Sunday, March 25, 2007
SUNDAY HUNTING IS CANCELLED
SUNDAY HUNTING IS CANCELLED
Forget hunting on Sunday in Virginia for another year. The Virginia General Assembly has caved in to (mostly) state landowners, and the issue is dead in the water yet again.
Virginia is one of the few states that does not allow Sunday hunting. Each year, a push is made to open the entire weekend to those who love to go afield with gun and dog, and each year the issue simply drops from sight about halfway through the current session of the Virginia General Assembly.
This time it looked for a bit as if a law permitting Sunday hunting might at least make it out of committee, even be voted on by General Assembly members. It was not to be.
My mail, however, brought several cogent arguments for Sunday hunting. I’ll pass some of them along. They might come in handy next year, since the issue raises its contentious head every session.
From Sherm Cash in Richmond: "Sunday hunting really doesn’t affect me. I’m retired. I can hunt all I want. But for others who have limited time and can only hunt on days off – that usually means Saturday only – then why not Sunday hunting? And because the numbers of hunters are decreasing year after year, again – why not?"
Sherm adds: "Some of the arguments used by opponents are pretty weak. One twerp said Sundays should be ‘peaceful and quiet.’ But one can use a chain saw on Sunday, shoot skeet, roar around in jet skis and speed boats, and of course there’s NASCAR racing. The list goes on.
"Another dweeb said he wouldn’t feel safe hiking and bird watching. The places I hunt are posted. The dweeb couldn’t hunt or hike there anyway without trespassing. Plus he can hike and bird watch all year, while hunters have only a limited time to hunt (about 90 days in fall and winter).
Interference with church services was another objection. "Last time I checked," writes Sherm, "churches were losing members faster than the hunting fraternity. Compromise and start hunting at 1 p.m."
Many correspondents think Sunday hunting in Virginia might give new life to a decreasing hunter base, and by so doing, help keep an out-of-control deer population in check.
The state of Virginia gained a million residents in the past 10 years. Yet hunter numbers dropped by 100,000. (Fishing, incidentally, is doing just fine.)
Carson Quarles of Roanoke brings a unique and informed approach to the debate. Quarles is a retired banker, a dedicated turkey hunter, and a former chairman of the board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which writes the state’s hunting and fishing laws.
"Sunday hunting on private land only, or by county option as has been suggested, would be a nightmare," he says.
"Sunday hunting only on private property would be totally unfair to those who don’t have land to hunt. And none of the state’s counties have clear boundary markers, so how in the world could a hunter tell whether he or she is in a county that permits Sunday hunting?
"If we ever have Sunday hunting, make it all-inclusive or forget it," he says.
By "all-inclusive," he means opening up the public lands in Virginia – a state that is reasonably rich (as far as Eastern states go) in public lands that are open to everyone.
For example, there are about 200,000 acres of hunting and fishing land owned by the state of Virginia. State parks, natural areas, Division of Forestry property.
Additionally, Virginia has some 2 million acres of remote and beautiful National Forest land in its two vast federal properties – the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The National Forests are wide open to all for a nominal fee ($4 a year).
These arguments that might be helpful when the issue of Sunday hunting in Virginia comes up again next year in the General Assembly.
And it will.
END
Forget hunting on Sunday in Virginia for another year. The Virginia General Assembly has caved in to (mostly) state landowners, and the issue is dead in the water yet again.
Virginia is one of the few states that does not allow Sunday hunting. Each year, a push is made to open the entire weekend to those who love to go afield with gun and dog, and each year the issue simply drops from sight about halfway through the current session of the Virginia General Assembly.
This time it looked for a bit as if a law permitting Sunday hunting might at least make it out of committee, even be voted on by General Assembly members. It was not to be.
My mail, however, brought several cogent arguments for Sunday hunting. I’ll pass some of them along. They might come in handy next year, since the issue raises its contentious head every session.
