Michigan DNR to present chronic wasting disease recommendations to Natural Resources Commission

After months of talking with interested citizens and hunting and wildlife stakeholders and reviewing the best available science regarding chronic wasting disease, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is set to presentCWD recommendations to the Natural Resources Commission at its next monthly meeting Thursday, June 14, in Lansing. Recommendations will be presented during Committee of the Whole.

The department’s recommendations are the result of a six-month-long public engagement effort, during which DNR staff and NRC members met with people around the state, hosted 11 public meetings, and offered online survey and comment opportunities. The recommendations are being presented for information to the commission, as part of the public input process.

The NRC will review, discuss and possibly modify recommendations before making a final decision at a future commission meeting. Comments may be submitted to the commission via email at NRC@michigan.gov. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

McMillan A5-22 Stock

New Model Built to Accept 10/22 Barreled Actions

Phoenix, AZ – McMillan® has just announced availability of the all-new A5-22 stock for use with the popular 10/22 barreled action, giving Ruger, Kidd 10/22, and Volquartsen-style rifles a robust, tactical platform for ultimate rimfire performance.

The new McMillan® A5-22 stock represents a slight variation on the company’s renowned A-5 precision tactical stock and designed to accommodate Ruger 10/22 actions and Kidd 10/22 models with rear tang attachments. Built from hand-laid fiberglass for maximum strength and accuracy enhancement, the McMillan® A5-22  is perfect for shooting from a bench or the prone position.  Featuring a broad forearm base and flattened buttstock bottom provides increased stability when using sandbags or field-improvised rests. The McMillan® A5-22 is available in flat top (no inletting), basic inlet (action outline and barrel channel), or full inlet configurations, and also offered with either a fixed-comb or an integral adjustable cheek piece for a custom fit. Read more

Firearms

Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Donating 50,000 Rods & Reels to Get Kids Outside

Biggest Gone Fishing donation ever kicks off free in-store events and partnerships to introduce families to fishing

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Noted conservationist and Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris is challenging families everywhere to put down their digital devices and head outside to discover the joys of fishing this summer. Morris, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s are donating more than 50,000 rods and reels to not-for-profit partners that help kids from all backgrounds connect to the great outdoors to kick off Gone Fishing.

The nationwide movement is part of an annual call-to-action that aims to introduce the sport to millions of kids. Activities include donations, nonprofit partnerships and a variety of free in-store activities at all Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s locations across North America on June 9-10 and 16-17.

“In a world where kids are increasingly surrounded by screens and digital distractions, it’s more important than ever to help them discover the joy of fishing,” said Bob Ziehmer, Bass Pro Shops Senior Director of Conservation. Today’s donations underscore our commitment to inspiring the next generation of conservationists, sportsmen and women, and we hope everyone joins us for our free Gone Fishing events in stores this summer.”

National Donation Day

Gone Fishing kicks off with a national donation day on Thursday, June 7, with Morris, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s donating more than 50,000 rods and reels to nonprofit organizations that connect kids to the outdoors and help get more kids outside. Customers brought in gently used rods and reels this spring in exchange for discounts on new gear; each piece is refurbished to ensure they are fish-ready for kids. With Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s joining forces, this year marks the largest donation in the event’s history. In the last five years, Bass Pro has donated more than 300,000 items to youth-focused nonprofit organizations including Boys and Girls Club and Boy Scouts of America. Read more

Fishing

GW:  Ambitious to say the least.  Just wish we really had the money.

Approved projects will repair and rehabilitate aging National Park Service infrastructure

WASHINGTON— Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced more than $256 million in approved funding to rebuild critical national park infrastructure. The list includes projects like the repair of the Arlington Memorial Bridge in D.C., the visitor access upgrade at Herring Cove Beach at the Cape Cod National Seashore, and the rehabilitation of the Elkmont Waste Water System at Great Smoky Mountains National Park—dire maintenance and repair needs that contribute to the $11.6 billion backlog currently facing the nation’s national parks.

Roads, bridges, trails, water systems and visitor centers—even bathrooms, campgrounds and drinking fountains—are all part of this critical, but often unnoticed, infrastructure framework. In 2017, 330 million people visited the 417 NPS sites across the country. The NPS ?completed over $650 million in maintenance and repair work in Fiscal Year 2017, but aging facilities, high visitation, and resource constraints have kept the maintenance backlog between $11 billion and $12 billion since 2010.

