Michigan: Nearly 100 Parcels of State-Managed Land in Online Auctions in August and September

Surplus land sales are a regular part of the DNR’s public land strategy

Lake frontage, trail access, small lots to extend a neighborhood lot – these types of acreage and more are available in the next round of surplus land auctions from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. After careful consideration of properties it manages on behalf of Michigan residents, the DNR has selected 97 that are much better suited for private ownership and is preparing those for sale via online auctions in August and early September.

Get summer auction info ?

Land is available mainly in central/northern Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula in the following counties: Alcona, Allegan, Benzie, Berrien, Chippewa, Clare, Genesee, Huron, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Mackinac, Mason, Mecosta, Menominee, Midland, Newaygo, Roscommon and Saginaw. Several of the largest parcels are in Clare, Lake and Menominee counties.

Fourteen online auctions, featuring available land parcels by county, are scheduled:

    • Aug. 2 – Benzie
    • Aug. 3 – Chippewa and Mackinac
    • Aug. 4 – Menominee
    • Aug. 6 – Kalkaska and Roscommon
    • Aug. 12 – Alcona
    • Aug. 16 – Mason
    • Aug. 17 – Clare, Lake and Newaygo
    • Aug. 24 – Berrien
    • Aug. 25 – Mecosta
    • Aug. 26 – Allegan and Kent
    • Aug. 27 – Midland
    • Aug. 31 – Huron
    • Sept. 2 – Saginaw
    • Sept. 3 – Genesee

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Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

SDS Imports Announces Launch of the PX9-G2

Knoxville TN – SDS Imports, a leader in quality imported firearm products, announced the much-anticipated release of the PX9-G2 pistol. Designed to replace the highly successful PX9, the PX9-G2 offers a host of upgrades to meet the needs of today’s shooters.

Building on the reliable design of the Gen 1, the PX9-G2’s 9mm hammer forged barrel and slide come standard with a polymer frame, adjustable sights and forward slide serrations. The PX9-G2 makes use of industry-standard accessories, such as S&W M&P 2.0-style sight dovetails and Sig P226 magazines.

The PX9-G2 features a light rail, ambidextrous safeties and magazine release. The PX9-G2 can be customized to fit any shooter with interchangeable side panels and backstraps which allow 27 different grip configurations, and users have the option of using the removeable magazine well. Read more

Firearms, Self Defense

NotMISpecies webinars offer help for backyard invasive species problems and more

NotMISpecies webinars offer help for backyard invasive species problems and more

Register now for upcoming sessions

New sessions in the NotMISpecies webinar series will offer an abundance of information, resources and field experiences to help identify and manage invasive species in Michigan.

Supported by Michigan’s Invasive Species Program, the regular, hourlong webinars are designed to keep participants informed of available programs, current research and emerging issues in the state and the Great Lakes region. Question and answer sessions and links to resources help attendees get the most out of each presentation.

To register for these upcoming events, click on the title of each session below to go to the registration page.

Tuesday, July 27, at 9 a.m., “Hey, what’s that in my backyard?” offers an introduction to Michigan’s 22 cooperative invasive species management areas and how they can help with problem plants, insects and diseases affecting your landscape. Nick Cassel and Fallon Chabala, representatives of the Michigan Invasive Species Coalition, will explain how CISMAs work and the benefits of partnering with your local CISMA on invasive species issues.

Read more

Wildlife

Increase Your Defensive Shotgun Capabilities with Meprolight

Do you own a shotgun for home defense? Using your choice of ammo, have you patterned it at the distances you may have to shoot? It might be 3 yards , 5 yards or even 10 yards. Contrary to popular myth, when you pull the trigger on your shotgun, there is not a magical spread of shot. Choke and type of shot play a part but at the closer distances, the pattern is smaller. Meaning, you need to use your sight and aim. Complicating matters, if you have to use your weapon, it will be in less-than-ideal conditions and under stress. Meprolight®, the industry leader in Day/Night sights, manufactures self-illuminated shotgun sights enabling you to see the sight quicker.

