoxicity and dispersants used. This is one of the largestspills ever. Theyve never used the volume of dispersantsbefore. We dont know. What we do know is that oil is ahydrocarbon and it will break down in time. Well know allthese things, but its going to take some time.



For the past 40 years, Dr. George Crozier has been

monitoring the amazing ecosystem called the Gulf

of Mexico from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Hes

witnessed the peaks and valleys, usually dished out by

Mother Nature, but also from human interaction.

And, Crozier admits he played a role in what he now

believes was an overreaction to impact of the Deepwater

Horizon oil spill.

The Gulf of Mexico, Crozier insists, is accustomed to

dining on oil tidbits. However, when the well was not

capped soon after the disaster, he feared the Gulfs

capacity to deal with an influx of oil of this magnitudewould overwhelm the ecosystem. Not to minimize theimpact of the spill, he realizes now that restraint wouldhave been the better course of response.

This is not and never was the death of the Gulf ofMexico, Crozier said of the spill, estimated at 4.9 millionbarrels. Thats a simple fact. And I have to admit that inthe initial stages of this I and everybody else contributedto the problem.

We created the disaster beyond the bounds that i

Dauphin Island Sea Lab MonitorsGulf EcosystemPart 2 article on Gulf Oil Spillby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

continued on 79

Now that the well has been capped at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, boats rigged to skim oil are anchored with no activity expected. Meanwhilethe vessels of opportunity that deployed the miles of boom along the Alabama Gulf Coast are now taking up the material, which will stored shouldanother spill affect the area. Photos by David Rainer



Dauphin Island continued

should have been articulated. Hindsight is as cheap asdirt.

For the last two months Crozier has been makingpresentations to groups like Rotary clubs, Kiwanis clubsand other groups and now is fully aware of the impactthe media coverage created.

I even went to Gulf Distributing, the beveragepeople, he said. People all along the I-10 corridor arevery concerned. They have seen problems with theirbusiness. I told them the weekend before for the first timein probably 15 years I drove from I-10 to Gulf Shores in

less than 30 minutes. So dont tell me it hasnt had animpact on business on the Gulf Coast.As anyone who has spent any time on Gulf beaches

knows, tar balls wash up on the beaches from time totime, indicating oil seeps into the Gulf from the sea flooron occasion.

Heres the beauty of what weve seen so far, Croziersaid. We know the Gulf, especially the north central Gulfhas the capacity to deal with the oil spill. The mostrecent report indicates that the Gulf receives 500,000barrels of oil every year from natural seeps at 600different sites. So there is a microbial community outthere and the Gulf of Mexico eats oil like we eat pretzels.

We had the capacity to deal with it from the beginning.Ixtoc (Bay of Campeche) was a huge spill that impacteda 100 miles of the south Texas Coast. Most of the peoplewho worked on the Ixtoc spill told us that within threeyears essentially the ecosystem was recovered in thatperiod time.

Crozier, however, doesnt want to give the impressionthe oil spill hasnt had and will continue to have asignificant negative impact on life in and along the Gulfof Mexico. Some toxic components will affect the Gulf foryears and will have to be closely monitored.

What were looking at is possibly three to five years

here, he said. This is the goofy thing about scientists in about a 30-second period of time, the local scientists

will turn from a hair-on-fire, wild, environmentallyconcerned scientist to the curious scientist. You want tosay youve got Jekyll and Hyde here. What we think wethink were dealing with is weve dodged a bullet,perhaps. But the north central Gulf of Mexico is not500,000 barrels from 600 seeps all over the Gulf. It isone place in the Gulf, 60,000 barrels a day, poorlyestimated and poorly understood.

The second thing, this was some of the crudest stuffIve ever seen and there was methane gas. One of theclichs that came as a shock to me was water and oildont mix. Thats true if its vegetable oil. Its not true ofcrude oil. Crude oil is composed of three to four broad

classes (of components) and the worst of them aresoluble in water. As soon as the stuff hit the water 5,000feet below the surface, benzene and other toxic materialsin this family are going into solution the moment it hit theocean 5,000 feet down. So a lot of that didnt get to thesurface, so it wasnt measured at the surface.

