1. sports
2. hunting and shooting

M ISSISSIPPI V ALLEY D UCK H UNTERS A SSOCIATION
A NON - PR OFIT ASSOCIATION OF , BY , AND FOR THE DUCK
HUNTERS .
JULY 2014
V OLUME 58 I SSUE 7
JULY 3, 2014
FROM OUR PRES
July 2014
I N SIDE
TH IS ISSUE :
FROM OUR PRES
1
THANKS MOCHF
1
CALLING CONTEST
2
THANKS
3
RIVER BLIND
3
WEB SITE
3
There is a new magazine due out soon. Come to the meeting and find out
more.
WATERFOWL HIST
3
We are proud to have worked on and supported a new waterfowl history
book coming out soon. Many well known experts have helped with the
project, Graber and Raedeke come to mind off the top of my head. The
book will come in paperback and a deluxe leather bound edition will be
available.
PULL FOR CONSERV
4
POACHING
4
STOP CWD
4
DELTA ARCH
4
MVDHA will have a raffle on a leather bound edition. Tickets available
soon.
FACEBOOK
5
Art
EMAIL
5
NEWSLETTER
5
We have made it to the summer and waterfowl things are starting to happen! Coming up next Wednesday Andy Raedeke of MDC will keep us
informed of things going on nation wide along with some questions about
an after season survey being compiled by MDC.
July 12th will be the drawing for blinds on the Upper Mississippi.
Drawing will be held at Busch HQ. MVDHA will have a table for memberships and information. See Joe Tubbs and give him a hand.
THANKS MOCHF
ESCRIPTS
5
We received a thank you letter from the Missouri conservation Heritage
Foundation and it states:
UPCOMING EVTS
5
Dear conservation Partner:
GENERAL INFO
I would like to thank you on behalf of the Missouri conservation Heritage
Foundation for your $300 donation. The funds will be used for programs,
events and activities for the Missouri Girls Explore Nature Camp in the
Saint Louis Region.
Thank You for your interest and support in providing conservation recreational and educational opportunities to Missouri’s citizens and visitors.
To learn more about the programs and activities that your donation supports, please visit our website at www.mochf.org. You may also be interested in signing up for our electronic newsletter at the same website.
Sincerely
Signed, Chris Vitello Executive Director.
COV
V OLUME 58 I SSUE 7
P AGE 2
7:00pm Youth Ages: 12 & Under Duck Calling Contest
8:00pm – Awards
MVDHA BOARD
President: Art Wende
First V. Pres.:
Ray Boschert
Fin. Secretary:
Bernie Urbas
Rec. Secretary:
Dave Hamilton
5th Annual Master of the
Mississippi Calling Contest
Join us for the 5th Annual Master of
the Mississippi Calling Contest.
Hosted by your MVDHA and sponsored by Cabela’s during the
Hazelwood Waterfowl Classic
Activities for the Entire Family! The
event will take place on August 23rd
and 24th at the Hazelwood, MO
Cabelas store. The schedule of
events are:
Correspondence
Secretary: Bill Hilgeman
and Brad Douglass
Saturday August 23rd
Membership Chairman:
9am Registration opens Masters of
the Mississippi Duck Calling Contest
Joe Tubbs
10am Junior Meat Duck Calling
Contest
Chairman of the Board
1pm
Open Meat Duck Calling
Contest
Directors:
3pm
Cabela’s Open Main Street
Duck
4:30pm
2Man Meat Duck
Calling Contest
Learn from the best ALL WEEKEND Long – Demos
Saturday August 23rd
9am – 3pm
Friday, August 22
11am Top Five Tips for Selecting
Binoculars for Hikers and
Campers
11:30am
Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters
Association
Youth Night at Cabela’s Hotdogs
and Drink provided.
