Wisconsin Has a New Record Whitetail Buck
How ’bout over 200 inches bow hunting? Outdoor Hub has it here…
Michigan Legislative Update
This from MCRGO…
Senate Bill 789 passed the Michigan Legislature this past Friday and is on its way to Governor Snyder, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill includes comprehensive reform of the concealed pistol licensing process. Highlights include:
- Makes Michigan a true shall-issue state by eliminating county gun boards
- Raises the cost to $115 but eliminates photo requirements and all other fees
- Provides for renewal by mail/on-line by 2018
- Requires that renewal notices be sent out to CPL holders
- Extends CPLs automatically pending renewal if application is made before expiration
- Requires reporting of CPL fee collections and expenses (to provide data to lower fees in the future)
Tips for Better Wing & Clay Shooting – Stance
GW: From the Gould Brothers Exhibition Shooting
Your stance is the foundation for successful wing and clay shooting. Setting up with a good stance will go a long way in helping you become a better shot. Your stance should be orientated according to your target break point, where you believe you will shoot the target. Let’s start off with foot placement.
Federal court order returns wolves to endangered species list
Ruling suspends Michigan’s lethal control laws and permits
A federal court judge has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately return wolves in the Great Lakes region to the federal endangered species list, making it illegal for Michigan citizens to kill wolves attacking livestock or dogs.
Under endangered species status, wolves may be killed only in the immediate defense of human life.
Two state laws allowing livestock or dog owners to kill wolves in the act of depredation are suspended by the ruling.
Additionally, lethal control permits previously issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to livestock farmers to address ongoing conflicts with wolves are no longer valid; permit holders have been contacted regarding this change.
The return to federal endangered species status also means DNR wildlife and law enforcement officials no longer have the authority to use lethal control methods to manage wolf conflict.
However, non-lethal methods – such as flagging, fencing, flashing lights and guard animals – may still be used and are encouraged. Compensation for livestock lost to wolves continues to be available through the DNR and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Citizens in need of assistance with problem wolves should contact their local DNR wildlife biologist or DNR wolf program coordinator Kevin Swanson at 906-228-6561.
Friday’s federal court order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to remove wolves in the Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment from the federal endangered species list in January 2012. The ruling affects wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“The federal court decision is surprising and disappointing,” said Russ Mason, DNR Wildlife Division Chief. “Wolves in Michigan have exceeded recovery goals for 15 years and have no business being on the endangered species list, which is designed to help fragile populations recover – not to halt the use of effective wildlife management techniques.”
The DNR will work closely with the Michigan Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the full impact of this ruling on the state’s wolf management program and identify next steps.
“In the meantime, the Wildlife Division will continue updating the state’s wolf management plan, which includes the use of hunting and other forms of lethal control to minimize conflict with wolves,” Mason said. “Although the federal court’s ruling prevents the use of these management tools for the time-being, the Department will be prepared for any future changes that would return wolves to state management authority.”
For more information about Michigan’s wolf population and management plan, visit www.michigan.gov/wolves.
Joe’s Muzzleloading Doe
During the final hour of Michigan’s muzzleloading season, Joe took this mature doe with his CVA Accura loaded with a 250-grain tipped Barnes bullet over two magnum Triple 7 pellets.
Tracking dog, Reese, was called in to help in the recovery effort, and he did the job in about one minute.
- Joe’s muzzleloader doe
Michigan’s 2014 elk hunting season just completed
Michigan’s 2014 elk hunting season just ended with multiple successes. Hunters experienced a one-of-a-kind hunt and filled the freezer with local meat, while also helping to accomplish valuable elk management on both public and private land.
“The elk hunt is an exciting time for everyone,” said Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Jennifer Kleitch. “We control the elk population through very intense management – we target specific areas and properties during certain time periods.”
The elk season had two hunt periods – the early season, Aug. 26-29, Sept. 12-15 and Sept. 26-29 and the late season, Dec. 6-14. Just fewer than 30,000 eligible Michigan hunters applied for 100 elk licenses. Both the early and late season had quotas of 15 any-elk or bull licenses and 35 antlerless licenses. Read more
Great Lakes Wolves Protected by Obama-Appointed Judge
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES,
et al.
,Plaintiffs,v.SALLY JEWELL,
Secretary of the Interior
,
et al.
,1Defendants,v.STATE OF WISCONSIN,
et al.
