Musselrama ‘17
On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, in Scott County, Virginia, biologists from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) and partnering agencies splashed into the scenic Clinch River to begin the week-long 2017 “MUSSELRAMA” surveys. The epic name given to this event (coined by our own nongame expert, Mike Pinder) evokes as much excitement among aquatic biologists and naturalists as the names “Lollapalooza” and “Bonnaroo” do for music lovers! Started in 2001, these intensive benthic surveys have been led annually in the Clinch and Powell rivers by DGIF. The information collected is used to inform management actions aimed at protecting and enhancing this unique aquatic resource. Read the rest of this article…
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The slippershell (Alasmidonta viridis) is a state endangered freshwater mussel species in Virginia. It has experienced severe declines across most of its known range in the Commonwealth but individuals have occasionally been reported over the last 20 years from tributaries of the Clinch and Holston rivers in Russell, Tazewell, Smyth, and Scott counties. 
Agency biologists returned to sample the acidic, dark-water swamps and beaver ponds in southeast Virginia. Their quarry – a two inch long member of the bass family and state endangered species known as the Blackbanded Sunfish (Enneachanthus chatedon). 
With the dog days of summer upon us, June and July are the perfect time to hit the Appalachian trail in Virginia for a short day trip, or a longer backpacking trip. More of the Appalachian Trail passes through Virginia than any other states and the views can’t be beat. From pastoral scenes, to forest and farmland with creeks running through it, they are sure to make avid anglers and first-timers alike, very happy. 
On June 19, 2017, the Honorable Judge Henry Barringer of the Buchanan General District Court ruled on a poaching case that Virginia Conservation Police Officers (CPOs) had been investigating since April 2016. The defendant, Nelson Drummond, received a sentence of 2,370 days plus an additional 6 months of incarceration, a 5 year loss of hunting privileges, and restitution of $25,500 for poaching 4 elk, 3 deer, a black bear and a bobcat. 
Ever since I was a young boy I have been enthralled in the outdoors. I grew up on Lake Ontario in upstate New York, driving boats and fishing. My Grandfather taught me everything that I know about fishing and boating. The lake is where I had my first encounter with an Environmental Conservation Officer (Game Warden). I was fishing for bass with my grandfather when the officer pulled alongside our boat. I remember vividly how smoothly he pulled alongside us and very politely and professionally asked how the fishing was that day. His uniform was crisp and his boots were shined. He had a clean shave and his uniform fit him flawlessly. He checked our fishing licenses and measured the bass we had on board. He thanked us for doing things the ethical way and then gave me a sticker in the shape of his badge. I wore that sticker on my shirt for days until the stickiness wore out. I remember talking to my grandfather and telling him that I wanted to do that job one day!