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Show s Page IB South tdition Lakeside Review A Wednesday, November 28, 1984 Division Of Wildlife Seeks License Fee Increase the sportsmen of the state if we get funds to begin quality new programs," he said. The proposed license fee schedule would eliminate the trout stamp. It would also earmark $2 from big game and combination licenses for big game damage prevention and payments. Geer presented the license fee increase proposal to the legislative Energy and natural Resources Interim Committee in September. They gave us a vote of sup The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has announced it will seek a license fee increase from the Legislature in January. The cost of doing business has increased since our last fee increase in 1980, like it has for evsaid William Geer, eryone, n acting director for the State of Wildlife Resources. Div-sio- We cant carry out a comprehensive wildlife management program without additional revenue. We have some ideas to benefit port in October," he said. The acting director agrees that the requested fee increase is substantial. "But so are the benefits, he insists. "We hope that sportsmen and legislators will study the reasons and support our request." The Utah Wildlife Board red cently passed a fishing season. While this will offer anglers more fishing opportunity, it will also require additional funding, according to Geer. The opportunities available to anglers in Utah are tremendous. year-roun- With an adequate funding base, we could survey lakes to determine their full potential. More y waters could become fisheries, like Deer Creek Reservoir, offering multiple species of game fish for the angler. Others could be managed to realize their high quality potential, such as we're planning for the Green River, explained two-stor- cess, continue to provide fish habitat in the conservation pool program, expand the hunter education program, and provide sportsmen better resource opportunity for their dollar. Managing wildlife is expensive, Geer said. Many demands are being put on wildlife habitat, especially on critical big game winter range and upland game habitat, which are often prime targets for develop- Geer. Besides increased fishing opportunity, the Division wants to improve hunter and angler ac ment. We must, preserve what re mains to insure the survival of many species of wildlife. Although Geer has in mind extensive improvements for Utahs wildlife, he is ultimately a realist. The added income from a license fee increase wont solve all the problems facing wildlife, but it can help move the Division and the sportsmen of the state tothat of preward a comon goal serving our wildlife resources and assuring hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations of Utah sportsmen. Sports Commentary Ringneck Numbers Down; Money Will Provide Fix JAY ROBERSON Special to the Lakeside Review At the close of the recent pheasant hunt, any hunter could have told you that the wily ringnecks arent as abundant as they once were. First brought to Utah in 1895, pheasant numbers peaked in the late 1950s when sportsmen harvested over 300,000 birds in one season. Since that time huntersuccess has declined, on the average about two percent per year. In Utah pheasants are the most popular of the 18 small game species with about 80,000 hunters afield annually. But pheasant management problems are among the most difficult to solve. There are two basic problems. First, pheasant habitat especially quality habitat is declining. Second, public access to private land is declining so there is less land open to hunters. Habitat loss is subtle and insidious. An increasing human population, from 689,000 in 1950 to 1, 316,000 by 1978, has meant more roads, subdivisions and businesses which have consumed of prime agricul- large amounts tural land. The 1980 National Lands Study indicated Utah lost 100,000 acres of agricultural land to urban development from 1967 to 1977. Another 230,000 acres is expected to be lost by 1990. Advances in agricultural tech. nology have worked against pheasants too. - Improved technology and mechanization have brought 1985 Utah Legislature, would provide much of the additional revenue necessary to reverse, or at least slow, this alarming downward trend in pheasant habitat. With adequate funding, the Division could maintain, consoli- date, exhcange, or lease additional prime upland game greater production efficiency and habitat. This would includemarshes crop surpluses which depress crop prices. Depressed prices have which have value for nongame caused a decline in small family wildlife and waterfowl as well. In order to provide for both habitat farms in favor of corporate giand the recreational needs of ants. Agricultural statistics indicate sportsmen, there should be at that in the next 20 years the least 640 acres of upland game number of U.S. farms will decline habitat per county, with no less than 160 contiguous acres manby about one third. Field sizes have also increased, aged for pheasants, quail, cottonsince larger equipment is more tail rabbits and doves. Without agressive management energy efficient. Our surveys indicate that field size doubled beefforts in the next five years, uptween 1946 and 1966, removing land game wildlife and Utah miles of valuable fenceline nesthunters face a dim future marked weedy by continued loss of habitat and ing and tract land cover fencerows are