ace magazine - summer 11

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Official Publication of the ACEOA

ACEOA Magazine

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 2011.

All rights reserved.

EDITOR:

Gayle Morrow

PUBLISHER:

Brent-Wyatt West

8436 Crossland Loop, Suite 207

Montgomery, Alabama 36117

SALES OFFICES:

Bryan Elkins, Sr. / Jim Downing

8436 Crossland Loop, Suite 207

Montgomery, Alabama 36117

(334) 213-6229

WWW.ACEOA.ORG SUMMER 2011

ON THE COVER

Marine Police Of ficer, Jeremy Alford, represents District 5and wins the 2011 Top Gun.

in this issue...2010-11 State Ofcers and Directors ..................................................................

Where We Stand ...............................................................................................

Press Release — Alabama Youth Dove Hunt ....................................................

ACEOA 2011 State Conerence and Top Gun Competition ................................

Press Release — “Mystery Man” Revealed ......................................................

Tornado Disaster Relie ...................................................................................

Beyond The Basics .........................................................................................

Dove Season ....................................................................................................

U.S. Army Corps o Engineers Host Youth Catfsh Rodeos ..............................

Back in the Day ..............................................................................................

Butler County Youth Fishing Day 2011 ............................................................

A-Team Fishing ...............................................................................................

Blue Springs Fishing Event Kicks O The Summer ..........................................

The University o Alabama Outdoor Learning Center ......................................

Snapper Fishing ...............................................................................................

Forever Wild ...................................................................................................

Kids “Get Hooked” at Fishing Derby ............................................................. 1

Alabama Marine Police Has New Director .................................................... 1

Press Release — Oak Mountain Deer Management Program Expands ...........

Alligators – Natural Wonder or Dangerous Predator? ................................... 1

Euaula Youth Fishing Rodeo Goes On .......................................................... 1

Black Bears Part o Alabama’s Ecosystem ..................................................... 1

Controlling Damage by Vultures ................................................................... 1

Clay Hill Farms Hosts Youth Fishing Rodeo .................................................. 1

Who’s Been Digging In My Yard? .................................................................. 1

Outdoor Women Unlimited Continues to Stretch its Limits ........................... 1

Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society Returns To Alabama ................................ 1

2011 Montgomery County Youth Fishing Rodeo ............................................ 1

Natural Resources Youth Camp Teaches Environmental Lessons .................. 1

Forest Ruler Returns to Blue Spring Wildlie Management Area .................... 1

Buckmasters Expo 2011 ................................................................................ 1

Advertisers Index .......................................................................................... 1

Business Directory ....................................................................................... 1


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ace-magazine-summer-11 3/81ACEOA Magazine

Where We StandBy Rusty Morrow, ACEOA Executive Director

ACEOA has kept politics out o ACE Magazine. We

have always been proud o our good endeavors.

Our magazine shows many o the programs we

sponsor. We are blessed with a very supportive reading

public and corporate sponsorship. We will never change

our support or outdoor programs.

Our supporters should also understand that we have

never hidden the act that we are a Pro-Active Association.

We fght or our Conservation Ofcers when we eel they

are being treated unairly.

The past legislative session has redirected our priori-

ties, when it comes to our ofcers. You might say we

have been “EDUCATED.” I believe our readers will better

understand our educational process i they understand

why we were so involved in the legislative session

o 2011. In the next couple o pages, I plan to

provide some basic acts.

I promise not to ramble, but you must

know I am very intense when it comes to

matters that directly aect our Ofcers.

You must also understand that I will not

down-play the economic condition this

state was in when the Republicans gained

control o the House and Senate. The fnancial

situations were bleak to put it lightly. I under-

stand they made a promise and had a job to do.

This is not my frst rodeo when it comes to the legis-

lature. These men and women have a very difcult job.

They are good men and women. They have my respect.

With that being said, any Senator or House member that

I mention in this editorial has my utmost respect. My

intentions are to be positive.

Many readers do not know that the Conservation

Department does not draw rom the General und budget.

This is important to know when I discuss several Bills that

were introduced in 2011.The Conservation Department

generates revenue rom license sales, fnes and the

Pittman-Robertson Act o 1937.

The Pittman-Robertson Act is an excise tax on frearms,

ammunitions and other related products. It is given back

to the states or wildlie restoration and similar proje

These unds are earmarked or particular purpose

have provided at the end o this editorial a summary

the Pittman-Robertson Act o 1937.

Anti-hunters, anti-ishermen and anti-seco

amendment taxpayers do not support the Conservat

Department. Hunters, fshermen and frearm buyers s

port the Conservation Department.

With this inormation in mind, I plan to discuss t

bills – Senate Bill 257 and Senate bill 414. SB414 w

passed and signed into law by the Governor and SB2

never came out o Committee.

SB257, in short was a bill to repeal law enorcem

subsistence, longevity pay and daily per diem. Overn

per diem was not aected. Most State law enor

ment ofcers get $12.00 a day or every d

they work over our hours. This helps w

uniorm cleaning and maybe a meal. I

bill had passed it would have taken as m

as $276.00 rom our ofcers pay chec

month ($12.00x23 days.)

Longevity pay is nothing more th

a Christmas bonus passed into law t

rewarded good reliable state employees t

have put in their time. The amount depends u

the years o service over fve years.

The Conservation department employees do not ab

the per diem system. I worked twenty fve years and pr

ably can only count fve nights I spent out o Lown

County that paid overnight. When we had training a

traveled to another county you might get $30.00 i y

were out o your county or over twelve hours. Th

were ew and ar between. I truly understand how t

could be abused but I know it wasn’t in the Conserva

Enorcement Division. In short, SB257 was a way

agencies to save money, fll in some budget short

and pass the burden on to the state employees. You

see a trend orming.

Senator Sanord rom Huntsville sponsored the bil

continued o



Where We Stand – continued

ACEOA Magazine

came rom across the street rom the Governors ofce.

He introduced it and was bombarded with emails and

phone calls. The opposition was immense. I believe ourofcers were somewhat responsible or Senator Sanord

pulling the bill rom Committee and never acting on it

again during the session. We still have ears that it will

be back in 2012. Senator Sanord realized the impact

this bill would have on state law enorcement ofcers.

$276.00 does not sound like much, but when you add

health insurance being nearly doubled, it’s a lot.

Senator Sanord was one o the legislators who had a

really tough job. Being a Republican, he was expected

to ollow the Governor’s agenda. He made a decision

based on the acts. State employees who haven’t receivedmerit pay raises in two administrations cannot aord

any more deductions rom their pay checks. The people

o Huntsville that sent Senator Sanord to Montgomery

should be proud. He is a riend to ACEOA.

Now SB414 was dierent, beside the act it passed in

the 2011 session and was signed into law by the Governor,

it was enguled in politics that was not based on

acts. I promised to be positive in this editorial

and I will be. These are the acts (somewhat

condensed.) I know the acts because I was

there. It’s not the act that a ew Senatorsand Representatives made some errors;

I just believe they were misinormed and

did not know any better. I will get back to

this assumption in a minute.

SB414 was another agency und saving bill.

Designed to help the general und short alls, it

was not a Retirement Systems o Alabama (RSA) bill. It

does nothing to help RSA. State employees and teach-

ers would contribute more. In the case o Conservation

Ofcers, they currently contribute 6% per payroll. It will

be increased to 8½% by October 2012. The additional2½% won’t go to RSA; it will go back to the agency to

decrease the matching unds. In simple terms the agency

gets 2½% back in the Kitty.

Our department could easily pay at the current rate.

I believe they have the money. They had agreed to pay

subsistence at the current rate in SB257.

A key point here is that since we are not a general

und agency, including us in the bill would do nothing

to help the general und short alls. It would merely add

additional burdens on already struggling teachers a

state employees.

Senator Pittman sponsored the bill and again it wsent across the street rom the Governor’s ofce. I sp

at the public hearing on SB414. Since it involved all st

employees and teachers several people spoke against

bill, including Dr. Paul Hubbard.

Gunter Guy, the Commissioner o the Conservat

Department did not speak, but assured me beore

hearing that all agencies were included in SB414. O

Governor had sent word that no one would be exemp

was still a little paranoid because Public Saety was

included in the bill rom the beginning o the hearing. SB

let the Committee with a avorable approval and SenaPittman introduced an amendment that included Pu

Saety in the bill. All agencies were now included. I di

like it but I accepted it. We made a gallant fght, but l

I might add here, I let my guard down. I believed w

politicians said. Now you may read something nega

into this, but it’s true I believed them. It was a ew d

beore the end o the session that I received

email rom Chris Lewis, our ACEOA state tr

surer, that Public Saety had been remo

rom SB414. One call to Danny Hes

Executive Director o the State TrooAssociation, confrmed the rumor. To

it lightly I went BALLISTIC. I told you t

when it comes to our Ofcers I am v

intense. I will remain positive but it is difc

For a general und agency be removed r

SB414 and a non-general und be let in made

sense. The decision o the Republican caucus that remo

them was not based on acts.

With no time let in the session there would not

enough time to get us out o SB414. Representative L

moved SB414 through the House. He was, unortunatanother legislator that I’m really concerned that w

misinormed on the impact o the bill. He made a rem

to me that i they were not let out o the bill they wo

have to lay Troopers o. I will get back to this in a min

because it would do just the opposite.

It is important or you to understand that it is not ab

Public Saety. It is not that they got preerential treatm

in this bill. It is about understanding the acts. The

continued o


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Where We Stand – continued

ACEOA Magazine

is Public Saety has their own retirement system. It is

called the “State Police Retirement System.” Included in

this system is the ABC investigators and Attorney GeneralInvestigators. They contribute 10% to RSA per payroll.

They do not pay social security. They are blessed by law

to receive as much overtime pay as they want. This makes

their retirement benefts very lucrative when they retire.

Senator Pittman and Representative Love obviously

believed that since they already paid 10% they should

not have to pay more. Let’s don’t lose sight o what the

purpose o what the bill was written or - to help the

Agency in the Matching unds -putting money back.

The act is that Public Saety’s matching unds per pay-

roll are nearly triple o what the Conservation Departmentsare. Public Saety matching unds are your tax money.

Coincidently Public Saety was excluded rom both SB257

and SB414. I made an assumption earlier in this editorial

that maybe some legislators had made some errors, either

rom being misinormed or just not knowing any better.

I Public Saety had been included in SB414 the Agency

could possibly replace retiring ofcers. Instead they ace

major personnel problems and a Crunch that 2½% per

payroll could have helped. Legislators thought they were

helping but instead they were created urther problems

or our employees and some agencies that draw romthe general und budget. I’m not being negative, I’m just

calling it the way it is.

The impact that SB414 will have on our department

trying to recruit young ofcers will be noticeable over the

next couple o years. Merit pay is rozen, there will be

no raises, insurance has doubled and now more money

rom our dwindling checks.

How do you promise good times ahead or our depart-

ment? How do you explain to our ofcers that SB257 could

be back in 2012 and could get even more? How do you

explain to our ofcers that the retirement system that many

retired ofcers worked or, may not be the same when t

retire. How do you build morale with all this going o

will tell you how you do it. You do it with EDUCATIOACEOA has redirected our priorities as stated on

frst page o this editorial. This editorial and more in

next issues will start our state-wide educational prog

about the Conservation Department, how it is unded

major issues that aect our Ofcers.

We eel it is important that our readers understa

what our ofcers are acing in the uture and the iss

that ace the wildlie resource o Alabama. Unortuna

these issues may depend on each other. You are our s

porters. By educating you, you can pass the word i

more convincing manner. You know your local legislatYou can help us by educating them.

Part two o this editorial will be in the all issue

ACE Magazine. This will be close to the 2012 Legisla

Session. Our word must spread statewide by then. Th

you or your continued support.

I will leave you with this quote, “Opportunity is mis

by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks

work.” – Thomas Edison

Summary: The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration

authorizes the Secretary o the Interior to cooperate withStates, through their respective State fsh and game dep

ments, in wildlie-restoration projects. However, per stat

no money apportioned under this chapter to any state sha

expended until the state in question assents to the provis

o this chapter and has passed laws or the conservatio

wildlie, which includes a prohibition against the diversio

license ees paid by hunters or any other purpose than

administration o said state’s fsh and game department.

Act also provides for grants for hunter education programs

a mechanism or a multi-state conservation grant progra



ACEOA 2011

State Conference andTop Gun Competition

By Rusty Morrow, ACEOA Executive Director

T

he 4-H Conerence Center in Columbiana was the site

o our 2011 conerence and Top-Gun Competitions.

What a great facility. The 4-H Center has all thevenues or amily un, plus pavilions and conerence rooms

suited for a business conference.

Most o our activities were held on site. The Top-Gun

competition was held at the Shelby County S.O. range a

ew miles away. Our in-house instructors Vance Wood,

Matt Weathers and Wendell Fulks created a course that

tested even the best marksmen. They incorporated a ew

new wrinkles that included the assault ries and shotguns.

As usual, the competition ocused mainly on their duty

hand gun. The competitors had to run and shoot in real-

lie stressul situations. Our goal or the competition hasalways been that when it is over there is no doubt who is

Top-Gun or the year. When the smoke had cleared, Marine

Police Ofcer Jeremy Alord (D-5) took home the top honor.

WFFLE Ofcer Jerry Fincher (D-3) placed second and

WFFLE Lt. Chris Lewis (D-4) placed third. At the banquet

on Saturday night Jeremy was given the gun o the year,

a Taurus PT 1911 45. Thanks again to all our Competitors

or making this a great event. Each year it gets bigger and

tougher. We know our Conservation Ofcers can stand up

to any other division when it comes to shooting.

New or 2011 was the Ladies Top-Gun Competition.It really generated some interest. The competition was

limited to Ofcers wives and retired ofcer’s wives. T

ladies shot at the 4-H Center. They shot 22 ries and t

dierent 22 pistols (One with open sights and one withdot sights.) They also shot clays using a 20 gauge shotg

These ladies took this competition seriously. It was real

lot o un. At the banquet Saturday night, Ladies Top-G

was presented to Ginnie Lush. She was the proud win

o a pink 380 Taurus pistol. Sabina Lucas placed seco

and Judy Wadkins placed third. Congratulations ladie

Our key note conference speaker and educator w

Attorney Will Sellers of Balch and Bingham attorn

at law. Will did a great job developing a PowerPo

presentation to show our ofcers methods o establish

partnerships that will help our Association grow. He rehad some great ideas and got us on the right track.

appreciate Will taking the time to help us and we p

to keep him on board for all of our tax issues.

Our conerence ended with steak supper and a lot o d

prizes rom our supporters. ACEOA Directors and St

Ofcers did a great job putting this Conerence togeth

I truly appreciate their hard work. Special thank you

Gayle Morrow or her planning skills in making this con

ence happen. Enjoy the photos because they are the b

description o the great time that was shared by all. So

we’ll be putting next year’s conerence on the calendhope you’ll plan to join us or a un-flled day!



ACEOA 2011 StAtE COnfErEnCE And tOp Gun COmpEtitiOn – continued

ACEOA Magazine




ACEOA Magazine




ACEOA Magazine

Addie Weathers.

Austin Robinson Junior Shotgun Winner.

Barclay Johnson, Jasmine Jaworowski,

Chase Little, & Addie Weathers. Barclay Johnson winner of shooting clays.

Barclay Johnson Chase Little.

Austin Robinson.




ACEOA Magazine

Chase Little ties Addie Weathers for 1st Place.

Jackson and Stephanie Weathers.

Kelly Lucas. Kelly Lucas takes aim.

Jasmine Jaworowski.

Group Effort.




ACEOA Magazine

Lewis and Lewis.

Michael Cox & Zach Lucas.

Sasha Jaworowski. Zach Lucas.

Michael Cox taking aim.

Michael Cox.




ACEOA Magazine

Attorney Will Sellers speaks to ACEOA...



Tornado Disaster Relief



Tornado disasTer relief – continued

ACEOA Magazine

Lt. Nichols assisting with i njured victim of tornado damage.

Lt. Nichols with young victim of tornado damage.




