Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Goldfinch
Top Five Holiday Gifts to Help Birds
Washington – Looking for that last-minute gift for someone who cares about birds? With 45 million Americans who enjoy bird watching, there certainly is a demand for such products. The experts at American Bird Conservancy have a few suggestions that can help solve that gift-giving dilemma and make a real difference for the thousands of bird species that call the Americas home. Read more
MONTPELIER, Vt. – The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department says it’s alright to put out those bird feeders now that Vermont’s black bears are sleeping in their dens for the winter. But, the department offers some advice about bird feeder cleanliness before you run out and buy that first twenty dollar bag of seed.
Fish & Wildlife says cleaning bird feeders on a regular basis is an important and often overlooked component of feeding birds so they don’t become sick. Read more
WASHINGTON-As tens of thousands of African elephants and a record number of Africa’s rhinos are killed by poachers each year, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has established a US$10 million Urgent Response Fund to stop the killing of Africa’s wildlife, stop the trafficking of wildlife parts abroad and stop the demand for ivory and rhino horn products in Asia. The announcement of the Urgent Response Fund comes on the eve of Wildlife Conservation Day, established two years ago on December 4 by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to draw attention to the wildlife poaching and trafficking issues. Read more
Hunting, fishing and existing public access would also continue as is, while future inColorado Sportsmen Applaud Renewed Effort to Protect Browns Canyon
SALIDA, CO – After more than 15 years of bi-partisan efforts to protect Browns Canyon, sportsmen are pleased by the prospect that more than 20,000 acres in Browns Canyon could finally be conserved as a National Monument under the Antiquities Act.
On December 6th Colorado Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet join key officials from the Obama Administration for a public meeting aimed at gauging public support for a National Monument Designation for Browns. The meeting will take place at 1:00 PM at the Salida Steamplant.
Browns Canyon is well known by sportsmen for its gold medal fishing waters and mid-elevation elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep habitat.
“As a backcountry hunter, angler and outfitter I admire greatly those rare mid-elevation corners of our state that offer stunning landscape, chances for solitude, and extremely important habitat for big game,” said, Paul Vertrees of Canon City. “The momentum to protect Browns Canyon for generations to come has endured a long and winding process. Now is the right time to give this special place permanent national monument status.” Read more
Several locations in Delta and Menominee counties will soon be a bit fruitier. Over 4,000 fruit-bearing trees were planted, providing a great food source for deer. A variety of trees were planted, including black cherry, elderberry, high bush cranberry and serviceberry, to name a few. The trees were planted along the edges of maintained openings, and along hunter walking trails where adequate food was lacking for wildlife. Many of the trees were sheltered to provide protection from deer browse, and they will be a great benefit to deer for years to come.
Approximately half of Lake County (around 200,000 acres) is public land open to hunting, and about a 1/3 of the land is state-managed, with the remaining public land being federally managed. With good access off major highways, it can be a great destination for hunters. Over 300 acres of alfalfa and rye were maintained this year, giving hunters locations to focus their hunting adventures. The state land is primarily forested and managed through timber sale activity to provide even more valuable food sources for deer – oak and aspen stands. Use Mi-HUNT to search for a great place to start a new late-season tradition.
The Fennville Farm Unit, located within the Allegan State Game Area, is 4,100 acres of wildlife habitat that provides opportunities for archery deer hunters. In part, this is because there is no firearm deer hunting allowed on the unit during the Managed Goose Hunt (Nov. 1, 2014 – Jan. 31, 2015). The numerous corn, rye, sorghum and hay food plots, coupled with the woodlots and wetlands, result in this being a quality archery hunting area with higher deer densities than surrounding forest land. Zones 1, 9 and 10 are open to archery hunting every day except Dec. 27, 2014 (Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day). Zones 2-8 are open to bow hunting Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday after 3 p.m. “The Farm has experienced lower pressure from archery deer hunters this year,” said DNR wildlife biologist Mark Mills. “The Farm Unit is primarily managed for waterfowl and pheasant (grassland) habitats, which suit the deer as well.” Check out the Fennville Farm Unit for your next archery hunting excursion!
