Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Conservation Gets a Modest Bump in the 2017 Spending Bill

Omnibus spending package provides for sage grouse conservation, drought resiliency, conservation practices on farms and ranches, and one step forward for the Everglades

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress has passed an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017 with some increased funding for conservation and no harmful policy riders. The House and Senate’s investment in conservation is seemingly at odds with the Trump Administration’s budget outline for fiscal year 2018, which would deeply cut most conservation programs and entirely eliminate others, including Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.

“While last-minute funding solutions are not the ideal way to govern, sportsmen and women should be heartened to see Congress endorse funding levels mostly on par with what we got in 2016 and even give a modest bump to the things we care about, including healthier waterways, stronger sage grouse populations, restoration assistance in the Everglades, and better conservation practices on private lands,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

Tucked within more than 1,600 pages detailing government spending through September 30, the FY2017 omnibus package includes the following:

  • An $8.9-million increase for sage grouse conservation programs and no riders undermining the federal conservation plans that helped keep this iconic Western game bird off the endangered species list in 2015.
  • $864 million for Conservation Operations at the Natural Resources Conservation Service within U.S. Department of Agriculture—that’s about $13.5 million more than last year and exceeds President Obama’s last budget request by more than $1 million.
  • A $10-million increase for the Conservation Technical Assistance Program, which provides farmers and ranchers with the technical expertise to put conservation on the ground using Farm Bill dollars. This will help NRCS to deliver more than $5 billion in conservation programs to farmers, ranchers, and private foresters next year, improving fish and wildlife habitat and water quality nationwide.
  • $150 million for the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program, which hasn’t been funded since 2002. This will help states, local governments, and tribes to enhance fish and wildlife habitat, improve water quality, reduce erosion, control sediment, and construct wetlands.
  • A 30-percent increase for the WaterSMART grant program, in which the Bureau of Reclamation works with water users to help ensure rivers and streams have enough water flows to support fish, agriculture, and cities during droughts.
  • More than $10 million in funding for the National Park Service to support interagency coordination in the Everglades. Additional funding will be needed in the next fiscal year to carry construct a reservoir recently approved by the Florida legislature. This is critical to improving water quality and habitat in one of the country’s most popular fisheries.
  • Two Farm Bill conservation programs were trimmed through the Congressional budget process known as Changes in Mandatory Program Spending, or CHIMPS. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was cut by $179 million and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program was cut by $28 million. Read more
Wildlife

Find Funky Nests in Funky Places!

Photo by Marshall Faintich.

Ithaca, N.Y.–Funky Nests in Funky Places is back! This popular contest focuses on the quirky places birds sometimes build their nests. Participants have found nests on tiny skyscraper ledges, in barbecue grills, traffic lights, wind chimes, flower pots, an old motorcycle helmet, or just about anywhere. The contest is hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.”Wherever you find a bird’s nest, send in a picture, video, poem, or artwork about it,” explains project leader Karen Purcell. ” You could win binoculars, bird feeders, online courses, posters, and much more.”

Nesting season is well underway, so everyone is invited to head outdoors to enjoy nature and find nesting birds in unexpected places. Participants don’t have to be bird or photography experts.

The entry deadline is June 30. Read more

Wildlife

Expect to start seeing fawns in May and June, but enjoy from a distance

A thicket, a patch of tall grass and a quiet spot in your back yard – what do they all have in common? They all are places where fawns have been found. For the first few weeks of a white-tailed fawn’s life, its mother will hide it in secluded locations. This behavior helps reduce the potential of predators finding the fawn.

A fawn’s spots are excellent camouflage and will help it stay hidden from predators. In addition to being hidden by its mother and having its own spotted camouflage, fawns have another adaptation to help them survive – they are virtually odorless when they are young.

“If you find a fawn alone, do not touch it,” said Hannah Schauer, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife communications and education coordinator. “There is a good chance it is supposed to be there.” Read more

Wildlife

Biologists Set to Begin Bear Trapping for Research in Yellowstone National Park

BOZEMAN – As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the USGS and Yellowstone National Park would like to inform the public that biologists with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) and Yellowstone National Park will be conducting scientific grizzly bear and black bear research operations in Yellowstone National Park from May 7 through July 30.

Team members will bait and trap bears at several remote sites within Yellowstone National Park. Once trapped, the bears are anesthetized to allow wildlife biologists to radio-collar and collect scientific samples for study. All trapping and handling are done in accordance with strict protocols developed by the IGBST. Read more

Wildlife

American woodcock – Michigan’s leading the nation

American woodcockSpring means many things to many people – morel mushrooms, trout fishing, turkey hunting or viewing migrating birds overhead. The American woodcock is one of those migrating, part-time Michigan residents that split time between the southeastern United States and Michigan.

