Show ifrdW 'i k--' Outdoors environment Gun club noise charges investigated March Logan Utah Wednesday By Malin Foster outdoors editor Cc The Cache Valley Gun Club will meet March 9 with the Cache County Planning and Zoning Commission in an effort to obtain a conditional use permit which will allow the club to remain in operation at its present site The club site just east of the Logan City Sanitary Landfill was visited Tuesday afternoon by members of both the Cache County Commission and the Cache County Planning and Zoning Commission The two groups were investigating claims by LaVern Ricks who owns land adjacent to the club that trapshooting on Wednesdays and Saturdays is disturbing his horses and is causing a general noise nuisance Ricks told The Herald Journal Tuesday that he and other landowners in the area are ready to seek a court injunction against the club if the shooting does not stop soon The county commissioners and planning commissioners did not indicate Tuesday that there would be any requests that shooting stop before the March 9 planning and zoning meeting No decisions will be made until after that meeting Club President Jim Rowberry said this week that when his group began planning for the club about a year ago they un- ? derstood r i through conversations with Cache County and Logan City officials that no conditional use permit would be E '1 necessary I I CACHE COUNTY CLERK Seth Allen (foreground) and County Commissioner Ray Thcurer (center) join a Cache Valley Gun Club member for a shot or two at the club The county officials visited the club Tuesday to Investigate claims by area residents that trapshooting there Is creating a noise nuisance (Herald Journal photo) of the Further investigation requirements spelled out in Cache County's planning and zoning ordinances has pointed out that the permit will however be necessary Rowberry said “This should have been done in the first place" Rowberry told The Herald Journal in an interview “but we got the impression when we were planning the club that a permit would not be necessary” Commissioner Ray Theurer said that the about the permit misunderstanding requirement was “probably an oversight both on the part of the commission and the gun club members" The club is located on land owned by tagan City but — since it has not been annexed to the city — is under the zoning jurisdiction of Cache County The gun club has a renewable lease on the property That arrangement is with Iiogan City The Herald JounHil -- 6 commissioners that the club had cut back on late night shooting because members had heard that some area residents were complaining about the noise Some night shooting is till going on however “Yes people can hear us shooting from quite a distance away" Kramer said “They can also hear all the shooting done on the opening day of duck season — but they don't seem to complain about that" Rowberry told The Herald Journal that when plans were being made for the club Dr tarry S Cole professor emeritus of in plaint lodged LaVern Ricks 555 West 1st North told the Herald Journal Tuesday that he has lodged formal complaints about the gun Gub with both the county commission and the planning and zoning commission He also said he has obtained signatures on a petition opposing continued shooting at the club from residents on 6th West in the vicinity of the club Ricks said that he and others in the neighborhood are bothered by the Wednesday and Saturday shooting He stressed however that he personally is equally concerned about the impact he claimed the shooting is having on two quarterhorse colts he has pastured on his property which adjoins the club “When they start shooting down there" Ricks said “I can't get my colts out of the corral It frightens them to the point that they won't go out in the pasture" Ricks also said he is concerned about the possible noise impact on mink being kept on fur farms in the area “If they continue to shoot when those mink have their kits (young) the adults will eat up all the little ones" Ricks said Bruce Wright assistant county planner said Tuesday that the only complaint he knew of had come from Ricks Cache County Commissioner Robert Chambers during the commission’s visit to the club site said he had heard rumors that the electrical engineering at Utah State University made an accoustics study at the site and determined that the shooting would not cause excessive noise Rowberry also said that information about the club’s problems published recently in The Salt take Tribune was erroneous in that it gave the impression that small caliber rifles or solid rifled slugs fired from shotguns were being fired at the range “We never have any rifles out there" Rowberry said “nor have we ever fired w J ’ll s M i i :i 4 I i — and we any rifled slugs from shotguns in the either shoot ever to don’t plan future As a matter of fact we never allow shooting loads of shot heavier than 7 or 8 The shot sizes to which he referred are preferred by trap shooters Shot numbered between 2 and 6 is larger and heavier and has a greater range Rowberry said that to discontinue operation of the club now would be both an inconvenience and a disappointment to many Cache area trap shooters "'Hie range is used just two days each week" he said "We haven’t missed a regular shooting day since the club opened We have had use by other than club members including several scout troops and groups of people from local industries” He said the club currently has about 115 members and that new membership requests are received often “We’ve got a $30000 facility down there rijht now” Rowberry said “and much of it was constructed with donated materials and manpower The facility is helping Cache area trapshooters get the constant practice they need to be better and it's a facility that is becoming more popular with groups and individuals who just want to do some target