ThinkingAfield.org

Contact:
Dale McNamee (U.P. Sportsmen’s Alliance) – (906) 786-5816
Mike Parker (Pheasants Forever) – (517) 333-1272
Erin McDonough (MUCC) – (517) 346-6475

LANSING, MICH – A diverse coalition of over ninety groups representing hunters, anglers, conservationists, and recreation advocates today issued a letter to Governor Granholm urging reconsideration of Executive Order 45 of 2009. While expressing support for the core function of the Order to re-combine the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, the letter urges the Governor to re-consider her surprise move to strip the bi-partisan Natural Resources Commission’s authority to appoint the Department director. The Coalition says this move reduces transparency and injects more political influence on natural resources management decisions.

The Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance (UPSA) said combining the DNR and DEQ should be an opportunity to create a more transparent, open, and accessible Department, not the other way around. “UPSA will be the first to tell anybody that the NRC and DNR are far from perfect,” said UPSA President Dale McNamee. “However, we should be using this as an opportunity to make our new department more service-focused. A Department held entirely accountable to a politician instead of the citizens of Michigan only calls for more back-door decision making out of the public eye.” McNamee said encouraging more people to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors should also be a focus for the new DNRE, adding that the Order’s top-down political structure takes a step in the wrong direction for achieving that goal.

In 1996 nearly seventy percent of Michigan citizens supported the Michigan Wildlife Management Referendum (Proposal G) to remove political influence out of natural resource management in favor of science-based management principles. “As evidenced by Proposal G, Michigan citizens do not want natural resources management to be dictated by politics and the popular vote,” said Michigan Pheasants Forever’s lead biologist Mike Parker. “This Order is a positive step to consolidate the departments, but shifting the NRC’s appointment authority to the Governor is a move that injects more partisan politics into natural resources management by vesting a politically-motivated public official with complete authority.”

Michigan United Conservation Clubs Executive Director Erin McDonough said Michigan should take a lesson from Wisconsin before transferring appointment authority from the NRC to the Governor. The Wisconsin state assembly recently gave veto-proof approval to a bill that would restore the state Natural Resources Board’s authority to appoint the DNR Secretary (Director). “For the past fourteen years Wisconsin has been experiencing the effects of top-down political influence on natural resource management,” said McDonough. “The sportsmen and legislature in Wisconsin have seen enough. This current uproar should put Governor Granholm and the Michigan Legislature on notice as to what direction Michigan is heading if this Executive Order is not rescinded or rejected by December 7th.”

In closing, Coalition members asked Governor Granholm to rescind E.O. 45 of 2009 and reissue a subsequent Order restoring the NRC’s appointment authority for the purpose of increasing transparency and reducing political influence on Michigan’s natural resources management.

List of organizations signing onto the letter:

Statewide Organizations
Bowfishing Association of Michigan – Archie Martell, President
Great Lakes Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers – James Schramm, President
Michigan Airboating Conservation Association – Ron Miller, President
Michigan Association of Gamebird Breeders and Hunting Preserves – Jim Trinklein, President
Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation Nation – Paul Sacks, President
Michigan Bear Hunters Association – Phil Hewitt, Vice President
Michigan Bow Hunters Association – Bruce Levey, President
Michigan Charter Boat Association – Captain Denny Grinold, State Affairs Officer
Michigan Conservation Foundation – Bob Jacobsen, President
Michigan Duck Hunters Association – Drew Deters, President
Michigan Hunting Dog Federation – Matt Wood, President
Michigan Outdoors Women’s Club – Fran Yeager, President
Michigan Pheasants Forever – Mike Parker, Regional Biologist
Michigan Recreation and Park Association – Dennis Schornack, Executive Director
Michigan Resource Stewards – Dave Borgeson
Michigan River Guides Association – John Ray, President
Michigan State United Coon Hunters Association – Jim Wale, President
Michigan Steelhead and Salmon Fishermen’s Association – Rick Balabon, President
Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association – John Caretti, President
Michigan Trout Unlimited – Dr. Bryan Burroughs, Executive Director
Michigan United Conservation Clubs – Erin McDonough, Executive Director
Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association – Jim Maturen, President
National Wildlife Federation – Andy Buchsbaum, Great Lakes Regional Executive Director
Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance – Dale McNamee, President

Former Department Director
Howard A. Tanner, Phd – Former Director, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (1975-1983)