The tritium-powered TRU-DOT® Self-Illuminated Shotgun Sights make target acquisition faster in low-light and adverse conditions. The highly fluorescent coating enhances visibility during the day. No batteries. No switches. Always On. Always Ready. The sights are rugged and built to function under all conditions which is why the IDF and militaries / law enforcement agencies worldwide use them.

Meprolight® TRU-DOT® Shotgun sights are available for:

  • Remington
  • Mossberg
  • Benelli

Upgrading your standard sights to Meprolight® Self-Illuminating Shotgun Sights improves target acquisition when it matters most. Increase your capabilities and give yourself an edge with the brightest Day/Night sights available. All Meprolight® Self-Illuminated Sights come with a 12-year tritium warranty. Meprolight® products are made in Israel and trusted in America. Read more

Optics

Researchers Discover Undocumented Crayfish Species in Kansas

PRATT – Widespread sampling for invasive crayfish had never occurred in Kansas lakes – that is, until the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) recently funded a university project focused on the freshwater crustacean. KDWP’s Aquatic Nuisance Species Program and Ecological Services section funded the project with the overarching goal of establishing sampling protocols that could then be used for long-term monitoring of both native and invasive crayfish in Kansas. To the surprise of staff and researchers, the need for such protocols would be validated almost as quickly as the research project began.

During capturing efforts at McPherson State Fishing Lake – one of several small waterbodies slated to be inspected in the state – university researchers collected multiple Rusty Crayfish. Rusty Crayfish have not previously been documented in the wild in Kansas, making this official “discovery” the first of its kind. Rusty Crayfish captured at McPherson consisted of both males and females of varying ages, indicating a reproducing population is established in the lake. Unfortunately, this isn’t the type of species staff and researchers would hope to find, as the Rusty Crayfish is an invasive species known for the considerable ecological damage it can cause in waterbodies. Read more

Wildlife

WSF: As Drought Mounts, So Does Dollars for Wild Sheep

Bozeman, Montana. July 21, 2021— At the Wild Sheep Foundation’s (WSF) 13th Chapter and Affiliate Summit in Lewistown, Idaho (June 25 & 26), a hat was passed to raise money to bring water to drought-inflicted bighorn sheep herds in southern Nevada and elsewhere in the southern Rockies. By the end of the Summit, eighty-two thousand dollars was raised. This number is now up to an incredible $180,000 from generous WSF chapters, affiliates, and individual WSF members.

“With all the negative banter these days about hunters and hunting by self-proclaimed and media-appointed conservation groups, I say get out your checkbook if you want to do something real for wildlife,” said Gray N. Thornton, president and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “That’s what sportsmen have been doing for more than a century, and that’s what is happening here again for our wild sheep.”

More than 70 delegates attended the annual Summit from throughout WSF’s Chapter and Affiliate network, encompassing North America, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. When presented with the dire situation in Nevada, without hesitation, pledges started rolling in.

“We see this time and again,” Thornton explained. “If there is a more giving group ready to make things happen than sheep hunters and those that just love seeing wild sheep, I’d like to meet them.” Read more

Wildlife

USCCA, Vortex Optics Giveaway

BARNEVELD, Wis. – We teamed up with the U.S. Concealed Carry Association and several other great partners to assemble a prize package valued at more than $25,000. In addition to the ultimate gear loadout, you could also win a fully customizable, one-on-one training experience for you and a friend with our instructors at Vortex Edge™ in 2022.

Entry is easy – simply follow this link to throw your name in the hat.

Our state-of-the-art facilities

Vortex Edge™, our 55,000-square foot state-of-the-art training facility, was built to accommodate shooters of all skill levels. Now, you and a friend have an opportunity to experience it your own way with help from our talented team of instructors. Read more

Optics

Primary Arms “Summer Sticker” Photo Contest

HOUSTON, TEXAS – Primary Arms has announced the ‘Summer Sticker’ Instagram photo contest, offering participants a chance to win exciting weekly prizes—as well as a custom grand prize, worth up to $1,700.