Decoy Pond
Waterfowl University
Zink Calls
12pm Waterfowl Vendor
Roundtable
5:30pm – Registration opens for
Youth Calling Contest
1:30pm Timeless Waterfowl Hunti
ng Techniques with Sean
Mann Calls
6:00pm Build Buck Gardner Call
2pm
6:30pm Learn to Call with Jason
Schlesinger, Cabela’s Pro-Staffer
Sunday August 24th
Cooking Demonstration by
Chef Lou Rock, Annie
Gunn’s Restaurant
9am – 3pm
Decoy Pond
Board of Directors:
Jerry Mercurio
Bill Truebe,
Jerry Mercurio Jr.,
Ken Liebel,
James Edwards,
Dale Westerhold,
Rob Mueller,
Robert Urbanek,
and Tim Koehler
Emeritus Board of Director: Terry Moran
V OLUME 58 I SSUE 7
11am Game Cameras
101
12pm Crossbows for Beginners
12:30pm
1pm
Waterfowl Vendor
Roundtable
Advanced Ground Blind
Tactics
1:30pmTimeless Waterfowl
Hunting Techniques with
Sean Mann Calls
2pm
What’s New in Crossbows
2:30pm Waterfowl Camo Patterns
THANKS
I want to express my appreciation
to all of the members of the Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters Association for the thoughts of condolences you sent me and to my
sister and the contribution to the
American Cancer Society on the
behalf of my mother Betty Jean
Smith who recently passed away.
Brad
RIVER BLIND
We do not know if this is a win
or not just yet, but we were informed that there will be a blind
drawing this coming year. Below are the details.
Attention Duck Hunters the date
has been set for the 2014 drawing
for blind sites on Upper Mississippi
Conservation Area. Date: July 12,
2014 Place: St. Louis Regional
Office Registration: 8:00 a.m. –
9:30 a.m. Drawing Time: 10:00
a.m. What to bring: 2014 Missouri Small Game Hunting Permit,
2014 Missouri Migratory Bird Permit, 2014 Federal Migratory Bird
Hunting and Conservation Stamp
(signed federal stamp) and a Photo I.D. You should also be prepared to provide; name, address,
phone number, date of birth, email
address, and conservation number
for all co-registrants you may want
to add to your blind. The St. Louis
P AGE 3
from special partnerships
among government agencies,
landowners, waterfowl hunters
and wetlands conservationists
positioning Missouri as one of
the most important states in
North America for migrating
and wintering waterfowl and
other wetland birds. ConservaThe Valley Park Post Office is
tionists across the continent
supposed to have the Federal
refer to these conservation
Duck Stamp you can call Kathy
partnerships as the “Missouri
Blair at 636-225-1763 to verify be- Model.” This new book will tell
fore you go down.
the story and history of this
waterfowl and wetland habitat
WEBSITE
conservation success and to
honor those who made it posAs you all know we have a website that updates the members and sible. Leadership from dedicated citizen conservationists and
who ever might be browsing the
internet about our great organiza- the partnership of private/
tion. It is in dire needs of to be re- public waterfowl and wetland
written. If you have the talent and conservation have been the
desire to take on this challenge of foundation of the Missouri
working on this site please contact Model. It is the intent of the
book committee to secure
me, at bjd7960@att.net or just
contact Brad Douglass at the next grants from sponsors and supmembers meeting and he will work porters sufficient to cover all
production costs in advance of
with you in order to get to work.
publication, which amount to
He can help you along the way
$160,000. All proceeds from
and give instructions if needed,
just need to be a talented individu- book sales will be dedicated to
wetland and waterfowl conseral with web sense!
vation that benefits Missouri.
Major sponsors that have
stepped forward with $110,000
in cash pledges or contributions to date include Bass Pro
Shops, Missouri Department of
Conservation (MDC) and Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM). Author contributions are donated.
Regional Office is located at 2360
Hwy. D, St. Charles, Mo. 63304
For more information call Columbia Bottom Conservation Area at
314-877-6014 Or the St. Louis Regional Office at 636-441-4554 or
go to www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/
stlouis/
WATERFOWL HUNTING AND
WETLANDS CONSERVATION IN
MISSOURI
Wildlife conservation in Missouri is
unique. Separating Missouri from
most other states is the citizen
mandate that fish, forest and wildlife resources will be sustained for
future generations. Waterfowl and
wetland habitats have benefited
Persons interested in donating
to this book project and thus
supporting wetland management in Missouri can donate
online or send a check payable
to the Missouri Conservation
Heritage Foundation, referencing the book. Your donation
will be matched doubling your
contribution and is tax deductible. Please consider support-
V OLUME 58 I SSUE 7
ing this unique historical review of
wetland and waterfowl management in Missouri.
PULL FOR CONSERV
The 8th Annual Pull for Conservation weekend is going to happen
on August 8-9. The date for
CFM’s 8th Annual Pull For Conservation Sporting Clays Classis
has been set for August 9, 2014.
