River turbine plans stall
NEWS AND NOTES
Guilty as charged: A Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) investigation led to the apprehension and recent conviction of three Yalobusha County residents for poaching wild turkeys. The investigation was initiated as the result of a tip provided by a concerned citizen. One subject admitted to poaching wild turkeys for the past 18 years. The three men had been poaching wild turkeys together for about eight years. The subjects killed the wild turkeys while trespassing on private lands; they pleaded guilty to all counts. Jeffery C. Reeves pleaded guilty to hunting wild turkeys during the closed season, hunting from a public road and killing 10 wild turkey hens. Total fines and assessments were $2,028. In addition, Reeves was sentenced to 60 days in jail with 50 days suspended. Reeves will serve 10 days in county jail. Randall A. Byford pleaded guilty to hunting wild turkeys during the closed season and possession of wild turkeys taken unlawfully. Total fines and assessments were $1,027. In addition, Byford was sentenced to 60 days in jail with 50 days suspended. Byford will serve 10 days in county jail. Anthony C. Davis pleaded guilty to hunting wild turkeys during the closed season. Total fines and assessments were $676. In addition, Davis was sentenced to 60 days in jail with 50 days suspended. Davis will serve 10 days in the county jail. Good for you: Wendell Weakley of Oxford was recently elected to Memphisbased Ducks Unlimited’s national board of directors during the organization’s annual convention in Portland, Ore. Weakley brings to DU a strong financial background, having retired as a partner with the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers and currently serving as president and CEO of the University of Mississippi Foundation. Weakley was brought into a more active role with DU by Bob Hester, DU’s treasurer, who asked Weakley to be a part of DU’s new audit committee. He was appointed to the finance committee as assistant treasurer and now serves on the investment committee. “I am involved in DU because of the conservation effort that will help maintain waterfowl populations for our children and our children’s children, especially now that I have sons-in-law and a daughter who are passionate about waterfowl,” Weakley said. “I see my role in DU as helping with the organization’s financial stability. I would love to see DU’s endowment grow, which will help it become more self-sustaining.” For a complete list of DU’s volunteer board of directors, please visit ducks.org. Making waves: The Buccaneer Bay Water Park recently reopened. Located on the beach in Waveland, the water park features a wave pool, water slides, kid’s splash area and concession area. Construction of the water park completes a three-phase revitalization process for the state park destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “We’re very excited to see this facility reopen,” said Ramie Ford, MDWFP state parks director. “This has been a longer than anticipated construction process, but we’re very pleased with the results and look forward to seeing visitors enjoy the water park once again.” For more information regarding Buccaneer State Park go to mdwfp.com or call 228-4673822. Looking good:
Go fish: The majority of the original lake is now managed as a wildlife management area for waterfowl, but the smaller lake constructed inside the original lake bed will provide the public with excellent fishing opportunities. The lake was constructed in 2010 and has been stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, magnolia crappie and redear sunfish. Fishing will be open daily from sunrise to sunset and anglers except those exempt from purchasing a hunting or fishing license must purchase a WMA users permit (sold wherever hunting and fishing license are sold) in addition to a valid fishing license to fish the lake. There is no boat ramp on the lake, but nonmotorized boats may be used. Before opening to the public a youth fishing day will be held on Saturday from 7 a.m. to sunset. Fishing will be open to youth ages 15 and under that are accompanied by an adult with a valid Mississippi fishing license. Charlie Capps WMA is off Miss. 8 in Bolivar County, five miles east of Rosedale. Check it out: Noted MidSouth angler Rob Prytula will be the featured speaker when the Mid-South Fly Fishers host its monthly meeting July 2 at Central BBQ on Summer Avenue. Social activities start at 6:30 with the dinner at 7. The dinner prices is $15; $5 for non-meals. For more information contact Luther Kyle, MSFF communications director, at 901-481- 0782 or at msff.org. New look: About 186 acres of bottomland hardwoods on John Bell Williams Wildlife Management Area are scheduled for thinning this summer. Located in Prentiss County, the WMA is a 2,930acre tract of bottomland and upland hardwood forest with some mixed pine-hardwood stands. The MDWFP, Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District (actual landowner) and the Mississippi Forestry Commission have worked together to prepare the designated stand for thinning. As with most timber harvests, appearances within the stand may look undesirable for a time. However, benefits of the harvest will begin almost immediately. The forest habitat improvement thin will increase food and cover for many species of game and nongame wildlife, help promote forest regeneration, improve forest health and sustain forest growth for future generations. Worth knowing: The Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 2 which allows any person in Mississippi who is legally allowed to carry a gun the right to openly carry the gun without a permit. The law goes into effect on July 1, but possessing a firearm on Corps of Engineers property is prohibited by federal regulation. Code of Federal Regulations Title 36, Chapter 3, Part 327, Section 327.13 states the possession of loaded firearms, ammunition, loaded projectile firing devices, bows and arrows, crossbows or other weapons is prohibited unless in the possession of a federal, state or local law enforcement officer; being used for hunting or fishing as permitted under 36 CFR 327.8, with devices being unloaded when transported to, from or between hunting and fishing sites; being used at authorized shooting ranges; or written permission has been received from the district commander. A violation of CFR 36 327.13 could result in a mandatory appearance before a federal magistrate. Possible penalties could subject the violator to a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than six months or both. Adding confusion to this issue is the 2009 federal law that allows guns in National Parks. Public Law 111-24, section 512 authorizes the possession of guns in the National Parks system, but parks governed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers were not included in this law. Helping hand: The MDWFP will begin accepting applications for its Youth Participation Initiative ( YPI) on July 1. The program was established to provide funding for educating and recruiting youth in the areas of hunting, fishing and natural resource conservation. During 2012-2013, the YPI Program provided $171,953 to help fund 18 projects across Mississippi. State agencies, education institutions and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for YPI funding. Applications will be accepted until Aug. 15. For more information regarding wildlife or hunting in Mississippi visit mdwfp. com/wildlife-hunting or call 601-432-2199.
