Build a Better Herd with Ani-Logics Outdoors

Spring is here, bringing a surge of green forage—but not all vegetation is created equal when it comes to enhancing deer nutrition. Many regions experience a bloom of cool-season grasses that are high in fiber yet low in protein, making them less desirable for deer. To truly support a thriving herd, hunters and land managers need targeted solutions that maximize nutritional value.

Ani-Logics Outdoors offers a range of scientifically designed food plot blends that transform grassy areas into rich feeding grounds. Pro Clover is a top-tier option featuring fast-growing, highly nutritious clovers that establish quickly and benefit deer populations. For drier regions like ridge tops, Clover Plus Alfalfa excels in moisture-limited environments. Landowners struggling with minimal sunlight can opt for Clover Plus Chicory, which thrives with as little as four hours of sunlight daily. Holy Clover, with its deep taproot and alfalfa-like growth, is an excellent choice for drought-prone areas.

The durability of these perennial blends ensures sustained browse tolerance, making them ideal for small food plots tucked near bedding areas. Notably, Tiffany Lakosky harvested one of her biggest bucks over a Pro Clover field last fall, highlighting the success of Ani-Logics Outdoors products.

As temperatures rise throughout the growing season, Pro Bean Blend emerges as the perfect dual-purpose solution—offering both lush green forage in summer and high-energy pods for fall and winter sustenance. With a mix of five different maturities, some beans will remain green until late season, while others prioritize pod production. Additionally, its glyphosate tolerance allows for easy weed management. Read more

Avian Influenza: Safely Handling Wild Birds

Highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as “bird flu,” is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes sickness and sometimes death in birds and mammals. Since December 2024, there has been an uptick in HPAI wild bird mortality, primarily in Canada geese, trumpeter swans and scavenging birds. To date, we have not seen the disease spread among wild turkeys in Michigan.

Though the risk to people from HPAI is low, hunters should take the following precautions to avoid contracting or spreading bird flu:

  • Harvest only healthy-looking birds.
  • Cook all meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any viruses.
  • Process wild birds in the field. Remains from processed birds should be buried on-site or double-bagged and disposed of with household trash.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth when handling wild birds.
  • Wear rubber or disposable gloves while handling and cleaning wild birds, and wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand cleanser, even if hands are not visibly soiled.
  • Thoroughly clean and disinfect all knives, equipment and surfaces that come into contact with wild birds.
  • Do not eat, drink or smoke while handling or cleaning wild birds.
  • Change clothing, including footwear, and wash hands before coming into contact with domestic animals. Read more

South Dakota Protects Sportsmen with Five New Laws

Two rooster pheasants in a field

The South Dakota 2025 legislative session adjourned sine die on March 31. This means the regular session is completed for the year.

Thanks to the Senate, no anti-sportsmen bills made it to the governor’s desk.

HB 1236 was overwhelmingly passed by the House by a vote of 51 to 19 and sent to the Senate. HB 1236 would have expanded the safety zone from 660 feet to one-quarter mile (1,320 feet). The Senate remembered their sportsmen constituents and defeated HB 1236 by a vote of 5 to 29 keeping it from being sent to the governor.

South Dakota Sportsmen Bills that Passed

The following pro-sportsmen bills were sent to Governor Larry Rhoden, who quickly signed them into law.

HB 1080 voids covenants that prohibit or restrict the possession or use of firearms and ammunition. HB 1080 passed the House by a  vote of 66 to 1,  unanimously passed the Senate, and was signed into law on March 11.

HB 1188 allows non-resident military members to purchase three-day temporary non-resident waterfowl licenses. HB 1188 passed the House by a vote of 65 to 3unanimously passed the Senate, unanimously passed House concurrence, and was signed into law on March 28.

SB 41 clarifies the minimum age requirements for a hunting license. SB 41 unanimously passed both the Senate and House and was signed into law on February 10.

SB 46 specifies the funds into which certain boat fees are deposited. SB 46 passed the Senate by a vote of 33 to 1, passed the House by a vote of 67 to 2, and was signed into law on March 11.