From Sherm Cash in Richmond: "Sunday hunting really doesn’t affect me. I’m retired. I can hunt all I want. But for others who have limited time and can only hunt on days off – that usually means Saturday only – then why not Sunday hunting? And because the numbers of hunters are decreasing year after year, again – why not?"
Sherm adds: "Some of the arguments used by opponents are pretty weak. One twerp said Sundays should be ‘peaceful and quiet.’ But one can use a chain saw on Sunday, shoot skeet, roar around in jet skis and speed boats, and of course there’s NASCAR racing. The list goes on.
"Another dweeb said he wouldn’t feel safe hiking and bird watching. The places I hunt are posted. The dweeb couldn’t hunt or hike there anyway without trespassing. Plus he can hike and bird watch all year, while hunters have only a limited time to hunt (about 90 days in fall and winter).
Interference with church services was another objection. "Last time I checked," writes Sherm, "churches were losing members faster than the hunting fraternity. Compromise and start hunting at 1 p.m."
Many correspondents think Sunday hunting in Virginia might give new life to a decreasing hunter base, and by so doing, help keep an out-of-control deer population in check.
The state of Virginia gained a million residents in the past 10 years. Yet hunter numbers dropped by 100,000. (Fishing, incidentally, is doing just fine.)
Carson Quarles of Roanoke brings a unique and informed approach to the debate. Quarles is a retired banker, a dedicated turkey hunter, and a former chairman of the board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which writes the state’s hunting and fishing laws.
"Sunday hunting on private land only, or by county option as has been suggested, would be a nightmare," he says.
"Sunday hunting only on private property would be totally unfair to those who don’t have land to hunt. And none of the state’s counties have clear boundary markers, so how in the world could a hunter tell whether he or she is in a county that permits Sunday hunting?
"If we ever have Sunday hunting, make it all-inclusive or forget it," he says.
By "all-inclusive," he means opening up the public lands in Virginia – a state that is reasonably rich (as far as Eastern states go) in public lands that are open to everyone.
For example, there are about 200,000 acres of hunting and fishing land owned by the state of Virginia. State parks, natural areas, Division of Forestry property.
Additionally, Virginia has some 2 million acres of remote and beautiful National Forest land in its two vast federal properties – the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The National Forests are wide open to all for a nominal fee ($4 a year).
These arguments that might be helpful when the issue of Sunday hunting in Virginia comes up again next year in the General Assembly.
And it will.
END
Friday, March 23, 2007
SUNDAY HUNTING A NO-NO
SUNDAY HUNTING IS CANCELLED
Forget hunting on Sunday in Virginia for another year. The Virginia General Assembly has caved in to (mostly) state landowners, and the issue is dead in the water yet again.
Virginia is one of the few states that does not allow Sunday hunting. Each year, a push is made to open the entire weekend to those who love to go afield with gun and dog, and each year the issue simply drops from sight about halfway through the current session of the Virginia General Assembly.
This time it looked for a bit as if a law permitting Sunday hunting might at least make it out of committee, even be voted on by General Assembly members. It was not to be.
My mail, however, brought several cogent arguments for Sunday hunting. I’ll pass some of them along. They might come in handy next year, since the issue raises its contentious head every session.
From Sherm Cash in Richmond: "Sunday hunting really doesn’t affect me. I’m retired. I can hunt all I want. But for others who have limited time and can only hunt on days off – that usually means Saturday only – then why not Sunday hunting? And because the numbers of hunters are decreasing year after year, again – why not?"
Sherm adds: "Some of the arguments used by opponents are pretty weak. One twerp said Sundays should be ‘peaceful and quiet.’ But one can use a chain saw on Sunday, shoot skeet, roar around in jet skis and speed boats, and of course there’s NASCAR racing. The list goes on.
"Another dweeb said he wouldn’t feel safe hiking and bird watching. The places I hunt are posted. The dweeb couldn’t hunt or hike there anyway without trespassing. Plus he can hike and bird watch all year, while hunters have only a limited time to hunt (about 90 days in fall and winter)."
