Bradley Bennett (left) received his Deer Steward Level I certificate from QDMA CEO Brian Murphy in 2008. Bradley was a Deer Steward scholarship winner while he was an undergraduate wildlife student at the University of Georgia. He has since gone on to a career in wildlife management.

Quality Deer Management Association

BOGART, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- In 2012, the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) will award six deserving students with scholarships to attend a Deer Steward course.

For each of the in-person Deer Steward Certification Courses offered this year, QDMA will present at least one student with a scholarship to attend free of charge.

Applications will be accepted from high school juniors and seniors or college students who are interested in wildlife conservation and the Quality Deer Management (QDM) philosophy.

QDMA’s Individual Certification Program includes three levels of potential achievement: Deer Steward I, II, and III. Level I provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the four cornerstones of QDM: herd management, habitat management, hunter management, and herd monitoring. Level II focuses on the application of these principles through hands-on field experience. Level III must be earned through an individual’s long-term service to QDMA and/or the white-tailed deer. Courses must be taken in succession.

2012 Dates and locations:
Level I Courses:

• April 13-16 – Columbus, IN at Hidden Hollow Ranch
• May 11-14 – Andalusia, AL at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center

Level II Courses:

• June 1-4 – Woodbine, GA at Cabin Bluff
• June 22-25 – LaGrange, KY at Ashbourne Farms

Course details along with scholarship applications are posted at www.QDMA.com. To register online, click “Deer Steward Certification Register Now!” on the homepage. To register by phone, call 800-209-3337.

*Applications must be received by February 24, 2012.

Interested students can contact Matt Ross, QDMA Certification Programs Manager, at mross@qdma.com or (518) 280-3714 with questions.

Each course is limited to a maximum of 50 participants, so register early to reserve a spot at the location of your choice. Registration fees for Levels I and II are $800 for non-members, $750 for QDMA members and $700 for QDMA Life and Sponsor members.

About QDMA
QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with nearly 50,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com.

14-year-old Emily DeCuir of Spring Hill won a Tennessee Lifetime Hunting & Fishing License, given by TWF Board Member Tom Rice.

Tennessee Wildlife Federation

Tennessee --(Ammoland.com)- More than 120 student-athletes from Tennessee’s Scholastic Clay Target Program assembled at the Lannom Center in Dyersburg the evening of Feb. 3 with their parents, coaches, sponsors and guides to kick off the 4th Annual Tennessee Wildlife Federation Davis P. Rice Youth Waterfowl Hunt.

At the banquet Friday, a crowd of about 300 enjoyed a barbecue dinner while TWF Director of Ecological Services Chad Whittenburg served as master of ceremonies and hunt director. No one left empty handed – gear from Delta Waterfowl, Final Flight Outfitters and Ducks Unlimited was given away hand over fist, and a lifetime license and college scholarships were presented to a few lucky winners.

Tom Rice, a longtime TWF Board member whose son, Davis, was killed in an automobile accident in 2007, has always been focused on introducing kids to the outdoors. Rice funded one Tennessee Lifetime Hunting License, won by 14-year-old Emily DeCuir of Spring Hill.

Several students won cash scholarships. Murphy Watkins of McKenzie and Alicia Smits of Spring Hill each won $250 scholarships from Delta Waterfowl; Hunter Finan of Jackson and Ryan Scarlett of New Market won a $250 prize from Final Flight; And last but not least, Bryan Tefft of New Johnsonville and Hunter York of Dickson each won $500 scholarships from the TWF’s Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program.

Saturday morning found the young hunters spread across 18 farms in West Tennessee. RIO Ammunition had provided shotgun shells, and the guides were able to work ducks and geese into range.

“These kids are excellent shooters, but the majority of them had never been hunting before,” Whittenburg says. “It was an experience they likely won’t forget, and we sparked an interest that will help continue that great tradition.”

In addition to TWF, Delta Waterfowl, Final Flight Outfitters, RIO Ammunition and the Tennessee Army National Guard, other sponsors included Sweeping Corporation of America, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the City of Dyersburg, Dyersburg Chamber of Commerce, Ducks Unlimited and Stites & Harbison PLC.

About:
The Purpose of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation is to champion the conservation, sound management and enjoyment of Tennessee’s wildlife and natural resources for current and future generations through stewardship, advocacy and education. Visit: www.tnwf.org

Tennessee Wildlife Federation

Tennessee --(Ammoland.com)- Each year since 1965, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievement Awards have recognized the efforts of those Tennesseans who make outstanding contributions to wildlife and natural resource conservation.

Any Tennessee citizen, organization or industry who deserves statewide recognition for extraordinary conservation work is eligible for an award.

Winners will be honored at the Federation’s 47th Annual Conservation Achievement Awards & Legislative Reception, to be held April 18th at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville. The deadline for submitting nominations is March 6th, 2012.

Please click here to access the nomination packet, and here to see previous winners.

2011 Conservationist of the Year Kathleen Williams of the Tennessee Parks & Greenways Foundation

About:
The Purpose of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation is to champion the conservation, sound management and enjoyment of Tennessee’s wildlife and natural resources for current and future generations through stewardship, advocacy and education. Visit: www.tnwf.org

Jim Zumbo Receives RMEF's Highest Honor

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Jim Zumbo of Cody, Wyo., has received the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s highest honor, the Wallace Fennell Pate Wildlife Conservation Award.

The award honors special contributions of lasting significance for the benefit of elk, other wildlife and their habitat across North America. A bronze sculpture was presented to Zumbo during the 28th annual RMEF convention, which ended Feb. 4 in Las Vegas.

Zumbo is one of America’s best-known outdoor writers and host of his own television show. He joined RMEF in 1985, a year and a day after it was founded. The outfit was still teetering in infancy and Zumbo gave it only a 50/50 chance of lasting out the year. But he felt the spirit of the founding leaders, wrote a $600 check and became one of RMEF’s earliest life members.

