November 10, 2021 – The National Deer Association (NDA) November Beer and Deer Webinar will feature NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer, Kip Adams. Supporters can tune in today, November 10 at 7:00 p.m. EST for this month’s episode – Rubs and Scrapes: The 411 on How Deer Communicate. To register for this, and other NDA Beer & Deer webinars, please visit the Beer & Deer webpage at DeerAssociation.com.

“Kip is not only our Chief Conservation Officer, but one of our many in house experts on most things deer,” said NDA President and CEO, Nick Pinizzotto. “We always work hard to make sure each webinar in this series delivers useful information to our listeners and Kip has a ton of knowledge that can really be useful for hunters and land managers everywhere.”

Kip Adams is a certified wildlife biologist and NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer. He has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science from Penn State University and a master’s in wildlife from University of New Hampshire. He’s also a certified taxidermist. Before joining NDA, Adams was the deer and bear biologist for the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department.

Join NDA the second Wednesday of every month to sit in with NDA’s staff and guests as they cover a topic related to deer hunting, habitat management, or the latest in deer research. Additionally, each episode includes a message from Nick Pinizzotto where he discusses everything from behind-the-scenes business at NDA, to important updates in grassroots conservation, advocacy and hunter recruitment efforts.

To catch up or watch previous episodes, please visit the Beer & Deer playlist on NDA’s YouTube channel. Read more

Largest Freshwater Turtle in North America Threatened by Habitat Destruction, Trapping Across Midwest, Southeast

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Following a petition and legal victory from the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monday proposed protecting the alligator snapping turtle under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species.

This prehistoric-looking freshwater turtle is known for its spiked shell, strong, beaked jaws and worm-like tongue for luring fish. The alligator snapper faces a predicted 95% decline in 50 years and may be doomed to extinction in as few as 30 years under even the most optimistic predictions.

“Alligator snappers are some of the fiercest, wildest creatures in the Southeast, but overexploitation and habitat destruction have put their lives on the line,” said Elise Bennett, a Center attorney. “These freshwater giants will get a real shot at survival and recovery with the help of the Endangered Species Act and its lifesaving protections.”

Habitat degradation, historical overharvest and ongoing capture have caused significant population declines in the once-abundant turtle. Early in the 20th century, alligator snapping turtles were plentiful in river systems draining into the Gulf of Mexico, from the waterways and lakes of the Midwest to the swamps and bayous of Florida, Louisiana and Texas. But the Service found that the species’ range has since contracted in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and possibly in Oklahoma. Read more

Editor’s Note: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is celebrating its centennial anniversary by releasing a series that recalls various accomplishments of the department over the past century. Happy anniversary, MDNR

Off the edge of a parking lot at Van Riper State Park, an interpretive display showcases information and artifacts resulting from one of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ most shining achievements.

The “moose lift,” as it was nicknamed, was a translocation project undertaken to restore the Upper Peninsula’s population of the large, roughly 1,000-pound browsing herbivores that today call the region’s mature forests, ponds and wetlands home.

The Michigan DNR traded moose provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for wild turkeys. Ontario wanted to help create a population of the gamebirds sustainable for hunting.

“Michigan’s moose reintroduction project was a monumental undertaking in terms of time, equipment, distance and costs,” according to one of the interpretive display panels detailing the effort. “In 1985 and 1987, with the help of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, sporting clubs, civic groups and other interested people, 59 moose were translocated from Algonquin Provincial Park.”

Helicopters were used to position biologists armed with tranquilizer dart rifles before moose on the surface of frozen Canadian lakes. The moose were drugged and blindfolded to calm and protect them, before being lifted in slings to a staging area.

From there, the moose were radio-collared, crated and loaded into waiting trucks for a 600-mile journey from the park situated north of Toronto to the woodlands of Marquette County, north of Michigamme and Van Riper State Park.

The goal of the project was to create a self-sustaining, free-ranging moose population. An optimistic objective of wildlife biologists back then was to achieve a population of 1,000 moose over the subsequent 15 years.

“We fully expect get a herd large enough to support a limited hunt,” then DNR wildlife biologist George Burgoyne told the Detroit Free Press for an Outdoors Page story in January 1985. “Maybe around the turn of the century.”

Moose were native to Michigan but declined after settlement of the area progressed, with unregulated hunting and with mature forests altered through logging and subsequent forest fires. Read more

Live-streaming camera offers unique viewing experience

WILLCOX, Ariz. — Sandhill cranes by the thousands are once again returning to their wintering grounds at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in southeastern Arizona.

For the next few months, viewers can observe almost 20,000 of these fascinating birds on a live-streaming camera installed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD). The live stream can be viewed at www.azgfd.gov/sandhillcranes.

Of the 47,000-plus sandhill cranes that migrated to Arizona in 2020, a record number — more than 25,000 — spent last winter at the wildlife area near Willcox.

“The sandhill cranes have once again sprung Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area back to life,” said Jeff Meyers, wildlife viewing program manager. “It’s truly a pleasure to offer this unfiltered view of our state’s wildlife directly to the public, giving them a chance to see the migration of this incredible species in action.”

The best time to view the cranes is 30 minutes before and after sunrise, just before they leave to feed for the morning. The leggy birds generally return to the wildlife area before noon, where they will remain for the rest of the day. With the camera being outfitted with infrared technology, viewers also can observe the cranes at night.

AZGFD will do its best to keep the camera focused on the cranes and other interesting wildlife subjects, but there will be times when that isn’t possible because of the unpredictability of wildlife. Viewers who don’t immediately see activity are encouraged to routinely check back. Read more

The Tittabawassee River and the Saginaw River and Bay Natural Resource Trustee Councils are jointly announcing the availability of funding for restoration projects to be implemented in the Saginaw Bay watershed, including in and along the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers.