“For decades, Michigan has helped gather information on woodcock populations, which spend time in numerous states and provinces from Canada to the Gulf,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources upland game bird specialist Al Stewart. Read more

Wildlife

Calling All Birders: Global Big Day is May 13

Ithaca, NY–A “big day” is a big deal for people who love to watch birds. The term traditionally applies to any effort to identify as many bird species as possible in a single day. The third annual Global Big Day takes place on May 13, 2017. Bird watchers around the world are invited to watch and count birds for any length of time on that day and enter their observations online at eBird.org.

“The past two Global Big Days have set back-to-back world records for the most bird species seen in a single day,” says Chris Wood at the Cornell Lab. “During last year’s Global Big Day bird watchers from more than 150 countries tallied more than 60 percent of the world’s bird species.” Read more

Wildlife

AGFD Considers Potential Impacts of Appellate Court Ruling on Mexican Gray Wolf

 

PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is assessing potential impacts to Arizona’s endangered and threatened wildlife recovery program, following a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that lifts a preliminary injunction on releasing Mexican wolves in New Mexico.

The court decision issued Tuesday held that the State of New Mexico had not met the legal standard for a preliminary injunction because it did not demonstrate that releasing Mexican wolves without state permits will cause irreparable injury to the state. The ruling reverses a U.S. District Court decision last summer that prohibited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from importing or releasing any Mexican wolves in New Mexico without first obtaining permits from the New Mexico Game and Fish Department.

“The Arizona Game and Fish Commission and Department are evaluating the potential ramifications of the Appellate Court’s decision for Arizona’s wolf recovery program,” said Jim deVos, AZGFD assistant director for Wildlife Management. “Our agency remains committed to working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and our other partners to ensure Arizona has a voice in providing direction for the program, based on sound science and boots-on-the-ground research.”

The case now returns to U.S. District Court for a decision on whether New Mexico can require the USFWS to obtain state permits before releasing wolves. Read more

Animal Rights, Wildlife

Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center offers butterfly gardens class, hatchery tours in May


Public also invited to April 29 celebration of new kids’ fishing pierThe Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Mattawan, Michigan (Van Buren County), will offer several opportunities this spring to learn about outdoor recreation and Michigan’s natural resources. Upcoming programs include:

Kids’ Fishing Pier Celebration
Saturday, April 29, 11 a.m.

Join DNR staff and partners for the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the new kids’ fishing pier. There will be special hatchery tours every 30 minutes after the ceremony, kids’ fishing from noon to 2 p.m. and light refreshments.

Butterfly Gardens
Saturday, May 6, 10 a.m. Read more

Wildlife

Not your typical spring birding event – a woodcock walk at dusk

If you’re looking to get out and stretch your legs, a spring birding event might be just the ticket. Grab your flashlight and binoculars and join Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff before dusk for a short walk to hear the “peent” call of a male American woodcock just before it lifts off the ground in its spiral dance 200 to 350 feet in the air.

The woodcock walk will be held Thursday, May 4, at 8 p.m. in northern Gladwin County at the Lame Duck Foot Access Area GEMS, an area showcased as a fall ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting location. Read more

Wildlife

CBD Files Suit to Challenge the Congressional Review Act and Undermine Alaska’s Wildlife Management

This from Safari Club International

On April 20, 2017, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the Congressional Review Act (CRA).  The CRA gives Congress authority to review and nullify federal regulations with which Congress does not agree within a 60-day period after the rules are finalized.    CBD’s suit focuses on a component of the CRA that prohibits federal agencies from issuing rules that are “substantially the same” as regulations previously nullified by a congressional joint resolution.  CBD claims that this prohibition interferes with the constitutional separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch.

The purpose of CBD’s suit is to invalidate House Joint Resolution 69 (H.J. 69), which was signed by the President on April 3.  H.J. 69 nullified a regulation adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) at the end of the Obama administration that prohibited forms of hunting on all National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska.    SCI and its two Alaska chapters have long opposed the FWS regulations that were the subject of H.J. 69.

In January 2017, just before the new Administration took office, SCI filed suit to challenge those hunting restrictions.  SCI’s suit also challenges similar National Park Service (NPS) regulations that prohibit forms of hunting on all National Preserves in Alaska and challenges regulations regarding hunting and access on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  The State of Alaska also filed a similar suit as did the Alaska Professional Hunters Association and the Sportsmen’s Alliance.   SCI also worked hard to help win passage of H.J. 69 by both houses of Congress and its approval by the President.  Read more

Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife
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