more scarce. decreased hunting opportunity. More efficient water delivery But with enough money and systems such as concrete ditches time, the states remaining upland and sprinkler systems have elimihabitat can be improved game nated weedy ditchbanks. and at a reasonable levMarsh areas have been drained el to managed wildlife and to propreserve and put into production. Fall vide for hunting opportunity plowing is the rule now, reducing Utah sportsmen. the amount of corn stubble and waste Jay Roberson is the Upland grain available to Game Program Coordinator for pheasants. A proposed wildlife license fee the state Division of Wildlife increase, to be considered by the Area Adds Indoor Soccer To Menu Of Winter Leagues terest, sports. Davis, Weber and Box' Elder County soccer addicts will be able to whet their appetites year round now with the formation of the areas first indoor soccer league, organized and sponsored by the h Soccer Association. Outdoor soccer has been growing rapidly in the area the past few years and the promoters hope the popularity of the outdoor league will carry over. This year well just have to put our feet in the water and see what happens. We have had a lot of excitement shown already especially by the younger kids who want to join the leagues, said Vern Mordaunt, owner of Mr. Soccer in Ogden and a member of the soccer association. Indoor soccer is a faster game than outdoor soccer and many people like it better. Since this is the first year, we may not have the expertise in all the areas but we think it will generate good in playing area become part of the field. The ball may be played off the side walls and end walls, Mordaunt said. This makes it useless tb have a goalbox because there is no end line and there are no corner Mordaunt added. The league already has around 35 teams signed up in five different divisions. While many of the skills needed to play indoor soccer are the same as those needed to play the outdoor variety, many of the rules are different and that makes for a much different game, according to Mordaunt. In addition to wintertimes popular indoor competitive leagues area residents this year will taste for the first time a trimmed down and faster paced version of one of Utahs most rapidly mushrooming summer : Utah-Nort- kicks. In some cases the court may not be surrounded by walls and so four foot high temporary walls will be set up. If the ball goes over these boundaries and the team not guilty of kicking the ball free kick. In out will get a outdoor soccer, a free kick is The most drastic difference between the two varieties of soccer is the comparison of the playing surfaces. While outdoor soccer is played on an outdoor grass surface about the size of a football field, the indoor variety is played on a court the size of a basketball rfloor, Mordaunt said. 10-fo- 10-yar- Jn addition to a downsized court and fewer players on each team, the goal is smaller too. The indoor net is just 12 feet wide and six feet high, while the outdoor goal is 24 feet wide and eight feet high. The Major Indoor Soccer League, a professional league that has been rapidly growing in popularity since it began four or five years ago, usually plays on some- There are five divisions in the newly formed league: womens 25 years and over, womens 16 and over, mens 30 and over, mens 18 and over and an under 19 high school boys division. thing similar to a tartan, or rubberized, surface but the hardwood surface of area basketball courts should work fine, he added. Because of the drastically reduced area of play, the number of players on each team is cut from 1 1 to six, including the goalie. The wall surrounding the The teams come mostly from Weber County, but there are teams from Kaysville, Layton and Clearfield. Viewmont Team Wins League , Loses Junior Bow! Matchup Viewmont finished its season as the Junior National League football champions with a 1 record for the year. ' 7-- Coached by Leo Kidman,the team recently played in the Ute' Conference Super Bowl at Skyline High.. It was a tough game against Taylorsville, the American League champs, with Viewmont losing the game in overtime 32-2- 5. Kidman has been assisted by . , his sons Kurt, Clark, and Reese who have also playccl football un- der their father. ) - Theyre a great bunch of do the coach says of his team. Its been a total team effort. Not one of the boys has been in it for himself. Over the season, the touchdowns have been nearly equally divided among six of the team members, which is quite unusual, he said. He attributes their successful season to two quality units, both the offense and defense. He usually tries to let the boys pick their own positions reasoning that the boys will want to play where they know they will t the best job. Sometimes they are smarter than adults that way, he said. The boys each received a trophy at a post season party. kids, -- Team members are Wayne Abercrombie, Briton Bailey, Travis Bradford, Dusty Campbell, Damon Cook, Clark Duncan, Chris Evensen, Jerrold Ford, Michael Ford, Troy Gomm, Reed Goodwin, Bruce Hancey, Jason Jones, Ryan Kidman, Matt Larsen, Ryan Lunceford, Tyler Lybbert, Joseph Martineau, Dustin Palmer, Shane Parrish, Dan Putnam, Mark Shaffer, Todd Sherwood, James Wilson. t I the ball in a practice session for the Stingers, a team from the JANET NUTLEY fields Photo, by Robert Regan ini- - North Davis area, in preparation for the tiatory season of indoor soccer leagues. |