LPWA - AGM - Agenda

[Tundra Swan]

Dear Fellow Waterfowlers:

I was wondering if anybody has heard about what will be on the agenda for our Annual General Meeting on April 23, 2022 ... it has been three (3) years since our last Annual General Meeting in 2019 and there must be much to discuss.

Some of you may remember that I delivered a presentation regarding a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season at our Annual General Meeting in April of 2011 and an update regarding my proposal (following the completion of the Tundra Swan Season Assessment that was conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Service between April of 2011 and August of 2013) at our Annual General Meeting in April of 2014.

I have posted an eight (8) part synopsis along with four (4) addendums and one (1) side bar regarding my proposal for a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season and the progress that has been made towards the implementation of such a season in the near future ... refer to the "Sandhill Cranes & Tundra Swans" thread to read these posts.

However the Board of Directors for the Long Point Waterfowler's Association advised me in a letter dated April 01, 2019 that "should legal swan hunting come to Canada the Board of Directors at the LPWA does not foresee support for swan hunting within the Long Point Waterfowl Management Unit at this time".

The Board of Directors then explained their position with reference to the current situation with Mourning Doves because although there is a season for them the hunting of Mourning Doves is not permitted within the unit.

I believe that with the recent introduction of a Cormorant season, the impending introduction of a Sandhill Crane season, the potential delisting of the Mute Swan from the List of Protected Species and the eventual introduction of a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season in this province that we should be proactive to ensure that we are permitted to hunt all legal species within the unit during their respective hunting seasons.

Your thoughts regarding this suggestion would be appreciated and perhaps this issue should be discussed at our Annual General Meeting this year ... not after additional seasons are introduced and we have to seek changes at that time.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

 

[Old Cut LongPointer]

Is the LPWA having a AGM this year ? With Covid restrictions recently lifted but a 6th wave upon us they may not ? They (LPWA) use to be quite active on this site in years past and my online search for them only comes up with the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research on FaceBook ? Hopefully the Executives will post something regarding the AGM ?

Jerome ;
That letter from the LPWA stating lack of support for Swan hunting was dated April 1st 2019 correct ? Maybe the BoD's was playing an April Fools joke on you ? LoL ! Either way if my memory serves me right I believe it is the mandate of the LPWA is to promote and enhance public waterfowl hunting at Long Point and/or within the Unit and does not give them the right to dictate what can legally be hunted. Same goes for Mourning Doves but I must admit I've never had a flock of Doves come into my decoy spread while out duck hunting( hard enough to get ducks to come in) and hitting one with a load of 12 ga. 3 inch #3's ( non-toxic of course) probably wouldn't leave much for the dog to retrieve anyways.

 

[Tundra Swan]

Hello OCLP:

I also thought that the letter from the Board of Directors for the Long Point Waterfowler's Association dated April 01, 2019 was in fact a joke because the letter:

1) had been hand delivered to my rural mail box and not by Canada Post since there was neither a postage stamp nor a Canada Post cancellation mark in the top right-hand corner of the envelope.

2) had been folded to fit into a small personal "note size" envelope.

3) had not been signed by anyone.

At first I thought that somebody had recently seen my letter to the Board of Directors from the fall of 2018 and had decided to play a joke on me. I had offerred the Board of Directors an annual grant of $1,000.00 from my Charitable Foundation but I had also requested that they respond by December 31, 2018 since my annual donation cheques would start to be sent out in January of 2019 to those organizations that support and continue to support "waterfowl" hunting in their respective province.

I thought that with the level of support that we (I had recently partnered with Delta Waterfowl upon their request to conduct a waterfowl survey of their Ontario members as well as non-member) were apparently receiving (as per informal conversations with both Kyle and Randall at the waterfowl unit) that the Board of Directors would now finnally support a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season for this province ... something that they would not do in 2011 and 2014.

A short time after receiving the letter however I was talking to a veterinary colleague (whose family members hunt waterfowl) and she told me that she was aware of the letter that was sent to me.

I have previously stated that an opportunity to have a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season would not be for all "waterfowl" hunters but the term "waterfowl" includes ducks, geese and swans.

Jerome

 

[Old Cut LongPointer]

Oh really ? Hand delivered and no signature ? Was it on the LPWA's letterhead or just plain paper ? If so I should think that they (the BoD at LPWA) would be extremely concerned over someone's fraudulent use of the Associations name in such a manner ? That is of course they (LPWA) deny any knowledge/ownership of it ?

A thousand dollars doesn't go far these days but is still a very generous amount to donate and as an "annual" grant ( as in many more years to follow ? ) I find it hard to believe they turned you down. Maybe for tax reasons ? Maybe because the money was to be used to support all waterfowl hunting and that includes ducks, geese and "the white elephant in the room"..... ooops LoL , I meant Swans ? People in general hate it when a favour comes with strings attached and if memory serves me right your quest to get a Tundra Swan Hunting Season established here in Ontario was not received with open arms in the beginning but has gained such momentum as to where it is within our grasp to have not only a Swan Season but a Sandhill Crane Season as well. As the Tundra Swans have always migrated through the Long Point area but the Sandhill Cranes are a bit of a newcomer and the recent explosion in their numbers while welcomed should be studied further. Either way I look forward to the day when I can hunt either species here in Ontario and especially here in the Long Point area as I am no millionaire who can afford trips to states or provinces that do have a season for them. Heck ! 12-15 years ago there was only a few states that allowed Swan hunting and now I think it's at 9 with 3 more applying for rights to establish a season. We snooze.... WE LOSE !