ACEOA Magazine

continued on 43




ACEOA Magazine



Beyond The BasicsBy Gayle Morrow, Editor

T he Alabama Conservation Ofcer is a government

employee assigned to management o reshwater

fsh, wildlie, marine resources, waterway saety,

state lands, and state parks. Conservation ocers are

certied at the state level as peace ocers. To ensure

that wildlie is being protected, conservation ofcers have

a number o basic duties that they must ulll. These

include but are not limited to Law Enorcement, licensing,

patrolling, investigating and education.Most people do not realize that our ofcers oten go

beyond the basics in their everyday duties. Because o

their training in law enorcement, their broad knowledge

o Alabama land and waterways and their experience in

search and rescue, they are called upon when disaster

strikes. They were there in the atermath o Hurricane Ivan.

They were there ater Hurricane Katrina. When the Gul Oil

Spill devastated the Gul

Coast, your Alabama

Conservation Ocers

were there. They areyour unsung heroes.

They have stories to tell

that you won’t read in

the newspaper or see

on the nightly news. They just quietly do their jobs a

walk away.

Tornadoes swept through Alabama during the sprin

2011.The April 27th sweep will go down in history as

o the most deadly systems not only in Alabama, but in

entire nation. Not only was the April 27th event hist

in the number o tornadoes that day, more than 50, it w

also historic in the magnitude, intensity and path lengt

several tornadoes. According to news reports, 243 lives wlost in Alabama due to the April 27th tornadoes. Alaba

Ofcers responded to areas throughout Alabama. We d

have reports rom all fve divisions but we know that

in the division o Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries acco

ing to Assistant Chie, Kevin Dodd, the disaster respo

involved 114 Division employees o which 95 were CEO

The response work spanned April 27 to May 31 prima

in 14 aected count

Division expenditu

in travel and overt

payments exceede440,000.

This issue o A

will tell some o th

stories.

9 8

14

26

25 2

9

4

21

43

1

6

6

1

15

9

5

35

4

JACKSONLIMESTONE MADISON

FRANKLIN

LAWRENCE

MARION

MARSHALL

DEKALB

CULLMAN

WALKER

FAYETTE

JEFFERSON

CALHOUN

ST.

CLAIR

TUSCALOOSA

BIBB

HALE

TALLAPOOSA

ELMORE

243 TORNADO DEATHSNumber of deaths in each county from April 27th tornadoes.

NEWS STAFF



Beyond The Basics – continued

ACEOA Magazine




ACEOA Magazine

Alabama TornadosBy CEO Jerry L. Fincher

T he possibility o experiencing a violent thunderstorm

or even a tornado is part o the price we pay to live

in Alabama. The countless storm pits which dot

back yards across our state stand as constant reminders

o Mother Nature’s dark side. Usually these events are

short-lived, result in little or no damage, and lie quickly

returns to normal. Every now and then, however, mother-

nature kicks it up a notch. On March 21, 1932 a series

o tornadoes hit Central Alabama killing 268 people and

leaving 1850 injured. In a sinister twist o ate, one w

later, on Easter Sunday, a unnel cloud hit the same a

killing eight and injuring ty. I personally remem

taking reuge in a church basement in Shelby Cou

as our state was hit hard by the super outbreak o A

3-4, 1974. This event produced 148 tornadoes and ki

over 700 people across seven states; in Alabama alo

86 people were killed and 949 injured. But, unless y

were alive in 1932, you have never witnessed a tornoutbreak to rival the one we experien

on April 27th o this year. On that terr

day, the state o Alabama was ravaged

21 tornadoes, many o them extremely v

lent, long-track tornadoes which let pa

o death and destruction in their wake.

o May 09, 2011, the National Oceanic a

Atmospheric Administration reported t

during the 24-hour-period between 8

a.m. April 27th and 8:00 a.m. April 28

there were 312 tornadoes that touched doacross the country. These storms resul

in 309 atalities, 236 o those in Alabam

As I stated earlier, most tornadoes

Alabama are small and stay on the ground

short distances. However, there was noth

normal about the tornadoes o April 27

These were monsters which created th

own rules. The tornado which hit Hackleb

and Phil-Campbell was an EF5 which sta

on the ground or 132 miles leaving a p

o destruction 1.25 miles wide. The EF4 tnado which hit the Tuscaloosa/Birmingh

area cut a path o destruction 80 miles lo

and reached a maximum width o 1.5 mi

While not always on the ground, this sto

produced a tornado rom the Mississippi

to the Carolinas.

The April 27th tornado outbreak w

special in another regard as well; ne

continued onOfficer Kevin Holsonback with the tub in which h e took refuge.




ACEOA Magazine

beore have we in Alabama been able to view tornados

as we did on that day. In Alabama, the terrain, trees,

and atmospheric conditions usually make it impossibleto see tornadoes, much less lm them. On April 27th,

however, things were dierent. The atmospheric condi-

tions were such that they were not totally rain-wrapped,

and numerous remote-video sites made it possible or us

to view these killers live as they destroyed our state. I

watched with a sense o ear and ascination the surreal

images that flled my television screen as frst Cullman,

then Tuscaloosa, and fnally Birmingham were torn apart.

Eventually, day gave way to night, eectively ending the

live news coverage but not the destruction.

The ollowing day brought scenes o unbelievabledamage, counts o the dead and injured, and numerous

cries or assistance. The television news crews circled

the disasters in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham report

on the totality o the destruction as well as the horr

o individual tragedies. I can still see the aces and hthe cries o people attempting to return to their hom

in order to search the debris or their riends, neighbo

and amily members. Our local anchor man became

emotional that he had to walk o the set.

Governor Bentley moved switly to activate the Natio

Guard. The Alabama Department o Conservation a

Natural Resources was also activated and its oc

deployed across North Alabama rom Tallapoosa Cou

to the Tennessee line. DeKalb County was hit hard by

EF4 tornado that ran through Rainsville, Sylvania,

Ridge, and Henagar to name a ew o the neighborhoand municipalities destroyed. At least 36 people lost th

continued on

Conservation Enforcement Officer Kevin Holsonback standing at the remains of hi s parent’s home.




ACEOA Magazine

lives in this storm and over 200 were injured. A temporary

morgue was set up in the Rainsville Fire Department,

and local law enorcement was overwhelmed as theyworked to help the injured, recover the dead, and secure

the area while dealing with their own personal losses.

Twenty-one ofcers rom State Lands and the Wildlie and

Law Enorcement Sections o the Wildlie and reshwater

Fisheries Division were deployed to DeKalb County. The

Alabama Marine Police Divisions deployed another 12

ofcers to the area.

All ocers deployed to the area worked under the

supervision o the DeKalb County Sheri’s Ofce and were

dispatched rom a central command center in Rainsville.

We worked two twelve hour shits each day until Friday,May 20th when the detail was dismissed. Our ocial

duties included assisting local agencies with routine calls,

using state trucks to distribute much needed supplies, and

patrolling or looters. Our unofcial duties included

everything rom catching chickens to building

temporary shelters or those let homeless

by the storm.

I would like to report that we did not

encounter any looting, but there are

always those who seek to proft rom

the misortune o other people. Atfrst, the ear o looting and the lack

o electrical power created uneasi-

ness across the county, resulting

in every bump in the night being a

prowler. As a result, the frst ew nights

o the detail were spent responding to

one prowler call ater another. Most were

nothing, but a ew resulted in shots being fred

by homeowners. The ear o looting quickly dissipated

as the power was restored and the people realized the

overwhelming law enorcement presence in the area.As shock and disbelie gave was to the reality that lie

goes on, many residents simply needed someone to listen

to their stories, and what stories they were. As you might

suspect, some were stories o death and destruction,

but many were stories o miraculous intervention. Time

ater time I stopped at homes with only one wall let

standing and listened as survivors stated that they were

gathered behind that wall praying. I personally spoke to

two individuals who ound babies in perect condition

which had been blown unbelievable distances rom hom

where everyone else perished.

One miraculous story o survival involved one o own, Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries Enorcem

Ofcer Kevin Holsonback. Kevin and a riend had gon

his parent’s home to check on the amily dog. Upon he

ing the warning sirens, they looked out to see the torn

bearing down on them. Not having a basement or a sto

shelter, the two men took reuge in the bathtub. Fee

sure that they would not survive, Kevin and his rie

said goodbye to each other. Seconds later, both men w

outside the home in the debris feld let by the torna

Ofcer Holsonback was even able to use his cell pho

to take a photo o the tornado which had just destrohis parent’s home and killed nine o his neighbors. T

only thing let o the home was the slab where the gar

had been and the concrete ront porch. Miraculously, b

men escaped with only minor injuries.

While it is unlikely that the news cre

will report on this aspect o the stor

to me at least, the greatest story aris

rom that April day is the story o

people themselves. Every day o

lives we are bombarded with

negative side o humanity. The meconstantly reminds us o the corr

tion and divisions among us. T

tend to ocus on all that is wro

with our society and our world,

there is a lot o good let. In act, i

take the time to look, it is always the

A tragedy o this size simply magnifes i

the point where even the most skeptical am

us must admit its existence. I ound a shining exam

o this good in a man named James Johnson. James

resident o Tennessee and a carpenter by trade. In spo recently losing his business and just about everyth

he owned, he headed south, stopping to help the torn

victims and reusing to take any money or his labo

asked him what he planned to do. He said, “I plan to h

as many people as I can until my money runs out. G

has blessed me or many years, and I simply want to

a blessing to someone else.”

Many times I would pull to the side o a road wh

continued on




ACEOA Magazine

people were working to clean up the debris and salvage

anything they could rom what used to be their homes.

I would ask them i they needed anything. A ew othem would hurry to the truck to see what was there,

but most would just say, “No, give that to someone

who needs it more than we do.” I would look around

to see what they needed, which was usually

everything, and leave them whatever I had

on the truck. Another thing I could not

help but notice was the numerous

American fags standing atop the

piles o debris, testaments to the

patriotism o these individuals.

I was also impressed with theDeKalb County Sheri, Jimmy

Harris. He was genuinely appre-

ciative o the department’s eorts

and showed a servants heart, work-

ing hands-on every day to make sure

everyone received what they needed. Once,

when we had gathered to eat, Sheri Harris was

asked to give thanks. He didn’t recite a thirty second

memorized blessing. He prayed a heart-elt prayer or his

ocers and his community, revealing qualities seldom

seen in our politically-correct world. I witnessed teamso volunteers rom as ar away as Virginia, Indiana, and

Pennsylvania giving o their time and talents to help in

whatever way they could. Even people rom areas with

their own destruction such as Huntsville were there to

volunteer. I listened as a man who had lost his own home

consoled a neighbor who was questioning why God would

let such a thing happen. He said, “God didn’t promise us

that we wouldn’t experience tragedy, but he did say that

he wouldn’t let us go through it alone.”

The churches in the area were particularly hard hit.

However, the ones that survived the storm were quickly

transormed into supply outposts. The ladies rom

Mount Olive Baptist Church cooked day and night

everyone in the community. People emptied their persoreezers and brought the ood to the church. Civic or

nizations and other churches cooked ood and brou

it to Mount Olive or serving. Along with some o

best home cooking I have ever tasted, the lad

o the church served up heaping load

moral support. The church became

hub o the community, a place wh

both the body and the soul were

I met a man in Sylvania who

everything he owned blown awa

listened as he stood near the rubo his ormer home and told

that once he could see 23 hou

rom his ront porch. None o th

survived, including the home wh

his mother lived. When I asked i

would rebuild, he said, “No, I’m araid th

could never orget the images o my neighbo

Many o them were recovered rom his ront yard. I la

learned that this man donated ve hundred dollars to

church or supplies.

I didn’t get to go to all the places hit by the A27th tornadoes. Ocers in other areas may have h

a completely dierent experience. I have been told t

there was signicant looting in some areas. Howev

I can’t help but believe that most Alabamians are

the ones I encountered on Sand Mountain: a strong

independent people o aith, a people with a sense o p

in their communities and their country, a people wit

genuine concern or their neighbors, a people who

not araid to roll up their sleeves and work to solve th

own problems, and it makes me proud to say that I

in Alabama.




ACEOA Magazine




ACEOA Magazine

District III Tuscaloosa Tornado Deploymentby Captain Dennis Sanford

On the aternoon o April 27, 2011, ater the deadly

tornado out break in Alabama, personnel rom

the District III Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries

Division assisted the local agencies in their aected

counties in rescue operations and road clearings. On the

evening o April 27, 2011, CEO Jarrod Poole and Marine

Police Ocer Freddie Ingram responded to the Crescent

Ridge Road and Alberta City areas o Tuscaloosa County

and assisted in the rescue o numerous citizens romthe devastated areas. These ocers assisted in going

rom one collapsed home ater another, pulling survivors

rom the debris. This went on into the early hours o

April 28, 2011.

On April 28th and 29th, 2011, personnel rom the Wildlie

and Freshwater Fisheries Division District III joined ofcers

rom the Alabama State Troopers, Marine Police and the

State Lands Division working with the Region 8 Disaster

Response Team. These ofcers conducted searches and

provided security in the tornado devastated area o

Crescent Ridge Road in Tuscaloosa County.The District III Captain, Lieutenant, two Sergeants, 12

CEO’s, and one Lands Ofcer provided services during

this two day period. These personnel worked 12 h

shits in assisting with tornado rescue and security dut

On April 29, 2011, Wildlie and Freshwater Fishe

personnel along with one State Lands Ofcer were re

cated to assist the Tuscaloosa Police Department thro

their Central Incident Command Center. Wildlie a

Freshwater Fisheries Ofcers were joined by many ot

agencies along with the military in their eorts. Th

ofcers used their assigned our wheel drive vehicles ATV’s to provide rescue, recovery and security du

in the Alberta City, Forest Lake and Rosedale areas

Tuscaloosa. Thirty ofcers rom District III, District

and District V were divided and assigned to the Albe

City Command Post, Forest Lake Command Post a

the Rosedale Community Command Post. These ofc

worked 12 hour shits and provided services through M

10, 2011, when they returned to normal duties.

Equipment rom the Wildlie and Freshwater Fishe

Division (our wheel drive pickups, ATV’s, etc.) w

essential in rescue and security operations due to limaccess and impassable roads that were blocked by dow

trees and debris.

(Front row) Officer Ji m Daugherty, Officer Dwight Thrasher, and Officer Brad Gavins.

(Back row) Officer Kevin Hill, Sergeant Jimmy Postma, Officer Danie l Boutwell, Officer Dan Quincey,

Sergeant Aurora Thomas, Officer Jarrod Poole, and State Lands Of ficer Josh Landrum.



Dove Seasonby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

W ith the opening o dove season only a ew weeks

away, Alabama’s wingshooters are shiting their

attention to the onset o the all hunting season

instead o the oppressive August heat.

For those who have prepared a standing crop or dove

hunting, there should be little concern about the dove

hunting regulations.

A good many dove hunters have

enhanced their chances o a successuldove hunt by planting crops that attract

doves, which is the best way to avoid any

enorcement interpretations.

“Hunting doves over a standing crop

is and always has been legal,” said Allan

Andress, Chie o the Alabama Wildlie

and Freshwater Fisheries Division’s

Enorcement Section. “So i you plant millet

or some other small grain, you can hunt

over the standing crop. You can also hunt

over the harvesting o that grain. Withdoves, you can also hunt over manipula-

tion o that crop. You can mow it, burn it,

trample it down. About the only way you

can go wrong is i you harvest it, haul it

away and then bring it back.”

Andress also said it is legal to hunt over

other normal agricultural practices, such as

small grain plantings, as long as the feld

is planted according to the governing agri-

cultural authority, which in our state is the

Alabama Cooperative Extension System.“Most small grain plantings, according

to the Extension System, not only require a well-prepared

seed bed and broadcasting or drilling into the soil, but

also covering the seed through culti-packing, disking or

raking or something o that nature,” he said. “The only

exception to that is one that is commonly used in the all,

and that is top-sowing o wheat. Not just any top-sowing

o wheat is legal. It has to ollow certain guidelines. On

or ater certain dates, the Extension System recognizes

that top-sown wheat is a bona fde planting prac

under conditions where there is good seed bed prepa

tion and the ground is not excessively hard. It must

seeded evenly within a seeding range o no more th

200 pounds per acre. So under certain conditions, d

hunting over top-sown wheat is legal.”

