Here Fishy, Fishy - Local Communities Supporting Kids Fishing Events Help Grow Conservationists
Children have fun and learn conservation lessons at community fishing events.
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THE VIRGINIA / MARYLAND SCENE
Virginia’s Northern Neck, its Piedmont and the Chesapeake Bay region are the Outdoors Rambler’s main stomping grounds. Check this page for announcements and links from the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Potomac River Fisheries Commission, Virginia Marine Resources Commission and more.
FEATURED STORIES
Ken Perrotte
- Feb 2
Virginia Wildlife Board Voices Displeasure After Committee on Hunting with Hounds Again Fails to Act
Note: a version of this article reprinted (below) ran in the Feb. 2, 2024 online edition of The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. This has...
Ken Perrotte
- Dec 8, 2023
Virginia DWR Named Top State Agency for 2023 by Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation presented the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources with its State Fish and Wildlife Agency...
Ken Perrotte
- Mar 18, 2023
'Storied Strings' Art Exhibition Details Influences of Guitar in Culture, Change and Storytelling
The exhibition Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art is closing at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It next travels to Nashville...
Ken Perrotte
- Mar 15, 2023
NWTF Recognized for 50 Years by Virginia House of Delegates - Founded in Fredericksburg in 1973
Here's a March 1, 2023, release from the National Wild Turkey Federation. The resolution was a joint effort between the Virginia...
Ken Perrotte
- Mar 5, 2023
Honored, Humbled to Receive National Recognition as NWTF's Tom Kelly Communicator of the Year
Press Release from NWTF - February 18, 2023 Perrotte Receives National Recognition as Top Communicator NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ken Perrotte...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 21, 2023
Landowners Demand Action from Virginia Wildlife Board; Passions High Regarding Dogs and Deer
Some Virginia property rights proponents are skeptical of a unanimous vote Jan. 19, 2022, by the Board of the Virginia Department of...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 5, 2023
Rappahannock River Bass Fishing Very Different When It Comes to Two Main Tidal Sections
Longtime bass anglers Virginia's tidal Rappahannock recently asked Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources fisheries biologists to...
Ken Perrotte
- Dec 9, 2022
Virginia Marine Resources Commission Rejects Governor’s Proposal to Limit Menhaden Fishing
Note: We're sharing this press release from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, which has been trying to rally recreational...
Ken Perrotte
- Nov 12, 2022
The Rookie Series: Novice Hunters Experience Virginia Deer Hunting with Outdoors Rambler
As the old song goes, two out of three ain't bad. So it was last deer season in Virginia as I had the privilege of introducing three...
Ken Perrotte
- Nov 12, 2022
Renaissance Man in mid-50s Takes Up Deer Hunting -- Bourbon Steward Takes It Outdoors
In a time when many newcomers to any pursuit want or, even, expect success to come in extremely short order, George Braxton says patience...
Ken Perrotte
- Nov 12, 2022
Nurse Anesthetist Brings a Lifetime of Outdoor Passion to the Woods as a New Deer Hunter
“Where did you find this girl?” Bruce Lee asked after Jessica Kelley’s second hunting trip with me to his Kinloch Farm in Essex County,...
Ken Perrotte
- Nov 12, 2022
Cool Hand Kimberly James Savors Newcomer's Success, Tagging Her First Deer with Skillful Shot
Late November winds were blowing steadily, and the peak of Virginia’s first white-tailed deer rut was at least a week in the rear-view...
Ken Perrotte
- Oct 22, 2022
Virginia, Maryland Share Young-of-Year Striped Bass Survey Results; TRCP Pushes Menhaden Netting Ban
Striped bass, commonly referred to as "rockfish" around the Chesapeake Bay have seen suffering population numbers in recent years with...
Ken Perrotte
- Oct 18, 2022
Don't Move! Invasive Species, Vegetation & Viruses Spread as People Inadvertently Import Bad Stuff
I recall riding around Trebark Camo Founder Jim Crumley's beautiful mountain property in Virginia and seeing the devastation wrought by a...
Ken Perrotte
- Sep 1, 2022
'American Jake' Fulfilling Young Virginian's Dream of Creating & Sharing Treasured Outdoor Moments
A note from Ken: Annie Adamson, a young Virginia woman, is nurturing a dream about sharing her love for the outdoors with other...
