Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Goldfinch
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters to purchase their fall turkey applications by the deadline of Aug. 1.
Hunters can apply online at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings, at any authorized license agent or at a DNR Customer Service Center. Read more
Red swamp crayfish
The Department of Natural Resources has recently discovered that anglers are purchasing red swamp crayfish from food markets and using them as live bait. It is illegal to import any live species of crayfish into Michigan for commercial bait purposes. Red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) are native to the southeastern United States and are considered an invasive species in Michigan. Read more
PRATT- Duck populations are strong, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 2013 Report on Trends in Duck Breeding Populations. The preliminary estimate of total duck populations from the traditional survey area (northcentral United States, southcentral and northern Canada, and Alaska) is 45.6 million birds- a six percent decrease from last year’s estimate of 48.6 million birds, but a 33 percent increase from the long-term average. In addition to estimating duck populations, the survey also examines habitat conditions. Read more
Iowa’s pheasant harvest increased 45 percent in 2012, which was the first increase in harvest since 2005. Hunters harvested an estimated 158,000 roosters, lead by northwest Iowa, and followed by central and north central regions. Read more
Pheasants Forever has grave concerns regarding continued massive habitat losses through weakening CRP
Washington, D.C. – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will accept 1.7 million acres offered under the 45th Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up, lowering Conservation Reserve Program total acreage to 26.9 million acres. Now at a 26-year program low, Pheasants Forever calls this depletion a modern low point for conservation, one which will have serious ramifications not only for wildlife, but for the nation’s soil and water quality as well. Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
Once again, it’s time to establish wildlife food plots. According to experts, the first week in August is the best time to plant and if the soil has not been prepared, it’s now or never.
Success is never guaranteed, because Mother Nature holds the trump cards which can spoil the most valiant efforts. If seeding can be timed with rainfall – either before or after – the plot has a chance. But, it takes more than one soaking to establish plants, so watch the weather to minimize failure risk.
A few years ago, I became concerned that seed had actually been killed from lack of rain, so I replanted. When the rain finally arrived, the double dose of seed was too much and excessive plants meant under-developed plants and a waste of expensive seed. Sometimes there is no winning in this guessing game. Read more
by Doug Reeves, assistant chief, DNR Wildlife Division
A crow-sized bird lit on the specially made suet feeder, a flash of white on its otherwise dark wings. A good look revealed a long beak, bright red crest on the head and mostly white neck and throat. A pileated woodpecker! That would be a good sighting any day. At this location though, it is a regular occurrence because the suet bags are attached to a rough-sawn board that makes a great place for the big woodpeckers to grip so they can feed. They come every day to this spot.
When you see your first pileated woodpecker, your thought might well be, “Now that is a serious woodpecker!” Michigan’s other woodpeckers are substantially smaller, starting with the downy and working up through the hairy, red-headed, black-backed and red-bellied woodpeckers and also including the migratory yellow-bellied sapsucker and northern flicker for good measure. Over the years several people have insisted to me that they have seen ivory-billed woodpeckers in Michigan. Ivory-billed woodpeckers never did nest in Michigan, and if they still exist at all, anywhere, they are extremely rare. There is no doubt that our birds are pileateds. Read more
Washington, DC – Safari Club International (SCI) today commended Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for introducing the Sportsmen’s Act of 2013, the first comprehensive bill to benefit America’s sportsmen and women in the 113th Congress.
SCI encourages Members of the Senate to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill, and urges support of its important provisions. The package combines several individual bills protecting the interests of sportsmen and women nationwide. Read more
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that three elk viewing stations were recently installed in northeast Michigan. Read more
The Department of Natural Resources today announced the final totals from its spring fish stocking efforts. The DNR’s Fisheries Division stocked a total of 19,130,659 fish that weighed 664,338 pounds and consisted of eight different species and one hybrid. To complete this task, it took 394 stocking trips to 729 stocking sites, with drivers travelling 106,235 miles in 2,648 hours using 17 specialized stocking trucks. Read more