For those of you who weren't able to make it, last week I attended the Westchester County Bowhunters Association meeting at the Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY.

The meeting began with an overview of the minutes from the previous meeting and a brief update on the genetic study being conducted by Mark Weckle. Unfortunately, Mark was unable to make the meeting, but has been collecting heart samples from deer for his genetic study on whitetails in suburban areas.

I gave a brief presentation on NYbowhunter.com and the NYbowhunter.com Forum. I explained how the website came along and my vision for it to become the place to go for information on bowhunting in New York. I also touched on my vision for the Forum which I hope unites various hunting organizations throughout the State. I believe this will be fundamental in helping protect sportsmens rights as the forum can provide a larger voice for us to be heard.

There were several racks brought in from this season for the big buck contest. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me to take pictures, but some members did and hopefully they will post them up here for others to see. There were some impressive racks taken and the one that stood out to me was a symmetrical 10 pointer that was probably in the 130s if I had to guess. UPDATE (1/28/09): Mike submitted the above photo, thanks Mike. From left to right: Doug with his 2nd place 126" 8 pointer, Mike with his 123" 8 pointer, and 1st place winner Anthony with his 139" 10 pointer.

Doug went on to update the organization on the progress the Task Force was having in its talks with the DEC, DEP, State Parks, and government officials in regards to opening up public lands to controlled bowhunting in an effort to help reduce the deer population to a level that is below the carrying capacity of the land so that the forest stands a chance of regeneration before the deer population rebounds. Obviously this will not be a one time deal. If the programs meet the requirements of the parks then bowhunting will be required on a yearly basis to keep the deer population from exceeding the carrying capacity of the land. The Westchester County Bowhunters Association is looking for volunteers to help with some of the legwork involved to get the programs underway as the State is not looking to put any money towards this. 

You'll also notice something new on the Forum today - a Free Classified Section. This was a suggestion that was brought up at the meeting by one of the members and was something I had been considering. If you have any suggestions about the Forum or NYbowhunter.com I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The next meeting for the Westchester County Bowhunters Association will be in April. Membership is $20 and you don't need to be a member to come check out one of the meetings to see what the organization is all about. If you hunt in Westchester I strongly suggest you join this organization as they protect our rights as bowhunters.