Crozier said some of the toxic componentsdisappeared in the water column on its way to thesurface, but there is a great deal of uncertainty abouthow much is still out there and how that will affect theecosystem in the future.

The good news is the things that were soluble are not

bio-accumulated, he said. They will kill eggs andlarvae. Dr. Bob Shipp (head of Marine Sciences at theUniversity of South Alabama) thinks were going to havea hit on the snapper population before they enter theharvest. What were assuming right now is were going tohave a limited harvest in 2012, because the babies aregetting hit with these toxics in our part of the Gulf.

Crozier said ecosystem studies started when an LNGfacility was proposed off the Alabama several years agowill help marine scientists better understand the impactof the oil spill. The research sites start in Mobile Bay andend 35 miles south of Dauphin Island.

We will know, hopefully within a couple of months, if

the samples we are taking are showing the impacts atthose sites 35 miles south of Dauphin Island, he said.We will be able to give some projections of the problemat that point in time.

What weve seen on the island, Mobile Bay is goingto be much more appreciated after this. The river flowas little as it is right now, has protected Dauphin Island,Petit Bois Island and, to some extent, Horn Island. Thewater that exits the bay turns right because of therotation of the earth. Even we havent been able to screwup the rotation of the earth, yet.

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30/65ACE Magazine 8

Dauphin Island continued

Soon after the magnitude of the spill becameapparent, BP started applying dispersant on the surface

and at the wellhead 5,000 feet below the surface.Crozier immediately expressed his concerns, whichcontinue today.

When it gets to the surface, the sun breaks down a lotof the components of crude oil, he said. The microbialcommunity that eats the oil has lots of oxygen to do thatwith. At the surface, a lot of good things can happen. Wecan boom it. We can skim it. If you boom it successfully,you can burn it. But if you use dispersant, and those whoplay poker will love this, youve gone all in on themicrobial community. The tools of skimming, burningand natural oxidation have been damaged. I will tell youthat the science behind dispersant use is logical. The

idea is that if you make little tiny droplets, the bacteriacan get at it more easily. The concept here is going tolead and has successfully led to the rapid degradation ofthe oil.

We seem to be over the hill on the surface. Theproblem Ive had since they started applying dispersant5,000 feet down, it formed a microscopically smalldroplet, but it became neutrally buoyant. So that meansits stuck somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. And no onehas been able to tell me yet where are the toxiccomponents.

Crozier said anyone who has ever had an aquariumknows that after detergent is applied, the aquarium mustbe rinsed repeatedly before the fish are reintroduced. Hesees a correlation with the use of the dispersant Corexit.

The detergent nature of the Corexit is as big aproblem as any component, he said. The membranesof the phytoplankton, the zooplankton and the eggscould be disrupted. Its always the eggs and babies thatare always affected by this the adults not so much. Ifthe larval white shrimp dont show up in the grass bedsin the Delta and the bays in December and January,well know there was a problem with the young. I dontthink there is a problem with adults. Its always the eggsand babies that are vulnerable.

But the ecosystem is very resilient. I hope I make thatclear. The comparisons to Exxon Valdez are not valid.Its very cold up there. We have, obviously, a warmerclimate so everything happens faster here. We also havean extraordinarily complex ecosystem. In other words, ifone species was severely impacted, another one would

take its place. We have a very resilient, very flexibleecosystem.

While the beaches can be easily cleaned, Croziercontends any effort to clean the marshes, grass beds andoyster reefs would be a big mistake.

Wed better leave them alone and let the naturalsystem do that, he said. Beaches are dry land, at leastat low tide. Mostly they grow tourists. And they will comeback. I guarantee you that the beaches from thePanhandle to the Mississippi barrier islands will be finenext year.

Crozier does expect the Gulfs adaptation to the oilspill to take a significant amount of time.

I think were going to have to deal with enormousuncertainty over the long haul, he said. Were going to

see some impact on the young-of-the-year, whether itbe shrimp or red snapper or whatever. There are goingto be problems in a couple of years. Were going to seea diminishing of our normal catch. I think that ispossible. We will be able to tell you within a couple ofmonths. We will be able to make some semi-intelligentprognostications.

