CONNECTICUT STATE LIBRARY APR 2 1 1969 WILDLIFE CONS-=~TION~N-NECTIL'Ur Volume 15, No. 1 Hartford, Connecticut January-February, 1969 Conservation Workshop IT'S FLAT TIME The White Memorial .Foundation in By Louis Bayer, Conservation Officer Litchfield will be headquarters for a Conservation Workshop sponsored by The time is now. As late winter and early spring suns warm the waters of the Federated Garden Clubs of Con­ our estuaries and bays, winter flounder feel the mge to move out of the bottom necticut, in cooperation with Eastern and mud where they have wintered. The same warming seems to give the Connecticut State College. Dates of same urge to move to a small am1y of knowledgeable fishermen. the workshop, which carries three Each selects a pole, picks up a doz- semester hours of undergraduate or en sandworms and heads for the par­ credit, are June 23 through July 11. ticular spot which he ( or she) knows The course description reads­ has been most productive of succu­ ''Daily field trips. Field study of na­ lent, one pound, early season flats for tural resources and examples of re­ many years. Fishing sites picked may source use. Initial work involves stud­ be on the Thames, Niantic, Mystic or ies of regional geology, soil, soil con­ Pawcatuck Rivers, Bakers Cove in servation and mineral values. A study Groton, Stonington Harbor, Little of water problems, including supplies, arragansett Bay or some other area, uses, pollution and flood control is its whereabouts carefully guarded. followed by a study of plant life in Most of the early, stout-souled an- relation to agriculture and forestry. A glers do their fishing from the shore, study of animal life relates to recre­ or from bridges and tressles. They Big flats, called "snowshoes" and ation, hunting and fishing. A field trip know that the flats start moving in to running to five pounds are often to the Connecticut shore to study spawn in February and have long ago picked up by party boats fishing for problems unique to that region is of learned the flavor of winter flounder cod at Montauk Point or Block Island, outstanding interest. roe. However, by about mid-March, but are seldom taken inshore. "The problem of exploding human when fishing starts to really get hot, Starting usually in May, as waters populations, as it relates to natural most shore boat liveries have opened warm, winter flounder move out into resource matters, is integrated into all for the season and boat fishing seems deeper waters. Catches continue to be topics under investigation. to be the preferred method. made inshore, but these are mostly "The problems of conservation are Anglers use about any type of light smaller fish. The big ones are taken explored through increased under­ spinning tackle with monofilament early. standing of ecology. line and one, two or three ounce sink­ Preparation for cooking and cook­ "Science background is not essen­ ers, depending on the run of the tide. ing preferences vary. Usually the tial for successful attendance." They tie on two number six, eight or smaller flats are simply cleaned, Total cost of the workshop is $135, ten "chestertown" hooks, rigged either scaled and fried, the larger ones fil­ of which tuition subsidies of up to with a spreader or high and low. leted. But some claim that un-filleted $90 from the Federated Garden Clubs Favored baits are a one inch piece fish taste better. In any event, the fish of Connecticut are available to teach­ of sandworm or a chunk of clam, but are there for the taking, and whether ers, student teachers and youth group nightcrawlers also take their share. it's fishing action or a table treat that leaders. Most productive fishing hours are you're after, they're willing to bite. For subsidy information, contact one hour before the incoming tide un­ As a P.S., if anyone should have a Mrs. Richard McCallister, Town Farm til it's about half-way out, and don't taste for six to eight inch smelt, the Rd., New Milford, Conn. 06776. bother going for flats after dark. Of spring run in the Thames River starts For further information on the course luck isn't always good. One about March first, and local fishermen workshop, contact: Dr. Bryce E. proven way to improve success is to in the Norwich area have found that Smith, Eastern Connecticut State Col­ load a weighted onion sack with a spinning rod armed with sinker and lege, Willimantic, Conn. 06226; or crushed mussels or clams, or even cat 1/ 0 treble hook at the business end Mrs. Priscilla Mauro, White Memorial food, and lower it over the side. will snag a meal in short time. Foundation, Litchfield, Conn. 06759. 