Family-Outdoors

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) With the arrival of spring, black bears have begun to emerge from their dens in search of food. State wildlife officials are encouraging homeowners statewide to take precautions to reduce the potential for problems with hungry bear. "More than 800 complaints about bear are called in each year," says Brad Koele, Department of Natural Resources wildlife damage specialist. Koele says many of these conflicts occur as a result of some type of attractant such as bird feeders, garbage cans, grills, or pet food left outside and accessible to bear. Although conflicts can occur anytime bear are active it is especially important to remove attractants during the spring when bears are emerging from dens and natural foods are limited. "Just because you see a bear does not mean it's a causing conflict," Koele adds. "Black bears normally avoid contact with people. However, when food sources are available bears can quickly learn to asso...

 With dove season opening  Sept. 1 , sportsmen have a lot of reasons to start preparing to go afield.              Reports from across the state are all pointing to the same thing, according to Josh Richardson, migratory game bird biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.              "It's been a good year for doves in Oklahoma," he said. "People are seeing large groups of birds forming up, and with the summer-like weather forecast for the next seven days, those groups should continue to grow."             The previous two years had been especially hot and dry, which may have affected many hunters' approach to dove hunting.              "Concentrating on water holes the last couple of dry years has been a good strategy, but for much of the state this year, water is far from being a limited resource," Richards...

Winter food plots of corn, sorghum, or other grains are used by all kinds of wildlife to help them survive.  This past winter had a couple of heavy wet snows that flattened grass habitats.  Well- designed shelterbelts provide important cover and food plots an additional food source to help pheasant, quail, and other wildlife survive periods of heavy snow. A new special pheasant continuous CRP practice accepting 50,000 acres will be available shortly from USDA that will provide both of these practices (new pheasant SAFE). The new Iowa Pheasant Recovery project is Iowa’s fourth special project under USDA’s CP38 program to address local wildlife habitat conservation needs. The Iowa Pheasant Recovery project was designed for the year-round needs of pheasants – provide severe winter cover, nesting habitat and food – and located in counties with the best chance for pheasant recovery. “There have been few documented cases of pheasants actually starving to death in Iowa,” said Tod...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia) As the remaining signs of winter melt away and black bears begin to emerge from their dens, homeowners statewide are encouraged to take precautions to reduce the potential for problems with these hungry bruins. Natural food sources are limited at this time of year, and bears are often attracted to bird feeders, garbage cans, grills, or other common attractants found in yards, says Brad Koele, Department of Natural Resources wildlife damage specialist. "Taking steps to remove any food attractants will greatly reduce the likelihood of having problems with bears,” said Koele. “Black bears normally avoid contact with people. However, when food sources are available, bears can quickly learn to associate humans with food and can become a nuisance." Highly habituated bears can be dangerous and may need to be euthanized. “Preventing the problem in the first place is the best solution for both humans and bears,” said Koele. It is illegal to in...