Upland Hunting Deepens Connection to Conservation

By Tera Baird

A covey of bobwhite quail taking to the wing is an unforgettable sight. The sound, startling and chaotic. Add a German Shorthaired Pointer named Rhett locked up like a stone staring nervously into hummocks of switch grass, followed by the dull report of a Baretta O/U .20 gauge on my shoulder, and it all makes for a treasured experience. And a pivot point in one’s trajectory.

I am a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Southeast. I have spent most of my career as a non-game biologist, and I was raised in a family that doesn’t hunt. So I’ve always felt a bit outside the realm of the hunting world. That changed when I had the opportunity develop further as a professional and participate in Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow (CLfT) at Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center in Mansfield, Georgia. The center is named after the renowned outdoor writer and the first director of Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The workshop, sponsored by the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, is an intensive five-day hunting awareness and conservation education program designed for natural resource professionals who didn’t come into the profession through the portal of hunting. The workshop aims to give natural resource professionals a hunting immersion and encourages participants to explore and discuss the past and future roles of hunting in wildlife management. The goal isn’t to create new hunters but to foster a connection to a constituency we serve and provide that context for future natural resource leaders. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Universal Scope Rings introduced by Versaring

The number one returned item in the industry finally has a solution. Versaring has developed scope rings that guarantee a correct height. Never again will you need to guess when selecting the right height for your gun and scope combination. These universal designs have created a new era in the scope ring category.

Absolutely every detail of these 3 styles has been meticulously designed and tested over a two-and-a-half-year period. Versaring paid attention to every detail. Even the selection of screws was taken to extremes. The process of finding the strongest fasteners possible spanned nine months resulting in increased strength by almost one hundred percent making them the toughest in the category. The high tolerance machining ensures constant contact around the scope perimeter. The additional thread count in every tapped hole produces an incredible grip. The aircraft aluminum guarantees a strong & lasting product backed with a lifetime warranty.

The patent pending innovation comes from the ability for the scope rings to change configurations within its design. These 3 designs vary in look and concept to cover a wide range of applications. They can be used for everything from the shooter that likes sending long range bombs to tight cover with point and shoot scenarios. Versaring produced vertical split, horizontal split, and hinge scope rings. The variety of special features will accommodate any requirement. All designs come in 1” and 30 mm with a matte black finish. Versaring has simplified optics mounting. To learn more visit our website at www.versa-ring.com .

Optics

Yamaha Fulfills $500,000 Pledge in Outdoor Access Initiative Grants

Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative’s 2022 Q4 Grants Fund Large-Scale Riding Area Clean Up and Essential Trail Maintenance Projects Protecting Access to Land for Motorized Recreation

MARIETTA, GA – Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, today announces the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI) contributed more than $500,000 in grant awards for 2022, satisfying a commitment made in honor of National Public Lands Day. The final funding cycle for 2022 in the fourth quarter provided meaningful support to a wide variety of projects – from California desert cleanup and state-wide riding trail maintenance in Washington to multiuse bridges and trail resurfacing – making public lands sustainably accessible for motorized and outdoor recreation.

“The response from the outdoor community to our call for quality projects the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative can fund is the reason we were able to fulfill our 2022 pledge. While half a million dollars will make a significant impact, we know there are more opportunities out there in need of support,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s motorsports marketing manager. “In 2023, our commitment is unchanged as we continue to invite and welcome partnerships with land managers, riders, land stewards, and anyone who relies on public land for outdoor recreation. Together we will work to protect, defend, and improve access everyone can enjoy for years to come.” Read more

General

21 communities to share $14.2 million in Michigan Spark Grants

The DNR received more than 460 applications for the dedicated American Rescue Plan Act funding

Nearly three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost two dozen of the hardest-hit Michigan communities are benefiting from $14,178,900 in Michigan Spark Grants funding – a big boost toward creating, renovating or redeveloping public recreation opportunities for residents and visitors.