Regional and Local Organizations
Bridgeport Gun Club – Jack Danks, President
Chesaning Area Conservation Club – Brad Alcorn, President
Cadillac Sportsman’s Club – Bruce Finnerty, President
CassCounty Conservation Club – Chuck Chandler, President
Cedar Rod & Gun Club – Tim Stein, President
Chick-Owa Sportsmen Club – Tom Medendorp, President
Dowagiac Conservation Club – Lee Maager, President
Flint River Chapter, National Wild Turkey Federation – James M. Miller, President
Frankenmuth Conservation Club – Karl Weiss, President
Friends of Blueberry Ridge – Paul Hannuksela, President
Friends of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge – Charles Hoover, President
Friends of PontiacLake – Ron Groeneveld, President
German-American Marksmanship Club – Paul Werner, President
Gun River Skeet and Trap, Inc. – David McMurray, President
Holland Fish and Game Club – Drew Deters, President
Kent County Conservation League – Vic Scudder, President
Ludington Area Charterboat Association – Jim Fenner, President
Michigan Anglers Association – Chris Matteson, President
Michigan Fly Fishing Club – Joe Sattler, MUCC District 1 Director and club representative
Montmorency County Conservation Club – Carol Rose, President
North Macomb Sportsmen’s Club – Don Brown, club rep. and Macomb County Commissioner
Oakland County Sportfishing Association – Jeff Loehr, President
Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club – Joseph W. Oberlee, President
Ottawa Sportsmen’s Club – John Stenvig, President
Pine River Sportsman’s Club – Dick Herrmann, club representative
Ravenna Conservation Club – Joe James, President
Richmond Sportsmen’s Club – Jim Kuntz, Secretary
Saginaw Field and Stream Club – Tom Heritier, President
Saugatuck Area Charter Boat Association – Ron Westrate, President
St. Joseph County Conservation & Sportsman Club, Inc. – Allen Kasdorf, Vice President
Tri-County Sportsmen’s League – Robert Bolog, President
TulipCity Rod and Gun Club, Inc. – Phil Wilcox, Director
West Michigan Walleye Club – Jim Brandt, President
Western Wayne County Conservation Association – Robert Haviland, President
White LakeArea Sportfishing Association – Carl Churchill, President

MUCC District 8 Clubs – Bill Furtaw, Chair

B & BS Gun Club
Detroit Area Steelheaders, Inc.
Four Square Conservation & Sportsmen’s Association
Friends of WC Wetzel State Park
Gilbert’s Sportsmen Club
HarsensIsland Conservation Club
Huron Pointe Sportsmen’s Association
Lake St Clair Walleye Association
MichiganOntario Muskie Club
Mid Thumb Bowmen Club
Perch Point Conservation Club
Selfridge Rod & Gun Club
Southeastern Michigan Conservation
St Clair – Pheasants Forever
St Clair Hunt & Fish Club
St Clair Shores Sportsmen’s Association

MUCC District 1 Clubs – Nancy Dittmar, Chair
Downriver Walleye Federation
Flat Rock Sportsman Association
Four Seasons Fishing Club
Friends of the DetroitRiver
GardenCityHigh School Sports Club
HuronRiver Fishing Association
HuronValley Conservation Association
Lincoln Bowmen Archery Club
Metro West Chapter – MSSFA
Paul Bunyan Club
WayneCounty Raccoon Hunters Association
Wolverine Sports and Conservation Club

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Meida Association

Sighting in can be a joy, if all goes well; it can mean back to basics if it doesn’t. And, with only two weeks remaining until the beginning of firearms deer season, it’s time to find out, just in case some corrective action is required. No sportsman goes afield without a clear understanding of how his bullet will perform in the accuracy department.

Targets were set up at 50 and 100 yards for the initial target shooting with the goal of punching paper to qualify to hunt at longer ranges. Any shooter can find his maximum point blank range (mpbr) by hitting 6-inch targets with no more than 1 miss in 10 at 25-yard increments beyond 100 yards. The idea is to hold on the target’s center at any given range without the bullet going over 3 inches high and no more than 3 inches low. There is no requirement to actually shoot 10 times per target – unless any one shot misses.

At 50 yards I shot a tight group of 2 inches with a .44 magnum Ruger Redhawk revolver with 200-grain Nosler hollow points utilizing an inexpensive red dot sight. However, that was my limit for this session because the red dot blocked out the target at 100 yards.
You can’t hit what you can’t see. Besides, better tools were available.

