Hurricane Sandy's become the perfect storm for Ohio birders

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy birders are flocking to the south shore of Lake Erie, with their binoculars particularly focused on the mouth of the Grand River.

Count Jim McCormac as one such dedicated warbler-watcher.

McCormac is taking a vacation day today as a result of Hurricane Sandy. And the avian education specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife could not be more happy.

As a dedicated birder, McCormac wants to see what strange, exotic and uncommon bird species that Sandy has blown into the state.

Added to these favorable weather events is the fact that many bird species are migrating now.

In effect, Hurricane Sandy has become the perfect storm for birders.

McCormac said he intends to begin his birding at Wellington and Oberlin reservoirs, both upground reservoirs located just south of Lake Erie and near Lorain.

“I want to start there because they are quiet refuges away from the lake where birds can rest but not so far away, either,” McCormac said. “They have a good track record of attracting birds.”

Already multiple sightings of Atlantic brants are being reported, an unusual visitor to Ohio, McCormac says.

“In a good year there may be reports of 20 to 50 brant but I’ve heard of reports of as many as 500,” McCormac said. “That’s incredible.”

McCormac says as well that Headlands Beach State Park and Headland Dunes State Nature Preserve are both excellent viewing areas.

“Fairport Harbor is a great places to look for stuff in bad weather,” McCormac said.

Other bird species that are showing up in large numbers include white wing scoters, surf scoters, black scoters.

All of these species are not unprecedented but the numbers are impressive, McCormac says.

“The big thing about a storm like Sandy which formed in the Atlantic is the seabirds and shorebirds that can be carried by the winds here,” McCormac says.

What would get birders’ hearts all aflutter, also says McCormac, are so-called “pelagic” bird species.

“Those are maritime birds you find on the ocean like puffins,” McCormac said. “And they are the ones that can get blown into the Great Lakes region after a storm like Sandy.”

Once these birds become oriented some will work their way back to ocean, McCormac says.

“But some may not, and they include the puffins, thick-billed murres, and the northern gannet, which are really, really neat because they are so huge,” McCormac said.

However, McCormac doesn’t expect to see any pink flamingos, unless they are the plastic variety rooted in yards.

“No, none of those,” McCormac said, “though we still might see a few Southern bird species like the sooty tern, a coastal bird that tends to be blown north during hurricanes.”

Another area birder burning up vacation time to see what Hurricane Sandy has shuttled to Northeast Ohio is John Poganick, Lake Metroparks’ biologist.

“I’ve been watching the lake everyday since Saturday and it’s been incredible; including seeing 1,500 scoters go by,” Poganick said. “I’ve never seen that many waterfowl on the lake as I did that day.”

Poganick said among the most uncommon and rare bird species that he’s seen are three common eider, seen at his Perry Township home overlooking Lake Erie.

“Which is very rare in Ohio; so much so there’s been fewer than five on record,” Poganick said.

While Poganick said he’d like to take another day off to go birding on Wednesday, chances are he’ll be dragged back into the office.

“You just don’t see these extreme winds too often,” Poganick said

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn.

Hurricane Sandy could impact Ohio's firearms deer-hunting season

Hurricane Sandy likely only be a memory in the minds of firearms deer hunters when their hunting season begin Nov. 26.

However, that won’t stop the impact of Sandy’s passage from affecting the harvest.

The reason being is that Sandy’s wallop included wind gusts of up to 70 mph along with several inches of rain.

Both situations are sure to hamper the harvest of field corn by farmers.

And where a deer can find standing corn hunters as often as not cannot locate deer.

Les Ober, an agent with The Ohio State University’s extension service in Geauga County, said that Sandy’s rains will almost certainly push back the plucking of corn.

“Maybe even until the ground freezes,” Ober said.

Not any better for either the farmer nor the hunter would be in the high winds flattened corn stalks.

This is a very real possibility since this year’s drought in many cases contributed to development of soft and thin corn stalks, Ober said.

Such factors make such stems easy pickings for any strong bursts of wind, Ober said also.

Picking up corn ears from off the ground is not something that farmers care for, either.

Even the state’s deer management administrator says too much unharvested corn remaining in the fields is not a good thing.

For the hunters, anyway, says Mike Tonkovich, game biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

“Hunters can’t hunt the corn and the deer stay in it, so, yes, deer hunting can be impacted,” Tonkovich says.