CALENDAR
Archery: Today, Charity Archery Shoot at Enid Lake’s Persimmon Hill Recreation Area; contact Enid Lake Field Office at 662-563-4571 ... July 20, Archery Shoot at Clear Springs Recreation Area at Sardis Lake; contact Sardis Lake Field Office at 662-5634531. Field Day: Today, Amateur Radio Field Day (catfish ponds) at Grenada Lake; contact Grenada Lake Field Office at 662-226-5911. Deer workshops: July 12-13 and Aug. 9-10, MDWFP, Mississippi State Extension Service and College of Forest Resources deer management workshop at Thompson Hall on MSU’s Starkville campus (July 12-13) and at MSU’s Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi (Aug. 9); participants may attend either both days or one day; workshops begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m.; coffee and snacks available at 8:30 a.m.; topics on day one are camera survey setup, deer nutrition, food plots, deer habitat, deer ecology, harvest management and hunter recruitment; topics on day two are camera survey picture analysis, science of harvesting deer, scoring antlers, how to age deer, wild pig management and butchering and meat handling; continuing education credit hours available for Continuing Forestry Education, Mississippi Professional Logger Program, Certified Wildlife Biologist Renewal/ Professional Development and Certified Crop Adviser; registration $95 per day or $180 for each two-day session and includes class materials, lunch and T-shirt or cap; contact cfr.msstate.edu/ workshops/deer2013 or call 662-325-3133. Youth fishing: Saturday, Student Angler Federation Mississippi High School Fishing State Championship on Pickwick Lake at J.P. Coleman State Park; twoperson team event for students in grades 9-12; registration for anglers and online at HighSchoolFishing. org.; check-in at 5 p.m. on Friday at J.P. Coleman Park with mandatory rules meeting to follow ... Saturday, fishing rodeo at Roosevelt State Park (Miss. 13 in Morton); open to youth 15 years and under; registration begins at 8 a.m.; participants encouraged to bring fishing gear, catfish bait and stringers; (601) 7326316 or (601) 432-2200. ... July 13, MSJBC youth bass tournament at Tunica Cut- Off (Charlie’s Camp Boat Ramp); contact Chris Morlok at 901604- 6274 or msjbc1@gmail. com. Shooting sports: Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m.-dusk, operating hours at O & S Sporting in Como, Miss.; www. iclays.com; contact range master Matt Demuth at 662-501- 0036 or e-mail at onesportingclays@yahoo. com; Mississippi State Shoot on Aug. 4-5; O & S located on 7171 Compress Road off Interstate 55 and Miss. 310 and Freeman Road (go north on Freeman Road about two miles and turn right onto Compress Road; range one mile on left. MDWFP: Through July 15, hand-grabbing, hand fishing or noodling season for catfish; structures may not be raised out of water to aid in capture of fish; fish can only be taken using hands or by use of rope or stringer; no hooks or gaffs permitted ... July 12-13 and Aug. 9-10, workshops to better manage white-tailed deer populations; July 12-13 in Starkville at Mississippi State University and Aug. 9-10 at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi; $95 per day or $180 for both days; registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and programs run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; attendance limited to 70 participants on Day 1 and 30 on Day 2; registration for Biloxi sessions closes July 26; register or more information go to cfr. msstate.edu/workshops/ deer2013. North Mississippi Bassmasters schedule: Saturday, at Sardis Lake (Engineers Point); July 27, at Enid Lake (Chickasaw); Aug. 24, at Sardis (Engineers Point); Sept. 28, Classic (site to be determined); club dues, $35, dues paid with first entry fee; entry fee, $150 per event; big bass pot, $20 per boat paid in cash at ramp; all events pay back 90 percent to fishermen; 10 percent goes to fund Classic and club; all events start at safe light and end at 3 p.m.; any changes in takeoff or stop time is at discretion of the tournament director; any event can be canceled or postponed due to dangerous weather; Classic will be non-entry fee event; $1,000 first place guaranteed; $100 per boat side pot paid back in cash at ramp; competitors must fish 4 events to qualify for Classic and can fish 3 events and pay $150 entry fee and fish Classic; all entries must be received by tournament director by Thursday before event no exceptions; contacts Blaine Davis, president, 662252-2348 (home) or 901- 6342059 (cell); David Griffin, vice president, 901- 634-3858 (cell) or Tommy Davis, tournament director, 662-252- 6275 (home) or 662-801-5565 (cell). Fishers of Men Tennessee West Division: July 20 at Paris Landing State Park ( Team Series); fomntt.com; Billy Cooper, 731-926- 6919; bcooper710@gmail.com; membership dues, $40; team series entry, $150; Legacy Series entry, $75. Memphis Bass Club schedule: Today, New Johnsonville, U. S. 70 ramp; July 20, Dunn/Austell lakes at Village Creek State Park near Wynne, Ark.; Aug. 17, Pickwick Lake (night tournament, 7 p.m.