The sizzling slug guns and modern muzzleloaders were expected to easily qualify at 100 yards but Doug’s muzzleloader wasn’t cooperating. He had it dialed in at 130 yards before this session but not this time. We weren’t sure if something had come loose or exactly what the malfunction was but at least he had time to straighten things out. Nonetheless, it was discouraging.

Joe forgot his muzzleloader but managed to remember his 20-gauge Remington slug outfit, which barely qualified at 100 yards. There didn’t seem to be any sense pushing this rig beyond that.

Bucky followed with a 12-gauge single-shot slug gun topped with a Leupold low-power variable scope firing Remington 385-grain sabots well within the 6-inch circle.

My Knight Revolution was up next with its 250-grain Barnes bullets scooting along at 2190 feet-per-second. With a group the size of a golf ball, I set it up just above the center of the target so that I’d be ready for the 125-yard challenge at a secondary range.

Unfortunately, the wind was gusting from 15 to 20 miles per hour, and because it would have been at a 90-degree angle, we cancelled the qualifying round beyond 100 yards for the day.

On a still afternoon during the week, while everyone else was doing more important things (like earning a living), I set up 6-inch Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-See targets at 125, 150, and 175 yards. These targets allow a shooter to use binoculars (instead of a spotting scope) to see the bullet holes way out there. My ballistics software indicated that my hot muzzleloader load would be 1.5 inches low at 175 yards with a 160-yard zero. I’m not from Missouri, but I wanted to see for myself if I could trust the computer’s calculations.

The first shot at 125 yards was 1.25 inches low and a little to the right. A quick turret adjustment placed the second shot 1.5 inches above the center and just over an inch right. (The computer indicated the bullet should be 2 inches high for a 160 yard zero).

I took the 150-yard test and sure enough, less than 1 inch above center and 1 inch right.

Without another adjustment, I let one go at the 175-yard circle and it hit 1.625 inches below center and one-half inch to the right. The next shot was a mere one-half inch low and .75 inches right. Once again, the computer calculation for 175 yards had the bullet 1.5 inches low. And, if you’re thinking maybe the energy foot pounds would be less than desired at the longer distance, consider this: The Knight Revolution with the 150-grain Triple Seven powder charge, Remington muzzleloader primers, and 250-grain Barnes bullet would retain 1330 foot pounds at 175 yards – well above that of a .44 magnum at the muzzle!

I would have preferred to do more testing with the muzzleloader but I had only about 12 bullets remaining and decided to save them for hunting.

I strongly recommend such a challenge for every ethical deer hunter. There’s no responsible reason to experiment afield, if you haven’t practiced at the range.

A message from the Michigan United Conservation Clubs

Dear MUCC Club Presidents and Leaders,

This is a call to action. When you and your clubs first got together to form MUCC in 1937, you did so in order to protect our state’s outdoor heritage. You formed MUCC around the goal that sound science, not politics, should drive the management of our natural resources. With the passage of Proposal G in 1996, the people of the state of Michigan reaffirmed your goal.

In these dark days of economic turmoil, politics again threaten the management of our natural resources and your help is needed.

Governor Granholm has issued Executive Order 45 to recombine the Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality. This could be a valuable opportunity to improve the management of our natural resources, improve services to you and others who use our natural resources and to improve the science-based management of our resources.

HOWEVER, this Executive Order also removes the authority of the Natural Resources Commission to appoint the Department Director, and instead, allows the Governor to appoint the Director. This is a significant shift away from the collective goals of hunters, anglers, and conservationists to remove politics from natural resource management. This power shift also severely undermines the fundamental principles Michigan citizens overwhelmingly supported under Proposal G.

To change this order, the Michigan Legislature must pass resolutions that REJECT the Executive Order and send it back to the Governor’s desk. The agricultural community has joined us in this fight, but our voices are not being heard among the crowd. WE NEED TO WAKE UP AND SHAKE UP LANSING!

FIRING LINE
1. Please call your Representative and call Speaker of the House Andy Dillon (Ph: 517-373-0857 or andydillon@house.mi.gov and urge them to take up House Concurrent Resolution 32 and vote YES for the sportsmen and women of this state!

2. Please contact Amy Spray (aspray@mucc.org) by the end of the day Monday (Nov. 2) and sign on to a letter to the Governor telling her to issue a new Executive Order that continues to allow the NRC to appoint the Director of the Department.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

“It was a crime scene, in my opinion, the minute that it was shot,” said Lynn Gorfinkle of Fairfield County, Connecticut. She went on this way, “”If someone’s going to eat that deer, I want it to be natural predators,” she said. “Not some hunter.” And so it goes – to waste that is – a perfectly legal archery kill by a hunter that had the misfortune to have had his deer expire on another’s property. Certainly Ms. Gorfinkle was well within her rights and, as CEO of Animal Rights in Redding, such as response is to be expected. But what law had this hapless hunter violated?