In 1986, he volunteered for duty on the organization’s first board of directors. It was the first of two terms that Zumbo has served on the RMEF board.

Zumbo also was among the earliest contributors to “Bugle” magazine. His byline and endorsement helped build RMEF credibility among its most important audience – elk hunters. He continues to plug the organization at sportsmen shows, magazines, books and on television. For 26 years, Zumbo has helped make RMEF what it is today.

“Few people have done more than Jim to communicate the importance of conservation in elk country,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “But his influence also has helped to keep this outfit grounded. RMEF was founded by average elk hunters and they’re still the core of our membership. Jim never lets us forget that.”

The awards namesake, Wallace Fennell Pate, was RMEF’s first president and chairman of the board, he dedicated his time, energy and financial resources for the betterment of wildlife in North America. Pate, now deceased, became a national role model for groups or individuals concerned with natural resources conservation.

Pate’s son, Jack, attended the recent ceremony and spoke about his father’s devotion to RMEF and conservation overall.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres—an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

Quality Deer Management Association’s Founder Featured Speaker At Fort Stewart Wildlife Gala

Quality Deer Management Association

FORT STEWART, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) founder Joe Hamilton was recently the featured speaker at the Fourth Annual Wildlife Gala and Venison Cook Off at Fort Stewart Army Installation in Georgia.

The Wildlife Gala, held at Club Stewart in late January, was organized to promote hunting, fishing and many other outdoor recreation opportunities at Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield (HAAF) and the surrounding areas. Attendees included many active-duty and retired soldiers along with their families, and the event was also open to the public.

Hamilton, a certified wildlife biologist, founder of QDMA and current Director of Development, addressed the crowd of more than 225 people on key issues involving white-tailed deer, Quality Deer Management and the QDMA.

Fort Stewart-HAAF currently has nearly 250,000 acres open for hunting, and the area is home to over 350 species of wildlife. Fort Stewart-HAAF receives approximately 50,000 hunter-attempts annually with most hunters trying to fill a white-tailed deer tag.

In 2003, Fort Stewart-HAAF began implementing QDM by designating a Quality Deer Management Zone (QDMZ). In order to produce an even adult sex ratio, older bucks and healthier deer, the QDMZ includes a greater law-enforcement presence, antler restrictions and an intense food plot regime to include both cool- and warm-season plantings. Additionally, Fort Stewart-HAAF monitors its deer herd through check station data collection and an infrared camera survey.

The Wildlife Gala also featured several vendors, food samples, live animals, a shooting simulator and taxidermy displays. The Venison Cook Off had categories for venison chili, miscellaneous venison dishes and a children’s venison cook off. Prizes were awarded to the top three places in each category.

The event was sponsored by USAA, Bass Pro Shops, Navy Federal Credit Union, Critters, Budweiser and Coca-Cola.

For more information on Fort Stewart visit www.stewart.army.mil. Fort Stewart hunting information can be found by navigating to the “About” tab and selecting “Hunting on Fort Stewart.”

About QDMA
QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with nearly 50,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com.

Media members wishing to join QDMA’s Media Outreach Network can contact Tanner Tedeschi at tanner@qdma.com or by calling (800) 209-3337 ext 1017. If you are already subscribed to the Media Outreach Network but wish to be unsubscribed from the list, please inform Tanner and you will be removed.

Conservation Hawks

BIGFORK, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Sportsmen have a new resource to protect fish and wildlife populations and hunting and fishing opportunities: Conservation Hawks is a new conservation group dedicated to educating hunters and anglers on the most important threats to our natural resources and outdoors traditions.

A non-partisan group run by passionate, dedicated sportsmen, Conservation Hawks’ mission is to “defend our sporting heritage and pass on a healthy natural world to future generations of Americans.”

Conservation Hawks believes climate change is this century’s most important threat to sportsmen. The group’s initial efforts will focus on informing and mobilizing the sporting community on the issue.

“It’s time to stand up and show we give a damn about our kids and our grandkids – and about our hunting and fishing,” said CH Founder and Chair Todd Tanner. “If we don’t get a handle on climate change, we’re putting everything we care about at risk.”

Conservation Hawks supports a science-based approach to climate change and climate change mitigation. The organization is convinced that America’s conservation legacy will evaporate and benefits from past habitat projects will disappear if future greenhouse gas emissions can’t be controlled.

Wildlife biologist William Geer, the climate change initiative manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and a former director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sits on the Conservation Hawks board of directors.

“As a biologist,” Geer stated, “I can tell you that climate change is real and that it’s already impacting our fish and wildlife. As a father and grandfather, I can tell you that global warming scares the hell out of me.”

Conservation Hawks is registered as a Montana nonprofit public benefit corporation and has received tax exempt status from the Montana Department of Revenue.

Learn more about Conservation Hawks and its vision for the future of hunting and angling.

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- President Obama “is focused like a laser on putting people back to work,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) assured us last fall – echoing repeated statements by President Obama and Administration officials who “can’t wait” for Congress or others to take action and create jobs.

The jobs thing didn’t last long, however. The President soon vetoed TransCanada’s application for permits to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Approving them “would not be in the national interest,” he declared.

It is hard for most Americans to understand how it is contrary to the national interest to create 20,000 construction and manufacturing jobs, increase US gross domestic product by an estimated $350 billion, and bring 830,000 barrels of oil per day via pipeline from friend and neighbor Canada to Texas refineries.

It’s hard for us to grasp how pipelining Canadian oil is worse than importing oil in much riskier tankers from unstable, unfriendly places like Venezuela and the Middle East – or how it’s better for the global environment to transport Canadian oil by tanker to China, where it will be burned under far less rigorous pollution laws and controls.

