Ward Lumber Company's 17th

Annual Buck Contest

JAY — Ward Lumber invites sportsmen and sportswomen deer hunting this season in the Northern Zone to take their bucks to Ward Lumber in Jay, NY to enter the 17th Annual Buck Contest. No pre-registration is required. There are two ways to win: any size buck (random drawing) and biggest buck (determined by weight). Just bring your buck to Ward Lumber's Jay Store location and complete a free entry form. A scale is available to assure your buck is accurately weighed for consideration in the "Biggest Buck" category. In the event of a tie, the buck with the greatest number of points will win this category. All hunters entering will be photographed with their bucks, and if you supply an e-mail address, we will e-mail the photo to you. All contestants will also receive a baseball cap just for entering. The contest is free, and runs through Saturday, Dec. 5. Enter at Ward Lumber in Jay , NY at 697 Glen Road, Jay , NY during business hours Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. The Jay Store is closed Sundays. A winner in each category will be selected after Dec. 5. Each winner will receive a $100 Ward Lumber Gift Card.

Noted outdoors woman Staves dies at 92

TUPPER LAKE — Longtime Tupper Lake outdoorswoman Nellie Staves died Wednesday. She was 92.

Staves was inducted into the New York Outdoorsman Hall of Fame in 2008 and was the first and only woman to serve as a president of the Tupper Lake Rod and Gun Club and the Franklin County Federation of Fish and Game Clubs. She was also a past vice president of the Adirondack Conservation Council.

Staves was one of 12 siblings while growing up on Walden Mountain in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She moved to the Adirondacks in 1949 to work as a logging camp cook on Whitney Park in Long Lake.

Hunters, anglers believe license fees

used for fish, wildlife conservation

Majorities of both hunters and anglers believe that 100 percent of their state hunting and fishing license fees are spent for fish and wildlife conservation and for nothing else, according to two recent surveys.

In separate August 2009 surveys from HunterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com, hunters and anglers were asked how they think their states spend the funds collected from hunting and fishing license fees. About 33 percent of hunters and 37 percent of anglers said they believe the money from license fees is used only for fish and wildlife conservation.

Just 16.5 percent of hunters and 15 percent of anglers said they believe the money from hunting and fishing licenses goes into the general state treasury, where it is spent for different purposes, including education, road maintenance, and other expenses, as well as for conservation of fish and wildlife.

About 29 percent of hunters and 27 percent of anglers believe license funds are shared between fish and wildlife and the general state treasury, while 22 percent of hunters and 21 percent of anglers said they don't know how the money is spent.