ThinkingAfield.org

The past fiscal year has provided challenges for many with the onset of COVID-19. Whitetails Unlimited is no exception. However, through all the adversity, WTU awarded more than 1,000 grants totaling $1,405,000. The grant program provides funds to support local projects that strengthen WTU’s mission. Our dedicated volunteers and entire membership base enjoy sharing in the responsibility of managing the nation’s most sought after big-game animal. They have witnessed the strengthening of some of WTU’s most successful programs and initiatives, including Staying on Target, HOPE for Wildlife, Preserving the Hunting Tradition, and the DEER Program.

Over the past 39 years, Whitetails Unlimited has recruited thousands of conservation minded individuals to join its ranks as chapter volunteers. As WTU volunteers, they share similar values with others concerned about the white-tailed deer, its habitat, and the future of deer hunting. Their continued dedication will remain a vital ingredient in the organization’s formula for success.

“Our mission has always been clear, says WTU President Jeff Schinkten, “To raise funds in support of educational programs, wildlife habitat enhancement and acquisition, and preservation of the hunting tradition.” Read more

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners contributed $4,661,962 in grant funding for wildlife habitat enhancement, research and other projects to improve public access and promote hunting across Wyoming. RMEF directly granted $220,700 that leveraged an additional $4,41,262 in partner dollars.

“This funding will help rejuvenate ailing aspen stands, remove encroaching conifers that overtake historic forage and help pay for other treatments to improve habitat for elk and other wildlife,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “In addition to assisting with research, it also opens more private land for hunters and anglers to use and enjoy.”

Seventeen conservation projects benefit Albany, Big Horn, Campbell, Carbon, Fremont, Johnson, Lincoln, Park, Sheridan, Sweetwater and Teton Counties. There are also four projects of statewide benefit.

There are more than 8,200 members and 22 RMEF chapters in Wyoming. Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

Inadvertently, I have become host to one of Michigan’s most poisonous animals. It has a face that only a mother could love and its venom has the potential to trigger serious cardiac, neurological and gastrointestinal problems. Primarily secretive, it kills under the cover of darkness often oblivious to my presence – even when I’m a mere foot away. If you guessed massasauga rattlesnake or black widow spider, guess again.

The Eastern American toad isn’t the kind of pet one should not desire to pet – and, for good reason beyond its creepy looking skin: It is poisonous! Its parotoid glands behind its head contain a powerful venom chemical called Bufotoxin and it is secreted as a white liquid film coating its skin. Defensive in nature, handling one will typically deliver no more than a skin rash or allergic reaction but to other animals, it can mean death, if eaten – and, that’s why the slow-moving reptiles are left alone by predators.

Over the past month, one adaptable toad has made my garage part of its exploratory travels in search of prey. In that time it seems to have doubled in size under my peculiar passion to feed it whatever insect I can disable and drop before its non-discriminating, wide mouth. At first it seems to study the gift, but in an instant it thrusts its entire body spearheaded by its opening mouth to the target and sucks it down; it’s too fast to actually comprehend without the aid of recorded video technology.

At night it “eats out”, as the automatic security light attracts customers for its dining pleasure. It seems to have a routine that involves entering the garage through openings at the corners of the overhead door, where the threshold has developed openings at the corners. In fact, it uses the cover of the garage to lie inside waiting for careless critters that pass by.

While our hot and humid weather can make us feel lazy, it creates the perfect environment for toads to become active, although mainly at night. These carnivores are super insect eaters, and because of that, I find them not only entertaining but helpful.
Surprisingly, all toads are considered frogs. Both are amphibians but frogs have smoother, moist skin and longer legs. Toads are more bumpy and warty-looking. Frogs prefer to be around water and moist places, whereas toads can withstand drier habitats. Also, toads prefer to crawl rather than to hop.

There are ways to attract toads with lights, shallow ponds, leaf litter and holes in the ground, but Mother Nature seems to have done all this for me and the indigenous reptile.
Capturing and caging toads and frogs might seem like fun to kids, but these reptiles are better off exploring the environment that produced them.

As the seasons change and as winter approaches, toads will burrow into the ground and will dig deeper as the frost line pushes them farther below. In the meantime, I will enjoy the show even if I alter the script for our mutual enjoyment.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Book Cliffs is a well-known hunting area in northeastern Utah. In recent years, though, deer, livestock and other animals in the area have struggled due to ongoing drought conditions limiting water sources and habitat, which provides shelter and feed. A working group comprised of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologists and several state and federal agencies, conservation groups, universities and landowners have been working to address those issues.

In April 2019, the Utah Wildlife Board tasked the DWR with forming a Book Cliffs Working Group to assess the causes of the decreasing mule deer and elk populations in the area and to develop a plan. Several stakeholders in the area are involved in the group, including the Bureau of Land Management, the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Utah Farm Bureau, Utah State University, Brigham Young University, the Mule Deer Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and several landowners. The group meets several times a year to coordinate implementation of the action plan that was completed in May 2020.

“The Book Cliffs area includes crucial, but limited, summer range for many big game animals,” DWR Northeastern Region Habitat Manager Pat Rainbolt said. “Livestock also graze there. Due to the drought conditions, there hasn’t been enough available feed, water or shelter for all the different animals that depend on the 800,000-acre Book Cliffs area. The working group helps to address issues and implement projects that will have long-lasting impacts to help the wildlife and livestock that use this area.” Read more