The CFM shoot committee is already planning to ensure this
year’s late summer event continues to grow. Columbia Bass Pro
Shops is once again providing the
prizes and if you have never attended this annual fun shoot make
plans to join us this year for a
great time at River Hills Sporting
Clays.
In addition, David Smith and his
Columbia Bass Pro team will once
again host our Pre-shoot banquet
inside the Columbia store. Mark
your calendars now and don’t miss
out on the fun filled evening on
Friday, August 8 and stick around
and have a blast at the shoot on
Saturday, August 9. Register early for the shoot or purchase your
banquet tickets by contacting the
CFM office (800) 575-2322 or visit
the website at www.confedmo.org.
Have a safe and successful Spring
and we’ll see you in August!
POACHING
From the Illinois DNR web site:
VANDALIA, IL – Illinois Conservation Police have arrested three
men in connection with a March
duck poaching incident at Carlyle
Lake Wildlife Management Area
near Vandalia.
Steven Dean of Granite City,
along with Bradley Peters and
Daniel Groves of Wood River,
were arrested on April 25. The
three men face felony charges for
their alleged involvement in the
illegal killing of more than 30
P AGE 4
ducks out of season on March
6. The illegal killings included
northern pintail and mallard species and left several ducks crippled.
“We are grateful to members of
the public and to the media for
publicizing this case and providing
support for our officers,” said Rafael Gutierrez, Chief of the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources
Office of Law Enforcement.
“Illinois Conservation Police Officers stand with hunters and conservationists to prevent poaching
whenever possible and to find
those responsible when it does
occur.”
Charges include:
• Felony resource theft of migratory waterfowl
• Unlawful possession of freshly
killed species during the closed
season
• Wanton waste of migratory waterfowl
• Unlawful take over the limit of
mallard ducks
• Unlawful take over the limit of
northern pintails
dustry, putting Missouri’s public wild deer population at risk
of demise. Contact your legislators at
In addition Groves was charged
with unlawfully possessing a firearm when he is ineligible for a
Firearm Owners Identification
Card, a Class 4 Felony.
June 19, 2014 Meeting Announcement
STOP CWD
SB 506 and HB 1306 have passed
the Missouri General Assembly
and will transfer control of captive
deer from the Missouri Department of Conservation to the Missouri Department of Agriculture,
unless you TAKE ACTION NOW.
www.NoMoCWD.org/contact.
CWD FACTS:
Where they’ve had it for decades, deer herds have declined by up to 45%
Where they’ve had it for decades, few bucks survive past 3
1/2 years.
CWD could kill the $1 BILLION
annual economic benefit of
Missouri’s deer season.
CWD could slash rural Missouri land values, sales tax
revenues and property tax revenues.
To learn more, visit
www.NoMoCWD.com
“The wildlife and its habitat
cannot speak, so we must and
we will!” — Theodore Roosevelt
DELTA ARCH
The June Meeting of the St.
Louis Arch Chapter of Delta
Waterfowl will be held on
Thursday, June 19th, at 7:00
pm at the Oakville Elks Lodge.
Mr. Joe Rabbitt owner of Missouri Kennels and one of the
founders of Gateway Retrievers Hunting Retriever Club
along with Mr. Matt
Wiedemann, Vice President of
Gateway Retrievers Hunting
Why does this matter? Stronger Retriever Club will be our
regulations are needed in Missouri guest speakers. Joe will preto prevent the spread of Chronic
sent information on tips for seWasting Disease. MDC has
lecting a puppy and training
passed these regulations, but deer your pup to be a valued huntbreeders and high-fenced shooting partner. Matt will present
ing ranches are working to elimiinformation on the Gateway
nate regulation on their private in- Retrievers Hunting Retriever
V OLUME 58 I SSUE 7
P AGE 5
Club and their club training opportunities.
mvdha@mvdha.com and I will get
you added to the distribution.
Joe will bring his 3 year old Lab
“Recon” and Matt will bring his 3 ½
year old Lab “Ready” to demonstrate some training and retrieving
techniques.
NEWSLETTER
Arch Chapter Clay Busters
Youth Shooting Team
The Arch Chapter has formed a
MYSSA Youth Shooting Team,
The Arch Chapter Clay Busters.
