June 1 through July 23, the Wildlife Habitat Grant Program will be accepting applications, with projects enhancing game species habitat enhancement given a priority.

“This is an exciting opportunity to partner with others in the state to increase the habitat available for game species in Michigan and to enhance the existing habitat for the benefit of hunters, trappers, and wildlife viewers,” said Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division Chief Russ Mason.

Funding is available for local, state, federal and tribal governments, profit and nonprofit groups, and individuals through an open competitive process. Minimum grant amounts will be set at $15,000 with the maximum being the amount of funds available for that grant cycle.  The 2018 overall available grant amount is approximately $1 million. Read more

The Mesa County Commission has urged the federal government in a resolution to follow the recommendations of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, which opposed reintroduction of the gray wolf to Colorado.  Seems they like their population of moose more than any “need” to add predators, which of course, would affect livestock numbers, as well.  More here…

The battle against beech bark disease came full circle in fall 2017 at Ludington State Park, as volunteers planted more than 200 disease-resistant trees where the disease was discovered in 2000.

That planting effort is one of the success stories in Michigan’s Forest Health Highlights report, released annually by the DNR. The report summarizes the health of nearly 20 million acres of forest in the state, including about 4 million acres of state-managed forest land.

“Invasive species like the beetle that spreads beech bark disease present challenges,” said Deb Begalle, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “We also are coordinating efforts to cope with other invasive species such as the hemlock woolly adelgid.” That tiny insect attaches itself to hemlock trees and eventually kills them. So far, it is known to be in four west Michigan counties. Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

The use of the word “interesting” seems to be injected more into conversations recently as a substitute for more descriptive and more meaningful language.  In most instances, I think we can do better than that, but when we are discussing how observations can hold one’s attention or curiosity, the term interesting can be quite appropriate. So, what follows may be just such tidbits derived from studies and personal observations of whitetail deer behavior – many of which stem from the June/July publication of Quality Deer Management Associations’ (QDMA) “Quality Whitetails” magazine. 

Most turkey hunters will agree that the use of decoys will divert the attention of turkeys from hunters and directly toward the synthetic accomplice.  While decoying is used almost exclusively as a successful strategy to bag gobblers, the same turkey decoys can be used to captivate the attention of whitetails’ innate propensity to be inquisitive. 

Michigan Springtime Buck

One observation over the years is how whitetails will focus on ground blinds that have been erected shortly before a hunting season.  Unlike turkeys, deer have a tendency to focus on blinds and subsequently will detect the slightest movement from within.  However, that same blind will become relatively inconsequential, once a turkey decoy is placed only 25 to 30 yards directly in front of it. 

On a recent hunt, I observed two whitetail bucks tune into a lone hen decoy to the point that they cautiously closed the distance to within inches of the decoy.  With necks stretched as far as possible in an effort to detect scent, they became oblivious to my presence making for one interesting, uninterrupted video clip before scampering off into cover.  Experienced hunters know the technique of “confidence decoys” and their use may be worth considering during deer hunting season.

No doubt, deer behavior can be fascinating to outdoors people and Kip Adams of QDMA points out some interesting (there I go again) aspects of the birth of fawns.  Insofar as spring is when fawns are born, some understanding of how and why birthing activity takes place is provided for edification. 

He writes, “After birth, fawns nurse and then hide alone.  The doe sends them off to select their own bedding site.  In do so, she ensures a predator can’t follow her scent to the fawn(s).  The mother generally visits three to four times per day to feed and nurse them.  She goes to the general area where she left them and calls.  Fawns respond by standing and running to their mother.  After approximately one month, fawns start spending much more of the day with their mothers.”

This behavior explains why in early spring, we don’t see fawns with their mothers.  It also explains why their mothers are not at their sides and why humans often mistakenly assume fawns have been abandoned, when inadvertently discovered afield.  It is also the reason why we are implored to leave them alone; it’s nature’s way!

Kip further explains that during the first few weeks after birth that fawns are unable to urinate or defecate on their own.  Thus, while fawns are nursing, their mothers lick their genitals, causing fawns to do their “business.”  Interestingly, the mother then consumes these excretions in an effort to minimize scent from predators’ noses.  Simply wild!

The DNR uses many methods to monitor Michigan wildlife populations, and two of the more interesting wildlife surveys – involving a bird’s intricate aerial dance and snagging bear hair – are taking place across northern Michigan in May.

The American Woodcock Singing-Ground Survey is performed annually across much of the northern United States, giving wildlife agencies an idea of this migratory bird’s breeding populations.

Woodcock return to northern locations like Michigan – a national leader for the number of young woodcock produced each year – from their winter homes in southern Gulf Coast states to find a mate and breed. Spring, when their unique breeding behavior can be seen and heard in the evenings, is the perfect time to count them. Just after sunset, males can be found in their singing grounds, or grassy openings, making a nasal, insect-like call known as a “peent” every four to five seconds and performing their spiral display flights.The singing-ground survey is performed annually along more than a hundred 3.6-mile survey routes.

For the bear hair snare survey, locations across the northern Lower Peninsula are baited with bacon and donuts and surrounded by barbed wire. In order to reach the bait, a bear will cross the barbed wire and snag hairs, leaving a DNA sample behind. DNR staffers will visit 257 baited locations six times starting the week of May 27 to collect snagged bear hair and send it to the DNR Wildlife Disease Lab for analysis, which will assist with future bear population estimates.

Results from both surveys will help to determine harvest regulations for future hunting seasons. Read more about the woodcock and bear surveys.

One of the state’s most distinctive signs of a new season is on its way – the brightly colored monarch butterfly. A well-known and beloved butterfly species in North America, monarchs, unfortunately, have become a much less common sight in recent decades.

The eastern monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 80 percent over the last 20 years, primarily from habitat loss, both in their summer range – including Michigan – and in Mexico, where they spend the winter.

“Adult monarch butterflies require a variety of flowering plants for nectar,” said Hannah Schauer, wildlife communications coordinator with the DNR. “Grasslands provide a mix of plant species that pollinators, like the monarch, need – with both early- and late-blooming plants and those that flower mid-summer.” Read more