Weekly News Archives

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Ruger SR40 Pistol

Ruger has announced the latest addition to their very successful SR-series pistols. The new arrival, the SR40, is the .40 caliber extension of their striker-fired line of polymer pistols

Like the 9mm SR models (SR9, SR9c) the SR40 has very slim lines and offers a good basic grip angle, along with the adjustable backstraps that allow for even better fitting to individual hand sizes.

It's built on the same frame, with the same short trigger and fully ambidextrous controls. To help control the sharper recoil of the 40 caliber round, the through-hardened, stainless steel slide on the SR40 is .060" wider than that of the SR9. According to the company, that added mass reduces slide velocity during cycling, reducing recoil and improving service life.

Empty, the SR40 weighs 27.25 ounces and ships with two fifteen-round, flush-fit magazines. A loading tool is also provided. Ruger says in this case that an anti-friction coating applied to the magazine body greatly reduces the force required to load the magazines to full capacity. If that's the case, it's a decided improvement over the earlier versions.

The SR40 features a 4.1" barrel length, adjustable three-dot sights, and an integral accessory rail. It also sports Ruger's visual and tactile loaded chamber indicators, striker blocker, trigger safety, magazine disconnect, and a frame-mounted ambidextrous manual safety.

About $ 525.00

603-865-2442

www.ruger.com/

Crosman to promote Airgun Hunting

Teams With Jim Shockey

ROCHESTER, NY--Crosman Corporation, manufacturer of innovative products for the shooting sports signed a multi-year endorsement partnership with Jim Shockey and IHUNT Communications. 

As the host of his own television shows, Jim Shockey�s Hunting Adventures and Jim Shockey�s The Professionals, he will use and promote Benjamin Trail Series Nitro Piston break barrels and Benjamin Marauder PCP air rifles as serious hunting airguns.   Shockey will use the high power air rifles on televised hunts during his 2011 show season and promote them on TV, print and at trade shows.

�There are hunters, and then there�s the legendary Jim Shockey,� said Bob Hampton, Crosman�s Vice President of Marketing.  �As a respected authority on all that�s hunting, Jim is a natural fit for representing Crosman and Benjamin hunting airguns,� he said. 

�Crosman is committed to airgun hunting and dedicated to developing systems for airguns that provide enough power for hunters to be effective in the field,� said Hampton.  �Knowing your capabilities and your distance are important for hunters, now we�re going to provide the power to get the job done responsibly. �Shockey is the ideal person to carry us into the new era of airgun hunting.�

The Benjamin brand has long been known for providing hard-hitting, multi-pump premium airguns.  Adding to that reputation, a newly patented technology called the Nitro Piston

was introduced last year.   By utilizing compressed nitrogen gas, Nitro Piston break-barrel hunting airguns deliver enough terminal energy to cleanly and quietly harvest small game, while eliminating the accuracy and power-fade problems found in spring guns.  �For hunters, the simplicity of break barrel air rifles is as attractive as the affordability of airgun ammunition and the convenience of single cocking power,� said Hampton.

For further information on the partnership agreement with Jim Shockey, or on any Crosman, Benjamin, CenterPoint Hunting and Outdoors Precision Optics, or Game Face Airsoft products, visit the company�s websites at www.crosman.com, www.centerpointhunting.com, www.gamefaceairsoft.com, or write to Laura Evans, marketing coordinator, Crosman Corporation, 7629 Routes 5 & 20, Bloomfield, NY 14469, email her at [email protected], or call her at (800) 7�AIRGUN (724-7486).

1-800-7AIRGUN

www.crosman.com

Great Lakes Outdoor Writers awards honors

NEW BUFFALO, MI - The Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers (AGLOW) awarded its highest honors to three recipients at their recent annual conference in Ashland, Wisconsin. Golden Glow awards were presented in the Individual, Public Servant and Organization categories to Mark VanPatten, Bill James and Quad City Conservation Alliance, respectively.

Missouri Streams Coordination Biologist receives Golden Glow Individual Award
Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Streams Coordination Biologist, Mark Van Patten received AGLOW's Golden Glow Individual Award in appreciation of his remarkable efforts and leadership relative to stream conservation.

VanPatten developed a love for Missouri streams as a teenager and was instrumental in stream team cleanup as a young adult. He started by recruiting the Roubidoux Fly Fishers help to clean up the Roubidoux, a small Ozark trout and smallmouth stream. Enlisting physical help from Lieutenant and State Governors created publicity and a springboard for future stream cleanups.

In 1993 the Conservation Federation of Missouri hired him as a full time stream cleanup coordinator and in 1998 the MDC took over the program and brought Van Patten on board as their Streams Coordination Biologist.