Petersburg State Game Area, just southeast of Petersburg in Monroe County, is 469 acres of prairie grass, oak openings and woodlots. The area is heavily managed as an oak savanna (a globally rare ecosystem type) for species such as Karner blue butterflies, grasshopper sparrows and white-tailed deer. The ecosystem is a natural home for deer, and the acorns from the oak trees provide an important food source, while the prairie grasses provide excellent bedding locations. This year, dozens of acres of food plots were planted with sunflowers, soybeans and buckwheat as food sources for deer. The Nature Conservancy Lakeplain Prairies Office partners with the Michigan DNR to help remove invasive species and complete habitat projects on the game area. This extensive management creates excellent opportunities for deer hunting.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In a major win for wetlands and waterfowl conservation, the U.S. Senate passed the Duck Stamp Act of 2014 Tuesday. This critically important conservation legislation increases the cost of the federal duck stamp from $15 to $25, and now awaits President Obama’s signature.
In a major win for wetlands and waterfowl conservation, the U.S. Senate passed the Duck Stamp Act of 2014 today.
“With the assistance of Sen. David Vitter and his leadership in helping pass the Duck Stamp Act of 2014, much-needed funding has been secured for wetlands and waterfowl conservation,” said Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall. “The additional duck stamp funding provided by waterfowl hunters and other conservationists will not only conserve critical waterfowl habitat, but will also help ensure the future of our waterfowling traditions.” Read more
The winter can be a great time to take a look back on how your season has gone and make a checklist of things you would like to improve in the coming year. Call it a new year’s resolution for wildlife management purposes.
To ensure you can grow the best food possible for all the critters you are trying to manage, late winter can be a great time to soil test. Getting the areas that you plan to plant in food plots or mast producing trees tested and properly amended with the recommended lime and fertilizer will be the best money you can spend. I encourage land managers to get their lime spread in the late winter for a couple of reasons. Ag lime can take months to begin to break down and neutralize the acidity of your soil, the finer the mesh that the lime is screened through at the quarry, the sooner it will break down. If you usually use the local co-op to spread your lime or rent equipment from them to do it yourself, late winter is a good time to get it done before the row crop farmers begin their planting season. Getting your plots amended with the proper amount of lime will increase the effectiveness of your fertilizer which will positively impact the growth and palatability of your spring and fall food plots. Read more
PEWAUKEE WI- A host of new features and activities highlight the 2015 Outdoor Life/Field & Stream deer-and-turkey-hunting consumer expos. In addition, Louisville, Michigan and Illinois expos have been moved to more favorable dates, but otherwise it is steady-as-they-go for these popular events.
The 2015 schedule:
• Jan. 30-31 & Feb. 1 LOUISVILLE DEER & TURKEY EXPO (2nd), Kentucky Exposition Center (State Fairgrounds), Louisville, KY
• February 13-14-15 MICHIGAN DEER & TURKEY EXPO (29th), The SUMMIT Sports & Ice Complex, Dimondale, MI (SW side of Lansing).
• February 20-21-22 ILLINOIS DEER & TURKEY EXPO (25th), Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, IL.
• March 13-14-15 OHIO DEER & TURKEY EXPO (23rd), Bricker Bldg, Ohio Expo Center (State Fairgrounds), Columbus, OH
• April 10-11-12 WISCONSIN DEER & TURKEY EXPO (31st), Alliant Energy Center of Dane County, Madison, WI Read more
A coyote hunting contest, or derby, if you will, has drawn lawsuits from the usual suspects in Idaho and a public land permit has been rescinded by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Idaho for Wildlife Executive Director Steve Alder said, “We worked very hard with the local BLM to be granted the permit,” he said. “After the BLM refused to grant us a permit last year, they advised us to start the permit process early and we jumped through every hoop they required. They issued us a permit and then the D.C. bureaucrats revoked it. The BLM policies need to be changed, and we will push for more legislative oversight of this out-of-control agency that is now caving to the radical anti-hunters.”
The hunt will go on and details are here…
Hat tip goes to the Outdoorpressroom
In the Prairie Pothole region, wildlife biologists had estimated the duck numbers up 8 percent since last year’s record numbers – a total of a 43 percent increase over the past 60+ years.
This spring, biologists estimated the duck population to slightly top 49 million birds. That was an 8 percent increase over the record numbers of ducks seen just the year before.
That population represents a 43 percent increase over the long-term average of ducks that have been counted the past seven decades.
Thank you hunters and your conservation contributions in the form of licenses and excise-taxed gear over the years!
Hat tip from The Missoulian here…