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

By Glen Wunderlich

When I became disenchanted with deer camp in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula in the mid-1980s – mostly because of the sheer number of orange hats in the woods – a good friend, “Big John” Stenvig, invited me to hunt in the Upper Peninsula. Knowing full well that the deer population would be much less than what we had grown accustomed to, the promise of escaping to a place where we might see more deer than hunters was enough to send us packing to Iron County in the northwest portion of the U.P in 1986.

The expansive commercial forest land and lack of weekend warriors was just what we had hoped for and I was able to take some five bucks and several does during the ensuing eight years of hunting amid the Yoopers. But, one harsh winter’s deer die-off after our last venture north of the Mackinac bridge in the mid-‘90s, had us cancel plans for another adventure. Little did we know how bad things would become.

The Upper Peninsula deer population had peaked at approximately 700,000 animals back then; today the numbers have continued in a downward spiral to a shocking level of 200,000. And, with this winter’s severity index well beyond the average, the alarming trend continues.

The Lake Superior watershed receives so much annual snowfall that deer will migrate from their summer range to traditional wintering areas to survive the winter, with average movement of about 18 miles. Hemlock and other conifer canopies retain snow and reduce amounts on the ground, which makes it easier for deer to move, conserving their energy. The dense cover also reduces wind, and helps deer retain body heat.

In a recent press release the DNR, Plum Creek Timber Company will work to manage more than 16,500 acres of industrial forest land for winter deer habitat. This unique partnership with the DNR is focused on improving and maintaining conifer cover, which is essential to winter deer survival in the Upper Peninsula.

Foresters and biologists with Plum Creek and DNR wildlife biologists have worked cooperatively to develop the guidelines to retain and enhance hemlock and other conifer species, while promoting forest regeneration and production of forest products.    “We’re maintaining and creating habitat today that will benefit tomorrow’s deer,” said Plum Creek resource supervisor Jeff Joseph. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Many other factors have contributed to the declining U.P. deer numbers and an ongoing study by Wildlife Ecology and Management at Mississippi State University continues to shed new light on the issue of the downward trend.

The study indicates that predators killed 73 percent of collared fawns in the first phase of the study, with coyotes being the leading culprit.  Bobcats came in second and hunters, unknown predators and unknown causes placed third.  Michigan’s 600 to 700  gray wolves account for an additional 17,000 to 29,000 kills, placing them fourth on the list.

The DNR has established the Deer Habitat Improvement Partnership Initiative, which aims to produce tangible on-the-ground deer habitat (summer and/or winter range) improvements in the U.P through grants with sportsmen’s groups and other partners.

Deer Range Improvement Program (DRIP) fund. Public Act 106 of 1971 created the DRIP fund, whereby $1.50 from every deer hunting license sold statewide is allocated into a restricted fund to be exclusively used for the improvement and maintenance of habitat for deer, acquisition of land for deer management, and the payment in lieu of taxes on purchased lands.

Understanding the issues of our deer mortality is only a first step in what we can only hope will lead to recovery our northern deer herd. There is no doubt that habitat improvement is a key factor and that cooperation is needed between stakeholders. However, the question remains: Will it be enough?

Washington, D.C. – Safari Club International is deeply disappointed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) announcement yesterday that it will continue the ban on the importation of sport-hunted elephants from Zimbabwe for the rest of 2015.  The FWS first imposed an importation ban on sport-hunted elephants from Zimbabwe in April 2014.  Yesterday’s decision will continue the importation ban indefinitely into the future until it is lifted by the FWS.

Despite receiving data and information from Safari Club, Zimbabwe, and many others regarding the benefits of elephant hunting in Zimbabwe, the FWS claims that it remains unable to determine that elephant hunting in Zimbabwe enhances the survival of the species.  The FWS continues to claim that it lacks enough information regarding how Zimbabwe manages its elephants and identifies six specific areas of concern (see links below).  Even though it recognizes that hunting benefits elephant conservation in various ways, the FWS has put the entire burden of addressing poaching on the hunting community.  The FWS refuses to allow importation of legally sport-hunted elephants until it finds that the benefits of hunting outweigh the detrimental impacts of poaching – setting an unrealistic and unprecedented goal for an enhancement determination.  Read more