- Updated: 15 October 2011
- Published: 25 July 2011
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From The Hunting Vice-President, Dave Burpee for Ed Bickham
This column is written on behalf ofEd Bickhamwho has been spending his time these past few weeks on a family emergency. As many of you know, his son – Lon – was critically burned in early April by an explosion and fire while on his job as a welder. Three other friends/co-workers were also seriously burned, one of whom has unfortunately died. The VBA officers and membership will continue to keep Lon and his family and friends in our prayers for the difficult months ahead as they recover from their extensive second- and third-degree burns.
I attended several meetings these past couple of months on Ed’s behalf. One of the most important meetings was as a member of the VDGIF citizens committee focused on the need for VDGIF to increase revenues and decrease costs. This is a critical topic because without proper management and an infusion of funds, the VDGIF faces severe financial challenges in 2015. About two dozen groups from around the state representing a wide variety of hunting and non-hunting interests were able to provide input and contribute to the process. I also attended two Board meetings at VDGIF headquarters where I was able to present VBA views on a variety of proposed hunting regulation changes.
I came away from the meetings and results with two impressions – one good and one bad. First, the good news. I am very pleased that the VBA is viewed by the VDGIF as an important constituent group. This is important to our relationship with them because we don’t want it to ever become one-sided, and we certainly believe in the VDGIF and support its efforts on behalf of archers and all sportsmen whenever we can. Related to this is the fact that nearly all our suggestions were incorporated into the final items that the Board voted on and they were all approved. This represents a “win” for all sportsmen inVirginiaand for the bowhunter. I won’t go into all the items but they ranged from elk hunting to a model archery ordinance to youth hunting to new fee structures and other topics. Importantly, as a result of the changes the non-hunting public now also contributes more to the VDGIF. All the details are on the VDGIF website. I encourage you to visit that site and learn more.
Now, the bad. It was very disappointing to see the number of comments that were received from the public on each of the issues addressed. The proposed changes were posted to the web site for several weeks, there were numerous public meetings around the state and there were also opportunities to comment by mail. In total, only about 1,500 comments about the hunting regulations and about the same number for the fee structure were received. We had been pushing in the VBA for members to comment and if each member had taken just a couple of minutes to say “yes” or “no” on an e-mail or letter about any of the regulations we would have had an enormous influence on the outcome. Clearly, most citizens, bowhunters and VBA members decided not to participate in the process. Ed and I do represent our group’s interests at meetings, but the individual number of responses also carries great weight. If you participated, thank you very much for helping to carry the water. If you did not, then don’t complain about the results and do try to participate next time the VBA asks for your assistance. We don’t ask often because many issues are routine but this time we asked for participation because of the number and range of issues important to archers (aka taxpayers) and bowhunters. Please consider jumping on the bandwagon next time.
Finally, I want to make you all aware that the VBA needs someone to be Chairperson of the Hunting Committee. Ed has served for two years as Hunting Vice President without the benefit of a Hunting Committee Chairperson and it is time to take that double burden off his shoulders. The chairperson attends the quarterly VBA meetings, has a committee meeting that same weekend, coordinates VBA positions on hunting issues in the state, initiates VBA recommendations to the VDGIF, assists the Hunting VP and also helps with the annual banquet. For someone out there it is time to give back to the organization that has done so much for you over the years. Please contact me (703-913-0508) for more details and at the appropriate time I’ll pass your interest to Ed.
Be safe in the woods.