The challenge for us the community from theMississippi River to Cape San Blas (Fla.) is were goingto have to do something to restore the confidence of thecountry in Gulf seafood. There have not been issues offish kills from the oil spill. Fish are not stupid. Becausethe pressure is off, I expect fishing to be goodeverywhere. The issue of contaminated or tainted fish isa long-term issue of uncertainty that the scientificcommunity and the government regulatory agencies willbe struggling to deal with. Meanwhile, for the immediatefuture, there is simply no reason to be concerned aboutthe fish.

In other good news, the catch-and-release restrictionsin Alabama coastal waters north of Dauphin Island andwest of Dauphin Island Bridge have been lifted. Afterfish, shrimp and oyster samples were collected andtested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, thenormal bag limit was re-instated for fish and shrimp. The

restrictions on crabs are still in place. The AlabamaDepartment of Public Health reopened the private oysterreefs for harvest effective 6 a.m. on August 10. Thepublic reefs remain closed to oystering by theDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resources formanagement purposes.



The District Three Convention was held on June 12,2010 at the Westervelt Hunting Lodge in Aliceville,Alabama. Westervelt Lodge is one of the last large

hunting plantations from the old south, with 10,000 acresof land sprawling along the Tombigbee River in Pickens

County, west Alabama. The first organized deer hunt washeld at the lodge on November 30, 1951, when deer weresparsely located throughout the state. They were on thefront line and instrumental in promoting deer manage-ment and deer hunting in Alabama many years ago. The

gracious host opened up the lodge to us and allowed usto use their rifle and shotgun shooting range, preparedand served an outstanding meal and even set up ourbadminton net for the attendees and children.

Thirty-seven officers, wives, and children attended the

event. Congratulations goes out to Joe Little (Asst. DistIII Director) for winning the top gun event for District IIIbut most likely all will remember fast-footed Freddie

ACEOA District III Conventionby Jeff L. Makemson, District III Director

continued on 87

ACEOA Dist. III members preparing to playsilly summer santa drawing.

Freddie Ingram and family getting ready forsome fun shooting.

ACEOA Dist. III members and childrenenjoying badminton.

Freddie Ingrams wife who won top femalegun. Does Freddie look a little nervous?Grady Bobo (Marine Police Officer in

Demopolis) prepares his son to shoot.ACEOA Dist. III members and family enjoyingsome fun rifle practice.




Ingram. Freddie shed his shoes to participate in the eventand put on a show for us all. Trust me; you dont want to

get in a foot race with him. While the events kepteveryone busy, we also made time to socialize with oldfriends and make new ones.

After a great meal of steak and grilled chicken, awardswere presented to the children and wives for the top gunscores. They were presented with ACEOA Medals fortheir accomplishments. Attendees then drew raffletickets for a silly summer Santa drawing. Numbers werecalled out and the winner could choose to open awrapped gift or pick a gift that was already opened andclaimed. One could only loose their gift twice, whatevergift they chose after the second loss, they got to keep.

Some of the gifts were nice and needless to say, somewere not. It really led to an interesting and very fun event

Dwights father-in-law got stuck with a pair of supermanunderwear (he was app. 70 years young). Everyoneseemed to want the Coleman cooler and cooking potsAll attendees and their families got a gift, of some sortand had great fun in the process.

The big ACEOA Membership winners were JarrodPoole (shotgun), Elliott Waters (pistol), and Mike Nelson(rifle). However, all attendees enjoyed great friendshipfine food and awesome fun. Special thanks to ACEOAPresident Chris Jaworowski for attending, and assistingwith the convention and helping make it a huge success

Dist. III Dir.Jeff Makemson and Asst. Dist.III Dir.Joe Little raffling door prizes.

Children top gun winners.ACEOA members getting ready to compete fortop gun.

Great Job.

ACEOA Dist. III winners of firearms L-JarrodPoole,Elliott Waters, Mike Nelson, and Dist.III Dir.Jeff Makemson

Good Job.


