The 2019 executive of the Moncton Fish and Game Association Inc (MFGA) are pleased to present this Annual Program Report. We want to share the highlights with members and partners so that they are aware of the comprehensive activities that the Association was engaged in over the year. This program report augments the Financial Report prepared by the Treasurer. The MFGA operates on a Jan 1st to Dec 31st reporting and fiscal year for ease of managing NFA insurance and reporting to the NB Chief Firearms Officer for purposes of Authorization to Transport (ATT) requirements.
The MFGA was formed in 1924 and incorporated in 1981. In June of 2016, the MFGA members voted on and accepted the first-ever Constitution and By-Laws for the MFGA. This has strengthened the MFGA management and financial structure and is seen as an important benchmark for the long-term future and continuity of the MFGA. No amendments were made in 2019.
The MFGA has maintained a role of environmental advocacy by publicly stating our opposition to forestry herbicide spraying and in promoting the voluntary use of non-toxic hunting ammunition within our Association.
As an active member of the New Brunswick Wildlife Federation and the New Brunswick Salmon Council, the MFGA develops and contributes to conservation policy and initiatives regionally, provincially and nationally. Resolutions were submitted to the NBWF as proposed by members and executive members attended various NBWF Board meetings. The MFGA holds a 50/50 draw at monthly meetings to support the NBWF. In 2019 we raised $535 which was donated. (photo left, Incoming New Brunswick Wildlife Federation President Nathalie Michaud receiving 50/50 proceed cheque from Moncton Fish and Game President Chuck Rouse).
At the 2019 NBWF AGM, long-serving NBWF Executive, and MFGA member, Ron Cybulski was presented with the President’s Award. Ron also volunteered to be treasurer for the NBWF in 2019 and is a tireless supporter of our MFGA fundraising dinner (Photo Right, Ron Cybulski receiving the President's Award from the New Brunswick Wildlife Federation Annual General Meeting from outgoing President Charlie LeBlanc).
Hon Mike Holland
We had two distinguished guest speakers in 2019. The Honourable Mike Holland, Minister of Energy and Resource Development was our guest speaker for our November Monthly meeting, and Mr. Christopher Hand, the New Brunswick Chief Firearms Officer spoke at our September meeting. Both meetings were well attended with 63 attendees for Minister Holland’s presentation.
The sudden closure of Green Diamond Outfitters in October came as a shock to the MFGA as they had been a long-time supporter. They donated fishing rods for our Family Range Days and donated prizes for our fundraising dinner, supported two of our IWK raffles, and provided preferential pricing on dinner prize purchasing. Our fall 2018 and winter 2019 raffles raised a total of $1620 for the IWK. We thank them for their support and will miss them.
In 2019 we revamped our website and started accepting on-line payments for memberships, the fundraising dinner and for range guest fees. This has been a major convenience for members and has been positively received. The look of our email “blast” messages has also been improved to be more visual.
In late October 2018, the MFGA was invited to be part of Federal Minister Bill Blair’s consultation on handguns & assault weapons ban and violent crime reduction. We prepared a formal submission for the consultation and shared our document with the NB Wildlife Federation as well as Ministers Blair and Goodale. The results of the consultation were published in April 2019 and several of the MFGA comments were echoed in the report. It was generally recognized that the law-abiding and highly regulated firearms owners of Canada are not the cause of violent gun crime. While our efforts did not have the desired effect on government policy, we nevertheless made our voice known.
Prior to the October federal election, the MFGA conducted an online poll to define our position on firearms bans and violent crime. There was a strong consensus that:
The MFGA opposes banning firearms;
We want Consistent, Transparent, Evidence-based classification of firearms;
We endorse government addressing the root causes of firearms-related violence including domestic, hate, gang and organized crime;
We support full prosecution and increased penalties for violent firearms offences; and
Action is needed to prevent cross-border smuggling of firearms.
2019 also saw a donation of $500 to the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Brookfield NS. While this donation was to a NS group, their work focuses on the rehabilitation of raptors, especially bald eagles, that have been poisoned with lead. This is consistent with our efforts to promote a voluntary reduction in the use of lead ammunition by hunters.
A top priority over the past 10 to 12 years has been to provide a financial donation to Camp Centennial to assist in delivering an outdoor day-camp experience to as many local youths as possible. This year marks five years since the tragic events of June 4, 2014. These losses are especially poignant to the Moncton Fish and Game Association as Constable Fabrice Gevaudan was a member of our club, and Constables Dave Ross and Doug Larche were friends and neighbours to several of our members. All three men truly enjoyed the outdoors and all were supporters of youth and community activities. To honour their contributions to our community, the MFGA has officially designated the annual bequest to Camp Centennial as the "Community Heroes Memorial Donation". By naming our donation, it is our hope the youth who will be attending Camp Centennial this year and every year will appreciate and acknowledge what all first responders give to the community through dedicated service and outstanding volunteerism. This year the Moncton Fish and Game "Community Heroes Memorial Donation" to Camp Centennial was in the amount of $3,000.
We also supported the Atlantic Wildlife Institute in Cookville in their efforts to care for and rehabilitate injured native species in the amount of $2000.
We have also been a supporter ($1000) of the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance which is a multi-stakeholder group working towards environmental awareness and sustainability in the Petitcodiac River drainage. Our focus has been on education and awareness projects (photo below);
Pictured from left to right are Chuck Rouse President MFGA, Lindsay Gauvin Executive Director PWA and Michael Cybulski Board of Directors PWA
Many MFGA members enjoy trout fishing in the tributaries of the Kennebecasis River which is a short drive from Moncton. In 2018 we made a small contribution to the Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee for their habitat restoration projects. For 2019 we increased our donation to $1,500 which will again support the restoration of trout habitat primarily through riparian zone restoration and improvement.