planning office was receiving many complaints but that he had personally heard only from Ricks During the Cache County Planning and Zoning Commission's visit Tuesday Planning Commissioner Cyrus McKell asked club members why they had chosen to fire directly east (in the direction of tagan City) Rowberry and Ken Kramer club vice explained that since most president 1 1978 daytime shooting is done during the afternoon the sun would present a problem to shooters facing south The club is located so that shooting west would be unsafe and landowners to the north indicated early in the planning stages that they would not want any shooting in that direction Kramer said com-petive- ly Late shooting reduced Kramer also told McKell and the county Talk to birds they will eat from your hand 'By James V lleallon content to watch birds eat at their feeders So much so that the bird seed business is booming this year John Occaso a Middlefield Conn merchant said he is running 20 tons ahead of last year's sales “Snow really helps us When people see snow they think of mrd seed” Feed dealer Robert Litsky of Derby Conn sells from Maine to Florida He says people in Coinecticut New York and Massachusetts tend to buy more bird feed than residents of other states The colder it gets the more birds eat This works to the advantage of the aspiring hand-feed- HARTFORD Conn (UPI) — If you want to have them eating out of the palm of your hand :you can do it But you have to realize we’re talking about birds Chickadees ' It just takes patience and an ability to stand stock still for 5 10 or 15 minutes at a time You :must be able to talk to them too Chickadees are busybodies nature's acrobats They are gray smaller than sparrows with stubby bills and a black cap and 3ib They get their name from the sound they 'jnake: ' They are the easiest of wild birds to hand Jeed and there are plenty of them Z Most people many of them retirees are ee er The chickadees at our house were so busy in the mountain laurel last winter they kept eating even when I walked within a few feet of them I wondered if they would eat from my hand The late artist and naturalist Alfred G Martin of Great Pond Maine near Ellsworth gave directions in his 1963 paperback “Hand-Tamin- g Wild Birds at the Feeder" g birds: His first rule in — Always try to behave as if a bird can and does reason as if in some things he is smarter than you If you do this you will have little trouble handtaming him His second rule: — Always speak to them They like the sound of a kind word Martin first removes all food from the feeder except for a couple of seeds He starts by keeping his hand near the seeds so the bird hand-feedin- becomes accustomed to seeing it there He moves his hand closer by degrees “When the chickadee is taking seeds no more than a foot from your hand you should call it quits for the day “Early next morning make sure there is no food on the feeder but place a few seeds on the spot where the bird came closest to your hand Now hold your hand flat on the feeder palm up with a few seeds on it Get comfortable and wait “This is the time to be very careful Speak to the bird softly when he comes but do not move or turn your head to look at him if your throat tickles do not swallow If you must do something about it try coughing gently “By now the chickadee should have taken the Moose transplant plans abandoned £ $ i & t In a news release the division reported that the fine Ivas the largest ever levied (or a wildlife violation in Utah The division said that the Cache area moose kill was reported to Conservation Officer Verl Ilanchett Oct 22 the first day of the 1977 deer hunting season The cow moose was shot and killed on Oct 21 division officials said Fenn's arrest came after more than two months of investigation by Ilanchett A complaint was signed in the case in December The division said it is considering further action in the case Through civil action the offender can be fined up to $1000 for restitution for the loss of the moose Ilanchett has recommended that a reward be paid to the witness who helped in the case Information by witnesses leading to the arrest of wildlife violators may bring a reward of up to $500 In other action concerning the state's moose herds division officials said that they were calling off plans to transplant a dozen of the big animals to Colorado Continuing problems with use of a tranquilizer division officials claim is necessary in the transplant operation were given as the reason for abandonment of the program Five moose died during capture operations earlier this winter The state also lost five moose during last fall's big game hunting seasons in illegal shooting incidents Doug Day assistant director of the division said the state's big game biologists still haven’t solved problems with the drugs used to knock out the moose 1 ample Peak race The 4tli Annual Temple Peak Citizens Crass Country Ski Race which was run last weekend traded 118 skiers all of whom went the entire 15 kilometer (93 miles I distance Bob Van Slykc tagan was the first place winner in the men's division with a time of 1:15:23 and Kathy Hill tagan took first in the women's division with a time of 1:40:50 Second place men's winner was Thor Dyson of Providence (1:18:23) and third was taken by Bruce Cannon tagan (1:18:53) The Herald Journal in Sunday's edition erroneously reported that Tom Steitz took third piece Steitz actually was fourth with a time 'of 1:19:46 is history ’ Taking second in the women's division was Charlene Roth tagan (1:49:1) and Ann Schimpf Smith-fiel- d was third (1:50:28) Special awards were also made to the oldest and youngest competitors Ed Phelps of Kaysville took the “oldest" title coming in in 70th skier place I'hclps a made the run in 2:25:15 Youngest competitor honors went to taura Mueggler of tagan who made the course in 2:15:57 The first place winners were each