REGION

REGION
MCFSC awards banquetset at Lowellville club
LOWELLVILLE -- The annual Mahoning County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs awards banquet will be at 6 p.m. next Saturday at the Lowellville Rod & amp; Gun Clubhouse, 6225 Quarry Road off U.S. Route 224 in Poland Township.
Rosemary Herr, national coordinator of the NRA Shooting Sports Camps programs, will be the featured speaker, MFCSC president James Denney said.
A longtime firearms and shooting sports enthusiast, Herr began her career in the Shooting Sports Development Program and was responsible for the administration of the NRA Junior Olympic and NRA Marksmanship Qualification shooting programs. She also oversaw the national promotion of international style shooting sports in the United States and the growth of youth participation in competitive shooting.
She has written several new courses of fire for handgun, sporting clays, light rifle, high power and trap, as well as numerous NRA publications.
Tickets are available by calling Denney at (330) 545-4250 or contacting any federation club president.
Banquet benefitsTod Children's Hospital
BROOKFIELD -- The 19th annual Tod Children's Hospital sportsman's awards banquet, sponsored by Marteney's Barber Shop and Fish & amp; Field Report, will take place March 11 at Yankee Lake Ballroom.
Last year's event drew 1,000 people and raised over $25,000 for Tod Children's Hospital.
Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $16, and tables for 10 are available. Corporate sponsorships are $260 for a table of 10. A special drawing will be held for the corporate sponsored tables.
For more information, call William Marteney at (330) 898-3858 or 872-0596, Fish & amp; Field editor Rick Henninger at (330) 544-8951, Frank Maloney at (440) 293-8217 or Mike Landis at (440) 293-4074.
OHIO
Lesser-known wildlifein spotlight at conference
COLUMBUS -- Some of Ohio's lesser-known wildlife will take center stage during the Ohio Wildlife Diversity Conference on March 8 at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus.
The conference, "Looking Beyond the Surface," is open to the public and is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
"New information about our state's wildlife will be unveiled during the conference," said Kendra Wecker, ODNR wildlife diversity coordinator. "Conference participants will have the opportunity to learn about new technology and how it is being used to manage Ohio's wildlife."
The keynote speaker will be Guy Denny, executive director of the Ohio Biological Survey. Denny, a distinguished naturalist, will highlight the state's abundant biodiversity during his presentation.
Other conference topics include the secretive world of the bobcat, Eastern fox snake and a lesser-known Ohio resident, the badger. Wildlife biologists also will discuss how technology is helping them monitor osprey migrations. Representatives from a range of conservation and natural resource organizations will have displays and be available to answer questions, including the Ohio Bluebird Society, several county metro park districts and the Ohio Biological Survey.
Registration is $20 before Feb. 22 and $30 the day of the conference.
For more information about the daylong conference or to register, call (800) WILDLIFE, or visit the ODNR Web site at ohiodnr.com.
Northeast Ohio anglerqualifies for Grand Slam
AKRON -- Robert Kramer, 64, of York Township in Medina County is the first angler to qualify for the Lake Erie Grand Slam award, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
The division introduced the new fishing challenge in 2005.
A retired school teacher, Kramer has kept very busy the last several years successfully vying for the Division of Wildlife's Master Angler award. Once the Grand Slam program began, however, he trolled down a new, but even more challenging path. His brother, Jim, introduced the new opportunity to him and they took off to Lake Erie to catch three "Fish Ohio!" species -- a walleye at least 28 inches long, a smallmouth bass at least 20 inches long, and a steelhead trout a minimum of 28 inches long.
"I didn't really do anything different from fishing as usual to win the Lake Erie Grand Slam award," Kramer said. "I trolled with planner boards, downriggers, dipsy and jet divers, and almost always used stinger spoons. While the methods to catch these fish are nearly the same involving mostly trolling, water depths differ."
After a late start (toward the end of June) and three trips to Lake Erie, Kramer finally caught an impressive 30-inch steelhead in about 70 feet of water off Avon Point. Then in August, while trolling for walleyes near a sandbar about 15 miles off shore and in 45 feet of water, he reeled in a 20.5-inch smallmouth bass. Finally, he caught a 28.5-inch walleye in 45 feet of water which landed him the award.
The new award recognizes Ohio's marquee fish species and the anglers who catch them. This program uses existing "Fish Ohio!" length requirements and is similar to the Master Angler award, but with a twist. The angler must catch three different "Fish Ohio!" species to qualify for one of three distinct Grand Slam categories. The categories are: Lake Erie, Ohio River and Inland (Inland includes lakes, rivers, streams and private ponds). Also, all three species must be caught within the same license year (March 1 to Feb. 28).
For more information on award programs for anglers visit www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/fishing/recordfish_fshohio/default.htm#
PENNSYLVANIA
Hunters must submitDMAP report cards
HARRISBURG -- With the 2005-06 deer seasons coming to a close this month, Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director Carl Roe reminded hunters that they must complete and submit their Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) report cards either by mail or through the agency's Web site (www.pgc.state.pa.us) by Feb. 7.
Under DMAP, all hunters are required to submit a report card, even if the hunter did not take a deer. This is being done so the game commission can measure the effectiveness of the program. All reports must be submitted by Feb. 7. Just click on the "DMAP" icon in the center of the home page and follow the instructions.
Hunters will need to provide: their application number, DMAP unit number, coupon number and birth date; the date of the harvest; the Wildlife Management Unit, county and township of the harvest; and what type of sporting arm they used. DMAP permits may be used only to take antlerless deer; however, hunters still will need to identify whether the deer was male or female. Hunters also can report that they did not harvest a deer simply by checking a box at this Web site.
Those hunters who harvested an antlered deer using their general hunting license or a Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) antlerless deer license must mail their harvest report card to the agency within 10 days of harvest.
While the late flintlock muzzleloader and archery seasons closed last Saturday, antlerless deer seasons in WMUs 5C and 5D run until next Saturday.
For the 2004-05 deer seasons, 34,135 DMAP antlerless deer permits were issued to hunters, of which 7,946 hunters reported that they harvested a deer and 19,874 reported that they did not harvest a deer. However, 6,315 hunters did not submit any report card.