Burning Issues

[Dan Andrews]

To read the most current up to date burning issues visit:

http://www.ofah.org/index.cfm

[Dan Andrews]

Program Update || Winter 2007 Newsletter <h3 align="center">The Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program

Restoring Atlantic Salmon to Lake Ontario</h3> Lake Ontario was once home to one of the most important and well-known fish in the world - the Atlantic salmon. Wiped out before 1900 by farming and development on their spawning streams and overfishing in both the streams and Lake Ontario, for the last 20 years the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and its research partners have been studying the potential for restoring Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario.

At long last, the time has now arrived for a serious effort to restore Atlantic salmon to Ontario. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has partnered with Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Conservation Authorities, Fishing Forever Foundation, Sir Sandford Fleming College, the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association and the Trees Ontario Foundation to undertake this important mission of seeing a part of Ontario's natural heritage return.

This web site is the home of the effort to restore Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario. Here you will find news on the recovery efforts, the fascinating history and biology of Atlantic salmon, and our important program partners and sponsors. As the Recovery Strategy for Atlantic salmon is developed, there will be opportunities for individuals and conservation groups to participate in roles ranging from consultation to rearing fish to stream rehabilitation to angler diary programs. Please explore the site to learn more!

Questions or comments? Please feel free to

contact us.

[Dan Andrews]

UPDATE: Petition to Support Bill 156

Ontario's cormorant crisis

Half a million cormorants are raiding your local fishery, decimating shoreline habitat, threatening water quality and diminishing your property values. Ontario's cormorant crisis is an ecological disaster in the making. It has been compared to a tsumani with dire consequences of unparalleled proportions for fish and habitat.

How bad is the cormorant crisis? Biologically speaking, it's out of control. Provincially, cormorant numbers are 250-times historic population records.

Each cormorant eats a minimum of one-pound of fish per day; in other words, it takes about three yellow perch to feed the cormorants' voracious daily appetite. In Ontario, the net effect is over 42 million pounds of fish consumed by cormorants each year. Worse than what cormorants take is what they leave behind - that is, only the skeletons of mature shoreline trees. Cormorant droppings are so toxic they have destroyed thousands of miles of precious shoreline habitat.

O.F.A.H. represents YOU!

Given the considerable environmental damage caused by these birds, Ontario's cormorant crisis is much more than an angling issue - yet the O.F.A.H. is the only provincial wildlife organization that's actually doing something about it.

Anybody of who cares about water quality, habitat protection and local fishing opportunities has the O.F.A.H. to thank for its leadership in demanding cormorant management.

Politics vs. science

Unfortunately, sensible solutions to cormorant management have come under fire from media-savvy animal rights extremists who are more interested in protests than actually doing anything positive to protect the birds, trees, flora and fauna they claim to represent.

Recently, the animal rights extremists mobilized their members and threw a costly wrench into this year's cormorant control plan. Despite five full years of study and ample scientific support for cormorant control measures, the government continues to ride the fence on this very serious environment issue.

Shouldn't the government be listening to YOU ?

Your help is urgently needed

We need your voice in O.F.A.H. membership to help demand cormorant control - before its too late. Your O.F.A.H. Membership is a powerful statement (it's another vote) that YOUR FEDERATION will deliver to political decision makers.

If you agree that the cormorant crisis has gone too far in your community, care enough to join the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

( Stay up-to-date with issues affecting anglers )

[Dan Andrews]

Newsworthy

• Call to Action: Bill C-21
  
• Remembering Bill C68
  
• Public Safety Minister puts last nail in the gun registry's coffin (PDF)
  
• Gun owners ready for change
  

Download the Bill C-21 form letter (Word file, 20 KB)

O.F.A.H. ACTIONS AGAINST FEDERAL GUN REGISTRY

The following list is a summary (not all inclusive) that outlines some of the actions we have taken in the effort to rescind this bad legislation. We actively continue to impact Canadian gun legislation to make them "sensible," addressing criminal misuse while protecting the rights and privileges of our members.