awarded $50 to be donated to the it organization of their choice The second place winners and both Phelps and Mueggler received $25 awards also to be non-prof- donated to the non-prof- it organization of their choice would be under stress" Day said however that he understood that Wyoming might provide some moose for Colorado Richard Denney big game manager for the Colorado Division of Wildlife told The Herald Journal a month ago that his state is interested in moose there Denney said this week that Colorado is negotiating with Wyoming on a transplant “We've been trying to firm up arrangements with Wyoming because they have some areas where they could spare the moose” Denney said “They capture theirs by live trapping them" Denney said getting moose from Wyoming will depend on the condition of the animals this winter — whether they are strong enough to stand the stress of live trapping Idaho (UPI) primitive areas The bill would also designate 237 miles of the main stem of the Salmon River as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system Church announced he had introduced the bill at a meeting in conIdaho honoring Nampa servationist and outdoor writer Ted Trucblood who has long been active in efforts to errate the River of No Return Wilderness area In addition to the cuuncil proposal Church said he anticipated different bills would lie sponsored by the ad- ministration and other interested parties and could see a half dozen chickadees in the laurel They were getting more and more curious The chickadees came swinging into the low branches within a foot or two of my hand and the inviting morsel It took a couple of tiring sessions before one of the bolder birds decided to chance it lie landed snatched the sunflower seed from my hand and flew back into the laurel His mates soon made a beeline for their share I told the birds “Be thankful for Alfred G Martin and his book" this year “It's getting too late to move them” he said “They are in a weakened condition Even without the experience of drugging and transporting them they Sen Frank Church at Uie request of the River of No Return Wilderness Council has introduced the group’s bill to create a 23 million acre wilderness area from the Idaho and Salmon River Breaks NAMPA it” I followed Martin’s suggestions while they are being prepared for transport Day said that even if the tranquilizer problems are ironed out the moose could not be moved to Colorado Idaho wilderness bills introduced by Church Correction gets Cache Wildlife Hunter fined $1000 for moose kill The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has that a Hill Air Force Base man has been fined $1000 and sentenced to 6 months in jail for 'illegally killing a cow moose In another matter pertaining to the management of ihe state’s moose herds the division has announced it has abandoned at least for this year attempts to transplant moose to Colorado Fined and sentenced in 1st District Court by District Judge VeNuy Christoffersen was John H Fenn 30 Fenn's jail sentence was suspended upon payment of the fine The offense is a Gass A misdemeanor and the fine is the maximum one under The law seed from the feeder and when he returns for more the only seed available is on your hand he must get it there or go without he always "I believe that every proposal for classifying the two areas as wilderness should be before Congress in bill form before hearings arc held on the issue” he said One of the major proposals is expected to come from the Carter Administration soon In the president's May 23 1977 environmental message he called for classifying the two primitive areas as wilderness and for the inclusion of the muin stem of the Salmon within the Wild Rivers system “Public hearings held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee both In Idaho and Washington will provide the forum fur comparison of alternative proposals and for developing additional information to assist Congress in reaching a decision” wise and Church said Wednesday well-balanc- ed THIS COYOTE APPEARS ready for action — of any kind This tenacious wild ranine has for years been the stuff of controversy but survives despite it all (Photo by Jan Wasslnk ) The coyote’s tenacious By Jan Wassink What animal has become a focal point of conflict between environmentalists and ranchers? What animal has been persecuted with poison traps guns gas dogs snowmobiles and four wheel drives and still survives in good numbers? What animals often form mournful choruses at dusk and dawn choruses that may start with one animal and then rise in pitch and volume as others join in and then drop off to a single vocalist again? If you concluded the above animal Is the controversial coyote you were right This wild dog Is primarily nocturnal and usually solitary However several of them may combine their efforts for a hunt Coyotes arc very opportunistic predators they will eat berries carrion rodents rabbits game birds chickens and sheep Their role as a predator varies greatly from area to area depending on the availability of natural food and on circumstances There is little doubt that in some areas coyotes take a substantial number of sheep Coyotes are believed to mate for several years or life The breeding season is January or February Hie female finds a suitable hole crevice or hollow log where the five or six pups arc born The pups arc bom with closed eyes and are covered with a light covering of downy fur An almost constant supply of food provided mostly by the female soon has the pups romping playfully outside the den The coyote seems to be expanding its range eastward in the United States in spile of persecution Ironically the opportunistic nature of this animal is the characteristic that caused the IHTsecution but it Is also the characteristic that allows the coyjte to survive in this rapidly changing t - - i 'rjrVri I -- - - 1I58ME- - i |