Michigan: Walleye Stocking Program Continues to Succeed

Walleye are one of the most popular sportfish in Michigan, but most people already knew that. What most people don’t know is the process the Department of Natural Resources uses to rear walleye and stock them in public waterbodies throughout the state. It’s vastly different then our traditional fish rearing methods.

After the DNR’s Pacific salmon program kicked into high gear in the late 60s and early 70s, the focus shifted toward intensive culture of trout and salmon rather than coolwater species – like walleye. Michigan’s state fish hatchery facilities didn’t really have the means to rear those types of species, but some fisheries managers were interested in what could be done to jump start walleye populations, particularly in Saginaw Bay.

“We had some key staff, Leo Mrozinski and Bill Deephouse, who worked together to develop this idea of using ponds to rear walleye that we could stock,” said Ed Eisch, the DNR’s fish production manager. “They started by using old borrow pits located along the highways that had filled with water.”

As if by magic it was discovered this extensive rearing process – one where not much labor or financial resources was needed – was effective and could be replicated throughout the state.

“It’s kind of a cool concept,” Eisch explained. “You basically take these walleye fry, put them in the ponds, and let them do their thing, which is foraging on plankton. All you really have to do is keep track of the plankton and harvest the fish before the system crashes.” Read more

Fishing

Velocity Outdoor Releases the New Benjamin Fortitude

Bloomfield, NY – – Velocity Outdoor (formerly known as Crosman Corporation) is now shipping the much-anticipated Benjamin® Fortitude™, the latest generation pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifles for hunters and shooters, in .177 and .22 calibers.

The Fortitude is packed with the most highly desired features and technologies that demanding air gun consumers will appreciate, including a regulator that delivers up to 90 shots per fill at a stunning 950 fps in .177Caliber/800 fps in .22 caliber, with consistent velocities from the first trigger pull to the last. Read more

Firearms

The Archery Advantage: Crossbows

By Glen Wunderlich

Michigan’s archery season is a little over a month away, and for many hunters, that means practice.  With typical vertical bows – not the newer vertical crossbows – it also means developing muscles seldom used in other physical activity.  Plus, that most valuable commodity we all seem to have so little of is the devotion of time – all the more reason to strongly consider the advantages of modern crossbows.  If you’re prone to traditionalism, more power to you, but my conversion took place a decade ago and I’ve never looked back.

I never appreciated the arduous tasks involved with preparations relative to conventional stick and string hunting; it was merely a means to an end.  I’ve owned the same crossbow, since they became legal years ago and getting ready is only a matter of confirming it’s on target when the trigger is pulled.  It affords me extreme accuracy with less effort.

Horton Vision Crossbow Shooting from Rest

Without getting into other comparisons between vertical equipment and crossbows, I appreciate two decided advantages:  They’re always ready and they can be shot from a rest.  Both of these features fit hand-in-hand with the DNR’s push for hunters to take more deer, as a means to minimize the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

Vertical bows must be drawn when a deer is within range.  That means the quarry is also within range to spot the movement required or to detect any sound emitted in the process.  Putting whitetails on high alert is problematic and can mean misses or the despised wounding.  Shooting from a rest, similar to that available with firearms, minimizes the possibility of human error.

One more crossbow advantage is worth mentioning:  Youngsters can get involved in big-game hunting effectively without abusive recoil or noise.  To fight CWD or simply to carry on the time-honored hunting tradition to manage our deer herd, we’ll need young adults to enter the hunting fraternity, as seasoned citizens inevitably retire.

Becoming familiar with the equipment on level ground at 20 yards is a good way to start.  However, heading afield to actual stands to be used during season is better.  Some stands may be elevated and some shots will be presented at ranges either less or more than 20 yards.  Although crossbows have scopes mounted on them and many have yardage increments as part of their reticles, they are not necessarily calibrated for the weight and speed of the bolt (arrow) being used.  Even though rangefinders are in common use today and are highly recommended, they can only confirm distance.  Practice afield will confirm known distance in conjunction with the reticle’s aiming points; there is no sure-fire means to assume otherwise.

