As you may have already heard, Michigan’s off-road vehicle (ORV) license options changed as of March 1, 2014. The new license structure – authorized by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2013 – provides vital funding to improve outdoor recreation opportunities for ORV riders.

The new ORV license structure includes two levels depending on the type of riding you are doing. An ORV License ($26.25) is required on eligible county roads, state forest roads in the Upper Peninsula and eligible national forest roads as well as on the frozen surface of public waters. This license is required to operate anywhere off of private lands.

In addition to the ORV License, an ORV Trail Permit (an additional $10, for a total of $36.25) will be required when operating on State-designated ORV trails, routes and scramble areas. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is offering a bear hunting clinic at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center at Mitchell State Park in Cadillac.Three separate clinics are offered and will take place on Aug. 9, 10 and 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Students will learn the ins and outs of bear hunting with experienced hunters and experienced DNR educators. The class will cover habitat, gear, stand placement, baiting, rules and regulations, carcass care, and hide care by master taxidermist Kevin Perry. Participants will spend about four hours in the classroom then go outdoors to learn how to place a stand and bait in the woods.  Read more

 Waterfowl hunters can now buy the federal migratory bird hunting stamp – also known as the Duck Stamp – online at www.mdnr-elicense.com. The online purchasing option is part of a partnership between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s Federal Duck Stamp Office, designed to make the Duck Stamp more readily available and increase participation in this successful wetland conservation program.

The Federal Duck Stamp, required annually for all migratory waterfowl hunters age 16 or older, costs $17 via E-license, the DNR’s online hunting, fishing, ORV and snowmobile license sales system. The stamp cost is $15, and both the stamp distributor and the DNR charge a $1 processing and handling fee. There will be no refunds available once the stamps are purchased. Read more

Although the late author and avid fly-fisherman Ernest Hemingway is well known for writing about the Upper Peninsula’s Two-Hearted River (which was actually the Fox River incognito), there are other trout streams in Michigan that he held so dear, they didn’t even appear in his short stories – only in letters to trusted friends and confidantes.

The northeastern Lower Peninsula’s upper Black River, long recognized as one of Michigan’s best brook trout streams, was one of those hush-hush Hemingway haunts that today, through the work of a strategically aligned group of partner organizations, has become a destination point for anglers chasing wild brookies.

“It’s renowned for its wild brook trout population,” said Tim Cwalinski, the Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist who manages waters within the Black River Watershed. “We get pretty good survival and growth and it is a destination for anglers who want to fish for brook trout, particularly the East Branch, the mainstream and Canada Creek.” Read more

 Fair chase adventure films provide hefty stoke 

in advance of upcoming hunting season.

2014 HFT Sizzle Reel (Boulder, Colo.) G2 Adventure Entertainment and Webeye Group are proud to introduce the 2nd annual Hunting Film Tour (HFT). The HFT is a traveling film festival that allows outdoor enthusiasts of all ages to enjoy exciting, story-driven content from hunting adventures around the globe, all of which will be shown on the big screen in crisp high definition.  Unlike the 30-minute TV segments that have long dominated outdoor media, The HFT provides a home for unique films and filmmakers that capture the stories, landscapes and pursuits that make hunting a generational passion.  From big game archery and rifle hunts, to exotic international quests, to wing shooting and water fowl, the 2014 tour features 12 films, each highlighting a different mission.  More than 50 tour stops are scheduled for 2014, making The HFT one of the largest cinematic events of its kind.  Theaters across the US and Canada will play host to premieres, each of which is a fun live event that provides the perfect place for attendants to gather, swap stories, enjoy tremendous sponsor giveaways and get fired up for the upcoming season.  “There hasn’t been many outlets for hunting film makers until we started this tour in 2013,” said Gary Gillett, owner of G2 Adventure Entertainment.  “Filmmakers, fans and sponsors alike are really excited about the Film Tour format and the opportunity to gather with friends and see their sport on the big screen.  The film line up for 2014 is even better than last year and we’re really looking to sharing it with the public.”

Port Crescent State Park in Port Austin is proud to announce its Seventh Annual Vintage Camper Show, July 24-27. Each summer, the traveling club Tin Can Tourists brings more than 85 vintage trailers and motor homes to the campground and opens its doors to the public for trailer tours. This year, tours will take place Saturday, July 26, from noon to 4 p.m. for anyone interested in taking a walk down memory lane.

This event began when the owners of about seven or eight vintage trailers came from New York, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Ontario to camp one weekend at Port Crescent State Park. Through the years, many more members have joined the Tin Can Tourists for this annual campout. A number of the trailers have been meticulously renovated and the owners are always willing to share their stories and photos. Read more

July 15 marks the end of the three-month window when oak wilt can be transmitted from diseased to healthy red oak trees. Although this time frame is coming to a close, the Department of Natural Resources reminds residents not to move wood from trees with oak wilt. Wood from oak wilt-killed trees can produce spores, which can infect healthy oaks if (the infected trees are) wounded between April 15 and July 15 the following year.

According to Dr. Robert Heyd, forest health management program manager for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division, oak wilt is a serious disease of oak trees. It mainly affects red oaks, including northern red oak, black oak and pin oak. Red oaks often die within a few weeks after becoming infected. Because white oaks are more resistant, the disease progresses more slowly.

“The normal time-tested advice is to prevent oak wilt by not pruning or otherwise ‘injuring’ oaks from April 15 to July 15,” Heyd said.

He added that the spread of oak wilt occurs during this time of year as beetles move spores from trees killed last year by oak wilt to wounds on healthy oaks.

Oak wilt has been detected in Alcona, Allegan, Alpena, Antrim, Barry, Benzie, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Cheboygan, Clinton, Crawford, Dickinson, Genesee, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Iron, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Manistee, Menominee, Midland, Missaukee, Monroe, Montcalm, Montmorency, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oakland, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Ottawa, Roscommon, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Joseph, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Wayne and Wexford counties.

Although oak wilt hasn’t been detected in every Michigan county, Heyd said the need for vigilance is present statewide. Read more

Fred was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young pullets,’ and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs. He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced. This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing.

Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report by just listening to the bells. Fred’s favorite rooster, old Butch, was a very fine specimen, but this morning he noticed old Butch’s bell hadn’t rung at all! When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing, but the pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover.

To Fred’s amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn’t ring. He’d sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one.

Fred was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Local Farm Show and he became an overnight sensation among the judges. The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the “No Bell Piece Prize,” but they also awarded him the “Pulletsurprise” as well. Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most  coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the unsuspecting populace and screwing them when they weren’t paying attention.