The Cooperative Extension System breaks Alabama

three distinct planting zones– not to be conused w

the hunting zones – that determine when the top-sow

o wheat is an acceptable planting practice. The earl

recommended planting date or top-sown wheat in

North Zone is Aug. 25, while the date or the Central Z

is Sept. 1, and Sept. 15 or the South Zone.

continued on

Dove hunters in Alabama’s North Zone are only weeks away from the

opening day of the first season, which runs Sept. 3 through Oct. 2.

The South Zone opens October, 1, 2011.



Dove SeaSon – continued

ACEOA Magazine

See http://www.aces.edu/timelyinfo/ForestryWildlife/2004/

September/Dove_Mgt_in_AL_legal_issues.pdfor specic details.

Last year, a dierence o opinion on the legality ohunting over top-sown wheat between a U.S. Fish and

Wildlie Service Agent and the WFF Division caused two

youth dove hunts to be canceled.

To ensure the Alabama Department o Conservation

and Natural Resources had a correct interpretation o the

U.S. Fish and Wildlie (USFWS) regulations, WFF Director

Corky Pugh asked Fish and Wildlie or a clarifcation o

the regulations regarding “intent.”

“The regulations have not changed,” Pugh said ater

receiving the reply rom USFWS ofcials. “I a feld is

planted according to the Cooperative Extension Systemguidelines, the determination o ‘intent’ is not relevant.”

Specifcally, the USFWS letter read: “With respect to

the ‘intent o planting,’ this guidance stated that ‘or the

hunting o all migratory game birds, no distinction will be

made between agricultural elds planted with the intent to

harvest and those planted without the intent to harvest,

as long as the planting is in accordance with the ofcial

recommendations o the U.S. Department o Agriculture

(USDA) Cooperative Extension Service.’ This guidance

was re-issued in December 2010 as a Chie’s Directive.”

“As ar as planting aspects, some o the more commonmistakes, one is they will plant it too early,” Andress said

o top-sown wheat. “They will distribute it on ground

that’s not suitable, such as broadcasting on a hard-packed

soil or distributing it in a grass-covered pasture where the

soil would not be receptive to the seed. Sometimes we see

problems when the seed is not distributed with a spreader.

They might be put out by hand or by bucket or the back o

a pickup truck. The seed has to be uniormly distributed.

“Another thing is multiple seeding. The Extension

System does not recommend more than one seeding.

Thereore, i the feld is seeded more than once, it wouldmake the feld illegal to hunt doves over. Again, there’s

almost no way to get o track with a standing crop i you

manipulate it there and never take the grain away rom

the feld where it was grown.”

Andress said the USFWS policy that was confrmed

was implemented in the year 2000.

“When you get right down to it, nothing has changed,”

he said. “We’ve had the same rules and regulations or

a number o years. Last year, it got down to a highly

subjective call rom one ofcer on one feld.”

With the clarifcation rom USFWS, Andress s

Alabama’s dove hunters can proceed with their normdove eld preparation, as long as it abides by the guida

rom the Cooperative Extension System.

“In layman’s terms, i you’re planting or dove hu

ing, you do not have to conceal that act,” Andress sa

“That act will not be held against you. You don’t hav

claim you’re doing it or some other agricultural purpo

That’s the principle we have operated under since 20

“That was one o the issues raised on the elds prepa

or youth dove hunts last year. But we have afrmat

that intent is not a actor that should be considered.

considered the elds to be well within accepted toleranor normal agricultural practices. The Fish and Wild

agent diered with us, and rather than subjecting o

selves, our guests and cooperators on the elds to con

with the U.S. Fish and Wildlie Service, we suspended

hunts until those matters could be determined.”

Now that the “intent” issue has been resolved, Andr

encourages Alabama’s wingshooters to enjoy a s

successul hunt and to be sure and ollow the other ru

and regulations regarding hunting doves.

“This was a situation on only a couple o particu

felds and the average hunter should not be overly ccerned,” he said. “I would recommend they continue

ollow the rules like they have or the last 11 years a

enjoy a good hunt.”

Dove hunters also need to remember that shotg

must be capable o holding only three shells; hunt

licenses are required or anyone 16 or older or under

all dove hunters must have a HIP permit; hunters m

have landowner permission to hunt; and no huntin

allowed within 100 yards o a residence without perm

sion o the owner. The daily bag limit is 15 in both zon

The seasons or the North Zone are: Sept. 3-Oct. 2, O22-Nov. 5 and Dec. 10-Jan. 3. The South Zone seaso

are: Oct. 1-Oct. 30, Nov. 24-Nov. 27 and Dec. 3-Jan.

Visit http://www.eregulations.com/alabama to v

or download the Alabama Hunting & Fishing Digest

a complete guide to hunting and fshing regulations.

Be sure to catch the next episode o “Outdoor Alaba

Live,” which will include questions and answers on do

and dove hunting. Watch at www.outdooralabama.c

webcast on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m.



U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Host Youth Catfish Rodeosby Kelli Little

I n June, the U.S. Army Corps o Engineers, Alabama

River Lakes Project, hosted two Annual Youth Catfsh

Rodeos. One was held at a Corps o Engineers pond

in Millers Ferry and one was held at a Lowndes Wildlie

Management Area Pond. The fshing rodeos are ree and

get great participation from local youth. There wereapproximately 100 kids (under 16) at each rodeo. This

year the ACEOA gave away two lietime fshing license at

each event. Kayleigh Hunter (age 4), Kamilah Robinson

(age 6) were the big winners. These fshing rodeos are

a great way to promote outdoor recreation. The ACEOA

will also be giving away a lietime hunting license at a

Youth Dove Hunt in Lowndes County. The hunt will be

held in September and sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps

o Engineers and the Alabama Department o Wildlie and

Freshwater Fisheries. l Miller’s Ferry Winners with Officer Dan Quincey.

Lowndes winners with

Ranger John Williams.



Back in the Dayby Conservation Ofcer Dick Mowbray

I ’m not the oldest game warden in the state, but I have

been on the job longer than any other ocer we have

now. Back in 1971, the Department o Conservation

promised the state legislature that i the department

was given hunting and shing license

increases it would put two game war-

dens in each county and maintain them.

The legislature listened and passed the

license increase. The department hiredover orty new ocers.

On February 16th, 1972, Captain

Dan Ward and Lt. Lynn picked me up

in Hartord, AL, at about 6 AM, and

we rode to Montgomery where I was

sworn in. All I was issued was a pair

o green boots, a snake bite kit, thirty

credit cards (fteen or my car and

fteen or a boat), and a new 1972

Ford Crown Vic. The department had

hired the ocers beore they had anyequipment or them. I was not issued a

uniorm, a pistol, handcus, or even a

state radio. The car had a 429 engine, no air-conditioning,

no FM radio, no blue lights, and no siren, but boy would

it go! All the vehicles were ordered with clear windshields

(so you could see better while driving at night without

headlights on) and Naugahyde (vinyl coated abric) seats

(which would burn your hiney up in the summer time).

Since I did not have a uniorm, several other ocers elt

sorry or me and gave me a couple o shirts, but I still

did not have any pants. I wore blue jeans or the rst twomonths. I did not have a state issued pistol, so I wore

my 22 cal. high standard 9-shot revolver with a brown

tie-down, quick-draw holster. My rst issued pistol was

a used .38 police special. Since we didn’t have FM radios

in our vehicles, most ocers added an FM converter. My

rst emergency equipment was a small tear-drop shaped

blue light and a oot operated siren located above the

dimmer switch. Back then, we put cut-o switches on

our break, tail, and back-up lights to help us catch the

night hunters. In 1972, George Wallace was Govern

Claude D. Kelly was our commissioner, Charles Kelly w

our director, and Major Ed Farish was in charge o

enorcement. The Department o Conservation and Natu

Resources had recently separated r

what is now the Forestry Commiss

and all the Conservation ocers vo

to become ull State Law Enorcem

Ocers. None o the new ocers had any training, and there was

even a police academy.

My starting salary was $253

bi-weekly (now it is more than

times that). There was no such th

as a orty-hour work week. Back th

during hunting season, it was comm

to work 80 to 90 hours per week.

got one day a week o, no weeke

o, and we worked every Christm

New Years, Fourth o July, and LaDay. We stayed away rom our hom

year-round rom sunrise until a

sunset. All ocers drove cars, and there was only o

4-wheel drive bronco per district. Because I had no ra

I was given a walkie-talkie and was told to cut it on ev

hour, on the hour, so my supervisor could get up with

Most game wardens, then, were accused o being w

ing to give their own mother a ticket. A lot o us wo

have, because we were all threatened by a law (Title

Section 80), that said it was a ty dollar ne or any ga

warden who ailed to enorce the game and shing laSince we lived out o our cars, all ofcers carrie

box o ood with them. There were no McDonalds

Hardees in the rural counties. We ate c-rations that

scrounged rom the National Guard, and you were

considered a real game warden unless you carried a P

(small military can opener). During the mid-seven

Chester’s Chicken came out in selected service statio

This was a great change rom potted meat or sardi

continued on

Dick Mowbray



Back in the Day – continued

ACEOA Magazine

and crackers. Later, someone invented a microwave oven

and Stewart sandwiches came along. You couldn’t get

any ood rom a gas station at night, though, becausethey all closed at 6pm. There was even a period when

gas stations couldn’t open on Sundays. Over the years,

the department slowly changed, and now we have some

o the best equipment available to law enorcement. Our

vehicles are now 4-wheel drive trucks which not only have

FM radios, but also cassette players, cloth seats, power

windows and door locks, light bars and sirens, two radios,

and a Southern Linc cell phone. We are also issued an

AR-15 Rife and a 20 ga. pump shotgun. Thirty years ago

we urnished our own handcus, billy clubs, fashlights,

batteries, jumper cables, tow chains, and all other eldequipment. We have come rom a plain old 38 pistol on

our gun belt, to a semi-automatic 40 cal. Glock. Today

we have handcus, pepper spray, a baton, a fashlight,

and even extra ammo, all urnished by the departme

Our equipment and training are unmatched by any ot

law enorcement agency in the state.The job has changed a great deal over the last o

years. The ocers now are smarter, saer, and able

spend time with their amilies. Wildlie populations h

increased more than anyone could have imagine

worked teen years beore I saw my rst wild turke

Geneva County, and three years beore I saw my rst

deer. Educating the public, good law enorcement,

sound wildlie management have made people realize t

Alabama’s wildlie program is one o the best in the Nat

Yep, over the years, the job has changed tremendou

but it has changed or the better. I enjoy my job nojust as much as I did 39 years ago. I have always sai

I had two bad days in a row, I will quit; but that has

happened yet.



Butler County

Youth Fishing Day 2011by Don Reaves

T he Butler County Youth

Fishing Day was held on

June 11, 2011 at the American

Legion pond in Greenville, AL.

Thirty-six kids, ages 5 thru 12,

participated in this year’s event.The pond had a section netted o,

thanks to the Fisheries Section

rom the Spanish Fort oice.

The journey was long or those

men, but they were glad to assist.

We were very thankul or their

assistance. The netted o area

was stocked with approximately

800 pounds o catfsh that was

purchased rom Sutton’s Fish Farm

in Clio, Alabama.The kids were pre-registered through the Butler County

Sheri’s Oce. Ater a brie saety talk they started catch-

ing some good ole catsh. The Greenville Jaycees provi

volunteers to prepare grilled hot dogs and hamburgers

everyone. The cooking was d

while ofcers rom the Alaba

Department o Wildlie a

Freshwater Fisheries, volunte

rom the Sheri’s Department,

the American Legion assisted k

with their fshing adventure.

Ater about three hours o st

bait and scorching temperatueveryone was ready or some c

air and good ood. The Ameri

Legion building was just the ri

place to fnd both. Every kid w

given a rafe ticket at the beginn

o the event to hold on to or d

prize drawings at lunch. Tha

to our sponsor’s generosity,

continued on

Cody Hallford (of Greenville), winner of lifetime fishing lice nse.

Group of door prize winners.



Butler County youth Fishing Day 2011 – continued

ACEOA Magazine

were able to give away eight Zebco rod and reel combos,

a Shakespeare combo, several cricket cages and a grand

prize o a lietime fshing license.This year’s sponsors were the Alabama Conservation

Enorcement Ocer Association, the Greenville Jaycees,

Butler County Sheri’s Department, Fred’s o Greenv

the American Legion and the Department o Wildlie aFreshwater Fisheries.



A-Team Fishingby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

C apt. Bobby Abruscato pushed the throttle orward

as he maneuvered the 24-oot bay boat between

pilings o the Dauphin Island Bridge and headed to

the grass beds at the west end o the island with speckled

trout on his mind.

This trip was more o a rarity than the norm or 2011.

The two anglers on board – me and Bobby Cleveland,

outdoors editor o the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-

Ledger – have been fshing with the inshore guideor more years than we’d really care to admit.

Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disas-

ter, Abruscato and his ellow A-Team Fishing

Adventures captains have welcomed a majority

o new customers onto their boats because o the

stigma o the oil spill.

“I’d say we have about 75 percent new busi-

ness,” Abruscato said. “The old customers who

are coming back are the locals who know the

fsh are sae to eat and have fshed with us or

years. The people we lost are the ones who werecoming down here to vacation. They were coming

down or a week and would fsh with us a day or

two during the trip. Those are the people I’m not

hearing back rom right now.”

That perception that oil has tainted the entire

Gul Coast caused the A-Team captains to change

the way they do business – they went looking or it.

“This is the frst year since I’ve been guiding that we’ve

done any advertising,” Abruscato said. “With word o

mouth, outdoor writers and the radio shows and stu

we’ve been doing, we haven’t needed to advertise. But wedidn’t know i the business was going to come back. We

were talking late last summer and in the all and we didn’t

want to be sitting around this May wondering whether

this business was going to come back. There was a big

question mark as to whether it was going to come back.”

So Abruscato and his ellow captains – Chip Deupree

and brother Joey Abruscato – had 15,000 business cards

printed and started distribution.

“We went everywhere that would let us put cards out

– anywhere that looked like they might have clientele t

could be potential fshermen,” Abruscato said. “We

never done that beore. We took out an ad in Great D

Outdoors (magazine) and we did some online advertis

I’d say the combination o the three got us some busine

The A-Team had been sailing along with as mu

business as it could handle in 2009 and the booki

or 2010 were on par with 2009 when the extent o

Deepwater Horizon tragedy was realized.

“The word that we were going have this oil ‘thing,’

word really didn’t get around until early May,” Abruscsaid. “The explosion where the guys lost their lives w

terrible, but it was a couple o weeks ater the rig b

up that everybody realized – we’ve got this rig 5,0

eet under the surace and they don’t know how to c

it. So that’s when it started. People started calling a

cancelling trips. We went rom our best year in ’09

our worst year in 2010.

“They shut down Mississippi Sound the third wee

continued on

Bobby Abruscato, inshore fishing guide on the Alabama Gulf Coa

sails a plug across a grass bed on the west e nd of Dauphin Island

in the dawn’s early light.



A-TeAm Fishing – continued

ACEOA Magazine

May. There was one opening in Grand Bay to get in and

out. Luckily, all the boom wasn’t necessary, but it sure

did make it difcult or us trying to fsh. The closure wasthe big thing. Then it got crazy. I even had some people

rom Birmingham this spring and we caught a nice redfsh.

We held it up, took pictures and I

released it. They said, ‘Why did

you do that? Oh, I know, it’s the

oil.’ I said, ‘No, it has nothing to

do with the oil. We just don’t kill

redfsh.’ So that shows you that one

year later, we’ve even got people

rom Birmingham who think we

still have a problem with the oil.People ask i it’s sae to eat the fsh

all the time, all the time. We never

stopped eating the seaood. We

had the best fsh ries we’ve ever

had last year.”

