MISSOULA, Mont. —Montana’s largest wildlife management area offers more room to roam for hunters, anglers and others thanks to a collaborate effort led by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

RMEF teamed up with private landowners with a history of conserving and opening public access to elk habitat by acquiring and conveying 829 acres to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), which added the land to the now 56,980-acre Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area.

“Buyers noted the beauty and potential of this acreage and reached out to Roger and Gayle Burnett about it, but they chose wildlife and conservation over development. We salute and thank them for their conservation ethic and values,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO.

About 30 miles west of Butte, the property features open grasslands with sagebrush and bitterbrush foothills as well as aspen, willows and forestland. It supplies elk with winter, calving and summer range as well as important habitat for mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope and other wildlife.

Because portions of Willow Creek and Mill Creek cross the property, in addition to various springs, the resulting wetlands and riparian habitat are vital for brook trout, westslope cutthroat trout, other fish species, beavers and more bird and animal species. Read more

LANDER – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease in Elk Hunt Area 127. The disease was detected in a cow elk in November. This marks the fifth elk hunt area where CWD has been detected this year.

Elk Hunt Area 127 is in the Lander Region and overlaps Deer Hunt Areas 157 and 171, where CWD was detected in 2012 and 2015, respectively.

To ensure hunters are informed Game and Fish announces when CWD is found in a new hunt area. The Centers for Disease Control recommends hunters do not consume any animal that is obviously ill or tests positive for CWD.

Continued monitoring of CWD over time is important to help Game and Fish understand the potential impacts of the disease as well as evaluate future management actions for deer and elk. A map of CWD endemic areas is available on the Game and Fish website. The disease is 100% fatal to deer, elk and moose that have been infected. To date this year, Game and Fish personnel have tested 6,309 CWD lymph node samples from deer and elk — primarily submitted by hunters — and continue to evaluate new recommendations for trying to manage the disease. Read more

MISSOULA, Mont. — As part of its ongoing commitment to ensure the future of elk and other wildlife by helping rehabilitate landscapes impacted by wildfire, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners allocated $3,351,126 for more than two dozen projects across Oregon.

“Unfortunately, high-severity wildfires over the last several years damaged soil and native seed banks in large swaths of Oregon elk habitat. And that opens the door for invasive weeds to crowd out native vegetation,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “Among other things, this funding goes toward 13 on the ground habitat conservation projects to restore and enhance elk habitat.”

RMEF supplied $324,894 in grant dollars that leveraged $3,026,232 from its partners. Read more

GW: A proactive measure to pay dividends. Very smart!

Starting immediately as weather allows over the winter months, officials across the state plan to burn slash piles.

Nebraska Game and Parks will burn slash piles containing trees and shrubs removed from grasslands and forests, along with other debris piles, on both wildlife management areas and state park areas. The goal is to reduce fuel loads while conditions are safer for burning.

In the Pine Ridge, Nebraska Game and Parks is partnering with the Pine Ridge Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands to reduce fuel loads in forested areas.

When burns are occurring, smoke likely will be visible from nearby communities and other nearby roads and properties.

The burn piles will be checked at least daily until they are completely extinguished.

Thinning and reducing hazardous fuel accumulation and build-up on the ground is an important tool in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Many of these slash piles are from mechanical thinning completed in grassland and forested areas throughout the state and some residue from previous fires.

For more information contact the Nebraska Game and Parks Wildlife Office at 402-471-5431, and for information on the Pine Ridge fires, contact the Pine Ridge Ranger District at 308-432-0300 or the Game and Parks Commission Pine Ridge Field Office at 308-665-2924.

Roswell, Georgia (December 13, 2022) – Crafted for the adventurer, LiteFighter announces the FIDO 1AI tents are available. The FIDO1 AI (All-In) is a one person, rugged and durable 3/4 season tent. This battle-tested and proven shelter system is the perfect set-up for anyone who enjoys everything the outdoors has to offer. The FIDO 1 AI includes everything needed to endure the elements in any season.

This shelter system comes complete with:

• Cold weather kit (windbreaker + 4 snow/sand parachute stakes)
• Inner tent
• MultiCam® rainfly cover
• Waterproof groundsheet
• All-in-one aluminum pressfit pole set
• Waterproof tuff sack
• 6 ground stakes
• Accessory kit

The FIDO 1 Basic and FIDO 2 Basic are also available which do not include the cold weather kit and tuff sack. Read more

While the weather outside may, as the song goes, be frightful, winter is one of the most exciting times to go birding across Michigan and the Great Lakes region.

Many new visitors from the north arrive in the colder months, including snow buntings, horned larks and dark-eyed juncos. Snowy owls, great gray owls, northern hawk owls and boreal owls also make their way into the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula. Winter is the perfect season for waterfowl birding, too, as hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese and swans descend on the Great Lakes.

Participating in bird counts is a fun and fruitful way to spend winter days.

“Tracking the birds you see helps scientists better understand how birds move throughout the winter and how healthy their populations are,” said Erin Ford, conservation manager for MI Birds, a public outreach and engagement partnership between Audubon Great Lakes and the DNR. “This information can help guide meaningful, on-the-ground conservation action to protect birds and the places they need.” Read more

At its Nov 30-Dec. 1 meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) gave final approval to add the striped newt to the state’s threatened species list. New Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines, the Species Action Plan and updates to the Imperiled Species Management Plan were all approved as part of the listing process.

Significant population declines have been documented throughout the range of this native salamander since 2000. Striped newts face a variety of threats, including:

• Habitat loss and alteration,
• Disease,
• Off-road vehicle impacts,
• Land use changes and
• Changes in climate.

The FWC received the most recent request to evaluate the striped newt in 2019 and staff completed the Biological Status Review Report in 2021 with the recommendation to list the species as threatened, per Rule 68A-27.0012 F.A.C. Commissioners approved the initial staff recommendation at their May 2021 Commission meeting, pending development of a management plan. Read more