Under his leadership, the Stream Team Program has grown to almost 4,300 Stream Teams with over 86,000 volunteers not only picking up trash, but also trained to monitor water quality in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation and Department of Natural Resources. Other states have adopted all or part of the Missouri Streams Team program.

Each year, as merited, AGLOW's Council of Past Presidents nominates and presents up to four deserving individuals or corporations for their highest honor, the Golden Glow Award.

Indiana Chief of Fisheries receives Public Servant Golden Glow Award
Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Chief of Fisheries, Bill James received AGLOW's Golden Glow Public Servant Award in recognition of his dedication to the improvement of our nation's sport fisheries through creative partnerships, adaptive management techniques and angler involvement.

Forty years ago, Bill James graduated from college in Iowa with a degree in Fisheries Biology and found an entry-level biologist's job with the State of Indiana. Ten years later, he became the youngest Chief of Fisheries in the nation. Today, James is also the longest serving Chief of Fisheries in the nation.

Indiana's fisheries resources - including the shared fisheries of Lake Michigan and the Ohio River -- have become diverse, prolific and well respected under James' leadership. During his tenure, a modern hatchery was constructed to supply salmonids to Lake Michigan, while additional hatcheries were constructed or remodeled to produce walleye, muskellunge, striped and hybrid striped bass, saugeyes and other fish to stock into Indiana's waterways.

James was instrumental in negotiating the bi-state agreement which turned the shared river St. Joseph in Indiana and Michigan into one of the best steelhead streams in the country

and added yet another cold water hatchery to Indiana's
system. The Bodine Hatchery is now the Skamania steelhead producer for all of the Great Lakes, with fingerlings going to Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and New York each year -- as well as healthy stockings for Indiana's streams and the St. Joe River. Indeed, James and the State of Indiana made this summer-run strain of steelhead famous, not the Skamania River Hatchery in Washington State where they were originated.

In the early 1990s Bill was a part of the negotiating team which codified the management of the Ohio River into one solid unit, with Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania all agreeing to regulations and management goals which have turned the river into a premiere fishing destination in the eastern Midwest with largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleyes, saugeyes, hybrid and pure bred stripers and the some of the largest catfish in the country.

Bill James has not only survived forty years in a state bureaucracy, he has thrived there. This is not because he hid under the desk to wait out his career. It is because he proceeded forward with singleness of purpose - to improve recreational angling opportunities -- and made himself too valuable to fire, sidetrack or ignore.

Quad City Conservation Alliance receives Organization Golden Glow Award
A group of concerned Quad City area outdoorsmen met in one man's home to discuss putting on an outdoors show in the early 1980's. In that meeting were representatives of Moline Conservation Club, Fyre Lake Conservation Club, Quad Cities Chapter of Muskies, Inc., and QC Chapter of the In-Fisherman Club. The group decided to move ahead with their idea and rented space in a former discount store. Volunteers carried the entire load of planning and implementation. The show was a marginal success, and "profits" were used to purchase wood duck houses that were installed in Mississippi River backwaters.

The show was moved to a vacant former millwork building complex in its third year, and its success gained the attention and favor of the property's owner who offered to donate the entire complex to the group. The not-for-profit Quad City Conservation Alliance (QCCA) was born, but their challenges became even more difficult. Turning a former industrial complex into an appropriate outdoors show site with environmental, building demolition concerns and the like were faced almost daily. These challenges were overcome through perseverance.

The QCCA has grown and strengthened tremendously since those early days. The organization has evolved from holding a single outdoor show per year in rented space to hosting a dozen or more shows annually in its own 65,000 square foot exposition center located in Rock Island, Illinois. All of this is accomplished with a full-time staff of just three, part-timers as needed and some 800 dedicated volunteers.

Wildlife and conservation are the beneficiaries of the QCCA's efforts, as the organization has quietly raised and donating over $1.5 million for conservation, environmental and outdoors education projects within 90 miles of the Quad Cities. These financial contributions come in addition to the thousands of hours volunteered by QCCA folks every year to expand conservation, environmental and outdoor education projects in both Illinois and Iowa.

The QCCA is unique. There is no other similar group or organization known to exist in the country.

IJC expands scope of Upper Great Lakes Study

In response to the International Upper Great Lakes Study's report on the St. Clair River, and comments from the public on the report, the International Joint Commission (IJC) has expanded the scope of study on the Upper Great Lakes.

The IJC concurs with the recommendations in the report and has provided further guidance to the International Upper Great Lakes Study Board pertaining to the recommendation that remedial measures not be undertake in the St. Clair River at this time.

The IJC has directed the Study Board to undertake an exploratory investigation of how raising the water-level regimes on Lakes Michigan and Huron by different amounts would affect interests on the Great Lakes system from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence River. The IJC has agreed with the Study Board that it also review mitigative options based on potential climate change impacts.