Starting July 12th, every order from primaryarms.com will include a limited decal: a sunset-themed sticker with the Primary Arms logo. These stickers come with entry instructions, plus a QR code that will show all the prizes available to weekly winners.

Once you’ve received your sticker, follow @primaryarmsonline on Instagram, post a picture with your most creative use/placement of the summer sticker with the ‘#primaryarms’ hashtag, and tag your range buddies. Every Friday, Primary Arms will announce a new weekly winner, who will receive a special care package full of range day gear and necessities. At the end of August, Primary Arms will name a grand champion from the weekly winners, awarding a custom optics and gear package worth up to $1,700. To view prize list and more details, visit the giveaway landing page. Read more

Firearms

SAF Files Amicus Brief In New York Right-To-Carry Supreme Court Case

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today filed an important amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a challenge of New York State’s restrictive concealed carry permitting scheme by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.

SAF is joined in this “friend of the court” brief by several organizations including the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, Buckeye Firearms Foundation, Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Illinois State Rifle Association, Florida Carry, Inc., Grass Roots North Carolina, Louisiana Shooting Association, Tennessee Firearms Association, Maryland Shall Issue, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Sportsmen’s Association for Firearms Education, and Virginia Citizens Defense League.

“This case has been a long time coming and it would not be an overstatement that SAF has an intense interest because of our many members in New York and elsewhere that so-called ‘proper cause’ requirements are routinely used to deny law-abiding citizens the ability to carrying firearms for personal protection outside their homes,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Such laws are arbitrary in nature and they place an absurd level of authority in the hands of local officials and their subordinates to deny citizens their constitutional right to bear arms.”

The Supreme Court has not heard a Second Amendment case in more than a decade, Gottlieb recalled, “and it is high time to consider another.” The last time the high court took on a Second Amendment case was in 2010, which resulted in the victory known as McDonald v. City of Chicago, a case brought by SAF that nullified Chicago’s unconstitutional handgun ban and incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment and made this New York case possible. The 35-page brief is submitted by attorneys David H. Thompson and Peter A. Patterson, Cooper & Kirk PLLC, Washington, D.C.

“The Second Amendment should no longer be treated like the ugly stepchild of the Bill of Rights,” Gottlieb observed. “Its language is clear, that the amendment protects not only the right of the individual citizen to keep arms, but to bear them, and that right extends beyond the confines of one’s home. A right limited to someone’s home is no right at all, and the court now has an opportunity to make that abundantly clear, settling an important constitutional issue once and for all.”

Gun Control

Wildlife Conservation Month: The Wood Duck

With their exquisite, bright coloration, male wood ducks are considered one of the most beautiful birds in the world. In fact, their scientific name, Aix sponsa, is Latin for “promised bride,” alluding to how the drakes look dressed to attend a wedding.

Wood ducks are medium-sized ducks that frequent wooded ponds, streams and marshes. Both hens and drakes have colorful blue, maroon and silver-accented wings. The hens are much more plainly colored, with grey-brown upperparts, mottled brown and white breasts, white bellies and a white, teardrop-shaped eye patch.

Wood duck pairs nest in tree cavities that are 15-30 feet above the ground or in man-made nest boxes. The hens lay nine to 14 eggs at a time. Wood duck hens sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other wood duck hens. This leaves one hen with more than her share of ducklings to raise. Nests have been documented with up to 40 eggs in them!

Only a few days after hatching, young wood ducks are ready to leave the nest. The mother flies to the ground and then calls to her youngsters to encourage them. The young then jump the long distance from the tree cavity to the ground. The fluffy, downy chicks bounce when they land and toddle off after their mothers without a scratch. Read more

Wildlife
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