Although Abruscato says he

can’t completely relax because

marine scientists aren’t sure when

the ull extent o environmental

damage will be evident, he does

realize there are several positiveaspects o the spill

“The good thing is that NOBODY

was fshing,” he said. “With the

closures and all the charter captains running VOO (Vessels

o Opportunity) boats, all the commercial guys and rec-

reational guys weren’t fshing. For species like speckled

trout, that are prolifc, these fsh just blossomed. The

population just explodes. Just one year o pressure o

o that is going to be a good thing.

“The other thing is there is going to be some money

available or coastal restoration. Whether that gets spentcorrectly is the key. We need public water access. Our

ramp situation in Alabama is ridiculous. You can’t launch

a boat on the east end o Dauphin Island on a busy

weekend. Billy Goat Hole is basically the only ramp in

Mobile County that’s on Mobile Bay. The other thing is

fsheries monitoring. There should be money available to

get a better handle on what’s going on with our fsheries.”

As ar as negatives, and he admits they are big nega-

tives, Abruscato said 11 people lost their lives on the rig

and a charter boat captain (Allen Kruse, captain o

Rookie) committed suicide because o it.

“There are people who are being aected a lot wothan me – the people actually supplying seaood

eat,” Abruscato said. “I that perception (as unsae

consumption) is not correct

then you’re going to see peo

lose something they’ve done th

whole lives.”

Abruscato is optimistic t

the darkest days are in the p

although he realizes it took act

to get the recovery started.

“I eel better, but I think i had sat on our hands and wai

or that business we lost in 201

come back, we’d probably be do

50 to 70 percent probably still,”

said. “I we hadn’t done what

did to go out and generate busin

we wouldn’t be anywhere close

where we are. We’re still not b

to 2009 and the bookings we ha

the start o 2010, but we can k

chugging along with three guidOutstanding inshore ish

doesn’t hurt, either. During

hal-day trip, we caught speck

trout and loaded the cooler with white trout. We a

caught and released 10 slot redfsh.

“The fshing is abulous,” Abruscato said. “Just like

trip, we just kind o winged it. We went to places wh

I haven’t even been guiding. We just went there beca

we wanted to try some dierent things and we cau

fsh. It was the day beore a neap tide with very little t

movement and it was windy. That’s the way it’s been –where you need to go and catch fsh. And it hasn’t alw

been like that in Alabama.”

The one thing Abruscato, above all else, said tha

has learned rom the oil spill disaster is gratitude.

“I’ll never complain about having to get up at 3:30

get ready or a guide trip ever again.”

Visit www.ateamfshing.com or call (251) 661-7696

more inormation about an inshore fshing excursion

the Alabama Gul Coast.

Abruscato shows off a nice redfish that fell for

a live shrimp under a poppin g cork.

P

H O T O B

Y D A V I D

R A I N E R



Blue Springs Fishing Event

Kicks Off The Summerby Ken White

“T he great thing about the youth

fshing event held here at the park

is it has become a tradition and

now serves to kick-o the Memorial Day

weekend and our summer camping season,”

noted Blue Springs State Park manager, TerryCarter. Backing that statement up was Phillip

and Jennier Carlson o Anniston, AL who

was fshing the event and camping at Blue

Springs or their frst ever visit with their three

daughters. “We were looking or a dierent

place to camp on Memorial Day weekend and

ound this event listed on the www.alapark.

com website. We try to go to the dierent

state parks on Memorial Day and this one

looked as i it would be interesting so here

we are,” stated Phillip Carlson as he baitedanother line or one o the several rods they

were using.

What is this event they keep reerring? It

is none other than the annual Blue Springs Youth Fishing

Rodeo, which takes place the Saturday o Memorial Day

weekend. Begun ourteen years ago this Memorial D

weekend by conservation enorcement ofcer Mike He

o the Alabama Department o Conservat

and Natural Resources-Wildlie and Freshwa

Fisheries Division, this event has grown int

major morning o outdoor un and catfshing

youth rom a wide surrounding area.

The basic model o this and the other yofshing events held within District IV is simp

Break the entrants into three dierent age d

sions to keep the competition on a level play

feld, close out the weigh-in with a lunch o

dogs, chips and sodas, add an awards presen

tion and then give away a lot o door prizes v

drawing o registration tickets and you have

recipe or a successul youth fshing event. It a

continued on

Phillip and Jennifer Carlson and Family of Alabaster, AL found out abothe event on www.alaparks.com website when looking for

a different place to visit and camp.

Corks are in the water and the fish a re biting.



Blue SpringS FiShing event KicKS OFF the Summer – continued

ACEOA Magazine

helps to have a great venue such as Blue

Springs State Park and a perect little pond

ull o catfsh just waiting or a chunk ochicken liver, red worms or “home-made

catfsh bait” to be delivered or breakast.

Such is the case at the Blue Springs

Youth Fishing Rodeo and 142 entrants

registered or this year’s event. Registration

opens at 7:00AM and the fshing competi-

tion begins at 8:00. The anglers get to fsh

or two hours to try and catch their seven

catfsh limit. To make the fshing and the

competition air and un, once an angler

catches his or her limit they are requiredto stop fshing and weigh-in so others will

have a better chance o catching their limit.

The fshing comes to a close at 10:00AM

or fnal weigh-in and determination o

the winners. A lunch o hot dogs, chips

and sodas takes place as the winners are tallied and is

ollowed by the award presentations. Once the age-group

and special awards are made the morning’s event closes

with a drawing o registration tickets or door prizes. All

anglers leave with a memento o the morning and usually

catfsh to eat or supper, that is, once the cleaning is done.The winners o this year’s event are as ollows:

0–6 Years: 1st C.J. Morris 12 lbs. 11 oz. Bike

2nd Hunter Price 9 lbs. 13 oz. Rod/Reel

3rd Serenity Riffle 9 lbs. 08 oz. Tackle Box

7–9 Years: 1st Christian Brown 11 lbs. 02 oz. Bike

2nd Westin Walker 10 lbs. 13 oz. Rod/Reel

3rd Faith Brown 6 lbs. 14 oz. Tackle Box

10–13 Years: 1st Antonia Toney 12 lbs. 14 oz. Bike

2nd Cassandra Gifford 12 lbs. 03 oz. Rod/Reel3rd Levi Burkes 11 lbs. 10 oz. Tackle Bag

Big Fish: Daniel Williams 4 lbs. 01 oz. Rod/Reel

Little Fish: Jordan Johnson 01.2 oz. Rod/Reel

It takes a lot o hard work and planning to put together

an event o this nature and it takes good people to lend a

helping hand. Assisting conservation enorcement ofcer

Mike Heath were ofcers Larry Doster, Jerry Jinwright,

Sgt. Aurora Thomas, Lt. Chris Lewis, Blue Springs State

Park manager Terry Carter and park assistant M

Jernigan. Handling the cooking chores was volunt

Jimmy Priest assisted by several local volunteers a

parents. Sponsors make this event a hit with the yo

as well, as they provide or the various items requi

or the luncheon and or the awards presented. Withthe substantial assistance o organizations such as

Alabama Conservation Enorcement Ofcers Associatio

Sgt. Aurora Thomas and volunteers get the prizes sorted out

for the door prize drawings.

Winners of AGES 7-9 (l-r) Westin Walker-2nd Place;

Christian Brown-1st Place; Faith Brown-3rd Place.

continued on



Blue SpringS FiShing event KicKS OFF the Summer – continued

ACEOA Magazine

would be much harder to have such a large and success-

ul event as the Blue Springs Youth Fishing Rodeo. This

morning o cat-fshing brought together youth, parents

and riends rom 25 dierent surrounding towns and

communities, as well as vacationing visitors rom Flor

and north Alabama counties. These youth are the ut

o our great outdoor world. The impact these sponsand volunteers have on these youth because o a sim

un morning spent catfshing is incalculable.

Winners of AGES 0- 6 (l-r) C.J. Morris- 1st Place; Serenity

Riffle-3rd Place; Hunter Price-2nd Place.

Winners of AGES 10-13 (l-r) Antonia Toney-1st Place;

Cassandra Gifford-2nd Place; Levi Burke-3rd Place.



The University of Alabama

Outdoor Learning Centerby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

T he smile that persisted on Riley Boykin Smith’s

ace indicated that the mission he had embarked

upon several years ago had reached ruition. The

unveiling o The University o Alabama Outdoor Learning

Center in Hale County recently was the culmination o

the eorts o numerous people and organizations, spear-headed by Smith, the ormer Commissioner o the Alabama

Department o Conservation and Natural Resources.

The $500,000 learning center project is located on a

ormer amily homestead known as “Tanglewood,” which

was bequeathed to the university in 1949 by Alma Bishop

Williams. Managed by UA’s Department o Biological

Sciences, Tanglewood has served as a UA eld station

or decades. The addition o access roads, eld planting

sites and study stations to the property created added

valued or the university’s natural resources minor.

“I came to realize that i you didn’t go to Auburn or

Georgia or Mississippi State or another like instituti

that you were not exposed at all – not even a little bit

anything associated with management o our orests

game or wildlie,” Smith said. “Enjoying all o that si

I was a young boy, it became important to me to try

do something about it.”“O course, I’m an Alabama graduate. We star

talking to the olks up at the university and they w

immediately receptive. The course is a minor; it’s bro

it’s general, but it’s going to give students enough o

background to ask intelligent questions and make reas

able decisions in the management o their own prope

or in their jobs in the workplace, say in the real est

business or example. We’ve got a tractor, a disk and

will give students a good, solid, general background

education in land management and wildlie manageme

continued on

The University of Alabama’s new Outdoor Learning Center will provide students who minor in natural resources

an avenue to hands-on experience at the un iversity’s Tanglewood property i n Hale County.



The UniversiTy of AlAbAmA oUTdoor leArning CenTer – continued

ACEOA Magazine

Robert (Bob) Olin, UA’s Dean o Arts and Sciences, said

the outdoor learning acility will allow students to study

and conduct research among the pines and hardwoods

o the Bishop Biological Station in a variety o weather

conditions. The main acility houses an indoor classroom

with all the modern audio/visual amenities, as well as

a combination lab/kitchen. The covered outdoor meet-

ing area, replete with stone replace, will serve as the

classroom in all but the most inclement weather.

Olin said the natural resources minor is oered to stu-dents in the College o Arts and Sciences and the College

o Commerce and Business Administration.

“It teaches Alabama’s uture land owners and manag-

ers how to care or Alabama’s vast natural landscapes,

whether corporate orests, hunting or public preserves, or

amily arms,” Olin said. “It includes an interdisciplinary

curriculum o UA courses in the lie and earth sciences

and advanced courses ocused on water, wildlie, timber,

landorms, and ecological relationships.

“I know Dean Barry Mason (Alabama Culverho

College o Commerce and Business Administration)

agree wholeheartedly that this program has remarka

patrons in Riley Smith, Tim Gothard o the Alaba

Wildlie Federation, Bev Leigh and other members

the National Wild Turkey Federation and our riend

the Alabama Department o Conservation and Natu

Resources. They, along with our aculty, envisioned s

dents spending a lot o time with the land, experie

ing topography, dierent types o orests, soils, wafow, wildlie and land management practices rst ha

Tanglewood is intended or this type o education.”

Smith praised the persistence and tenacity o Olin

the quest to put together the natural resources progr

as well as building the learning acility.

“When we rst started talking about the curriculu

it was apparent that i we had a place in the coun

rather than just going to class in Tuscaloosa, the cou

continued on

Attendees at the center’s grand opening got an u p-close view of the facil ity’s new tractor, including, from right,

Bev Leigh of the Ala bama chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Riley Boykin Smith,

Tim Gothard of the Alabama Wildlife Federation and Donna Leggett of the NWTF.



The UniversiTy of AlAbAmA oUTdoor leArning CenTer – continued

ACEOA Magazine

would be much more eective,” Smith said. “So we started

seeking unding or this acility. I can’t say enough about

Bob Olin. He has been absolutely wonderul. We hadsome stumbling blocks, but he reused to be stopped.”

Smith said the project got signifcant contributions rom

the Department o Conservation and Natural Resources’

State Lands Division, National Wild Turkey Federation,

Alabama Wildlie Federation and Ben May Trust in Mobile.

“I’m immensely excited over the potential o this course,”

Smith said. “We have the potential to aect thousands o

students who didn’t go to Auburn or another land-grant

school. And the National Wild Turkey Federation is going

to take the Alabama model and take it into every state

in the union. There’s only one land-grant institution ineach state, so this will reach a large number o students.

“This is really a great start, and I can’t tell you how

excited I am.”

Gothard said the Outdoor Learning Facility at

Tanglewood is a tool to broaden the scope o education

available in Alabama, and eventually across the nation.

“Basically, the UA natural resources minor gives us

the opportunity to expose students who are in other

disciplines to the undamentals o natural resource man-

agement,” Gothard said. “These acilities will provide

launching points or hands-on study o how naturalresource management works. And where that’s going

to pay o is a lot o these students are not going to go

into orestry and wildlie. They’re going to be working

in other business arenas, or they may be involved in the

management o amily land and natural resources. What

we’re going to have is people in other proessions who

understand the basics o natural resources management

and that translates into good decision-making in

dierent proessions they’re in.”

Patti Powell, Director o State Lands, said the OutdLearning Center will hopeully acilitate a better und

standing o land and natural resources management

not only the students but the public in general.

“We appreciate the importance o a acility like t

not just because it continues and enhances the atta

ment to the land that we so want to see in young adul

Powell said. “People oten ask what we do, why we d

and what it means. I’m excited that we can start po

ing to the work that goes on here as a small example

why the land is so important – why understanding

management o our land and resources is so importaOlin said more than 32 guest lecturers in lie scien

and natural resource management will oer their exp

opinions on a variety o related topics at the Outd

Learning Center beore entering the eld with studen

“You’ll fnd students returning here to catalog a

analyze samples rom the woods, gaining the feld kno

edge and passion or the land that will serve them w

as tomorrow’s land stewards,” Olin said. “These acili

represent learning in service to an important need in

state, and we look orward to it beneting landown

throughout Alabama. They are the result o an enjoyaand productive partnership between the university a

our land and wildlie conservation riends. We trust t

this is just the beginning o a long relationship aimed

nurturing Alabama’s beautiul natural treasures.”



Snapper Fishingby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

T he sonar bottom machine read 120 eet as the inert

bottom about 29 miles out in the Gul o Mexico

suddenly came alive. The graph lit up with multi-

colored blips hovering with 20 eet o the articial ree

on the sea foor.

Capt. Bobby Kelly put the Fairwater II in idle and

said, “Come on up.” As he bumped the transmission into

reverse, those blips quickly ascended rom the ree that

was once a World War II Hellcat fghter plane. Withinseconds, the graph marked sh rom the bottom all the

way to about 25 eet under the boat.

“All right boys, let ‘em down about 25 eet,” he said

over the intercom to his charter o 11. In no time, rods

were bent and anglers were struggling to hang on as

red snapper inhaled the Spanish sardines that dang

rom the circle hooks.

Soon deck hand Greg Shows was as busy as one m

can get on the stern o a charter as the anglers reeled

one huge snapper ater another.

I ran into Kelly the day beore the season opened at“Blessing o the Fleet” at Zeke’s Marina at Orange Be

and he said, “Come go with us Saturday on our am

trip. We’re going to where the big ones live.”

Indeed, that was where Kelly had taken us and

had set a 15-pound minimum or a keeper, which h

his dad, 78-year-old Chuck Kelly scratching his he

when he was told his 12-pounder was going back i

the blue-green water.

continued on

Large red snapper was the norm on a recent trip 28 miles

out into the Gulf of Mexico on board the Fairwater II with

Capt. Bobby Kelly. Chris Pike of Jasper (left photo) shows

off the largest snapper of the day at 18 pounds, while

Gregg Miles of Winfield (right photo) admires a beautiful

snapper that was hooked only 25 feet under the boat.Deck hand Greg Shows gets ready to dehook a big

snapper caught by Hannah Kelly, the captain’s wife.



