PHOENIX — Water is the essence of life and it’s just as precious for Arizona’s wildlife.
For that reason, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has trucked or airlifted more than 1.5 million gallons of precious water to catchments throughout the state since January 2018. And trail cameras tell the tale of this important work with footage of elk, deer, bighorn sheep and countless other species leaning over for a refreshing drink at one of 3,000 catchments maintained by the department.
“Water catchments are used by all wildlife and while badly needed monsoon rains recently returned, storms are often sporadic and large sections of the state do not receive adequate water to sustain local wildlife populations,” said Joseph Currie, AZGFD Habitat Planning program manager, who oversees the department’s water catchment efforts. “By hauling to water catchments, we’re helping to prevent the localized wildlife die-offs that could happen if water simply wasn’t available.” Read more
Wildlife Research Center® and Tink’s®, the leading manufacturers of quality hunting scents, partnered together to fund a study with CWD Evolution, LLC. that has now led to a CWD testing protocol known as the RT-QuIC test process, that is specifically designed for testing deer urine for CWD contamination. This allows manufacturers of deer and elk scents to test and verify that no CWD is detected in the urine used in their products.
While the risk of urine-based scents spreading CWD is virtually zero, there is a lot of false and misleading information driving policy and regulations regarding urine-based scents and CWD. Unfortunately for hunters, some states have acted on this bad information and actually banned the use of urine-based scents. The test verifies that no detectable levels of CWD are found and provides a final confirmation that the products are safe for use and without risk of spreading CWD. Read more
Today, Delta Waterfowl gives us the insight on the annual US/Canada 2019 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey.
Annual breeding population survey estimates 38.9 million total ducks, down 6 percent, while May pond counts drop by 5 percent; mallards, gadwalls and greenwings increase
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA — North America’s spring duck population declined, but most species remain above long-term averages, according to the 2019 Waterfowl Population Status Report released today.
The annual survey, conducted jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Service since 1955, puts the breeding duck population at 38.90 million, a 6 percent decrease from last year’s population of 41.19 million, but still 10 percent above the long-term average. The 2019 survey marks the first time since 2008 that the estimated breeding duck population has fallen below 40 million. Read more
VERMILION CLIFFS, Ariz. – This year has proven exciting for California Condors in Arizona and Utah with the milestone hatching of the 1,000th condor at Zion National Park, but the excitement is far from over as the 23rd annual public condor release is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28. The public is invited to join the recovery effort by witnessing first-hand a spectacular release into the wild of several captive-bred young condors on National Public Lands Day.
Up to four California Condors will be released by The Peregrine Fund atop the spectacular ledges of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona at 11 a.m. Sept. 28. The public is welcome to observe the release from a viewing area where spotting scopes provided by partners and Swarovski Optik will be set up, and project personnel will be available to answer questions. Read more
The well-drained, sandy loam soil in my remote vegetable garden has been the perfect full-sun location – a place where melons and root crops have flourished over the years. But, this wet and cool spring weather was not favorable to the pumpkin and melon plants, which thrive in warmer ground temperatures. Those early plants that managed to sprout lived for a week or so only to succumb to the uncooperative conditions. With our relatively short growing season, it remains unclear if the effort to replant them will result in anything fruitful. It’s been that kind of season.
At the same time, however, I was able to seed a few small food plots last week and the brassicas have already germinated. The tropical conditions we’ve experienced recently have been ideal and, if the sugar beets follow suit, these plantings should be deer magnets by fall.
With the rains have come mosquitos in large numbers, but interestingly the number of dragonflies is astonishing. Routine trail riding on an ATV kicks them into action at every turn by bunches. Dragonflies, which are similar to mosquitos in that they require standing water to hatch from eggs, are Mother Nature’s answer to mosquito control.
Perched Dragonfly Carrying Eggs
These bug-eyed, aeronautical acrobats are every outdoor person’s friends, because they have a voracious appetite for up to 100 mosquitos per day. That may not sound like much, but when one considers the sheer number of these predators this season, it has to make a difference.
Dragonflies possess extraordinarily sharp vision aiding them to detect movement of potential flying fast food. Courtesy of two huge compound eyes, the dragonfly has nearly 360° vision and can move their four wings to maneuver in any direction. Much like a bluebird, they’ll hunt from a perch for prey and can strike and return in less than 2 seconds.
Another friendly inhabitant of the area is the monarch butterfly. Monarchs are dependent on milkweed plants, which the butterflies’ larvae eat nearly exclusively. It is for this reason that I’ve left a section of land with weak soil to grow indigenous milkweed plants.
The soil is simply too sandy to produce anything but weeds, but the symbiotic relationship between the poisonous milkweed and the similarly poisonous monarchs is reason enough to let nature take its course.