-7 a.m.), J.P. Coleman Ramp; Sept. 21, Grenada Lake, Main Ramp; Oct. 26, Classic at site to be determined; memphisbassclub@aol.com. Mid-South Fly Fishers: Richard Dover conducts a Free Fly Tying Class at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at Bass Pro Shops at 6140 Macon Road; equipment and supplies provided; 901213-5800 and ask for Fly Shop; contact Luther Kyle. Communications Director, Mid-South Fly Fishers, msff. org, 481- 0782. Archery: July 20-21, St. Jude Archery Competition at Everything Archery, 5454 Pleasant View Road; contact Melissa Hamm, 901-497-4113; facebook. com/pages/St-JudeArchery- Competition/ 413730622052714. Educational: Saturdays and Sundays, live fishing feedings at 1 and 4 p.m. at Bass Pro Shops in Memphis; 901-2135800. Got a Mississippi outdoors item of note? E-mail Larry Rea at lroutdoors@att.net or go to his website at lroutdoors.com; past shows are available on the website’s archives link. You can also listen to Larry Rea on Outdoors with Larry Rea on Saturday mornings from 6-7:30 on Sports 790-AM.
The drought of 2012 may be over, but it had one lasting effect: It dried up all the enthusiasm for a $3 billion clean-energy project designed to harness the power of the Mississippi River.
Free Flow Energy Corp. had planned to mount power-generating turbines on pilings sunk in the river bottom near Memphis and other sites. The Boston-based firm obtained preliminary permits and hosted public meetings on the initiative.
But after five years of study and preparation, Free Flow this month told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission it wanted to surrender the permits. In a letter to FERC, the company said it conducted a feasibility study and “concluded that pursuing development of the Projects at this time is not viable.”
Dan Lissner, general counsel for Free Flow, cited the “challenging river conditions” during last year’s drought as a major factor in the decision. “That forced us to take a step back and look at the totality of the project,” he said.
Free Flow was seeking federal licenses to install some two dozen turbine sites between Kentucky and Louisiana that would generate a total of 3,303 megawatts of power, or nearly five times the output of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis. In all, the company had obtained more than 50 preliminary permits from FERC to develop the project.
Unlike traditional hydroelectric facilities, which use the falling water from dam discharges to turn turbines, the “hydrokinetic” units envisioned by Free Flow would generate power by having the natural current of the Mississippi — often more than 6 mph — spin the turbines.
But with each turbine having a diameter of about 10 feet, and with barges requiring at least 9 feet of water, depths would have to be more than 20 feet at each site. Although some spots on the Mississippi have constant depths of 80-plus feet, the prolonged dry weather last summer left long stretches of the river barely deep enough for barges, let alone turbines.
The drought, the worst in the U. S. in more than half a century, sent the river plummeting to stages as low as minus-9.86 feet at the Memphis gauge — less than a foot above the record of minus-10.7 feet set in 1988.
Although the river remained sufficiently deep for a limited number of turbines, Lissner said that for the initiative to be profitable, the firm had to take a “scale approach” — benefiting from economies of scale by employing dozens of turbine sites.
“This is far from a statement that hydrokinetics on the Mississippi River is not feasible,” he said.
During public meetings they hosted in 2009, Free Flow officials fielded questions about issues ranging from the effects of the turbines on navigation to the likelihood of fish being killed or injured by the blades.
“All along, one of the main concerns was making sure there’s sufficient water for their turbines and barge traffic,” said Roger Allan, a biologist with the regulatory branch of the Corps of Engineers’ Memphis district.
With the death of the Free Flow initiative, there are no proposed hydrokinetic projects proposed in the Memphis area, Allan said, although one firm might try to install turbines below Helena, Ark.