Worth repeating season-to-season is one final rule to let anyone realize that he or she is qualified to take an animal’s life, apart from any emotional considerations.  It is a measure of skill that determines if one is good enough – a barometer of competence, if you will, that applies to any “tool” used for taking game, be it archery equipment or any firearm:  the 9 out of 10 rule.  Simply stated, if 9 out of 10 shots can be placed into a conservative 6-inch circle at any given range with adequate energy at that range, a person is ready to hunt.  If not, that person must get closer to the target until the rule is satisfied and that becomes the ethical limit in range for that hunter.  No excuses.

Archery

BLM Issues Decision on Sonoran Desert National Monument Target Shooting

GW:  From what I’ve seen there, too many slob shooters threaten the rights of others.  They seem fit to haul myriad trash out there to shoot but unable to haul it out.  Smart sportsmen and women should make it a point to leave these areas cleaner than they found it.  The old Boy Scouts’ policy still makes sense.

On August 17, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a Record of Decision announcing that recreational target shooting will remain open to the public within the Sonoran Desert National Monument (SDNM) in Arizona.

The decision follows years of uncertainty surrounding the availability of target shooting access within SDNM. In 2011, BLM announced that the entirety of the monument’s nearly 500,000 acres – a vast landscape historically used by target shooters concentrated in the Phoenix metropolitan area – would be entirely closed to recreational shooting through a BLM-initiated planning process. Following the proposed closure, the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (WHHCC), an appointed federal advisory committee tasked with providing Department of the Interior agencies with recommendations on issues of interests to America’s sportsmen and women, advised BLM to reconsider the decision.

Based on the WHHCC’s recommendation, BLM went back to the drawing board and issued a revised plan that maintained target shooting access throughout much of the SDNM. In 2015, a U.S. District Court in Arizona found BLM’s revised plan had violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to properly evaluate the impacts of recreational shooting on the monument. As a result, BLM was ordered to temporarily close 10,600 acres to recreational target shooting in order to study these impacts.

Access challenges on the SDNM highlighted larger issues surrounding the management of recreational shooting on BLM lands throughout the West. In 2011, the WHHCC, including Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane and Vice President Gary Kania, provided constructive feedback related to a proposed nationwide BLM recreational shooting policy that would have set the stage for large scale closures of lands that provide shooting opportunity across the region. As a result, then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar issued a memo directing BLM to halt further development of the draft policy.

Following the ruling in the 2015 lawsuit, BLM further evaluated the impacts of shooting on the monument and solicited comments from a variety of stakeholders and agencies, ultimately concluding that an additional 2,600 acres are suitable for recreational target shooting on the SDNM. As part of this process, CSF joined several other sportsmen’s groups in encouraging BLM to modify its draft proposal to include provisions for public access to several popular target shooting locations originally proposed for closure. Following the public comment period and a similar recommendation from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, recommended changes were incorporated into the plan outlined in the Record of Decision.

The August 17 notice of the Record of Decision for the Resource Management Plan will ensure 435,700 of the 486,400 acres of the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona will remain open to recreational target shooting. According to the BLM, approximately 95 percent of the 12.2 million acres of BLM lands in Arizona are open to recreational target shooting.

“BLM lands have long provided important access for recreational shooters and hunters looking to sight in their rifles near Phoenix,” said CSF’s Senior Director of Federal Land Policy, Andy Treharne. “BLM’s willingness to listen to the concerns raised by these public land users and identify solutions to meet their needs is greatly appreciated.”

Firearms

Michigan: 2018-19 Waterfowl Season Update

It’s almost time to polish up the shotgun, warm up the retriever with some practice throws and don that camouflage as we near the season for hunting ducks and geese in Michigan! Area wildlife managers have been working hard all summer to make sure that migrating waterfowl have great habitat conditions on Michigan’s state game and wildlife areas this fall.

