Spring turkey hunting one of safest outdoor activities, but caution always wise.

  Each year, a number of spring turkey hunting accidents occur throughout the United States. While Kansas has an excellent turkey hunting safety record, this should not be taken for granted. There are a few simple steps that can be taken to make this spring turkey hunt a safe one.

  Keeping one simple fact in mind should help prevent accidents: be sure of your target before you shoot. Only bearded turkeys may be taken in the spring, so positive identification is the key. In addition, take only clear shots, never walk through the woods calling, and never gobble. Another good tip is to wear hunter orange while moving.

  Other safety measures that can help ensure a safe turkey hunt include the following:

  * If you wear camouflage, cover your entire body, including face and hands, and never wear the colors red, white or blue, which appear on a turkey's head.

  * Always set up to call in a fairly open area with good visibility in every direction, with your back against a tree or other object that is wider than your shoulders.

  * When hunting with companions, be sure of everyone's location.

  * Attempting to sneak up on a turkey can lead to accidents.

  * Never assume that you are alone in the woods, even if you are the only one with permission to hunt the land.

  * Assume that every sound you hear is made by another hunter.

  * You must see the whole bird to determine whether it is safe and legal to shoot.

  * If you see another hunter approaching, remain still and yell or whistle. Never wave, use a turkey call, or stand up.

  This spring, turkey season for youth and disabled hunters will run concurrently with the archery-only season, April 1-8. The regular season (all permits valid and shotguns or bows allowed) opens April 9 and runs through May 31. Permits are available at Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) offices and license vendors throughout the state.

  For more information about all aspects of turkey hunting in Kansas go to www.kdwp.state.ks.us.

  After the great trout fishing trip we had last March and the very successful trip last September, the “gang” that I associate with headed back to Lake Taneycomo in southern Missouri once again last month. It wasn’t the best trip we have had but things could have been worse. Let me elaborate.

  For starters we once again stayed at Lilley’s Landing Resort in Branson, Missouri. It’s a great full service resort with comfortable cabins and condos, boat rentals and probably the best stocked fly shop on the lake. The rates are reasonable and a lot of their summertime business comes from folks who stay there to take in the many shows in Branson.

  The weather was perfect the afternoon we arrived. We busied ourselves with rigging our poles, visiting the fly shop, enjoying a cold one and of course talking of the great fishing to come. The reports of bad weather moving in from the west did little to discourage our enthusiasm. If we only knew what was to come.

  The next morning we awoke to the sounds of rain hitting the roof. Not ones to let a little rain ruin our fishing we put on the long underwear and rain gear and went down to the dock.

  Unfortunately it was raining way too hard to head out in the boats so we resigned ourselves to fishing under the cover of the dock and wait for it to hopefully slow down or stop. Plus the water was really rolling. They must have had all of the generators running up at the powerhouse or water was flowing over the spillway at Table Rock Dam. With that much water rolling past there was a lot of debris in the lake. Lots of weeds, sticks and even logs were in the water.

  We hung in there battling the rain, wind and cold for a couple of hours trying a variety of baits. Minnows, night crawlers and a rainbow of colors of Power Bait found their way onto our hooks with no fish caught. We finally gave up and headed back to the cabin to warm up and grab some lunch.

  Around two o’clock I raised myself off the couch and looked out of the window. To my surprise it had stopped raining. Steve and I quickly dressed and headed down to the dock leaving Kenny and Tim lazily dozing in their beds.

  Heading up the lake we were determined to take advantage of the lull in the weather and catch our limit. Again we tried minnows, night crawlers and Power Bait. And once again we were skunked. Kenny and Tim eventually rolled out of bed to get in on the action. They did manage to boat a couple of real small rainbows before the rain started again.

  That night we dodged a big bullet with the weather. A big snow storm went just to the north of us and headed east. Thirty five miles to the north in Springfield they got close to seven inches of snow where we didn’t see a flake. Not that having no snow improved the fishing because it didn’t.

  The next day we hit them hard. Bundling up we threw everything we had at the fish. We went up, we went down. We hit all of the holes we could think of and then some. At the end of the day Kenny and I each had two fish. Steve and Tim had decided to head up to the trophy area in the afternoon and caught a couple of fish each but had to throw them back since they were in the trophy area.

  Sitting around the cabin that last evening the idea came up to return in September. Maybe that will happen and maybe it won’t but we all agreed that it had been a while since we had a bad trip. When the weather doesn’t seem to be on your side there just isn’t much you can do about it but roll with the punches and make the best of the situation. After all the next time you head out you could catch the trophy of a lifetime. And that’s what keeps us going back.

  For more information on fishing Lake Taneycomo or the entire Ozark region, visit Ozark Anglers web site at: www.ozarkanglers.com. And for information about Lilley’s Landing Resort visit their site at www.lilleyslanding.com.

  Thousands of bats have been found dead or dying in caves and mines in New York state. The cause is a mysterious condition known as "White Nose Syndrome" because a white fungus is present on the muzzles of affected bats. The condition was first discovered in four caves in New York in 2007 but it has now been confirmed in 15 caves and mines, including sites in Vermont and Massachusetts as well as additional caves in New York. The sites where White Nose Syndrome has been confirmed contain approximately 400,000 hibernating bats. Many more caves could be impacted if this condition spreads.

  If this condition is introduced into West Virginia it could devastate populations of bats that reside in the state’s numerous caves. Because all bats in the region feed solely on insects, the loss of significant numbers of bats would reduce the benefits these mammals provide in controlling insect populations, including species that may be pests to humans. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are soliciting the help of cavers and cave owners to keep this condition out of the state’s important bat caves.

  As with other emerging wildlife issues, answers are not coming quickly despite the efforts of several colleges, universities and wildlife-disease laboratories across the nation. Although officials do not know the cause of the problem, what is known is that affected bats appear to have used up their winter fat stores early in the season and may not be able to survive the winter. The fungus apparent on the bats may not be the cause of the problem, but may be a secondary infection of bats weakened by some other condition. The actual cause may be fungal, viral, bacterial or some other agent.

  It is not known how this syndrome is spread. It may be spread by cave soil that is transferred from cave to cave by cavers. Until officials know more, they need to presume this is a possible means by which the disease spreads. If it is carried from cave to cave by the bats themselves, there may be little that can be done to prevent the spread of White Nose Syndrome. Potential risks to humans are being assessed.

  Bat surveys conducted by the WVDNR this winter have not detected White Nose Syndrome in West Virginia. To reduce the risk of this syndrome being introduced into bat populations in caves in West Virginia, a list of important bat caves has been developed, and the WVDNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are asking people to avoid these caves and to minimize caving in West Virginia until more is known. Guidelines are being developed for cavers to follow when visiting caves in West Virginia (these will minimize the likelihood of spreading this problem) and what to do if an affected bat is observed (these will help biologists keep up with the spread of this problem).

  Up-to-date information on White Nose Syndrome, including the list of closed caves, a notice to cavers planning to visit West Virginia and recommendations for cavers in the Northeast can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html.