The late-summer versions of monarchs are born to fly – all the way to Mexico or California and back! The monarchs begin to return north in the spring, feeding on nectar along the route home. Eggs are subsequently laid only on milkweed plants, and a new generation hatches. They flutter about without fear from birds which instinctively know to leave the poisonous beauties to themselves.
If that’s not enough reason to leave some milkweed to grow in selected areas, consider the fact that milkweed seed is in demand. In fact, a recent check of milkweed seed for sale on Ebay found that a half pound goes for $150.
Once the flowers are finished blooming, they form a pod of milkweed floss with the seeds attached. A piece of tape wrapped around the pod will keep it intact until it’s time to use it afield. That white floss material (with seed removed) is the perfect wind indicator for any hunter concerned with air currents. Better than any store-bought puffer or smoking iteration, the floss can be seen for a hundred yards or so giving the wise hunter an edge over scent-sniffing game.
Sometimes we have to look for that silver lining but it’s here among us.
Funding proposals for 2019 now are being accepted through the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program, with an anticipated $3.6 million available to applicants. The program – a joint effort of the Michigan departments of Natural Resources; Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; and Agriculture and Rural Development – is part of a statewide initiative launched in 2014 to help prevent, detect and control invasive species in Michigan.
An invasive species is one that is not native and whose introduction causes harm, or is likely to cause harm to Michigan’s environment, economy or human health.
“From our old-growth forests and inland lakes and streams, to the unmatched sportfishing opportunities and thousands of miles of trails, Michigan is home to some truly world-class outdoor recreation opportunities,” said DNR Director Dan Eichinger. “Unchecked invasive species pose serious threats to those resources and the outdoor economy. Michigan’s Invasive Species Grant Program is a valuable tool that allows us to work with community partners around the state to better fight and contain these land and water pests.” Read more
Bushnell’s CORE DS Technology Is Optimized for Day AND Night
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas –– Bushnell, the industry leader in trail cameras, offers even greater performance with the CORE and CORE DS trail camera lines.
Now shipping across the Country, every CORE Trail Camera is built with a suite of features inside that reveal more of the tough world outside. Crafted with more speed and range to capture more useful images, and industry-leading battery life, CORE trail cameras give users more options for preset or custom settings to maximize each camera for any situation. All of that comes standard with the reliability of Bushnell. Read more
MISSOULA, MT — According to the Boone and Crockett Club, in general, record-class specimens of native North American big game have become more common afield, based on newly compiled data by the Club’s records department. Conversely, records data reveal a stable or opposite trend for some species.
The Club recently compiled its records statistics for the period 2016-2018 in preparation for its triennial tribute to big game conservation and management – the 30th Big Game Awards, which will be held this August, in Springfield, Missouri. These data include two new World’s Records and an astounding 43 new state and provincial records.
“We studied the entries from last three years in 33 categories and compared these data going back 24 years over eight previous three-year recording periods,” said Justin Spring, the Club’s director of Big Game Records. “Overall our big game species are in great shape, either trending up or stable. We are confident in titling this event, North American Big Game; More and Healthier Than Ever, but there are still a few species we’re watching closely.” Read more
New Federal Duck Stamp and Junior Duck Stamp Soar Into Their Debut by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Hunters, birders and stamp collectors celebrated as the 2019-2020 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp – commonly known as the Duck Stamp – went on sale. The new Federal Duck Stamp and its younger sibling, the Junior Duck Stamp, debuted at a special event hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Bass Pro Shops flagship store in Springfield, Missouri.
Painted by artist Scot Storm of Freeport, Minnesota, the new Duck Stamp will raise millions of dollars for habitat conservation to benefit wildlife and the American people.
The 2019-2020 Junior Duck Stamp, which also went on sale today, raises funds to support youth conservation education and this year features a harlequin duck painted by Nicole Jeon, 16, of Scarsdale, New York. Read more
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Python Action Team has removed the program’s 500th invasive Burmese python from the wild. Team members Beth Koehler and Peggy van Gorder captured the snake at 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25 at Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area. It was a 9’ 10” long female and weighed 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
“Thanks to the hard-working men and women of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, hundreds of invasive Burmese pythons have been removed from the Everglades and our ecosystem,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “As we celebrate this significant milestone, my administration will continue to prioritize the protection of our environment, natural resources and wildlife, which are at the heart of our economy and our way of life here in Florida.”
“The capture of the 500th snake by our Python Action Team marks a significant milestone for this program,” said Eric Sutton, Executive Director of the FWC. “Governor DeSantis has been instrumental in keeping this topic a priority. We’re proud of the great work that these men and women do every day, and it would not be possible without support from the Governor and Legislature.” Read more
