Federal funding boosts DNR’s efforts to improve public shooting ranges throughout Michigan

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approves $1.25 million partner range grant

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently approved a total of $1.25 million over a five-year period for the Department of Natural Resources to provide up to 75 percent of funding for improvements to partner shooting ranges throughout Michigan.

The DNR received these additional federal funds via the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (Pittman-Robertson Act), through which hunters and sport shooters who purchase firearms, ammunition, archery equipment or hunting licenses help fund wildlife management, habitat improvement, hunter education and shooting ranges in Michigan. The federal funds will be available to partner shooting ranges around the state to improve, expand or develop archery and firearm range facilities. Entities selected by the DNR for funding must provide the needed 25-percent matching funds for their project. Read more

Archery, Firearms

Arizona: Game and Fish Commission Modifies Proposed Rules on Trail Cameras

Ban on use of live-action trail cameras remains in place; prohibition on use of other trail cameras within one-fourth mile of a developed water source is lifted

PAYSON, AZ — In a 5-0 vote, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission agreed to retain the provision that prohibits use of live-action trail cameras for the purpose of taking or aiding in the take of wildlife, but removed the provision that prohibits the use of other trail cameras within one-fourth mile (440 yards) of a developed water source.
The provisions were in the amended Article 3, “Taking and Handling of Wildlife,” Notice of Final Rulemaking, which was submitted to the Commission for consideration during Friday’s public meeting in Payson.
A live-action trail camera is defined as an unmanned device capable of transmitting images, still photographs, video or satellite imagery, wirelessly to a remote device such as, but not limited to, a computer, smartphone or tablet. This does not include a trail camera that records photographic or video data for later use (such as on an SD card), provided the device is not capable of transmitting wirelessly. Read more

Hunting

Michigan: Arctic grayling reintroduction gets critical support from Oleson Foundation

Michigan’s historic effort to reintroduce Arctic grayling to the state’s waters will be supported by a $5,000 grant from the Oleson Foundation to the Department of Natural Resources.

To develop Michigan’s broodstock – a group of mature fish used for breeding – the DNR plans to source wild Arctic grayling eggs from Alaska. However, a vital piece of equipment is needed first at Oden State Fish Hatchery in Emmet County where the broodstock will be developed. Support from the Oleson Foundation will help the DNR acquire this urgently needed piece equipment that will ensure no invasive disease or virus is inadvertently introduced to Michigan’s waters. Read more

Fishing

Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber Wipes

Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber™ has been a go-to cleaning product used by shooters and hunters for years. Now the cleaning power of Gun Scrubber is more portable than ever with Birchwood Casey® Gun Scrubber Firearm Cleaning Wipes.

Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber Firearm Cleaning Wipes easily dissolves greases, oils and carbon fouling in firearms. The 4” x 5” size wipes work perfectly for precise, mess-free cleanup. They can be easily taken along in a bag, gun case, vest or pocket to provide cleaning power while in the field.

Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber Firearm Cleaning Wipes come in packs of 12 and sell for $12.70. Read more

Firearms

Auburn University Offers New Degree in Wildlife Enterprise Management

By Charles Martin

Contacts: Jamie Anderson, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, 334-844-9248,jla0015@auburn.edu; or Preston Sparks, Office of Communications and Marketing, 334-844-9999, pjs0027@auburn.edu

Hunting or fishing for a new degree?

Auburn University’s new degree in wildlife enterprise management to equip students for careers in outdoor industries

AUBURN Ala. – Students who enjoy the outdoors will want to explore Auburn University’s new degree program that provides the education and skills needed for a variety of careers in hunting and fishing industries.

“The degree will help develop Auburn students as future leaders in outdoor enterprises nationally and internationally,” Auburn President Steven Leath said.

Auburn’s Board of Trustees approved the new wildlife enterprise management degree at its June 8 meeting. Official enrollment will begin in fall 2019 pending approval by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education this December.

Students will take classes across the Auburn campus, primarily in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, College of Human Sciences and the Harbert College of Business. Courses will include wildlife management, hotel and restaurant management, accounting and marketing, to name a few. In addition to earning the new bachelor’s degree, students will earn a minor in business.

“Graduates will hit the ground running with lodges, hunting preserves, fishing resorts, outdoor experience companies and many other types of consumptive-use businesses,” said Dean Janaki Alavalapati, dean of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. Read more

Wildlife

New Jersey Elected Officials Blast Newest State Gun Control Measures

Statement from Senator Steve Oroho and Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths (R-Sussex, Warren, Morris) on the Democrats’ new gun control laws:

Unfortunately, there was a rush once again in Trenton to “do something” that will not stop violent criminals nor mentally unstable individuals from perpetrating harm, but will infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners. Gun ownership is an individual right enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and reiterated in the Heller and McDonald United States Supreme Court decisions.  New Jersey already has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation and law-abiding gun owners have abided by them even when they have not necessarily agreed with the strict limitations.  The efforts of Governor Murphy and the Democrat majority in Trenton represent another attack on our freedoms.

