Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Arizona Files Motions Today to Protect State’s Interest in Mexican Wolf Recovery

PHOENIX — The State of Arizona, on behalf of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, today filed two motions aimed at protecting the state’s interest in the Mexican wolf reintroduction program and successful recovery of the endangered wolf subspecies that inhabits east-central Arizona and New Mexico.

Arizona filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit Center for Biological Diversity v. Sally Jewell. The suit concerns the recently-revised 10(j) Rule that governs the management of Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. The state filed the motion to intervene to defend its trust authority over wildlife conservation in Arizona and its involvement in the revision of the 10(j) Rule.

The state also filed a motion to dismiss the suit based on the court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiffs are unable to demonstrate that their interests have suffered due to the revised 10(j) Rule.

“Given that the new rule governing Mexican wolf recovery provides more habitat and potential for population growth than the rule and permit it replaced, the plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that their interests have suffered as required by law,” said Arizona Game and Fish Commission Chair Robert Mansell.

The revised 10(j) Rule increases the Mexican wolf population objective from at least 100 animals to a range of 300 to 325. It also eliminates the previous recovery area where wolves could live to a three-zone area that eventually expands their range ten-fold. Read more

Wildlife

Funky Nests in Funky Places Contest Underway

Using spider web to affix its nest to a single bulb in a strand of holiday lights, this tiny Anna’s Hummingbird successfully hatched two chicks. 2014 entry by Kathy West, California.

Ithaca, NY—Spring is nesting season and some birds have a flair for the funky when it comes to finding the right real estate to lay their eggs and raise their chicks. The annual “Funky Nests in Funky Places” contest hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is underway. Look for another entertaining collection of nests in old boots, barbecue grills, motorcycle helmets, traffic signals, rakes, old tires and who-knows-what.

Participants may send in a photo, video, story, poem, or even some form of dance or artwork. Entries may be submitted in categories such as “cutest,” “funniest,” “funkiest,” or “most inconvenient.” Celebrate Urban Birds is offering a free, downloadable flyer showing some of the places you can look for funky nests in urban locations. Read more

Wildlife

114 Sportsmen’s Groups Call on Congress to Reject All Efforts to Sell or Transfer Public Lands

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 100 hunting, fishing, and conservation organizations, including the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Trout Unlimited, Dallas Safari Club, Pope & Young Club, the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, and more than 80 state-based groups, have released a letter to local and national decision-makers opposing the sale or transfer of federally-managed public lands. Recipients include House members meeting tomorrow to discuss federal land acquisition, and its impacts on communities and the environment, and Senators who recently passed a budget resolution that could encourage the sale or transfer of public lands.

“We’re calling on lawmakers to end this conversation now,” says Whit Fosburgh, TRCP’s president and CEO, whose recent blog post addressed the Senate amendment, which passed 51-49 on March 26. “Nothing galvanizes sportsmen like the loss of access for hunting and fishing, and continuing to indulge this controversial idea is keeping us from the real task of managing our public lands.”

America’s 640 million acres of federal public lands—including our national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands—provide hunting and fishing opportunities to millions of sportsmen and women. Since late last year, efforts to wrest public lands from the federal government and put them under state ownership have been matched by the unanimous outcry of sportsmen across the country. “Decision-makers need to know what they are stepping into,” says Joel Webster, director of western public lands for the TRCP. “Over 72% of western hunters depend on public lands for access, and sportsmen are not going to stand idly by as they’re sold away.” Read more

Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

DNR advises caution to prevent spread of oak wilt disease

For most people, April 15 is the annual tax-filing deadline. For people like Roger Mech – and other forest health professionals – April 15 also marks the beginning of the yearly window when oak wilt can be transmitted from diseased to healthy red oak trees.

Oak wilt mortality pocket According to Mech, forest health monitoring program manager for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Division, oak wilt is a serious disease of oak trees. It mainly affects red oaks, including northern red oak, black oak and pin oak. Red oaks often die within a few weeks after becoming infected. White oaks are more resistant; therefore, the disease progresses more slowly.”The normal time-tested advice is to prevent oak wilt by not pruning or otherwise ‘injuring’ oaks from April 15 to July 15,” Mech said.

He added that the spread of oak wilt occurs during this time of year as beetles move spores from fungal fruiting structures on the trees killed last year by oak wilt to wounds on healthy oaks. As warmer weather melts away snow and ice, the beetles that move oak wilt become active. Read more

Wildlife

Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail ribbon-cutting ceremony set for April 18

The Department of Natural Resources has opened the Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee (FMCIS) Trail and, in conjunction with local communities and the Friends of the FMCIS Trail, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 18. The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the St. Johns Rotary Park pavilion near the Clinton Northern Railway Depot, located at 107 Railroad St. in St. Johns.View of bridge on Fred Meijer Clinton Ionia Shiawassee Trail

The Friends group invites all trail-lovers to attend the ceremony and discover this new recreational opportunity in the mid-Michigan area.

As part of the celebration, local bicycle shops in Ionia and Owosso are arranging bike rides to start on their respective ends of the trail, culminating at the St. Johns Rotary Park pavilion before the ceremony. Shorter-distance rides may be available depending on interest. For more information on how to join these rides, contact Rick Morris at The House of Wheels in Owosso at 989-725-8373 or Gary Ferguson at Dan’s Bike Shop in Ionia at 616-527-0471. Read more

Wildlife

DNR encourages public to enjoy springtime baby animal sightings, but remember to leave wildlife in the wild

With the arrival of spring, wild animals are giving birth and hatching the next generation of Michigan’s wildlife. Baby red foxes appeared in dens during the last days of March and the first days of April.  Young great-horned owls have already hatched and are growing up in stick nests high above the ground. Mourning doves have made nests, and some have already laid eggs. The first litters of cottontails will appear soon.

