Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Threatened and Endangered Species Event in East Lansing

You won’t want to miss the first-ever Threatened and Endangered Species Gala, hosted by the DNR Wildlife Division! This year’s event will be a celebration dinner for the 40th anniversary of Michigan’s Threatened and Endangered Species Act. The gala will take place on Dec. 9 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing.

The evening promises to be great fun, with keynote speaker Dr. Carol Boccetti, who will share her unique understanding of why Michigan’s Kirtland’s warbler program has been successful over the past 40 years. There will also be fabulous silent auction items, such as an all-inclusive trip to Beaver Island, winery stays, artwork, and tickets to various plays and sporting events. These silent auction items will provide contributions to the Nongame Wildlife Fund that supports threatened and endangered species across the state.

“The amount of money currently available through this fund continues to decline annually, and the DNR must find additional funds to continue this critical work,” said DNR Endangered Species Coordinator Dan Kennedy. “Most of the Nongame Wildlife Fund is used to leverage federal funds through competitive grants. So your $1 donation could turn into a $3 donation for wildlife!” Read more

Wildlife

Montana Elk Habitat, Wolf Management, Research Bolstered by RMEF Grants

GW:  Hats off the dedicated Western sportsmen and women for pulling themselves up by their bootstraps!

MISSOULA, Mont.-Grants totaling $451,042 provided by the Rocky Mountain will fund more than three dozen habitat enhancement, research, hunting heritage and other conservation outreach projects across the state of Montana in 2014.

The grants will positively affect 12,198 acres in Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Glacier, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Missoula, Pondera, Powder River, Ravalli, Rosebud, Sanders, Silver Bow, Sweet Grass and Toole Counties. There are also two projects of statewide interest and another of Western Montana interest.

“A series of prescribed burning, thinning and noxious weed projects will clear the way for new grasses and forbs that provide proper nutrition for elk and other wildlife in some of Montana’s best elk habitat,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “These grants also help pay for four research projects that monitor elk populations and deal with habitat as well as provide funds for wolf management and a land acquisition that improves public access.” Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

NWTF Wins $45,000 for Conservation Efforts

EDGEFIELD, S.C. – Nationwide’s “Preserve your Passion” contest recently ended with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) collecting the highest voter percentage and winning the top prize of $45,000.

Recognizing the importance of hunting and fishing to its members and conservation partners, Nationwide created the “Preserve Your Passion” contest to give $75,000 to conservation and help create or preserve outdoor opportunities.

Read more

Wildlife

Northern Michigan Deer PLAN projects aim to improve habitat, health of the herd

GW:  I was shocked to see how a Democrat running for the 85th district of the Michigan House of Representatives criticized the incumbent, Ben Glardon, for voting for an increase in hunting license fees.  It was the sportsmen and women who supported the idea and here is just one example of how it’s working.  The losers will spin anything to get elected and it’s sickening.

When hunting license fees went up in 2014 (for the first time in 17 years), hunters were told that a good portion of the increased revenue would be used to improve wildlife habitat across the state. The question on many hunters’ minds this fall as they purchase their deer license has been: How is that money being spent?Deer PLAN habitat grant work

A prime example is the Department of Natural Resources’ new Deer Private Land Assistance Network, a grant program funded by hunting license sales that is designed to improve deer habitat on private land in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Commonly known as the Deer PLAN, the grant program, which is administered by the DNR’s Wildlife Division, aims to produce tangible deer habitat improvement benefits and reduce negative impacts to agricultural operations, while fostering positive relationships between the DNR, sportsmen’s organizations, private landowners, and other partners.

Deer PLAN grants were awarded for the first time in 2014 to 12 recipients, and another 10 projects were approved for completion in 2015. The grants can be used for projects within six counties in the northern Lower Peninsula — Presque Isle, Montmorency, Alpena, Crawford, Oscoda, and Alcona — for work ranging from selective timber cuts and planting of mast (fruit and nut)-producing trees, to the creation of wildlife breakout areas and food plots. To participate in the program, landowners who receive grants are required to pay a minimum of 25 percent of the project costs. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

U. S. Officials: Trophy Hunting Can Help Save African Lions

DALLAS – In a new proposal to list the African lion as a threatened species, U.S. officials acknowledge that lawful hunting is a tool that can help save the species from extinction. Dallas Safari Club (DSC) is encouraging its members to keep hunting lions, but be selective.

Science shows that hunting older male lions has no long-term effect on the sustainability of lion populations. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Oculus® Pro Team HD Binoculars are value priced, mission-critical gear

As a hunter, there’s certain gear you feel naked in the woods without. Gun and ammo, bow and arrows, a good sharp knife – they go without saying. And once you hunt with the new Oculus® Pro Team HD 10×42 binoculars, they will be a permanent addition to your mission-critical-gear list. You won’t feel “dressed to go hunting” without them.Oculus® Pro Team HD Binoculars are value priced, mission-critical gear

High-quality binoculars extend your hunting day to its full legal limits. They’re essential safety tools for positively identifying your target. And if you’re after a monster buck or bull, “good glass” is the only way to precisely judge trophy quality. Yet what likely holds you back from acquiring the quality optics you need is the price tag. The Oculus® Pro Team HD 10×42 binoculars obliterate that obstacle by incorporating the highest quality components at a price less than you probably spend on licenses for one season.

Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

New Funding Encouraged for Non-Game Species

GW:  I find this proposal to be a sincere approach to the manner in which funding by animal-rights groups has been decimated through frivolous lawsuits by gaming the system.  Equal Access to Justice reforms have been stalled by Democrat leadership in the U.S. Senate by Harry Reid and will never happen, because his animal-rights supporters count on the money to fuel anti-hunting drives across the country.  “…Goals and actions [include] identifying and developing new sources of dedicated, long-term funding for federal, state, and tribal fish and wildlife agencies to support conservation and hunting…”

MISSOULA, Mont.- Four Boone and Crockett Club members are serving on a panel charged with developing new funding mechanisms for conservation. The goal is bridging the funding gap between game and nongame species – a concept heartily endorsed by the Club.

The 20-member Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources was announced at a recent Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies meeting.

Download Blue Ribbon Panel
brochure here.

The panel is co-chaired by Johnny Morris, CEO of Bass Pro Shops and regular member of Boone and Crockett Club. The panel also includes three professional members of the Club including Becky Humphries, Steve Williams and John Tomke. Read more

Animal Rights, Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

Maine Bear Hunting Issues and HSUS

On Nov. 4, Maine residents will vote on Question 1, a ballot initiative foisted upon them by a special-interest group and funded almost entirely by out-of-state monies. At stake is the ability of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to properly manage black bear populations in the Pine Tree State. Question 1 seeks, in effect, to ban bear hunting. The initiative would make it illegal to hunt bears over bait, with dogs or by trapping. In the impenetrable forests of Maine, those three methods account for 93 percent of the yearly harvest from the state’s robust population of 30,000 black bears.

Question 1 would hamstring the fish and wildlife department’s ability to scientifically and effectively manage black bears in Maine. The consequences being an unhealthy increase in bear populations, increased human-bear conflicts, increased management costs to taxpayers and economic losses that reverberate throughout the state. This has proven true in other states where the Washington D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States, which has organized and funded more than 97 percent of the $2.1 million campaign, has successfully passed similar measures – most notably in Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife
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