Snapper FiShing – continued

ACEOA Magazine

“I can’t believe we’re throwing snapper that big back,”

Chuck said.

But the captain knew that at the depth the fsh were bit-ing, there wouldn’t be any release mortality. The released

sh readily swam back down to the ree.

“The big snapper are going to be way high up in the

water, as high as you can possibly fsh,” the younger

Kelly said.

For a long time, the prevailing theory on snapper fshing

was that you had to drop the bait down to the bottom to

get a bite. However, it has become apparent that method

only rarely produces big sh now that the red snapper

population has rebounded dramatically.

“I think it’s because the amount o sh has changed,”Kelly said o the change in shing techniques. “When I

started out as a teenager, we did just like that. We dropped

it to the bottom and came up a ew cranks. Now, the

population o snapper is so great, we were in 120 eet o

water and marking fsh 20 eet under the boat. We cau

them the other day swimming around the boat; I me

nice sh right under the boat.”Kelly said ater the charter industry rebuilt its artif

ree system destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, the shing

been getting better and better.

“Since about 2007, it really took o,” he said.

say it’s doubled every year. I tell my amily each ye

‘The sh are going to be bigger next year; the sh w

be bigger next year.’ We started out in 2006 on this

keeping 18- to 20-inch sh and we’ve progressed all

way to this year’s 15-pounders. We threw back 10-po

snapper all day long.”

Kelly said even on his our-hour trips, he can catclimit o snapper without any problem.

“I mean nice ones, seven-eight-pounders,” he s

“And that’s without getting to anything ancy in

continued on



Snapper FiShing – continued

ACEOA Magazine

(coordinates) book. We could have limited out on the

frst spot with 10-pounders. We could have been fnished

in 20 minutes.”This time last year, Kelly had no idea the uture would

hold such good fshing, especially during the height o the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Like a good many o the charter

captains, Kelly worked in the Vessels o Opportunity (VOO)

program. Unlike some, he said he’s been treated airly by BP.

“We worked or 76 days and BP paid me everything

I asked or,” he said. “I think they’re trying to make it

right. There are naysayers, but I don’t think they had

their paperwork in order. I ollowed it to a T. I provided

1099s, bank records and the letters o employment they

asked or. I know there are some people that do, but Idon’t have any complaints.”

It’s the stigma o the oil spill that’s still hurting the

charter industry, Kelly thinks, especially with the debate

over whether the lesions ound on snapper caught this

spring are related to oil contamination.

“I can tell you we have caught zero sh with lesions,”

he said. “It’s the style in which I fsh. With the two studies,

Bob Shipp said they were ne. What they didn’t tell you

in the other study (done by Jim Cowan o LSU) was that

this guy went out and caught every single sh on that

wreck. We, as recreational shermen, are not going tosee that diseased sh. I you’ve ever had an aquarium, i

you have a sick fsh, it goes to the corner o the aquarium

and doesn’t eat. I don’t know how many thousands o

pounds o snapper we’ve caught this year and we’ve yet

to see any lesions, any sores. So the probability o the

recreational angler seeing it is pretty slim.”

Kelly said his bookings in early June were a little slow,

but he said the rest o June and July look strong. On his

our-hour trips, he incorporates trolling or king mackerel

as he heads or the near shore rees to catch snapper. O

course, the snapper season ends at 12:01 a.m. on July 19,which rustrates captains like Kelly to no end.

“We’ve been begging or common-sense manageme

he said. “That’s all we want. A 48-day season with

snapper we have is unreal. On opening day, I had a with mostly kids and we limited out with 8- to 10-pou

snapper. I never went aster than 8 knots and never w

more than 14 miles oshore. Ten years ago, I would h

had to run 35 miles and burn I don’t know how m

hundred o gallons o uel to do that. It just doesn’t m

a lot o sense.

“Our six-hour trips are very popular in the summ

and it’s able to produce a large amount o fsh, someth

we didn’t see ve years ago. For us to catch 10-pou

snapper on a six-hour trip ve years ago was rare. N

it is very common. And I expect it to continue to be vcommonplace.”

Kelly said the charter boat industry is quickly under

ing a transition rom corporate entertainment to am

adventures.

“I think we’re done seeing the groups o corporate g

with the strong, strapping men coming out to show h

big a sh they can catch,” he said. “What we’re see

now is mom, dad, granddad and all the kids going on

entertainment trip. That’s what we provide – good qua

entertainment and catching fsh. Most o them don’t w

to keep all the fsh they catch. They want to keep enouor dinner. They’re not wasteul and they’re happy. Th

what our industry is going to and that’s great.

“And the good thing with the snapper population lik

is, i somebody insists on catching big fsh, we don’t h

to run 40 or 50 miles to catch what we did on this trip

Visit www.airwaterishing.com or call Kelly

251-747-3126 or inormation on charter trips on Fairwa

II, which can accommodate up to 22 passengers.

Capt. Tom Ard runs sister boat, Boll Weevil, or up

six passengers.



Forever Wildby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

T he Forever Wild ball is, as they say, in the court o the

Alabama voters now that the Alabama Legislature

has voted to put re-authorization o the public land

acquisition program on the November 2012 ballot as a

Constitutional Amendment.

Despite the uncertain uture, it was business as usual

at the Forever Wild Board meeting last week at Barber

Vintage Motorsports Museum in

Leeds. The board was apprised othe properties that have been recently

closed, as well as the short list o

desirable properties that have been

nominated or purchase.

Greg Lein, State Lands Division

Assistant Director who oversees

the Forever Wild program, said sig-

nifcant purchases that were closed

included 160 acres that would

become part o the Freedoms Hills

Wildlie Management Area (WMA) innorthwest Alabama, while a 1,536-

acre tract currently in the Little River

Canyon WMA has been purchased.

Also, a 2,500-acre tract that would

become part o the Barbour County

Wildlie Management Area in south-

east Alabama will be closed this week.

“The 1,536-acre tract along Little River Canyon is part

o the Little River Canyon WMA and has been under a

no-cost lease,” Lein said. “Now that is secured orever

through this eort. The Barbour County WMA Dixonaddition adds 2,500 acres to the east side o the WMA.

A year ago, Forever Wild purchased another 3,500-acre

addition to Barbour. That is one o the ew wholly state-

owned Wildlie Management Areas and it’s nice to be

able to grow that a little more. Historically, these are

properties Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries had hoped

to have. Some o these tracts were in the WMA years

ago and then withdrawn. Now, here we are making it a

permanent part o the WMA, which is pretty exciting to

the sta because there is a lot o history to that WM

Since its inception, Forever Wild has purchased la

or general recreation use, nature preserves, additi

to Wildlie Management Areas and state parks. La

types vary rom coastal wetlands to mountain tops. E

property is evaluated in our categories – nature preserv

state parks, recreational and WMA potential. The Fore

Wild program has completed the purchases or long-te

leases on 222,771 acres located throughout the st

More than 184,000 o those acres are open to huntin

Forever Wild receives 10 percent o the interest capital gains rom the Alabama Trust Fund, up to a ma

mum o $15 million a year. Forever Wild received $1

million this past fscal year rom the und, which colle

royalties paid to the state by companies that prod

natural gas in Alabama state waters. Lein said mont

checks rom the trust und usually range rom $700,000

$1 million a month, although current economic conditi

have reduced recent checks to the lower end o the ran

continued on



Forever Wild – continued

ACEOA Magazine

Federal unds available to the program right now are

also at a low ebb. Current obligations reduce the money

available to less than $1 million, according to Lein.“The balance is down right now because o all these

great properties they’ve bought,” Lein said. “They’ve

been very active in undertaking those opportunities and

bring them to a close. O course, the results o that are

you spend your money.

“Our earnings this year have been less than they have

been historically because o the economy. The act is

the trust und and the interest earnings are subject to

the economy and health o the economy. That’s what

people talked about in this last term o the Legislature.

Forever Wild is already prorated by the structure o theund itsel. So when the economy is poor, the earnings

are poor and the program doesn’t have as much to work

with. We have a natural proration process that’s built

into Forever Wild’s unding. That’s what we have tolive under. That’s why it’s so important to look at grant

opportunities and donations. That’s why all the things

that help stretch our dollars through these partnerships

become so important.”

The board voted to pursue a frst appraisal on 762

acres adjacent to Weoguka State Forest in the area o

Flagg Mountain. The potential purchase o that property,

which contains signifcant stands o longlea pine, rom

The Conservation Fund would allow the Pinhoti Trail,

which originates in Alabama, to be eventually connec

to the Appalachian Trail.

The board also voted to pursue the purchase o Heron Bay-Portersville Bay Wetlands tract, a 1,115-a

parcel in Mobile County, contingent on additional mo

being acquired through ederal grants. The Coon Gul-B

Hole Addition in northeast Alabama was also appro

or a frst appraisal. The property is adjacent to the St

Land Division’s Forest Legacy tract.

Lein said the board meeting was just an example

how much more additional work needs to be done thro

Forever Wild.

“You can talk about Wildlie Management Areas

you can talk about State Parks, but irrespective o thcategories, there’s a lot yet to be done,” Lein said. “J

as we’ve seen this year, there are so many new nomi

tions, so much new interest in this program a

the opportunities it provides, I think there

absolutely an interest on the part o the pu

to see this go another 20 years. We hope tha

what happens.”

N. Gunter Guy Jr., Commissioner o

Alabama Department o Conservation and Natu

Resources, said Alabama voters approved

original authorization o the program withpercent o the vote, and he eels the people

be receptive to an extension.

“We just need to make sure we get the pub

the voters, educated that it’s back on the ba

again and get them to support it,” Guy said

think it’s a antastic program. I think there

a lot o benefts the public doesn’t realize.

the board, mysel and our department (ADCN

are acquainted with the benefts. That inclu

hunting land we’re able to procure to replace hunting l

that is lost. People don’t realize how much public hunland we lose every year that this program replaces. P

there are the other recreational aspects o Forever Wi

everything rom hiking, biking, trail riding, canoeing

bird-watching, just to name a ew. All o those things h

a signifcant economic impact on the State o Alaba

in a very positive way.

“That’s really the kind o communication we have

get out the voters, so they’ll know this program sho

be re-authorized come November 6, 2012.”


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ace-magazine-summer-11 52/81ACEOA Magazine •

Kids “Get Hooked”

at Fishing Derbyby Ernie Stephens

T he Bankhead National Forest held the nineteenth

annual “Kids Fishing Derby” on Saturday, June 11

in celebration o National Get Outdoors Day and

National Fishing and Boating Week. The Forest Service,

which hosts the yearly event to help interest young people

in wildlie conservation and outdoor recreation, stockeda pond with 400 pounds o catfsh and invited area

youngsters to try their luck.

A total o 65 children (with accompanying adults) rom

surrounding counties came to the Black Warrior Work

Center on the Bankhead National Forest to compete or

trophies in three age categories. Contestants fshed or

approximately 1½ hours and the winners in each age

group were decided by measuring the longest fsh caught

by each individual.

In the 5–6 year old age group, Owen Watkins o Houston

took the frst place trophy and a trophy or biggest fshoverall with a 19½" catfsh. Weston McVay o Falkville

captured second place.

Kayla Thorn o Double Springs won the frst place

continued on 103

Various Door Prizes. Proud fisherman!

Rewards of a great day!



Kids “Get HooKed” at FisHinG derby – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

trophy in the 7–9 year old group with a 16½" ent

Hunter Warren o Houston won the second place trop

In the 10–12 year old category, Brody McVay o Falkvtook the frst place trophy and Natalie Key o Dou

Springs took the second place trophy.

In addition to the fshing competition, a casting con

was held in which Emmarea Bailey o Double Springs w

in the 5–6 year old division; Caleb Simms o Hous

won in the 7–9 year old division; and Andrea Jacque

Arley won the 10–12 year old division. All three recei

a new rod and reel as their prize.

Jerry Grace o Double Springs and Desirae Yos

Danville were the lucky winners o the lietime fsh

license door prize drawing sponsored by the AlabaConservation Enorcement Ofcers Association.

The Derby concluded with drawing or door priz

awarding o trophies to contest winners and a hot

lunch.Fine Catch!

Fishing license winners with Officer Stephens. Lifetime Fishing License winners.



Alabama Marine Police

Has New Directorby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Ater Steve Thompson

accepted the job as Director

o the Alabama Marine

Police Division recently, it became

apparent almost immediately

that he plans to be a “hands-on”administrator in terms o showing

support or his ofcers and person-

nel in the eld.

Thompson, a 31-year law

enorcement veteran, is in the

process o visiting each o the our

districts to meet each o the 57

ocers and other eld personnel.

“I’ve been making my rounds,”

said Thompson, who spent much

o his career in the MontgomeryPolice Department. “The men and

women in Marine Police work hard.

They have a calling. It’s a tough

job to be a Marine Police Ocer.

They’re out there in the elements,

whether it’s cold or heat. They’re

on the water day in and day out, whether it’s in the Gul

o Mexico or the Alabama River. It takes a dedicated

person to do that. I’m really impressed with the quality

and proessionalism I’ve seen so ar.

“As Director, it’s my goal to get out in the feld andmeet the men and women o Marine Police. I plan to get

out and ride in the boats with them and talk to them. I

want to give them what they need to do their jobs and

improve morale and make our Division more efcient

and eective.”

When he hops onboard with the ofcers, Thompson said

he plans to express how much the ofcers are appreciated.

“Sometimes when you get up in the rural lakes and

rivers, the ofcers really don’t see supervisors that oten,”

he said. “So I think it will mak

statement or the Director to m

arrangements to drive up and h

in the boat with the ofcer and

with them or a couple o ho

and let them know I apprecithe job they do.”

As one o the ive divisio

in the Alabama Departm

o Conservation and Natu

Resources, Marine Police

responsible or the routine sa

patrol o Alabama’s waterwa

It also oversees the registrat

o all pleasure boats, licensing

boat operators, boat and mar

accessory thet, as well as a stawide boating education progr

Marine Police assists other g

ernmental agencies in enorcem

activities that relate to homel

security, maritime and waterw

smuggling, drug interdiction, a

other serious crimes. The Division also oversees m

than 1,600 hazard and control markers and zones

Alabama’s waterways.

“You don’t oten nd the experience and knowle

that Steve Thompson brings to Marine Police,” sConservation Commissioner N. Gunter Guy Jr. “Steve

proven through the years that his leadership skills h

served him well in the supervision o large enorcem

departments and developing a rapport with the lo

community groups, as well as state and national orga

zations. Those skills will make Steve a valuable asse

the Department o Conservation and Natural Resourc

Thompson said his our-year career in the Marine Co

continued on

Col. Steve Thompson



AlAbAmA mArine Police HAs new Director – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

established the guiding principles in his lie, and he used

his older brother, Danny, as a role model.

“You’ve heard the saying, ‘Once a Marine, always aMarine,’” said Thompson, who grew up boating and fsh-

ing on Lake Jordan and Lake Martin. “It’s aected me my

whole career in terms o sel-discipline. I’ve taken care

o my people, leading by example. That’s rom those our

years in the Marine Corps.

“When I joined the Montgomery Police Department

in 1980, I ollowed basically in my big brother’s oot-

steps. Ater I got out o the Marine Corps, he told me,

‘Hey, I’ve got your application (to the Montgomery Police

Department).’ I just walked in the door rom overseas,

the Far East, and I lled out the application.”Thompson said there wasn’t any hesitation when Danny

handed him the application, though.

“I had always wanted to be a police of-

cer,” said Steve, an avid hunter, recreational

shooter and occasional sherman. “When

I was about 12 years old and my brother

became a police ofcer, I would hear stories

and things they did. I was ascinated. I’ve

always wanted to get into law enorcement.”

During his rst stint at the Montgomery

PD, Thompson was a member o the SWATteam or 12 years. He started out as a sniper and

eventually was promoted to team leader. He graduated

rom the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., in 1994.

In 2003, Thompson retired rom the City o Montgomery

as Deputy Chie o Police with the rank o lieutenant

colonel and took a job as Chie Deputy in Boone, N.C.