“Every Michigander in every community deserves access to the great outdoors to connect with nature, exercise, and spend time with friends and family,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “These Spark Grants will fund a variety of public recreation projects across our state, including accessible trails at a Flint park, a rebuilt splash pad in Muskegon, and new bike racks, picnic tables and benches at a park in Sault Ste. Marie.

“Under the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan that I signed last year, we made the largest one-time investment ever in our state and local parks,” Whitmer said. “Now, we’re delivering those resources to move dirt and make a real difference in people’s lives while supporting good-paying jobs along the way.”

Open grant awards list 

Michigan Spark Grants, administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, offer the DNR a chance to reach people in communities whose economic opportunities and public health were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This reimagined approach activates historic support for projects that provide safe, accessible public recreation facilities and spaces to improve people’s health, introduce new recreation experiences, build on existing park infrastructure and make it easier for people to enjoy the outdoors.

Two key ways these grants differ from the department’s existing recreation grant programs are that applicants can seek up to $1 million for a single project and there is no 25% match requirement.

In total, the DNR considered 462 applications requesting more than $280 million – figures that far eclipsed what the department is used to. In comparison, the DNR’s top three recreation grant programs – the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Recreation Passport and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund – usually field a collective ask of around 150 applications seeking between $50 million and $60 million annually.

“The response was more than we could have imagined,” said acting DNR Director Shannon Lott. “Clearly, the Michigan Spark Grants opportunity and outreach have tapped into a critical need in many areas of the state, and we are proud to deliver support that will help create and restore the quality public recreation resources that we know can improve public health, anchor communities and strengthen a sense of place.”

Some of the funded projects in this round include:

  • $1 million to rehabilitate the St. John Street Neighborhood Memorial Park along the Flint River, in Genesee County, through improved and accessible trails, parking and a kayak/canoe launch, plus a new playground.
  • $716,600 to revitalize Alford Park in Sault Ste. Marie, in Chippewa County, with the addition of accessible pedestrian paths and amenities such as bike racks, picnic tables and benches.
  • $475,000 for replacement of the aging boardwalk at the Covert Park Beach and Campground, located along the Lake Michigan shore in Van Buren County.
  • $393,000 to renovate the Marlette Community Park, in Sanilac County, with an accessible walking trail and playground equipment and updated pavilions.
  • $250,000 to rebuild the city of Muskegon’s existing community splash pad, in Muskegon County. Read more
Wildlife

Rare Michigan Ecosystem Restoration Underway

Hunter-driven grant provides critical funding for pine-barren restoration in NWTF’s Huron-Manistee Focal Landscape.

Pine barrens and pine-oak barrens occur throughout the East and Midwest and are what they sound like, landscapes filled with pine and oak species that are barren for agricultural production. They are characterized by their sandy, acidic soils that hardly retain moisture – terrible for growing most food crops but a haven for wildlife, including wild turkeys, and are one of the rarest ecosystems in Michigan’s Great Lakes Regions.

With their low-growing grassy species, interspersed with mature mast-producing species such as oak, barren ecosystems provide a diversity of habitat for wild turkeys, white-tailed deer and even non-game species like Kirtlands’s warbler, a recently delisted endangered species that relies heavily upon pine barren ecosystems. However, the presence of these rare communities on the landscape is not what it used to be.

“Due to increases in human development, suppression of naturally occurring wildfire and fragmentation of the landscape, we have seen a decline in the abundance and quality of these habitats,” said Ryan Boyer, NWTF district biologist for Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. “We are also losing many of the forested wildlife openings once found within Michigan’s northern forests due to changes with succession tied to a lack of disturbance, as well as an influx of invasive species which out-compete native plants.

(NWTF Staff Photo.)

Ultimately, these factors reduce the quality of these habitat types for many wildlife species.”

