Caterpillars stop feeding; tree owners urged to wait to assess damage

Michigan Department of Natural Resources forest health staff is in the process of mapping the extent of this year’s spruce budworm damage to balsam fir and white spruce in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.

The last widespread outbreak of the insects in Michigan ended during the 1980s. Experts think we may be seeing the beginning of a new epidemic that will persist over the next several years.

“The spruce budworm has finished feeding for the year in most areas,” said Bob Heyd, a DNR forest health specialist in Marquette. “There are a few larvae still chewing on needles, but most have turned into pupae.”

Over the past few years, countless trees have been damaged by the budworm, which is one of the most destructive native insects in the northern spruce and fir forests of the eastern United States and Canada. Read more

This spring, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources put out the call for people to report the herptiles – reptiles and amphibians – that they observe across the state. The request is part of an atlas project, designed to monitor the presence and distribution of “herps” across the state.

“It’s for all species, common or rare,” said Lori Sargent, a DNR wildlife biologist who keeps track of Michigan’s herptiles. “The other day I got a call about a spotted turtle (a threatened species) in an area where they’d never been spotted before.

“There are not a lot of people working on herps, even at universities,” she continued. “They’re not a game species. They’re not high-profile.”

While herps don’t usually evoke the same warm and fuzzy emotions folks often express about other wildlife, there’s one group of herptiles – snakes – that brings out the opposite reaction. Snakes have gotten a bad rap ever since Adam and Eve and that apple, and it doesn’t seem to have changed since.

“We’re hearing of more of kids who are afraid of snakes,” Sargent said. “Maybe this will help educate people that snakes are valuable at both ends of the food chain. They keep rodent populations in check. They’re important. And they’re cool.

“I get pictures of a dead snake with a note – what kind is it? People are so quick to kill them and then identify them. What did snakes ever do to you? They’re mostly harmless.” Read more

The Michigan Duck Hunters Association, in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, introduces the 2015 collector-edition Michigan duck stamp and prints.

The Michigan Waterfowl Stamp Program, established in 1976, has become an icon for waterfowl hunters and wetland conservation enthusiasts. During the past 39 years, the program has gained popularity with collectors and conservation groups throughout the United States.

The Michigan Duck Hunters Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waterfowl and wetland conservation, coordinates the stamp program in partnership with the DNR. Proceeds from stamp sales will be used to fund Michigan Duck Hunters Association projects, with 10 percent used to match DNR funding for purchasing, restoring and enhancing wetlands. Read more

The Kirtland’s warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler family. The only places on Earth it currently nests are mainly in Michigan’s northern Lower and Upper peninsulas, and a few locations in Wisconsin and the province of Ontario.

In northern Michigan, June 6-20 is a special time, when dozens of surveyors are in large jack pine forests listening for the unique song of the male Kirtland’s warbler.

“We have a great group of DNR, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff members, as well as volunteers, who are trudging through young, thick jack pine in the early morning hours,” said Department of Natural Resources wildlife supervisor Keith Kintigh. “The reward is getting to hear that singing male Kirtland’s warbler, which is the way we actually census the population.” Read more

Since the discovery in May of a free-ranging deer infected with chronic wasting disease in Ingham County, Michigan, the state’s Department of Natural Resources has been hard at work sampling deer from the immediate area for additional signs of the disease and putting into effect emergency precautions to prevent as much as possible spread of the disease.

So far, no additional infected animals have been found. 

Chronic wasting disease is an unusual neurological disorder that affects members of the deer family. CWD is caused by prions – mutating proteins in the animal’s nervous system – not a bacteria or virus. A form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, similar to mad cow disease, CWD causes lesions in the brain. Infected animals exhibit uncharacteristic behavior – they lose their fear of humans, for instance – and gradually waste away. CWD has never been shown to cause illness in humans. 

The infected animal in Ingham County showed classic symptoms, said DNR veterinarian Steve Schmitt. 

“The animal was found in a subdivision in Meridian Township showing neurological symptoms, standing there, letting people approach it,” Schmitt said. “And it was thin.” 

Meridian Township police dispatched the animal and turned it over to the DNR, where it tested positive for CWD. Further testing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed that the animal was infected. 

The DNR went right to work.  Read more