The hunter did the lawful thing by knocking on the door of the Gorfinkles and asking permission to retrieve the downed animal. He paid an exorbitant $60 for an archery permit and mandated excise taxes on equipment. He was diligent enough to practice so that his arrow would be precisely delivered through the lungs. He was helping to manage an overpopulated herd estimated at 62 deer per square mile with some areas as much as an astronomical 100 deer per square mile. In fact, this volunteer was doing the job that sharpshooters were hired to do just a few years ago, because of the high deer density numbers.

While I understand the conflict with animal rightists, I cannot understand why man cannot be understood as a natural predator. Certainly he is a predator and has been for thousands of years. And, if anything was, and has been natural, it is hunting. Man exists today for these very reasons. He has competed with beasts for eternity; they just go under the moniker of animal rightists today.

Hunters have long been a part of the “green movement” so popular today. Millions of us choose to carry on a tradition of a simpler life, which involves a harvest of Mother Nature’s renewable resources. Far away from supermarket refrigerator shelves and plastic wrapped mystic meat, the hunter continues his organic ways handed down by generations. His nourishment, rich in protein and low in fat, is unencumbered by hormones and processed feed; still he is termed unnatural.

Maybe it was the market hunters that nearly wiped out the buffalo by killing them for their hides that started the image challenge we hunters face today. However, we must also understand that ethical hunters have led the way to our modern bag limits and seasons that have successfully regenerated numbers of buffalo, whitetail deer, turkeys and a host of other animals we – non-hunters and hunters alike – enjoy. It’s called conservation and hunters are behind it, not the goody goodies.
Each year, hunters contribute more to conservation in the way of license fees and excise taxes than any other source. They not only pay taxes but also go far beyond that by managing wildlife on private property at their own expense and from the sweat of their brows.

As for Ms. Gorfinkle, she said she is uncertain what to do with the rotting deer on her property. Underground burial is out of the question, she says, because it would require too much work to dig such a large hole.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

The DNR has issued its annual deer hunting forecast for this season and I had to chuckle a bit when I read it. Here, in part, is the forecast for the Southern Lower Peninsula (SLP):

The deer population in southern Michigan is expected to be similar to the past few years. Deer populations generally are far above DNR goals and fawns generally come in sets of twins and triplets. High numbers of antlerless permits are available again this year with the added flexibility to use private land permits throughout most of the SLP. Hunters are encouraged to harvest antlerless deer, especially on private land to bring populations closer to goals and to help address concerns of excessive crop damage and deer-vehicle collisions. “Landowners and hunters both play a critical role in deer management,” said Sara Schaefer, Southwestern Wildlife Management Unit supervisor.

What’s so funny about the statements is the fact that hunters are encouraged to harvest antlerless deer after the fee to do so has been increased by 50 percent. As mentioned last week, it’s not likely that any noteworthy reduction in the problematic herd will be achieved through its counter productive revenue enhancement strategy. So, when we hunters get an opportunity to balance the herd, it’s imperative that we do it right.

The proper number of deer for any given area is the most important principle of Quality Deer Management (QDM) and balanced sex ratios follow in importance. Kip Adams of Pennsylvania, a certified wildlife biologist and QDMA’s Director of Education & Outreach in the North has this to say: “…Some areas still have overabundant deer herds resulting from harvesting too few antlerless deer. Given that hunter numbers have declined, the average hunter is now asked to take more antlerless animals in overabundant deer situations. Unfortunately research shows there is a limit to the number of deer an individual hunter is willing to take annually. This limit is generally less than three deer, and given that one or two may be bucks, the number of antlerless deer is further reduced. One strategy to increase the impact of the antlerless harvest is to maximize harvest of adult does and minimize harvest of fawns.

Educating hunters on distinguishing fawns from adult deer and even separating buck and doe fawns in the field is a relatively simple matter. By observing head and body features and behavior, most hunters can accurately distinguish between fawns and adults and buck and doe fawns most of the time. I stress that last part because mistakes will happen. Specifically, focusing on adult does rather than buck fawns provides more meat for the table, helps balance the herd more quickly, and allows additional buck fawns to survive. More buck fawns means more yearling bucks the following year, which is good for balancing the adult sex ratio and for hunter satisfaction.”