It’s equally hard for average citizens to comprehend how more than three years of careful environmental studies are insufficient, especially after the State Department had issued several reports concluding that the pipeline would have only “limited adverse environmental impacts” in areas that are already dotted with oil wells and crisscrossed with oil and gas pipelines.

To suppose, as the President insisted, that Keystone would generate “a lot fewer jobs than would be created by extending the payroll tax cut and extending unemployment insurance” is simply baffling.

In view of White House intransigence, what should Congress and TransCanada do now?
The 1,660-mile-long Keystone XL pipeline would begin in southeastern Alberta, Canada and end in Port Arthur, Texas. Although it would incorporate the existing Keystone Cushing pipeline through Kansas and part of Oklahoma, most of the US portion (from Canada through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, and from Cushing, Oklahoma to Port Arthur) would be new.

Keystone XL would create 20,000 jobs manufacturing and installing 36-inch pipe, valves and other components to build that addition.

Environmentalists predictably went ballistic. Surface mining Alberta’s oil sands damages lands and habitats, they railed. Never mind that this technique is being replaced by in situ “steam-assisted gravity drain” processes, that mined lands are being restored to forest and grass habitats, or that blocking Keystone XL will neither end oil extraction nor prevent crude or refined product shipments to China.

Mining, processing and using this oil will increase greenhouse gas levels and global warming, activists vented. Never mind that total “greenhouse gas” emissions would amount to an almost undetectable portion of annual global GHG emissions. That “dangerous manmade global warming” is an exaggerated scare that has little basis in truly peer-reviewed science. Or that there has been no warming for a decade, UN IPCC “science” is crumbling at its foundation, and increasing numbers of climate experts are publicly dissenting from IPCC orthodoxy.

Mr. Obama needs environmentalists in his camp, if he expects to be reelected. Radical greens have made Keystone XL the latest symbol of their intense hatred of anything hydrocarbon – and a centerpiece for fundraising. Like the President, they are intent on ending our “addiction to oil” and “fundamentally transforming” the energy, economic and social fabric of America.

Jobs, GDP, tax revenues and national security will therefore have to take a backseat.
As he suggested in his State of the Union speech, President Obama seems willing to generate expensive electricity for three million homes by blanketing a million acres of public lands with taxpayer-subsidized, bird-killing wind turbines, habitat-smothering solar panels, high-voltage transmission lines, and gas-fired backup units. Anti-Keystone “environmentalists” seem to have few objections to such “eco-friendly” energy. But for them a pipeline is intolerable.

Faced with these facts, TransCanada could do as Mr. Obama suggested – and reapply for permits, after the fall elections and after changing its intended pipeline route to avoid allegedly sensitive areas. In the meantime, it could continue trying to win friends and influence people.

Yes, it could. But doing so has significant pitfalls.
It would drag the process out, leave the company in the “kill zone” of media and environmentalist attacks, in a political no man’s land, amid deadly crossfire from savvy and well-funded activists, journalists and bureaucrats. It would also set the stage for anti-pipeline lawsuits in courts of their choosing – perhaps in “friendly” lawsuits between “green” plaintiffs and EPA or State – when and if permits finally are granted.

A further drawback is that focusing on the State Department and White House ignores the Interior Department, Fish & Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency and many other federal and state regulatory and judicial agencies and processes that will still stand in the way of final project approval, and will likely take years to navigate.

There is a better way.
TransCanada could and should work closely and cooperatively with farmers and farm bureaus, state governors, agencies and legislators, mayors and other affected parties, to address concerns and compensate landowners for the use of their property, unavoidable impacts and damages in the unlikely event of an accident. The company should emphasize that Keystone XL will create thousands of jobs; generate billions of dollars in private, local, state and national revenue; use the best and safest pipeline technology; and bring oil from a friendly country to American refineries, motorists, farmers and manufacturers.

TransCanada should also take legal action, in state and/or federal courts of its choosing, over causes of action of its choosing. The company’s permit application has been rejected – for specious environmental and overtly political reasons. The Administration’s decision is clearly “ripe” for litigation.

The company may be reluctant to sue. Litigation over such matters is not as common in Canada as in the lawsuit-happy USA; the judicial territory may be unfamiliar; and the outcome is not certain.

However, in the United States environmentalists often win in the courts of media and public opinion, especially in an election year, especially with hundred-million-dollar anti-oil campaigns, laden with emotional rhetoric.

On the other hand, companies frequently win in US courts of law, where they are able to compile complete judicial records with solid scientific facts supporting their projects – something that is virtually impossible to do in a sound-bite-driven (and often biased) news media. The factually bankrupt rhetoric of environmentalist campaigns is no match for sound science, when claims and arguments are scrutinized at the trial and appellate level. Faced with defeat, the green wolf packs often go off in search of easier prey.

The anti-pipeline, anti-oil sands groups will not disappear. They will most assuredly sue TransCanada and multiple government agencies if permits are ultimately issued. They will also do all they can to shut down any Pacific Gateway pipeline, any exports to Asia, and ultimately all oil sands operations.

This better way forward has strong probabilities for success. It is clearly in the national interest of both Canada and the United States that it be taken, and that it succeed.

About:
AmmoLand contributor, Paul Driessen, is senior policy adviser for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Congress of Racial Equality and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power – Black death.

Wildlife For Everyone Endowment Foundation Receives Youth Mentor Award

Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show

HARRISBURG, PA – -(Ammoland.com)- Wildlife For Everyone Endowment Foundation, a non-profit organization that works with state agencies to preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, wildlife scientific research, wildlife education, land preservation, youth programs, and to construct a wildlife education and research center, has received the 2012 Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show Youth Mentor Award.

As part of their education and youth missions, the foundation has worked to develop major funding support for the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Seedlings for Schools program, which supplies seedlings to more than a thousand schools across Pennsylvania each spring.

