Cave-dwelling bat populations are rapidly declining due to a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome. Some species, like the northern long-eared bat, soon may be listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. In preparation for this listing, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is teaming up with the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of Natural Resources to develop a large-scale habitat conservation plan.

If one or more bat species is listed as endangered, an incidental take permit would be required from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue forest management activities. A habitat conservation plan is required as part of an application for this permit.

The plan describes the potential positive and negative impacts of forest management on bats and biological objectives that will be implemented to offset negative forest management impacts on bats. A permit would ensure forest management activities in endangered bat habitat can continue, within the constraints of the habitat conservation plan. The overall goal of this project is the protection of endangered bat species and the continuation of forest management activities in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Draft chapters now available

You are invited to read the available draft chapters and share your feedback via email to rabem@michigan.gov on or before Friday, Aug. 21. We will review all comments and will incorporate feedback and suggestions into the plan as appropriate.

Bat habitat conservation plan ?

More information on Michigan bats and threats to bats is available at Michigan.gov/Bats.

Questions? Contact: Mary Rabe at 517-243-3122

The American Alligator: A Conservation Milestone

Once on the verge of extinction, the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, has made a very impressive comeback. With a powerful bite, armored skin, and incredible stealth, alligators are known to have only one major predator. Humans. As with the colorful plumage of migratory birds prior to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, products made from the hide of alligators trended in the fashion world. Due to unregulated harvest combined with habitat loss, these prehistoric reptiles experienced a range wide population decline. In 1938 Alabama took action and became the first state to outlaw alligator hunting. As more states followed suit, Congress passed the Endangered Species Protection Act of 1966. The goal of this Act was to, “conserve, protect, restore, and propagate certain species of native fish and wildlife.” The American alligator was one of the first to appear on the endangered species list, along with grizzly bears, bald eagles, timber wolves, red wolves, Florida panthers, Key deer, and a variety of other fish and wildlife species. In 1987, the American alligator was removed from this list due to its population increase, however, it remains federally protected due to their close resemblance to other endangered or threatened crocodiles and caimans.

Today, American alligator populations in Alabama have rebounded to sustainable levels due to the resounding success of combined conservation efforts taken by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Now, Alabamians have an opportunity to see an alligator on any given day in the southern half of the state and although less frequent the northern half of the state too!

Click learn more to find more information about American alligators in Alabama.

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Just starting to come in are the wild black raspberries.

Black Raspberries aka Black Caps

If a person wants enough for a pie, he’s gotta get ready to do battle with the elements:  skeeters, brambles, poison ivy,  and sweat to name some of the obstacles.  Small buckets fastened to belts keep the hands free to pick away till hands turn purple.

Great in milk shakes with some fancy ice cream.  Don’t need any color additives.

They boost the body’s antioxidant defense system, as well – some three times more than red raspberries.

I look forward to these little sparrows passing through each spring…GW

Most species of birds have distinct songs and calls that tend to stay the same. It’s how birders can identify a species without seeing it. New research conducted across Canada, assisted by birders who have provided recordings to eBird, shows a species song can change over time. Over a period of two decades, White-throated Sparrows that nest across western and central Canada have changed one of their songs. The new song was first noticed among territorial White-throats in British Columbia and researchers have studied the spread of the new song eastward to Quebec.

“White-throated Sparrows have this classic song that’s supposed to sound like: ‘Oh, my sweet Canada, Canada, Canada’,” but the new song sounds like “Oh, my sweet Cana– Cana– Cana– Canada,” explained Ken Otter, professor of biology at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Now, most of the White-fronted Sparrows that nest across Canada are singing the new song, but it’s still spreading through Quebec, more than 2,000 miles from where it originated! Although some bird songs undergo slow evolutions, this rapid shift in a species’ song has never been chronicled before, according to Ken Otter, lead author of a study published last week in the journal Current Biology. As the song sweeps west to east, ornithologists wonder what makes the new song so popular, and if the trend will continue. Dr. Otter added, “There is other song that we know of that’s spread like this.”

The new information was made possible by crowd-sourced birdsong recordings, which are uncovering patterns that may have previously gone unnoticed. Otter’s work relied on recordings from eBird and Xeno-Canto birdsong libraries that file birdsongs recorded and uploaded by birders and biologists from around the world.

Birdsongs are not just pleasant to listen to, they’re also rich with information, such as the health and fitness of the singer. Like other birds, male White-throated Sparrows sing to establish a territory and entice females. It’s only the males that sing certain songs, which they learn during a critical period of time during their early development.

Otter, who studies bird behavior and communication at the University of Northern British Columbia, first noticed that something was up with sparrow songs during the late 1990s when the new song trend emerged in northern British Columbia, where Otter and his colleague first heard the “weird” call. From there, it progressed east among White-throated Sparrows across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

In 2004, about half the White-throated Sparrows in Alberta were singing the new song, but by 2014, every White-throat in the area had made the shift. By 2015, every sparrow west of central Ontario was singing the new version of the song. And it’s still spreading in western Quebec, nearly 2,000 miles from where the song began.

Using two decades of citizen-recorded data, including more than 1,785 recordings, Otter and his team were able to map the song’s spread. Crowd-sourced science is “like having thousands of research assistants spread out across the continent,” Otter described. “It’s allowing researchers to tap into a totally different avenue of research, to look at this on a very big scale that was never [available] before.”

To learn more about this exciting new information, including recordings of the old and new songs, you can refer to the original National Geographic article at

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/07/new-sparrow-birdsong-replaces-old-tune/ and you can refer to the new scientific publication at https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30771-5

OMAK, WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt announced today at a roundtable with community members in Omak, Washington that the Department of the Interior (Department) will not move forward with a new Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan for the North Cascades Ecosystem and the associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

“Representative Newhouse has been a tireless advocate for his community and his constituents regarding plans to reintroduce grizzly bears into the North Cascades Ecosystem,” said Secretary Bernhardt. “The Trump Administration is committed to being a good neighbor, and the people who live and work in north central Washington have made their voices clear that they do not want grizzly bears reintroduced into the North Cascades. Grizzly bears are not in danger of extinction, and Interior will continue to build on its conservation successes managing healthy grizzly bear populations across their existing range.”

“This announcement is welcomed by my constituents in Central Washington who have consistently shared my same concerns about introducing an apex predator into the North Cascades,” said U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse (WA-04). “Homeowners, farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in our rural communities were loud and clear: We do not want grizzly bears in North Central Washington. I have long advocated that local voices must be heard by the federal government on this issue, and I am enormously grateful to Secretary Bernhardt for not only listening to our concerns and opinions, but for delivering this news in person, right here in North Central Washington.” Read more

Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) and The Average Conservationist are excited to announce a collaboration benefiting conservation.

A t-shirt collaboration between the organizations will raise funds for direct conservation work in Michigan. The design features the words Michigan United Conservation Clubs underneath a forest and white-tailed deer silhouette. To buy one of these exclusive shirts, visit The Average Conservationist. Read more