NOW LIVE: Watch Endangered Wild California Condor Chick

Watch California Condor chick # 923 grow into a magnificent adult on the live cam! Photo: USFWS.

Ithaca, NY & Fillmore, CA–People across the world can get up close and personal with an endangered California Condor chick in real time through live-streaming video of a wild nest in the Hutton’s Bowl area–a small piece of property surrounded by private land and overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s near the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Ventura County, California. The chick and its parents make up one of the 12 California Condor nests in the mountains of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Kern counties–the highest number of nests ever recorded in Southern California.

“Watching a condor chick and its parents in the wild is a unique and remarkable experience, and one that can be shared with millions of viewers through live streaming technology,” said Molly Astell, wildlife biologist with the Service’s California Condor Recovery Program.

The 2018 nesting season marks a significant milestone for California Condor recovery with more wild nests documented in Southern California than ever recorded. “Not only do we have more nests, but they are also spread out across a broader area, indicating that California Condors are expanding back into parts of their historic range,” Astell said.

California condor chick #923 hatched on April 6 and is being raised by 16-year-old female condor #289 and 13-year-old male condor #374. This is the pair’s first year to be featured on the live-streaming Condor Cam, and is the pair’s first attempt at raising a chick together, though both previously nested with other condors in the past.  The chick’s father, condor #374, has fledged 3 other chicks in the past with 2 previous mates. The mother, condor #289, has fledged 1 chick previously and has nested with 3 other mates.

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Wildlife

‘Three Free’ weekend June 9-10 makes fishing, off-road riding and state park entry easy

Grab a fishing rod, ride Michigan’s off-road trails and/or pay a visit to your favorite Michigan state park for free – all in the same weekend.

On two back-to-back days, June 9-10, the Department of Natural Resources invites residents and out-of-state visitors to enjoy Free Fishing Weekend, Free ORV Weekend and free entry into state parks.

All fishing license, ORV license, trail permit and Recreation Passport fees are waived those two days, though all other regulations still apply. Read more

Fishing

Michigan Outdoor News Offers Free Subscription Tied to Hunter, Bow, Trapper Education

(Plymouth, MN) — Hunting is a time-honored Michigan tradition, providing challenging outdoor recreation and helping develop an appreciation for the wilderness and wildlife. To celebrate this heritage, Outdoor News Inc., publisher of locally written fishing and hunting outdoor newspapers in seven Great Lake states, is offering youth aged 17 and younger who have successfully completed the hunter safety education program through the Michigan DNR with a complimentary three-month subscription to Michigan Outdoor News. New for 2018, the three-month junior subscription has been expanded to include the Michigan DNR Bow Ed and Trapper Ed programs for adults entering these sports for the first time as well. Read more

Fishing, Hunting

Saginaw Bay walleye fishing was hot in 2017

Anglers on Michigan’s Saginaw Bay caught a record number of walleye during the 2017-2018’s winter months. This record is attributed to three main factors: the increase to the daily possession limit implemented in October 2015, further increases in walleye population numbers, and good ice-fishing conditions in 2018.

Anglers took 123,793 walleye, the most ever measured since creel surveys began on Saginaw Bay in 1983. Angler participation increased for January through March 2018 with a total of 545,226 angler hours, compared to the average winter of approximately 390,000 angler hours.

In addition to this past year’s winter fishing season, the open-water fishing season on Saginaw Bay also was good, with an estimated 221,251 walleye taken. When looking at both of those time periods combined, Saginaw Bay saw a total of 345,044 walleye taken and more than 1 million angling hours of effort. The bay’s previous walleye catch-and-keep record was recorded in 2008, with approximately 329,549 walleye taken. Read more

Fishing

SIG SAUER Introduces Thin Blue Line P320 Pistol to NAPED

SIG SAUER Introduces Special Edition Thin Blue Line P320 Pistol to National Association of Police Equipment Distributors (NAPED)

Newington, N.H.   – SIG SAUER, Inc., in partnership with the National Association of Police Equipment Distributors (NAPED), is pleased to announce it will begin offering a Special Edition Thin Blue Line SIG SAUER P320 Carry-size pistol. Availability for the this special edition pistol will begin at the NAPED Annual General Meeting being held June 8th – 10th in Savannah, Georgia and extend through December 2018.

“More and more law enforcement agencies across the country are choosing the SIG SAUER P320 as their standard duty pistol due to its modularity, dependability, and accuracy,” said Tim Brown, President of NAPED and GT Distributors. “SIG SAUER’s commitment to the law enforcement community is unwavering, and we are proud to participate in this very important and meaningful partnership with an associate member of our organization.”

The Special Edition Thin Blue Line SIG SAUER P320 Carry-size pistol is a 9mm, modular striker-fired pistol with serialized trigger group, interchangeable polymer group module, and SIGLITE Night Sights. The slide is adorned with the imagery of a Thin Blue Line Flag; the thin blue line representing the officer and the courage they find in the face of adversity, and the black background serving as a constant reminder of their fallen officers.

