By Mike Roche

More than ever, the weather has become the main news story. That is true here in the North Quabbin Region, Western Mass, across the state, throughout New England, New York, down the Eastern seaboard and across the United States. A conversation with some people whose work took them to Europe indicated that that continent is also dealing with unprecedented weather, including hotter temperatures and a long, dangerous heat wave.

As has been said so many times, we can talk about the weather but are helpless to change it. Lakes, ponds and streams are high and vegetation is reacting as expected. Our lawns are growing faster than we can keep up with and it has been reported that some Western Massachusetts agriculture has been negatively impacted. Time will tell how that impacts us as consumers.

My interest in fish, wildlife and the outdoor world causes me to ponder what all this rain and hot weather will mean. The natural world has endured extremes for centuries and always had adapted, but it is becoming obvious that changes that used to take centuries are occurring in decades, and those studying climate change are trying to use scientific measures to quantify and predict outcomes.

Those fishing rivers for trout seem to be benefiting, as water temps are low and high flows tend to stimulate feeding activity as food sources get washed into the river. Striped bass are still found from Rhode Island to Maine in coastal waters. The new issue for coastal anglers is seals and sharks. One follows the other and encountering one or both species is more and more common. This writer should take the initiative and see for himself what is going on. A trip to Maine in early August should be a chance to wet a line.

The Massachusetts Legislature will soon be considering a number of bills related to guns and it behooves all of us to learn as much as we can and let our elected officials know how we feel. This gun owner, shooter and sportsman is going to really miss Anne Gobi in the Senate. She was a hardworking voice of reason who understood and communicated eloquently the opinions of sportsmen and women.

HD 4420, a bill filed in the House of Representatives, has gained considerable interest. Introduced by Democratic Rep. Michael Day of Stoneham, “An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws,” is a 140-page proposal that promises to “stem the flow of illegal firearms into the Commonwealth and increase protections from gun violence for our communities.”

It has been interpreted as including a broad ‘assault weapons ban,’ including firearms already owned by law-abiding citizens and it bans possessing a gun on private property unless the owner has provided express consent or has posted signage allowing firearms on their property. This would seriously impact legal hunting activities. It mandates new training requirements including costly written exams and live fire training. The bill bans anyone under 21 from acquiring or carrying any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun. Some of the most popular sporting firearms, including my Remington 1100s, are semi-automatic action firearms.

The term “semi-automatic” has become a term broadly used, but it includes many traditional hunting firearms. Extremely bothersome to me is the included ban on anyone under 15 taking part in shooting sports and training. The hunter education classes that have been taught at Mahar Regional would be impacted negatively for sure and it would deny young people access to responsible training.

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners’ Action League said, “It’s so overwhelming, no lawful citizen would be able to comply if this passes. Nobody!”

With around 19,000 members, GOAL is the largest gun owners’ advocacy group in Massachusetts.

“These laws are more convoluted. They didn’t streamline the process like they said they were going to do,” Wallace said.

Included here was only a small part of the proposed bill. You should make the effort to read it and make your opinions known to those who are making the decision that will impact so many people.

The hunter ed course at Mahar is coming up. New this year, every person interested in taking this class must go online and complete the online class successfully and print out the certificate. Then they can register for the July 29 class in Orange. If you complete the class and are not able to register for July 29, bring your certificate and we will allow you to participate if it is in order.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the MaharFish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.

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