Family-Outdoors

PIERRE, S.D. - The Fourth of July is always a busy time at state parks across South Dakota. If you are planning to be at a state park during the holiday period, make plans to attend one of the following events. 4th of July Campsite Decorating Contest, Saturday and Sunday, June 30 and July 1, Oakwood Lakes State Park near Volga and Lake Poinsett Recreation Area near Arlington. Info: 605-627-5441 Red, White and Blue Bike Parade , Saturday, June 30, 9:45 a.m. CDT, Lewis & Clark Recreation Area near Yankton. Info: 605-668-2985 Patriotic Bike Parade, Saturday, June 30, 10 a.m. CDT, Lake Poinsett Recreation Area near Arlington. Info: 605-983-5085 Birding Basics, Saturday, June 30, 11 a.m. CDT, Newton Hills State Park near Canton. Info: 605-987-2263 Red, White and Blue Bike Parade, Saturday, June 30, 2 p.m. CDT. Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon. Info: 605-582-7243 Pictures in the Stars, Saturday, June 30, 2 p.m. CDT. Roy Lake State Park near Lake City. Info: 605-...

Emergency burning restrictions for 11 counties in southern Wisconsin  will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday, June 29. All portions of Columbia, Crawford, Green Lake, Marquette, Richland, and Sauk, and portions of Adams, Dane, Iowa, Grant and Juneau counties that are outside incorporated cities and villages are under these restrictions, which prohibit burning any combustible material outdoors until further notice. This includes: all fireworks (restricted and non-restricted); burn piles or barrels, (all DNR burn permits suspended); campfires with the exception of developed camping areas within a fire ring; outdoor disposal of ashes or charcoal briquettes; and smoking a cigar, cigarette, or pipe, except within an enclosed vehicle or building. State wildlife fire officials are especially concerned with the use of fireworks with the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Fireworks are prohibited on all state properties, including park and forest campgrounds. Many communities within the emerg...

Extreme dry conditions increase threat of wildfire so prevention is critical.   JEFFERSON CITY Mo – Effective immediately, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has issued a FIRE BAN on all conservation areas. The fire ban includes prohibiting campfires and other open fires, including charcoal grills. The fire ban does permit the use of contained camp stoves and charcoal cooking fires in concrete or metal fire rings. The use of firewood in cooking fires is prohibited under the fire ban.   The use of fireworks is already prohibited on conservation areas under the Wildlife Code of Missouri .   “The fire ban is an effort to prevent wildfires under these extreme dry conditions,” said MDC Wildland Fire Supervisor Ben Webster. “The fire ban on all conservation areas will stay in effect until weather conditions change and we get significant rain.”   The U.S Forest Service and numerous counties and communities have also issued fire bans.    ...

New lake trout and splake regulations went into effect on June 14, 2012. The new regulations affect certain ports on Lake Huron. The daily possession limit is three (3) lake trout or splake and the minimum size limit is 15 inches. The possession season is from May 1 through September 30. Click here for additional information. SOUTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA Lake Erie:   Anglers are catching walleye between Fermi and Stony Point in 23 to 25 feet of water. Straight out from Brest Bay in 25 to 27 feet of water has also been producing good numbers. The boats launching out of Bolles Harbor and Half Way Creek have been finding a lot of walleye straight out from Toledo Beach near the MI-OH line in 22-23 feet of water. A few limits of perch were caught out from Stony Point in 22 to 23 feet of water using perch rigs with minnows. Out from Toledo Beach in 14 to 15 feet of water is also producing great numbers of perch. Anglers trolling crawler harnesses with purple, copper or pink bla...

CENTRAL Arcadia: June 24. White bass fair to good on spoons and jigs around points. Channel catfish fair to good on punch bait and chicken liver early and late. Report submitted by Chance Whiteley, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County. Hefner: June 25. Elevation normal and dropping, water 78-86 and clear. Largemouth bass fair on jigs and crankbaits at 6-15 ft. along rocky shorelines. Smallmouth bass slow on jigs and crankbaits at 6-15 ft. along rocky shorelines. White bass and striped bass hybrids good trolling crankbaits at 8-14 ft. along rocky shorelines. Channel and blue catfish fair on punch bait, cut bait and worms at 10-20 ft. along rocky shorelines. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 12-20 ft. along rocky shorelines. Walleye fair trolling crankbaits at 8-14 ft. and drifting night crawlers at 6-10 ft. along windy shorelines and long points. Report  submitted by Lucky Lure Tackle. Overholser: June 24. Elevation normal, water murky. Catfish slow on stinkbai...

Maumee State Park Boardwalk (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Anglers age 15 and younger are encouraged to enjoy stocked fishing areas COLUMBUS, OH – Beginning June 30, five state-owned ponds across Ohio will be stocked with fish and designated as family-friendly fishing areas for youth only. Young anglers are encouraged to bring their family and enjoy these fishing areas throughout the summer. “This is an excellent way to encourage kids to spend time outdoors and fish in a stocked pond,” said Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director James Zehringer. “We hope many families take advantage of this opportunity to create fishing memories.” The designated youth-only fishing areas will be at Sycamore State Park , west of Dayton; Delaware State Park , north of Delaware; Maumee Bay State Park , east of Toledo; Caesar Creek State Park , southwest of Xenia; and the Wildlife District Three youth fishing ponds in Akron. Special youth events will be held on June 30 and ...

Three Michigan young people were introduced to the Natural Resources Commission as Outstanding Outdoor Kids at the regular monthly NRC meeting Thursday, June 14, in Lansing. Lexi Loehfelm, 11, Noah Ekdom, 12, and Jimmy McGrath, 15, were named in January as winners in the Outstanding Outdoor Kids program, which recognizes the efforts of youth who have gone above and beyond to protect, preserve and promote green space in Michigan. Lexi is a member of Goodwillie Environmental School in Ada, where she leads other students on environmental adventures. Noah, from Roscommon, is a second class Boy Scout who has been involved in a trail clean-up, Adopt-a-Highway and creating a new trail on the Marguerite Gahagan Nature Preserve. Jimmy, from Monroe, started an organization to clean up and restore Sterling State Park . The trio served as judges in the Feb. 7 contest which named Pure Michigan Caramel Apple as the official ice cream flavor of Michigan state parks. Samples...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Department of Natural Resources' Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program will present an Introduction to Archery class in Lansing on Tuesday, July 10, from 5 to 8 p.m. Hosted by Compounds & Crossbows Family Archery Center, this workshop will cover safety, dominant eye, proper shooting form/technique, various archery equipment, maintenance and selection. Participants will also get hands-on practice shooting a bow with instructor assistance. No skill level is required. All equipment will be provided, or attendees may bring their own equipment. Light refreshments will be available. Girls 10 and older are welcome to attend, but must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Cost for both adults and youngsters is $25 per person, and pre-registration is required. Compounds & Crossbows Family Archery Center ( www.compoundsandcrossbows.com ) is located at 644 Migaldi Lane in Lansing. For registration forms and m...

Lesser Prairie Chicken (Photo credit: USDAgov) Recent aerial surveys conducted to assess lesser prairie-chicken populations across portions of five states including Oklahoma have turned up some good news, according to biologists.               Despite concerns about the lesser prairie-chicken across its range and the severe drought that occurred last year across the surveyed region, biologists were able to make several observations in Beaver, Ellis, Harper and Texas counties during the survey. The survey was looking for additional "leks," or areas used by lesser prairie-chickens each year for courtship and mating.              "This is an important effort among several partners, and Oklahoma is directly involved," said Doug Schoeling, upland game bird biologist for the Wildlife Department. "We don't want to see the lesser prairie-chicken des...