In addition, the IJC provided guidance to the Study Board on

three important matters raised in its 7th Progress Report, directing them to:

• propose one alternative to the existing regulation plan based on its scientific investigations and extensive public input;

• establish a legal rationale for selecting a future regulation plan that allows for the possibility of new physical conditions under a changing climate; and,

• investigate and recommend institutional mechanisms for the management of water resources though one or more management boards in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River System.

The study will continue to examine whether the IJC Order of Approval and plan for regulating Lake Superior outflows should be modified to address the changing climate and the evolving needs of users on lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie. The final report of the Study Board on the entire study is expected to be completed and submitted to the IJC by early 2012.

No Asian carp in eDNA tests at Indiana ports

No evidence of Asian carp was found in an environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling of Indiana ports and harbors near Lake Michigan, researchers from the University of Notre Dame who did the study announced October 14.

The researchers collected 125 samples from five areas in northwest Indiana:

►On Aug. 6, 14 samples were collected from the outflow of Lake George by kayak and by wading into lower reaches of Deep River. All tested negative for bighead and silver carp DNA.

►On Aug. 11, 25 samples were collected from Burns Harbor and 21 from Burns Ditch. All 46 samples tested negative.

►On Aug. 18, 11 samples were collected from the Gary Boat Slip and 54 samples from Indiana Harbor. All 65 samples

tested negative.

Bighead and silver carp are two species of Asian carp that are considered a serious risk to the Great Lakes. Both are voracious eaters. They consume plankton � algae and other microscopic organisms � stripping the food web of a key source of food for small and big native fish.  They were imported into the southern United States to keep aquaculture facilities clean and to provide fresh fish for fish markets. They escaped into the wild in the 1980s and have been moving northward ever since.

They were first detected in Indiana waters in 1995 and have worked their way up the Wabash River, into the East and West forks of the White River, the Patoka River, and the Ohio River and some of its tributaries.

Weekly Great Lakes Water Levels for Oct. 15, 2010

Weather Conditions

It was exceptionally warm throughout the Great Lakes basin last weekend, with the exception of the eastern portion of the basin.  Temperatures in northern cities like Marquette, MI and Duluth, MN reached the high 70's, and most of the basin experienced temperatures that were over 10 degrees above average.  The basin has been somewhat dry this month, although the central section of the basin received notable precipitation on Wednesday.  Temperatures within the western and central portions of the Great Lakes basin are expected to be near seasonal average this weekend, while the eastern portion will experience below average temperatures.  In addition, temperatures are predicted to drop around 10 degrees in much of the southern half of the basin on Sunday. There is a strong chance of showers throughout most of the region on Friday and Monday.

Lake Level Conditions

Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, and Erie continue to be below last year's levels. These lakes range from 6 to 8 inches below their levels of a year ago.  Lake Ontario, however, is at the same level as it was a year ago. Over the next month, Lake Superior is expected to decline an inch, while Lake Michigan-Huron is forecasted to decline 3 inches. Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and, Ontario are predicted to decline 6, 3, and 5 inches, respectively, during the 30 days. See our Daily Levels web page for more water level information.

 Forecasted October Outflows/Channel Conditions

The outflows from Lake Superior into the St. Mary's River, from

Lake Huron into the St. Clair River, and from Lake St. Clair into the Detroit River are expected to be below average in October.  The Niagara River's flow from Lake Erie is also predicted to be below average, and the flow in the St. Lawrence River is forecasted to be above average throughout October.

Alerts

Lake Superior's water level is currently below chart datum and forecasted to remain below datum over the next six months.  Users of the Great Lakes, connecting channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before undertaking any activities that could be affected by changing water levels.  Mariners should utilize navigation charts and refer to current water level readings.

Winterization Mistakes Could Cost you your Boat

Courtesy, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Affairs

WASHINGTON � Often, boat owners who visit their boats in early spring find their boats nearly under water.. They might or might not get a call from the marina to get down there right away to take care of their boat. Don�t let this happen to you. Don�t make these mistakes which might cost you big bucks or your boat. 

►Using your Biminis or dodger as a boat cover for winter. Biminis and dodgers are for  sun and spray not for winterization.  Winter is very hard on Biminis and dodgers causing premature replacement and possibly letting water or snow into your boat or cockpit. 

►Storing a boat in the water without a cover might result in it being underwater. Cockpits have drains that might   clog up with debris causing the cockpit to fill with water, sinking the boat.  Heavy snow could push a boat with low freeboard

underwater. 

►Not closing sea cocks stored in the water. Too many things can happen to that seacock or the attached hose causing the boat to take on water.

