Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Sportsmen Urge Senate to Reject Plan to Drill Arctic Refuge

MISSOULA, Mont. – As Senate members prepare to advance legislation that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas development, public lands sportsmen and women are amplifying calls to reject the measure.

On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a markup of the bill, introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and touted as an economic booster. Read more

Wildlife

Arizona: GFD Treats Orphaned 8-Week-Old Mountain Lion Cub

PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is caring for an approximately eight-week-old mountain lion cub found in the Cornville area.

The cub was spotted by Cornville residents and reported to AZGFD on three separate occasions. Each time, the reporting residents did the right thing, leaving the animal alone, because the mother of a young animal is typically nearby. In this case, the mother never returned after two weeks and AZGFD biologists determined that in this situation, it was best to intervene. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan: Crew Boss Academy develops wildland firefighters into leaders

Firefighters in the Crew Boss Academy head out for an exercise.

Three dozen wildland firefighters from around the country knew for sure they were going to find a lot of class work during the 10-day Crew Boss Academy at Fort Custer. The intensive workshop crams four separate firefighting management classes into busy mornings.

It was during afternoon exercises on this military base near Battle Creek, Michigan, when they got some surprises.

On the scene of a grass fire, they might encounter a person recruited to play a disgruntled landowner. Dispatched to a fire site, they might come across a simulated car accident and stop to help while calling for another engine to proceed to the fire.

“They did live fire scenarios with DNR engines on site,” said Paul Rogers, forest fire officer supervisor with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “They were dispatched like they were going to a real fire.” Read more

Wildlife

BirdSpotter Photo Contest: Give Us Your Best Shot

Grab your camera and your keyboard and submit your photos and bird-watching stories to the BirdSpotter contest run by Project FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Ithaca, N.Y.–As the temperature falls with the autumn leaves, birds begin flocking to their favorite backyard feeders. Grab your camera and your keyboard and submit your photos and bird-watching stories to the BirdSpotter contest run by Project FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This year marks the 31st season for the citizen-science project, which collects observations about feeder birds from November through early April. Wild Birds Unlimited is sponsoring the current FeederWatch season and the BirdSpotter contest. Anyone can participate in the photo contest, whether they are a FeederWatch participant or not.

The 16-week contest opens on November 6 with the photo category “Birds with Food or at the Feeder.” Every two weeks the photo category changes. Check the contest website for the category schedule. Winners in each of eight categories will be chosen through public voting (People’s Choice) on the FeederWatch website and by internal judges (Judges’ Choice). Bi-weekly winners will receive Wild Birds Unlimited gift cards plus other prizes from the Cornell Lab, such as the All About Backyard Birds book and a tote bag. Read more

Wildlife

Boone and Crockett Club: New Database Reflects Successful Conservation and Future Work To Be Done

MISSOULA, Mont. (October 31, 2017) – The Boone and Crockett Club applauds the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on the release of their new state-by-state database of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

 

“Without data there is no science, and without science we would not be able to do what’s right for our wildlife,” said Ben B. Hollingsworth Jr., president of the Boone and Crockett Club. “This new database is an innovative information tool that helps state wildlife agencies and conservation organizations be more proactive and practical in their conservation efforts.”
The national database is the first step in following a mandate from Congress in 2000 for each state to develop a State Wildlife Action Plan in order to receive federal state wildlife grant dollars. The overall goal is to “keep common species common” and prevent species from needing even higher levels of attention such as being classified as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The first State Wildlife Action Plans were rolled out in 2005, and the congressionally mandated 10-year updates have been released over the past year by each state fish and wildlife agency. Each plan has a list of SGCN the state compiled, and the USGS database provides one-stop shopping where all state lists are combined so that conservationists and others with interest can see if a species is considered an SGCN in any or all states. This will facilitate cooperative multi-state conservation measures.
“This database encompasses hundreds of species of animals and plants,” commented Hollingsworth. “Of special interest to sportsmen are the big game species that do show up on some state lists. Being on the list might look like a red flag that a species is in trouble, but that is not necessarily the case. The actual causes for listing vary and each case will be taken into consideration for future actions. The good news is this database, more often than not, reflects successful conservation.”
Several big game species are gradually expanding their ranges naturally into other states, like grizzly and black bears and mountain lions, so their numbers are currently low in those newly colonized states and warrant listing as a state’s SGCN. Others like elk and bighorn sheep have and are being reintroduced to some of their historical ranges in states with suitable habitat. These new populations are on state lists so they receive the attention they need. In some states, species like bison, moose and pronghorn are being affected by habitat loss, which requires specific management strategies, and in the case of moose, a warming climate is also a factor that needs to be addressed.
The State Wildlife Action Plans will next identify and implement strategic conservation and management opportunities for wildlife and their habitats. The focus will be on these species of need by applying science-informed measures to conserve, restore, and manage important lands and waters. These measures include addressing invasive plant species that degrade critical habitat and old unproductive habitats, as well as other steps to ensure these species get the helping hand they need.
“The situation was dire for many big game species in 1887 when Theodore Roosevelt formed the Boone and Crockett Club,” Hollingsworth continued. “Every single species of big game that we sustainably hunt today was so depleted from unregulated take that had the ESA been in place, every one would have surely been listed as threatened or endangered. We avoided a wildlife disaster by changing the way we used and managed big game without resorting to ESA-like protections. Today, the SGCN represents another valuable step in our ever-evolving conservation success story.”
The USGS list includes all species of wildlife, game and non-game mammals and birds, reptiles, fish, mollusks, insects and plants. The State Wildlife Action Plans will be developed in collaboration with federal, state and private partners and with participation from the public and layout a vision for sustaining fish and wildlife for future generations.
Hollingsworth concluded, “This new database is both what wildlife recovery looks like today and a roadmap for work to be done so we can avoid any further ESA listings. Our founder, Theodore Roosevelt, was a stickler for using the best science to direct decisions on natural resources, especially wildlife. He would be proud to know this science-focused approach, known as the ‘Roosevelt doctrine’ is still alive and well.”
To view the USGS database visit https://www1.usgs.gov/csas/swap/
About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club is the oldest conservation organization in North America and helped to establish the principles of wildlife and habitat conservation, hunter ethics, as well as many of the institutions, experts agencies, science and funding mechanisms for conservation. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Montana. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org.
Wildlife

