The following article was published in the March 2018 edition of
BETTER BEAGLING
magazine.
It is reprinted here with permission of the author and intended for your reading pleasure.
Additional text and pictures have been included here.
Bonus text is written in blue.
Additional text and pictures have been included here.
Bonus text is written in blue.
From the Allegheny High Plateau of
Western Pennsylvania
By
Joe Ewing
High HareMan
Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny
Presented by
Presented by
Every national sporting magazine I pick up lately laments the
decline in the number of hunters taking to the field. Hunting ranks are
thinning. Every writer provides statistical evidence to prove their case. The
facts are clear. Future generations may never enjoy the thrill of the outdoor
life which we baby boomers have enjoyed. We’ve been blessed. We’ve enjoyed this
lifelong hobby because our parents introduced us when we were young. Our family
hunted so we hunted. We would’ve never learned to love the outdoors but for
them. We were taught to use it with respect.
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| Check out the March 2014 issue of F&S |
Baby boomers are the largest group of hunters in the country.
We make up 30 percent of the hunting population. We’ve already started to “age
out” of the sport. We’re getting too old to go afield and we’ve quit buying
licenses. In the next 15 years we will give up completely. License sales will
plummet. Funding for wildlife management will slump. Money for conservation
will nose-dive.
Hunting participation peaked in 1982 and long before that every
backyard contained at least one beagle and everybody hunted small game. Every
young hunter cut his teeth on rabbits and squirrels. Some neighbors used their
rabbit hounds to hunt squirrels. Others owned real “squirrel dawgs”. Many of my
neighbors fed what they called a “Rat Terrier.” Rat Terriers were very often found on family farms employed to do what
their very name suggests.
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Photo from the Wolford family archives.
RATTLER
Rat Terriers were very often found on family farms employed to
do what their very name suggests.
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The forests were full of game. The mast crops flourished. Seeds, buds, and
fruits of trees and shrubs exploded. Hard mast included nuts and acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts and beech nuts. A limit of squirrel was often taken
from a single tree. Berries of all kinds and fruits, such as crabapples grew in abundance. Grouse and turkey were plentiful. When
killed their craws were stuffed full. Whitetail deer herds boomed. Then the
mast crops failed and failed again. The squirrels moved out and disappeared.
The whitetail deer herd suffered the most.
We all should become familiar with the demise of the American Chestnut in the early twentieth century. Four billion American chestnut trees grew in the eastern U.S. They were among the largest, tallest and fastest growing trees on the face of the planet. They were rot-resistant, straight-grained and suitable for furniture, fencing and building. The mast fed billions of birds and animals. It was said to be a perfect tree. Around 1904 the alien chestnut blight struck. The American chestnut tree had survived for 40 million years, then, it disappeared in 40 years. The chestnut blight has been called, “the greatest ecological pandemic to strike the world’s forests in all of history”. Think about that statement for a moment. The worst environmental catastrophe to strike the world’s forests in the history of the world. The great American Chestnut gone forever.
Very few mature specimens of the tree exist within its historical range, although many small shoots of the former live trees remain. There are hundreds of large (2 to 5 ft diameter) American chestnuts outside its historical range, some in areas where less virulent strains of the pathogen are more common, such as the 600 to 800 large trees in northern Lower Michigan.
Several organizations are attempting to breed blight-resistant chestnut trees. The American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation breeds surviving American chestnuts, which have shown some native resistance to blight, and the Canadian Chestnut Council is attempting to reintroduce the trees in Canada, primarily in Ontario. A technique called backcrossing is being used by The American Chestnut Foundation in an attempt to restore the American chestnut to its original habitat.
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 requires owners of abandoned coal mines to cover at least 80 percent of their land with vegetation. While many companies planted invasive grasses, others began funding research on planting trees, because they can be more cost-effective, and yield better results.
A tree planted in 2005 in the tree library outside the USDA building was still very healthy seven years later; it contains 98% American chestnut DNA and 2% Chinese chestnut DNA. This tree contains enough Chinese chestnut DNA that encodes for systemic resistance genes to resist the blight. This is essential for restoring the American chestnut trees into the Northeast. The Northern Nut Growers Association (NNGA) has also been active in pursuing viable hybrids.
