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Massachusetts Sportsmen's Council news items of interest to affiliate clubs.

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6/22/2009      F&W Board Votes to Expand Hunting Opportunities

The Massachusetts Fisheries & Wildlife Board today unanimously voted to extend the shotgun season for deer to two weeks in DMZ 12 (Cape Cod), bringing it in line with the rest of mainland Massachusetts. The Board also voted to shift the Archery Deer Season so that the season will always end on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. read more »

3/27/2009      Bring this fishery back

Boston Globe

WITHIN DAYS of her confirmation as head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jane Lubchenco was meeting with New England fishermen to get their views on one of the thorniest decisions she will have to make: whether to back an extremely tight federal limit on commercial fishing for the season that begins May 1.

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3/26/2009      New sensor lets scientists study large fish groups

WASHINGTON — New technology is allowing researchers and conservationists to watch the movement of large groups of fish as they gather into shoals and later split up.

Focusing on Atlantic herring, the scientists were, for the first time, able to observe the fish gather off Georges Bank near Cape Cod, Mass., where they spawn under cover of dark, according to a report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science

Boston Herald

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3/7/2009      Gray wolf to stay off endangered list

BILLINGS, Mont. - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said yesterday that he is upholding the US Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove gray wolves from the federal endangered species list in the Northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes.

Associated Press / March 7, 2009

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2/13/2009      Hunting discussion stirs strong feelings

Marshfield's Conservation Commission will decide within the next month whether to open land under its authority to hunters, ending a 20-year prohibition.

To date, people on both sides of that issue seem unwilling to accept any compromise. Hunters want to pursue their pastime free of local interference, and hikers want to use the conservation lands without having to worry about catching a stray arrow or bullet.

The 2,000 acres under the Marshfield Conservation Commission's authority have been off-limits to hunters since 1989. The issue of hunting was raised recently by residents who said they were running into hunters while hiking or jogging on the commission's tracts. The properties were not posted with "No Hunting" signs, so the confusion, officials conceded, was understandable and needed to be cleared up.

Boston Globe

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2/9/2009      Proposed New Hampshire wind farm raises wildlife concerns

Boston Herald & AP

CONCORD, N.H. — Both the state Fish and Game Department and the Appalachian Mountain Club are voicing concern about a proposed wind farm in far northern New Hampshire.

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1/22/2009      Getting closer to home; Increased sightings of wildlife reported in suburban areas

When Rebecca Taylor goes hunting, it's not for sport and it can be uncomfortably close to your home. She shoulders her shotgun, tells nearby children to get inside, and goes to work.

Boston Globe

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1/21/2009      GOAL Files Amended "Katrina" Bill

During the last legislative session Senator Richard Moore filed, on behalf of GOAL, "An Act Prohibiting the Confiscation of Lawfully Owned Firearms During the State of Emergency" The legislation was filed as a result of the unlawful confiscation of privately owned firearms during the state of emergency in Louisiana, specifically New Orleans.

GOAL's bill nearly became law, but was held up at the last moment during informal session by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. While the Association never contacted GOAL with any objections, we were informed that their main concern was that they could not determine what a lawfully owned firearm was. That alone speaks volumes for the need for real reform in Massachusetts.

Another concern about the bill came from the typical officer on the street. They expressed distress over the fact that they would be held accountable for confiscating firearms, but the person who ordered the confiscations would not face any penalties. Thus, GOAL has amended the bill to punish both.

"During the last legislative session this bill represented a litmus test of sorts here in Massachusetts," said Jim Wallace Executive Director of GOAL. "It was a clear test to see if the legislature and law enforcement would accept that they could not unlawfully confiscate private property and further, leave citizens defenseless against marauding gangs of criminals when calling for help wasn't possible. Sadly, the state failed that test."

GOAL urges all of its members to contact their legislators and ask them to support this legislation by signing on as a co-sponsor. (The bill has not yet been assigned a number.) Not sure who your local legislator is? Click here to find out (http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php)

AN ACT PROHIBITING THE CONFISCATION OF LAWFULLY OWNED FIREARMS DURING A STATE OF EMERGENCY read more »

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