While these essential landscapes are increasingly rare, the NWTF is currently working to revitalize oak and pine barren ecosystems back to their former glory throughout Michigan, thanks to a generous $277,000 grant from the MDNR via its Wildlife Habitat Grant Program. Read more

Wildlife

Starting  March 1 , residents will pay $13 for Recreation Passport

Feb. 10, 2023

Passport gives year-round vehicle access to state parks and other outdoor recreation, and an easy way to help protect natural resources for generations

Packing up for a camping trip. Fishing from your favorite pier. Parking the car, ready to enjoy thousands of miles of motorized and nonmotorized trails or drop your boat in the water …

Those are just a few outdoor amenities and experiences that start with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ valued-packed Recreation Passport, which gives year-round vehicle access to 100-plus state parks and recreation areas, more than 1,000 state-managed boating access sites, 140-plus state forest campgrounds, and parking at thousands of miles of trails and other outdoor spaces.

Next month, people will see a slight increase in the cost of a Recreation Passport, but at just over a dollar per month it is still the best recreation deal around. Effective , the Recreation Passport resident vehicle fee increases from $12 to $13 (and from $6 to $7 for motorcycles) – the first such increase since 2020. Read more

Wildlife

Crow Active in Michigan

Crow season runs from now until the end of March statewide.  Here, Doug takes the first one of the season with #8 shot with his 12-gauge scattergun.

Doug Schaberg’s First Crow of the Season

We tried to set up early in the darkness of pre-dawn, but dang it if the crows were already flying.  Sure enough, they picked us off before we could get to hiding and made sure the local crow population knew trouble was afoot.  Doug popped one that didn’t get the memo.

Hunting

14,000 Rounds of Ammo in Brownells Super Barrel V Giveaway

GRINNELL, Iowa –– Brownells Super Barrel V is here, giving Brownells customers their chance to win 14,000 rounds of Winchester 5.56 ammo – a retail value of more than $7,000.

Starting Wednesday, February 8, contestants can enter several different ways at the Brownells Super Barrel page for their chance to win the enormous barrel full of 55 grain FMJ ammunition.

By itself, the ammo weighs as much as 484 12-ounce cans of America’s favorite macro brew, or the equivalent of more than 500 bags of tortilla chips.

A range day with family and friends and this much 5.56 ammo would be way more fun than the biggest tailgate party in pro football history.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm February 15. Then one lucky winner will be chosen to receive the enormous barrel full Winchester ammunition.

For more information, and a chance to win, visit the Brownells Super Barrel page. Read more

Ammunition

Flint Bowmen Club Hosts Indoor Regional for Michigan S3DA

Williamsburg, KY – Flint Bowmen Inc. is one of the oldest archery clubs in Michigan. Flint Bowmen is a family-oriented archery shop associated with various archery organizations which offers leagues and competitions to all ages and abilities. The Hunter’s Den Warriors S3DA Team hosted the third Michigan Indoor Regional of the 2023 competition season at Flint Bowmen Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The indoor range was packed with archers of all ages throughout the day with archers from five teams participating in the event.

Michigan S3DA State Coordinator, Cara Waite said, “It was great to be at a new venue this year for this regional. Thank you to Flint Bowmen for volunteering to host an indoor regional. Archers are continuing to grow friendships, improve their scores and gain confidence in our third regional of the year. It is great to watch their improvement. While talking to many parents throughout the day, it was brought up many times about how much growth we have seen in many of our archers across the state. It is great watching the skills and confidence of archers grow as they continue to compete in this amazing sport.” Read more

Archery

Gator Waders Realtree Camo Camp Boots

Gator Waders Realtree Camp Boots, available in Realtree Original and Timber camo patterns, keep your feet dry without sacrificing comfort or style. As the name implies, these boots are ideal for slipping on when you return to camp after a long day of hunting or for wearing around fish camp. They’re also great for soggy adventures outdoors or for a trip into town on a rainy day.

The Camp Boots feature an interior neoprene-lining for comfort, while the 100% waterproof rubber outer layer keeps water out for dry wear all day long. These highly functional boots offer ultra-durability and protection with scuff- and slip-resistant outsoles and reinforced heels and toes. Read more

General
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