Family-Outdoors

Few wildlife restoration programs have been more successful than Michigan’s effort to A pair of young ospreys -- with the male, on the left, sporting a GPS transmitter -- look out from their nest on Kent Lake at Kensington Metropark reintroduce osprey to southern Michigan. Starting in 1998, when some northern Michigan birds were moved to the Kensington Metropark in Livingston and Oakland counties, the DNR and a number of partner organizations have seen osprey numbers jump significantly across the southern third of the state. “Our goal was to have 30 breeding pairs in southern Michigan by 2020,” said DNR wildlife biologist Julie Oakes. “We were over 50 as of this year. We’ve definitely been very successful.” Now, the DNR and volunteers are taking the program a step further, installing GPS-tracking transmitters on young male ospreys to see where and how they migrate. “A lot of our people were interested in where they go and what route they take,” Oakes ...

In a July 22, 2013 press release, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department reported the following: "Last year, nearly 86,000 hunters harvested 616,000 roosters. In 2007, more than 107,000 hunters took nearly 908,000 roosters." Why such a precipitous reduction in pheasant hunters and harvest?  A major portion of the answer seems to lie in the decline in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage. In that same press release, ND officials stated "Wildlife populations were flourishing in 2006-07 when Conservation Reserve Program acres peaked at more than 3.25 million in North Dakota. Since then, as CRP acres have steadily declined, so has the overall harvest of game species." In fact, according to ND officials, not only are there fewer hunters (relative to 2007...the number of pheasant hunters increased modestly from 2011 to 2012) and fewer birds being harvested, the number of birds harvested per hunter has declined as evidenced by this: "...while ...

Great Lakes Temperature Map Click on the links below to jump to the report section that interests you most: Southeast Lower Peninsula Southwest Lower Peninsula Northeast Lower Peninsula Northwest Lower Peninsula Upper Peninsula Cooler temperatures will be good for both fish and anglers. Walleye fishing continues to be good in Saginaw Bay and around the Thumb. Inland lakes and rivers are producing bass, pike and panfish.   SOUTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA Lake Erie:  The majority of limit catches for walleye have come in deeper waters around West Sister Island which is in Ohio waters. Those fishing in Michigan waters were still taking a fair number of fish when trolling or drifting harnesses and spoons between the Banana Dike and the Bell Buoy or between the Dumping Grounds and the E Buoy. Hot colors were purple, fire-tiger or a perch pattern. The smallmouth bass fishing has been great in 12 to 14 feet of water throughout Brest Bay and the Raisin River Channel. ...

Like many Midwestern states, Michigan saw its elk herd dwindle to non-existence in the latter part of the 19th century.  A common misconception is that the abundance of game was far greater when grandma or grandpa were alive, but with An elk viewing station was recently installed  in northeast Michigan. From left to right:  Doug Doherty, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF); Joe Valentine, DNR; Mark Monroe, DNR; Dan Collard, RMEF; Scott Wheelden, RMEF; Meg Wheelden, RMEF; Brian Mastenbrook, DNR elk as with many other animals hunted for meat and/or sport, this simply is not the case.  In many cases, the re-introduction of extirpated species has come by transplanting animals from other regions. Missouri is going through this process now with its elk herd.  Elk were removed from the landscape in Missouri at about the same time as Michigan.  It has taken the state much longer to get around to bringing them back. Michigan began the process of reintroduc...

Black Bear  In Missouri , bears and mountain lions sightings and populations are on the upswing.  As a hunter, fisherman, outdoorsman, and conservationist, I believe that is a good thing.  Folks in other Midwest states can add wolf populations to the list of species that had been essentially extirpated, but are now on a hopeful road to recovery. A natural tendency is to fear what we don't know.  Each of these three species are pretty much unknown to the residents of Midwestern states, and to make it even more difficult, these animals have an exaggerated reputation for being dangerous.  Additionally, and especially with regard to wolves and mountain lions, farmers and ranchers have what seems to be an instinctive desire to eradicate every last one of them (an admitted gross generalization!). Of course the realities are far different.  Like sharks in the ocean, the ferocity of these creatures is far less than movies and the media would have us believe...

Great Lakes Temperature Map Click on the links below to jump to the report section that interests you most: Southeast Lower Peninsula Southwest Lower Peninsula Northeast Lower Peninsula Northwest Lower Peninsula Upper Peninsula Extremely hot weather is causing some natural fish kills. On the inland lakes, the fish should be in deeper waters anywhere from 10 to 20 feet down depending on the lake. Those fishing the warm water rivers may find the fish a bit sluggish and no very cooperative. The rivers do not thermally stratify like the lakes so the temperature stays the same from top to bottom. Out on the Great Lakes, walleye and other game fish are moving out deeper to find cooler water temperatures.     SOUTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA Lake Erie:   Anglers are finding good numbers of walleye from the Detroit Light (the Bell Buoy) to south of the Banana Dike. They are using both crawler harnesses and spoons. Hot colors were pink, purple and orange. Fish were caught...

CENTRAL Check out the new lake record largemouth  bass for Robert S. Kerr Lake  caught on July 6. It weighed in at  7.6 lbs. and was 23.25 inches long. Arcadia : July 15. Elevation 2 ft above normal and muddy. Hybrid striped bass fair on drifting shad and spoons over humps and off points. Catfish good on blood baits and stinkbait. Black bass good on plastic worms and top waters early and late. Report submitted by David Rempe, game warden stationed in Oklahoma/Canadian Counties. Arcadia : July 16. Elevation 2 ft above normal, water 84 and murky. All fishing fair to good. Bass and catfish fair to good on worms at 4-6 ft. Report submitted by Sheila Hutton, gate attendant. Hefner : July 16. Elevation above normal, water 77-83 and clear. Largemouth bass good on spinnerbaits, jigs, and top waters at 2-8 ft in weeds and along rocky shoreline. White bass good on lipless baits and small grubs at 4-8 ft. Hybrid striped bass good on lipless baits...