Being able to distinguish does from button bucks is not always easy, but several thoughts come to mind: 1) Single antlerless deer are often button bucks (fawns) so take a close look for those little nubs on top of the head, and 2) Get the best binoculars you can afford. If you are after a mature doe, it’s best size them up when a group is together. Button bucks are typically larger than their sisters but are always smaller than their mothers. There is also good information in the DNR’s hunting guide that can aid hunters in the identification process.

In any case, if you are not sure, wait until you are.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

It’s no secret that Michigan’s deer herd has been managed for quantity rather than quality for far too long. Anyone who has spent any time at all in the wild searching for that elusive wall hanger understands how much the herd is out of balance with does outnumbering bucks by huge margins. As part of the picture, a vast majority of bucks harvested annually are yearlings (1.5 years old).

As stewards of the land, we hunters can have an impact on the ratio by simply passing on these adolescent bucks in hope they will grow to adulthood. We are not obligated by law to do so, but common sense dictates older bucks only get that way by getting through the most critical, formative time of their young and less experienced lives.

Obviously, such management strategy is not for everyone; youth hunters and those that have little personal time to hunt often opt for the first buck they see. Fine. It’s understandable. But agree with these tactics or not, they are part of the buck to doe equation.

Finally, however, Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission is offering its own version of stimulus and only in Michigan can we find such “problem-solving” creativeness. For a limited time only, hunters may purchase two antlerless tags for the price of three. That’s right. Last season for $30 a hunter could purchase three antlerless tags; now he’ll receive two for the same money. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Supply is limited.

It’s always a delicate balancing act with government: Its goal appears to be to squeeze as much as possible from any group (in this case hunters) without making fees, taxes, licenses – call them what you will – so exorbitant that revenues will actually decrease rather than increase, as intended. With this antlerless-license maneuver, some will be motivated to drop out of the market; some among the dropouts will be encouraged to bag a doe or two without paying for any license at all. These are givens.

But who among the hunting fraternity will purchase more tags at the increased rate to make up for those mentioned above? I’m going to go out on a limb here and venture a guess: Nobody!

It’s no wonder that the hunting population has decreased an average of 2 percent annually in Michigan with “government think” at the helm. If upper management really wants to properly manage the burgeoning deer population in high-density areas, lower license costs or even bounties could be implemented.

Auto insurance companies could subsidize any potential revenue decreases with the money they’d save on car/deer collisions (at over $2000 average per crash) and I’m guessing there would still be enough income reserves to give all Michigan drivers reductions in auto insurance premiums.

Call me crazy, but I find it impossible to understand, how in our depressed Michigan economy, Michigan’s hunting “revenue enhancement” strategy will have the desired effect of doing anything but perpetuating the conditions that have us where we are now. Yes, it’s time for change, and this ain’t it.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Time has come for state and federal lawmakers to become reacquainted with the clear meaning of the Second Amendment. With the recent announcement that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, the right of all law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms shall be decided. At issue is whether state and local governments can limit liberty.

A 27-year-old Chicago law banning handguns, requiring the annual taxation of firearms, and otherwise interfering with the right of law-abiding individuals to keep guns at home for self-defense is on the line. The case was brought on behalf of four Chicago residents, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Illinois State Rifle Association.

In last year’s Heller challenge, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. However, that case addressed only the actions of the District of Columbia government, a federal entity; the Supreme Court did not decide whether the right bound states and local governments. Over the years, almost the entire Bill of Rights has been held to apply to state and local governments by operation of the Fourteenth Amendment, with the relevant portion reading as follows: “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”

It really doesn’t seem that complicated, but here we go again. Anyone who has studied history understands that the Bill of Rights protects individuals from overreaching government actions. But, just as sure as you are reading this, the spin will commence, as it did during the Heller case. It will be another example of politics at its worst. And, nothing could be more dreadful, when one considers what is at stake: The very freedom, which has made this country the greatest on earth.

Otis McDonald, a Chicago resident since 1952 and a plaintiff in the case said, “I am grateful the Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case. I now pray that the Court secures me and all other law-abiding citizens the right to defend ourselves and our families.”

It’s an outrage that any governmental entity would think to deny its citizens the right to self defense in their own homes with the means equal to those that would do harm but, once again, for the past 27 years, that’s exactly the case in Chicago.