33/65ACE Magazine 9

Jacob Hollingsworth, age 11, and Caleb Walls, age 8, are sons of Elmore

County Conservation Officer Heath Walls. Both boys enjoy outdoor

activities. The boys are really into shooting sports and archery and also

love to go camping, hunting, fishing, and searching for Indian artifacts. They go

fishing routinely in the family pond and also at Lake Martin. In May they were

invited to go fishing in a pond managed by a family friend.

As typical siblings, they both argued about who caught the most and the

biggest fish but both agree they had a great time. The fish are fed regularly so

the boys caught 20 bream all weighing over a pound. After this fishing

experience the boys cleaned the fish on their own for the first time. It won't be

long before these boys are able to do the fishing experience all by themselves

but their dad is going to enjoy taking them for as long as he can!!

Kids Corner

Tell us about your favorite hunt or fishing trip!! Kids ages 16 and under may submit.Please send entries for Kids Korner to [email protected]



As the Saturday morning dawn of Memorial Dayweekend began to break over Blue Springs StatePark, Sgt. Aurora Thomas of the Alabama

Department of Conservation and Natural ResourcesDivision of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries was alreadyon the road from his home in Eufaula. Having alreadyheld a very successful youth fishing event earlier in the

year for the Eufaula area youth, Thomas could feel it wasgoing to be another good day. This was the day of theBlue Springs State Park Youth Fishing Rodeo and itwould turn out to be a wonderful day as 134 youthregistered for the event.

This fishing rodeo has become a fixture the last fewyears at Blue Springs State Park and is highly anticipatedby area youth. This event brings youth from many of thesmall towns and communities in the surrounding fourcounty area and gives them a chance to experience ourgreat outdoor world. The youth are divided into threeage groups (0-6, 7-9 and 10-13 years of age) which levelout the competition. Registration opens at 7:00 AM and

there is no cost for the youth to participate. The adultsare allowed to assist the youth with their casting andlanding of the fish the youth catch but are not allowed tofish with or for the youth.

The fishing begins at 8:00 AM with the weigh-infollowing at 10:00 AM. The two-hour fishing event mayseem short, but it is just the right amount of time. The

catfish cooperate, beginning with the first casts but thenthe fishing begins to wane as the sun climbs higher in thesky. The air temperatures also begin to climb, remindingeveryone that summertime is here. The good news ismany of the families attending make an entire day out othe event continuing to fish or swim in the afternoonThe waters of Blue Springs are some of the clearestcoldest spring waters you will find in south Alabama. Ona hot summer day they sure are a welcome respite from

Blue Springs, Catfish and Kidsby Ken White, Freelance Journalist in Alabama

Andrew Meyers 10Yrs. - Waiting for the siren and that first cast(Eufaula, AL).

Ivanna Irvine 2 1/2 Yrs. withMike Irvine (Columbia, AL).

7-9 Yrs. Winner Cheyenne Starling.

continued on 97


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ACE Magazine 97

Blue Springs continued

the heat.Following the close of the fishing competition the

weigh-in is held and everyone enjoys a lunch of hot dogs,chips and cold sodas. It is then time for the recognitionof the event sponsors and the winners of each agedivision. The boy and girl having the highest weight ineach of the three age groups are awarded a bicycle fortheir efforts. No one really loses at this event as eachyouth participating will leave with a door prize.

Winners in the age groups are as follows:

0-6 Years: 1st Place C. J. Morris 18.14 lbs.2nd Place Kyle Meyers 8.13 lbs.3rd Place Isaih Meyers 7.13 lbs.

7-9 Years: 1st Place Cheyenne Starling 20.00 lbs.2nd Place Westin Walker 11.10 lbs.3rd Place Cody Stratton 10.10 lbs.

10-13 Years: 1st Place Cassandra Gifford 17.50 lbs.2nd Place Antonio Toney 13.20 lbs.3rd Place Ryan Tomlin 9.00 lbs.

Big Fish: Cassandra Gifford 5.70 lbs. (Catfish)Smallest Fish: Daniel Grantham 0.01 lbs. (Bream)

If you ever wonder if these events are really worth the

effort then wonder no more. Cassandra Gifford won the10-13 Years age group at the Eufaula event, which hadbeen held earlier. She also won the Blue Springs event.She had Sgt. Thomas place all the names of thecontestants in a hat and a drawing was held for the

continued on 99

10-13 Yrs. WinnersAntonio Toney, Cassandra Gifford, Ryan Tomlin.