Read more

Hunting

USCCA Statement: NYT Report on Arming Teachers

Available for Comment on Today’s Report in New York Times

West Bend, WI – The United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), which is the country’s largest and fastest growing association whose sole focus is the responsibly armed American, said today that with childen across the country returning to school all options should be on the table to allow teachers to defend themselves and others.

The New York Times reports today that a proposal under consideration would allow Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, to approve any state or district plans to use grant funding for firearms and firearm training.  A subsequent report by CNN said Trump Administration officials pushed back on the report stating that the department received a letter from the Texas state Department of Education asking if the funds from a federal grant program could be used to purchase firearms. While no action was taken by the Department, DeVos thinks that Congress should take action to clarify whether using the grant funding to buy guns is permissible

Tim Schmidt, the President and Founder of the USCCA, who has been a vocal supporter for allowing trained teachers to protect themselves, made the following statement:

“Too many lives have been lost because murderous maniacs know that schools are soft targets where the teachers and students inside don’t have the ability to protect themselves.   Our government should be doing everything possible to protect our children and that includes allowing, and supporting, trained, licensed teachers and administrators to arm themselves.  In countless situations across this country, concealed-carry permit holders have been the front lines of defense against evildoers because they have the necessary knowledge, training and experience to protect those around them.  In an emergency situation, seconds matter and a well-trained, responsible gun owner can save lives in an active-shooter situation. 

“A number of school districts across the country in states like South Dakota, Texas and elsewhere are already allowing trained school officials with concealed carry permits to protect themselves and others while at work.  The federal government should be supporting those efforts and ensuring every possible option is being considered to keep our children safe.” Read more

Self Defense

Federal Judge Allows SAF Lawsuit to Proceed Against Michigan DHHS

BELLEVUE, WA – A federal district court judge in Michigan has allowed a Second Amendment Foundation lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to move forward, challenging the agency’s requirement that foster parents keep firearms and ammunition locked up, so as not to be immediately accessible, and thus useless for self-defense.

U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney issued the ruling in a case involving William and Jill Johnson and Brian and Naomi Mason, all of Ontonagon. While the judge dismissed claims from the Masons, he allowed the Johnsons to continue. The judge dismissed a motion by the state to dismiss the case.
In deciding that the Johnsons have a plausible case, Judge Maloney observed, “Storing firearms in an inoperable condition makes them useless for the defense of hearth and home, which implicates the Second Amendment….The need for self-defense rarely comes with advance notice; it occurs spontaneously, often at times specifically chosen for the expected vulnerability of the intended victim.”
The Johnsons’ case got support from Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who filed an amicus brief on their behalf. “As a practical matter, when a firearm is kept in a home for self-defense, it is always ‘in use’,” he wrote. “Criminals never take a day off, and they never call ahead. To serve its self-defense purpose, a gun must be readily accessible whenever its owner believes he might possibly need it.”

Read more

Self Defense

NOAA Fisheries Recovery Plan for Green Sturgeon

One of Central California’s most ancient fish, the green sturgeon, now has a plan that will steer it toward recovery. NOAA Fisheries released a final recovery plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on August 21, 2018. The plan is non-regulatory and identifies steps that will guide state and federal actions to promote recovery of the green sturgeon’s threatened southern population.

Federal Protection

NOAA Fisheries biologists divided the green sturgeon into two distinct populations segments based on what we know about the species. In 2006, the southern population – covering Central California – was listed as threatened under the ESA. The northern population was more abundant so ESA-listing was not warranted at the time.

As part of the ESA protection for the southern population, NOAA Fisheries has been working with the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, other federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations to identify actions that will aid in the recovery of the southern population of green sturgeon.

Plan for Recovery

The recovery plan identifies a number of research, monitoring, and outreach actions for the southern population aimed at restoring fish passage and habitat, reducing sources of mortality, and addressing known threats including climate change, predation, and contaminants. Most recovery efforts focus on threats to freshwater and estuarine spawning and rearing habitats — the areas that are considered the greatest impediments to recovering the species.