“The President is a builder, he loves to build and he loves our National Parks, so it is a natural fit that the Administration is dedicating so much attention to rebuilding our aging parks infrastructure. These approved projects are more than just line items on an Excel spreadsheet. They have a tangible effect on a person’s experience when visiting our nation’s parks,” said Zinke. “Today’s announcement is another step toward eliminating the more than $11 billion in maintenance facing the National Park Service. It’s another step toward prioritizing infrastructure because it is an investment that bolsters local economies and gateway communities. And it is another step in prioritizing access for all Americans to our public lands.”

Secretary Zinke has made tackling Interior’s deferred maintenance backlog one of his top priorities. In April, he signed an memorandum of understanding committing Interior to follow President Trump’s One Federal Decision framework for processing of environmental reviews and permits for major infrastructure projects. In March, Interior announced the Secretary’s partnership with Congress on a bipartisan bill to address rebuild and repair National Park Service infrastructure.

Approved Fiscal Year 2018 National Park Service construction projects:

Unit Project Title State Total
George Washington Memorial Parkway Repair Arlington Memorial Bridge. DC $18,200,000
National Mall and Memorial Parks Restore Jefferson Roof and Portico. DC $21,371,000
Lowell National Historical Park Replace Unsafe and Inefficient Windows of Boott Mill Museum. MA $4,177,000
Cape Cod National Seashore Upgrade Visitor Access at Herring Cove Beach. MA $5,442,000
Yellowstone National Park Rehab and Seismic Retrofit of Mammoth Hotel Guest Room Wings. WY $21,264,000
Fort Point National Historic Site Repair Leaks in North Barbette Tier and Repoint Brick Masonry at Fort Point. CA $5,996,000
Channel Islands National Park Replace Anacapa Stiff-Leg Derrick Crane with Two-Crane System. CA $3,922,000
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Replace Plaza Paver System and Rehabilitate Visitor Center. SD $8,937,000
Vicksburg National Military Park Stabilize Railroad Redoubt Earthworks. MS $5,909,000
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve Construct Electrical Intertie to Falls Creek Hydro Project – Renewable Energy & Sustainability. AK $7,545,000
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rehabilitate Elkmont Waste Water System. TN $2,594,000
Valley Forge National Historical Park Rehabilitate Visitor Center for Access, Safety, and Energy Efficiency. PA $10,030,000
Old Santa Fe Trail Building Rehab Building for Seismic, Rehab Exterior Envelope and Historic Elements. NM $2,822,000
Lake Mead National Recreation Area Replace Water Intake Barge with Shoreline Wells at Katherine Landing to Ensure Reliable Water Supply. AZ $1,976,000
Death Valley National Park Restore Flood-Damaged Historic Scotty’s Castle Visitor Center. CA $5,394,000
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Replace Old/Failing Primary Electrical Distribution Infrastructure. NM $3,432,000
Great Smoky Mountains National Park North Shore Road Monetary Settlement. NC $35,200,000
Mammoth Cave National Park  

Reconstruct Unsafe Cave Trail Along Grand Avenue Tour Between Snowball and Grand Central.

 KY $13,894,000
Statue Of Liberty National Monument Stabilize Ellis Island Seawall – Phase III. NY $33,021,000
National Capital Regional Office Rehabilitate National Mall and Memorial Parks, US Park Police, and Regional Office Campus. DC $11,807,000
Yosemite National Park Rehabilitate Wawona Wastewater Treatment Plant. CA $21,578,000
Glacier National Park Rebuild/Reconstruct Sperry Chalet. MT $12,000,000
General

Century Arms C39v2 Blade Summer Giveaway

Delray Beach, Fla. –  – Century Arms, North America’s premier AK manufacturer, has announced that they have teamed up with The Gun Directory and other industry partners to offer a new AK pistol package giveaway to one lucky social media fan. The C39v2 Blade Summer Giveaway package will run from June 6th – 30th, 2018. To enter for a chance to win the package, valued at over $1,825, contestants only need to enter their email address and follow each company’s social media pages.

The C39v2 Blade Pistol is the perfect combination of features for a truck gun, the modern prepper, or anyone looking for a compact package that delivers power and reliability. Compatible with the Century Arms AK Micro Dot Side Mount for rugged mounting of optics, the C39v2 Blade Pistol features a 4150 nitride-treated barrel and milled receiver, RAK-1 Enhanced Trigger Group, and quick-detach attachment points for easy mounting of a tactical sling.

