Family-Outdoors

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposal comes not long after the recovery and delisting of the gray wolf in the western Gray wolf. Credit: Gary Kramer / USFWS Great Lakes states and Northern Rockies as a result of three decades of successful management actions undertaken by federal, state and local partners. However, the Service is also proposing to maintain protection and expand recovery efforts for the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) in the Southwest, where it remains endangered. The proposal includes the Service’s comprehensive review which determined that the current listing for gray wolf, developed 35 years ago, erroneously included large geographical areas outside the species’ historical range. In addition, the review found that the current gray wolf listing does not reasonably represent the range of the only remaining popu...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released its final tally on hunting incidents that occurred in 2013. There were a total of nine incidents reported, including one fatality. The total is lower than 2012, when 15 hunting incidents, including one fatality, were reported. Of the nine incidents reported in 2013, just one was reported in the Upper Peninsula, while the others were reported in Lower Michigan. The first hunting incident, involving a rabbit hunter, occurred in February 2013 in Shiawassee County. There were six incidents involving deer hunters during various deer hunting seasons, including the fatality, which occurred on opening day of firearm season ( Nov. 15 ) in Montmorency County. Six of the nine incidents involved self-inflicted firearm injuries. “We saw a decline in the number of incidents this year but, unfortunately, had one fatal incident,” said Lt. Andrew Turner, who supervises the DNR Law Enforcement Division’s recreational ...

North Dakota’s spring light goose season opens  Feb. 15  and continues through  May 18 . Residents can hunt during the spring season by having last fall’s 2013-14 bird licenses. Otherwise, hunters will need to purchase either a 2014-15 combination license; or a small game, and general game and habitat license. Nonresidents, regardless of age, need a 2014 spring light goose season license. The cost is $50 and the license is good statewide. Nonresidents who hunt the spring season remain eligible to buy a fall season license. The spring season does not count against the 14-day fall hunting season regulation. A federal duck stamp is not required for either residents or nonresidents. Licenses are available only from the Game and Fish Department’s Bismarck office, the department’s website  at  gf.nd.gov , or by calling  (800) 406-6409 . Availability of food and open water dictate when snow geese arrive in the state. Early migrants general...

Lesser Prairie Chicken (Photo credit: USDAgov ) Multiple oil and gas companies are voluntarily enrolling nearly 1.5 million acres of land under a plan to conserve the lesser prairie-chicken. This represents the first enrollment in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan, developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) and state wildlife agencies in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.       Continental Resources, Devon Energy, Apache Corp., Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation, and Samson Resources have committed to develop enrolled land in ways that minimize impacts on lesser prairie-chicken habitat. They will also mitigate development impacts that cannot be avoided by providing funding for conservation on private land throughout the region. Other companies in various industries, including oil and gas, pipeline, electric transmission and distribution, and wind energy, are now considering enrollment in the...

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (Photo credit: Wigwam Jones ) The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting Wildlife Habitat Grant Program applications through  March 1, 2014 .   Projects featuring habitat enhancement for game species will be given priority. The Wildlife Habitat Grant Program (WHGP) began in October 2013 and will be funded with a portion of the revenue of the hunting and fishing licenses sold each year. The DNR administers the WHGP through a cooperative effort between its Wildlife Division and Grants Management. The main objective of the WHGP  is to enhance and improve the quality and quantity of game species habitat in support of specific goals from the Wildlife Division’s strategic plan,  The GPS . Those goals are: GPS Goal 2 – Manage habitat for sustainable wildlife populations in a changing environment GPS Goal 4 – Increase public participation, acceptance and support of hunting and trapping and increase particip...

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, dog sledding and more winter-themed events at nine DNR visitor centers across the state in February. In most cases, equipment is available to borrow if participants don't have their own. There is no charge for these "Just Add Snow" programs, but a  Recreation Passport  is required for vehicle entry to state parks.  More than 60 “ Just Add Snow ” programs are offered at the following locations. Click on the "Just Add Snow" icon at the left to see a 30-second video.  Bay City Recreation Area: Saginaw Bay Visitor Center (Bay City) Hartwick Pines State Park Visitor Center (Grayling) Hoffmaster State Park: Gillette Visitor Center (Muskegon) Ludington State Park (Ludington) Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park Visitor Center (Ontonogan) Tahquamenon Falls State Park (Paradise) Waterloo Recreation Area (Chelsea) William Mitchell State Park: Carl...

Please note, due to the predicted cold temperatures we have rescheduled Kids Ice Fishing Day at Genoa National Fish Hatchery to  February 15 . Media are invited to enjoy a morning on the ice with excited youth as they gain ice fishing tips from the experts, and then put them into practice on a frozen stocked hatchery pond. You can expect to see roughly 200 area youth, ages 5 to 12, and their parents as they enjoy testing their new found ice fishing knowledge on a hatchery pond stocked with 2,000 10 to 14 inch rainbow trout. Interested media should contact Doug Aloisi, Genoa National Fish Hatchery Manager at 608-689-2605 to arrange a site visit. The event will be held at Genoa National Fish Hatchery in Genoa, Wisconsin from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.    The annual event is sponsored by the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Fisheries Services and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s fishery program offices that they support. Local offices include the La Crosse Fis...

