Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Goldfinch
“This is the third mild winter in a row with warmer temperatures and low snowfall,” Craig Albright, DNR wildlife biologist, said. “We should see a high survival rate of 8- to 10-month-old deer, and on top of that we can expect a good crop of fawns this spring.” More here…
Faced with such grumblings after news this week that the Montana wolf population is still growing, Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials are holding a meeting Wednesday to discuss what additional measures can be taken to kill more wolves. Here is the story…
What some people don’t realize is just how many coyotes we have in Michigan; they’re in every county. It’s no surprise to me that they are being spotted in even our more urban areas. Story and cool photo here…
GW: I thought this was good years ago and it still is.
By Steve Sanetti
2008
Today’s green movement uses certain buzzwords — organic, locavore, renewable — to the wry amusement of 15 million to 20 million of us who’ve actually lived the eco-friendly lifestyle that these words describe.
We are hunters. As a subset of America, we’re admittedly somewhat smaller than we used to be. Our numbers have been steadily pressed beneath a culture growing ever faster, more complex and distant from its rural ancestry. Now, like growing vegetables, gathering fresh eggs and raising farm animals for the table, the proclivity and skill to harvest Earth’s bounty of wild game — and to pass on this tradition to those longing for simpler ways of life — reside in only a relative few of us. Read more
As Michigan’s crop of Mute Swans continues to grow, so does its nuisance factor. Something needs to be done, and the best of all practical options is to kill them. After all, they are classified as invasive species. More here…
In one of their biggest attacks on hunting in recent years, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other anti-hunting organizations are seeking to remove a prominent hunter from the California Fish and Game Commission. Commission President Daniel Richards is under attack from the world’s largest anti-hunting group after legally hunting a mountain lion in Idaho.
“This is a clear attempt by anti-hunting organizations to use the fact that Mr. Richards is a hunter to have him fired,” said Walter “Bud” Pidgeon, Jr., U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance president and CEO. Read more
Washington–The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is recommending increased protection for some important old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest to benefit the threatened Northern Spotted Owl, but at the same time is recommending management standards that could allow logging of owl habitat in forests east of the Cascades. Read more
(Minneapolis, MN) Reality TV has nothing on Mother Nature. Just ask Minnesota Bound’s Ron Schara. The local television show host tested the waters a few years ago with the “Loon Cam”, and had a half a million viewers for a 30-day period. Mr. Schara figured if a Loon Cam could be so interesting why not try the Nation’s bird? Read more
Hunters and anglers have faced numerous federally imposed restrictions in recent years. New legislation in Congress, to be put on a fast track in the U.S. House of Representatives, tackles some of the worst restrictions on our sporting heritage. Read more
Why not try a camera for Michigan moose hunting? The idea here…