2 The Connecticut Wildlife Conservation Bulletin The CONNECTICUT Oil-Troubled Waters A minute error in navigation, a weary guard watching the seemingly end­ Wildlife Conservation less flow of oil from tanker to storage bin, a broken measuring guage, a BULLETIN faulty fuel line, and suddenly the nightmare of oil running uncontrolled occurs again. JOHN N. DEMPSEY Governor This is not a new problem. It has been with us as long as oil tankers have Department af Agriculture and Natural Resources been working the coast. In fact, it was only a short time ago that washing JOSEPH N. GILL the bilges of oil tankers within a short distance from shore was a common Commissioner practice. These controllable abuses are now pretty much things of the Published bi-monthly by the past, but accidents are another problem and one that will be increasingly Board of Fisheries and Game Hartford with us as more and larger tankers are built to satisfy demands for oil. Commissic,ners It is not necessary to describe the effect which a mat of oil has on the PATRICK J. WARD Chairman ····-·······-·--·-·· Hartford water and the creatures that use it. The unpleasant facts were well docu­ DR. WILLIAM A. ELLIS Vice Chairman _ West Hartford RUDY FRANK _ _ West Haven mented as the Santa Barbara incident unfolded. NORMAN C. COMOLLO Manchester MICHAEL J. STULA The impact of an oil spill strikes most of us not in its totality but rather Colchester affects us most deeply through isolated incidents. Who can forget the THEODORE B. BAMPTON image of the bright and dancing eye of a sea bird dulled by impending Director death from ingested oil, the helpless floundering of a merganser pinnioned MALCOLM H. BRINTON Editor by oil-soaked wings, or the throbbing body of a grebe, sleek, smooth and Subscription fee: fifty cents per year. uniformly black in its encasing coat of bunker oil. Who can forget the de­ Send all communications to THE light of watching the magnificent exuberance of a flock of birds pitching CONNECTICUT WILDLIFE CON­ SERVATION BULLETIN, State Office into a companion flock on the water below or erase the horror when the Building, Hartford, Conn. decoys turn out to be birds trapped in an oil slick and suddenly the joyous Contributions and photographs of wildlife conservation interest are wel­ descent becomes a grotesque dance in slow motion as one by one the drop­ comed, and proper credit will be given ping birds feel the stickiness of the oil and attempt to check their fall. for material used. Information in this bulletin may be reproduced or re­ printed without permission, unless It is here that many of us approach the problem of oil spillage. The birds otherwise indicated. Second-class postage paid at Hartford, have been hurt and we want to cure them. The cold and cruel fact is that Connecticut. in most cases we cannot. Notify us immediately of address change. Material mailed second class is not forwarded. If you wish to try to save a bird despite the odds against success-and most people do--you must first remove the oil. A gentle detergent" or one of the lanolin-based hand creams will be useful. Lacquer thinner, kerosene and turpentine will cut the oil, but these are extremely harmful to the bird, causing irritation and burning of the skin. These solvents may also damage It's The Law the thin-walled respiratory sacs that aid in delivering oxygen to the tissues. A sport fishing license is re­ After the oil has been removed, and remember-all of the oil must be quired for anglers fishing those removed since even a small amount coating the digestive tract can be lethal-the bird must be kept warm and dry for an indeterminate period portions of coastal streams until the natural oils are restored to the feathers. which lie within the inland dis­ trict, even when fishing for The Board of Fisheries and Game has no facilities to keep and tend birds saltwater species. Demarcation that require this type of care. Our attitude toward the situation must be lines between marine and in­ hard and calloused. The work load of our personnel does nol' leave time to spend salvaging birds whose chance for survival is so slim. It has been land districts are listed on the a regretful and difficult decision to make, one with which our hearts cannot last page of the Board's Ab­ concur, but one which our minds tell us is correct and proper. We cannot stract of Laws and Regulations. respond personally to the hundreds of calls we receive each time an oil spill occurs. We would like to, but it is impossible. January-February 1969 3 Whooping Crane Population: 50 Wild, 18 Captive With this year's migration to the Texas wintering area apparently com­ plete, the world's population of wild whooping cranes is 50, according to the Interior Department's Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.