If you ever wondered just what the Midwest Region of the USFWS does, this video roundup of the just passed 2013 might answer some of your questions.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) According to year-end numbers recently compiled by the SD Department of Game, Fish and Parks, South Dakota’s most-visited state parks gained popularity in 2013. The agency said both visitation and camping in the state parks reached all-time highs last year, topping records set in 2012. The biggest draws were  Custer State Park  in the Black Hills and  Lewis and Clark Recreation Area  near Yankton. The two parks also set their own records for the number of visitors, at 1.9 and 1.2 million, respectively. Both parks are major draws for out-of-state visitors. Custer and Lewis and Clark comprised nearly 40 percent of the 7.8 million park visitors statewide. Camping numbers also increased across the state, up 3.2 percent over 2012. “A lot of people took to the outdoors in 2013,” said Doug Hofer, director of GFP’s Division of Parks and Recreation. “We saw increases in mid-week and shoulder season use, both in camping and day-use....

 The annual Great Backyard Bird Count will take place on President’s Day weekend,  Feb. 14-17 , and bird watchers all across North America are invited to participate. The National Audubon Society, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada invite anyone who is interested to participate in the 17th annual bird count. Anyone can count birds wherever they are and submit their results at  http://www.birdsource.org/ gbbc/ . Reports create a real-time picture of where birds are across the continent and contribute valuable information for science and conservation. Even if you are a novice, there are many resources available to help you improve. You can view a series of short and helpful instructional videos at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/ NetCommunity/page.aspx?pid= 1053 . Or request a free color guide to backyard birds from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department at http://gfp.sd.gov/wildli...

Midwest natural resource leaders came together in St. Louis, Mo., last week to strategize collaborative conservation efforts to benefit both wildlife habitat and water quality across the Mississippi River basin. As part of the  Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative  (LCC), federal, state, non-governmental and tribal partners have been working side-by-side to reduce nutrient runoff from agricultural communities while improving habitat for fish, wildlife and native prairie systems. The 800-million acre Mississippi River basin provides vital habitat for fish and wildlife, and also supports more than 400,000 farms and large urban populations from Chicago to Des Moines. High nutrient runoff from agricultural communities in the Mississippi River basin contributes to to hypoxic (or oxygen-less) waters that pour into the Gulf of Mexico, and, thus declines in commercial and recreation fisheries in the Gulf region. U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey in early January indicated 71,500 birds were in the state. Mike Szymanski, migratory game bird biologist, said an estimated 40,700 Canada geese were observed on the Missouri River, and another 12,000 were scattered on Nelson Lake. Lake Sakakawea, declared iced-over on  Dec. 14 , had no geese on the lake itself. Szymanski said after summarizing the numbers, a total of 52,700 Canada geese and 18,700 mallards were tallied statewide.  “Conditions leading up to this year’s survey were colder than normal, resulting in fewer birds in the state compared to the past couple winters,” Szymanski said. “Most waterfowl were pushed from North Dakota just prior to Thanksgiving, with the exception of those using the Missouri River System.” According to Szymanski, early December cold temperatures and strong winds pushed most Missouri River birds from the state. Conditions remained the s...

What started out as an experiment has turned into a tradition. The youth rabbit hunt at the Belding Sportsmen’s Club, near the Flat River State Game Area – now in its third year – attracted 45 youngsters last Saturday for a morning of stomping brush piles, following beagles and tromping through the snow. “We’re getting great participation from everyone,” said club president John Burns, “club members, parents and youngsters.” The idea for the youth hunt sprung from John Niewoonder, the Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist at Flat River, who had been on a campaign to improve the small game habitat by building brush piles for “rabbitat” at the area. “When John brought it to us, we said yes,” Burns said. “This is a good thing, getting the kids out in the elements instead of staying on the computer all day. It’s all about getting the kids – our future – into the outdoors.” Hosting the event “is not a problem,” Burns said. The club donated breakfast, and member...

The lives of the three more hunters are about to get a little busier in 2014. The  Pure Michigan Hunt brought to you by Michigan Outdoor News  is entering its fifth hunting season this year. The latest winners – Bill Kring of Cadillac, Bruce Shaneour of Osseo and Frank Zrepskey of Algonac – will have a pocket full of hunting licenses and over $4,000 worth of hunting gear. “I had a voicemail to call Russ Mason,” said Shaneour, who works in sales at Signature Ranch Collection. He returned that call to hear the DNR Wildlife Division chief explain that he is one of the lucky Pure Michigan Hunt winners. “I didn’t tell many people until I got the paperwork in the mail,” Shaneour added. Zrepskey, now retired from the City of Detroit, said he was “one happy camper.” A member of the St. Clair Flats Waterfowlers, Zrepskey said he couldn’t believe he is a winner. When Kring, the general manager at 9&10 News in Cadillac, got the phone call from Mason, he said, "All I ...