A nice crowd attended the Silvio O. Conte Awards Banquet which was held at the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club recently to honor the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen (BCLS) 2023 award winners. Past BCLS President, Mark Jester, did a wonderful job as emcee.
After a delicious meal, Mark introduced DFW Director Mark Tisa. Describing it as a great organization, Mark has worked for the DFW for 37 years working his way up the ladder. He considered it a great privilege. He recognized Fish & Wildlife Board Chairman Steve Sears, of Dalton, for doing such a great job representing the Western District and bringing all of our interests and concerns to the Board. He introduced new Deputy Director Eve Schluter. He recognized DFW Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden and his staff. He also recognized BCLS President Wayne McLain, who was the first person to step up and support Mark’s new youth pheasant hunt program.
He commented that the Division is working hard to continue to create more opportunities for us to enjoy the outdoors such as fishing and hunting. Their job is taking care of the wildlife so that we can enjoy it.
Mark Jester introduced Wayne Adams from the Massachusetts Conservation Alliance who discussed current gun legislation and its work getting more representation at the Statehouse.
Mark Jester then proceeded with the various Silvio O. Conte 2023 Sportsmen Awards.
From left to right: Mark Jester, Emcee, Stacy Sylvester, Leanda Fontaine, Michelle Amburn, James Loughman and Ted Pointek
The John Zuber Award was presented to Rick French of Phillipston, MA. for his efforts in the paraplegic hunts and promoting the outdoors. Because Rick could not attend (out west hunting), Stacie Sylvester who herself participated for some 35 years with Rick’s paraplegic hunts, accepted the award on his behalf. In her acceptance speech she noted that Rich was very proud to receive the award.
The Sportsmen’s Appreciation Award was presented to James Loughman of Adams for his dedication to the sportsmen of Massachusetts and his commitment and leadership in preserving and promoting the rich traditions of sportsmen. He will ever be appreciated and remembered for all his efforts. In his acceptance speech he thanked groups like the BCLS, the Adams Outdoor for Youth and the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club for instilling the love of the outdoors to the next generation.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Ted Pointek of Housatonic for his unwavering commitment to and promotion of the shooting sports especially for the future generations. In his acceptance speech, he recognized all those who helped him in the shooting events over the years.
The late Richard “Rick” Theilig of Lee was posthumously awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for his dedication and passion for the outdoors, and who will forever inspire future generations. His daughter Michelle Amburn accepted the award on his behalf. He would probably say he doesn’t deserve it, said Michelle, but he does. He wanted to teach everyone. He loved what he did and made lifelong friends in doing so. LSA club member John Polastri also presented her another plaque from the Lee Sportsmen’s Association.
Leanda Fontaine of Bernardston, MA was selected the Sportsperson of the Year. Her plaque read, “Her lifelong dedication and preservation of the rich natural resources of our state will forever benefit the citizens, habitat, and wildlife of Massachusetts”. In her acceptance speech, she said she was extremely humbled and honored to be chosen. She started in MassWildlife in 2005 working as a fishing technician working with district and hatchery staff. She worked with DFW district staff from the NY border all the way to Cape Cod. She had the opportunity to work on different projects, not just fisheries but wildlife, natural heritage, land projects, etc. She worked with multiple state organizations and nonprofits which provided great opportunities to work on different projects. She mentioned the DFW employees’ passion and drive to do what they can for our resources, outdoor sportspeople and the environment. She mentioned the great mentorship received from the DFW employees regarding hunting, fishing, etc. She considered herself very lucky to work in the Western District – its become like family to her.
Youth trout stocking day was another huge success
Approximately 200 kids, parents and grandparents met on Wednesday afternoon, April 17, at the Onota Lake Burbank Park to help MassWildlife liberate some 550 rainbow trout which averaged 14 inches.
Mark Jester with grandsons Sam and Joe Maschino
MassWildlife Western District Aquatic Biologist Leanda Fontaine was assisted by DFW staff including Heather Sadler, Kalina Flood, Colby Kellogg-Youndt, and Jacob Morris-Siegel. Leanda’s daughter Isla also helped. An iBerkshire.Com photographer was there as well as a newsperson from Spectrum TV Channel 1. Environmental Police Lt. Tara Carlow was there also to make sure everyone behaved. The weather cooperated nicely this day.
Prior to beginning the stocking, Leanda made some introductory comments. She informed everyone about the agency and how it is charged with the responsibility of preserving, conserving and managing our flora and fauna all across the state. She named the 5 regional districts across the state and how they perform their functions. The Western District covers all of the Berkshires as well as the western towns of Hampshire, Hampton and Franklin Counties.
One of their main jobs of the Western District Office is trout stocking, which they do for about 10 weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall. This spring they expect to stock 80,0000 trout. Statewide, some 450,000 are expected to be stocked.
They stock four different species, brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout which is a hybrid between brown and brook trout. They stock 72 local bodies in the Western District up to Memorial Day. To find out where they stock, go to the MassWildlife web site Mass.gov/trout. She encouraged people to catch and eat the fish but if people prefer to catch and release them, that is fine too.
Then she explained how the stocking would take place. They formed a line, a few trout were netted out of the tanker truck, put into empty 5-gallon pails which were handed to the kids and away they sped to the water’s edge and tossed the fish out, and then they ran back and did it all over again. Oh! The expressions of joy and amazement on the faces of those kids.
I am happy to report that there were no buckets tossed into the lake and there was a 100% survival rate of the fish.
Local trout stockings
The following local waters were scheduled to be stocked last week by MassWildlife: Beartown Brook in Lee, Bronson Brook in Worthington, Deerfield River in Buckland, Florida and Charlemont , Depot Brook in Washington, Dry Brook in Cheshire and Adams, Factory Brook in Middlefield, Farmington River in Otis and Sandisfield, Hoosic River North in Clarksburg and North Adams, Hop Brook in Lee and Tyringham, Housatonic River (SW) in Pittsfield, Hubbard River in Granville, Littleville Reservoir in Chester, North Pond in Florida, Sackett Brook in Dalton and Pittsfield, South Brook in Cheshire, Town Brook in Lanesborough, Trout Brook in Peru, Walker Brook in Becket, West Brook in Great Barrington, Westfield River Middle Branch in Chester, Huntington and Middlefield, Windsor Lake in North Adams, Windsor Pond in Windsor and Yokum Brook in Becket.
Spring Turkey Hunting Seasons opens Monday
The 2024 Massachusetts spring turkey hunting season opens on Monday, April 29 and runs through May 25. The Youth Turkey Hunt Day took place today (April 27).
To hunt wild turkeys in Massachusetts, you’ll need a hunting or sporting license as well as a turkey permit. A turkey permit comes with 3 turkey tags. Hunters can take 2 bearded turkeys in the spring and 1 turkey of either sex in the fall. Regulation requires that all hunters place an official green Turkey Safety Sticker on their firearm positioned so it’s visible when sighting down the barrel. On the youth hunt day only, the hunting hours are ½ hour before sunrise and end at 5:00 pm. For the rest of the turkey hunters, the hours are from ½ hour before sunrise to noon.
Successful hunters must report their turkeys within 48 hours of harvest. The easiest way to report a harvest is online using MassFishHunt, but you can also go to an official check station.
There are a couple of pages of rules and regulations addressing Turkey Hunting in the 2024 regulations (abstracts) and hunters should review them before heading out.