Most of the seedlings, which are shipped from the commission’s Howard Nursery in Centre County, are part of the Seedlings for Your Class component of the program aimed primarily at third grade students. Each class or grade level receives enough silky dogwood or white pine seedlings for each student to take one home.

In addition, the seedlings come with an education package for the teacher, which provides the opportunity to teach a whole program around trees, environment, and the importance of planting trees in local communities.

Some of the seedlings are also shipped for the Seedlings to Develop Habitats component of the program, aimed at middle and high school students interested in planting them on school or community grounds, along a stream corridor to improve habitat, as a tree nursery or in an environmental area.

More recently, the foundation helped to expand an innovative college internship program that originated in 1999 in the Southwest Region of the Pennsylvania Game Commission to give college students hands-on experience in skills needed for careers in wildlife management.

The new Richard Guadagno Internship Program will provide stipends to students working eight-week internships with the commission’s regional office for the first time.

Previous interns have worked in summer bat roost surveys, breeding bird surveys, Canada goose banding, bear trapping, wildlife habitat assessments, vegetation sampling, legal updates and deputy meetings, data entry and analysis, report writing, wildlife biometrics and tissue samples, library research, and educational programming.

The Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show Outdoor Youth Mentor Award is presented annually to an individual or organization in recognition of their demonstrated commitment to using their knowledge of the outdoors and outdoor sports to educate and help young people.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

ATLANTA, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- It is going to get a little wild at the Georgia Capitol this Wednesday as sportsmen’s groups and coastal conservation groups from the around the state gather to meet with state leaders for “Sportsmen’s and Coastal Day at the Capitol.”

“This is our 11th annual sportsmen’s event at the Capitol and we are excited to have this opportunity to talk about the impact that our sportsmen and women have on our state including directly supporting more than 31,000 jobs and generating more than $3 billion annually,” said Scott Tanner, the event organizer.

“We also are pleased to add the recognition of ‘Coastal Day’ to this event to highlight the more than $2 billion annually that this area generates in tourism dollars as well as the state’s saltwater fishing industry.”

A broad spectrum of sportsmen’s and conservation groups will participate with displays, educational materials, interactive activities and live animals. Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources and Coastal Resources Divisions will participate in the event.

2012 Sportsmen’s Day Participants

• Trout Unlimited
• Georgia Canine Coalition
• Georgia Hunting and Fishing Federation
• National Wild Turkey Federation
• Georgia Wildlife Federation
• Camo Coalition
• Quality Deer Mgt Association
• Heritage and Wildlife Conservation Council
• National Rifle Association
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
• Georgia Trappers Association
• Coastal Conservation Association
• Izaak Walton League
• GeorgiaCarry.Org
• National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucus’s
• Let’s Get Wild, Inc
• Georgia Outdoor News
• DNR Wildlife Resources Division
• DNR Coastal Resources Division

Governor Nathan Deal, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston are scheduled to speak at the event at 9:00 a.m.

“This event is an opportunity for the sportsmen of Georgia to say thank you to the legislators for their leadership and support in defending and advancing hunting, fishing, and conservation issues,” said Jennifer Lundy, State Caucus Manager for the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses. “Because of our legislative leadership, Georgia has abundant animal populations that provide our citizens with unrivaled opportunities for recreation and commerce.”

“I’m proud to participate in Sportsmen’s and Coastal Day at the Capitol,” said Mark Williams, Georgia DNR Commissioner. “Hunting, fishing and our coast are not only economic engines in our state, but they also improve our quality of life. I want to thank all of our sportsmen and partners on the coast for all they do for conservation in Georgia.”

For more information about hunting and fishing opportunities in Georgia, visit www.georgiawildlife.com . For more information about coastal fishing and recreational opportunities, visit www.coastalgadnr.org .

Man’s got to know his limitations… Clint Eastwood, Magnum Force, 1973

National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative

Knoxville, TN --(Ammoland.com)- The eastern states’ wild bobwhites have been declining for years, while the western states were riding high. No longer; we’re now all suffering together.

The current ebb in western wild quail populations serves a purpose by raising the public profile of the plight of bobwhites, not just in Texas and Oklahoma, but across the country.

Widespread attention to the overall bobwhite problem is long overdue, but the acute concerns about western quail are shining a brighter light on questions about what, if anything, to do differently.

At a recent wildlife convention, a flyer for a seminar entitled “Extreme White-tail Management” caught my attention. Even as I pondered the state of contemporary deer management, I began to wonder if the same concept might – or already does – apply to bobwhites. Such thinking has helped me better frame and clarify the NBCI’s national leadership role in bobwhite conservation, including the current western quail situation.

Please allow me to provide brief context for bobwhite conservation and the NBCI. The state fish and wildlife agencies have the legal authority and stewardship responsibility for wild quail in their respective states. This authority is grounded in the Public Trust Doctrine of wildlife management in North America, which holds that wildlife resources are owned by no one, but are held in trust by government for the benefit of present and future generations of the people. The details of implementation differ among states, but the core theme is the same.

From that doctrine arises the “North American Model of Wildlife Conservation” and its seven primary tenets:

• · Wildlife as Public Trust Resources
• · Elimination of Markets for Game
• · Allocation of Wildlife by Law
• · Wildlife Should Only be Killed for a Legitimate Purpose
• · Wildlife Are Considered an International Resource
• · Science is the Proper Tool for Discharge of Wildlife Policy
• · Democracy of Hunting (i.e. hunting opportunity for all)

The NBCI is the 25-state, unified strategic initiative for wild quail restoration, the first-ever collective effort by states to tackle such a large regional challenge for a resident game bird. As an initiative originating from the states, the NBCI is solidly grounded in state authorities – and limitations – as well as the North American Model that generally guides states’ wildlife conservation philosophy and actions. For example, the NBCI vision is to restore wild quail at a landscape scale across its range, so it is once again an abundant public resource (tenet 1) that is widely available (tenet 7) for regulated public hunting (tenet 4).

