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Our Banquet and Auction was held Sept. 24 at Ehrhardt's Waterfront Resort on Lake Wallenpaupack at Hawley. About 100 attended the event and enjoyed a delicious buffet style meal. Auctioneer Jamie Lovins entertained the crowd as he auctioned off beautiful framed art pieces. He kept everyone grinning as he quipped one-liners to those bidding and some thought to be bidding! We are pleased to announce that he will be our auctioneer for the 2005 Banquet at Ehrhardt's on Friday evening, Sept. 23, 2005.

Left: Auctioneer Jamie Lovins auctions off one of the firearms that Kip Adams, wildlife biologist and northeast regional director, holds up for all to view.

Branch members participated in operating a deer check station with the Schocopee Hunt Club, Milford Experimental Forest, and DCNR to collect data on the health and location of deer harvested in the rifle season. The check station ran for the first three days of the deer rifle season and two Saturdays. Results show lower harvest numbers this year compared to last year. Deer checked at the station were doe estimated between 1.5 and 6.5 years of age that weighed between 73 and 123 pounds, and buck estimated between 1.5 and 4.5 years in age that weighed between 94 and 152 pounds. There were numerous 6 and 8-points, several 9-pointers, and a 10-point buck. Most were harvested in Pike and Wayne counties.

Branch members volunteered the first 3 days of bear season in November to help the PA Game Commission collect data at the Shohola game lands 180 bear check station on Rt. 6 just north of Milford. John Crerand helped weigh black bears brought into the check station. Nicole Bernarsky pulled a tooth from adult bears to be sent to a lab as part of the aging process. Teresa Crerand & Joani Bucksbee entered data into the computers. Game Commission officials assisted with all aspects of the work that included examining the health of bears, mapping where each was harvested, and reporting data to the main office in Harrisburg. Hunters brought 78 bears into the check station the first day and the largest was a male that weighed 465 pounds field dressed with an estimated live weight of 549 pounds harvested in Palmyra Twp., Wayne Co.

Branch member Nicole Bernarsky is pictured pulling a tooth from a black bear at the Shohola game lands 180 bear check station. A tooth pulled from each adult bear is sent to a lab for processing to accurately determine the bear's age.

WCO Deputy & game lands maintenance worker for Pike & Wayne Counties Ron Schuman, center, prepares to weigh a bear. On left in foreground is Branch member Nicole Bernarsky; on right in the background is Branch member John Crerand.

Branch director and board secretary Teresa Crerand was nominated by the Branch and then appointed to the Pennsylvania QDMA board for a 2-year term that began Jan. 1. The state board meets quarterly at State College and board members provide support and assistance to Branches throughout the state at various programs and activities. Crerand also accepted a position to serve as chair of the Public Relations & Promotions committee.

Branch member John T. Buck presented three books on Jan. 28 to school librarian Leslie Lacika and principal Joe Caramanica of the Dingman Delaware Middle School in the Delaware Valley School District. Lacika was pleased to add the books to the school's library and said they would be another valuable resource to educate the students. Books donated

were "Quality Whitetails - The Why and How of Quality Deer Management," compiled by 24 deer biologists & managers in North America and edited by Karl V. Miller & R. Larry Marchinton; "Quality Deer Management - The Basics and Beyond," by Charles J. Alsheimer, an in-depth look at the philosophy and techniques of QDM that includes over 150 photos of deer and habitat examples from across the country; and "Know Hunting - Truth, Lies and Myths," by Dr. David E. Samuel, that promotes ethical hunting and includes numerous topics including info. on managing wildlife, urban deer problems/solutions, and a section on children's attitudes about wildlife. Buck explained the Branch's goal is to make the educational info. available to youth interested in the environment, wildlife, and hunting. This was the first of presentations to Pike County middle and high school libraries. A subscription to QDMA's "Quality Whitetails" was also donated.

John T. Buck, a Branch founding member and former vice president, center, presented three educational books to DDMS librarian Leslie Lacika, left, and principal Joe Caramanica.

John Crerand, Branch member and Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) Pike County Coordinator, was a guest of Alex Zidock on television program "Out in the Open," a sportsmen & sportswomen program that airs on Blue Ridge Cable's local Channel 13. Zidock featured HSH and interviewed Crerand who gave an overview of the statewide program & how

Pictured from left are "Out in the Open" television co-hosts Alex and JoAnne Zidock; Brad Neiswender, HSH processor and owner of Brad's Bear & Deer Butcher Shop in Shohola; and HSH Pike County Coordinator John Crerand.

it started in Pike County through the QDMA Branch. Zidock also interviewed HSH processor Brad Neiswender, owner and operator of Brad's Bear & Deer Butcher Shop in Shohola, who gave an overview from a processor's perspective. HSH began in 1991 and provides hunters an opportunity to donate a second or third deer harvested to the program to help feed the hungry. Neiswender is one of three HSH approved processors in Pike County. Two other processors are Prime Time Meats in Milford, and HLF & Sons Butcher Shop in Greentown. Zidock co-hosts the show with his wife JoAnne and both are active in area sporting events. The half-hour program is filmed live at the Tannersville Inn at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings and airs at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The HSH segment aired four times during Oct. 14 and 17. Visit the show's website at www.outintheopen.com for additional info. about sporting activities in the Pocono region.

Branch Directors John & Teresa Crerand set up educational displays at a presentation by Environmental Education Coordinator Roger Spotts sponsored by the Monroe County Environmental Education Center on Friday, Feb. 4. Spotts gave a 1-1/2 hr. presentation on the habits and lifestyle of white-tailed deer designed to help residents understand the history of deer management in Pennsylvania, the impact they have on the environment, as well as economics in the area. Teresa Crerand, representing the Branch and state chapter of QDMA, set up a display courtesy of DCNR Bureau of Forestry with photos and info. about the health of deer, forest deterioration & regeneration. John Crerand, Hunters Sharing the Harvest Pike County coordinator assisting in Monroe County, set up a display to provide info. about donating venison to feed the hungry. They handed out brochures and educational material to the 26 area residents that attended the program.