Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Goldfinch
Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Mule Deer.org (AMD), whose focus is the recovery of Mule Deer in the state, conducted their first official Board of Directors’ Meeting in Deer Valley, Arizona on March 1. The Board had a busy night, adopting the organization’s bylaws, electing its first-ever slate of Officers, and attending to other organization business. Annual membership dues were set at $40 for Individuals and $1000 for a Lifetime membership. Read more
WEST POINT, MS – The spring and summer months are critical when it comes to deer herd health. By providing a consistent, high-protein food source, whitetails will have their best chance for reaching their full genetic potential. Below are 4 key steps to help you grow a successful spring food plot this year. Read more
WARNING: Luna-Ticks can be found almost anywhere, but they are
more numerous in California and in the Capitol Building,
which is located on the edge of the Washington DC Swamp.
By Glen Wunderlich
In the recent history of some 29 years, the dirt road in Shiawassee County on which I’ve lived, has never flooded; that’s all changed now. Recent rains coupled with accumulated snow and frozen grounds have rivers and creeks spilling over the banks. As a result, our swampland will soon be host to a bumper crop of frogs and toads.
I’ve learned to enjoy the company of these insect-consuming creatures, as they hunt for food that hunts for me. In fact, each season we form a partnership of sorts.
At the bottom threshold of the garage door is a small opening that allows opportunistic toads the perfect ambush point. Inside they face the opening in wait for unsuspecting prey of myriad configurations. Out comes the tongue and in goes a nutritious meal.
Their tongues produce quantities of mucus to aid in swallowing. All anurans (toads and frogs) blink when they swallow. The eye is subsequently pushed against the roof of the mouth, forcing the food farther back.
The parotoid glands – the swellings behind the eyes – are a defense mechanism against predators. These glands secrete fluids that are toxic if taken internally and the warts (on some toads) exude a similar toxin. Some toads can squirt poison at potential predators from these glands. And despite the myth, toads do not cause warts!
One of my favorite pastimes involves catching insects and dropping them directly in front of one of my “pets.” In a heartbeat the drama is over.
No doubt, frogs and toads play a vital role in insect control but their numbers, as well as that of other amphibians, have been in decline since the 1980s because of habitat loss, pollution, disease and collection.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers throughout the state to assist with its annual frog and toad survey – an effort that helps biologists monitor frog and toad abundance and distribution in the state.
“In Michigan, over the past 20 years, we’ve noticed a decline in Fowler’s toads and mink frogs,” said Lori Sargent, the DNR’s frog and toad survey coordinator. “These are two species that have a limited range in Michigan, unlike most of the other species that occur statewide.”
Michigan’s is the second-longest-running such survey in the country, after Wisconsin’s.
“We have collected a large, valuable data set to help us evaluate Michigan’s frog and toad populations,” said Lori Sargent, the DNR’s frog and toad survey coordinator. “We’re now able to watch trends and consider how to slow down some of the species’ declines.”
The surveys are conducted by volunteer observers along a statewide system of permanent survey routes, each consisting of 10 wetland sites. These sites are visited three times during spring, when frogs and toads are actively breeding. Observers listen for calling frogs and toads at each site, identify the species present and make an estimate of abundance.
Sargent said new volunteers are needed in all parts of the state, and that the program’s continued success is dependent on strong volunteer support.
Those interested in volunteering should contact Lori Sargent at 517-284-6216 or SargentL@michigan.gov. More information on the frog and toad survey and other projects supported by the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund is available at www.michigan.gov/wildlife.
Even if you choose not to become a survey volunteer, the website has audio training tracks that can be downloaded so that interested persons can learn the sounds these creatures emit. In fact, I never knew toads made calls similar to those of frogs. Armed with the newfound information, springtime will have my ear.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers throughout the state to assist with its annual frog and toad survey, an effort that helps biologists monitor frog and toad abundance and distribution in the state.
Declining populations of frogs, toads and other amphibians have been documented worldwide since the 1980s. Studies suggest amphibians are disappearing due to habitat loss, pollution, disease and collection.
“In Michigan, over the past 20 years, we’ve noticed a decline in Fowler’s toads and mink frogs,” said Lori Sargent, the DNR’s frog and toad survey coordinator. “These are two species that have a limited range in Michigan, unlike most of the other species that occur statewide.” Read more
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources offers free educational opportunities to help educators looking for a fun way to integrate the state’s unique flora and fauna into their classroom, while still meeting required educational standards.
The newest addition to the DNR’s wildlife curricula is Michigan’s Wondrous Wetlands and Waterfowl.
Michigan’s Wondrous Wetlands and Waterfowl, developed for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, will give students and teachers an appreciation and knowledge of the vital importance of local wetland ecosystems.
In six lessons, students will expand their knowledge of Michigan’s waterfowl species, waterfowl biology and life cycles, and wetland and waterfowl management and history in Michigan.
Students and teachers are encouraged to explore a local wetland, if possible, as part of this learning experience. If a field trip is not practical, a virtual field trip experience is included in the curriculum. Read more
CALL YOUR MICHIGAN REPRESENTATIVE NOW TO SUPPORT HB 5321
Nearly a month ago, we asked you to call legislators to express your support for House Bill 5321, which would prevent another atrocity like Ann Arbor’s deer sterilization program from being authorized. Since the bill has been referred to a subcommittee led by Representatives Curt VanderWall, Joseph Bellino, and Sara Cambensy, with no action to date, we need to light up the phones once again!