Century Arms is pleased to give the randomly-selected winner the following:

–      Century Arms C39v2 Blade AK Pistol, Cal. 7.62x39mm

–      Red Army Standard AK Micro Dot Side Mount

–      Weapon Works LLC Custom Cerakote MC Black finish

–      Primary Arms MD-RB-AD Red Dot Optic

–      Primary Arms PAWL-3BKGENIV Compact Weapon Light with Magpul Mounting Kit

–      Beachin’ Tactical Speed Sling W/ Camo Webbing

Beginning June 6th, contestants can enter the sweepstakes for free to win the C39v2 Blade Summer Giveaway package simply by following the social media pages of each company and submitting an email address to the giveaway registration page that can be found at https://gleam.io/oHReI/century-arms-c39v2-blade-summer-giveaway. Once registered, entrants can receive bonus entries for sharing a referral link. Read more

Firearms

ICYMI: Committee on Natural Resources to Hold Hearing in Alpena to Discuss Impact of the Cormorant

The Committee on Natural Resources is leaving Capitol Hill for the day and coming to Northern Michigan, where they’ll hold an oversight hearing on the cormorant, an aquatic bird, next week.

The committee will be holding a field hearing in Alpena next Monday, June 11.

They recently introduced the Cormorant Control Act, which focuses on managing the species populations.

The bird has been raising concern within the fishing game industry in the Great Lakes.

The DNR has gotten rid of 10 percent of the birds in the past, partly by oiling their eggs to prevent them from hatching, but now lawmakers are trying to find ways to more properly manage the bird. Read more

Wildlife

Pesky forest tent caterpillars again are munching leaves on Michigan trees

Forest tent caterpillars are making a nuisance of themselves across Michigan, eating leaves from sugar maple, aspen and oak trees and leaving small strands of webbing as they go.

The insects, which are native to Michigan, occur in widespread outbreaks every 10 to 15 years. The most recent outbreaks peaked in 2002 and 2010. They’ve been spotted across the Lower Peninsula and in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Outbreaks usually last two or three years; this is the second or third year for outbreaks in some areas.

An infestation of forest tent caterpillars rarely is fatal unless a tree has other stresses, said Scott Lint, forest health specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Division. Read more

Wildlife

Report: HSUS Pays Twice What it Receives in Fundraising

HumaneWatch recently wrote about the bizarre tale of HSUS fundraiser Loop NYC, which appears to raise money by soliciting random strangers on the New York subway system. For anyone who’s ever been on the system, this has to be one of the dumbest strategies: People want to avoid other people on the New York subway, not give them their credit card info.

One thing that caught our eye was the claim from the marketing firm that for every dollar a solicitor raised for HSUS, he received two. This is what one might call “fuzzy math.” Here’s how it works—and why it’s terrible for charities to do.

A charity, in this case HSUS, pays a solicitor money to attempt to raise funds. In some cases, the payment may be more than a solicitor actually raises (if the solicitor charges by the hour or by the call, for instance). Some veterans charities have been called out for operating in this way, whereby they raise millions but the solicitor keeps close to 100% of what’s raised and the veterans see next to nothing. (Or, in HSUS’s case, homeless animals see next to nothing.)

The charities defend this practice by saying they are essentially prospecting—they’re paying for a fund raiser to build a mailing list of donors that the charity can then reach out to, on its own, years down the line. But this fact is not made clear to donors, who think their money is being used now for charity—not put into the pockets of a fundraiser.

If solicitors were honest about it, people wouldn’t donate. That’s how you know it is a deceptive fundraising practice. And blame should be shared equally between both the solicitor and the charity, since they have an agreed-upon, detailed contract about the solicitation activity.

Animal Rights

Textron Off Road Introduces the All-New Prowler™ Pro


A true, whisper-quiet workhorse for the farm or hunt camp

AUGUSTA, GA — Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, and its Textron Off Road brand continue to innovate the company’s off-road vehicle lineup with the introduction of the all-new, pure-utility Prowler Pro. Built in Thief River Falls, Minn. by the company known for precision engineering that fuels adventurers and hard workers all over the world, the Prowler Pro offers quiet gas power and unmatched reliability to tackle the toughest jobs and handle the most-extreme hunts.

“Textron Off Road focused on the driver experience when developing the new Prowler Pro,” said John Collins, Vice President, Consumer for Textron Specialized Vehicles. “The legacy of Textron, a leader in design and production of combat vehicles, military helicopters and advanced marine craft trusted to keep our warfighters safe, has been built into this vehicle making it a formidable work partner.” Read more

General

Michigan: ‘Three Free’ weekend coming June 9-10

Grab a fishing rod, ride Michigan’s off-road trails and/or pay a visit to your favorite state park for free – all in the same weekend. During two back-to-back days, June 9-10, we invite residents and out-of-state visitors to enjoy Free Fishing Weekend, Free ORV Weekend and free entry into state parks.

All fishing license, ORV license, trail permit and Recreation Passport costs will be waived. All other regulations still apply. Read more

Fishing
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