Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Humane Society Legislative Fund Goes All In on Landrieu’s Losing Campaign

This from www.Humanewatch.org

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spends less than 1 percent of its budget on grants to help local organizations care for pets. So we already know what HSUS doesn’t spend its money on—but where exactly does it all go?

Lately, a lot has gone into losing campaigns.

The lobbying arm of HSUS, Humane Society Legislative Fund, poured $132,000 into Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-La.) Louisiana Senate runoff election, which she officially lost over the weekend. For context, that’s the highest spending from any liberal group supporting Landrieu—and more than twice the $53,000 donated by the Democratic State Central Committee.

This sizable expenditure is particularly startling in light of the forecasts (correctly) predicting Landrieu’s loss. Polls showed Landrieu’s running mate, Bill Cassidy (R.-La.), ahead by as many as 26 points preceding their runoff race. (He ended up winning by 12 points.) Read more

Animal Rights, Wildlife

First Detection of Emerald Ash Borer in Six Southern Indiana Counties

GW:  Once it get started, it’s just a matter of time before the ash trees are dead.  Once they begin to die off, good land managers will plan for felling the dead and dying trees before they become an unsafe hazard.  It’s best no to wait too long, because standing dead ash can break off anywhere along the main trunk, which makes it especially dangerous.

Emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive insect that kills ash trees has been detected for the first time in Jennings, Pike, Scott, Spencer, Sullivan and Warrick counties. Purple panel traps used to detect the pest captured EAB adults in Pike, Spencer, Sullivan and Warrick counties.

A visual survey of woodpecker-attacked ash trees found EAB in Jennings and Scott counties. Both counties were already quarantined for EAB. Of Indiana’s 92 counties, 79 have now detected EAB. Read more

Wildlife

SCI: Thanks to NJDEP for Continuing Bear Hunt Despite Interference by Anti-Hunting Groups

Washington – Special to The Outdoor Wire – With New Jersey’s weeklong black bear hunting season now under way, Safari Club International (SCI) again thanks the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for continuing with the hunt, despite incessant cries from anti-hunting zealots for its cancellation. For several years, SCI has fought successfully in court to protect the annual bear hunt, defeating the anti-hunting groups repeatedly.

Black bears are the largest land mammal in New Jersey. As the NJDEP has found, they are an integral part of the state’s natural heritage and a vital component of healthy ecosystems. However, for NJDEP to properly manage New Jersey’s ecosystems, they need to manage the number of black bears at a sustainable population in the northwest region of the state.

Controlling black bear numbers improves public safety by reducing the number of bear encounters with humans. The citizens of New Jersey this year became keenly attuned to the need to intensify such management when a college student hiking in a nature preserve was fatally mauled by a black bear in September. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Shorebird Listed as Threatened by USFWS

American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Defenders of Wildlife, and the Natural Resources Defense Council welcomed today’s decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to formally list as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) the highly imperiled rufa Red Knot, a shorebird that flies more than 9,300 miles from south to north every spring and repeats the trip in reverse every autumn-one of the longest migrations in the animal kingdom. Though the decision to list the Red Knot was hailed as an important victory by the three groups, they urge FWS to quickly designate critical habitat to better protect the bird. Read more

Wildlife

MI DNR finds 2014 firearm deer harvest down from last year

The 2014 firearm deer season wrapped up Nov. 30, and challenging conditions and lower deer numbers in some areas likely have led to fewer deer being taken this year. Each year the Department of Natural Resources generates preliminary estimates of the firearm deer harvest shortly after the season closes. Those estimates are later replaced by a rigorous assessment of harvest and participation over all deer seasons using an annual hunter mail survey.

The 2014 firearm deer season harvest appears to have decreased in all regions this year, but particularly in the Upper Peninsula. Experiences can differ widely within regions. DNR biologists estimate that, compared to 2013, the harvest was down approximately 30 to 40 percent across the Upper Peninsula, decreased perhaps as much as 10 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula, and was down about 5 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Deer populations in the Upper Peninsula are down after two severe past winters. The DNR significantly reduced antlerless quotas prior to this season and has invested in habitat improvement and research assessing the role of predators, habitat and weather conditions in driving U.P. deer abundance. The 2014 deer season forecast indicated hunters should expect to see fewer deer in the region, and some locations also saw more than 40 inches of snow accumulation before the firearm season opened, making hunting access challenging and driving deer to migrate out of such areas earlier than normal.