►Storing a boat and not winterizing, even in warmer clime.  Storing ashore can freeze an engine block with an unexpected cold spell.  Storing in the water may keep the engine block a little warmer.

►Petcocks in the engine block may be clogged when you tried to drain the engine for winter.  You might not realize that no water came out of the clogged petcocks. Be sure to visually check if water drains from each petcock.  If you do have a clogged petcock a coat hanger works great clearing it.

►Having the marina attendant look after your boat might be a good idea. No matter whom you pay to watch your boat it is always best to check on your boat periodically during the off season.  Nobody cares more for your boat than you.

Lake Erie Aquatic Invasive Species Lecture, Oct 27

At Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, Bay Village, Ohio

Numerous non-native aquatic invasive species (AIS) have found a new home within Lake Erie�s aquatic environment; some as early as the late 1800�s, with the most recent in the past 23 years.  Some have been introduced intentionally; others have swum in through the St. Lawrence Seaway, and many have been introduced through ballast water from foreign ships.  Currently, a non-native fish, the Asian carp, is staged to enter the Great Lakes system with a potential threat to the entire Great Lakes fishery.

 

Want to learn more about these aquatic invaders, how they arrived in Lake Erie and what their impacts have been to the environment and the economy?  Concerned about what aquatic invasive species might come next through ballast water transport?  Want to learn about the Asian carp and how it may wreck havoc on Lake Erie�s fishery?

Learn all of this and more during Ohio Sea Grant�s lecture to be held at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, 28728 Wolf Road, Bay Village, Ohio. Scheduled for Wednesday, October 27, 2010 from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M., the seminar is co-sponsored by Ohio Sea Grant and the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. Seating is limited, with pre-registration and payment of $5 per person (to help support the nature center) necessary to guarantee seating. Registration at the door will be accepted only if seating is available.

Call the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center at (440) 871-2900 for more information and to register for this seminar. 
Dave Kelch, Associate Professor and Sea Grant Extension Specialist with the Ohio Sea Grant College Program, will provide an overview of the most impacting Lake Erie aquatic invasive species and how they have changed Erie�s aquatic environment.  He will also discuss the Asian carp threat, the current plans to keep them out of the Great Lakes, and what may happen if they get into Lake Erie.

State sues Fox River polluters

Settlement with Georgia-Pacific Also Announced

MADISON � The Wisconsin Department of Justice announced the filing of a major lawsuit to require continued environmental cleanup work at Wisconsin's Lower Fox River and Green Bay Site.  The lawsuit also seeks payment of associated government costs and natural resource damages.  The total cleanup costs and damages for the Site are expected to exceed $1 billion.  This Superfund lawsuit, brought jointly by the United States and the State of Wisconsin, targets risks to humans and wildlife posed by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in bottom sediment, banks, and shoreline areas of the Fox River and Green Bay.

In addition to the complaint, the United States and the State of Wisconsin filed a proposed settlement with one of the newly-named defendants, Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP.  In the proposed settlement, Georgia Pacific would agree that it is liable, along with other defendants, for performance all required cleanup work downstream from a line across the River slightly upstream of its paper mill in the City of Green Bay.  The company also would pay $7 million to reimburse a portion of the government's unpaid past and future costs.  The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period.

The lawsuit will proceed against eleven other non-settling defendants.  A large amount of cleanup and natural resource restoration work has already been done in the area under a set of partial settlements and an EPA administrative order.  The parties that caused the PCB contamination are performing most of the ongoing cleanup work under protest, however, and they have not agreed to take full responsibility for completing the cleanup or paying all damages for injuries for natural resources.

The defendants in the governments' lawsuit include paper companies that contaminated sediment in the Fox River and Green Bay when they made and recycled a particular type of PCB-containing "carbonless" copy paper.  NCR Corporation and its affiliates produced that paper with PCBs from the mid-1950s until 1971.  The suit also names two municipal sewer system operators that discharged relatively large amounts of PCBs to the Fox River.  In 2009, the United States and the State of Wisconsin reached pre-litigation settlements with several other local sewer system operators and a number of companies that made relatively minor contributions to the PCB contamination at the site.

The cleanup remedy at the site was jointly-selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  The remedy will remove much of the PCB-containing sediment from the Fox River by dredging.  In other portions of the River, contaminated sediment will be contained in place with specially-engineered caps.  The dredging and capping will reduce PCB exposure and greatly diminish downstream migration of PCBs to Green Bay.  More than $300 million in cleanup work has already been done at the site.  The remaining dredging and capping work could cost an estimated $550 million more.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state and tribal trustees for natural resources in the area also have prepared a related natural resource damage assessment under the Superfund law.  According to that assessment, the additional cost of required natural resource restoration work may approach another $400 million.  For more info: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/wm/foxriver/