Intervenor-Defendants.Civil Action No.13-186(BAH)
ORDER
Upon consideration of the plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment,ECF No. 24,the defendants’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 27,defendant-intervenor Hunter Conservation Coalition’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 33,thesubmissions of defendant-intervenors, the States of Wisconsin and Michigan, ECF Nos. 29 and 30, the submissions of amici curiae the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, ECF Nos. 31 and 38,the Administrative Record submittedby the defendants, ECF No. 45,the related legal memorandain support and in opposition,the exhibits,declarations, and affidavitsattached thereto,and the entire record herein, for the reasons set forth in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion,the Court finds that “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact,” F
ED
.R.C
IV
.P.56(a), and it ishereby
ORDERED
that, because the plaintiffs areentitled to judgment as a matter of law,the
1
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, is automatically substituted for her predecessor in office.
Case 1:13-cv-00186-BAH Document 53 Filed 12/19/14 Page 1 of 2
2 plaintiffs’Motion for Summary Judgment,is GRANTED; and it is further
ORDERED
thatthedefendants’ and defendant-intervenor’s Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment are DENIED; and it is further
ORDERED
that, because therule Revising the Listing of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) in the Western Great Lakes(the “Final Rule”), 76 Fed. Reg. 81,666 (Dec. 28, 2011), isarbitrary and capricious and violates the Endangered Species Act of 1973,as amended, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531
et seq.
, the Final Rule is VACATEDand SET ASIDE; and it is further
ORDERED
that therule in effect prior to the Final Rule vacated by this Order, namely, the rule regarding Reclassification of the Gray Wolf in the United States and Mexico, with Determination of Critical Habitat in Michigan and Minnesota, 43 Fed. Reg. 9607(Mar. 9, 1978), is REINSTATED to govern management of gray wolves in the nine states affected by the vacated Final Rule, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act;and it is further
ORDERED
that theClerk of the Court close this case.
SO ORDERED
Date: December 19, 2014
This is a final and appealable Order.See F ED.R.APP.P.4(a).
__________________________ BERYL A. HOWELLUnited States District Judge
Case 1:13-cv-00186-BAH Document 53 Filed 12/19/14 Page 2 of 2
Digitally signed by Beryl A. Howell DN: cn=Beryl A. Howell, o=District Court for the District of Columbia,
ou=District Court Judge, email=howell_chambers@dcd.uscourts.gov, c=US Date: 2014.12.19 14:38:35 -05’00’
U.S. Appeals Court Expands Gun Rights
A Cincinnati appeals court deemed unconstitutional a federal law that kept a Michigan man from owning a gun, because he was briefly committed to a mental institution decades ago. Details here…
RMEF Joins Wyoming, Feds in Next Step Toward Possible Wolf Appeal
RMEF Joins Wyoming, Feds in Next Step toward Possible Wolf Appeal MISSOULA, Mont. -The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, along with the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Wyoming, filed a notice of appeal in the Wyoming wolf case issued by the District Court of the District of Columbia. In essence, the legal move preserves RMEF’s ability to go forward with an appeal, if it is decided to do so.
“We maintain that state agencies, not the federal government, are in the best position to manage our wildlife-that includes wolves in Wyoming,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “The judge removed that responsibility from Wyoming wildlife managers on a technicality that has since been addressed.”
U. S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson recently disagreed with most of the environmentalists’ claims. She ruled that wolves in Wyoming are not endangered, are recovered as a species and that there is plenty of genetic connectivity. However, she rejected Wyoming’s wolf management plan that took effect in 2012 by stating the USFWS should not have accepted Wyoming’s nonbinding promise to maintain a population of at least 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs outside Yellowstone Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation.
First-Ever Hornady Rifle is 2015 SHOT Show Auction Gun
Grand Island, Nebraska–The first and only firearm ever manufactured by the Hornady Manufacturing Company will be featured as the 2015 SHOT Show rifle and made available to Hornady fans around the world on www.GunBroker.com.
Recognized for decades as one of the most respected and innovative names in ammunition and reloading equipment manufacturing, Hornady has placed its name on a firearm for the first and perhaps only time in the company’s history.
“We don’t mean to alarm our friends at Remington, Winchester or Ruger. Hornady has no plans of going into the gun business,” commented Hornady President, Steve Hornady in announcing the gun. “The concept of creating a one-of-a-kind Hornady rifle has been percolating for several years and we are excited to make “The Hornady Number One” a reality for 2015– especially since the gun has been selected as the 2015 SHOT Show Rifle.”
Hornady has teamed with the Hunting Heritage Trust and some of the most innovative and respected names in the shooting sports industry to create “The Hornady Number One”. The rifle is a hunting-style bolt action in .300 RCM caliber with serial number H-001. Read more