SB 81 prohibits the use of a firearms code for transactions involving firearms, accessories, components, and ammunition and provides for a civil penalty. SB 81 passed the Senate by a vote of 33 to 2unanimously passed the House and was signed into law on February 24. Read more

Michigan’s NRC Votes to Table Partially Closed Coyote Season

GW:  This from Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC)

Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission (NRC) tabled a vital order that would have corrected the commissions grievous 2024 error at today’s April meeting at Lansing Community College West Campus this morning. 

Up for action was Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment #4 of 2025 (WCO), to reopen the illegally partially closed coyote season to a year-round season. The commissioners voted to table this order in a 6-0 vote. Ultimately the commission chose to table the amendment reopening Michigan’s coyote season, leaving conservationists across the state in limbo for the foreseeable future. 

MUCC has advocated for the application of sound scientific management to Michigan’s coyote population since this order was first introduced in early 2024. The organization believes the commission violated their legal charge and responsibility by failing to make their decision based in science.

The decision in 2024 was based on social assumptions and unsubstantiated political threats from a tiny minority of hunters and anti-hunting zealots. 

Justin Tomei, MUCC’s Policy and Government Affairs Manager said now Michigan’s coyote hunters remain in limbo and face another spring with no good options to hunt.

“Another season will be lost due to the commission’s inaction, but this was about much more than three months of coyote hunting,” said Tomei. “This is about sound scientific management, and the commission failing their legal charge and conservation responsibility to follow science in their decision making, not the emotional pleas of a small group of anti-hunting zealots or the assumptions of an overwhelmingly tiny minority of hunters.”
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Three New Golden Rope – Scent Rope Kits Create the Ultimate Trophy Buck Playground

Scrape hunting is one of the most effective ways to hunt trophy bucks. As the leader in “All things Scrape Hunting”, Wildlife Research Center® introduces THREE new combos to its already impressive line of scrape hunting, scents and human scent elimination products to help hunters Create the Ultimate Trophy Buck Playground™.

The Golden Rope™ has been a major breakthrough for scrape hunting allowing hunters to create an attractive mock scrape and interaction site, that both bucks and does will visit year-round, exactly where you want it. The Golden Rope™ is made with proprietary natural fiber with high absorption, no chemical treatments, and high durability. Each of these kits includes a 4 FL OZ Golden Rope™, rope scent concentrate, which makes 20 FL OZ of the ultimate long lasting attraction scent to dip the end of the rope in. The kits also include a cable tie to easily hang the rope in the perfect position to help attract that trophy buck.

The Golden Rope™ – Single Scent Rope Kit, takes the highly popular Golden Rope™ Scent Rope Kit and makes it available at a lower, single-rope price point. This handy kit contains one Golden Rope™ Scent Rope, a 4 FL OZ Golden Rope™ scent concentrate, and a cable tie to hang up the rope. Read more

Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation Settles Lawsuit Against Colorado Wildlife Commissioners

Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and its partner Safari Club International have settled a lawsuit against two Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) commissioners and the commission itself for violating the state’s open-meetings law.

Colorado’s open-meeting law requires that all meetings between two or more public officials where public business is discussed must be open to the public after notice of such a meeting is provided. The law’s purpose is to promote open and informed discussions, which leads to better decision making.

This was not the case when two current Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioners, Jack Murphy and Jessica Beaulieu, and former commissioner James Pribyl, coauthored an Op-Ed titled “Current and Former CPW commissioners endorse Prop 127.” The Op-Ed was highly critical of mountain lion and bobcat hunting, declaring that it “in no way contributes to our bright future … in our great state of Colorado.”

The Op-Ed also contained several blatant errors about state hunting regulations. The commissioners claimed that hunters could use drones, which is prohibited by the commission’s own regulations. They claimed that mountain lion hunts guarantee “success at 100%,” when the success rate is closer to 20 percent. And it falsely claimed that wild cats are “not involved in any human conflict,” when Colorado Parks and Wildlife website has numerous press releases to the contrary. The irony is that all these false statements were made while simultaneously declaring that commissioners “are held to a higher standard … of science, not mere opinion and conjecture.”

CPW made the correct decision to settle instead of dragging this out and wasting time and resources. Read more

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