• Radio campaigns in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, and London opposing the bill (a cost of over $100,000);
  
• Full-page ads in MacLean's magazine and other consumer magazines opposing the bill;
  
• Over $30,000 worth of advertising in major market newspapers opposing the bill;
  
• Ads in the Hill Times (media for M.P/s, Senators, and senior policy makers);
  
• Television features about the dangers and costs of the bill;
  
• Produced more postcards than any other group in Canada opposing the bill;
  
• Generated thousands of names on petitions opposing the bill to the House of Commons;
  
• Were successful in lobbying the Ontario government to legally challenge the bill;
  
• Helped fund the Alberta court challenge;
  

• Provided legal advice to the Alberta Fish and Game Association for their court case;
  
• Lobbied, and continue to lobby, individual M.P.'s and individual Senators;
  
• Presentations made to both House of Commons and Senate Justice Committees;
  
• Package and presentation made to the Ministry of Health Conference "Violence as a Public Health Issue;"
  
• Participated in hundreds of media interviews and news releases fighting the bill;
  
• Participated in urban phone-in radio shows to educate the public to the dangers of this legislation;
  
• Played a lead role in the National Coalition of Provincial and Territorial Wildlife Federations, which also fought the legislation;
  
• Sent C-68 information directly to O.F.A.H. members, hunter education instructors, and retailers, to encourage them to fight the bill;
  
• Principle participants in several public rallies, including Fed Up I and Fed Up II;
  
• Produced and distributed over 200,000 "election" bumper stickers;
  
• Produced tens of thousands "election" lawn signs;
  
• Encouraged O.F.A.H. member clubs and O.F.A.H. zones to run all-candidates nights;
  
• Produced and distributed various information brochures, such as "Bringing You More Facts About Bill C-68," and "Bill C-68 Canada's New Firearms Act;"
  
• Continue to produce and post information on our web site and other media sources, including Angler and Hunter Hotline, Call of the Loon, and Hunter Education News;
  
• Communications being sent to the legal counsel for the Justice Department;
  
• Currently working on further communications with the Chiefs of Police;
  
• Met with the Auditor General prior to the release of her December 2002 report;
  
• Met with the federal Solicitor General and urged him to scrape the registry;
  
• Developed a firearms motion against the registry which has been passed by 244 municipalities to date ( Download list ( PDF, 16 KB ));
  
• Worked with Opposition parties to question the government;
  
• Filed Freedom of Information requests with the Justice Minister;
  
• Met with staff from Paul Martin's office urging them to scrap the registry;
  
• January 2004, met with Prime Minister for two hours to emphasize need to scrap registry;
  
• Repeated conversations with police unions across Canada - worked with Calgary Police Association to get motion supporting the scrapping of the registry on the floor of Canadian Professional Police Association national meeting;
  
• Arranged for Calgary Police Association, who oppose registry, to meet with federal Minister charged with reviewing the registry;
  
• O.F.A.H. met with federal Minister reviewing the registry 14 times between January and May 2004;
  
• Minister reviewing the registry invited to speak at O.F.A.H. 2004 conference;
  
• O.F.A.H. developed and made available to clubs across Ontario lawn signs and bumper stickers against Bill C-68 for use during 2004 federal election;
  
• Press release March 14, 2005 after Mountie's killed in Alberta calling for scrapping of the registry;
  
• Filed Requests for Information against federal government, various departments, to determine how much money is being funneled towards anti-gun groups;
  
• Worked with Federation of Canadian Municipalities to help pass motion against firearms registry
  

( Stay up-to-date with issues affecting gun owners )

[Dan Andrews]

<h3 align="center">New hope for hatcheries

A message from O.F.A.H. Executive Director Mike Reader</h3> Anyone who pays taxes, funds the MNR through their outdoor license fees and shares the Federation’s concern for conservation and fishing opportunities will insist – as does the O.F.A.H. – that there is one thing that Ontario cannot afford to be without fish hatcheries.

Hatcheries are the home of the provincial fish culture program which, ironically, started with the rearing of Atlantic salmon back in the 1800’s. The late Samuel Wilmot (of Wilmot Creek near Oshawa) started this conservation revolution. For decades since, the concept of rearing and stocking fish has been embraced and perfected by O.F.A.H. member clubs that voluntarily operate their own local hatcheries.

Our hatchery history

Fishing wouldn’t be what it is today without O.F.A.H. member clubs. Likewise, fishing wouldn’t be what it is today without MNR provincial hatcheries (paid for by anglers and hunters) that produce anywhere from seven to ten million fish annually and are stocked in thousands of lakes and rivers in Ontario.

If it weren’t for local and provincial fish culture programs, there wouldn’t be a recreational fishery on the Great Lakes, particularly for chinook salmon and trout. There wouldn’t be fish in lakes that were once hit hard by acid rain and other causes. There wouldn’t be alternative angling opportunities when other nearby lakes need time to recover. There wouldn’t be a sustainable Aurora trout, Haliburton trout or any other genetically distinct fishery. There wouldn’t be an urban fishing program. And there wouldn’t be a major cash flow for businesses and the government when two million anglers wet their lines each year.

