Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Michigan: invasive balsam woolly adelgid confirmed in Kent County

First detection of this invasive bug in the state

Monday, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Gary McDowell announced the state’s first verified detection of balsam woolly adelgid (BWA) near Rockford in Kent County.

“It’s not known how BWA may have gotten to Michigan or how long it’s been here, but it’s plausible it was on infested nursery stock,” said McDowell. “Arborists, tree experts and the public are our extra set of eyes with invasive species. With August being National Tree Check month, this is another critical reminder to look for irregularities with your trees and to not move firewood.” Read more

Wildlife

Pennsylvania Elk Cam Goes Live

Can’t wait for the September peak of Pennsylvania’s elk rut? Get a jumpstart now with the Game Commission’s Elk Cam.

The Game Commission again has installed a camera on State Game Lands 311 in Elk County, in a field that typically is a hub of elk activity as the bugling season heats up. Video and sound from the camera are being livestreamed at www.pgc.pa.gov, and viewers can expect not only to see elk, but turkeys, deer and other wildlife, as well.

“Nature is full of surprises, and that’s some of the reason the Game Commission’s wildlife livestreams have proven so popular,” agency Executive Director Bryan Burhans said. “The Elk Cam gives viewers a chance to experience the wonder of Pennsylvania’s elk rutting season, without ever leaving home. Sit back and enjoy the show.”

The livestream, which is provided by HDOnTap and made possible with the help of the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, is the latest in a string of real-time wildlife-watching opportunities offered by the Game Commission. Read more

Wildlife

Davidson’s Adds Exothermic Technologies

PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Davidson’s, one of the nation’s top firearms wholesalers, is pleased to announce the addition of Exothermic Technologies to its product lines.

Founded in early 2019, Exothermic Technologies, LLC has taken the market by storm with cutting-edge product design and patent-pending technology.

Owned and operated by firearms and firefighting professionals, their combined experience, networking, and proven success across multiple industries has allowed them to forge a team like none other. They’re setting the standard and continuing to raise the bar.

The initial SKU being offered by Davidson’s is the Pulsefire LRT flamethrower. The patent-pending Pulsefire is the ultimate compact, lightweight, fully handheld flamethrower that sends a blast of fire 25 feet away with the press of a button. Fill it like any other outdoor tool. With the system off, unscrew the cap and pour in gasoline or a gas/diesel mixture. When the battery gets low, take it out and charge it or swap in a spare to keep bringing the heat.

Exothermic has spoken with, demonstrated, and sold to local firefighters, farmers, controlled burn prescribers and/or members of the U.S. Forestry Service, and they love the idea of an efficient, portable, long range torch for their work. The Exothermic Technologies Pulsefire is the safest and most effective way to apply fire at a distance. Read more

General, Wildlife

26 Michigan communities and organizations get grants to plant trees

From Iron Mountain in the western Upper Peninsula to the village of Dundee in the state’s southeast corner, 26 communities across Michigan will share $92,500 in grants this year to plant trees.

The trees, to be planted along streets and in parks and other public spaces, come courtesy of a program sponsored by the DTE Energy Foundation and administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and nonprofit ReLeaf Michigan. This year’s individual grants range in size from $1,800 to $4,000.

“The DTE Energy Foundation looks forward to seeing this year’s seedlings become catalysts for environmental change statewide,” said Lynette Dowler, president of the DTE Energy Foundation. “That’s why our foundation continues to support tree plantings and other initiatives that protect our air, land and water in communities across the state.”

An annual request for proposals goes out each spring; the next opportunity to apply is in late April 2022. Read more

Wildlife

BUG-A-SALT Realtree Camo 3.0 Fly Gun

BUG-A-SALT’s new limited-edition Realtree Camo 3.0 model fly gun reflects a love of the adventurous outdoor lifestyle and provides a super-fun time slaughtering flies, roaches, mosquitos and other insects.

This Realtree camo fly gun is designed for the serious fly hunter. Those who understand weaponry and gun handling will appreciate custom improvements, such as the cross-bolt safety, trigger redesign and the Patridge sight.

BUG-A-SALT is excited about this new lethal edition to the family. However, it’s warning customers that while other models leave flies whole for easy cleanup, the 3.0 may splatter them. The 3.0 model greatly increases odds for in-flight take down. Read more

Wildlife

Look for signs of invasive Asian longhorned beetle during Tree Check Month in August

August is Tree Check Month, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking the public to look for and report any signs of the Asian longhorned beetle, an invasive pest that is not native to Michigan and could cause harm to the state’s environment and economy.

The Michigan departments of Agriculture and Rural Development; Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; and Natural Resources are joining the USDA in asking people to take just 10 minutes this month to check trees around homes for the beetle or any signs of the damage it causes.

In late summer and early fall, adult Asian longhorned beetles drill perfectly round, 3/8-inch holes to emerge from within tree trunks and limbs, where they spend their larval stage chewing through the heartwood. After a brief mating period, female beetles chew oval depressions in trunks or branches to deposit eggs. Sometimes a material resembling wood shavings can be seen at or below exit holes or coming from cracks in an infested tree’s bark.

Asian longhorned beetle in the U.S.

The Asian longhorned beetle was first detected in the U.S. in 1996, when a Brooklyn, New York resident noticed a large, black beetle with irregular white spots and black-and-white banded antennae and reported it. Since that time, the invasive beetle has been found in 20 locations in six states, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio and, most recently, South Carolina.

