Michigan: Thornapple Lake Selected for Muskellunge Broodstock

Thornapple Lake is a 409 acre lake that lies in eastern Barry County, about five miles west of the village of Nashville. It is a popular recreation lake with two boat launches and shore fishing opportunities.

The lake originally supported a native Great Lakes-strain muskellunge population until it declined in the 1950s. Stocking of Northern-strain muskellunge in Thornapple Lake began in 1964, and the lake was used as a muskellunge broodstock source from the early 1970s to 2010.

Each spring, Department of Natural Resources biologists collected eggs from muskellunge in Thornapple Lake and then reared the offspring of these fish at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan.

In the fall, these fish were stocked throughout the state to support muskellunge fisheries. Recently the DNR implemented a program to stock only native Great Lakes-strain muskellunge in waters connected to the Great Lakes to reduce the potential for negative genetic effects on naturally reproducing muskellunge populations.

Currently, the Great Lakes muskellunge eggs for Michigan’s state fish hatcheries are collected from fish located in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. There are two disadvantages with the current system. The muskellunge are hard to locate in such a large system, and the late spawning period for fish in these Great Lakes connecting waters reduces the rearing period in the hatchery and, thus, the size of the muskellunge at the time of stocking into other waters. (Please note, 2017’s egg collection efforts have been cancelled due to a disease outbreak.) Read more

Fishing

Colt Announces the New Cobra® Double-Action Revolver

WEST HARTFORD, CT – Colt, historic manufacturer of what many have heralded as the finest double-action revolvers ever made, is excited to announce its re-entry into the market with the release of the Cobra®. The all stainless steel small frame revolver features the classic lines of a traditional Colt double-action revolver, along with some great upgrades and modernizations, including Colt’s new LL2™ (Linear Leaf spring, version 2) trigger spring which offers a premium trigger pull experience without the need for hand-fitting.

“The bar was set so high,” said Paul Spitale, SVP for Colt, referring to the legacy of fine double-action revolvers in Colt’s history. “And the team in Colt’s Innovation Center really knocked this one out of the park. The grip was moved rearward to not only allow for more comfort and recoil control, but this also opened up the trigger guard area to allow for a flatter, more intuitive feeling trigger, as well as easy use with gloved hands. The trigger pull is phenomenal. The feel of this trigger both in the hand and when measured by a computer is very favorable to, and some might say better than, the triggers in Colt’s legacy double-action revolvers.” Read more

Firearms

Michigan’s St. Marys River Fisheries Assessment

Freighter going through St. Marys River

The Northern Lake Huron Management Unit includes most of the St. Marys River, a large international boundary water connecting Lake Superior to Lake Huron.

River management is coordinated by the St. Marys River Fisheries Task Group, which has representatives from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority and member tribes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Lake Superior State University, Sault College, and Algoma University also participate as resource members.

Member agencies will be conducting a fish community survey of the entire St. Marys River during the month of August 2017. During that time fisheries biologists and technicians will be setting survey nets at predetermined sites in the river and capturing a variety of species to collect information on abundance, growth, mortality and size structure of fish populations and compare this latest information against the data collected in previous surveys. Read more

Fishing

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Wildlife

The Second Amendment and Conservation

May, 2017

The oldest conservation organization in North America has released its position on gun ownership and its historical influence on wildlife conservation.

“Sportsmen have known for a long time that hunting supports and funds wildlife conservation and management programs,” said Ben B. Hollingsworth Jr., president of the Boone and Crockett Club. “What is often overlooked is that the most successful system of wildlife conservation ever devised – the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation – would not have been possible without sportsmen and their right to own and use firearms.”

Public ownership of firearms was instrumental to the birth of the conservation movement in North America and still contributes to its continued success. The Boone and Crockett Club supports the right of citizens to own and use firearms. This right allows hunters to contribute to and maintain the longstanding success of wildlife conservation and management in North America.

“By the late nineteenth century wildlife species were depleted everywhere in North America,” said Hollingsworth. “It is indisputable that the hunter-conservationist movement rescued many species from certain extinction.”

Early hunter-conservationists like Theodore Roosevelt, who formed the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887, took action to allow game species to recover in the abundance we have today. Sportsmen across the nation joined Roosevelt in choosing to restrict themselves, limit their take, and abide by newly formed game laws and regulated hunting seasons. But they took one more step, explained Hollingsworth Jr.

“Even in the height of the Great Depression, sportsmen voted to tax themselves for the benefit of wildlife.” The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson Act), proposed by sportsmen and passed by Congress in 1937, placed an excise tax on the sale of sporting arms and ammunition with the funds earmarked for wildlife conservation and distributed to state fish and wildlife agencies. In 2016, $700 million were generated and to date, nearly $10 billion has been distributed to states.

“As we know, game species did recover, but the habitats that were secured and managed for game species now benefit all wildlife,” said Hollingsworth. “None of this would be possible without the Second Amendment. It is why protecting and maintaining gun ownership by the public is so critical to wildlife conservation.”

The full position statement and video can be found at this link.