Hunters Asked to Report Bear Den Sightings in Michigan’s Northern Lower Peninsula

DNR asks hunters to report bear den sightings in northern Lower Peninsula

While out in the field, hunters and trappers could come upon a denned black bear. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for locations of denned bears in the northern Lower Peninsula, in order to fit the bears with radio collars for an ongoing bear management program.

“Information gathered from bears assists in managing the black bear population,” said Mark Boersen, wildlife biologist at the DNR Roscommon Customer Service Center. “Currently, we have six female bears being monitored from both air and ground using radio tracking equipment.”

After locating a denned bear, DNR biologists will determine if the animal is a good candidate for a radio collar. Bears that are selected will be sedated by a wildlife biologist and fitted with collars and ear tags. A small nonfunctional tooth will be collected to determine each bear’s age and to provide a DNA sample. Upon completion of the short procedure, biologists will carefully return the bear to its den, where it will sleep through the remainder of the winter months.

Those who encounter bear dens in the northern Lower Peninsula are asked to record the location, with a GPS unit if possible, and contact Mark Boersen at 989-275-5151 or boersenm@michigan.gov with specific location information.

As a reminder, it is illegal to disturb a bear den or disturb, harm or molest a bear in its den.

Wildlife

MDF Opposes AZ Ballot to Initiative to End Mountain Lion, Bobcat Hunting

Mule Deer Foundation Opposes Proposed Arizona Ballot
Initiative to End Mountain Lion, Bobcat Hunting

Salt Lake City, Utah: The Mule Deer Foundation opposes the proposed ballot initiative in Arizona that would end hunting of mountain lions and bobcats. MDF believes that wildlife populations should not be managed by ballot initiatives. State wildlife agencies, especially the Arizona Game & Fish Department, have a great track record of managing wildlife species. Predators can have a dramatic impact on the populations of their prey items. Mountain lions, bobcats and other predators need to be managed at a level that balances their populations with big game population levels.

“Professionals in the wildlife agency need to manage all wildlife, including predators.
The Humane Society of the United States, a California-based animal rights organization and other anti-hunting groups are only concerned with stopping hunting and not the health of all wildlife populations,” says Miles Moretti, President/CEO of the Mule Deer Foundation. “We have seen these groups attempt their ballot initiatives in several states. They won’t stop trying to meet their goal of ending all hunting.” Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

RMEF Grant to Benefit Montana Wolf Management


MISSOULA, Mont.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) a $50,000 grant to assist with wolf management in the state of Montana.”Montana’s wolf population is more than three times larger than federally-required minimum mandates,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “This funding will help FWP get a better grasp on wolf numbers as a benefit to wildlife managers tasked with seeking to balance predator and prey populations while doing so in a more cost effective manner.”

Half of the grant funding will go toward wolf collaring and management actions for problem wolves. The other half will assist a joint effort by FWP and the University of Montana in further developing what’s called the Patch Occupancy Model (POM) for estimating wolf populations. Read more

Wildlife

Another Montcalm County, MI deer suspected to have CWD

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced today that a second hunter-harvested deer in Montcalm County is suspected positive for chronic wasting disease. A sample has been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for confirmation. If confirmed positive, the 1.5-year-old buck, harvested in Sidney Township, would be the 11th free-ranging deer in Michigan found to have CWD.

“The fact that we already have another positive deer within Montcalm County is of major concern,” said Dr. Kelly Straka, DNR state wildlife veterinarian. “We strongly recommend hunters who harvest deer in Montcalm County have their deer tested. Deer with CWD can look perfectly healthy even though they are infected.” Read more

Hunting, Wildlife
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