Asian longhorned beetles likely arrived hidden in untreated wood packaging material like pallets and crates before the development of international standards for treating these materials to prevent the spread of insects.

Because adult beetles fly only short distances, it is likely that human movement of infested logs, firewood or other wood products has contributed to the spread of Asian longhorned beetle within the U.S.

To date, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has been successful in eradicating the beetle from all but four locations in the U.S. However, eradication has both financial and environmental costs. According to the USDA, over $750 million has been spent on the Asian longhorned beetle eradication program in the last 23 years, and at least 180,000 trees have been removed from infested areas.

You can help

The beetle has not been detected in Michigan, but discovering early signs of infestation can prevent widespread damage to the state’s forest resources, urban landscapes and maple syrup production. Read more

Wildlife

Key Habitat Connectivity Secured in Wyoming

MISSOULA, Mont. — Thanks to a Wyoming family that successfully worked with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, 634 acres of important elk habitat are now permanently protected in the southeast part of the state.

“This voluntary conservation agreement is a credit to Al and Barb Johnson for their dedication to wildlife and conservation,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. “We appreciate and salute them for their efforts.”

The Terry Creek property lies within the Upper Laramie River Watershed and links a peninsula of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest to U.S. Forest Service lands in the Snowy Mountains to the west. It also falls within the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Upper Laramie River and Little Laramie River Crucial Habitat Priority and Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative Areas.

“Not only does this property provide vital winter and year-long range for elk, but elk migration routes funnel directly through it,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “Groups of 100 to 200 elk on the property are a common occurrence. The immediate landscape also offers important range for mule deer, moose and other wildlife.”

Pronghorn antelope and mule deer also pass through the property as well. The owners, together with RMEF and WGFD are completing a boundary fence conversion to wildlife friendly specifications as well, to bring even more enhancement to the connected and conserved landscape.

Project partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resources Trust, Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition, Ducks Unlimited Inc., the Knobloch Family Foundation, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Boone and Crockett Hosts 20th Anniversary Celebration of American Wildlife Conservation Partners

Boone and Crockett Club Hosts 20th Anniversary Celebration of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners; Schoonen Elected as 2022 Chair

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Boone and Crockett Club hosted more than 50 of the nation’s top hunting conservation organizations that work together through the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) as they celebrated two decades of collaboration on wildlife policy. The event at Club headquarters in Missoula, Montana, celebrated accomplishments since the first meeting convened in 2000, which the Club also hosted. The actual 20th anniversary celebration had to be postponed last year due to COVID travel restrictions.

The partner organizations have delivered recommendations to six incoming or returning Administrations and Congresses through the Wildlife for the 21st Century agendas that are the foundation for AWCP policy work. Each year, the coalition has submitted numerous letters to policy makers to outline positions on key issues—430 over the 20 years of work.

The celebration took place during the AWCP annual summer meeting where partners discussed current priorities such as conservation funding, migration corridors, climate and infrastructure policy, forest health, and much more. As the meeting concluded yesterday, Club chief executive officer Tony Schoonen was elected to chair the partners starting in January 2022.

“Since the Boone and Crockett Club first hosted these top hunting-conservation organizations two decades ago, the American Wildlife Conservation Partners has played a critical role on wildlife and land conservation efforts. We had two mottos at the first meeting: ‘We believe in magic,’ and ‘It is amazing what can be accomplished when there are no concerns about who gets the credit,’” commented James F. Arnold, president of the Boone and Crockett Club. “This belief has served as a foundation for AWCP and is critical to our success of working together to support conservation, hunting, trapping, and land stewardship. The Club considers this common cause among today’s leaders as important as any of the accomplishments in the last 130-plus years and we believe this partnership is essential to carry forward wildlife conservation policy.” Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Timber harvests underway at four state game areas in Michigan’s Thumb

Commercial timber harvests designed to improve wildlife habitat are currently underway at Vassar, Tuscola and Deford state game areas in Tuscola County and the Verona State Game Area in Huron County.

Though things may look very different at these areas for a while, the timber harvests will provide or improve habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, white-tailed deer and a host of nongame species, particularly migratory songbirds. Each of these species finds the young forests that quickly develop post-harvest attractive sites for breeding, nesting, raising their young, feeding and avoiding predators.

Visitors to these state game areas will notice the presence of commercial logging equipment entering game area lands along Wilder Road at Vassar; at the east end of Bliss Road at Tuscola; along Froede Road at Deford and east of Scott Road at Verona. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan: grant funding can aid communities’ green-up efforts

On the way to school, the park or a city walking trail, take a look around. Could your local trees benefit from increased maintenance, planning or management technology? Or maybe outreach and education could help share the importance of trees with the next generation. If you’re interested in helping to green your community, connect with your local municipal office, campus administration or other planning authority to share the Community Forestry grant opportunity, administered by the DNR.

Through this grant program, Michigan communities can obtain resources for improved management and grow connections to public trees and forests through inventory projects, Arbor Day celebrations, tree care outreach, urban forestry technology and more.

“These grants support communities and partners around the state in providing better management, maintenance and education related to community trees and forests,” said Kevin Sayers, coordinator of the DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry program. Read more

Wildlife
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