Upcoming meetings include important issues

First a couple of events and dates and then we’ll launch into the main topic.

There’s a gun show scheduled for the weekend of Jan.24-25 at the Wasilla High School. This has become an annual event sponsored by the Wasilla Hockey Boosters to raise funding for the school hockey program. The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday and the admission cost is $5. Kids under age 3 get in free. This has become my favorite gun show to attend each year, probably because of the time of year and because of the usually large number of vendors generally present. Stop in and visit. It’s a good break from cabin fever if nothing else!

An important vote is scheduled to happen Tuesday during the Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting. The Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program has petitioned the borough to purchase some borough property in the Big Lake area to build a shotgun and smallbore rifle shooting facility. The primary purpose of the facility is to allow trap, skeet, and sporting clays shotgun practice for the youth involved in the SCTP program. Owning the property and holding the practices and scheduled shooting events at this facility will reduce the cost to the participants and program by tens of thousands of dollars per year.

Funding for the local SCTP program comes primarily from individual shooter fees, fundraising events, and grants from some of the large corporations within the shooting industry. As with everything nowadays, money is getting really tight and having their own facility, rather than having to pay to shoot at the commercially available ranges in the area, would benefit the SCTP youth shooters significantly.

The SCTP organization is a national group that serves to train youth shooters in safe firearms handling and get the kids started in what can become a very enjoyable lifelong recreational activity. For the kids interested in excelling in the sport, college scholarships can be earned and the group also serves as a “feeder” into the Olympic shooting programs. Corey Cogdell from Eagle River began her shooting career in the SCTP program.

The borough meeting starts at 6 p.m. and everyone interested in supporting this worthwhile youth activity is urged to attend to voice your support for this much needed facility to support beneficial youth activities here in the valley.

Now to my main topic.

The Alaska Board of Game is scheduled to hold their Central/Southwest Regional meeting in Wasilla Feb. 13-20 at the Lake Lucille Inn. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and public testimony on the proposals will be taken for the next couple of days, depending on how many folks sign up to testify.

The BOG will consider approximately 104 proposals affecting moose, caribou, bears, sheep, goats, wolves and other fur bearers, and small game and waterfowl in Game Management Units (GMUs) 9, 10, 11, 13, 14A, 14B, 16, and 17. The specifics to be discussed include methods and means, season dates, bag limits and other factors. The two “hot potato” issues (in my opinion) include proposed regulation changes affecting Dall sheep hunting and the “infamous” Unit 13 Nelchina community harvest hunt. Multiple proposals are on the books addressing both of these topics.

Another topic I would expect to hear some discussion on concerns the reauthorization of antlerless moose hunts in GMU 14. I’ve commented on this in a couple of previous columns and articles have appeared in the Alaska Dispatch News on this topic. Voting between now and then by the area’s Fish and Game advisory committees will determine the future of that program.

One specific proposal I am interested in is No. 134. This proposal would require the Department of Fish and Game to develop a hunter education certification course for those hunters wishing to use crossbows while hunting big game in Alaska. This proposal was originally submitted for each of the game management regions in the state and was scheduled to come before the BOG in all three of their regional meetings this cycle.

According to the BOG website, that proposal was considered at the Southeast meeting and was made a statewide proposal and deferred to the statewide meeting in March 2016. I still plan to voice my support for it during the Wasilla meeting anyway.

If you can’t attend the Wasilla meeting and testify on proposals of interest to you, written testimony will be accepted until Jan. 30. Make your voice heard.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and a longtime columnist for the Frontiersman. You can leave a message for him by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.