Thus, any fallout from where large swaths of standing corn still exists could be “significant and an issue” for deer firearms hunters utilizing those locations, Tonkovich says.

The silver lining in all of this, says Tonkovich, however, is that the to-date deer harvest figures of 29,751 deer is 23 percent ahead of last year’s to-date figure of 24,129 deer, Tonkovich says.

All of which means that hunters are still on pace to kill a bunch of animals when everything is tallied up at the end of all the various deer-hunting season, Tonkovich says.


- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn

Indicted former Wildlife Division officer rejects reduced sentence

Former Ohio Division of Wildlife officer Matthew Roberts on Friday rejected an offer of a reduced sentence for his alleged role in deer hunting while on agency time.

The offer became public knowledge in Brown County Court of Common Pleas during a pretrail hearing. It was made by Brown County prosecutor Jessica Little.

Offered to Roberts - and rejected - was a reduced misdemeanor charge of dereliction of duty as well as the forfeiture of the weapon allegedly used during the alleged incident.

Roberts, 31, was charged in July for theft in office, a fifth degree felony, and tampering with records, a third degree felony.

A Fifth Degree Felony is punishable by a jail term of six to 12 months, a maximum fine of $2,500, or both; a Third Degree Felony is punishable by a jail term of one to five years in jail, a maximum fine of $10,000, or both.

Roberts was fired as a wildlife officer Sept. 28.

The charges stem from Robert’s alleged activity of hunting while on duty, and for allegedly turning in bogus time slips that supposedly showed he was on duty when he was allegedly hunting with former state wildlife officer Allan Wright, who had been assigned to Brown County.

However, Roberts will have another opportunity to accept a plea. A third pretrial hearing for Roberts is scheduled for noon, Jan. 16 before Brown County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott T. Gusweiler.

Should Roberts reject any potentially offered pretrial resolution to his case he then will face a jury trial, starting 9 a.m., Feb. 19, said Little.

Little said also that it is often unfortunate when a defendant rejects a plea offer since it’s in the court’s best interest to see a resolution without the time and expense of a jury trial.

“It’s not really my decision whether he takes the offer or not, but I made it,” Little said. “If (Roberts) doesn’t resolve this by accepting a plea then we will go to trial.”

And though Little says she cannot comment on co-defendant David Warner’s case, a pretrial hearing in this matter is set for 2:30 p.m., Nov. 19, also in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas.

Warner had been the field supervisor for the Wildlife Division’s District Five (southwest Ohio), a position he was fired from by the Wildlife Division on Sept. 21.

The case against Warner is the same for Roberts with the addition of a dereliction of duty charge, a Second Degree misdemeanor.


- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn

Where have you been, Jeff Frischkorn?

The answer to that question is "hospitals" and "doctors' offices."

In late September I underwent a radioactive seed implant procedure for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Meanwhile, on October 10 I had a specialized surgeon conduct neck surgery.

Taken together the two have whipped me out and I've been recuperating at home with orders from the bosses not to write.

This morning the surgeon gave the green-light for me to return to work on Monday, October 29.

I'll have an outdoors blog post at that time.

Thanks for asking and thank you for your support and understaning.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkon@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn

UPDATED: Feds go after alleged Rocky River fish killers

A federal case is being made out of April’s massive fish kill along the Rocky River.

The U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against the owners of Strongsville-based Kennedy Mint Company and its owners: Renato Montorsi, 79, and his wife, Teresina Montorsi, 74.

Renato and Kennedy Mint, Inc. are both charged with four counts each: Violation of the Clean Water Act, conspiracy, and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Teresina is charged with three counts: Conspiracy and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Renato and Teresina Montorsi are married and live in Grafton, according to public records, the federal government asserts.

All of the charges are federal felonies, says U.S. Justice Department spokesman, Mike Tobin.

Tobin says that violations by individuals and of the federal Clean Water Act are punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 per day of violation, or $250,000, whichever is greater, up to three years in federal prison; for a corporation the penalty can be a fine of up to $50,000 per day of violation, or $500,000, whichever is greater, and up to five years of probation.

The conspiracy charge carries a fine for individuals of up to $250,000 and federal prison time of up to five years; for corporations the charge can lead to a fine of up to $500,000 and probation of up to five years.