Further, the NBCI is built on a foundation of science (tenet 6) which fortunately is exceptionally broad and deep for bobwhites. The scientific consensus is that – summarized across the species’ range – landscape-scale habitat degradation over decades is the root of the long-term population decline. Thus, the NBCI is designed and geared to address the range-wide bobwhite problem at its source – by instigating large-scale, strategic habitat restoration on croplands, grazing lands, forest lands, mining lands, etc. Habitat restoration is long-term, tedious and frustrating work, constrained by scale, economics, land ownership patterns, and perpetually inadequate budgets and personnel. If and when the scientific consensus changes regarding the big picture of bobwhite ecology and limiting factors, the NBCI will adapt and evolve appropriately.

The NBCI’s state-based authority and structure are sources of the Initiative’s strengths, as well as its limitations. The core strength of the NBCI’s 25-state alliance and partnerships is the potential power of so many conservation allies to eventually catalyze range-wide positive impacts. No other approach has such large potential. The basic limitation of the NBCI’s state foundation is that state wildlife agencies, like every bureaucracy in the history of the world, can be cumbersome and conservative entities, that understandably may try the patience of those seeking immediate and bold action. State agencies must answer to diverse publics with diverse interests, and generally must operate within political, professional and scientific conservation standards that consider societal tolerances and multiple resource needs.

Some private entrepreneurs who love bobwhite hunting are eager to do more, faster. Who among us cannot appreciate that desire? With fewer financial, legal, political, societal or geographic scale constraints than the states and the NBCI, substantial private money is being invested in bobwhite research, management practices and propagation that stretch the limits of traditional public trust-based conservation norms. In the process, new scientific knowledge about bobwhite biology certainly will be acquired.

The NBCI supports scientific inquiry, and values new scientific knowledge about bobwhites. Some of the privately funded research underway may illuminate non-habitat factors that could limit certain populations in certain places, and perhaps could even offer innovative means to increase bobwhite populations on a limited scale.

But just because we may find out we can, does not necessarily mean the states and the NBCI should or even could. Some of the measures (e.g. predator control, supplemental feeding, etc.) that are being or may be employed by private conservationists to increase local bobwhite populations may not be appropriate or feasible for states or the NBCI at statewide or regional scales. Various important factors such as tenets of the North American Model, states’ financial constraints, logistical barriers such as landscape scales, competing resource demands, societal and political tolerance, conservation partnership implications, risks of unintended consequences, etc. affect the conservation policy decisions of public agencies.

The NBCI is following the science and keeping our eye on the ball at the horizon – staying focused on habitat degradation as the fundamental, root cause of the range-wide bobwhite problem. As slow and frustrating as it is to address that reality, the NBCI’s role for the foreseeable future is to provide national leadership, coordination and capacity to catalyze large-scale, strategic restoration of native habitats as the long-term means to restore widespread populations.

About:
The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) is the unified strategic effort of 25 state fish and wildlife agencies and various conservation organizations – all under the umbrella of the National Bobwhite Technical Committee – to restore wild populations of bobwhite quail in this country to levels comparable to 1980. Visit: www.bringbackbobwhites.org

Sportsmen For Responsible Energy

DENVER, CO --(Ammoland.com)- The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed rules on public disclosure of the contents of hydraulic fracturing fluids, as well as the handling of wastewater and the integrity of well casings, represent a step forward in ensuring responsible energy development on public lands, a sportsmen’s coalition said Monday.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development has called on the BLM to make sure resources such as water, fish and wildlife are conserved when oil and gas are developed on public lands. The draft rule on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a prudent response to concerns about the potential impacts of drilling and the handling of drilling fluids on the lands that are crucial to the West’s water supplies, fish and wildlife, said Brad Powell, energy director for Trout Unlimited’s Sportsmen’s Conservation Project. TU is a member of the SFRED coalition.

The proposed federal rule would require public disclosure of the chemicals in fracking fluids before and during drilling. Companies stating that the fracking mixtures are proprietary would have to explain why the information should be kept from the public.

The proposal also addresses testing to ensure the integrity of well casings, pipes placed down a borehole and held in place by cement to keep the oil and gas from mingling with anything else.

The document includes rules for safely storing and disposing of waste from recovered fluids.

Some states, including Wyoming and Colorado, have approved regulations requiring disclosure of fracking fluids’ contents as increased drilling has raised concerns about the chemicals used.

“Complete and timely public disclosure is an important step toward ensuring that public health, water quality, fish and wildlife are protected from contamination by hydraulic fracturing,” said Michael Saul, attorney with the National Wildlife Federation, also an SFRED member. “BLM is moving in the right direction by mandating disclosure of all chemicals and by codifying the prohibition on unlined storage pits.”

“Sportsmen are pleased that our federal decision makers recognize the need to increase transparency during all phases of energy planning and development,” said Tom Franklin, senior director of science and policy for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, an SFRED member. “We will continue to work closely with the administration, Congress, industry and our conservation partners to assure that public lands energy projects employ a science-based approach that sustains our nation’s fish and wildlife resources and outdoors opportunities.”

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development is a coalition of more than 500 businesses, organizations and individuals dedicated to conserving irreplaceable habitats so future generations can hunt and fish on public lands. The coalition is led by Trout Unlimited, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the National Wildlife Federation.

American Woodcock

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- In the wild, some species go all out to woo their mates in spring with noisy and colorful shows. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s national wildlife refuges are great places to see or hear them.

Here are a few examples of species to look for at refuges across the country:

The male Attwater’s prairie chicken — a member of the grouse family — does a jig and makes a “booming” sound by filling orange air sacks on the sides of its neck. The daytime spectacle is popular with visitors every March and April at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, established to protect habitat for the critically endangered bird. See and hear booming here. This year’s annual Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Festival takes place April 14 and 15.

