Bozeman, Montana. November 4, 2021. The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) applauds the collaborative efforts that led to completing a twenty-plus year project in Arizona that will open public access for hunting, hiking, equestrian, and other outdoor recreational uses in an area that has historically been locked off to the public. This Aravaipa Canyon Recreation Access project was the BLM’s highest ranked FY 2020 acquisition priority for the use of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the country.

“Protecting the Cross F Ranch was a huge lift, but is a classic example of a multiple benefit action with multiple partners that could not have been done without them,” said Gray N. Thornton President and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “Amid all the benefits is preserving a critical migration corridor for the area’s desert bighorn sheep.”

The Cross F Ranch acquisition is now a connecter between Aravaipa Creek and the BLM’s Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness on its west side with the Santa Teresa Mountains and the Forest Service’s Santa Teresa Wilderness area to the east. The acquisition contains nearly 22,000 acres of public and private lands, with the ranch being 2,831 acres of private lands that the Trust for Public Land has conveyed to BLM, plus an additional 323 acres of private lands (that lie within the Coronado National Forest) that were conveyed to the U.S. Forest Service. The ranch lies just north of the community of Klondyke and is also adjacent to both the San Carlos Apache reservation and The Nature Conservancy’s Aravaipa Canyon Preserve. Read more

A family forest is an investment that can create an outdoor legacy for future generations, but wildfire, storms, drought and hungry insects all can threaten forest lands.

The Emergency Forest Restoration Program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is available for landowners in case of catastrophic damage to private, nonindustrial forests.

“This little-known resource available through our federal partners is one that Michigan forest owners should be aware of,” said Mike Smalligan, DNR Forest Stewardship Program coordinator.

The program is offered through the USDA Farm Service Agency and can cover up to 75% of the costs to restore lands after windstorms, wildfire or other damage. Read more

The National Deer Association (NDA) has announced newly expanded information in the onX Hunt App CWD map layer will now make it even easier for deer and elk hunters to help fight chronic wasting disease (CWD). This new layer provides insights on CWD distribution, management zones, testing locations, carcass disposal sites and more for the entire country–all within the onX Hunt App.

CWD is a neurodegenerative disease of deer and elk that results in abnormal behavior, loss of body condition, and eventually death. CWD is 100% fatal and is found in most species of the deer family (cervids), including whitetail and mule deer, elk, and moose. onX and NDA worked together to provide the first nationwide database of CWD information for hunters in 2018. The new layer in the onX Hunt App could be used to visualize CWD distribution, but with the new update, the CWD layer now also shows testing locations, carcass disposal sites and regulations for each CWD management zone. This information, along with relevant links to all state CWD resources and regulations, will help empower you to fight CWD and become part of the solution. Read more

State and federal agencies and droves of volunteers have partnered to count Michigan’s Kirtland’s warbler population.

The agencies recently announced that surveys conducted in June show the small songbirds have continued to flourish since their October 2019 removal from the federal list of endangered species.

“The power of partnership continues to yield excellent results for the Kirtland’s warbler after coming off the endangered species list,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Charlie Wooley. “Recovery of this beloved species required a strong, creative set of partners, and that spirit continues into the future with agencies, organizations and private entities working together locally, nationally and internationally. I’m confident this strong partnership will secure the long-term future of this bird.”

With the June survey results now tallied, the Kirtland’s warbler global population is estimated at 2,245 pairs, which is more than double the 1,000-pair recovery goal for the species – which has been exceeded over each of the past 20 years.

Researchers survey nesting areas, listening for singing males advertising and defending nesting territories. Each male found is presumed to have a mate, so the number of males also indicates the number of pairs.

Kirtland’s warblers build nests on the ground, only in young, dense stands of jack pine in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario. This habitat was historically created by large wildfires. Today, wildfires are suppressed, and the nesting habitat is created by harvesting mature jack pine and planting jack pine seedling in the logged areas. Read more

Wildlife biologists with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have confirmed a trail camera image showing a mountain lion walking through a semi-open area of firs and poplars was taken in September in Dickinson County.

“On Sept. 16, 2021, a trail camera photo was taken of a cougar in southern Dickinson County,” said Cody Norton, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist. “This is about 50 miles from where a July 20 video was captured in Baraga County.”

The photo recently gained news media attention after it was posted on social media.

The DNR’s team of biologists that investigates cougar reports had seen the photo but initially could not confirm the source or location where it was taken. The team was able to investigate the report after the owner of the photo saw a newspaper story about it and contacted the DNR.

This latest confirmation brings the total number of confirmed cougar reports to 74 in Michigan since 2008. This figure does not necessarily translate to the same number of cougars because a single animal may be included in more than one confirmed report. Read more

Public comment on the proposal due by November 19, 2021

LANSING, Mich. –- The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is proposing an Exterior Firewood Quarantine to prevent the introduction of unwanted plant pests and diseases into Michigan. Public comments on the proposal are due by Friday, November 19, 2021.

Over 140 pests and diseases can be moved by firewood, including Asian long-horned beetle, mountain pine beetle and spotted lanternfly. These pests are not known to exist in Michigan but could be accidently brought into the state by travelers transporting firewood.

“Harmful invasive species, some of which are invisible to the naked eye, can hide in or on firewood. While most cannot move too far on their own, these pests and diseases can be transported undetected on traveler’s firewood, starting new infestations in locations hundreds of miles away,” said Mike Philip, MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. “These infestations can be devastating and pose a serious threat to Michigan’s agriculture, natural resources and the environment.” Read more

At times the sky becomes a “River of Raptors” above the Veracruz, Mexico count site.

Last Wednesday was a banner day for hawk and vulture migration above Veracruz, Mexico – we all should have been there – with 354,806 birds counted including 195,527 Broad-winged Hawks, 63,047 Swainson’s Hawks, and 66,891 Turkey Vultures among 11 different raptor species – all in 1 day! There is no doubt the Veracruz count site is the busiest in the Americas and the world, or that it lives up to its name of “River of Raptors!” During the following 2 days, raptor migration numbers remained high with totals of 146,240 Thursday and 135,157 Friday!

The birds that pass by the Veracruz count site originated from nesting ranges in North America and funnel inland between the Gulf Coast to the east and mountain ranges to the west. To view all the daily observations at the Veracruz count site, and to check out daily raptor counts see HawkCount

Of course, there are exciting raptor count sites located across the United States and southern Canada as impressive numbers and diversity of birds of prey continue to migrate south daily throughout October and into November. Consider visiting a raptor counting site this fall, and find one near you at HawkCount which is operated by Hawk Migration Association of North America.

This year’s fall count of the introduced Eastern population of Whooping Cranes is currently estimated at 81, including 19 wild-hatched Whoopers. At the beginning of October at least 63 Whooping Cranes were still in Wisconsin, 1 (possibly 2) in Michigan, and 4 in Illinois, with other Whooping Cranes in the eastern population unconfirmed during the past month. This exciting project to reintroduce Whooping Cranes has been led by the International Crane Foundation, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and a broad group of other agencies, groups, and individuals.

For more information about the introduced Eastern population of Whooping Cranes and other crane-related news from around the world, see Whooping Crane Eastern Population Update – October 2021 – International Crane Foundation (savingcranes.org)