Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
OLYMPIA – Nearly a thousand antlers seized from poachers over the last decade by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) police officers can be purchased during an online auction currently under way through June 5.
Items that will be available during the auction include: Read more
After two weeks of consideration, the Michigan House Judiciary Committee today passed House Bill 5225 as amended; important and long-overdue legislation that would eliminate the state handgun “permit-to-purchase” and registration requirements. This committee also approved House Bill 5498, sponsored by state Representative Richard LeBlanc (D-18), and House Bill 5499, sponsored by state Representative Ray Franz (R-101). All three bills were supported by the Republican members of this House committee and not a single Democrat voted to support any of them. All three bills now go to the full House for a vote. Read more
The Department of Natural Resources has reported (as of 10 p.m. Thursday) on the fire that is currently burning explosively in the Two Hearted Zone Dispatch Area of the DNR’s Newberry Management Unit in Luce County. Fire behavior has been a fast-running crowning incident that has consumed an estimated 9,526 acres. Read more
GW: Man, there’s some good fishing in this neighborhood!
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will mark the opening of the new Crystal Lake boating access site in Frankfort (Benzie County) with a dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, at the site, 5572 Mollineaux Road. Read more
GW: This sounds like it could be a lot of fun!
If thoughts of camping conjure up warm childhood memories of summer, the Department of Natural Resources invites folks to visit P.J. Hoffmaster State Park’s vintage camper gathering and open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. Read more
A fire in the Seney National Wildlife Refuge (Schoolcraft County) is threatening to burn across the refuge’s northern boundary onto state-managed land. The last known size of the fire is 3,220 acres and containment is estimated at 65 percent at this time. Presently, there are no structures threatened by the fire. There have been no injuries or accidents related to this fire. Read more
Michigan conservation agents arrested four men for illegally killing a bull elk in the northern Lower Peninsula relative to an April 20th incident. More here…
GW: Just wish the entire penalty would have been stiffer
A Montana man has been sentenced to a year in prison for trafficking dead eagles. Have you no shame Ernie Stewart. More on the dunce, who earns himself a lowly place in my Poacher category. Forever remember this criminal here…
GW: Now here’s some teeth in conservation law. Just don’t know why other authorities don’t place similar penalties for overt violators.
A Riverside County man was fined more than $20,000 and sentenced to a week in jail for poaching lobsters inside a marine protected area (MPA). This is the first resource crime conviction since the MPAs off theSouthern Californiacoast went into effect on January 1, 2012. Read more
Officials are seeking information about elk poaching in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said that a bull elk was shot and killed in Otsego County during the week of April 19 and a pregnant cow elk was shot on or around March 14 in Montmorency County.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Gaylord Operations Center at (989) 732-3541 or the state’s poaching line at (800) 292-7800.