Further north, the American woodcock — also known as the timberdoodle — puts on a striking “sky dance” after dark. Starting at the end of March, the male woodcock leaves its cover for open fields, where it calls to females with a series of sharp “peent”s. Then it suddenly flies up, twittering, in a widening spiral, floats briefly and dives zigzag back to earth. You can follow it with a flashlight. In his book A Sand County Almanac, famed conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote of the woodcock’s sky dance: “Since we discovered it, my family and I have been reluctant to miss even a single performance.” Spring woodcock walks are favorites at Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Vermont and Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island. American woodcocks can also be found at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey and other refuges. Hear a courting woodcock here.

At Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri, White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, and elsewhere, the grey tree frog makes a racket to attract females in spring breeding season. Beginning in early April, it inflates its vocal pouch to balloon-like proportions and emits a melodic trill. University of Missouri researchers recently found that the male calibrates his love song to attract mates with matching chromosomes. See and hear a grey tree frog calling here.

And along the Delaware Bay, the annual coming ashore of thousands of horseshoe crabs to spawn is a tourist attraction in May and June. Male horseshoe crabs crowd along the water line to vie for arriving females. A male grabs onto a mate and rides ashore, where she deposits her eggs in the sand and he fertilizes them. Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware and Cape May National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey are good spots to watch the show. See a video here.

The National Wildlife Refuge System includes more than 2,500 miles of land and water trails. There is at least one national wildlife refuge in every state and one within an hour’s drive of most major cities. National wildlife refuges are dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. The nation’s 556 national wildlife refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 38 wetland management districts, offer a wide range of wildlife-dependent recreation — from fishing, boating, hunting and hiking to wildlife observation and photography, nature interpretation and environmental education. Refuges offer many programs and events geared to families and children. These include festivals, junior naturalist classes, boating and fishing instruction, crafts and more.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page, follow our tweets, watch our YouTube Channel, and download photos from our Flickr page.

Quality Deer Management Association To Participate In Delaware Wildlife Management Workshop & Expo

Quality Deer Management Association

HARRINGTON, Del. --(Ammoland.com)- The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is sending two members of its national education staff to the 2012 Delaware Wildlife Management Workshop and Expo at the Delaware State Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall on Saturday.

The Delaware Wildlife Management Workshop will feature a group of experts who will present strategies for successful hunting and explain the benefits of Quality Deer Management (QDM). The event is sponsored by the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA), the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware State Chapter of QDMA.

Speaking at the Workshop on behalf of QDMA will be founder Joe Hamilton and Director of Education and Outreach Kip Adams. Hamilton will provide an introduction to the QDM philosophy and the QDMA, while Adams will discuss antler growth and development as well as aging bucks on the hoof.

Hamilton is a certified wildlife biologist and the founder of QDMA. He currently serves as QDMA’s Director of Development. During his nearly 20 years with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Hamilton helped implement QDM practices on more than two million acres. In 2000, he was awarded the Deer Management Career Achievement Award from The Wildlife Society, and in 2011 he was named Budweiser Conservationist of the Year.

Adams, a native of Pennsylvania, is a certified wildlife biologist and QDMA’s Director of Education and Outreach. He has a Bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science from Penn State and Master’s in wildlife from the University of New Hampshire. He’s also a certified taxidermist. Before joining QDMA, Adams was the deer and bear biologist for the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department.

Additional speakers at the Workshop include: Mark Buxton, Owner of Southeastern Wildlife Habitat Services; Dr. Mark Connor, Manager of Chesapeake Farms in Chestertown, Md.; Joe Rogerson, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Big Game and Furbearer Biologist; Larry Walton, Vice President of Vision Forestry, LLC; Eric Burkentine, Regional Forester, Delaware Forest Service.

Admission is free and no reservations are needed for the 2012 Delaware Wildlife Management Workshop and Expo. Doors will open at 8 a.m. ET, and programs will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

About QDMA
QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with nearly 50,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com.

Susquehanna River Waterfowler’s Association receives Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show Award for Conservation

Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show

HARRISBURG, PA – -(Ammoland.com)- The Susquehanna River Waterfowler’s Association (SRWA), an organization dedicated to promoting their sport and the health and stability of waterfowl populations by protecting and improving wetland environments, has received the 2012 Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show Achievement Award.

SRWA’s membership includes both hunters and non-hunters throughout Central Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay region who assist in the generation of funds to ensure resources are available for wetland projects, educational studies and youth education.

SRWA has received numerous awards throughout the years for their work in conservation. Most notably, The Atlantic Flyway Counsel recognized the SRWA for their efforts to help fund waterfowl conservation studies such as the Atlantic Brant Project. Over $18,000 was raised by SRWA with all proceeds forwarded to the counsel to offset their costs.

Locally, the SRWA membership focuses on the conservation of wetland habitat by constructing and installing nesting structures, along with planting seeds and aquatic plants for local and migrating waterfowl.

Youth education is also a priority for the organization. Members assist with hunter education courses and attend numerous youth field days throughout the year.

The Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show Outdoor Achievement Award for Conservation is presented annually to an individual or organization in recognition of their demonstrated commitment to protecting and improving our outdoor resources and animal habitats.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Denver, Colorado,--(Ammoland.com)- Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) are raising concerns about a new proposal for Colorado’s 4.2 million acres of national forest roadless areas, and are calling on President Obama on Tuesday to ensure they are at least as safeguarded as roadless areas in other states.

At issue is a state-based rule that would guide management of more than four million acres of valuable backcountry lands located in Colorado.

The appeal, published as a 3/4-page ad in Tuesday’s Denver Post, comes as a final version of a proposal that would replace the national roadless rule in Colorado is being formulated. It also follows a ruling by the federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which conserves roughly one-third of America’s national forests, along with the prime fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation opportunities found on those lands.