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| American Chestnut leaves, seeds and nuts. |
| A hemlock woolly adelgid infestation can destroy a hemlock |
I have warm memories of my mother
serving large platters of squirrel meat for supper. We even ate wild turkey on
occasion. My mother always reserved Sunday for the lowly chicken. Except for one
time I vividly remember.
As was the custom, the travelling evangelist was scheduled to
visit our home for supper on Wednesday evening. I suppose he ate supper at a
different home every evening. My mother’s strategy was to have Sunday dinner
for Wednesday supper. On the menu was fresh, free range chicken from my
grandmother’s farm. Mother transported the chicken home from the farm alive in
a cardboard box.
Monday morning came and my mother asked me to give the
Wednesday chicken some grain. I don’t know why; the chicken wasn’t going to be
around much longer, or so I thought. When I raised the flaps on the cardboard box
the chicken came out of the box with wings flapping, feathers flying, feet
churning and some of the wildest squawking I’d ever heard. It all scared the bejesus
out of me. The chicken ran down the road faster than any race horse ever seen.
My mother was a little perturbed to put it mildly. My older brother assured her
he could hunt the chicken down which cooled her off a little. I always believed
he bailed me out of a sure-fire death sentence. Tuesday, we saw the renegade
chicken picking gravel along the road but it had turned wild. So wild, it
looked like we could never get within gun range. Wednesday evening came and the
ministers ate swiss steak. The traveling evangelist told the story from the
pulpit that evening, much to my chagrin.
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| Emerald Ash Borer |
As the sun came up on Thursday morning the Wednesday chicken
was in the backyard acting every bit like a regular domesticated chicken. My
brother plinked its head off with the twenty-two from 10 yards and we were
happily back on schedule for chicken on Sunday. The preacher, Rev. M. T.
Sellers, told the rest of the story in church on Thursday evening. He turned it
around by saying apparently the chicken didn’t want to be eaten by the
preachers. The congregation enjoyed a good laugh.
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| Gypsy Moth |
The statistics show small game hunters have declined by a
whopping 46 percent in the last quarter of a century. The Pennsylvania Game
Commission is reporting the general adult hunting licenses have declined more
than 120,000 hunters over the past decade. More serious, the general junior hunting
licenses have dropped by half.
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| William with his first cottontail. |
The
scarcity of game is one excuse many hunters use for not hunting small game.
It’s obvious, if you can’t find game most will give up. When a person hears it
said long enough, “there is no game anymore”, then he will believe it.
It
takes hard work to find good rabbit cover. These days many of us use technology
like “Google Earth®” to locate great rabitat. Garmin® offers software featuring BirdsEye® Satellite Imagery and
1:24K scale TOPO mapping.
Acquiring
access to private land may take leg work and knocking on doors. Penn State
University did a study a couple of years ago on access to private posted land. They found
75% of all landowners will allow access when asked. My county offers what they
label a “Platt Book” or “Land Atlas”. The book shows all sizable landowners
and boundaries. This information can also be purchased on microSD cards for my
handheld devices.
A few years back I’d be at the beagle club before daylight especially
in the summertime. At 10 AM every morning, on my way out, I’d meet one of the
veteran members just getting there. I’ll never forget him saying, “there aren’t
any rabbits here. My dog never finds a one.” He had three problems. First, he
was getting there after the dew had dried and scenting conditions were at their
worst. Second, my hounds had put all the rabbits to ground and his dog wouldn’t
hunt anyway.
Abandoned and grownup farmland is some of the best habitat. Reclaimed
strip mine land was really good here in Pennsylvania at one time. Lately,
regenerating forest lands are good. I’m lucky as I’m allowed to run my hounds
on 600 private acres of regenerating clear-cut land.
When I started this piece, it was how rabbit hunting with
hounds is in decline and why the youth can’t find an interest. I’m blaming it
all on two things, maybe three. In my opinion the decline in small game hunting is because
whitetail deer hunting has been on a steady climb in popularity. The deer
season seems to never end and the advancements in technology brings more and
more quality deer hunting apparatus, like climbing tree stands, crossbows, game
cameras, etc. I could go on forever. Buying lots of stuff makes it fun.