When you think about it, the money the province invests in fish culture is virtually made back in the PST from Lake Ontario’s recreational fishery alone.

On the chopping block

These days, it all comes down to dollars and cents, something that the MNR is running very short on, and in turn, the reason why the government was planning to mothball the Ringwood Hatchery near Stouffville.

Fortunately, however, plans to shut down the Ringwood hatchery were averted because the O.F.A.H. stepped up to the plate with an offer to help.

At this time, the O.F.A.H. and the Ministry are continuing discussions with respect to saving the Ringwood hatchery. The goal of the O.F.A.H. is to do what is right for a diverse and viable fishery, and to do what is right for Ontario’s angling community. If these two elements are part of the equation, we will look to enter into an agreement to lease the Ringwood hatchery.

According to the Ministry, the Ringwood hatchery is not the only fish culture station that has been saved (thus far at least), as a result of O.F.A.H. partnership talks.

Saved by O.F.A.H. partnership

As noted in a recent MNR media release, the Federation’s lead in the Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program is what is keeping the lights on and the water running at Normandale, another provincial fish hatchery that the government would have otherwise closed. The Normandale Hatchery is a critical facility in the fish culture program because it is where large quantities and a wide variety of species are raised, including Lake Ontario’s chinook salmon.

In light of our longstanding hatchery discussions with the MNR, the O.F.A.H. is also very pleased that the province has committed to upgrade the Dorion Fish Culture Station serving Lake Superior and northwestern Ontario’s inland lakes. This good news announcement, endorsed by the O.F.A.H., means jobs, improved fishing, and socio-economic opportunities in the north.

For years, the O.F.A.H. has insisted that the provincial fish culture program, including Ringwood, Normandale and Dorion fish hatcheries, must remain a core operation of the Ministry of Natural Resources. As such, the O.F.A.H. is pleased that the Ministry is working with the O.F.A.H. on this and other initiatives. We congratulate the MNR on its recent hatchery announcements.

We also congratulate the Minister of Natural Resources on his commitment to the Community Fisheries Wildlife Involvement Program (CFWIP) that could very well have been axed without his immediate attention to O.F.A.H. protests. Like the provincial fish culture program, CFWIP is a successful grassroots environmental program – one that the O.F.A.H. will always be there to defend as well.

140 years later, Samuel Wilmot’s vision for a fish culture program is more important than ever. Today, the O.F.A.H. is proud to be a key player in Ontario’s fisheries management revolution which he started.

This article appeared in the August 2006 issue of Angler & Hunter Hotline, an exclusive benefit of O.F.A.H. Membership

[Dan Andrews]

Making Waves! Grade 4 Curriculum Kit

Invading Species Awareness Program

Invading species are one of the greatest threats to the biodiversity of Ontario's waters, wetlands and woodlands. Originating from other regions of the world, and in the absence of their natural predators or controls, invading species can have devastating effects on native species, habitats and ecosystems.

More than 185 non-indigenous species have become established in the Great Lakes basin. Invading species, such as the zebra mussel, sea lamprey and round goby, are agressive, extremely adaptable and have high reproduction rates enabling them to spread. Unchecked, these invaders will outcompete native fish and wildlife and unbalance natural ecosystems.

Invading species are introduced to Ontario waters through a variety of pathways such as ballast water from foreign shipping, aquarium & horticultural trades, live food fish trades, unauthorized fish introduction's and/or transfers. These species can be further spread into Ontario's inland lakes through recreational activities such as boating, angling, and through the release of live bait.

In 1992 the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, established The Invading Species Awareness Program. Our objectives are to:

• Raise public awareness of invasive species and encourage their participation in preventing their spread.
• Monitor and track the spread of invading species in Ontario waters through citizen reports to the Invading Species Hotline and the Invading Species Watch program
• Conduct research on the impacts and control of invasive species

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[Dan Andrews]

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Bear attacks show failure in government’s management policy

Vicious black bear attacks are recent examples of why, for over six-and-a-half years (since the spring bear hunt was cancelled in 1999), the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has tried everything possible to convince the Ontario government to reinstate the hunt.

"We told the government then, and have continued to do so ever since, that regulated hunting is a proven wildlife population control tool that can increase public safety. Unfortunately, our dire predictions continue to come true," said O.F.A.H. biologist Dr. Terry Quinney. "Reduced harvest of bears resulting from the cancellation of the spring bear hunt has resulted in an increase of bear numbers and density, and an increase in the number of aggressive adult male bears."