This funding is derived from two sources, a 2020 settlement with The Dow Chemical Company and a 1998 settlement with General Motors and others for natural resource damages. The two Trustee Councils will provide approximately $5.7 million to fund restoration projects, in addition to projects already specified in the two settlements.

The Trustees are asking people to submit pre-proposals that the Trustee Councils will then screen and evaluate for their merit relative to restoration project criteria. The criteria that the Trustees will use to evaluate restoration proposals are described within the respective restoration plans for the Tittabawassee River and the Saginaw River and Bay. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will not move ahead with proposed projects to extract sand and gravel or establish a tree seed orchard on two parcels of land in Genoa Township, southeast Livingston County.

The DNR had proposed removing excess material and leveling the hilly land on the 50-acre and 77-acre parcels between Brighton Road and Cunningham Lake Road by leasing the rights to mine sand and gravel on the properties. The land now is expected to be sold at auction in the future.

“People in the area have told us that they do not want the DNR to complete this process, and we have listened to their concerns,” said Jeff Stampfly, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “Public input has always been an important aspect of proposed forest management activities, whether here or in evaluating other decisions across the state.”

The Forest Resources Division took over management of the two parcels in 2019. The properties had previously been listed as surplus properties by the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division, which manages the nearby 4,947-acre Brighton Recreation Area.

Public input is part of the process

About 500 people attended an Oct. 12 informational meeting where DNR staff explained the proposed project. Public comment at the meeting was overwhelmingly negative, especially regarding the sand and gravel extraction phase. They also expressed concerns regarding a sodium and chloride groundwater plume on the 77-acre parcel, as well as an old township dump site on the site. The state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy had determined that the plume was unlikely to be disturbed by the proposed gravel operation.

Stampfly said the location initially seemed like a good fit for needed expansion of the DNR’s Tree Improvement on Chilson Road, but that the department now will seek another site for expansion of seed orchards. Read more

Bozeman, Montana. November 4, 2021. The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) applauds the collaborative efforts that led to completing a twenty-plus year project in Arizona that will open public access for hunting, hiking, equestrian, and other outdoor recreational uses in an area that has historically been locked off to the public. This Aravaipa Canyon Recreation Access project was the BLM’s highest ranked FY 2020 acquisition priority for the use of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the country.

“Protecting the Cross F Ranch was a huge lift, but is a classic example of a multiple benefit action with multiple partners that could not have been done without them,” said Gray N. Thornton President and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “Amid all the benefits is preserving a critical migration corridor for the area’s desert bighorn sheep.”

The Cross F Ranch acquisition is now a connecter between Aravaipa Creek and the BLM’s Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness on its west side with the Santa Teresa Mountains and the Forest Service’s Santa Teresa Wilderness area to the east. The acquisition contains nearly 22,000 acres of public and private lands, with the ranch being 2,831 acres of private lands that the Trust for Public Land has conveyed to BLM, plus an additional 323 acres of private lands (that lie within the Coronado National Forest) that were conveyed to the U.S. Forest Service. The ranch lies just north of the community of Klondyke and is also adjacent to both the San Carlos Apache reservation and The Nature Conservancy’s Aravaipa Canyon Preserve. Read more

A family forest is an investment that can create an outdoor legacy for future generations, but wildfire, storms, drought and hungry insects all can threaten forest lands.

The Emergency Forest Restoration Program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is available for landowners in case of catastrophic damage to private, nonindustrial forests.

“This little-known resource available through our federal partners is one that Michigan forest owners should be aware of,” said Mike Smalligan, DNR Forest Stewardship Program coordinator.

The program is offered through the USDA Farm Service Agency and can cover up to 75% of the costs to restore lands after windstorms, wildfire or other damage. Read more

The National Deer Association (NDA) has announced newly expanded information in the onX Hunt App CWD map layer will now make it even easier for deer and elk hunters to help fight chronic wasting disease (CWD). This new layer provides insights on CWD distribution, management zones, testing locations, carcass disposal sites and more for the entire country–all within the onX Hunt App.

CWD is a neurodegenerative disease of deer and elk that results in abnormal behavior, loss of body condition, and eventually death. CWD is 100% fatal and is found in most species of the deer family (cervids), including whitetail and mule deer, elk, and moose. onX and NDA worked together to provide the first nationwide database of CWD information for hunters in 2018. The new layer in the onX Hunt App could be used to visualize CWD distribution, but with the new update, the CWD layer now also shows testing locations, carcass disposal sites and regulations for each CWD management zone. This information, along with relevant links to all state CWD resources and regulations, will help empower you to fight CWD and become part of the solution. Read more

State and federal agencies and droves of volunteers have partnered to count Michigan’s Kirtland’s warbler population.

The agencies recently announced that surveys conducted in June show the small songbirds have continued to flourish since their October 2019 removal from the federal list of endangered species.

“The power of partnership continues to yield excellent results for the Kirtland’s warbler after coming off the endangered species list,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Charlie Wooley. “Recovery of this beloved species required a strong, creative set of partners, and that spirit continues into the future with agencies, organizations and private entities working together locally, nationally and internationally. I’m confident this strong partnership will secure the long-term future of this bird.”

With the June survey results now tallied, the Kirtland’s warbler global population is estimated at 2,245 pairs, which is more than double the 1,000-pair recovery goal for the species – which has been exceeded over each of the past 20 years.

Researchers survey nesting areas, listening for singing males advertising and defending nesting territories. Each male found is presumed to have a mate, so the number of males also indicates the number of pairs.

Kirtland’s warblers build nests on the ground, only in young, dense stands of jack pine in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario. This habitat was historically created by large wildfires. Today, wildfires are suppressed, and the nesting habitat is created by harvesting mature jack pine and planting jack pine seedling in the logged areas. Read more