Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
“The homeowner was able to retrieve his weapon, and fired hitting one of the
burglars,” Johnson said. “He ran away and collapsed in the driveway. The other
burglar was able to escape.”
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140306/METRO01/303060100#ixzz2vH4eVyAS
The two chickadee species meet and hybridize in a narrow zone that has shifted northward 7 miles in the last decade.
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Ithaca, N.Y.-The zone of overlap between two popular, closely related backyard birds is moving northward at a rate that matches warming winter temperatures, according to a study by researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Villanova University, and Cornell University. The research was published online in Current Biologyon Thursday, March 6, 2014.
In a narrow strip that runs across the eastern U.S., Carolina Chickadees from the south meet and interbreed with Black-capped Chickadees from the north. The new study finds that this hybrid zone has moved northward at a rate of 0.7 mile per year over the last decade. That’s fast enough that the researchers had to add an extra study site partway through their project in order to keep up. Read more
Mail-in Rebates Available Until April 30, 2014
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- Smith & Wesson Corp. announced that Thompson/Center Arms™ is currently offering mail-in rebates for consumers who purchase any new T/C Venture™ rifle. Where allowed by law, the mail-in rebate program will be available to consumers who purchase a T/C Venture rifle from January 25, 2014 through April 30, 2014 in the United States or Canada. Read more
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Smith & Wesson Corp. announced that the company is currently offering a consumer promotion for any individual who purchases a new M&P15-22 rifle. The M&P15-22 Tin Can promotion will be available to consumers in the continental United States who purchase any new Smith & Wesson modern sporting rifle in .22LR from January 25, 2014 through April 30, 2014. Read more
Washington, DC – Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has signed Sunday hunting into law, allowing Virginia to join the 40 other states that allow hunting on privately owned lands on Sundays. Sponsored by Delegate Todd Gilbert, and cosponsored by many members of the Virginia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, HB 1237 passed the Senate on February 18 (28-11) after clearing the House of Delegates on January 30 (71-27). An identical bill (SB 154) sponsored by Senator Phillip Puckett also reached the Governor’s desk, after passing the Senate on February 10 (29-10) and later the House on February 28 (73-24). Read more
Two Midland, Mich., men have been arrested on charges of the illegal buying of Michigan black bears and black bear parts. The charges, authorized by the Midland County Prosecutor’s Office, are the result of an undercover investigation by the Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division’s Special Investigations Unit. Read more
“A little over a year ago, I offered the answer for school violence,” said the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre, “and the media elite called every nasty name imaginable. Fortunately, Americans disagreed.” That was the opening shot, and LaPierre never stopped firing at the “media elite” and the political figures he says are dedicated to “fundamentally changing America” as he addressed the attendees of the National Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. Read more
The Ingham Conservation District, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, will host its first annual youth rabbit hunt Saturday, March 29, from 10:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. Read more
GW: All I can think of when I see those logs is firewood. And, I don’t care what kind of wood it is.
Rabbits and other small creatures will have some new homes at Fulton State Game Area now that a handful of volunteers – working on a Michigan-On-the-Ground program – spent a Saturday building brush piles at the Kalamazoo County site. 
The program, a partnership between Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the Department of Natural Resources, recruits volunteers to help the DNR improve fish and wildlife habitat across the state. On-the-Ground has attracted the attention of sportsmen and others who want to help increase the productivity of state game areas, rivers and lakes.
Last Saturday, volunteers felled pre-selected trees to build lattices, which could be piled high with brush to provide nesting and escape cover for small game – like rabbits – and other critters. By noon, the crew had built 10 brush piles along the edge of an agriculture field on the area. Read more
This from www.HumaneWatch.org
Whenever we point out that the independent watchdog CharityWatch gives the Humane Society of the United States a C-minus grade, HSUS usually retorts that it gets four stars (out of four) from Charity Navigator, a different evaluator. No more.
Today we learned Charity Navigator has downgraded HSUS from four stars to three. The reason? After we filed an IRS complaint against HSUS last fall, alleging that HSUS had improperly inflated its revenue for several years, HSUS filed amended tax returns. (Independent experts, such as CharityWatch and a Minnesota tax attorney, also thought HSUS was in the wrong.) Based on this amended data, Charity Navigator has revised its rating of HSUS and downgraded the group. Read more