By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media

As each day passes amid these trying days of mandated isolation, we all expect our freedoms to return eventually.  Each of us has fashioned his or her personal means to deal with unprecedented restrictions on mobility and gatherings.  Accordingly, sportsmen and women would seem to have escaped the stranglehold to a lesser extent, because nobody had suggested infringements on simple pleasures such as hunting or fishing.  The noose has since tightened.

Effective at midnight this past Friday, the use of motorized boats in Michigan will be prohibited per an Executive Order (EO) from the governor. This order extends to fishing from a boat with a gas or electric (trolling) motor affixed to it.

A press release from Michigan United Conservation Clubs explains the rationale for the drastic measures, as follows:  In the announcement from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the DNR has written “[It] has received many reports about the heavy use of boat launches across the state and the subsequent congregation of people at these launches in violation of social distancing requirements and in a manner that threatens public health.”

Any hunter knows the most effective way to hit a moving target with a shotgun is to fill the air with pellets and hope for the best.  However, the wise hunter understands there is a certain amount of skill and discretion necessary to hit the intended target without spraying pellets in the line of game that is to be spared.

Take turkey hunting for example.  If a gunner takes aim at a legal gobbler, he must be certain that any shot does not take out adjacent birds, because in Michigan only one bird is legal to kill.  Carelessness can cost a hunter plenty, including fines and the loss of hunting rights in the future.

However, when our governor pulled the trigger on yet another EO, this stroke of the pen contradicted common sense and now prohibits the very type of respite free Michigan could enjoy and were encouraged to participate in by the very same governor.  Outdoor recreation was touted as our safe haven and necessary relief from physical restraints and the mental deterioration related to cabin fever.

While no communication was received in advance of this notice nor does EO 2020-42 specifically address this issue, the DNR states that “Non-motorized boating, such as canoeing, kayaking and sailing, falls within the outdoor activities permitted under the ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ Executive Order. However, the use of a motorboat, jet ski or similar watercraft is not permitted for the duration of the Executive Order, which is currently set to expire at 11:59 p.m. [on] April 30.”

Imagine the lives that could be saved if the same approach were to be used to combat traffic fatalities.  For the year 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that 37,461 people were killed for an average of 102 per day.  The simple solution to eliminate all of these related deaths would be to ban driving – a sure cure to save innocent lives.  Horses and mule teams would put a certain end to such accidental casualties.  Ludicrous, you say?

Instead, we applaud the efforts of law enforcement to nab the speeders and reckless drivers.  We take them off the roads; we confiscate their vehicles and driving licenses; it’s called targeted enforcement and is widely accepted as our best tool to minimize risk for us all.

Currently, it is illegal to congregate with any individuals that do not reside within one’s household, and non-compliance is punishable by a civil fine of $1,000.   But, now we cannot fish with a motor on a boat – either electric or gasoline powered – because some folks didn’t obey the stringent mandate.

Although the shotgun approach is meant to save us all, there are sure to be unintended consequences.  And, the only question remaining is how much muscle government will feel compelled to exercise and how much law-abiding citizens will tolerate.

As we navigate the ever-changing circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and to help campers feel confident about keeping their summer plans in the books, the DNR is waiving reduced-stay fees through Oct. 31, 2020.

Reduced-stay fees generally are assessed when customers cancel or modify a camping reservation at Michigan state parks and recreation areas and the four state forest campgrounds that accept reservations. The fees are incremental and determined by the length of time a reservation has been held and the number of eligible nights canceled, based on a sliding modification/cancellation formula. Read more

WASHINGTON – Updated analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows crop and livestock prices falling to levels that threaten the livelihoods of many U.S. farmers and ranchers. Shuttered schools, universities, restaurants, bars and cafeterias are no longer buying milk, meat, fruits, vegetables and other food, causing a downward spiral in crop and livestock prices.

Nearby futures prices for nearly all the major crops have dropped by double-digit percentages. Pushed down by a 40% plunge in ethanol prices, corn prices have fallen 15%. Soybean prices are down 10%, while the price for cotton, which is heavily dependent on foreign manufacturing capacity, sank nearly 30%. Buoyed by demand in the U.S. and China, wheat prices have declined only 3%.

