CLUBS

CLUBS
Two WTU events set
Whitetails Unlimited will host a Texas Hold'em tournament at 6 tonight at the Vernon Township Hall in Trumbull County.
Entry is $40 per person and proceeds will go toward the archery in schools program.
For more information, call (330) 507-9489.
The Shenango Valley Chapter of WTU will hold its fifth annual fund-raising dinner at 5 p.m. April 9 at the Hempfield Volunteer Fire Hall in Greenville, Pa.
Tickets are $40 per single and $65 per couple. There will be auctions and raffles with guns, artwork and collectibles.
For information call (866) 988-3337.
TURKEY
More opportunitiesfor youths to hunt
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife in conjunction with the Ravenna Training and Logistics Site will offer special opportunities for young hunters seeking wild turkeys this spring gobbler season.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife will be holding drawings April 2 for special, controlled youth turkey hunts at the Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, and now the RTLS. These events are for hunters 17 and under. During the hunt they must be accompanied by a nonhunting adult (18 or older). Youth applicants must be present at the time of the drawing and possess a valid 2005 hunting license.
The drawings for youth turkey hunts at the Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area (WA) and at the RTLS will be held together at the Mosquito WA area headquarters, 8303 N. Park Ave. (County Road 236), North Bloomfield (One mile south of state Route 87). Registration is from 8:30-9:30 a.m., with the drawings conducted at 12:30 p.m.
Ninety permits will be awarded for the Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area, five per day for the preseason youth hunts April 16 and 17 and five per day for each of the four Saturdays and Sundays of the spring turkey season (April 18 - May 15).
A total of 20 permits will be awarded to for the RTLS, 10 per day on each of the two hunt days of April 16 (opening day of Youth Spring Turkey Season) and May 7.
Hunters may apply for both drawings. Registration for the Killbuck drawing will begin at 8 a.m. April 2 at the Killbuck Valley Sportsman Club, 8482 Township Road 559, Holmesville, Ohio (One mile west of state Route 83). The drawing will be held at 2 p.m. A total of 30 permits will be awarded, three per day for the pre-season youth hunts April 16 and 17 and three per day for each of the four Saturdays and Sundays of the spring hunting season.
A National Wild Turkey Federation "JAKES" Day Event will coincide with all drawings. These events, sponsored by local chapters of NWTF, will include shotgun safety and shotgun patterning, game identification, turkey calling clinics and demonstrations of turkey trapping and management. Young hunters are encouraged to bring their shotguns and shells. The ODNR Division of Wildlife will provide paper targets for patterning shotguns and those awarded permits can inspect the terrain within their hunting units.
OHIO
Peregrine nesting
COLUMBUS -- Peregrine falcons are currently incubating eggs at six sites in Aberdeen (Brown County), Cleveland, Cleves (Hamilton County) Dayton and Lakewood. Two of the nests are in Cleveland -- at the Cleveland Clinic and Terminal Tower building.
State wildlife biologists say early reports indicate that there are at least 18 pairs of peregrine falcons across Ohio. For the first time, a single bird has been sighted in downtown Chillicothe, atop the Ross County Courthouse. Reports of sightings of other unpaired birds have come from Adams County, The Ohio State University (Columbus campus), and Lorain. Ohioans can follow the progress of various peregrine nests at the ODNR Division of Wildlife's peregrine falcon web page found at ohiodnr.com.
By April, most peregrine falcons will have chosen or rebonded with mates and selected nest sites. As the nesting season develops, key events such as egg laying, hatching and fledging at each active Ohio nest will be noted and summarized on the Web site.
Ohio communities with peregrine falcon pairs include Aberdeen in Brown County (2), Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleves in Hamilton County, Cleveland (5), Columbus, Dayton, Huron, Ironton, Lakewood, Lima and Toledo. Nests are expected at most of these sites within the next month.
First eaglet hatches
Ohio's first eaglet of 2005 has hatched in Huron County.
At least one eaglet hatched on March 16, according to experienced eagle watchers who have been observing the nest since early February when incubation activity began. It will be weeks before wildlife biologists can determine how many eaglets are in the nest.
Currently, adult bald eagles are incubating eggs in 103 nests across the state -- evidence of the success of Ohio's bald eagle management program. A record 121 active nests have been identified in the state so far this year.
PENNSYLVANIA
CWD not foundin elk samples
HARRISBURG -- Samples taken from hunter-killed elk during the state's 2004 hunting season have all tested negative for chronic wasting disease, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Vern Ross.
Based on a significant increase in the number of deer samples collected for testing, Ross noted that the Game Commission still is awaiting the results of the more than 3,600 hunter-killed deer samples collected during the 2004 seasons.
In 2003, the agency collected samples from more than 2,000 hunter-killed deer, and all results came back negative for CWD.
"Currently, there are no confirmed or suspected cases of CWD-infected deer or elk in Pennsylvania, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that it stays that way," Ross said. "By conducting these random tests on hunter-killed deer and elk, we will help to assure ourselves and the general public that it is unlikely that CWD is present in wild deer and elk in the state."
CWD tests on the elk samples were conducted by the New Bolton Center, which is the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary diagnostics laboratory. Under a contract with Penn State University, the elk samples also were tested for brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis and found to be free from these diseases. The New Bolton Center and the Department of Agriculture's State Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg are conducting the CWD tests on the deer samples. Results are expected in the near future.