Ken Perrotte
- Aug 16, 2022
Hemorrhagic Disease Again Raising Deadly Head in Several Virginia Counties - Be on Lookout
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, commonly called EHD, is again showing up in Virginia. This is the time of year when it is often first...
Ken Perrotte
- Jul 13, 2022
Maryland Honors Anglers with 2022 Sport Fishing Achievement Awards: One Posthumously
Maryland Sport Fishing Achievement Awards Presented for 2022 A July 7, 2022 release by the Maryland Department of Natural resources Third...
Ken Perrotte
- Jun 10, 2022
Virginia Spring Turkey Hunters See overall Success, But Numbers Along I-95 Corridor Falling
Spring 2022 turkey hunters did well overall, registering 19,711 birds. According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, this...
Ken Perrotte
- May 23, 2022
Virginia Offers End-of-Season Chronic Wasting Surveillance Report - Good News & Bad News
Following is a media release from Virginia's Department of Wildlife Resources about the statewide chronic wasting disease surveillance...
Ken Perrotte
- May 23, 2022
Feds Renew Effort to Ban Lead Ammo -- New Hunting Proposals for Refuges Outline Prohibition
Note: This article originally appeared in my May 12, 2022 outdoors column in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Update: Here is link to...
Ken Perrotte
- Apr 14, 2022
Tick-Borne Diseases on the Rise, Some Rapidly Transmitted With No Current Treatment Options
Diseases often aren’t transmitted until a tick has remained attached to a person for at least several hours, but recent research is...
Ken Perrotte
- Mar 27, 2022
The 'Last Evil' is No More: Virginia Finally Approves Sunday Hunting on Public Lands
In early March 2022, Virginia’s General Assembly finally closed the book on a contentious, decades-old effort to get legislative approval...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 21, 2022
Virginia General Assembly Voting on Outdoor Bills - Sunday Hunting, Coyote Contests, Trespass & More
The Virginia General Assembly convened last week for its 2022 session with the Republican Party again the majority in the House of...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 21, 2022
Jim Crumley, Godfather of Modern Hunting Camo, Enjoying Life on Idyllic Virginia Mountain Retreat
Almost a half of a century has passed since an Alexandria, Virginia, schoolteacher named Jim Crumley began percolating an idea based on...
Ken Perrotte
- Dec 16, 2021
Could 2022 Finally See Sunday Hunting on Public Land in Virginia - or will Politics as Usual Prevail
The Last 'Blue Law' A bill to allow Sunday hunting on public land was prefiled in the Virginia General Assembly in early December 2021 by...
Ken Perrotte
- Oct 14, 2021
Virginia Fish & Game Chief Takes a Shine to Daughter's Hunting Rifle - Get Your Own Dad!
Note: This article appeared in Whitetails Unlimited with a shorter version also in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Virginia teenager...
Ken Perrotte
- Sep 26, 2021
Virginia Switches to Online or Telephone Checking of Big Game Only - No More Paper Cards
This (2021) is the first year that Virginia hunters will be unable to bring an animal they took to an authorized station to register the...
Ken Perrotte
- Aug 20, 2021
4-H Shooting Programs Teaching Virginia Youngsters Responsibility, Discipline & Respect
This article appeared in the Aug. 19, 2021 Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star newspaper. In many respects, the setting for the 4-H Shooting...
Ken Perrotte
- Aug 14, 2021
Virginia Black Bears Suffering Second Consecutive Year With High Levels of Sarcoptic Mange
Few things cause more intense, persistent discomfort than coping with chiggers, those miniscule mites that attach to your skin and bite,...
Ken Perrotte
- Jul 30, 2021
NOAA Tool Helps Predict Presence of Deadly Bacteria in Chesapeake Bay and Its Tributaries
Anglers, crabbers, swimmers, oyster lovers, and just about anyone in the Chesapeake Bay region with cuts or nicks on their skin, or ...
Ken Perrotte
- Jun 11, 2021
Retired Marine Continues to Serve; Today, He's 'Semper Fi' Teaching and Helping Youth Archers
The passage of 53 years had little effect on the delight betrayed by the eyes and smiles of both teacher and student. Indeed, it may have...
Ken Perrotte
- May 20, 2021
Oh No! Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Another Virginia County - a Spreading Menace
A third Chronic Wasting Disease management area is being established by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources after a...