On the livestock front, since the beginning of the year, both beef and pork futures prices have declined more than 30%. Milk futures prices have also fallen sharply, with the price for milk used to make cheese down 28% and the price for milk used to make nonfat dry milk falling by 34%. Read more

Fairfax, VA– The National Rifle Association, along with other pro-hunting organizations, sent a letter to governors of all 50 states on Friday urging them to keep public lands open for hunting and fishing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now, perhaps more than ever, families need access to hunting and fishing grounds so they can put food on the table for their families,” said Jason Oumet, executive director, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action. “There is no reason why people should be prohibited from spending time alone in America’s wide-open spaces. At its core, hunting is the original social distancing.”

The NRA teamed with the Dallas Safari Club, Hunter Nation and Safari Club International in the effort. The letter outlines the reasons why keeping public lands is crucial during this period while strongly supporting efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing.

In part, the letter reads:

“Closing these areas significantly limits the ability of our nation’s millions of sportsmen and women who take to our woods, waters, and wild lands every year to pursue their passion for the outdoors — an activity that is, at its core, America’s most tradtitional form of “social distancing.” Further, given the economic effects of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to allow hunters and anglers access to healthy and inexpensive sources of food to support their families.”

The letter was sent to governors of all 50 states Friday morning.

Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Canceled, postponed, delayed, shut down, and rescheduled are all words we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few weeks.  We’ve added phrases such as “social distancing” to our modern lexicon and continue to wonder how the “new normal” will have evolved.  At the same time many of us have found a strange commodity on our hands and it’s not those latex gloves:  It is time.

All of humankind faces a new dilemma:  work or daytime television.  We can sit there watching a blow-by-blow description of how this maddening virus is affecting people around the globe, all the while hoping it stays away.  It seems as if the virus doesn’t consume us, our thoughts just may, as we sit back and do nothing.  And, being a spectator of daytime television is doing nothing.

As mentioned, work is another option that typically doesn’t make it to the top of the list of things to do.  How many times have we passed by that fence that needs to be repaired or painted?  We no longer have an excuse for not having time even though we are all given the same amount of it.

All those “some-day” projects that never seem to have made it to any daily agenda could easily be part of anyone’s new normal now that we all have time.  Just the other day, I was passing a standing dead red pine that serves no purpose other than to offer perches to local birds.  It suddenly became time to re-purpose that seasoned wood, and even though red pine is not the best source of fuel for my outdoor furnace, it’s fuel nonetheless and has found its way to the wood pile.

If you are anything like me, you many have a firearm that’s been good at collecting dust.  For whatever reason, it doesn’t get used; it could need a good cleaning or maybe some gunsmithing work or a better optic.

A vintage Remington rimfire model 550-1 rifle of mine fits that description has done a fine job of taking up space.  It’s a semi-automatic plinker that has the ability to fire short, long, or long rifle cartridges, but because of a poor choice in optics, hasn’t been used.  The inexpensive red-dot aiming device was meant to improve my ability to compete in speed shooting games, but my old eyes need more assistance than that.  With a few computer clicks, a brand new variable power rimfire scope is on the way.  How exciting!

We may find that the trouble with our current time is that the future is not what it used to be, but this time we have the opportunity to revise it.

Pick a project – any project.  Put it on a list, get it done and then take time to cross it off the list.  Don’t delete it; cross it off.  It feels good!

Brownells Boredom Buster Challenge Gives Chance For $10K Shopping Spree

GRINNELL, IA–Brownells is calling on its fans to beat those bored-in-the-house, social-distancing blues and earn a chance to win a $10,000 Brownells shopping spree by competing in the Brownells Boredom Buster $10K Challenge.

Contestants can enter by creating funny, entertaining or otherwise extraordinary 2nd-Amendment-related videos and posting them on their personal Instagram accounts between April 2, 2020, and April 16, 2020.

To qualify for a chance to win, videos must meet the following criteria:

• No more than 60 seconds long
• Must show safe practices
• Must be tagged @Brownellsinc
• Must use hashtag #BBB10K

After April 16, Brownells will choose the five best videos and allow followers and fans to vote for the winner, who will travel to Brownells for a $10,000 shopping spree. Read more

Contact: Ron Olson, 517-243-1477

To protect public health, violations of social distancing guidelines may result in misdemeanor fines, penalties

To help carry out Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order and further protect public health and safety, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is closing many amenities offered in state parks and recreation areas, effective now through at least April 13.

State parks and recreation areas currently remain open to provide residents with local opportunities to get outdoors; however, extensive travel should be minimal – and reserved only for essential needs – and effective social distancing (of at least 6 feet between yourself and another person) is required so that unsafe conditions do not develop and state-managed lands can remain open. Read more