Thompson was soon in or a shock when he realized the

vast dierence between lie in Boone, in the Appalachian

Mountains, and Montgomery, nestled on a bend in the

Alabama River.

“For a guy rom south Alabama, that was an eye-opener,” he said. “It’s beautiul in the summertime, but I

had no idea it snowed that much and got that cold in the

South. The rst week I was there, I was getting gas at a

local station. It started snowing so hard I couldn’t see

the road 10 yards in ront o me. At night, it got down to

seven degrees below zero. I was thinking, ‘What in the

world have I done?’”

Despite his relatively short stint o our years in Boone,

he is proud o the changes he was able to institute while

he was there. For a variety o reasons, Thompson deci

to head back to Alabama, where then Montgomery Ma

Bobby Bright reinstated Thompson as Deputy Chieposition he held until his retirement in March o this y

“I had a good tour there,” said Thompson, a certi

frearms instructor and Distinguished Expert Marksm

“I started a lot o things up there – a K-9 unit, a SW

team. I started a highway interdiction unit and was a

to start a seized drug und account that paid or equ

ment that really upgraded the department. It went r

Mayberry to the 21st century, literally.

“I’ve always enjoyed a challenge. But it’s not about

It’s about the mission and my command and what t

do or the citizens o the state. I plan to make MarPolice the shining star among state enorcement agenc

I will have to say that Marine Police is already o

o the most well-trained stas in Alabam

They go through the police academy and

constantly training on the boat-handl

skills, lie-saving techniques and enor

ment techniques. They constantly ho

their skills. And I have such an efci

administrative sta that it reed me up

do some o the things I wanted to do;

main thing is to get out and spend some twith the eld sta.”

Although his assessment is still underway, Thomp

said the Division’s equipment is in relatively good sh

despite the current economic constraints.

“Our shop guys, the mechanics, are doing a good

o preventive maintenance or the feet and outtting

boats,” he said. “These shop guys are the guys beh

the scenes, but believe you me, they do an outsta

ing job. These guys need to be recognized. They do

outstanding job.”

Despite all the distractions the modern world mproduce, Thompson wants to ensure the Division ne

loses ocus on its main purpose.

“Our No. 1 goal is to protect lives and property,”

said. “What’s dierent rom other enorcement agenc

is Marine Police mainly does it on the waterways. E

district has its own specifc operations. You have dier

environmental conditions on the Gul Coast compare

the rivers in the north hal o the state. But our miss

is the same –protect lives and property.”



AlAbAmA mArine Police HAs new Director – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

Commissioner

N. Gunter Guy Jr.

& Col. Steve Thompso



Alligators –

Natural Wonder orDangerous Predator?

by Justin Brock, Wildlife Biologist, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries

F

ew wild animals living in Alabama today are able

to bring out the darkest fears in our imagination.

The American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis)is one such animal. This animal is dangerous and does

warrant some caution by anyone

who ventures into its habitat. But,

is it really the mindless man-eater

of our nightmares?

Alligators are becoming more

common in Alabama with popu-

lations increasing from very low

levels in years past. What does

that mean to anyone enjoying the

many outdoor activities this statehas to offer? The simple answer

is: be aware of your surround-

ings. A person needs to know if an area is inhabited by

alligators beore visiting that area. Alligators are ound in

many aquatic environments in Alabama, with the majority

of the population living in the southern portions of the

state. They are also found in the more northern regions

of the state, but are limited by the colder temperatures

during winter months. The alligators inhabiting these

northern regions were most likely once sold as pets and

became too big to live in an aquarium, so the ownersreleased them into the wild.

Alligators preer reshwater areas, but may fnd suitable

homes in brackish water environments. However, they are

most successful in marsh type habitats where they have

a suitable food supply and nesting areas.

When people decide to visit or live in areas where

alligators are thought to inhabit, they should be aware

o situations that can be dangerous or themselves and

others. Children and pets should not be allowed to swim

or play around the water’s edge when alligators may

present. Alligators are carnivorous and could view them

potential ood. Instead, swimming and other related rreational activities should be done in sae locations un

the watchul eyes o an adult

Feeding o alligators also sho

never be allowed. Alligators g

erally are not aggressive and

wary of humans. However

areas were eeding occurs, all

tors associate people as a sou

o ood and may lose their natu

ear o humans. This makes th

much more dangerous than nmal and the chance o them ha

ing someone becomes greater.

also important to stay away rom areas containing ne

or young alligators. Females are known to aggressiv

protect their nest and young. By disturbing a nes

catching young alligators it could be possible to prov

a emale that is protecting her young.

By keeping a sae distance rom any alligator and be

aware of their presence, it is possible to safely coe

with these predators. It is important to realize they are

just mindless creatures hunting humans, but wild animwith their own place in Alabama’s outdoor world. Thro

knowledge and awareness, we will be able to saely en

alligators as one of Alabama’s natural wonders.

The Alabama Department o Conservation and Natu

Resources promotes wise stewardship, management

enjoyment o Alabama’s natural resources through

divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lan

State Parks, and Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries. To le

more about ADCNR visit www.outdooralabama.com.



Eufaula Youth Fishing

Rodeo Goes Onby Ken White

T he week saw rain alling and thunder roar-

ing and threats o severe thunderstorms

were being forecast for the night and

early morning hours preceding the scheduled

Euaula Youth Fishing Rodeo. With the scale o

devastation, which had been wrought across ourgreat state just two weeks earlier, no one knew

what impact these orecasts might have on the

event. While the numbers of youth attending

were down a bit, it turned out to be a beautiul

spring morning and one that really lent itsel to

enjoying the great outdoors. Especially when

that enjoyment has to do with the action o a

catfsh on the business end o a fshing line.

Saturday, May 14, ound the youth arriving

at Hillside Ranch or a great morning o fshing un and

camaraderie with old and new riends. Hillside Ranch hashosted the event or several years now and owners, Ken

and Jeri Ludlam, had the pond area in pristine condition.

Families got the youth registered in one o three age divi-

sions and then setout to fnd their preerred fshing location

around the pond. Rod and reels were double-checked,

bait was put on and corks adjusted as everyone awaited

the starting siren. At exactly eight o’clock the siren did

wail and the un began.

The fshing was absolutely antastic and every youth

attending managed to catch at least one or two catfsh. To

help keep the fshing competition on a level playing feld,the event is divided into three age categories. This keeps

the competition close and interesting or the two-hours

o fshing allowed. Following the close o the fshing day,

hotdogs, chips and soft drinks were served. This was

ollowed by the announcement o the winners and then

the great prize giveaway took place. Every registered

angler not only had a great day afeld but let with a nice

door prize as well.

Winners o the age divisions are as ollows:

0-6 Years: 1st Tyler Morris 18 lbs. 13 oz. Bike

2nd Zoe Morris 14 lbs. 03 oz. Reel

3rd Grace Haney 14 lbs. 01 oz. Take-Me -Fishing

7-9 Years: 1st Matt Richards 22 lbs. 4 oz. Bike

2nd Janita (J.T.) Searcy 14 lbs. 12 oz. Reel

3rd Kyle Meyers 3 lbs. 3 oz. Big One Tackle

10-13 Years: 1st Andrew Meyers 14 lbs. 11 oz. Bike

2nd Lauren Garlits 14 lbs. 4 oz. Reel

3rd Tengeric Davis 0 lbs. 15 oz. Double-Sided Sa

Big Fish: Zoe Morris 2 lbs. 11 oz. Reel

Little Fish: Tyler Morris 0 lbs. 03 oz. Reel

It takes a lot o help and support to put on these f

ing events and it takes people. Fortunately the Alaba

Department o Conservation and Natural Resource

Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries Division understa

this and supports the eorts o ofcers such as Sgt. Aur

Thomas who puts the Euaula event together. Assisting w

continued on

Nine year old, J.T. Searcy of Eufaula brings another one to the bank



Eufaula Youth fishing RodEo goEs on – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

the event were ofcers Nate Foster, Richard Hartzog, Mike

Heath and Jerry Ginwright. Handling the cooking chores

was local volunteer, Jimmy Priest. It takes great sponsorsto assist in providing or the ood, special awards and door

prizes and a host o local businesses contributed to the

event success. Supporting the event in a substantial man-

ner was the Alabama Conservation Enorcement Ofcers

Association and without this type o support and contri-

butions the event would not be able to do what it does.

Introducing our youth to the great outdoor world is just

one more way o giving back that makes a huge dier-

ence in the lie o a youth. Lie’s lessons learned at such

outdoor events cannot be measured or years to come

but will orm the oundation o our outdoor managementpractices and philosophies in that uture. l

Kyle Meyers from Eufaula has a “good ‘un” on the

business end of the line.

Grace Haney shows off her catfish with dad

Lee Haney lending a hand.

Tyler Morris is on his way to winning his age division.

Five year old, Zoe Morris gets some valuable help

from his grandfather, James Morris.

First place winners in the age divisions are (l-r) Andrew Mey

(10-13 yrs.), Matt Richards (7-9 yrs.), Tyler Morris (0-6 yrs



Black Bears Part of

Alabama’s Ecosystemby Steven W. Barnett

Certifed Wildlie Biologist, Division o Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries

Recent sightings o black bears in dierent parts

o Alabama have many wondering i the animal’s

presence in the state is increasing. The heart o

bear country in Alabama consists o piney woods hills,

titi thickets and river swamps. This has been the case orhundreds o years. In the midst o these natural habitats is

a relatively new landscape that is becoming increasingly

prevalent—cleared land with stone and wooden dwell-

ings. The occupants o these habitats are humans. People

who move into these once rural settings are unaware

and unamiliar with the native wildlie that continues to

exist in surrounding woodlands, including black bears.

The remaining core

habitats o the protected

black bears in Alabama

are located primarily inMobile, Washington and

Baldwin counties. Bears

once roamed throughout

the state beore the alpha

predators (people). Based

on current and veried

reports o sightings,

sign, road kills, game

camera images as well

as movement patterns

o radioed bears, someanimals are thought to

be establishing home

ranges in other regions

o Alabama. Changes in bear range and movements may

be the result o a combination o actors such as altered

habitats due to development and a natural growth in the

density o black bears.

What this all means is an increased chance o bear-

human encounters or conficts. And in these outlying,

suburban/rural settings, the “back yard” o homes is wh

the two meet. I you live in bear country, the key is

educate yoursel on how some human actions may a

the behavior o black bears. Most conficts are related

the animal’s search or ood. Bears have an acute seo smell and i one unwittingly leaves “groceries” outs

bears may come to investigate, eat, and return or mo

Sources o ood include deer eeders, pet ood, tr

receptacles, and even bird eeders. Although black be

in Alabama typically display a “fight response” aro

people, bears that continue to get an easy meal n

your home may keep coming back. Bears that are con

tioned to associate o

with people may l

that natural ear, wh

raises the bar on possaggressive encounter

Most potential b

conficts can be avoi

through implement

airly simple preventa

measures. First, i you

not want bears in cl

proximity o your ho

then discontinue a

eeding o wildlie, per

And i you live in a neiborhood, all the nea

residents need to abide

this recommendation

to be most eective. Second, do not leave any uneaten

ood and the bowls outside or any length o time. Th

place trash outside on the day o pickup and not beo

Store trash inside the residence or keep it in an enclo

shed or garage. Double-bag your garbage and periodic

continued on



Black Bears Part of alaBama’s ecosystem – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

disinect trash cans. Sometimes, protective encing around

other sources such as gardens may be necessary.

Keep in mind that i you live or move into bear habitat,the animals will most likely remain in the area, but by

ollowing a preventative strategy, most o the close-to-

home encounters can be avoided. The implementation

o the previously mentioned preventative measures may

be all that is needed to avoid conficts. Trapping and

relocating o bears in Alabama is oten unproductive.

Moving a nuisance bear to another area may end up just

moving the nuisance somewhere else. Also, bears have

an excellent homing instinct and have been documented

traveling up to 400 miles rom the relocation site. So, the

relocated bear may end up back at the original trap site.The Alabama Black Bear Alliance (ABBA) is a conser-

vation organization that represents a broad coalition o

diverse interests with the goal o working cooperatively

and voluntarily or the conservation o the black bear

in Alabama through research, education and habitat

management. Much o the inormation in this art

including preventative confict strategies is a res

o ABBA’s educational eorts. Visit their websitewww.alabamablackbearalliance.org to learn more ab

living in bear country. Bear sightings can also be repor

and submitted electronically rom this website. A

please report all bear sightings to your local Alaba

Division o Wildlie and Freshwater ocials.

For more inormation, contact Steven W. Barn

Certied Wildlie Biologist, Alabama Division o Wild

and Freshwater Fisheries, 30571 Five Rivers Bouleva

Spanish Fort, AL 36527; phone 251-626-5474.


Resources promotes wise stewardship, management enjoyment o Alabama’s natural resources through


State Parks, and Wildlie and Freshwater Fisheries.

learn more about ADCNR visit www.outdooralabama.c



Controlling Damage

by Vulturesby Bruce W. Todd, Wildlife Biologist, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries

T wo species o vultures, also known as buzzards,

are common to the Southeast. Both are similar in

appearance. The larger brown one, sporting a red

head, is the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). The smaller

black vulture (Coragyps atratus) has a dark gray head.

These two birds can be distinguished in fight by taillength and wing characteristics. The black vulture has

a short tail, only slightly longer

than its outstretched eet. It also

has distinctive white markings

on the tips o its wings. Turkey

vultures have longer tails and

hold their wings in a shallow

v-shaped ormation while soar-

ing alot.

Both buzzards are alike in

that they are scavengers anddepend heavily on carrion as

a ood source. However, there

are dierences in their eeding

strategies. Black vultures depend

on sight to locate ood sources,

while turkey vultures also use

scent as a locator. Black vul-

tures are more aggressive and

opportunistic and will take ood

away rom eeding turkey vul-

tures. Black vultures have beenknown to consume eggs, rot-

ting vegetables and ruits, live

birds, skunks, opossums, turtle hatchlings, fsh, newborn

livestock and poultry. Both species o vulture may cause

depredation in rural areas but the black vulture is linked

to livestock and poultry losses. Buzzards can also become

nuisances in urban and suburban settings.

Residential and commercial damage inicted by roost-

ing and loafng buzzards can be extensive. Buzzards will

sometimes scratch vehicle paint, pull o wiper bla

and molding, destroy car covers and leave behind e

matter and vomit. Vultures may tear and consume v

seat covers on boats, tractors and automobiles, dam

pool covers and boat canopies and destroy cemet

decorations. Roosting buzzards on electrical transmsion towers and lines may cause power outages. Hom

may sustain damage to asph

shingles, caulked windows,

other suraces. Bones, carcas

and large volumes o ecal ma

may also be let behind. Dam

rom roosting birds may resu

decreased use o property, de

o ornamentals, limb breaka

unsightly stains on urnitu

residences, and walkways, contamination o water sourc

In order to curb some o t

damage, many varied con

measures can be used.

Vulture conlicts must

solved with non-lethal me

due to their protection under

Migratory Bird Treaty o 19

In order to discourage buzza

rom roosting on rootops, a t

wire afxed 8 inches abovridge or other perch site m

be successul. The wire may

electrifed with a ence transormer to increase eecti

ness. When a primary roost tree is involved, removing

tree may cause birds to vacate the area. In communi

where pyrotechnics and frearms are legal, shotg

using regular shot shells or bird whistlers to har

birds may be used. Automatic LP gas exploders us

continued on

P H O T O B Y S T E F A N E K E R N A S

Black Vulture



Controlling Damage by Vultures – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

propane cannons with timers

have been successully used

to move roosting birds. Lasershave also been used in combina-

tion with pyrotechnics. There

are also ultrasonic and audible

sound generators marketed or

the sole purpose o dispersing

pest species. Ater dispersing

birds, buzzard efgies have been

employed to discourage birds

rom returning to roost sites.

Successul treatments are

dependent on some basic prin-ciples. To be eective, a com-

bination o methods should

be employed. Also, the sooner

a problem is discovered and

treatment is initiated the more

likely you are to have success.