 

 

 

Firearms, Hunting, Wildlife

Browning Adds New Models to the Buck Mark Line


Several features have made the Browning Buck Mark a popular pistol among target shooters and hunters. Buck Mark pistols are made in the USA on a machined aluminum frame and feature a precision-rifled barrel, blow back action, crisp single-action trigger and adjustable sights.A Buck Mark Field Target Suppressor Ready model has been introduced for 2017. This model features a heavy round 5-1/2″ barrel and is threaded to accept a suppressor. A thread protector is included. An integral optics base is featured, along with an adjustable Pro-Target rear sight and front blade sight. Laminated Cocobolo target grips are included. Suggested retail price is $599.99. Read more
Firearms

Smith & Wesson Begins Shipping M&P45 M2.0 Pistol


Popular M&P M2.0 Pistol Now Available in .45 AUTOSPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Smith & Wesson Corp. announced today that it has begun shipping its highly anticipated M&P45 M2.0 pistol chambered in .45 AUTO. Designed for personal, sporting, and professional use, the M&P M2.0 pistol delivers an entirely new platform, introducing innovative features in nearly every aspect of the pistol, including the trigger, grip, frame, and finish.

Matt Buckingham, President of the Firearms Division, said, “The new M&P M2.0 is one of the most advanced production pistols on the market today, and the consumer and law enforcement response to the 9mm and .40 S&W configurations has been remarkable, with several agencies currently evaluating the pistol. The M&P45 M2.0 features all of the enhancements found in the popular M&P M2.0 platform, and was an essential addition to the M&P M2.0 product line. The .45 AUTO is a common caliber for personal, sporting and professional use, and we are pleased to announce that the M&P45 M2.0 is now available for purchase in stores across the nation.” Read more

Firearms

Conservation Gets a Modest Bump in the 2017 Spending Bill

Omnibus spending package provides for sage grouse conservation, drought resiliency, conservation practices on farms and ranches, and one step forward for the Everglades

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress has passed an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017 with some increased funding for conservation and no harmful policy riders. The House and Senate’s investment in conservation is seemingly at odds with the Trump Administration’s budget outline for fiscal year 2018, which would deeply cut most conservation programs and entirely eliminate others, including Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.

“While last-minute funding solutions are not the ideal way to govern, sportsmen and women should be heartened to see Congress endorse funding levels mostly on par with what we got in 2016 and even give a modest bump to the things we care about, including healthier waterways, stronger sage grouse populations, restoration assistance in the Everglades, and better conservation practices on private lands,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

Tucked within more than 1,600 pages detailing government spending through September 30, the FY2017 omnibus package includes the following:

  • An $8.9-million increase for sage grouse conservation programs and no riders undermining the federal conservation plans that helped keep this iconic Western game bird off the endangered species list in 2015.
  • $864 million for Conservation Operations at the Natural Resources Conservation Service within U.S. Department of Agriculture—that’s about $13.5 million more than last year and exceeds President Obama’s last budget request by more than $1 million.
  • A $10-million increase for the Conservation Technical Assistance Program, which provides farmers and ranchers with the technical expertise to put conservation on the ground using Farm Bill dollars. This will help NRCS to deliver more than $5 billion in conservation programs to farmers, ranchers, and private foresters next year, improving fish and wildlife habitat and water quality nationwide.
  • $150 million for the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program, which hasn’t been funded since 2002. This will help states, local governments, and tribes to enhance fish and wildlife habitat, improve water quality, reduce erosion, control sediment, and construct wetlands.
  • A 30-percent increase for the WaterSMART grant program, in which the Bureau of Reclamation works with water users to help ensure rivers and streams have enough water flows to support fish, agriculture, and cities during droughts.
  • More than $10 million in funding for the National Park Service to support interagency coordination in the Everglades. Additional funding will be needed in the next fiscal year to carry construct a reservoir recently approved by the Florida legislature. This is critical to improving water quality and habitat in one of the country’s most popular fisheries.
  • Two Farm Bill conservation programs were trimmed through the Congressional budget process known as Changes in Mandatory Program Spending, or CHIMPS. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was cut by $179 million and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program was cut by $28 million. Read more
Wildlife

Find Funky Nests in Funky Places!

Photo by Marshall Faintich.

Ithaca, N.Y.–Funky Nests in Funky Places is back! This popular contest focuses on the quirky places birds sometimes build their nests. Participants have found nests on tiny skyscraper ledges, in barbecue grills, traffic lights, wind chimes, flower pots, an old motorcycle helmet, or just about anywhere. The contest is hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.”Wherever you find a bird’s nest, send in a picture, video, poem, or artwork about it,” explains project leader Karen Purcell. ” You could win binoculars, bird feeders, online courses, posters, and much more.”

Nesting season is well underway, so everyone is invited to head outdoors to enjoy nature and find nesting birds in unexpected places. Participants don’t have to be bird or photography experts.

The entry deadline is June 30. Read more

Wildlife

ELEY Reintroduces Standard 22 Ammunition

ELEY re-introduced ELEY standard this past weekend at the NRA annual meetings and exhibits. As ELEY continues to establish itself as the most accurate and demanding .22LR available in the world, they recognized a need in the market that wasn’t being filled. “Price conscious shooters deserve accurate and reliable .22LR as well,” said Jamie Corkish, PR and Marketing Manager for North America, “We decided to bring back a product we had many years ago, to allow shooters of all ages and levels to experience and trust ELEY’s un-rivaled accuracy at an affordable price.” Read more

Ammunition
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