You are invited to join birders from around the world to participate in the Global Big Day this Saturday, May 14th. This exciting annual event unites birders from around the world to report all the birds they see at their favorite birding hotspots, including their yards. Wherever you are, whether you have some hours for birding, or just 15 minutes to participate, you can join the global team Saturday to help biologists study the bird populations on each continent during mid-May. During last year’s event, birders set 4 World Records for a single day of birding!

A year ago during the Global Big Day, more than 51,816 birders from 192 countries found 7,234 different species of birds! Birders count all birds they see of each species they find. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s a great way for you to be a part of the biggest day in birding – the Global Big Day! You can include photos you take, and appreciate that this information provides biologists with a wealth of information about birds worldwide during a peak period of spring migration.

It’s always interesting to check in to the Global Big Day webpage periodically over the weekend to see how the action is progressing – you never know what exciting birds you may get introduced to at Global Big Day—14 May 2022 – eBird

GREAT FALLS – Nine bighorn sheep from a group that were recently reintroduced into the Little Belt Mountains have died from pneumonia this spring. Several other live bighorn sheep in the same herd have also exhibited symptoms of respiratory disease.

Bighorn sheep were historically common in the Little Belts before they were largely extirpated from the mountain range by the early 20th Century. FWP and several partner organizations worked to restore wild sheep there in 2020 and 2021 by capturing 83 bighorns in the upper Missouri River Breaks and releasing them into the eastern Little Belts. All translocated sheep were fitted with GPS collars.

Pneumonia in bighorn sheep is often fatal and can reduce lamb survival in an affected population. Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), which is a bacteria that can be carried by wild and domestic sheep, is believed to be the primary agent associated with outbreaks of pneumonia in bighorn sheep. Read more

By Korey Morgan

Today, the Forest Service recounts their experience with E-bikes that are helping bring more people to their great outdoor spaces.

E-bike sales have surged during the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2020, e-bike sales were up an estimated 145% in the United States. Photo courtesy Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship with permission.
Joscelyn flashed a wide grin as she rolled back onto the paved parking lot, her cheeks rosy with windburn from the spring air. She pulled the break lever and brought the electric bicycle to a sudden stop in front of the small group of onlookers. “This thing is so awesome!” she said.

The first experience on an e-bike tends to stick with people. They reminisce about how the experience brought back the joy they felt when they first rode a bike as a child. Read more

(Dinnen’s “Strut into the Sunlight”)

(Linder’s “Strut into the Sunlight”)

Contact Pete Muller at (803) 637-7698 or pmuller@nwtf.net

EDGEFIELD, S.C.— The NWTF is proud to announce the winners of its Live Wild Turkey Photography Contest.

“Our 2022 contest saw over 700 live wild turkey photos submitted,” said Pete Muller, NWTF communications director. “We are incredibly thankful for everyone who participated, and we are thrilled to recognize this year’s winners.”

Winning recipients were awarded for first, second and third place, including a People’s Choice award selected by the voting public.

Judging for first place, with a grand prize of $1,000, through third place was performed by a panel of professional photographers, and the People’s Choice Award was determined by the most votes given to a photo on the contest’s website.

Brooke Dinnen won first place for her photo entitled “Spring Dream.” The Okeechobee, Florida, native donated her winnings back to the NWTF to support on-the-ground conservation work. Read more

Upper Sandusky, OH – Antler King’s Trophy Clover Mix boasts the highest protein- and tonnage-producing perennial mix on the market for reliable deer and turkey food plots that last up to 6 years.

Treated with Ultra Coat Orange for higher germination rates and increased forage yield, Trophy Clover Mix can grow 2-3 feet tall with up to 10 tons of 30% protein forage per acre to grow trophy bucks. Four clover varieties, chicory, and rapeseed provide a hardy food source that’s nutritious, palatable, and digestible through spring, summer, and fall.

Trophy Clover Mix can be planted in the spring or fall. It’s available in ½ acre and 40 pound bags.

To learn more about Trophy Clover Mix and browse the full Antler King lineup, visit antlerking.com. Read more

Showcasing Michigan’s DNR

MARK HARVEY
State archivist, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

In 2011, ABC’s “Good Morning America” named Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan’s northwestern Lower Peninsula the “Most Beautiful Place in America.”

But a hundred years earlier, at the turn of the 20th century, large swaths of northern Michigan looked bleak. 

In a time before restorative forestry practices existed, lumber companies cut through tracts of virgin timber stands, leaving slash and stumps. Once the trees were gone, the companies moved on to another stand. In their absence, property taxes went unpaid and land values dropped.

However, in 1922, a team of state government and university officials launched a survey team to create maps that would change the trajectory of northern Michigan’s economy and launch the transformation of stump land into the “Water-Winter Wonderland” we know today.

The lumber boom in Michigan peaked in the 1870s and 1880s, but large-scale operations continued into the next century. Today, there are more than 800 logging and trucking firms, 300 wood product manufacturers and mills, and more than 3,000 secondary manufacturers who use wood resources to produce their products. Lumber is still a viable, big business in Michigan because of improved forestry practices, but in the 1910s, Michigan stood at the precipice of 40 years of nonrestorative logging and lumbering practices.  Read more