Hunting, fishing and photography enthusiasts were brought together at the annual awards banquet of the Canora branch of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) on February 24 at Rainbow Hall in Canora.
Approximately 100 persons attended the event, according to Steven Wyonzek, president of the Canora branch of the SWF and emcee for the banquet.
Wyonzek said the group continues to support young people to help them get involved in enjoying the outdoors.
“We once again donated $1,500 to the National Archery in the School’s Program (NASP) and we are continuing our offer to pay the fees for youth who take Hunter Safety courses.”
The youth in attendance at the banquet were presented with tip-ups for ice fishing.
The Canora branch of the SWF supported the Habitat Trust fund with a $1,500 donation.
The guest speaker at the banquet was Allison Henderson, a wildlife ecologist based in Yorkton.
Henderson shared the good news that white-tailed and mule deer populations are rebounding from a series of severe winters between 2010 and 2014. She also shared images of white-tailed/mule deer hybrid fawns sighted northeast of Canora.
Following that came the bad news. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was discovered in a white-tailed deer in the fall of 2017 in Wildlife Management Zone 39, which includes Canora. She told attendees that CWD is, as the name implies, a disease which causes animals to waste away. It can be found in mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose.
A 2017 research trial led by Stephanie Czub of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found that Macaque monkeys, which have a high genetic similarity to humans, are susceptible to CWD infection when fed infected white-tailed deer meat. As a result, it is highly recommended to have a mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk or moose tested for CWD before consuming its meat.
Henderson said that if CWD continues to spread, this could lead to reduced hunting license opportunities, which has already happened in Wyoming, one of the origin points of CWD in North America.
She told the hunters in the audience that they can play an important role in the effort to manage CWD.
“Submit your heads for testing and report any deer, moose or elk with possible CWD symptoms. For more information on your options for submitting heads or reporting CWD symptoms, contact your conservation officer or your regional biologist.”
One of the most popular portions of the evening was the presentation of awards to the hunters, anglers and photographers who had excelled during the year, made by Wyonzek.
Big Game
The recipients of the awards for big game were: Kaitlyn Landstad, women’s moose, 183 points; Chester Dutchak, men’s moose, 166 7/8 points, and he was presented with the Warren Malischewski Memorial Award; Myra Lamb, women’s white-tailed deer, 154 7/8 points; Jason Rakochy, men’s typical white-tailed deer, 149 points, and he won the Merv Kowalyshyn Memorial Award; Bryan Hryhoriw, men’s non-typical white-tailed deer, 149 5/8 points; Meadow Ostafie, junior girls white-tailed deer, 78 4/8 points, and Ethan Joyce, junior boys white-tailed deer, 124 7/8 points.
Birds
The recipients of the awards for birds were: Greg Landstad, men’s Canada goose, 14 pounds, two ounces; Chester Dutchak, men’s duck, three pounds, 11 ounces, and Brendon Landstad, junior boys Canada goose, 13 pounds, six ounces, and he also won the junior boys duck category with a weight of three pounds, nine ounces.
Fish
In the fish category, the award recipients were: Mackenzie Gulka, junior girls northern pike, 11 pounds, three ounces; Laurie Tiechko, women’s northern pike, 16 pounds, five ounces; Jessica Landstad, women’s perch, 11 pounds, two ounces; Nestor Dutchak, men’s goldeye, two pounds, two ounces, and Greg Landstad, men’s northern pike, 20 pounds, two ounces, and he was presented with the John Dutchak Memorial Award.
No entries were received in the walleye category, which quickly caught Wyonzek’s eye. He promptly encouraged members to “weigh your fish and possibly win a cool prize.”
Photography awards
Those in attendance at the banquet were encouraged to vote for their favourite scenic and wildlife photos that had been entered in the photo contest.
After the votes were tabulated, Larry Tiechko won the Tom Rakochy Memorial Award for scenic photography, while Irene Skurat took home the Tom Rakochy Memorial Award for wildlife photography.
During the evening, Wyonzek welcomed new executive members to the Canora branch of the SWF. Cody Biletski is the vice-president, Leslie Hryhoriw is taking over the treasurer duties and Ryan Monette is the new secretary.