Ken Perrotte
- May 20, 2021
Virginians Fare Well in 2021 Bassmaster Northern Open on James River with 14 in the top 40
Idahoan Brandon Palaniuk claimed the top prize at last weekend’s Bassmaster Northern Open on the James River, with a crowded field of...
Ken Perrotte
- May 7, 2021
'Highly Virulent' Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease has State Wildlife and Agriculture Agencies Scrambling
A deadly and highly virulent disease that devastated rabbit populations in some countries is now in the United States -- mainly the West,...
Ken Perrotte
- Feb 11, 2021
Special Youth & Veteran Hunting Days Create Conservationists and Promote 'Giving Back'
Note: This article also appeared in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Some photos provided courtesy of Chip Watkins, Monquin Creek...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 30, 2021
Virginia Wildlife Resources Board Hears Public Comments about Regulations; Deer Dogs Drive Discourse
The Board of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources met Jan. 21 to hear initial details from a public comment period about...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 21, 2021
Sunday Hunting on Public Land Again Defeated; Flip-Flop Politicians & Archaic Virginia Blue Law
Hunting on Sunday remains curiously contentious in Virginia. After nearly a decade of acrimonious debate, it was finally allowed on...
Ken Perrotte
- Jan 13, 2021
Shootings Mar End of Mostly Safe Hunting Season
Two accidental shootings during deer hunts on Jan. 2, 2021, the last day of Virginia’s general firearms season, added a negative...
Ken Perrotte
- Dec 11, 2020
Virginia's Department of Wildlife Resources Seeking Creative Partnerships with Artisans
Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources is looking to expand its collaborative partnerships with artisans and craftsmen as part of a...
Ken Perrotte
- Nov 18, 2020
Duck Cannons of the Chesapeake – When Punt Guns Spoke, Waterfowl Markets Sang
Imagine a time when nighttime duck assassins stealthily maneuvered low-profile skiffs toward vast rafts of dozing ducks and geese,...
Ken Perrotte
- Oct 29, 2020
Changes to Virginia Freshwater Fishing Regs Announced, Plus Launch Fees & Camping Restrictions
The board of Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources held a “virtual” meeting October 22, 2020 to review various programs and to...
Ken Perrotte
- Oct 22, 2020
Virginia Nabs $3M Grant to Boost Private Land Access; Much Going to 'Watchable Wildlife' Efforts
Note: A newspaper column about this issue ran in the Oct. 22, 2020 issue of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Be sure to read the full...
Ken Perrotte
- Sep 25, 2020
Vote! There is No Excuse for Failing to Exercise the Most Important Right - the Essence of Freedom
There is no excuse for not voting. Make sure the voice of the outdoor community, of hunters and anglers, gun owners and more is heard.
Ken Perrotte
- Aug 24, 2020
'Blast From the Past' - Old, Souvenir Video Revisits an Epic Morning in an Eastern Shore Duck Blind
Sometimes it is fun to go through old video footage that you shot for fun, never intending to record any finished product but instead...
Ken Perrotte
- Jul 23, 2020
Conservation Partnership Webinar Assesses Menhaden Management in Atlantic and Gulf
A shorter version of this article ran in the July 23, 20202 issue of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. The Virginia General Assembly...
Ken Perrotte
- May 28, 2020
Pandemic Results in Big Increases in Wild Turkey Harvest Across Multiple States - Prompts Concern
Most turkey hunters hunt hard. When they achieve success, it's a sweet moment to be savored and celebrated. This year, many hunters were...
Ken Perrotte
- Apr 23, 2020
Turkey Hunter Survives Being Shot in Face; Virginia Game & Inland Fisheries Investigating
Note: A shorter version of this story ran in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star on April 23, 2020. Most turkey hunters with Facebook...
Ken Perrotte
- Mar 19, 2020
Shortened Spring Striped Bass Seasons Reflect Need to Protect Spawning-Sized Fish
Virginia, Maryland and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission shorten spring striped bass seasons to decrease harvest of spawning-sized fish
Ken Perrotte
- Mar 14, 2020
Virginia Bear Hunters Have Record-Setting Season
If you are a bear hunter in Virginia, then these are likely your "good old days." A decade or so ago, Virginia deer hunters might have...
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