“The number of deer brought to our check stations declined as much as 60 percent in some locations, though hunter success was somewhat better in areas with higher deer densities,” noted Upper Peninsula Regional Supervisor Terry Minzey. “Winter severity has moderated since then, but we’ll continue to monitor conditions and regional deer populations through the months to come.”

Deer harvest did not decline so dramatically in the Lower Peninsula. “The tough winter last year did not impact deer populations below the bridge as it did in the Upper Peninsula,” noted Ashley Autenrieth, Wildlife Division deer biologist for the northern regions. “But reduced antler size this season indicated deer condition was affected.”

Concentrations of standing corn that provide secure cover for deer contributed to adverse hunting conditions in some locations. Brent Rudolph, Wildlife Division research specialist, also shared that “department research in one southern Michigan study area indicates deer numbers are still only slowly rebounding following an extensive outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease several summers ago.” The research project is being conducted in collaboration with Michigan State University, with assistance from many hunter volunteers, and also has received financial support from Safari Club International.

Rudolph also stressed the importance of cooperation with Michigan’s hunter harvest survey, what he called “a vital tool for Michigan’s deer program, and another important way in which data provided by hunters contributes to our information base.”

Hunters who do not receive a survey in the mail but who wish to provide their hunting and harvest information may visit www.michigan.gov/deer and select the “Complete a Deer Harvest Survey Online” link. Hunters should only provide this information once they have completed all of their 2014 deer hunting activities.

For more information about hunting opportunities or deer management in Michigan, go online to www.michigan.gov/hunting or www.michigan.gov/deer.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Contact: Brent Rudolph, 517-641-4903, ext. 248; Ashley Autenrieth, 989-732-3541; or
Ed Golder, 517-284-5815

Hunting, Wildlife

What the Humane Society of the U.S. does with Donor Money

The deceptively named Humane Society of the United States only spends 1% of its budget on grants to help local organizations care for pets. But HSUS can afford to send $26 million—the equivalent of 20% of its budget—to offshore hedge funds. It’s a case of putting tax shelters ahead of pet shelters, and it comes on top of the $25.7 million HSUS put into the Caribbean in 2012. In 2013, HSUS reports that it sent $26 million to the Caribbean and Central America. Where exactly did that money go? A supplemental document tells us: Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Gov. Snyder applauds project recommendations of Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board

 Board calls for $24 million in recreational, land acquisition projects 


LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder today applauded the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board of trustees’ recommendation to the Legislature that 69 recreational development projects and land acquisitions totaling $24.7 million be funded in 2015.
The board considered a total of 156 applications seeking $44.7 million in funding. In a competitive process, all eligible applications were evaluated on scoring criteria developed by the Trust Fund board.
“Broader public access to plentiful, quality outdoor recreation opportunities plays a central role in Michigan’s economy and quality of life for residents and visitors,” said Gov. Rick Snyder. “The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund continues to support active, healthy lifestyles for people of all abilities, and has done so for nearly 40 years, funding recreational opportunities in every county in Michigan.” Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Delta Waterfowl’s Predator Management Adds Ducks to Fall Flight

BISMARCK, N.D. — Delta Waterfowl’s predator management work continues to show that managing predators on the prairie breeding grounds increases duck production.

Delta’s 2014 Predator Management Report, released today, documents the improvement in duck nest success achieved on trap sites in the North Dakota and Saskatchewan this spring and summer.

In Saskatchewan, Delta Waterfowl researchers measured the impact of trapping predators on over-water nesting ducks such as canvasbacks, as well as on upland-nesting ducks. Average nest success in upland trapped blocks was 32.5 percent, compared to just 6.5 percent in non-trapped control block areas. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife
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