The ad reads: “[Y]our proposed plan for Colorado’s roadless forests would open pristine habitat to commercial development, such as road-building, drilling and power line construction. As drafted, it threatens the state’s best backcountry and multi-billion dollar outdoor recreation industry.”

OIA and TRCP maintain that standards for Colorado’s roadless national forests must be at least as strong as the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in order to gain support from the sportsmen’s and outdoor recreation communities and to ensure the responsible management of these important public lands.

Economics are an important consideration in managing Colorado’s public lands. According to a report published by Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation contributes $7.6 billion in annual retail sales and services, generates nearly $500 million in annual state tax revenue and supports 107,000 Colorado-based jobs.

Under the draft Colorado roadless rule, however, massive power line corridors and increased energy development would be allowed. Sportsmen and outdoor recreationists have been heavily invested in the years-long development of the Colorado rule and remain committed to resolving its shortfalls.

“Sportsmen across Colorado want to see our 4.2 million acres of backcountry national forests kept intact,” said TRCP Colorado Field Representative Nick Payne, “but as drafted, the Colorado roadless rule allows development, such as drilling and power-line corridors, that would fragment some of the finest fish and wildlife habitat in the country. Hunters and anglers are depending on the Obama administration to fix the rule’s shortfalls for the benefit of fish, wildlife and our outdoor traditions. The rule must be as strong as or stronger than the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — nothing less.”

Colorado’s roadless areas are the source of about one-third of the state’s surface water, which provides irreplaceable access to hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation. Elk and deer require Colorado’s backcountry to survive and thrive, and the headwaters of all the state’s major rivers are located in roadless lands.

“Colorado’s roadless areas provide world-class recreation experiences,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of OIA. “Protecting roadless values will drive Colorado’s recreation economy for generations to come.”

The national roadless rule conserves nearly 60 million acres of national forest lands in 38 states. It was the result of the largest public lands review process in U.S. history, with more than 1.2 million comments and 600 public hearings. The Oct. 2011 Tenth Circuit decision to uphold this policy followed a similar ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009.

Outdoor Industry Association
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is the leading trade association for the outdoor industry and the title sponsor of Outdoor Retailer. OIA supports the growth and success of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives, and retailers of outdoor recreation apparel, footwear, equipment, and services. For more information, go to outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.

Sportsmen Ask Obama to Conserve CO Roadless Back Country

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing. Learn more at trcp.org.

Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation

Buffalo, Missouri --(Ammoland.com)-  “We have been watching the Farm Bill closely at QUWF and have the latest news” states Nick Prough, Chief Biologist for QUWF.

From WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2012—Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) Michael Scuse announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup, beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6.

CRP has a 25-year legacy of successfully protecting the nation’s natural resources through voluntary participation, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States.

“It is USDA’s goal to ensure that we use CRP to address our most critical resource issues,” said Scuse. “CRP is an important program for protecting our most environmentally sensitive lands from erosion and sedimentation, and for ensuring the sustainability of our groundwater, lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. As always, we expect strong competition to enroll acres into CRP, and we urge interested producers to maximize their environmental benefits and to make cost-effective offers.”

CRP is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolled in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and develop wildlife habitat. In return, USDA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years.

“Programs for wildlife are critical for the resource, and the Farm Bill provides private landowners many programs to enhance areas of their lands for wildlife. Sign up by landowners we hope, will be a top priority and they act very quickly to enroll and maintain the acres needed to preserve many species of upland game across the country” states Craig Alderman, QUWF Director.

Recently many landowners are considering taking marginal lands out of the CRP programs to maximize crop production as prices increase and the land use becomes more valuable, a critical danger for wildlife.

Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, Inc., a tax exempt 501(c)(3) conservation organization, was formed to serve its members and chapters nationwide, providing a strong local source of habitat focus on quail and upland wildlife and population recovery. Millions of dollars of habitat work have been completed by its members over the years on thousands of acres of both private and public lands, now that work continues with a renewed vitality. Our chapters from coast to coast, provide the grass roots, local habitat work that is making a difference each and every day. For more information or to join QUWF please visit our website at www.quwf.net.

By: Anthony P. Mauro, Sr

It’s been nearly a year since I last wrote about the precipitous decline in New Jersey’s fisheries management capabilities, and the trend continues unabated.

Last year it was a free registry that prompted many people to examine the ruinous underfunding of the Bureau of Marine Fisheries (BMF) and this year it is the closure of the river herring fishery.

According to “The Economic Contribution of Marine Angler Expenditures in the United States”, a report prepared by NOAA Fisheries for the US Department of Commerce, marine recreational fishing in New Jersey is an industry that generates sales of $1.6 billion, provides  total tax revenue of $242 million and New Jersey tax revenue in excess of $100 million. In fact, fishing supports 10,000 jobs and provides the highest sales, income and employment of the Northeast region, as well as the highest tax revenues. Fishing also supports a tourism industry worth $16 billion.

Saltwater fishing is not only a recreational and economic engine for New Jersey; anglers and their disposable income are the source of essential conservation initiatives. It is the BMF that is responsible for the administration of marine fisheries management programs that include 127 miles of Atlantic coast and 83 miles of bayshore. The purpose of the bureau is to protect, conserve and enhance marine fisheries resources and their habitat.

With such an important and high profile contribution to New Jersey’s socioeconomic well-being and environmental health one would be forgiven for thinking that the BMF is a formidable competitor for state budget appropriations and is given priority for its potential to expand state revenues.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Incredibly, BMF operates on an appropriated budget that is less than $2 million while multiple coastal states have budgets that exceed $20 million. New Jersey currently ranks last in total State Marine funding per angler among every Atlantic Coast State. Since 1988, the Bureau’s appropriated budget has increased only by the inflation factor and not in real terms and at the same time federally mandated Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) have increased from one (1) in 1988 to 22 in 2009.

