Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Washington, DC – Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation) announced today that it has contributed $537,590 in the past six months to fund worldwide wildlife conservation projects. SCI Foundation strategically focuses funding towards research and management of large predators and their prey, including game species, principally throughout North America, Asia, and Southern Africa. Read more
Anti-hunting Bill Fails to Clear Key Panel
(Columbus) –Backers of Senate Bill 1221, which would ban hunting of black bears and bobcats using hounds, failed to earn enough votes to pass the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee this afternoon.
“It all came down to last minute telephone calls from hunters to key Assembly members on the committee,” said Evan Heusinkveld, USSA’s director of state services. “The folks who made those calls made the difference today.”
From the beginning, sportsmen and women have outworked the anti-hunters, Read more
NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry, has filed a motion to intervene in the frivolous lawsuit brought by the anti-hunting Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and six other organizations to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban traditional ammunition containing lead components. Read more
LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder today announced the appointment of state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Keith Creagh as director of the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and state Department of Environmental Quality’s Policy and Legislative Affairs Director Jamie Clover Adams as MDARD director. Read more
Results of the license drawing for the 2012 elk hunting seasons have been posted on the Department of Natural Resources website at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings. Read more
Results of the drawing for the 2012 bear hunting licenses have been posted on the Department of Natural Resources website at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings. Also, as a reminder, applicants are no longer notified of their drawing success by mail.
Leftover bear hunting licenses for the 2012 season will be available for purchase in July, the Department of Natural Resources announced today. Read more
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate today voted to approve the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, a bipartisan Farm Bill authored by Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Ranking Member Senator Pat Roberts. The bill was approved with broad bipartisan support, on a vote of 64-35. The bill, which saves taxpayers more than $23 billion, represents the most significant reform of American agriculture policy in decades. Read more
Overland Park, Kan. – Bushnell Outdoor Products, an industry-leader in high performance sports optics for more than 60 years, has introduced a new personal GPS device designed to make hunters more effective in the field. In addition to the features that have made the BackTrack a consumer favorite, the new HuntTrack features solunar tables, barometric data and predictive animal activity.
With five available icons and the ability to use up to 20 additional numeric waypoints, the HuntTrack allows users to mark up to 25 waypoints while providing simple distance and direction to each location. This makes marking and locating deer stands, trail cameras or downed game quick and easy. In addition to a self-calibrating digital compass, the device provides time, temperature, altitude, and latitude/longitude coordinates.
The HuntTrack also provides vital information hunters need, including Hunter’s Edge solunar tables, barometric data and predictive animal activity. The solunar tables provide hunters with the rise and set of the sun and moon as well as the current moon phase. In addition to temperature, the device provides barometric pressure, an icon displaying current weather conditions and an emergency weather indicator. This data along with the geographic location is used in combination to provide 24 hours of predictive animal activity for the preceding and subsequent 12 hours. Read more
Nikon’s INLINE XR series of muzzleloading riflescopes are designed to give an edge to anyone wanting to extend their season – or their range – with a muzzleloader. The breakthrough INLINE XR riflescope technology makes 300-yard shots a reality for hunters shooting today’s increasingly accurate inline muzzleloaders. Read more
The Department of Natural Resources’ Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program will present an Introduction to Archery class in Lansing on Tuesday, July 10, from 5 to 8 p.m. Read more