On a charge of obstruction of justice, the penalty for an individual can be a fine of up to $250,000 and federal prison time of up to 20 years; for corporations, the penalty can be a fine of up to $500,000, and probation of up to five years, Tobin says.

“Obviously these are the maximums allowed under the law and in most cases – in fact, almost all cases – defendants who are found guilty often get considerably less,” Tobin said.

Kennedy Mint specializes in collectible coins, but previously conducted metal plating and printing operations, the federal government says.

As for the East Branch of the Rocky River, this stream is part of a watershed that is heavily used by recreational steelhead anglers who are drawn to the stream for its trout fishing opportunities.

The Rocky River is one of only five streams that receives stocking of steelhead trout by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

It is the goal for the Wildlife Division to annually stock 90,000 steelhead trout into the Rocky River with the fish coming from the agency’s Castalia Cold-water Trout Hatchery in Erie County.

In an exhaustive field study of anglers during the 2009-2010 fishing season the Wildlife Division extrapolated that more than 18,000 steelhead were caught from the Rocky River by anglers from Ohio, six other states and one Canadian province.

The charges stem from a massive fish kill on the Rocky River that occurred on or about April 18. 

Nearly 31,000 fish were poisoned, the deaths happening after Renato allegedly “used a hammer and sharp metal tool to punch a hole near the bottom of a drum that included a poison label featuring a skull and cross bones,” the federal government says.

“After punching the hole, liquid cyanide in the drum was discharged into the storm drain and eventually the East Branch of the Rocky River,” according to the federal indictment.

It is alleged that the couple and their company stalled investigators’ efforts to enter the premises and inspect the drums.

Also, the federal government alleges that the Montorsis eventually moved the tampered drum to their Grafton home.

“On April 27, both Renato and Teresina Montorsi denied knowledge of the location of the punctured drum,” according to the indictment.

Also, alleges in the indictment, “On May 16, Renato Montorsi was again asked about the location of the punctured drum and again denied knowledge of its location.”

Consequently and subsequently, the federal government charged both the couple and their company for alleged illegal activity that violated United States clean water laws.

“Clean, fresh water is our greatest resource in Northern Ohio,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Justice Department's Northern District of Ohio.

"We will aggressively investigate and prosecute cases in which people pollute Ohio’s streams, rivers and lakes.”

Saying that the country’s “natural resources must be protected from illegal discharges,” Randall K. Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio, added that 

“This prosecution sends a clear message that crimes against the environment will not be tolerated and will be vigorously prosecuted.”

Mike Settles, Ohio EPA spokesman, said the case was helped by members of the public who used the agency’s toll-free hotline to call in tips.

“In many instances we rely on tips provided by the public and that was what happened in this case, which is a big one, given the volume of fish killed and the volume of impacted water,” Settles said.

“That toll-free number is there for a purpose and it certainly helped here.”

An arraignment hearing for the Montorsis and Kennedy Mint is scheduled for 2 p.m., Oct. 25 before judge John R. Adams in the federal government’s U.S. District Court in Akron.

Jerrod Roof, law supervisor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife's District Three (Northeast Ohio) in Akron, said the federal government has the lead in the case though it is possible the state could seek compensation, including for the loss of the fish.

"We're sitting back to see what will happen at the federal level, and we could go after the cost of the investigation but we're going to wait," Roof said.
 

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @Fieldkorn

Ohio Inspector General finds lax ODNR/ODW credit card use

In a 16-page report issued Wednesday by the Ohio Inspector General, the state found "wrongdoing and omissions" from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources/Division of Wildlife.

Specifically, Ohio's chief investigating arm confirmed the possible misuse of a state-issued credit card by the-then Castalia Trout Fish Hatchery superintendent, David Insley.

The report says that Insley used his state-issued credit card  to buy more than $3,387 worth of propane that went to heat the former superintendent 's residence, located on the hatchery grounds.

Prior to being fired by the Natural Resources Department/Wildlife Division Insley had lived at the hatchery for 12 years.

During its investigation, the Ohio Inspector General likewise determined that Insley and his four-person staff used state-issued credit cards to tally up charges of nearly $8,500 but none to state-approved vendors.

The Ohio Inspector General's report also says "the inspector general revealed additional problems involving a lack of management review and oversight of purchases made with state-issued payment cards by employees at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources."