Bob Hurst and Joe Lucas are the
coaches overseeing the team
practices and shooting events.
The team meets on Tuesday
evening at 6:00 PM at St. Louis
Skeet and Trap Club to practice. If
you have a Youth between the ages of 9 to 18 that would like to participate on the Shooting Team,
please contact Bob Hurst at 314330-8515 for additional information.
FACEBOOK
Thanks to Tim we are now on
Face Book!!
Just go to the search tab and type
in "Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters Association" and we pop right
up. Hit LIKE and you will join!
EMAIL
If you currently receive the newsletter via email, THANKS!!! This
saves MVDHA over $1 per month
per member plus the time it takes
me to put it all together in order to
get it mailed. If you still receive
the newsletter via snail mail,
please consider getting it via
email. Some benefits are: images
are in color, you receive it every
Monday before the meeting, it is
not torn up (in some cases) by the
processing machines at the post
office. So think about it, the money saved is used in other areas
that help to promote the sport that
we all love. You can send me
your email address at
As part of membership to the Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters Association this newsletter is distributed to the members either by mail
or via email. All members who
have an email address will be receiving this newsletter via email.
With the cost of postage, printing,
labeling and handling on the increase this will save YOUR
MVDHA a little over $1.00 per
month per member that can be
used in other areas. That is a
substantial savings, with a projected cost savings of over $800.00 a
year if all members received the
newsletter via email. If you still
wish to receive your newsletter via
snail mail, just let me know at the
next member’s meeting or if you
wish to no longer receive it by
snail mail and want to save the
association funds you can provide
me your email address by sending
me an email at
mvdha@mvdha.com. Please consider this, it will save the association money over the time of your
membership that can be used
elsewhere.
group, based on purchases
made by you, just by using the
cards you have registered.
• Your purchases are tracked
and available to you online,
allowing you to see just how
much you are earning.
Bottom line, it costs you nothing. All you have to do is do
your normal shopping at listed
stores like, Schnucks, Macy’s,
Orvis, OfficeMax, Pepboys or
even American Airlines. This is
a no brainer in helping to raise
money for your MVDHA with
no effort at all, except to hand
your eScript card to the check
out person. Tony has over 200
cards just waiting for you to
call at 314-570-3010 or you
can email him at
huntfishteach@gmail.com
Up Coming Events
July 9: Andy Raedeke, PHD
of MDC about North American
Waterfowl Management Plan.
PLUS fielding questions and
input on a waterfowl survey
from MDC coming out after
this year's season.
August 13: Brandon Butler,
new Exec Director of ConserESCRIPTS
vation Fed of MO. Good
time to see how both our
eScripts Contribution: $ 10.13
groups can better work togethEScripts is proven to be a fantastic er for mutual benefit.
resource for fundraising where
September 10: TBA
participating business partners
contribute a percentage of your
October 8: Doreen Mengel
grocery loyalty cards, credit card,
and crew on the annual Duck
and debit/ATM card purchases to
Outlook by MDC Nomination
the school, group or organization
of officers.
of your choice. Here's How it
November 12: TBA. Election
Works
of officers.
• You register any one or all of
your existing grocery loyalty, debit December 10: Santa Arand credit cards for use in the pro- rives! Swearing in of officers.
gram.
• Participating merchants will
make contributions to your chosen
General Information
This newsletter is distributed to our active members. For non-active members check the website for the current newsletter. We have our general meeting the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30 PM and our
Board of Directors’ Meeting every fourth Monday at 7 PM. All meetings are held at the American Legion Post
Goff – Moll Post 101, at 2721 Collier, Brentwood, Mo. 63144. In case of bad weather call the Post at 314961-3263 or Art Wende at 636-343-4254 or Jerry Mercurio at 636-296-4799.
Visit YOUR web site at http://www.mvdha.com/ to get the most recent news, events and updates. There you
will find this newsletter and other helpful information concerning conservation and the great outdoors that we
love. If you would like to be added to the email listing of important news and updates you can do that through
the web site through the contact us link, fill out the form and make sure you add your email address.
Any comments or suggestions concerning the newsletter or the website can be sent to mvdha@mvdha.com.
I am always looking forwards to suggestions concerning content and what you would like to see or be presented in these publications.
Next members meeting:
July 9, 2014
Next Board Meeting:
July 28, 2014
Members are invited to the Board Meeting
All meetings start at 7:30