C.J. Morris 0-6 Yrs. Winner.

OfficersJoe CarrollandLarry Dosterhandle the weigh-in.Cassandra GiffordwithAbby Odom, winner of the bicycle.



Blue Springs continued

bicycle she had just won. Abby Odom was the proudwinner of the drawing. Such a display of sportsmanship

is a shining example of what these events mean in somany different aspects of a young person's life. It is whySgt. Aurora Thomas, Sgt. Mike Heath, Lt. Chris Lewis,Officers Joe Carroll, Larry Doster, Nate Foster, RichardHartzog, Randy White, Blue Springs State Park managerTerry Carter, park attendant Mark Jernigan and volunteercook Stephen Hanners all gave of their time and effortsto make this such a huge success.

The crowd gathers for the door prize drawing.



Out-of-state visitors to the Alabama coastal waters arenow able to purchase a reasonably priced license to fish

the public piers on inside waters and the Gulf of Mexico.The Alabama Legislature recently passed House Bill

386, which establishes a nonresident public pier fishinglicense for an annual fee of $10. The legislation alsochanges the annual expiration date of public pier fishinglicenses and saltwater pier fishing licenses to August 31.Alabama residents can still purchase an annual pierlicense for $5.

The public piers include Gulf State Park Pier andFairhope Pier. Dauphin Island Pier is landlocked and nofishing is available. Residents and nonresidents arerequired to purchase a fishing permit at Gulf State Park

Pier in addition to the pier license.A lot of people from out of state were not using thepiers when they found out the cost of a nonresidentsaltwater fishing license, said Major Chris Blankenship,head of Enforcement with the Alabama Department ofConservation and Natural Resources' Marine ResourcesDivision. This gives visitors a lower-cost alternative to

use the piers.For most nonresidents, the annual Alabama saltwater

fishing is $45. For Louisiana, the fee is $90, the same feecharged to Alabama residents in Louisiana.

Alabama residents and nonresidents possessing acurrent saltwater fishing license, and residents andnonresidents under age 16, as well as residents age 65 orover are exempt from the pier license requirementsResidents and nonresidents are required to purchase afishing permit at Gulf State Park Pier in addition to thepier license.

The new pier license will remove a hurdle for manyvisitors to enjoy the great fishing offered at Gulf StatePark Pier, said Conservation Commissioner Barnett

Lawley. It was important that we make this outstandingfacility, the longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico, availableto everyone at a reasonable price.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management andenjoyment of Alabama's natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Parks, StateLands, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR visit www.outdooralabama.com.

David RainerOutdoor WriterAlabama Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources(251) 945-6889(251) 454-6543www.outdooralabama.com

Nonresidents Now Have Available $10 Annual Pier License



F

ifteen years after it began, the Butler County

Forestry Planning Commission enjoyed hosting

another successful camp for kids - this time with

30 students in the three-day, two-night event. The 2010

Natural Resources Youth Camp was held at Mussel Creek

Hunting Lodge.

The camp is located approximately five miles north

and west of Sherling Lake up Alabama Hwy. 263 at a

facility leased and maintained by a hunting club.

We began holding annual youth camps 15 years ago

at Camp Cohasset, southwest of McKenzie in Conecuh

County, said Paul Hudgins, Butler Work Unit manager

for the Alabama Forestry Commission. Within two years

we increased the camp in size to 30 kids. This project of

the Butler County Forestry Planning Commission

involves sixth grade children selected by their school's

administrators, science teachers, and counselors to

attend the program, which is all privately funded and free

to the kids. Only students from within Butler County are

selected, from all four schools - Fort Dale Academy

Greenville Middle School, Butler County Magnet

School/Georgiana School and McKenzie School.

Hudgins said to the best of his knowledge, this is the

only free camp of its type in Alabama.

Paramedics from Greenville Fire Department also staf

the event from start to finish, providing first aid as

needed.