Accordingly, the Ohio Inspector General's report goes on to say that "a number of recommendations were offered with a request for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to respond to the inspector general within 60 days.

"In consideration of the problems revealed, the inspector general also asked the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to reconsider the need to provide state-issued payment cards to nearly two out of every three of the department’s estimated 1,850 full- and part-time employees."

Responding to the report, Natural Resources Department spokesman Matt Eiselstein said the agency "...cooperated throughout the investigation of former employee David Insley."

"We also conducted an internal investigation which led to his termination in June,". Eiselstein said.

 "(Wednesday) we received the final investigation report from the Ohio Inspector General. The ODNR now has 60 days to review the report and the recommendations made by the Inspector General," Eieselstein said. 

"We are beginning the review process and will respond once our review of the investigation and recommendations is complete."

The complete Ohio Inspector General Report of Investigation's file number on the case is 2011-178 is now available at: http://watchdog.ohio.gov/Investigations/2012Investigations.aspx

 

This story may be updated.

 

Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @Fieldkorn

Feds files charges for massive Rocky River fish kill

A criminal indictment was filed in federal court Wednesday against a Strongsville company, the company owner and his wife for their roles in an alleged conspiracy in which a drum of liquid cyanide was dumped into a storm drain that flowed into the Rocky River.

This action, the government alleges,  resulting in the death of more than 30,000 fish, federal and state officials announced today.

Renato Mortorsi, 79, and his company, Kennedy Mint, Inc. are both charged with four counts each: violation of the Clean Water Act, conspiracy, and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Teresina Mortorsi, 74, is charged with three counts: conspiracy and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Renato and Teresina Mortorsi are married and live in Grafton, Ohio, according to public records.

“Clean, fresh water is our greatest resource in Northern Ohio,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

“We will aggressively investigate and prosecute cases in which people pollute Ohio’s streams, rivers and lakes.”

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said: “This case shows once again how important it is that we work to protect the environment. My office stands ready to work with other agencies to safeguard our state’s natural resources.”

“Our natural resources must be protected from illegal discharges,” also said Randall K. Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio.

“This prosecution sends a clear message that crimes against the environment will not be tolerated and will be vigorously prosecuted.”

Renato Mortorsi operates Kennedy Mint, which is located in Strongsville.

Kennedy Mint specializes in collectible coins, but previously conducted metal plating and printing operations.

The East Branch of the Rocky River is near the Kennedy Mint facility and storm water from that location’s parking lot flows into the East Branch of the Rocky River, according to the indictment.

On April 16, 2012, Mortorsi, with assistance from two individuals, put two drums into a dumpster outside Kennedy Mint.

On April 17, the waste hauling company declined to dispose of the contents of the dumpster because of the two drums inside, according to the indictment.

On April 18, Mortorsi moved the drums from the dumpster and placed them next to the storm drain in the Kennedy Mint parking lot, according to the indictment.

Mortorsi used a hammer and sharp metal tool to punch a hole near the bottom of a drum that included a poison label featuring a skull and cross bones

After punching the hole, liquid cyanide in the drum was discharged into the storm drain and eventually the East Branch of the Rocky River, according to the indictment.

Around April 22, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources received reports of dead fish in the East Branch of the Rocky River.

Ohio Natural Resources officials found dead fish beginning near Bonnie Park. 

Downstream for the next three miles, nearly every fish was dead, according to the indictment.

Officers with the Natural Resources Department's Division of Wildlife counted approximately 30,893 dead fish in that three-mile stretch of the river, according to the indictment.

On April 25, personnel from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency asked to enter the Kennedy Mint facility.

Teresina Montorsi stalled the personnel from entering the facility and inspecting the drums while Renato Montorsi hid the punctured drum in the back of the warehouse, according to the indictment.

That day, after Ohio EPA personnel left, the Montorsis moved the punctured drum and another drum containing cyanide to their home, according to the indictment.

On April 27, both Renato and Teresina Montorsi denied knowledge of the location of the punctured drum, according to the indictment.