Interference with church services was another objection. "Last time I checked," writes Sherm, "churches were losing members faster than the hunting fraternity. Compromise and start hunting at 1 p.m."
Many correspondents think Sunday hunting in Virginia might give new life to a decreasing hunter base, and by so doing, help keep an out-of-control deer population in check.
The state of Virginia gained a million residents in the past 10 years. Yet hunter numbers dropped by 100,000. (Fishing, incidentally, is doing just fine.)
Carson Quarles of Roanoke brings a unique and informed approach to the debate. Quarles is a retired banker, a dedicated turkey hunter, and a former chairman of the board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which writes the state’s hunting and fishing laws.
"Sunday hunting on private land only, or by county option as has been suggested, would be a nightmare," he says.
"Sunday hunting only on private property would be totally unfair to those who don’t have land to hunt. And none of the state’s counties have clear boundary markers, so how in the world could a hunter tell whether he or she is in a county that permits Sunday hunting?
"If we ever have Sunday hunting, make it all-inclusive or forget it," he says.
By "all-inclusive," he means opening up the public lands in Virginia – a state that is reasonably rich (as far as Eastern states go) in public lands that are open to everyone.
For example, there are about 200,000 acres of hunting and fishing land owned by the state of Virginia. State parks, natural areas, Division of Forestry property.
Additionally, Virginia has some 2 million acres of remote and beautiful National Forest land in its two vast federal properties – the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The National Forests are wide open to all for a nominal fee ($4 a year).
These arguments that might be helpful when the issue of Sunday hunting in Virginia comes up again next year in the General Assembly.
And it will.
END
Forget hunting on Sunday in Virginia for another year. The Virginia General Assembly has caved in to (mostly) state landowners, and the issue is dead in the water yet again.
Virginia is one of the few states that does not allow Sunday hunting. Each year, a push is made to open the entire weekend to those who love to go afield with gun and dog, and each year the issue simply drops from sight about halfway through the current session of the Virginia General Assembly.
This time it looked for a bit as if a law permitting Sunday hunting might at least make it out of committee, even be voted on by General Assembly members. It was not to be.
My mail, however, brought several cogent arguments for Sunday hunting. I’ll pass some of them along. They might come in handy next year, since the issue raises its contentious head every session.
From Sherm Cash in Richmond: "Sunday hunting really doesn’t affect me. I’m retired. I can hunt all I want. But for others who have limited time and can only hunt on days off – that usually means Saturday only – then why not Sunday hunting? And because the numbers of hunters are decreasing year after year, again – why not?"
Sherm adds: "Some of the arguments used by opponents are pretty weak. One twerp said Sundays should be ‘peaceful and quiet.’ But one can use a chain saw on Sunday, shoot skeet, roar around in jet skis and speed boats, and of course there’s NASCAR racing. The list goes on.
"Another dweeb said he wouldn’t feel safe hiking and bird watching. The places I hunt are posted. The dweeb couldn’t hunt or hike there anyway without trespassing. Plus he can hike and bird watch all year, while hunters have only a limited time to hunt (about 90 days in fall and winter)."
Interference with church services was another objection. "Last time I checked," writes Sherm, "churches were losing members faster than the hunting fraternity. Compromise and start hunting at 1 p.m."
Many correspondents think Sunday hunting in Virginia might give new life to a decreasing hunter base, and by so doing, help keep an out-of-control deer population in check.
The state of Virginia gained a million residents in the past 10 years. Yet hunter numbers dropped by 100,000. (Fishing, incidentally, is doing just fine.)
Carson Quarles of Roanoke brings a unique and informed approach to the debate. Quarles is a retired banker, a dedicated turkey hunter, and a former chairman of the board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which writes the state’s hunting and fishing laws.
"Sunday hunting on private land only, or by county option as has been suggested, would be a nightmare," he says.
"Sunday hunting only on private property would be totally unfair to those who don’t have land to hunt. And none of the state’s counties have clear boundary markers, so how in the world could a hunter tell whether he or she is in a county that permits Sunday hunting?