We believe that several pieces of legislation which have been rushed through the Legislature overstep our constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.  We are certain that most of them will be taken to federal court to determine their constitutionality.

Read more

Gun Control

Leupold Expands BX-5 Santiam HD Binocular Line

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Building upon the success of the existing 15×56 model, Leupold & Stevens, Inc. has added 8×42 and 10×42 variants to the BX®-5 Santiam™ HD binocular line for 2018.

“The BX-5 Santiam HD line is purpose-built for the relentless, diehard hunter that may need to glass for hours on end,” said Tim Lesser, vice president of product development for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “Whether you’re picking out a sheep on a distant ridgeline or hunting to the very last minute to get a look at that once-in-a-lifetime trophy bull elk, this is the binocular you’ll want at your side.”

The entire BX-5 Santiam HD line features Leupold’s venerable Twilight Max® HD light management system – the same one associated with the award-winning VX®-5HD and VX®-6HD riflescopes – to allow users to glass longer during the early predawn hours to well past dusk. Twilight Max HD combines exceptional light transmission and glare management to provide vivid images and top-of-the-line optical performance in low-light conditions.

A durable, lightweight housing is shrouded in a rubber armor coating that helps protect the binocular and ensure it’s easy to grasp. A large, tactile focus dial is easy to use and find, even with gloved hands. A diopter focus paddle is included to allow consumers to precisely focus the binoculars, compensating for differences between their eyes. Read more

Optics

Court Grants 2A Foundation Injunction In Challenge of Deerfield, IL Gun Ban

A circuit court judge in Lake County, Illinois has granted an injunction against the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, blocking the village from enforcing a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” and handing a victory to the Second Amendment Foundation.

SAF was joined in the lawsuit by the Illinois State Rifle Association and Deerfield resident Daniel Easterday, who is a lawful firearms owner. SAF and ISRA had challenged the ban on the grounds that it violates the state’s preemption law that was adopted in 2013. That change amended state statute that declared “the regulation of the possession or ownership of assault weapons are exclusive powers and functions of this State. Any ordinance or regulation, or portion of that ordinance or regulation, that purports to regulate the possession or ownership of assault weapons in a manner that is inconsistent with this Act, shall be invalid…” Read more

Gun Control

Gun Free Doesn’t Work

By Steven W. Dulan
In addition to my law practice, I am an adjunct law professor at Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. One of the courses I teach there is called “Gun Control Seminar.” My students write and present research papers on the topic each term. I’m also a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners and serve as its press contact too.
The good news is that schools are generally safe. The bad news is that this is only because school shootings are rare. In research cited by The Washington Post just last month, it was revealed that, on any given day since 1999, the odds of an individual public school student being shot to death at school was approximately one in 614,000,000.
The bad news is that the security situation at most schools is abysmal. It has become clear that simply declaring schools, or any other area, to be “gun free” doesn’t work, even when there are emphatic signs posted and strict policies adopted. Individuals focused on committing multiple-victim public killings don’t obey the law. However, there is some evidence, reported during Michigan Senate committee testimony by researcher Dr. John R. Lott, that several mass shooters selected their “gun-free” locations because there would be no one there to shoot back.
The Michigan-specific data (publicly available on the Michigan State Police website), shows that individuals with Concealed Pistol Licenses are extremely law abiding. In fact, for 2016, the most recent year for which full data is available, the general public has a crime rate 25 times higher than the rate for CPL holders.
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, there are 18 states where teachers and staff may carry concealed pistols. While it is difficult to ascertain exact numbers, there are many individuals who have carried guns in those schools over a period of several years. The media is quick to report any negative incidents. There have only been a few.
Recently, it was revealed that the Centers for Disease Control failed to report their findings that armed citizens use guns in self-defense approximately 2.5 million times each year, confirming the findings of researcher Dr. Gary Kleck. This figure is approximately eight times the number of criminal gun uses each year.
The choice is clear -either continue to do nothing and rely on blind luck to protect our school children, spend large amounts of money on airport-like security measures, or allow teachers, staff and parents who are members of a group (CPL holders) that has demonstrated responsibility and public utility, to carry their pistols on school premises.
Steven W. Dulan, J.D., is the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners’ Second Vice Chair, MCRGO Legal Foundation Chair, Media Contact and Director South-Central Lower Peninsula, as well as serving as an attorney and real estate broker in the Lansing area. He can be reached at dulans@cooley.edu or 517.333.7132.
Gun Control
1 … 822 823 824 825 826 … 1,747