On May 16, Renato Montorsi was again asked about the location of the punctured drum and again denied knowledge of its location, according to the indictment.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S Attorney Brad J. Beeson and Assistant U.S Attorney Arturo Hernandez following an investigation by the following agencies: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation; the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District; the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Special Investigations; the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, and the Cleveland Metroparks Rangers, all members of the Northeast Ohio Environmental Crimes Task Force.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

People can report possible environmental violations to Ohio EPA at 800-282-9378 or U.S. EPA at www.epa.gov/tips

Jeffrey L. Frischkorn@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @Fieldkorn

More Wildlife Division officers being investigated

Scott Zody, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s chief, has confirmed that the state is not finished investigating possible infractions of Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ employment policies by agency officers.

Zody’s disclosure comes via an electronic request made by a southwest Ohio man who has become something of a critic of potentially improper activities on the part of Natural Resources Department employees as well as possible alleged illegal conduct.

The question posed to Zody was whether one or more Wildlife Division officers - while on duty - helped butcher deer for non-agency purposes and having called the session as an official activity.

In his response, Zody confirmed that an investigation into the question is underway by the Ohio Inspector General.

Most recently the Natural Resources Department fired two wildlife officers for improper conduct, specifically, deer hunting while claiming to be on duty and also falsifying records to show they were working.

The two former officers are also facing charges in Brown County Court of Common Pleas for allegedly breaking state law.

The charges stem from the same background material used by the Natural Resources Department in firing the two former Wildlife Division officers.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn

Ode to Autumn

It surely seems implausible how anyone could dislike autumn, least of all sportsmen and sportswomen.

The air is crisper with the lethargic-inducing summer tide of muggy weather receding into the recesses of memory.

Ahead, of course, is the seasonal speed bump called winter, or a serious chuckhole for many folk.

Lost will be the eye candy of leaf color, and the intoxicating aroma of ripened grapes as you drive along Doty Road in Madison and Geneva townships with your car windows rolled down.

For now it is simply a requirement to sit back and enjoy the richness of autumn. And that’s something I’ve been working on the past week or so, ever since Ohio’s archery deer-hunting season began.

Actually, even before that shotgun start to autumn. Though the early Canada goose-only hunting season and the beginning of the dove-hunting season were both warm, a still tad sticky with nearly every tree and bush a lush green I fought to find the starting end of autumn’s thread.

I did, too, more or less.

Of course now it’s more of more than less of less.

Thursday, while hunkering in the coziness of the hub-style ground blind, I took note of the woodlot’s treasury: refined in a superb yellow-gold. The sunlight was boring through the changing leaf structure and stamping the earth beneath with a rich signature of color.

Yes, cool fingers scratched their way through the blind’s fabric, forcing me to zip my black-colored sweatshirt as high as it would go, but the chill was a momentary snapshot of what to expect within a few more weeks. And nothing more.

Some forest birds rustled about, too, making their way from one bush to another and then from one low-hanging tree branch to another.

Migrants, no doubt, shopping for a morsel of food before again hitting the freeway to their winter homes somewhere further south.

Several squirrels worried themselves into a frazzle as well, hunting down recently fallen acorns.

These squirrels then set about calculating where best to sequester their load. Much of this deposit will become lost to their owners, anyway, though the woodlot will claim finders-keepers and set about helping to regenerate itself next spring with newly born oak saplings.

Off in the distance, maybe a quarter-mile away from a beaver pond that had successfully held off this summer’s drought, rose a cacophony of goose talk. Likely nothing more than family chatter as to where best have breakfast.

From a nearby residence came the lustful bragging of a rooster chicken. No wonder that the property’s woodlot edge often becomes the perch for red-tail and Cooper’s hawks.

The prideful cock-sure boasting of the rooster is an open invitation of becoming a hawk’s meal.

It’s happened before, the property owner has said.

A trail camera that was set up to observe an electronic game feeder recently spied how a doe and her twin fawns were regular guests. The most recent digital shots tattle-tailed that the family had visited the bait station between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

So I sat in the blind, joined by my father-in-law, the two of us waiting for the deer to appear.

We stuck it out until noon, realizing after five hours that the deer were a no-show.

Perhaps they lingered longer than usual in their beds or maybe the trio found another lode of protein- and fat-rich mast to feast on instead of looking to the carbohydrate-stacked shelled corn.

Still, I hardly consider the hours that passed as being worthless.

Not when the sun lingers a spell and drops shafts of light through the canopy of trees decked out in their annual finery.

Yes, sir, I’ll take autumn any time, even when the deer don’t cooperate.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-heradl.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn