ThinkingAfield.org

The significance of it may have gone unnoticed by many, but to hunters Monday, April 21, was a big day in Michigan – opening day of spring turkey-hunting season. Michigan annually ranks among the top 10 states in the union for wild turkey harvest – an almost astounding fact, as 100 years ago there wasn’t a wild turkey to be found in the state. Though experts believe the state was home to around 100,000 birds in pre-Columbian times, the population was wiped out by habitat destruction and unregulated hunting. Today, wild turkeys can be found in every county in the Lower Peninsula and in many places in the Upper Peninsula as well.

Early 20th-century attempts to restore wild turkeys in Michigan failed to bear fruit, but by mid-century, state wildlife officials had identified the Allegan State Game Area – 40,000 acres located within a 100,000-acre mixed hardwood and pine forest – as suitable habitat for the birds. The Department of Conservation purchased 50 birds from Pennsylvania, which was enjoying some success restoring wild turkeys. The birds were released at six sites in Allegan and others were released at additional sites, including areas of the northern Lower Peninsula. Thanks to those restoration efforts, by 1964 the wild turkey population in Michigan was estimated at 2,000. Read more

By Austin Delano

Antlers…they have fascinated man since the beginning. Going back thousands of years one can see mans’ love for “animals with antlers” etched and painted on the walls of caves. Antlers were a trophy in a different way before they were used to decorate the walls of our hunting camps and game rooms. Before modern civilization, antlers were used to make tools, ceremonial wear, and weapons just to name a few of the uses. So how do these intriguing bones grow? What are they made out of? How do they go from this soft looking, furry velvet to a durable set of rock-hard fighting gear? Read more