FOND DU LAC, Wis.- Mercury Racing unveiled a concept small block four-valve automotive crate engine yesterday at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. SEMA consists of a diverse group of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, publishing companies, auto restorers, street-rod builders, restylers, car clubs, race teams and more. Read more

The City of New York has agreed to pay $7,500 to a falsely arrested knife owner in a Knife Rights supported case. The embarrassing settlement shows that the city would rather pay than try to justify its illegal conduct after police declared his knife an illegal “gravity knife” even though the blade did not lock open. The knife owner (a sculptor who uses a knife for his work) was arrested, handcuffed, booked, and placed in a holding cell like a common criminal. Read more

The 1959 Chevrolet Viking is up to the task of transplanting trees with the rear-mounted Vermeer tree spade.

We’ve all heard their songs right before dark in the fall, the yips, barks, and howls of the crafty coyote. Now days there is virtually no place in the U.S. where these song dogs don’t roam. Their ability to adapt to urban sprawl and human intrusion is all too impressive. These canines can change breeding habits, diets, and pack dynamics to cope with the situation they find themselves living in. Females usually have a litter of 3-9 pups per year that are generally born in April or May. This coincides with the fawning season for whitetails as well.

Predator populations have changed dramatically over the past century. I’ve heard it explained by an old-timer that said, “before humans entered the picture an area would have 1 wolf, 2 coyotes, 4 fox and on down the chain.” Obviously, these numbers are fictitious, but the larger predators kept the others in check and on down the line. Now days with so many different factors influencing predator populations, I can’t imagine the challenges the states have in regulating harvest quotas and management plans for all game animals.

In my view, one of the major problems that we have had in the past thirty years is the anti-hunting/trapping public. Although they are the minority, they are very vocal. Through the 1980’s and 90’s, their push to ban trapping caused fur prices to plummet. Back in the early 80’s a trapper could get $120 to $160 for a prime “Christmas fox.” Now fur costs are about ¼ of what they were thirty years ago. My suggestions to hunters and trappers are to be more vocal than the opposition and use your vote! Read more

The Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division recently honored four Department of Natural Resources conservation officers who worked as part of a search and rescue operation and who ultimately found a missing 2 1/2-year-old child in the woods in Newaygo County last year. The officers were honored at last week’s meeting of the Natural Resources Commission in Cadillac, Michigan.

Sgt. Mike Bomay and conservation officers Jeff Ginn, Brian Lebel and Mike Wells were presented with Lifesaving Awards by DNR Director Keith Creagh and DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler for their role in locating Amber Smith, a toddler who disappeared Oct. 8, 2013, from her Barton Township home. Read more