Harassment o roosting birds

should begin at dusk and con-

tinue till dark. I birds are present

at dawn and throughout day-

light hours, harassment should

continue. Simple measures u

to disrupt normal patterns

behavior such as water sprnoise, or fashing lights may

eective i you are persiste

Success may still be slow in co

ing; it may take as much as t

to our weeks.

For more inormation, con

Bruce Todd, Wildlie Biolog

Alabama Division o Wildlie

Freshwater Fisheries, 30571 F

Rivers Boulevard, Spanish F

AL 36527; phone 251-626-54The Alabama Departm

o Conservation and Natu

Resources promotes w

stewardship, management a

enjoyment o Alabama’s natu

resources through fve divisio

Marine Police, Marine Resourc

State Lands, State Parks, a

Wildlie and Freshwater Fisher

To learn more about ADCNR v

www.outdooralabama.com.

P H O T O B Y T H O M A S W O O D R U F F

Turkey Vulture



Clay Hill Farms Hosts

Youth Fishing Rodeoby Ken White

“W e have been eeding the fsh and the pond is

ready,” John Dorrill announced with a smile

on his ace. John and his amily own Clay

Hills Farm located just outside Troy, AL and they again

opened their great acility and pond or the Pike County

Youth Fishing Rodeo held June 18th. Clay Hills Farm is abeautiul place and the pond site and amenities available

make it a perect site or such an event. Judging rom the

youth registering or the event, the youth knew they were

in or a great morning o fshing as the lake was ull o

catfsh just waiting or a morsel to come their way.

The registration began at 7:00AM and olks were

already in line when the table opened. The event ol-

lows the basic ormat the other youth fshing rodeos in

the district use so registration was divided into the three

age groups. This grouping o 0-6 yrs., 7-9 yrs. and 10-12

yrs. assures the competition is matched airly even orthe event. The actual fshing began at 8:00AM ollowing

introductions o the hosts, sponsors in attendance and a

short rules meeting. For this event each youth angler could

keep ten catfsh or the weigh-in. Ater a youth caua limit o ten fsh they were asked to bring their ca

to the scales which, o course, made it a little easier

those that were still trying to fnish out their limit. T

siren sounded at 10:00AM to end the two-hour fsh

competition and the remaining anglers brought their

to the scales to be weighed.

While the winners were being tabulated a nice lu

o ried chicken, chips and sodas was urnished by

Troy Wal-Mart Supercenter. This luncheon was ollow

by the presentation o awards to the overall winn

Winners in the age divisions were as ollows:

Age 0-6 yrs. First Place Serenity Riffle 4 lbs. 04 oz

Second Place Braden Renfroe 3 lbs. 10 oz

Third Place Richard Eagerton 3 lbs. 05 oz

Age 7-9 yrs. First Place Denver Thomas 7 lbs. 03 oz

Second Place Cameron Davis 4 lbs. 09 oz

Third Place McKenzie Williams 4 lbs. 02 oz

continued on 9-year old, Denver Thomas adds a fish to his winning stringer.

Corks in the water as fishing gets started.



Clay Hill Farms Hosts youtH FisHing rodeo – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

Age 10-12 yrs. First Place Noah Williams 5 lbs. 03 oz.

Second Place Will Woodson 4 lbs. 04 oz.

Awards went to the frst place winners o each division

and a drawing was held rom all entrants or a bicycle

or a boy and a girl. Winning the boy’s bike was Wood

Jinwright and the girl’s bike winner was Anna Claire

Dorrill. Following the awards presentation a drawing was

held or door prizes rom the tickets given out at the timethe youth registered or the event.

Special thanks go to the John Dorrill amily and Clay

Hills Farm or again acting as hosts or this event. It

takes a lot o volunteers and it takes sponsors to make

such an event a success and thanks go to all the local

businesses and individuals contributing to the event w

special thanks to Wal-Mart. The Alabama Conservat

Enorcement Ofcers Association was a major und

sponsor and their support is greatly appreciated. T

support o the Alabama Department o Conservation a

Natural Resources – Wildlie and Freshwater Fishe

Division is greatly appreciated. Assisting with this ev

and helping to insure its success was conservat

enorcement ofcers Blake Nowling, Jerry Jinwright, S

Aurora Thomas and Lt. Chris Lewis.It takes special olks to make such an event happen.

many the key words are “giving back” and “mentori

which is nothing more than an absolute commitmen

the uture o our great outdoor world and its contin

protection or generations to come.

First Place Winners: Noah Williams (10-12 yrs.),Denver Thomas (7-9 yrs.), Serenity Riffle (0- 6 yrs.)

Door prize winners check out their prizes.

Six year old, Richard Eagerton with the first fish

he has ever caught.

Boys and Girls Bicycle Winners, courtesy of Troy Wal-Mar

SuperCenter: (l-r) Wood Jinwright & An na Claire Dorrill



Who’s Been Digging

In My Yard?by Myron Wiley, Biologist Aide, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries

H ave you ever walked out into your well-kept yard

and ound the sod dimpled by a multitude o cone-

shaped craters several inches deep and wide? How

about mulch around shrubbery plowed up and scattered

or small plants in your garden destroyed and the entire

area looking as if rooted up by hogs? If so, you likelyhave been visited by a nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus

novemcinctus). This species is one o about 20 existing

species o armadillo originally rom South America. The

nine-banded armadillo is the only one o these species

ound in the United States.

Armadillos are about the size o a house cat or opos-

sum, but pound or pound, these animals can do nearly

as much damage as a eral hog when it comes to digging

up the yard. By scientic classication, the nine-banded

armadillo belongs to the order Cingulata, which is a group

o animals that also includes the anteaters and slothso South America. The majority o their diet consists o

beetles, grubs, earthworms, and other soil insects and

invertebrates. These ood items are what attract arma

los to lawns, fower beds, and gardens. Armadillos loc

these subterranean animals with extremely keen sense

smell and hearing. Prey is unearthed with large claws

short, stout legs specically adapted or digging, and

captured with thick, sticky saliva on the armadillo’s tongThe armadillo’s voracious appetite or insects is

all bad. Many o the creatures they consume are kno

to be lawn and garden pests that can do considera

damage to yards and gardens. For example, it is comm

to see a crater in the top o a fre ant mound where it

been dug open by an armadillo searching or ant eg

developing larvae and adult ants.

Armadillos are known locally by many other comm

names. The bony plates that cover and protect th

bodies has led to descriptions such as “armor-pla

opossum” and “opossum crossed with a turtle.” Althonot closely related to any o these animals, these co

mon reerences to their appearance are airly close to

technical description. Their fam

name Dasypodidae roughly transla

to “Turtle-Rabbit.”

The natural right response o

armadillo when startled is a vert

leap beore feeing, a dangerous re

when approached by a vehicle t

might otherwise pass over with

harm. This fatal trait spawned nickname “hillbilly speed bum

and made them a requent highw

casualty.

Prior to 1850, armadillos w

not found north of the Rio Gra

River except or ossilized evidenc

extinct species. Due to a combina

o actors, such as human coloni

continued on



Who’s Been Digging in My yarD? – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

tion with its accompanying habitat alteration, extirpation

o large predators, and intentional release or escape o

captive animals, the armadillo has rapidly expandedits range at a rate 10 times that considered normal or

mammals. Now abundant throughout most o Texas and

other southern and southeastern states, armadillos have

been observed as ar north as Illinois and Nebraska, and

westward to Colorado. Due to its abundance and wide

distribution, armadillos have become a nuisance animal

to many homeowners in suburban and residential devel-

opments, especially where wooded areas with avorable

burrowing and nest sites are included or nearby.

Controlling armadillos on your property is not an

easy task. In many cases it might be better to toleratethe occasional visitor than to take on the expense and

possible collateral damage o control attempts. I requent

and serious damage is occurring, some action may be

necessary. Removing individual animals by trapping and

relocation/elimination, use o repellents, encing o specic

areas (encing must extend below ground), and control o

soil insects and invertebrates with pesticides to minimize

ood sources are some o the methods most commonly

recommended. Any method used has its limitatio

with practicality, environmental pollution, and long-te

eectiveness being major concerns. Whatever methoused, whether mechanical or chemical, be careul to

so in a manner that minimizes danger to people, p

or other desirable wildlie, birds and fsh.

I handling o the animal is involved, either or relo

tion, consumption (yes, armadillo meat is edible),

disposal, be aware they can on rare occasion be inec

with leprosy, which may be communicable to hum

by contact or by eating undercooked meat. Handle

animals or meat with sanitary and culinary methods

you would any wild game to prevent contracting comm

nicable diseases that may be present. Photos and detadescriptions o control techniques and equipment can

viewed on numerous web sites by using search engin

The Alabama Department o Conservation and Nat








Outdoor Women Unlimited Continues

to Stretch its Limits Every Year withthe Annual Southern Classicby Whitney Wood

Outdoor Women Unlimited con-

tinues to stretch its limits every

year with the annual Southern

Classic. It is an adventure flled weekend

o excitement and challenges waitingaround every corner. The mission o

Outdoor Women Unlimited (OWU) is to

educate women in outdoor adventure,

while encouraging them to urther devel-

op their skills and ultimately increase

the participation for their entire family

in the great outdoors. OWU challenges

its members to seek the ultimate chal-

lenge in their weekend at the Southern

Classic and step outside their comfort

zone to experience the excitement othe great outdoors.

continued on 137



OutdOOr WOmen unlimited COntinues tO stretCh its limits – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

This year at the Southern Classic,

members were in or a special treat o

industry leaders and representatives astheir instructors in the classes oered

throughout the weekend. In attendance

were leaders in the outdoor industry with

experience and training in a variety o

dierent events. Leaders represented com-

panies such as Summit Treestands, Knight

and Hale, Longleaf Camo, Leupold, Gamo

Air Rifes, Hunter Specialties, and many

more. This new twist allowed women to

not only learn the dierent techniques and

skills in a specifc area o the outdoors butto learn with the latest and greatest in

outdoor products (some o which were not

even on the market). It was a new venture

for OWU and the members and industry

leaders both enjoyed the opportunity to

learn from both audiences respectively.

We want to thank our volunteers and

supporters of OWU, without each one of

these individuals our program would not

have the opportunity to make a dierence

in the lives of so many. ACEOA continuesto be a strong supporter of our program

and this year’s Southern Classic was no

exception. We want to thank all ACEOA

members, who volunteered their time and

service to make this year’s classic antastic.

As the voice of women in the outdoor industry, OW

continues to push the limits and encourages its member

do the same. Through the Southern Classic and continu

throughout the year in the various specialized NO Lim

Clinics offered to members, OWU fosters a strength aindependence in women to challenge themselves a

experience the new and great things OWU has to of

Rebecca Wood: Founder, Executive Director,

Whitney Wood: President

Lisa McNeil: Membership Director, Sec/Treasurer



Bass Anglers Sportsman’s

Society Returns To Alabamaby David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

T he Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society is headed

back to Alabama, the state where Ray Scott’s vision

turned what was once a riendly competition among

bass fshermen into a multi-million-dollar industry.

Although Montgomery, the birthplace o B.A.S.S., was in

the running, the new owners o the Bassmaster ranchisehave opted to relocate rom Celebration, Fla., near Orlando,

to Birmingham, a move that

is scheduled to be completed

by Nov. 1 this year.

Two o the three partners

in the new ownership, Don

Logan and Jerry McKinnis,

were in Montgomery last week

or the Toyota All-Star Truck

Week and the season-ending

Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star Championship on the

Alabama River.

Logan, an Alabama native

and current Birmingham resi-

dent, teamed with McKinnis,

who hosted “The Fishin’ Hole”

on ESPN or 44 years, and

businessman Jim Copeland

to purchase B.A.S.S. LLC rom

ESPN almost a year ago.

While the anglers whoqualifed or the champion-

ship, which was eventually

won by rookie Ott Deoe rom

Tennessee, were plying the

river or bass, Logan dis-

cussed what went into the decision to move to Birmingham.

“Ever since we bought Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. busi-

ness rom ESPN, we always knew we probably needed

to look at the location and where it was headquartered,”

said Logan, retired CEO o Time-Warner, Inc. “Wh

ESPN bought it and moved it to Orlando, where Disne

located, or them it was a strategic decision and seem

to be a good ft.

“The problem we had is that it’s a long way r

everywhere. I you look at where the tournaments held, other than one or two that are held in Flori

it’s a long way to north Alabama or South Carolina

Oklahoma or Texas. We thought we would be better

in a more central location. So we started thinking ab

continued on

Alabama native Don Logan (l), teamed up with businessman J im Copeland and

TV fishing pe rsonality Jerry McKinni s (r), to purchase Bassmaster

and related entities last year. The partners announced B.A.S.S. will move back

to Alabama when it relocates to Birmingham by November 1st, 2011.



Bass anglers sportsman’s society returns to alaBama – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

it. We told the employees rom day one that we would

do that at some point ater we became amiliar with the

business. We’ve been operating it or about a year, soabout six weeks ago we told the employees we had made

the decision to move it back to Alabama.”

Two locations were in the running – Birmingham and

Montgomery, where Scott had started BASS in 1967. Scott

reportedly oered the new ownership team a 75-acre

parcel to try to sway the deal in Montgomery’s avor.

Eventually, Birmingham prevailed because o its more

central location, better air travel access and availability

o employees skilled in inormation technology, publishing

and marketing.

“I actually met with Mayor (Todd) Strange last yearat this event,” said Logan, who spent 22 years with

Southern Progress Corporation, which currently publishes

Southern Living, Cooking Light and Coastal Living maga-

zines and published Progressive Farmer until 2007.”Word

had already leaked out that we were buying B.A.S.S.

He talked to me about moving it to Montgomery i we

completed the deal. I told him i we decided to move,

we’d give him a shot at it, and we did. They put a very

aggressive proposal in, and we considered Montgomery

and thought it would be a great home or B.A.S.S. again.

But or a variety o reasons, we elt Birmingham was thebest location.

“Birmingham was a little more centrally located in

terms o getting to places to the north and west. You

have better air service. There are a lot more non-stops

to a lot more locations. Our people travel a lot. That was

important. And the other thing, when you move a busi-

ness, you always have a certain number o people who

can’t or don’t make the move. Birmingham had a lot o

experienced people in the felds we work in –marketing

and sales people, editorial and creative people like art

directors and designers. Because o Southern Progressand a lot o other media businesses there, we elt there

would be more sources we could draw talent rom. And

over a period o years, as we hopeully grow the business,

there will be a lot o talent available.”

Logan said ESPN did a lot o things right, mainly the

television programming and other media ventures that are

o higher quality than what is seen in other parts o the

outdoor world. Logan also credited ESPN with bringing

big-name sponsors onboard. However, Logan, an avid

bass angler himsel, wants B.A.S.S. to reocus its attent

on the everyday angler.

“We want to get back to the grassroots level, whetit’s the angler who only gets to fsh on the weekend or

angler who is teaching his kid to fsh,” he said. “So

want to ollow B.A.S.S. rom the grassroots level all

way to the proessional angler who competes in the E

Series and Classic. We want to make all aspects better.

want our magazine to be better. We want our televis

production to be better and more widely distributed. W

running a number o our shows on the Outdoor Chan

this year or the frst time ever. Our Internet activity

expanded dramatically. We’ve already had more p

views in 2011 than we had or all o 2010. We’re dostreaming video rom the Open series that we could

do beore. We think we have a great opportunity to

to that multitude o anglers who want to fsh more a

catch more fsh and serve them better.

“Everything we do is on the table or review to se

there are ways to make it better. There are no plans ri

now to make anything dramatically dierent, but we

be looking at dierent things downstream.”

McKinnis, head o JM Associates, which was rece

added to the B.A.S.S. LLC portolio, has been in charg

the Bassmaster TV production since 2000. He said it weasy to make the decision to move to a more centra

located area, but the timing had to be just right no

interere with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holida

as well as the Bassmaster Classic in February.

