Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
KINGMAN, Ariz. – The endangered black-footed ferret continues to shrug off its near extinction as it climbs the steep hill toward recovery. The small, specialist carnivore once numbered just 18 in the world when captive breeding efforts began in 1985. Efforts in Arizona’s Aubrey Valley are showing promise as this animal continues to baffle the odds makers.
Spring spotlighting efforts – the method used to find the nocturnal animal – resulted in
Washington –Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are estimating that over 10,000 migrating birds have died so far this year because of reduced water flow to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and California. Officials say the final death toll may be close to 20,000 birds. Read more
Realtree Nursery Food Plot Trees are now available at select Wal-Mart stores throughout the country. You can find Dunstan Chestnuts™, Sawtooth Oaks, American Persimmons and Native Crabapples in Wal-Marts in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Read more
Ithaca, NY–The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is pleased to announced that the eBird website will now be sponsored by Swarovski Optik North America. The eBird program is a real-time, online checklist program, that collects more than a milllion bird observations each month from bird watchers around the world. (www.ebird.org) eBird data are visualized in charts, maps, and graphs which can be used by students, researchers, land managers, and conservationists needing detailed information about the numbers and distribution of birds. Read more
The April/May charity guide of the American Institute of Philanthropy/CharityWatch is out—and HSUS once again earns an “unsatisfactory” grade of “D.” Even PETA isn’t that low (C+). HSUS has now earned a “D” grade for almost two years.
CharityWatch finds that HSUS spends as little as 50 percent of its budget on actual programs—meaning up to half of HSUS’s budget is reserved for overhead costs like tens of millions spent on fundraising.
CharityWatch also finds Read more
Tree Stand Up™ is an intuitive device that anchors a ladder stand during set-up, making it a much safer and easier process. The device is elegant in its simplicity; it basically secures the base of the stand in position and creates a pivot point so the stand can be quickly and simply erected by a single individual- including today’s oversized platform models. The patent-pending Tree Stand Up™ is removed after the ladder stand is up so it can be used with multiple stands. Read more
A Redford Township, Michgian man faces charges for firing warning shots during an attempted theft of his vehicle. Details here…
Michigan Legislative Update Senate Bill 59.
The following is from MCRGO:
The most important legislation for legal gun owners since the Castle Doctrine and shall-issue is currently under consideration by the Michigan Legislature. The bill would eliminate county gun boards and allow all CPL holders to be exempt from pistol free zones after additional training. Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
A new Elk Management Plan was approved by Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Rodney Stokes at the April 5 meeting of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) in Lansing. The plan incorporates an adaptive approach to management, whereby necessary changes to the plan can be implemented based on results.
Michigan’s current elk herd in an area north of Atlanta is the result of a release of seven animals from “various city parks and public institutions” in 1918 about three miles southeast of Wolverine. The herd grew steadily with estimates of 300-400 in 1939 and 900 to 1,000 in 1958. The Department of Natural Resources (department) is officially charged with the management of resident wildlife in Michigan by virtue of a 1996 referendum requiring the department to use principles of sound scientific management in decisions relative to the taking of game. With this in mind, the department has unveiled a new elk management plan with the following goals: Read more
Youngsters from the Powell Township School District in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have begun a project to attract indigenous Monarch butterflies to the area by planting milkweed. Details here…