Source KWRC Facebook Page
We had a very successful Family Range Day in 2019. The day would not have been successful without the dedication of the MFGA volunteers who came out to supervise firing lines, register visitors, buy the grub and pop, run the BBQ and oversee the hawk throw. Other folks donated so that BBQ supplies could be bought. In June we had 30 youth, 15 adults, and 10 MFGA volunteers for a total of 55 people on site. That is our single biggest day ever. Our fall event in September was cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian. We had several sponsors that we want to acknowledge for without them we could not offer the prizes we do: The NB Conservation Officer Association made a financial donation for prize purchasing; Green Diamond Outfitters donated 10 fishing rods; and Bass Pro Shops donated a few rods, a beanbag toss game, some promo items and some used rods and reels. Every youth attendee went home with at least one prize item.
Bass Pro Shops donated some used rods and reels from one of their customer promotions to the MFGA. We in turn arranged for a local Scout Troop to receive the rods and reels for use in their programs.
In April of 2019, we held a Club Range Safety Officer Course which was attended by 11 members. This brings to the total number of members who have taken a range officer course to 45. This greatly supports our efforts to maintain a safe range experience for members.
The MFGA, while not a gun club or competitive shooting club, operates the Victoria Road Range as a member benefit. The range program in 2019 included a ‘range clean-up day’, a training session on handgun proficiency, a friendly 22 bench shoot, and our Family Range Day. An important consideration is that the range is now self-funding in that no money from the fundraising dinner is used for range operations.
This was a major year for range maintenance. Firstly, it was necessary to spend $8,000 to rebuild the rifle backstop to ensure that we maintained the required 6-metre height. as per the Public Safety standards. Additionally, another $1,000 was spent to improve the lane into the range. In the spring of 2019, we received notification that our lease boundary lines were not compliant with NB DNR lease policies. We were required to re-survey, clear, blaze and post our boundary lines, something that had not been done in about 15 years. We took the opportunity to alter the footprint of the lease so as to reduce the amount of land leased and thereby reduce our annual operating costs. Due to the financial health of the association, we were able to allocate funds to pay for the needed work without undue financial hardship.
Our annual “Sportsman’s Dinner” which is held at the end of November, is our only major fundraising effort and supports all of our community programs. Typically we have about 300 attendees and have several thousand dollars worth of prizes and raffles. While revenue varies each year, the association usually raises in the vicinity of $13,000 of which 100% supports our community and club programs. Local sponsors donate many items and often prizes are purchased at a reduced cost.
We are strategically trying to engage more females and families as members and continue to support three ladies to attend the BOW (Becoming an Outdoor Woman) workshop in Fredericton every year. We sent two ladies in 2019 and have four spaces for 2020.
While not exactly a hunting or fishing activity the MFGA also demonstrated social awareness, by matching the pass the hat funds raised at our December monthly meeting to support the annual ‘Turkey Drive’ in Moncton. Our donation typically buys 15 turkeys for the Moncton Food Depot Alimentaire.
With respect to memberships in 2019, we had 420 members for which fees were submitted to the NFA for insurance. This includes regular, life, and 48 youth members.
There are several other activities such as membership in the NBWF, support to the ASF/Salmon Council annual dinner, Larry’s Gulch draw (when we get a spot), our website and Facebook pages and our monthly meetings that are somewhat routine activities but essential to our community profile.
Conclusion
Like many fish and game clubs across the province, the MFGA is facing an aging demographic of active hunters and anglers. There is no question that there is solid growth on the recreational shooting side of the association, as roughly 95% of our adult members use the range and pay an additional fee to do so. A large proportion of this cohort would be under 45 years of age.
While we strive to remain true to our fish and game roots and are not a gun club, the reality is that the Victoria Road Range continues to attract members. We occupy a local niche segment for basic handgun, plinking and sighting-in, as long-distance shooters join St. Antoine Gun Club, skeet and clay shooters join Moncton Gun Club, IPSC shooters join Petitcodiac Gun Club, and black powder enthusiasts join the Buckskinners Club. By staying in our “lane” the range can sustain itself as a volunteer-based entity.
We try to be visible in the community through the projects that we support. There are certain social stigmas attached to hunting and firearms so it is important that our community projects are visible to show we are community-minded. We were successful in getting some of our donation photos published in the local English and French newspapers as well as SNAPD Moncton. SNAPD Moncton has been especially helpful as they attend our dinner and publish photos in their monthly paper. We use our facebook page to post notices about our community projects.
We have taken a strategic financial approach of using basic membership fees for the general operation of the association, range fees to maintain and operate the range to NB Public Safety standards and for range programs, and our Sportsman Dinner revenue to support our community projects and a few club activities. This approach has allowed the MFGA to both have a positive presence in the community, and to make incremental improvements to the range.
All of this would not be possible without the dedication of our members and volunteers, and the support of our various sponsors.
Thank you to all our members for believing in and continued support of our programs, our initiatives, and their financial support through our many fundraisers and ultimately through attendance at the Sportsmans Dinner.
Furthermore, we extend great appreciation to our Sponsors and friends of the Association that provide for and enable us to raise funds for our charity and community-based projects. Without them, a large part of what we do would not be possible. Thank you.
All the best to you and yours in 2020 as we look forward to doing this all over again working together to promote and encourage wildlife conservation and preservation as well as the sports and associated activities of hunting, fishing, and recreational sport shooting.
Respectfully,
2019 Executive MFGA