Here is what six independent bear experts from across North America said when the hunt was cancelled: "Increasing interaction with humans resulting from higher bear densities is likely to result in more bear attacks on humans. Bear attacks on humans are more prevalent in areas where no hunting occurs (e.g. in parks) than in areas where bears are hunted. As the structure of the bear population changes [because of no spring hunt including] more older aged male bears, it is probable that the incidence of ‘human predatory’ bears will increase."

A key question that must be addressed immediately is – has the government done everything reasonably possible to minimize the likelihood of such tragedies? The O.F.A.H. repeats what it said more than three years ago: "The cancellation of the spring bear hunt was bad for people and bad for bears… for the good of society and the good of the black bear population, the spring bear hunt must be reinstated."

"Saying 'we told you so' gives us no satisfaction whatsoever," added Dr. Quinney. "The government’s bear management policy is a failure and must be changed immediately. When former Premier Harris suddenly terminated the hunt, bowing to the political blackmail of animal rights activists, the government said that one orphaned cub was one too many. Conversely, the O.F.A.H. says one avoidable human death is one too many."

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[Dan Andrews]

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• Download Map of Sunday Hunting Areas in Southern Ontario - updated June 11, 2008
  
• Sunday Gun Hunting for Migratory Birds
  
• Upcoming Sunday Hunting meetings/votes<h3 align="center">O.F.A.H. celebrates new Sunday hunting opportunities </h3>This weekend marks a historic achievement for hunters and wildlife managers -- the expansion of Sunday gun hunting in about 90 municipalities across southern Ontario.
  Not since the century-old Lord's Day Act, has hunting with a gun on a Sunday, during existing hunting seasons, been allowed in most communities south of the French River. However, times have changed and, with today's burgeoning populations of deer, geese and other species (not to mention today's busy work schedules and competition for family downtime), the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has recognized and supported the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters' push for more Sunday gun hunting.
  "In the past two years, the provincial government, and in particular, the Minister of Natural Resources, have opened the door for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters to pursue its vision for province-wide Sunday gun hunting," said O.F.A.H. Executive Director, Mike Reader. "We also appreciate outstanding support from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and a growing list of municipalities that recognize the multiple benefits of this previously untapped opportunity."
  Recognizing the fact that wildlife causes some $45 million in annual crop damage, and that vehicle collisions with wildlife have skyrocketed by 86 percent in the last ten years, the Ministry of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) has worked in partnership with the O.F.A.H. and the farm community to introduce new hunting opportunities as a valuable wildlife management tool.
  Sharing the M.N.R.'s concern for wildlife management, the Canadian Wildlife Service (C.W.S.) which regulates migratory bird hunting, is also supportive of Sunday gun hunting. Recently the C.W.S. approved Sunday gun hunting for waterfowl in parts of central and eastern Ontario where municipalities in those regions have said yes to the M.N.R. proposal. An updated map of new Sunday gun hunting opportunities can be found on the O.F.A.H. website.
  Starting this weekend, Sunday gun hunting will be allowed during existing seasons for waterfowl, and for big and small game species where municipalities and the CWS have approved it. At any time, municipalities may be added to the government's growing list of approved Sunday gun hunting areas.
  The O.F.A.H. - the voice of anglers and hunters - reminds people to hunt safely and responsibly, and respect fellow hunters, landowners and others who enjoy the outdoors. No one, whether hiking, bird watching, fishing or hunting, has the right to use private land without permission, and landowner permission forms are available from www.ofah.org
  Additional Background:
  
  • Wildlife causes some $45 million in crop damage each year, and the costs are increasing.
    
  • Collisions with wildlife have increased by 86% over the last ten years.
    
  • There is a reported motor vehicle/wildlife collision every 38 minutes in this province. 90% involve white-tailed deer.
    
  • One out of every 18 reported motor vehicle collisions in Ontario involves some form of wildlife.
    
  • In 2003 alone, 13,729 collisions were reported. This resulted in 4 deaths, 500 serious injuries and millions of dollars in damage claims.
    
  • Without the annual deer hunt, wildlife experts estimate that vehicle collisions with deer would increase by at least 300 percent.
    
  • Ontario hunters have an exceptional safety record. All hunters must complete over 20 hours of training and pass federal and provincial examinations. The Canada Safety Council has reported that hunting is measurably safer than a number of outdoor activities including hiking, skating, boating, golfing and cycling.
    
  • Hunting in Ontario represents $1.5 billion in annual economic activity which, in many communities, supports hotels, gas stations, grocery stories, restaurants and a number of other employment opportunities.
    

  With over 81,000 members and 640 member clubs, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is the province's largest nonprofit, nongovernment fishing, hunting and conservation organization.

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