“We had this window o opportunity between n

and when the holidays start,” McKinnis said. “I we do

do it now, we’d have to wait another year. It’s a natu

move or us. Birmingham is a great city. It gives acc

to good people. And we’re still working hard to buil

great, great sta. We’ve got a lot o good olks who

making the move to Birmingham, so that’s going to bgood start or us.

“I’ve got so much energy and enthusiasm about

whole thing. I’m excited about it. I never conside

(ownership) until ESPN called me and asked i I had

interest. That’s the frst time I’d thought about it. But

a big undertaking. It’s been harder than I thought it w

going to be.

“It’s been overwhelming, but the upside is better th

I thought it was going to be.”



2011 Montgomery County

Youth Fishing Rodeoby Vance Wood

On June 18, 2011, the Montgomery

County Sheri’s Oice and the

Alabama Conservation Enorcement

Ofcers Association partnered or the

Montgomery County Sheri’s Oice

Annual Youth Fishing Rodeo. The eventwas held at the newly acquired County

Fishing Lakes on U.S. Hwy 231 South in

Pike Road, Alabama. A lot o hard work

went into getting the property ready or

events such as this. Montgomery County

Sheri D.T. Marshall and Chie Deputy

Derrick Cunningham utilized a vast array o

resources rom unds, personnel, inmates

and equipment to help make the fshing

rodeo an enjoyable experience. Trees and

debris were cleared, grass was planted andparking areas were put in place. DCNR

Freshwater Fisheries personnel, Doug Darr and Graves

Lovell, assisted with pond surveys and shocking to rid the

catfsh pond o the remaining game fsh. The Montgomery

County Sheri’s Ofce supplied approximately 750 pounds

o catfsh or the attending youths to try and catch.

The youths and their parents began to roll in early

to beat the heat. By 7 o’clock that morning there w

approximately 125 youths registered and catching f

Some did better than others. That all depended on

bait they were using. It appeared that stink or blood b

worked the best, but most o the girls said that they w

not going to use that stinking stu. It did not seem

bother the boys much o course. The event concluded w

a lunch provided by the Sheri’s Ofce and the award

o door prizes provided by the ACEOA. Youths receiv

variety o fshing rods, tackle boxes and one lucky yowas the recipient o a Lietime Fishing License. Honora

mention also goes to Academy Sports or providing ad

tional unding or this event. Thank you, Sheri Mars

and Chie Cunningham, or your inspiration to our yo

and sharing Alabama’s great outdoors with them. Y

and your sta are mentors that the ACEOA is proud

be associated with. We look orward to working with

in the uture.

continued on

Lifetime Fishing License Winner (l-r) Grandmother Barbara Taylor, CEO Kirk Sm

Anaya Taylor (age 7), CEO Vance Wood and Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningha



2011 MontgoMery County youth Fishing rodeo – continued

ACEOA Magazine •



Natural Resources Youth

Camp Teaches EnvironmentaLessons For The 16th Year

by Paul E. Hudgins, R.F.

T

he Butler County Forestry Planning Committee has

once again held another successul camp or area

students. Spending three days and two nights inthe deep woods o Butler County is not the typical way

most kids want to start their summer vacation; however,

or twenty-eight students rom across Butler County, they

chose to do exactly that.

Once chosen by their school to attend the camp, stu-

dents spend three days and two nights at Mussel Creek

Hunting Lodge, a rustic cabin located on private prop-

erty in north Butler County. The Butler County Forestry

Planning Committee (FPC) sponsors the Natural Resources

Youth Camp with tremendous support rom the orest

community, local businesses, and interested individuals.For sixteen years the FPC has oered this “hands-on”

camp or area sixth grade students at no cost to the

students.

The camp gives kids the opportunity to learn ab

our orest environment and how it relates to Alabameconomy, as well as the important role it plays in

everyday lives. Campers leave the televisions, telepho

and radios behind to take part in the adventure. The ca

oers students something to do rom 7

to 11pm and oten later i you’re the

to get a shower.

The camp begins with students be

given a compass and a “crash cour

on how to use it as well as how they

determine their distance by pacing. T

students are then broken into groups acompete in an orienteering course t

stretches across open land and woo

terrain. O course, one requirement o

orienteering course is a pair o snake l

gings. This activity requires the student

work together as a group and individu

in order to complete the rugged cou

Students are required to complete at le

continued on



Youth Camp teaChes environmental lessons – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

one leg o the course themselves without any assistance

rom their team. With awards given at the end o camp

to the group that can complete the course in the astest

time and with the most correct points located. Only once

have we had a team to get completely turned around and

miss a portion o the course.While some students are learning about the orienteering

course, others are learning about power line saety rom

Mr. Phillip Baker, System Engineer with Pioneer Electric.

Still others are learning about home fre

saety rom the Greenville Fire Department

and their department’s smoke trailer. These

two activities work in conjunction with the

orienteering exercise to ensure the students

have a busy frst morning.

Ater a hearty lunch, the students were

treated to a soil education activity entitled“Dig It.” Mr. Ben Moore and Mrs. Beth

Chastain, both with the Natural Resources

Conservation Service, teach this activ-

ity to the campers. This activity shows

students how dierent land covers can

aect soil movement and how the soil

movement could eventually impact creek

sedimentation. While there is still time,

Mrs. Madeline Hildreth, a orester with

the Alabama Forestry Commission ta

the students on a tour on the Proj

Learning Tree Activity, “A Tree FactoThis activity demonstrates to the stude

what is really going on inside the t

Mrs. Hildreth also gave the student

presentation on what some o the m

dierent products are that are deri

rom a tree. Ater Mrs. Hildreth’s pres

tation, students identiy dierent ty

o wildlie habitat and what it takes

improve wildlie on their property w

Mr. Thagard Colvin, Wildlie Biolog

Retired, and Department Conservat& Natural Resources.

Finally, Mr. Ricky Miller, Mar

Police Oce with the Department

Conservation, discusses open wa

and boating saety. Hunter Ethics a

Preserving Our Hunting Heritage ollows water saety

is the last scheduled event o the day beore we tak

trailer ride. Each night, well ater dark, the students

loaded onto the FPC’s tour trailer and driven through

woods o South Alabama. While the purpose o the r

is to look or nightlie, we did take time to call some BOwls and this year we were lucky enough to call u

pair o Owls that perched on a limb just above the tra

continued on




ACEOA Magazine •

Early on the second day, the kids

learn how to identiy dierent wild-

lie tracks with Mr. Mike Older othe Alabama Forestry Commission’s

Covington County oce. Mr. Older

uses the Project Wild Activity,

“Making Tracks” to introduce stu-

dents to the dierent types o tracks

made by Alabama wildlie. I mak-

ing tracks isn’t enough, Mr. Mike

Sievering and Mr. Jerry Fiest taught

the campers about ur bearer man-

agement and trapping techniques

in Alabama. Campers learned howand what it takes to control nuisance

animals in Alabama by using trapping

as a sae and eect way to control damage.

While the day is still young, the campers are treated

to an educational and live fight demonstration rom

some o Alabama’s birds o prey. Winged Ambassadors

gives the kids an up-close and personal look at some o

Alabama’s bird o prey and what role they play in the

environment. Ater spending time with some birds, the

students are treated to “A Cooperative Environment” with

Mr. Jimmy Stiles. The students are given a hands-on, up-close encounter with some o Alabama’s local inhabitants.

An alligator, pine snake, king snake, tree rog, toad a

legless lizard are just a ew “creatures” that the kids

to touch and even hold, i they dare. Even some o

adults opt out o holding a snake!

Students ollow up this activity with a chance

explore and learn what really lives in a local creek w

Mr. Ken Weathers rom the Alabama Departmen

Conservation and Natural Resources, Fisheries Secti

The students take creek samples using nets and lothrough the samples to make an evaluation o the cre

overall condition. Once the condit

is determined, the students have t

to explore, play and swim in Mus

creek. Ater spending some o

on-one time with one o Alabam

creeks, the campers are treated

some local native Indian history

Mr. Charlie Clark, Executive Direc

Farm Service Agency and Ms. Elis

Ballentine, Publication Specialist wthe Alabama Forestry Commiss

and Native American. Mr. Clark a

Ms. Ballentine share with the cam

ers some stories and artiacts o

Native American culture.

Ater a dinner o barbequed r

and some “xin’s” o a Cajun

country boil, the students lear

continued on




ACEOA Magazine •

about frearms handling and saety rom

Mr. James Altiere with the Department

o Conservation and Natural Resources.The third and fnal day starts o with

an early morning walk with Mr. Charlie

Kennedy, President o the Alabama

Ornithological Society. Mr. Charlie as he

is aectionately called explores with the

students the woods o Alabama looking

or a variety o birds both large and small.

The rest o the nal day camp is spent

learning to shoot skeet, black powder,

.22’s and archery. For some o the stu-

dents this is there frst time ever shootinga frearm or pulling a bow. And or others,

this is there opportunity to show everyone

how good they really are, or how good

they think they are. For the past sixteen

years, the girl campers have always given the boys a run

or the top shooter. Girls as a general rule listen to the

instructors better and are easier to teach. And this year

was no exception to the rule.

To closeout the “camp experience” the campers are

given several books and other nice prizes or attend

the camp. Special awards are given or the best shoote

each o the frearm events, as well as top shot in arch

An experience o a lietime! That is just one-way that

camper described their experience.



Forest Ruler Returns

to Blue Spring WildlifeManagement Area

By John S. Powers, Wildlife Biologist, Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries

T

o be a ruler, one must have a domain. Conversely,

every realm must have a ruler. The orest region

in the extreme southern part o Alabama was onceruled by a creature so impressive that the generic portion

o its scientifc name, Drymarchon, entitles it “orest ruler.”

The Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is mak-

ing a comeback in the Blue Spring Wildlie Management

Area due to a partnership eort by several organizations.

The Eastern indigo is recognized as the longest snake

in North America. Specimens have been reliably recorded

that were over 8.5 eet long and weighed more than 10

pounds. Indigo snakes are not only impressive in size,

they are beautiul as well. As its name implies, the overall

coloration is a deep, lustrous, bluish black. Most havecreamy or reddish areas on their chins, throats and cheeks.

Small indigos are sometimes mistaken or black r

ers, but the two dier in several ways. The anal sc

o indigo snakes is o one piece while that o the blracer is divided. Older indigo snakes tend to be somew

heavy bodied and move more slowly than the slim, qu

black racer. Indigo snakes have rather large, smo

scales except or some large males that have a ew ro

o lightly keeled scales down the center o their back

keeled scale is one that has a light ridge down its cen

which makes it somewhat rough to the touch. Black rac

have more heavily keeled scales over their entire bod

Truly mature large indigo snakes cannot readily

conused with any other species. Despite their size, ind

snakes usually are relatively docile, rarely attemptingbite when handled.

Eastern indigo snakes once were d

tributed throughout virtually all o Flori

the southeastern portion o Georgia, a

extreme southern Alabama. They may h

inhabited the southern tip o South Caro

and extreme southeast Mississippi as w

In peninsular Florida they ranged ove

wide variety o habitat types and hab

associations using stump holes, holl

logs, animal burrows, etc. or reuge in winter. Throughout northern portions

their range (northern and panhandle Flor

Georgia, and Alabama, their existence

been closely associated with habitat mosa

that include high, dry, sandy ridges, usu

orested with longlea pine and scrub oa

Suitable habitat, on a large scale, seems

require an interspersion o these “sandh

continued on



Forest ruler returns to Blue spring WMA – continued

ACEOA Magazine •

habitats with pine fatwoods and lower, more densely

vegetated wetland areas.

Gopher tortoises and the burrows they excavate seemcritical to the existence o indigo snakes. These burrows,

most oten dug in the sandy soil o the dry ridges, provide

indigo snakes reuge rom both winter’s cold and summer’s

extreme heat. Gopher tortoise burrows also are used by

emale indigos as sites or breeding and or laying eggs

(an average o nine per clutch). Indigo snakes, juveniles

in particular, utilize lower wetter portions o their home

range during the warmer months o the year or oraging,

while the higher drier portions are used more heavily

during the winter.

Indigo snakes are active during daylight hours. Theyare opportunistic eeders who prey on small mammals,

birds, lizards, rogs, toads, and other snakes, including

venomous species. They seem to preer snakes, including

rattlesnakes, over other oods because indigo snakes are

immune to the venom o the native pit vipers they are

likely to encounter. Large indigo snakes are even known

to eed on smaller members o their own species. Indigo

snakes oten subdue their prey, ater grabbing it in their

powerul jaws, by thrashing and beating it against the

ground and anything else that is available. They do not kill

their prey by constriction. Very young indigos primarilyeed on invertebrates in wetland habitats.

Populations o Eastern indigo snakes have declined

dramatically in recent decades, and the species was eder-

ally listed in 1978 as threatened across its range. Primary

reasons or the species decline include exploitation in

conjunction with the pet trade, continuing habitat loss and

ragmentation, and mortality associated with the “gassing”

o gopher tortoise burrows by rattlesnake hunters. Road kill,

deliberate persecution by humans, and indirect poisoning

rom pesticides and herbicides have contributed to the

species decline as well. While legal protection at both theederal and state level has signifcantly reduced the wanton

killing and proft-motivated collection o the species, the loss

and ragmentation o habitat suitable or the indigo snake

continues. While native populations o indigo snakes are

still relatively common in portions o Georgia and Florida,

they are quickly becoming more and more ragmented. The

species is now rare in the panhandle region o Florida, and

they may have disappeared entirely rom Alabama though

scattered reports o their presence do occur.

Restoration eorts aimed at the indigo snake have

the most part involved protection and proper mana

ment o what large blocks o suitable habitat that remwithin the species range. Much o this habitat is ow

by either state or ederal agencies. Large tracts o land

required to support stable populations o indigo sna

whose home ranges can exceed 250 acres in size. Eo

to protect and/or re-establish indigo snake populati

in Alabama have included both conservation o suita

habitat and eorts to reintroduce the species to ar

it is or was believed to exist. Experimental restock

took place rom the late 1970s through the mid 1980

areas o suitable habitat in Autauga, Baldwin, Bullo

Covington, Escambia, Mobile and Washington countThese eorts may have produced limited though poo

documented success.

In 2005, Alabama Wildlie and Freshwater Fishe

(WFF) non-game biologists in cooperation with Aub

University and the privately unded Orianne Soci

conducted surveys within the state but produced

evidence o indigo snake populations. Subsequently, W

in cooperation once again with Auburn University

the Orianne Society, began a new reintroduction e

in the Blue Spring Wildlie Management Area, which

a part o the USDA-Forest Service owned and manaConecuh National Forest. In June 2010, 17 captive-b

juvenile Eastern indigo snakes were released. Each o th

snakes was implanted with electronic devices that al

or identifcation and tracking so that their movemen

behavior and survival can be monitored.

About hal o the indigo snakes have survived a

appear to be thriving. It is too early to declare a vict

in the eort to re-establish the indigo snake to its orm

haunts, but the tide may be turning. In the not too dist

uture, on the Conecuh National Forest at least, we m

be able to proudly proclaim that the “orest ruler” indeed returned.








http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ace-magazine-summer-11 81/81ACEOA M

Buckmasters Expo 2011by Rusty Morrow

T he Expo 2011 was a great event, as usual. Our

booth was busy or three days. It is always a great

opportunity to promote ACEOA and show all the

great things we do to thousands o visitors. It is also

a chance to renew old riendships that I have made in

the past.

Good friend Bill Jordan and son Tyler Jordan visited the

booth Saturday and signed autographs. Bill really li

the cover of our Spring 2011 Issue of ACE Magazine.

used a Realtree design or the Buckmasters BADF

Hunt Issue.

Thanks to all our Directors and State Ofcers t

helped at the booth. ACEOA is already looking forw

to the Expo next year.

Officer Chris Lewis and Kenneth Jackson holding d own the fOfficer Jerry Fincher giving us a ha nd.

(L-R) Rusty Morrow, Tyler Jordan, Bill Jordan and Jerry Fincher. Bill Jordan with Realtree, Inc. was happy to see

one of his Realtree patterns on the front of ACE Magazine. He spent some time in the ACEOA booth on Sunday.

ace magazine - summer 11

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