Fishing for Some Christmas Trees
By P.J. Reilly
Pro Bass Shops will use evergreens to create habitats
Christmas 2006 has come and gone.
The spirit of Christmas giving, however, can live on.
Christmas tree recycling is all the rage these days.
We take our trees to a designated facility, and the trees are chopped up and used primarily for landscaping purposes.
This year, however, all you anglers out there have the chance to see your Christmas tree benefit one of your favorite hobbies.
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, Bass Pro Shops is looking to collect 100 Christmas trees at its Harrisburg store – 3501 Paxton St. – to be used to provide fish habitat in a Schuylkill County lake.
Any Christmas tree – other than artificial ones, of course – can be donated, as long as it is completely stripped of all decorations, including tinsel and garland.
Bass Pro Shops will take the first 100 trees donated.
According to Chris O’Hara, the local Bass Pro Shops promotions manager, the trees will be trucked to Sweet Arrow Lake near Pine Grove, about 40 minutes away from the store.
At the lake, members of the Pennsylvania BASS Federation will drill holes in the tree trunks, so that they can be weighted down with concrete blocks.
Groups of 20 trees will be placed in rows parallel to the shoreline.
Once the trees are sunk, nature will take over.
Microorganisms will grow on the branches and attract small baitfish, which, in turn, will attract panfish and bass. The trees also will provide spawning cover for panfish and bass.
O’Hara said Bass Pro helps out dozens of organizations with monetary donations every year.
The Christmas tree collection, he said, is a way for the company to contribute to wildlife conservation in a different way.
“This is more hands-on,” O’Hara said. “We won’t be sending anybody to the lake, but we’ll be working here at the store as the trees are brought in.”
O’Hara pitched the Christmas-tree idea to the Pennsylvania BASS Federation, he said. The federation selected Sweet Arrow Lake.
According to the federation, the 60-acre lake was drained four years ago so that repairs could be made to the dam that forms the impoundment.
Currently, the lake is down about seven feet below normal pool level so that a variety of manmade fish-habitat enhancements can be added.
Besides Bass Pro Shops and the BASS Federation, partners in the Sweet Arrow Lake improvement project include the Schuylkill Conservation District, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Sweet Arrow Lake Conservation Club, and various local bass clubs.
Pennsylvania hunters were allowed to apply for a second spring gobbler tag beginning Jan. 1.
Second spring gobbler applications are available on page 38 of the 2006-07 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations, which is provided to each license buyer, or by going to the agency’s Web site (www.pgc.state.pa.us), and clicking on “Spring Turkey Tag App.” in the center of the homepage below “The Outdoor Shop.”
Hunters also may apply over-the-counter at any of the Game Commission’s six region offices or Harrisburg headquarters.
Fees set by state law for the special license are $21 for residents and $41 for nonresidents.
Mailed applications for special wild turkey licenses must be sent to: Pennsylvania Game Commission, Special Spring Gobbler License, P.O. Box 61317, Harrisburg, PA 17106-1317.
The application period closes on April 1, and the spring gobbler season is set for April 28-May 26.
Hunters are allowed to submit only one application for the special wild turkey license during a license year.
Hunters are able to take one spring gobbler as part of their general hunting privileges. However, the special license will afford those hunters interested in this additional opportunity to take a second spring gobbler.
According to Mary Jo Casalena, the Game Commission’s wild turkey biologist, research has shown that properly timed and implemented multiple-bird spring limits have not caused population declines in other states.
“Pennsylvania, however, is unique with its large number of wild turkey hunters and large harvests,” Casalena said. “Therefore, it is imperative that sufficient population monitoring occurs prior to any additional season changes.
“We regularly recommend the change in seasons remain in place for at least three years to assess any biological and social impacts caused by that change, after which additional changes can be made, such as extending hunting hours beyond noon.”
Revenues from the special licenses could be used to implement and fund the Game Commission’s turkey management plan and further educate turkey hunters, thereby promoting additional recreation and safe hunting practices.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners will hold its first meeting of 2007 on Jan. 21-23, in the auditorium of the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Ave.
A copy of the agenda for the upcoming meeting will be posted on the agency’s Web site the week of Jan. 15.
On Sunday, Jan. 21, beginning at 1 p.m., the board will hear public recommendations for 2007-08 hunting and furtaking seasons and bag limits. Doors will open at noon.
Individuals interested in offering public testimony – limited to five minutes – may begin to register at noon on a first-come, first- to-speak basis.
On Monday, Jan. 22, the board will gather any additional public comments and hear Game Commission staff reports beginning at 8:30 a.m. Doors open at 7:45 a.m.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the Game Commission will take up its prepared agenda to, among other things, give preliminary approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2007-08. Doors open at 7:45 a.m.
Antlerless deer license allocations for the 2007-08 seasons will be presented for the board to consider at its meeting in April. Harvest results from the 2006-07 deer seasons will be announced in mid-March.
P.J. Reilly’s e-mail address is preilly@lnpnews.com
(c) 2007 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.