Participants take part in 18 individual training venues

all involving natural resources, and ranging from

Mussel Creek Camp for KidsSucceeds In Connecting Youthto Natureby George Wacha, Publisher, The Greenville Standard

continued on 109



Mussel Creek Camp continued

orienteering wild animal track identification to archery,rifle range shooting, skeet shooting with a shotgun, and

primitive black powder rifle shooting.

We hold competitions in all of the areas, and also

have animal biologists with animal demonstrations,

Hudgins said. Classes are held on tree identification,

water quality, wildlife habitat, first aid, hunter safety and

ethics, and many other areas as well.

Its amazing how many kids have never been in a

creek before, said Rusty Morrow, editor of ACEMagazine, the quarterly publication of the AlabamaConservation Enforcement Officers Association. Some

of them have never been in anything more than a pool orthe ocean, but during the camp, they all have had the

opportunity to get in a creek and enjoy being at one with

nature.

And the response from the students - all benefactors

of the generosity from the sponsors, has been positive

too.

I think that the camp was awesome, said MichaelMcNeil, 12, a student from BCMS/Georgiana School. learned how to trap animals, and enjoyed shooting guns,

plus I made several new friends. I would encourage all of

continued on 111



Mussel Creek Camp continued

my friends - if they had the chance to come - to attend

this camp, because it is the chance of a lifetime.

Tommy Atkins, part time Alabama game enforcementofficer and primitive/black powder firearm instructor,said he travels all over the state to teach his craft, and

the Mussel Creek Camp is one of the best in his opinion.

I just love to see the reaction on the children's faceswhen they load the muzzle of a firearm themselves, and

then shoot it, much like back during the Civil War,

Atkins said. They have a better appreciation for whatthe pioneers had to do.

Sponsors of the event include: Alabama ForestForever License Plate Grant, Tim O. Craig, attorney;Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Inc.; First South FarmCredit, Butler County Bank, Terrell Enterprises, Inc.;

Butler County Farmers Federation, Bank Trust,Alabama Conservation Enforcement OfficersAssociation, Inc.; First Citizens Bank, GreenvilleFirefighters Association, Butler County Soil and WaterConservation District, Camellia City Civitan Club, ClevePoole, Snellgrove Agency, Richard Branum, GreenvilleCash and Carry, Industree Timber, Inc.; Greenville

Kiwanis Club, Hartley and Hickman, attorneys-at-law;

Mussel Creek Forest Services, Alabama Treasure

Forest Association; Georgiana Timber Co., Inc.; and

Alabama Power/Rayonier-Alabama Treasure Forest

Association-County Chapter.



Renew Our Rivers on Smith Lake took place on

June 17-19, 2010. This year the event focusedon removing Styrofoam along the shoreline of

the Clear Creek tributary. Fourteen tons of Styrofoamwas removed this year.

Several of our officers were able to participate in the

clean-up this year. This is another example of howdiverse a Conservation Enforcement Officer is. Our

officers are continually protecting and improvingrecreational hunting, fishing, and boating opportunities.

Renew Our Rivers Smith LakeClean-upby Ernie Stephens, D-1 Director

continued on 117



Renew Our Rivers continued



The 2010 District IV ACEOA Convention was held atthe Southern Sportsman Lodge in Lowndes Countyon May 22, 2010. Approximately thirty-five people

attended. All officers and their families had a great day of

shooting sports, good food and fellowship.The shooting sports and competitions took up a large

portion of the day. We had events for all ages. The kidsgot to learn from our officers, most of whom are skilledshooters, while having a great time. My son Caleb shotskeet for the first time and hit two of his three clays. Theadults also get to experience a day of competition andcamaraderie which was evident in all of the laughter andfriendly jokes.

ACEOADistrict IV TopGun Conventionby Heath Walls, District IV Assistant Director

Hasty wins with his sure shot!

continued on 123

Marissa wins the shotgun!Love those door prizes!




Marissa Lee (Top Gun),Hasty Hudson (2nd place), Chris Jaworowski(3rd Place).

All in all, we could not have asked for a better day.Having the opportunity to associate and bond with co-

workers and their families outside of the workenvironment is always a win-win situation. Marissa Leewon the D-4 Top Gun competition but passed it on to heralternate Hasty Hudson. Marissa was unable to competefor Top Gun on July 30 because of a prior commitment.