“It’s an honor for all of us here at SIG SAUER to serve our law enforcement community, and it’s humbling to earn the trust of police departments across the country through the selection of our firearms as their official duty sidearm,” said Tom Jankiewicz, Executive Vice President, Law Enforcement Sales. “The Thin Blue Line Flag is a powerful image that evokes emotion. We felt that by creating this Special Edition Thin Blue Line SIG SAUER P320 Carry-size pistol, in partnership with NAPED, was a compelling tribute to honor the fallen, and the sacrifices being made every day by our men and women in blue.”

The Special Edition Thin Blue Line SIG SAUER P320 Carry-size pistol is only available to the law enforcement community through the National Association of Police Equipment Distributors. Read more

Firearms

Michigan: beech trees that resist disease are among the year’s forest health highlights

The battle against beech bark disease came full circle in fall 2017 at Ludington State Park, as volunteers planted more than 200 disease-resistant trees where the disease was discovered in 2000.

That planting effort is one of the success stories in Michigan’s Forest Health Highlights report, released annually by the DNR. The report summarizes the health of nearly 20 million acres of forest in the state, including about 4 million acres of state-managed forest land.

“Invasive species like the beetle that spreads beech bark disease present challenges,” said Deb Begalle, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “We also are coordinating efforts to cope with other invasive species such as the hemlock woolly adelgid.” That tiny insect attaches itself to hemlock trees and eventually kills them. So far, it is known to be in four west Michigan counties. Read more

Wildlife

Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Heads to Saginaw Bay at Bay City, Michigan

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Competitive walleye anglers will converge on Saginaw Bay at Bay City, Michigan, June 14-15 for the second regular-season event of the 2018 Cabela’s National Walleye Tour. The tournament circuit features a pro-am style format and guarantees over 100 percent payback.

The Saginaw Bay event begins Wednesday, June 13, with tournament registration from 2-4 p.m. at Bay County Community (800 John F. Kennedy Dr., Bay City, MI 48706) with a mandatory pre-tournament meeting set to start at 5:00 p.m. Pro- and co-angler pairings will be announced at the pre-tournament meeting.

Anglers will launch Thursday and Friday mornings at 7 a.m. from Veteran’s Memorial Park (John F. Kennedy Dr., Bay City, MI) with the weigh-in located at Wenonah Park (111 Center Ave., Bay City, MI 48708).

Registration for the Saginaw Bay event is already underway. To register, please go online and click on register. All anglers that register online will be entered in to a drawing for a $100 Cabela’s gift card.

During each day of competition, Triton Boats and Mercury Marine are offering free demo rides in the acclaimed 216 Fishhunter. The demo rides will take off from the boat launch. Read more

Fishing

Michigan: anglers, remember to report all caught muskellunge and lake sturgeon

With the statewide muskellunge possession season opening Saturday, June 2, anglers are reminded that a new registration system is now in place for any fish you reel in.

The muskellunge harvest tag is no longer required or available. If you do catch a muskie, you must report it within 24 hours, either:

  • Online at michigan.gov/registerfish.
  • By calling toll-free 844-345-FISH (3474).
  • Or in person (with advance notice of your arrival) at any DNR customer service center during regular state business. Fish registrations won’t be accepted at any state fish hatcheries or DNR field offices, only at DNR customer service centers.

The same process is now in place for lake sturgeon, too, although no fishing and/or possession seasons open for that species until July 16. The lake sturgeon fishing permit and harvest tags are no longer needed or available. Read more

Fishing

Lawsuits Seek to Restore Protection for Migratory Birds

WASHINGTON — A coalition of national environmental groups, including American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, today filed litigation, National Audubon Society v. Department of the Interior, in the Southern District of New York challenging the current Administration’s move to eliminate longstanding protections for waterfowl, raptors, and songbirds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
In a legal opinion issued December 2017, the Administration abruptly reversed decades of government policy and practice — by both Democratic and Republican administrations — on the implementation and enforcement of the MBTA.
The Act’s prohibition on the killing or “taking” of migratory birds has long been understood to extend to incidental take from industrial activities — meaning unintentional but predictable and avoidable killing. Under the Administration’s revised interpretation, the MBTA’s protections will apply only to activities that purposefully kill birds. Any “incidental” take — no matter how inevitable or devastating the impact on birds — is now immune from enforcement under the law.
The risk of liability under the MBTA has long provided the oil and gas industry, wind energy development companies, and power transmission line operators with an incentive to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to minimize bird deaths. For example, in an effort to protect migratory birds and bats and avoid potential MBTA liability, the wind industry, conservation groups, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked to develop comprehensive guidelines aimed to ensure best practices for siting and developing wind farms. The Administration’s new policy eliminates this incentive for industries and individuals to minimize and mitigate foreseeable impacts of their activities on migratory birds, putting already-declining populations of our nation’s songbirds and other migratory birds at risk.

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Wildlife
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