There remains an eternal truth handed down to us by one Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.), who put it this way: “There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but inborn in our hearts; a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading but by derivation and absorption and adoption from nature itself; a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice, not by instruction but by natural intuition. I refer to the law, which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right. When weapons reduce them to silence, the laws no longer expect one to await their pronouncements.” For people who decide to wait for these will have to wait for justice, too – and meanwhile they must suffer injustice first.”

Deer-Vehicle Collision Frequency Jumps 18 Percent In Five Years
West Virginia Continues to Lead Collision Likelihood List

Bloomington, Ill., Sept. 28, 2009 – The number of vehicles on U.S. roadways has grown by 7 percent over the last five years. But the number of times those vehicles have collided with deer has swelled by much more than that.

Using its claims data, State Farm®, the nation’s leading auto insurer estimates 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the U.S. during the two-year period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009 (100,000 per month). That’s 18.3 percent more than five years earlier. To put it another way, one of these unfortunate encounters occurs every 26 seconds (although they are much more likely during the last three months of the year and in the early evening).

MORE DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS
Among the 35 states where at least 7,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur per year (we are not including the percentage changes in the other 15 states plus D.C. because the lower volume of total collisions makes the percentage changes less credible), New Jersey and Nebraska have posted the largest increases, 54 percent. Kansas is next at 41 percent. Deer-vehicle collisions have jumped by 38 percent in Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas. Then come Oklahoma (34 percent) and West Virginia, North Carolina and Texas (33 percent).

LIKELIHOOD OF DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS
For the third year in a row, West Virginia tops the list of those states where a collision with a deer is most likely (for any one vehicle). Using its claims data in conjunction with state motor vehicle registration counts from the Federal Highway Administration, State Farm calculates the chances of a West Virginia vehicle striking a deer over the next 12 months at 1 in 39. Such an encounter is even more likely in West Virginia than it was a year ago.

Michigan remains second on that list. The likelihood of a specific vehicle striking a deer there is 1 in 78. Pennsylvania (1 in 94) and Iowa (1 in 104) remain third and fourth respectively. Montana (1 in 104) moved up three places to fifth.

Arkansas and South Dakota each dropped a spot to sixth and seventh. Wisconsin remains eighth. North Dakota and Virginia round out the top 10.
The state in which deer-vehicle collisions are least likely is still Hawaii (1 in 9,931). The odds of any one vehicle hitting a deer in Hawaii during the next year are roughly equivalent to the odds of randomly picking a piece of clover and finding it has four leaves.

The average property damage cost of these incidents was $3,050, up 3.4 percent from a year ago.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, deer-vehicle collisions in the U.S. cause more than 150 fatalities each year.

Glen Wunderlich: “We give them rifles and they sell them back to us. What a great concept!”

The Ministry of National Defense plans to sell more than 100,000 aging U.S. combat rifles to American gun enthusiasts, ministry officials said Thursday.

The plan is part of the ministry’s programs to boost its defense budget, they said.

About 86,000 M1 Garand rifles and 22,000 M1 carbine rifles will be sold to gun collectors in the United States, as the U.S. government has approved the sale. The rifles were originally given to South Korea as part of a U.S. aid program in the 1950s, according to officials.

The total value of the firearms for sale exceeds $120 million.

The rifles were used by U.S. troops in the Korean and Vietnam wars before being donated to the South Korean military.

They have been mothballed for years in military warehouses, but were occasionally used in drills by reserve soldiers.

The M1s were made first in 1926 and used in World War II and the Vietnam War.

The carbines were first produced in 1941 and used during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

Great Lakes Wolves Relisted

9/23/09

States in the Great Lakes will have to wait to resume state management over their grey wolf populations as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) officially placed that population back under Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection.

The final rule from FWS concerning the “relisting” of the Great Lakes wolves was issued and made effective on September 16. This represents yet another turn in what has already been a long story of listings, de-listings, and lawsuits.

The Great Lakes wolf population was removed from protection under ESA by the FWS. This action, proposed by the outgoing Bush Administration and then reaffirmed by the new Obama Administration, initially returned the management of wolf populations to the states (in this case Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin).

However, a group of antis, including the Humane Society of the United States, filed a lawsuit to block the delisting in June. While the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) was preparing to intervene in the case with its legal arm, the FWS reached a settlement with the antis that put wolves back on the Endangered Species List. The September 16 final rule is the culmination of that process.

This entire situation was the result of the Department of Interior’s not following proper procedures for delisting during the final weeks of the Bush Administration. Currently, USSA is working with the FWS on another delisting, because science has shown the populations have significantly passed the benchmarks established for recovery.