 

fawn curled up in grassSpringtime brings with it an increase in sightings of nestlings and baby animals. The Department of Natural Resources encourages Michigan residents to get outside and enjoy the experience of seeing wildlife raising its young, but reminds them that it is important to remain at a distance.

 

“These are magical moments to witness but, unfortunately, sometimes the story has a different ending when people take baby wild animals out of the wild,” said DNR wildlife technician Katie Keen. “Please resist the urge to try to help seemingly abandoned fawns or other baby animals this spring. Some people truly are trying to be helpful, while others think wild animals would make good pets, but in most cases neither of those situations ends well for the wildlife.” Read more

Wildlife

New Mexico’s Controversial Mountain Lion Legislation

mountain lion1

GW:  Thanks for the heads-up from J.R. Absher, it has been noted that the bill in question died in committee a month ago and the 60-day session ended March 21.

On March 13, 2015, the New Mexico House Agriculture, Water, and Wildlife Committee advanced a bill that would effectively treat the state’s mountain lions as nuisance animals. This legislation would overturn a regulation that currently protects females with cubs from being hunted, as well as removing the requirement of a hunting license in order to harvest a mountain lion.

This would mean that there is open season on mountain lions; they could be hunted or trapped at any time without harvest limits. If the bill passes, the state’s Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) will no longer hold the authority to regulate mountain lions as a game animal or manage their population. It would also take away their ability to respond to complaints about mountain lions and remove problem animals.

Wildlife officials estimate there are between 3,000 to 4,500 mountain lions in New Mexico. Every year, 2,000 hunting licenses are issued and a maximum of 700 cats can be harvested, although hunters usually only take about 200 animals. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Dismissed: HSUS Lawsuit to Silence Maine’s Wildlife Professionals

On Friday, April 3, 2015 Maine Superior Court Justice Joyce Wheeler issued a final judgment in the question of the state’s ability to comment on wildlife issues. In her ruling, Wheeler sided with the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and fully dismissed a lawsuit aimed at silencing Maine’s wildlife professionals.

The case started in the closing weeks of the Maine bear campaign over Question 1 on last November’s ballot. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), through their front group Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting, sued the state of Maine alleging an improper level of engagement in the. The “state,” in this case, was the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, whose vocal and public opposition to Question 1 didn’t mesh with HSUS’ wish to stop bear hunting in the state.

The original lawsuit sought an injunction that would remove the TV advertisements being aired by the Maine Wildlife Conservation Council that featured department personnel talking about the dangers of Question 1.

“Political campaigns are won and lost on TV, especially in the case of ballot issue campaigns,” said Evan Heusinkveld, USSA Foundation’s vice president of government affairs. “There is no doubt that our opponents saw the wildlife management professionals at the department as a distinct threat to their campaign. In response, they attempted to silence the only true experts—the professional staff at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.”

On Oct. 22, 2014, Maine Superior Court Justice Joyce Wheeler denied the request for a temporary restraining order by Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting, which sought to remove television commercials opposed to Question 1. In her ruling, Justice Wheeler sided with the right of the state to provide comment. This ruling ensured the TV commercials remained on the air, and just a few days later sportsmen were victorious at the ballot box, defeating Question 1 by a 53-46 margin. Despite the victory on the temporary restraining order and at the ballot box on Nov. 4, the lawsuit remained active.

In light of judge’s decision and with the election over, on Feb. 24 the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife moved to have the case dismissed because of mootness—a move wholeheartedly supported by Maine Wildlife Conservation Council. However, HSUS lawyer Rachel Wertheime countered that the lawsuit was still valid because the organization would be filing paperwork to once again put a bear-hunting ban initiative on the state’s 2016 ballot.

In her ruling today, Justice Wheeler responded to that motion by fully and finally dismissing the case at the Superior Court level, leaving HSUS, and their front group Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting, with few options outside of appeal to the state’s Law (Superior) Court.

“The Superior court already ruled that the state was well within its right to speak out on this issue, and now they have now decided that since the election is over, the case is moot,” said Heusinkveld.  “This ruling just reaffirms our position and is a clear victory for sportsmen and women. There should be no doubt left, the people of Maine deserve to hear from the experts when it comes to these issues.” Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Food Plots and Habitat Plantings for Game Birds

One aspect of wildlife management that is growing rapidly is the restoration of native habitat and growing crops with game birds like quail and turkey in mind. I am of the opinion that loss of habitat may be the number one factor in a list of many reasons for the steady decline in quail numbers over the last several decades. Turkey on the other hand, have had remarkable success and have a population that is abundant across most of the U.S.

Whether you are trying to attract turkeys and keep them on your property or attempting to provide food and cover for a couple coveys of quail, there are several easy to plant annual crops that can be very beneficial. Millets, sorghum, and sunflowers are all easy to plant warm season annuals that can be planted as stand-alone crops or as a blend like BioLogic’s WhistleBack. A lot of people want to plant something that is providing food within a couple weeks like they do for deer, but it really doesn’t work that way for birds. For game birds we are really trying to create food, cover, and brood habitat that they seek out. Giving the birds all they need through the changing seasons will keep them at home and discourage them from wandering to neighboring properties. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife
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