"If we ever have Sunday hunting, make it all-inclusive or forget it," he says.
By "all-inclusive," he means opening up the public lands in Virginia – a state that is reasonably rich (as far as Eastern states go) in public lands that are open to everyone.
For example, there are about 200,000 acres of hunting and fishing land owned by the state of Virginia. State parks, natural areas, Division of Forestry property.
Additionally, Virginia has some 2 million acres of remote and beautiful National Forest land in its two vast federal properties – the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The National Forests are wide open to all for a nominal fee ($4 a year).
These arguments that might be helpful when the issue of Sunday hunting in Virginia comes up again next year in the General Assembly.
And it will.
END
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
SUNDAY HUNTING IS DEAD FOR NOW.
SUNDAY HUNTING IS CANCELLED
Forget hunting on Sunday in Virginia for another year. The Virginia General Assembly has caved in to (mostly) state landowners, and the issue is dead in the water yet again.
Virginia is one of the few states that does not allow Sunday hunting. Each year, a push is made to open the entire weekend to those who love to go afield with gun and dog, and each year the issue simply drops from sight about halfway through the current session of the Virginia General Assembly.
This time it looked for a bit as if a law permitting Sunday hunting might at least make it out of committee, even be voted on by General Assembly members. It was not to be.
My mail, however, brought several cogent arguments for Sunday hunting. I’ll pass some of them along. They might come in handy next year, since the issue raises its contentious head every session.
From Sherm Cash in Richmond: "Sunday hunting really doesn’t affect me. I’m retired. I can hunt all I want. But for others who have limited time and can only hunt on days off – that usually means Saturday only – then why not Sunday hunting? And because the numbers of hunters are decreasing year after year, again – why not?"
Sherm adds: "Some of the arguments used by opponents are pretty weak. One twerp said Sundays should be ‘peaceful and quiet.’ But one can use a chain saw on Sunday, shoot skeet, roar around in jet skis and speed boats, and of course there’s NASCAR racing. The list goes on.
"Another dweeb said he wouldn’t feel safe hiking and bird watching. The places I hunt are posted. The dweeb couldn’t hunt or hike there anyway without trespassing. Plus he can hike and bird watch all year, while hunters have only a limited time to hunt (about 90 days in fall and winter).
Interference with church services was another objection. "Last time I checked," writes Sherm, "churches were losing members faster than the hunting fraternity. Compromise and start hunting at 1 p.m."
Many correspondents think Sunday hunting in Virginia might give new life to a decreasing hunter base, and by so doing, help keep an out-of-control deer population in check.
The state of Virginia gained a million residents in the past 10 years. Yet hunter numbers dropped by 100,000. (Fishing, incidentally, is doing just fine.)
Carson Quarles of Roanoke brings a unique and informed approach to the debate. Quarles is a retired banker, a dedicated turkey hunter, and a former chairman of the board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which writes the state’s hunting and fishing laws.
"Sunday hunting on private land only, or by county option as has been suggested, would be a nightmare," he says.
"Sunday hunting only on private property would be totally unfair to those who don’t have land to hunt. And none of the state’s counties have clear boundary markers, so how in the world could a hunter tell whether he or she is in a county that permits Sunday hunting?
"If we ever have Sunday hunting, make it all-inclusive or forget it," he says.
By "all-inclusive," he means opening up the public lands in Virginia – a state that is reasonably rich (as far as Eastern states go) in public lands that are open to everyone.
For example, there are about 200,000 acres of hunting and fishing land owned by the state of Virginia. State parks, natural areas, Division of Forestry property.
Additionally, Virginia has some 2 million acres of remote and beautiful National Forest land in its two vast federal properties – the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The National Forests are wide open to all for a nominal fee ($4 a year).
These arguments that might be helpful when the issue of Sunday hunting in Virginia comes up again next year in the General Assembly.
And it will.
END
