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Seminars galore await you at the Jaffa Show

This is the big week for all of you who are outdoorsmen as the Jaffa Show opens its doors on Friday, Feb. 22, beginning at noon and going until 8 p.m. Saturday hours are from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday’s hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Since the Mirror has run several full-page color ads about the show — and local television has also promoted the show — I don’t need to go over everything being offered there.

So I will concentrate on the seminars I am going to be presenting on spring gobbler hunting, each of them in Room B in the downstairs portion of the Shrine. The first will be on Friday at 4 p.m, and the Saturday one will be at 3 p.m.

A couple of years ago, I managed to bag a six-bearded gobbler in the spring and then last year, at the very same location, I bagged another 20-pound plus gobbler. I’ll share with you how I got so lucky and what tactics were involved in taking each of those birds.

I’ll also share with you a tactic that the famous hunter Ben Rodgers Lee taught me when I hunted with him almost 40 years ago. It’s omething I have used to bag gobblers when the circumstances were right for that tactic to be used. More tips I have learned over my years and answers to questions … I hope we will have time for that.

I love to talk about hunting about as much as I love writing about it. I’ve sure led an exciting and adventurous life, and I always look forward to talking with other hunters and sharing tips and learning whatever I can from others.

So I’ll see you at the show.

Send them a message

Here’s something that came to me from the Ruffed Grouse Society that you may find interesting. A way to voice your thoughts and comments.

The Ruffed Grouse Society encourages you to submit comments to the commissioners regarding the proposed season change. Your comments can be sent to pgccomments@pa.gov.

Comments should be submitted no later than March 15.

A few new developments for this year include a proposed split management zone. This split harvest zone framework is part of the PGC’s new Ruffed Grouse Harvest Management Framework.

Two more additional links that explain what is proposed this year include:

n PGC Board of Commissioner meeting notes from the PGC

n Ruffed Grouse Statue and Season recommendation

Pennsylvania is the first and only state that is now using an adaptive management approach in evaluating grouse populations. This is a positive and unique.

Members had a pretty good showing in the commissioners’ inbox last year and progress was made. To keep the momentum going forward, please take the time again this year to provide your comments once again and keep grouse management out in front as a pressing need in Pennsylvania.

Please consider the following as you develop your comments:

n Habitat is the key. RGS has consistently encouraged the PGC to redouble its efforts to establish and maintain the young forest habitats required by ruffed grouse on public and private forest lands within the Commonwealth. We applaud the PGC for what it has accomplished to date and their continued efforts this past year, but the current status of ruffed grouse in Pennsylvania clearly demonstrates that it needs to do more.

n The PGC will need to commit the necessary personnel and financial resources to accomplish the habitat goals necessary to reverse the ongoing ruffed grouse population declines.

n The PGC needs to define specific population-related metrics that establish objective units of measurement relating to the “Abundance, Production & Disease” categories that are determined by the “Low, Moderate & Hight” terms to describe grouse population, reproduction and presence of disease. These terms should have more specific metrics that be clearly communicated to the public.

So here’s your chance to have your say. Lots of controversy and opinions about the obvious population decline for last fall’s season.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Linda D. Ordiway, Ruffed Grouse Society Regional Biologist at 412-720-6034 or at LindaO@ruffedgrousesociety.org

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