I also heard a rumour regarding the Swan Hunt that if and when it is established it would be restricted to "agricultural land only" meaning Long Point would be off limits ? Not bad if you own a farm nearby or have access to one or the money to rent/lease or pay a guide for the chance to but totally unfair to the rest of the public that doesn't.

Keep up the good work Jerome and hopefully someone from the LPWA's BoD responds with a date/time/place of the AGM.

 

[Old Cut LongPointer]

I did some digging and to the best of my knowledge regarding the LPWA's AGM date/time/place ;

The Long Point Waterfowlers Association will be holding the Annual General Meeting on Saturday, April 23rd, 2022 at 0900hrs (9:00 AM) at the Delta Waterfowl Center 546 Turkey Point Rd..

I'm not sure if the doors open at 0900hrs or the Meeting starts at that time ? There is usually someone there to sign up new and old members alike but I'm not sure what the fees will be ? Also due to the ongoing Covid pandemic masks may be required or at least advised ?

Disclaimer ; I am not a currant member but was hoping to renew my membership and hopefully encourage attendance/membership at the LPWA/AGM and the information contained in this post is as stated "to the best of my knowledge" and not from the LPWA .

 

[Tundra Swan]

Hello OCLP,

I apologize for my delay in responding to your comments ... a bit to "unpack" here.

1) The letter was on plain paper with a small version of the LPWA logo where their address would normally be printed ... certainly not a formal "letterhead" sheet of paper. However as I have previously stated a veterinary colleague of mine told me that he/she knew about the LPWA letter that was sent to me.

2) I realized that technically anybody could have taken the LPWA logo from another LPWA letter and photocopied it (better yet - scanned it) to a blank sheet of paper then use that sheet of paper with the LPWA logo on it in a printer to print the letter. I dimissed that idea after talking to my veterinary colleague about the issue.

3) I agree that $1,000.00 does not go very far these days but my grant would have been in perpetuity with periodic adjustments for inflation. Furthermore I do not consider that my grant had any "strings attached" to it since all of my grants are currently only available to organizations that support "waterfowl" hunting.

4) The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, Delta Waterfowl, Manitoba Wildlife Federation as well as Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters have all receive grants from my Charitable Foundation with more to follow as we move forward with our advocay work to improve and increase "waterfowl" hunting opportunities in Canada.

5) Two (2) younger individuals who attended our AGM in April of 2014 came to me after the meeting was over to express their appreciation for my Tundra Swan update and to express their extreme disappointment in the lack of support for my Tundra Swan proposal from the LPWA executive ... stating that they would never become LPWA members.

6) Mr. Jim Malcolm (President, LPWA) who must have heard the conversation (standing about twelve feet away) came to me afterwards to apologize for their lack of support stating that he would love to be able to hunt Tundra Swans at Long Point but the LPWA executive feared the potential public backlash that could come as a result of such a season.

7) A small correction to one of your comments ... there were six (6) States that had been granted seasons for the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans and four (4) States that had been granted seasons for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (Montana has both seasons) when I presented my proposal to the CWS in September of 2010.

8) Since that time Wisconsin was offered a Tundra Swan season but the option was declined some time ago by a small margin and then Delaware as well as Maryland were offered a Tundra Swan season in 2019 with Delaware implementing such a season in 2019 while Maryland was going to consider the option ... have not heard anything since that time.

9) The fact that there is a discussion to have a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season in only agricultural areas is still a move in the right direction ... give it some time. Remember that the Canada Goose season in southern Ontario started in just one (1) WMA around the city of Cambridge in 1982 ... then expanded after that time.

10) Read my recent e-mail to you regarding the confirmation of the LPWA Annual General Meeting at the Delta Waterfowl HHCC on April 23, 2022.

I trust that I have addressed all of your comments and questions.

Jerome

 

[Old Cut LongPointer]

Thanks Jerome ! I stand corrected. Wow ! 40 years since the first goose season... go figure ? As for "public backlash" ? There will always be "anti's" no matter what the issue is and usually a small percentage at that. I suppose that's why they like to get in your face and scream their argument because being rational and calmly debating the issue doesn't get them headlines ? The rest of the public are reasonable and just needs to be educated on the subject matter in order to decide where they stand.

 

[Tundra Swan]

Dear Fellow Waterfowlers:

I agree with OCLP ... there will always be a few individuals against anything new.

Here are part of the results regarding the support for a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season from of the "waterfowl survey" that Delta Waterfowl and I (through my financial sponsorship) conducted of its Ontario members and non-members in the fall of 2018.

Delta Waterfowl Members .............................. Non-Members

Definitely Will Support ............. 46.6% ...................... 60.9%
Probably Will Support ............... 19.1% ...................... 17.2%
Not Sure .......................................... 15.6% ......................... 8.6%
Probably Will Not Support ...... 13.7% ........................ 7.3%
Definitely Will Not Support ....... 5.0% ......................... 6.0%

Total ................................................. 100.0% ................... 100.0%

The average age of the members was significantly higher than the average age of the non-members who completed the survey ... the younger hunters demonstrated more support.

The level of support to delist the Mute Swan from the List of Protected Species was slightly higher in both groups with a corresponding decrease in the level of opposition.

The level of support for a Sandhill Crane season was again slightly higher (over the Mute Swan issue) in both groups with a corresponding decrease in the level of opposition.

These results would explain why the OFAH after receiving all of the results of the survey in the spring of 2019 decided to focus upon a Sandhill Crane season (first choice) and delisting the Mute Swan from the List of Protective Species (second choice).

I certainly hope that these results will shed some new understanding on the growing level of support for a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season in this province.

Sincerely,

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.