Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Goldfinch
Escanaba, MI – Over the duration of the event, an estimated 6,000-9,000 outdoor enthusiasts from all over the US will gather in Escanaba, Michigan July 24 – 27th, 2014 at the U.P. State Fairgrounds for the 55th Annual National Trappers Association (NTA) Convention and Sports Show. This event is the largest gathering of trappers in the world. Read more
Birmingham, AL- Last year, Browning Trail Cameras introduced the “fastest” trail cameras on the market for under $400. This year, they have taken it a step further and are introducing the smallest and most durable series of trail cameras the industry has ever seen. Read more
A fan sent us a direct mail piece that he received recently from HSUS. Once again, it’s raining cats and dogs in a manner that surely fools its recipients. Click here for a copy. (We encourage anyone to send us copies of HSUS materials. Email info@HumaneWatch.org
for details.) Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
Michigan wolf management is now in the hands of a Washington D.C. federal district court judge. At issue is whether wolf populations have fully recovered. On one side of the matter is the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which claims that the gray wolf still needs protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); on the other side is the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF) and others such as Michigan United Conservation Clubs defending the 2011 delisting rule against the HSUS lawsuit.
The decision may well determine whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has the authority to delist recovered populations of a species, and return that recovered population to state management, while continuing to manage populations of the same species in different locales under the ESA. Read more
This tree sparrow paid a visit to Shiawassee County, Michigan today.
Tree Sparrow
Nearly 80,000 signatures were delivered to the Secretary of State’s office this afternoon – enough, say activists, to get a bear hunting referendum on the ballot this November. The group Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting wants to end the practices of baiting, trapping, and hounding. Details of the HSUS’ interference with sound game management are here…
Idaho Fish and Game, in cooperation with the USDA Wildlife Services, has completed another wolf control action in northern Idaho’s Lolo elk zone near the Idaho/Montana border to improve poor elk survival in the area.
In February, Wildlife Services agents killed 23 wolves from a helicopter. Details here…
The two chickadee species meet and hybridize in a narrow zone that has shifted northward 7 miles in the last decade.
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Ithaca, N.Y.-The zone of overlap between two popular, closely related backyard birds is moving northward at a rate that matches warming winter temperatures, according to a study by researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Villanova University, and Cornell University. The research was published online in Current Biologyon Thursday, March 6, 2014.
In a narrow strip that runs across the eastern U.S., Carolina Chickadees from the south meet and interbreed with Black-capped Chickadees from the north. The new study finds that this hybrid zone has moved northward at a rate of 0.7 mile per year over the last decade. That’s fast enough that the researchers had to add an extra study site partway through their project in order to keep up. Read more
Two Midland, Mich., men have been arrested on charges of the illegal buying of Michigan black bears and black bear parts. The charges, authorized by the Midland County Prosecutor’s Office, are the result of an undercover investigation by the Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division’s Special Investigations Unit. Read more
GW: All I can think of when I see those logs is firewood. And, I don’t care what kind of wood it is.
Rabbits and other small creatures will have some new homes at Fulton State Game Area now that a handful of volunteers – working on a Michigan-On-the-Ground program – spent a Saturday building brush piles at the Kalamazoo County site. 
The program, a partnership between Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the Department of Natural Resources, recruits volunteers to help the DNR improve fish and wildlife habitat across the state. On-the-Ground has attracted the attention of sportsmen and others who want to help increase the productivity of state game areas, rivers and lakes.
Last Saturday, volunteers felled pre-selected trees to build lattices, which could be piled high with brush to provide nesting and escape cover for small game – like rabbits – and other critters. By noon, the crew had built 10 brush piles along the edge of an agriculture field on the area. Read more