Joe Manchin III, Governor

Frank Jezioro, Director

News Release : October 21, 2005

Hoy Murphy , Public Information Officer (304) 558-3380 hoymurphy@wvdnr.gov

Contact: Marshall Snedegar , Wildlife Resources Section (304) 558-2771 wildlife@wvdnr.gov

WVDNR Announces Outdoors Awards for 2005

  The Sportsman of the Year, Conservation Organization of the Year, and Lifetime Sportsman Award for 2005 were announced by West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Director Frank Jezioro during the recent West Virginia Celebration of National Hunting and Fishing Days at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park.

•  Janet L. Hodge of Smithville , West Virginia , was given the West Virginia Sportsman of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding work with the Ritchie County Trappers Association and other outdoors organizations. She is a licensed fur dealer and is an instructor for better fur handling techniques to both trappers and hunters. She began the Young Trappers Education Program in West Virginia , which provides free training to young people in the use of trapping as a wildlife management tool. She also works with local schools in Ritchie and Gilmer counties to teach trapper training and basic wildlife management to students from elementary through high school. Hodge was the first female to provide demonstration for the National Trappers Association. She is currently working with DNR to create a statewide coyote program to help reduce the number of problem coyotes.

•  The Middle Islands Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation  was presented the West Virginia Conservation Organization of the Year Award . The organization from Alma , West Virginia , was recognized for its outstanding record of working with other conservation, youth, and senior groups in actively working to make sure West Virginia remains a place that lovers of the outdoors will be able to enjoy for generations to come. The Middle Island Longbeards chapter is the first and only “Five Star” chapter in West Virginia . Past accomplishments include hosting the first Women in the Outdoors Event in the state, signing up hundreds of new members in the youth-oriented J.A.K.E.S. program, and supporting DNR's Hunter Education Program. The award was presented to Chapter President Bob Leasure.

•  Carl Gainer of Richwood was awarded a special Lifetime Sportsman Award in recognition of his decades of service and support of the outdoors sportsmen of West Virginia . He served nearly two decades on the Natural Resources Commission, was named “Natural Resources Commissioner Emeritus this year by Gov. Joe Manchin III, and was elected to six consecutive terms in the State Senate, during which he served 22 years as chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

  “DNR would not be able to perform as well as it does without the remarkable support of individuals and organizations such as these,” said DNR Director Frank Jezioro . “Our agency thanks this year's winners and all the other organizations and citizens who work so hard to improve our environment and quality of outdoor recreation.”

**DNR**