The decline in overall hunting mirrors the advancements in electronics.
Gaming and the thrill of instant gratification is at odds with the hunting
ethic. The outdoor life teaches patience and observation. I see hundreds of
people everyday riveted to their hand-held devices. They seem to be out of
touch with reality. They’re more interested in other people’s lives than their
own. Some say there is way too much interest in electronics and social media
and it’s not a good thing.
Fewer families are taking the time to go out hunting with
their children and give them the hunting experience. The whole family has their
heads buried in some kind of device. My family hunted, so I wanted to hunt.
It’s not that way anymore.
I’m not going to cover the competition from organized sports
as it would take a complete article to do it justice.
Hunting teaches dedication and respect. Ask a beagler about commitment.
Beagling requires dedication 365 days a year. I deeply respect all who feed a
hunting dog. It shows dedication and devotion, a concept quickly disappearing
from our national landscape. We can’t even be dedicated to and respect our flag
or our country.
I recently read an article in a national sporting magazine
where the writer maintained that many hunters drop out because they don’t have
a hunting buddy. When we go to the field we’re never alone. The faithful friends
we take never argue, pout or give us any backtalk. They only wag their tails.
These friends love us, we love them and we all love to hunt as a pack.
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Photo by B. Ewing
The High HareMan introducing granddaughter Alayna to the art of hare hunting 2011.
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Many writers suggest the solution to declining hunters is
recruiting. We, the “orange army”, they say, should be going out of our way to
invite nonhunters into our world. Lord knows we’ve tried. We’ve taken many
young hunters to the field and invited many more. We’ve given away dogs, guns
and dogs boxes to young hunters. My personal stipulation being, if and when
they decide beagling is not for them, I demand the dog back. I make them
promise. Sure enough, I get the dogs back.
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| Pine Grove Lodge & Home of the Pine Grove Program |
A
remedy not mentioned by the national outdoor media is that of the youth field
days type movement and other such events. Youth field
day’s events introduce participants to outdoor sports such as archery,
trapping, and hunting through closely supervised hands-on activities.
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| Master Maine Guide Bob Howe |
My personal Maine outfitter, Master Maine Guide Bob Howe, has
established a charity called, “The Pine Grove Program” which provides free
outdoor experiences to military service members, veterans, Gold star families,
and first responders. There are innumerable charitable organizations
of this type in this great country. In my little
neck of the woods there is a local charity called, “Camo Cares”. This awesome
charity has raised $830,000 in the past nine years to send wounded veterans and
children with life-threatening and life-altering conditions on the hunt of their lifetime.
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| Master Maine Guide Bob Howe on the cover of MAINE OUTDOORS. |
The
very least we can do to help introduce future generations and prospective
hunters to the hunting life is donate a dollar or two to these remarkable charities
and organizations.
We were given a gift and we will very soon leave that gift to
the next generation. We have cherished and loved this God given gift for a long
time. If we can find a way we must try to pass it along.
Remember, respect the sport, respect your prey, respect other
hunters and give your beagle an extra pat on its head from me.
If you would like to learn more about the Pine Grove Program or donate to a worthy cause please contact the Pine Grove Lodge at www.pinegrovelodge.com
If you would like to learn more about the Pine Grove Program or donate to a worthy cause please contact the Pine Grove Lodge at www.pinegrovelodge.com
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J. Ewing photo
Above: Pictures (L-R) Autumn Bish, the High HareMan (please excuse his hat), Brayden and Will Murray. After a very cold day in the hare woods the hunters are presented with their new 2018 edition Big Woods Hare Hunter ball cap from the High HareMan. Autumn, Captain Kaz’s daughter, is an accomplished hunter, trapper, fisherman and skilled taxidermist. She has been a member of the Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny since 2009 and an outdoors person long before. Brayden is a rookie hare hunter. Will is a rabbit hunter, now a hare hunter and a successful bear hunter.
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Please log onto camocares.org to find out more about Camo Cares or write to
Camo Cares
PO Box 972
Knox, PA 16232
Knox, PA 16232
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| Picture complements of Scott Fowkes.
Grandson Will with his first bear kill, 2017
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