HELENA – Boaters and other visitors will soon have a new resource when venturing out on the lower Yellowstone River corridor this year. Starting this week, the “Lower Yellowstone River Guide” will be available for free at FWP offices and local sporting goods stores in communities along this scenic remote stretch of the Yellowstone River. The guide can also be downloaded from the webpage: https://fwp.mt.gov/activities/boating/lower-yellowstone-river.

This guide is aimed at helping current and future visitors of the Lower Yellowstone River corridor know how to plan for their time on the river, where to access service and how to stay safe while recreating outdoors. It includes more than 30 maps, scenic photos, tips on points of interest and recreational opportunities, historical and cultural information about the area and safety information.

“The Lower Yellowstone and its eastern Montana communities offer a treasure trove of recreational, historical and educational opportunities,” said FWP’s Parks and Outdoor Recreation Administrator Hope Stockwell. “It’s a beautiful, vast landscape but the power of the river must be respected, and this river guide will help visitors enjoy their time here and stay safe.” Read more

The NWTF is helping fund a new research project in South Carolina that seeks to inform hunting season frameworks and overall understanding of wild turkey ecology in the Palmetto State. Conducted by the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, the USDA Forest Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, this novel research will examine movements, gobbling activity, nesting activity and habitat use in a wild turkey population devoid of turkey hunting.

“This project is unique in that we’re studying flocks of birds that are not subjected to hunting activity, hunting pressure or the harvest of males,” said Mike Chamberlain, Ph.D., Terrell Distinguished professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Georgia. “Not only are we studying male behavior, but we’re extensively studying reproduction to see how nest success and brood survival on the site compares to the many hunted populations we’ve studied.”

The project will occur on the nearly 200,000-acre Savannah River Site, a Department of Energy-owned site in Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale counties. The rich medley of upland and bottomland hardwoods, mixed-pine hardwoods and planted stands of longleaf pine and loblolly pine, coupled with active forest management, provide the unhunted birds with exceptional habitat.

During the 1970s, while restoration efforts were in full effect, wildlife managers stocked this site to establish a large source population to assist trap-and-transfer efforts elsewhere. From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, almost 1,000 turkeys were trapped and relocated from SRS, a reference point for how strong the population was and continues to be to this day. Read more

Landowners with property in Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties who want to create deer habitat are invited to apply by Aug. 1 for Michigan Department of Natural Resources funding.

The DNR’s Deer Private Land Assistance Network grant program supports habitat improvement projects on private land in the northern Lower Peninsula. Desired projects should focus on increasing deer harvest near cattle farms or agricultural land. Read more

PINETOP, Ariz. – The Eastern Arizona Counties Organization (ECO) has made a contribution of $25,000 to support the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Range Rider Program that is directed by the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team.

Created in 1993, ECO includes Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee and Navajo counties. The ECO counties have developed a leading role in natural resources and public lands management issues in eastern Arizona, including forest and watershed restoration, travel management and public land access, threatened and endangered species management, rural economic development, and recreation issues.

“The Arizona Game and Fish Department and its conservation partners are grateful to the ECO for their support of the Range Rider Program,” said Jim deVos, AZGFD Mexican wolf coordinator. “One of the key activities the department is engaged in is reducing depredations on livestock in the wolf recovery area. Based on the number of documented depredations since 2019 when the program was initiated, we have seen a decline in depredations which is attributed to the Range Rider Program.”

A range rider is a person who spends time in areas where wolves and cattle are in proximity and chases wolves from the area. It is a way of proactively deterring conflict between wolves and livestock. The range rider will work in much of eastern Arizona and will be directed to areas where high levels of depredations are occurring. Read more

Those interested in sharing feedback about the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ newest draft of the state’s wolf management plan are invited to complete an online questionnaire, available through Aug. 4.

Michigan’s wolf management plan – created in 2008 and updated in 2015 – is being updated this year, using public input to identify prominent issues, assess public attitudes and review the biological and social science surrounding wolves.

The draft 2022 plan has four principal goals:

• • Maintain a viable wolf population.
  • Facilitate wolf-related benefits.
  • Minimize wolf-related conflicts.
  • Conduct science-based and socially responsible management of wolves.

Read more