Winners of the 22 rifle competition were Caleb Walls(youth boys), Jasmine Jaworowski (youth girls), CalebConner (mens), Gayle Morrow (womens). ChrisJaworowski won the shotgun competition.

Our gratitude goes to the Southern Sportsman Lodgefor the use of their facilities and to Rusty and GayleMorrow and Grady Myers for putting it all together. Weare already looking forward to next years ACEOA

Convention.

Tarrel Conner, winner of member gun drawing.

Jasmine takes a shot for the youth event.



O

n May 8, 2010, District V andDistrict VI held a joint ACEOA

Convention and Top GunCompetition at the South Alabama Gun

Club in River Falls, Alabama. A lot offun and fellowship was enjoyed byapproximately forty members,

associate members and familymembers that attended.

District V Top Gun was awarded toCEO David Smith and the District VI

Top Gun went to MPO Tommy Haines.Other District V award winners were

MPO Jeremy Alford for shotgun. DanielBoutwell won both the rifle competition

and the drawing for a Smith andWesson 22 semi-auto target pistol.

District VI winners were CEO MikeCox for shotgun, CEO Jason

Sutherland for rifle, and CEO DonReaves for the drawing of the Smith

and Wesson 22 semi-auto target pistol.

ACEOA Top Gun Convention forDistrict V and VIby Vance Wood, District V Director

continued on 131



Prospects for a quality waterfowl season in Alabamaremain good as hunters prepare for the early teal andgoose seasons across the state.

David Hayden, waterfowl expert with the AlabamaDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resources'Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, said thenumber of waterfowl in North America has risenslightly and weather will be the driving force forAlabama's hunters.

Teal numbers are still good, like they were last year,Hayden said. If we can have some weather to get somemigration and we can get them to stop and stay a while,we should have a good early season.

The special teal season is set for Sept. 11-26 with adaily bag limit of 4 and a possession limit of 8.

The overall waterfowl count for the upcoming season isencouraging with a welcome increase in pintail numbers.

Duck prospects are real good, Hayden said.Numbers are similar to last year, but the numbers forsome species are up. Bag limits are the same except forpintail. It's gone up from one per day to two per day. If weget the weather, we're looking for a real good season.

For the regular waterfowl hunting, the seasons forducks, coots and mergansers are Nov. 26-27 and Dec.4-Jan. 30.

The liberal bag limit remains in effect. Hunters maytake 6 ducks per day with no more than 4 mallards, only2 of which may be female. The bag limits on otherspecies are: 3 wood ducks, 1 mottled duck, 1 blackduck, 2 redheads, 2 pintail, 2 scaup and 1 canvasback.The daily limit on coots is 15 per day with 30 inpossession, while the merganser limit is 5 per day, only2 of which may be hooded mergansers. The possession

limit on mergansers is twice the daily limit.Waterfowlers get their first opportunity in the field with

the special Canada goose season, which runs Sept. 1-15The bag limit is 5 per day with 10 in possession. InEscambia and Monroe counties only, a speciasnow/blue goose season is set for Oct. 30 through Nov14 with a daily bag limit of 5 and possession limit of 10.

If folks have the opportunity to hunt geese, we hopethey will take advantage of it, Hayden said. Huntingkeeps the geese wary of man and helps keep them awayfrom public places where they won't be a nuisance. Wealso have the start of our regular goose season later inSeptember, so that gives people a second opportunity tohunt geese early.

The regular goose seasons are Sept. 25-Oct. 6 andDec. 4-Jan. 30. The daily bag limit is 5 with no morethan 2 Canada geese or 2 white-fronted geese. Thepossession limit of 5 shall include no more than 4Canada geese and white-fronted geese in aggregate.

The use of non-toxic shot is required for waterfowhunting in Alabama. A valid hunting license and stateand federal waterfowl stamps are required, as well as aHarvest Information Program (HIP) permit. Shootinghours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunsetstatewide except for the area of the Mobile-Tensaw Deltanorth of Battleship Parkway, west of Alabama Highway225, south of the CSX Railroad tracks, and east of thewest bank of the Mobile River. In that a

Documents

ACE Magazine - Summer 2010