Hunter Education Class Formation
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources offers free in-person hunter safety classes. Any student under the age of 13 must have an adult over the age of 21 accompanying them during all sessions. Course covers hunter responsibility, firearms and ammunition, firearm handling and safety, marksmanship and shooting fundamentals, wildlife management principles, bowhunting, muzzleloader hunting, tree safety, legal requirements state and more. At the local level, sessions will be held in Cold Deer Hunting and Fishing ClubMountaindale, from 6 to 9 pm on September 5, 7, 12 and 14; Mount Airy IWLAMount Airy, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on September 7, 9, and 12, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on September 10; McClellan’s Rod and Gun Club in Keedysville, from 6 to 9 pm on September 12, 13 and 14; Thurmont Sportsman Conservation ClubThurmont, from 6 to 9 pm on September 21, 22 and 23, and from 8 am to noon on September 24; Frederick County IWLA, Frederick, from 6:30 to 10 pm on September 22 and 23, and from 7:15 am to 3 pm on September 24; Y Cold Deer Hunting and Fishing Club in Mountaindale, from 6 to 9 pm on September 26, 28, October 3 and 5. To register and learn more, visit dnr.maryland.gov.
Pa. Game Commission Offers Learn to Hunt Programs
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is hosting free webinars to teach people of all ages how to hunt. Learn to Hunt webinars include information on where to hunt, what you need to hunt, hunting tips and tactics, and how to prepare game for the table. The first webinar on squirrel hunting was on August 24 and is available on the Game Commission’s Learn to Hunt webpage (pgc.pa.gov). Additional webinars include two on archery deer hunting on September 7 and 21 and one on pheasant hunting on October 5. Each one lasts about an hour. Registrants receive an email after the live event to access the recording. Sign up at bit.ly/pgclearntohunt.
NWTF Supports Wild Turkey Disease Research
The National Wild Turkey Federation is helping to fund a wild turkey research project that will study diseases, such as lymphoproliferative disease virus and reticuloendotheliosis virus, that have plagued wild turkey populations for a long time. LPDV is not uncommon for wild turkeys and other land birds. Since it was first documented in Arkansas in 2009, it has been detected in wild turkeys in 29 states. LPDV can cause tumors to form in the internal organs and skin of birds and can be detrimental to individual birds, but less is known about its effect at population levels. Researchers will study diseases within the cells and tissues of wild turkeys and assess patterns of how diseases spread and how they can affect reproductive success, among other findings, The Outdoor Wire reports. For more information on this and other NWTF projects, visit nwtf.org.
Frederick Bird Club Meeting
The Frederick Bird Club will meet at 7 pm on September 1 in Homewood at Crumland Farms, 7407 Willow Road, Frederick. The meeting will also be held virtually via Zoom. Gene Scarpulla will speak on shorebird identification. To learn more about this or to join the club, visit md.birds.org/join/chapters/frederick-bird-club.