Introduced by Representative Triston Cole (R-Mancelona) at the beginning of December, HB 5321 would prohibit the Department from issuing permits that authorize the sterilization of game.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been pushing communities and state agencies around the country to adopt sterilization as a way to prevent urban bow hunting or future culling to manage deer. The DNR approved this permit under the guise of “research” with no input from the public and it actually runs counter to the DNR’s own approved urban deer management policy.
It is not a great leap to see how HSUS might push this to other species, such as bears or even wolves in order to prevent hunting.
On Thursday, February 22, MUCC will be testifying again on this bill before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee, as will Ann Arbor’s contractor, White Buffalo, who is conducting this so-called “research project”. This meeting is open to the public.
Call your State Representative today and ask them what is taking so long? Find your representative’s contact information here. We want them to approve HB 5321 and prevent other cities from attempting more costly and ineffective “research” on the public’s deer.
Please call today and ask them to vote YES!
By Glen Wunderlich
With another deer season behind us, wildlife professionals across the country will be compiling data relative to numbers and health of respective deer herds. However, the Quality Deer Management Association has published its 2018 Whitetail Report, which compares data from the three most recent seasons available 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17. This summary will provide details of Michigan’s whitetail management practices and how we stack up with the rest of the Midwest segment.
Nationally speaking and on a positive note, yearling buck harvest rates (deer 1.5 years of age) remain at record low numbers, and the percentage of 3½-year-old and older bucks remains at a third of the total antlered buck harvest. Conversely, the biggest issues and trends include the continued spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), which has made major headlines in Arkansas, Michigan and Montana in 2017.
From 2015 to 2016, a total of nine free-ranging deer tested positive for CWD in Michigan in two counties, Clinton and Ingham. In 2017, at least 47 new cases had been identified, including 36 confirmed positives in Montcalm County and 10 in Kent County.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates hunter numbers have declined by over two million from 2011 to 2016. With regard to expenditures, hunters’ spending dropped nearly $11 billion dollars or 30 percent. Adding insult to injury, the number of hunters is expected to continue declining as baby boomers exit the hunting scene. Michigan is no exception with hunter participation tumbling 14 percent in the same period.
The top-5 states for harvest of antlered bucks 1 ½ years and older in order are Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia, with Texas coming in at a whopping 399,487 bucks and Michigan with 196,233. Although steadily increasing over the past three seasons, Michigan’s buck harvest totals are still down 3 percent compared to the 5-year average. Michigan tops the country with an average of 3.5 antlered bucks taken per square mile.
Allowing deer to mature is a worthy goal of all states and Arkansas leads the way with a mere 5 percent of its buck harvest being yearlings. Michigan continues to rank near the top (or, bottom, if you will) of states with the highest percentage of yearling bucks taken at 47 percent with Wisconsin hunters killing yearlings at the rate of 65 percent of all bucks taken.
The top-5 states with the highest percentage of 3½-plus-year-old bucks taken last season are Mississippi (78), Arkansas (77), Louisiana (72), Oklahoma (59), and Texas (59). Michigan is holding steady at 27 percent of its total buck kill being 3 ½ years old or more.
Michigan’s antlerless take of 145,054 is up 6 percent compared to the previous season but down 15 percent compared to the 5-year average.
Monitoring the percentage of fawns in the antlerless harvest is one method for estimating the fawn recruitment rate (those surviving from spring births), and this statistic is one of the most important pieces of data a deer manager needs when assessing a herd’s growth potential and applying a prescribed antlerless harvest. Accordingly, Michigan hunters are killing fawns at the rate of 26 percent of the total antlerless harvest – a sign that indicates hunters need a better understanding of distinguishing fawns from adult does. On the plus side, however, Michigan hunters took adult does of 3 ½ years of age or older at the rate of 38 percent of the total antlerless numbers.
Archery hunters in Michigan took some 37 percent of the total deer harvest ranking near the top nationally. Our rifle/shotgun kills are down to 48 percent compared to 60 percent the previous year. Muzzleloaders, on the other hand, took 15 percent of all whitetails – up dramatically from 6 percent the year prior.
The takeaway continues to be the decline in hunter numbers and the resulting wildlife conservation funding from license fees, as a disturbing trend. To stabilize, or even increase hunter participation, our best bet is to continue to mentor youngsters and there are lots of programs to do just that. This strategy is not up to someone else, however; if each of us can introduce a youngster to the outdoors, we will have done our part to further the cause of wildlife conservation.
The 4½-year-old buck died about 8 miles north of Vicksburg and was reported to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The buck was found about 45 miles south-southeast of the southeastern corner of Arkansas. Read more
“The health and safety of the public is the Commission’s number one priority. Feeding wild monkeys creates an elevated risk to human health because it brings them into closer contact with people,” said Dr. Thomas Eason, Assistant Executive Director of the FWC. “This amended rule provides our staff the tools we need to effectively address a situation that can have serious consequences.” Read more