“The recovery plan is a key step in promoting public awareness of green sturgeon and encouraging participation in restoring the southern population,” says Joe Heublein, a NOAA Fisheries biologist who coordinates the multi-agency recovery effort. Read more

Fishing

Climate Change, Part 3

By Frank Sargeant, Editor
The Fishing Wire

This is the final in a three-part series on Climate Change or Global Warming. It steps beyond the causes fulminating much disagreement across the nation to look at what is already being done, and what reasonably can be done in the near future to alleviate some of the more obvious and damaging results. While our interest here has been primarily the impact on anglers, boaters and outdoorsmen as well as the industries they support, the issues obviously reach far, far beyond recreational and business issues.

So, we are faced with a climatologic root-canal, following up our environmental colonoscopy.

We can assuredly argue over what is causing the rapid change, but it’s difficult to logically deny it’s happening. World temperature charts go up very rapidly starting about 1975, after wavering up and down for the century before that.

There’s no question glaciers and permafrost are melting. There’s no question sea level is rising.

There’s no question snook are moving north along Florida’s coast, that dogwoods are blooming earlier, confusing both turkeys and turkey hunters, that manatees are found far north of where they used to be along the coast–several have popped up off Cape Cod in recent years.

Manatees are among a number of subtropic species that are showing up ever farther northward as seas have warmed in the last 40 years. (Photo Credit USF&W)

Global Warming appears to be irrefutably underway. Who’s to blame or how long it will last may inspire some arguments, but the thermometer does not lie. The question is, what can be done about it, if anything?

Few of us want to pour U.S. taxpayer billions into the pockets of hostile, shaky, inept or corrupt governments with a demonstrated inability to govern effectively in an effort to stem climate change impact in the Third World.  We are already parceling out some $30-billion per year in foreign aid, far more than any other nation.

But this does not rule out measured assistance to needy nations that will put our help to good use, very likely to our benefit as well as theirs. And it certainly does not mean we shouldn’t do our best at home to turn this increasingly-leaky climatological ship.

So what, if anything, can be done?

Surprisingly a lot has already been achieved.

Steps in the Right Direction

All is not gloom and doom, by a long shot. There have been enormous strides in switching to cleaner, renewable energy in recent years. U.S. carbon emissions shrank by 14% between 2005 and 2017 — more than in any other country. Read more

General

QDMA Visits National Prion Center to Advance the Fight Against CWD

ATHENS, GA (August 22, 2018) – QDMA’s Director of Conservation Kip Adams recently joined a group organized by the National Deer Alliance (NDA) to visit the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. The meeting was intended to encourage collaboration between the wildlife management community and experts in human prion disease research to advance efforts to address the chronic wasting disease (CWD) threat to white-tailed deer.

“It was extremely refreshing to talk to prion experts removed from the wildlife field who have a different perspective on the CWD issue,” said Adams. “They don’t have to manage hunters or wildlife and can look at CWD strictly from a disease standpoint. That perspective will be very useful to the wildlife management community in trying to address the CWD threat.”

The National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center was established in 1997 at Case Western Reserve University to monitor the occurrence of prion diseases in humans. Several European countries established surveillance centers in response to the epidemic of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also know as “mad cow disease,” but the Ohio surveillance center is the only one in the United States.

The Center acquires tissue samples (through biopsy or autopsy) from human prion disease in the United States, identifies the types of disease, and transfers the data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state Health Departments to monitor prevalence and investigate possible cases in which the disease has been acquired from other humans or from animals.

The visiting group included QDMA’s Adams, Nick Pinizzotto of the National Deer Alliance, Scott Talbott of the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Colin Gillin of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, and Ed Arnett of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. After touring the facility and learning how the center’s staff studies and tracks prion diseases in humans and animals, the two groups engaged in a discussion of opportunities for cooperation that could advance the goals of both.

“Prion diseases like CWD are very complex, and it just makes sense that we are working closely with the top prion scientists in the country,” said Nick Pinizzotto of the NDA. “This was an important meeting in the continued development of our partnership with the Prion Center team.” Read more

Wildlife
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