In a recent New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announcement of the shutdown of the river herring fishery blame was assigned to inadequate resources to prove that the fishery was sustainable to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. This deficit should concern us since it may be cause for future fishery closures given that New Jersey competes with Atlantic Coast States that are in a better position to justify coast-wide fisheries quotas.

Let the house burn

Metaphorically speaking, the tacit message sent by policy makers and legislators has been clear; let the house burn. The metaphorical house is the Bureau of Marine Fisheries. The arsonist in this figure of speech is the angling community that has lit the flame with apathy and fear.

My definition of the angling community includes the individual angler that has refused to hold our state government accountable for adequately funding BMF, and saltwater fishing organizations that have allowed the situation to dilapidate in order to avoid the conflict that will be created by addressing the problem – conflict that might cause a potential loss in membership rolls and associated fees. However, to let the house burn makes both government representatives and the angling community accomplices in negligence.

During the past decade attrition and the forfeiture of institutional knowledge has crippled BMF and it might take an equal number of years to reverse. While finding a solution to funding BMF may be difficult the first course of action is clear – it will take an honest assessment of the problem and the development of a viable solution. To accomplish the task requires angler involvement, leadership from saltwater organizations like the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance and all 23 NJOA (CF) council members including NJSFSC and JCAA, and the courage to do the right thing.

I think it is appropriate to end this commentary with a quote from Izaac Walton, renown for celebrating the art and spirit of fishing, “Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration.”

Color The Green Movement Blue

Ant

About: Anthony P. Mauro, Sr, (also known as “Ant” to friends and associates) is Chairman and co-founder of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance Conservation Foundation, and New Jersey Outdoor Alliance Environmental Projects. Ant’s commitment to the principles of sustainable use of natural resources and environmental stewardship helped to create the New Jersey Angling & Hunting Conservation Caucus (NJA&HC). The NJA&HC is the first outdoor caucus of its kind in New Jersey and is designed to educate opinion leaders and policy makers about the principles of conservation; the foundation for healthy ecosystems, fish and wildlife.

Humane Society of the United States Howls about Wolves

U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance

Columbus, OH --(Ammoland.com)- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is howling about the new wolf management initiatives and recent delisting action.

Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the animal rights organization HSUS, blogged recently that: “Of course we saw some setbacks and tragedies in 2011, too, such as removing federal protections for wolves in the lower 48 states…” Among the leaders in that removal of the federal protection for numerous problem wolves was the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF).

While Idaho and Montana established wolf hunting seasons in 2011, thousands of miles to the east, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally agreed —under pressure from many sides— to delist the Western Great Lakes region gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act.

Wolf populations have far exceeded recovery goals in that region. For example, Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources estimates that nearly 700 gray wolves were roaming the state in 2011(www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153–256417–,00.html).

The delisting did not come easy. It took the USSAF and other groups to threaten to sue the Service if Western Great Lakes region wolves were not delisted and returned to state management.

Joining the USSAF in this HSUS defeat are the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Dairyland Committee of Safari Club International Chapters of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Hunters Rights Coalition, Whitetails of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Firearms Owners, Rangers, Clubs, and Educators, Inc.

About:
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. Visit www.ussportsmen.org.

Get The Word Out About Bobwhite Restoration

Kentucky Quail Project

Frankfort, KY --(Ammoland.com)- The KY Bobwhite Battalion (http://www.facebook.com/KentuckyQuail) and the NBCI (http://www.facebook.com/bringbackbobwhites are teaming up to get the word out about bobwhite restoration!!

Using facebook, we hope to inform and engage people to promote habitat conservation for wild bobwhite and associated species.

For the 29 days of February, we are awarding prizes on each day of the month to a person that “likes” either of the two facebook communities (yes, if you are “like” both pages you’re in the drawing twice!).

Winners will be posted each Friday in February, and a winner has one week to claim their prize.

Thanks to all our sponsors of this Call to Action! Please share this campaign far and wide!!! If you’d like to be sponsor (there’s still plenty of time), please contact John Doty (jdoty3@utk.edu) or I.

SPONSORS:

• Appalachian Mtn Joint Venture
• Central Hardwoods Joint Venture
• Covey Rise
• KY Dept of Fish and Wildlife
• Missouri Department of Conservation
• National Wild Turkey Federation
• Quail Forever
• Quail Unlimited
• Tri-tronics
• The Upland Almanac

Visit:

• www.facebook.com/KentuckyQuail
• www.facebook.com/bringbackbobwhites

EPA = Extreme Punishment Authority

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington, DC--(Ammoland.com)- In December 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency released new Clean Air Act “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.”

Once again, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson touted the supposedly huge benefits of controlling emissions of mercury (Hg) and other air toxics from U.S. coal- and oil-fired power plants (or electric generating units, EGUs).

The people of Idaho may welcome this new rule, since EPA’s miraculous modeling machine has promised to prevent “six premature deaths” and create “up to $54 million” in health benefits by 2016 – even though not one coal-fired EGU in Idaho fits the EPA’s final rules. Even the District of Columbia, which has only one oil-fired unit, will somehow, magically realize “up to $120 million” in health benefits, presumably from new restrictions on coal-fired units in Maryland or Virginia.

The average U.S. citizen, however, can be excused for no longer being willing to be penalized by EPA – the Extreme Punishment Authority – for such minimal, imaginary and manufactured benefits.

In fact, the final rule may be the most expensive one ever devised by EPA. And yet, even EPA admits, the alleged “hazards to public health” from mercury and non-mercury emissions from American EGUs are “anticipated to remain after imposition” of the new regulations.

As to benefits, EPA computer models claim Hg emission cuts will reduce average per person “avoided IQ loss” by an undetectable “0.00209 IQ points,” with estimated “total nationwide benefits” of $500,000 to $6.1 million by 2016. For the electric utility sector, says EPA, net job creation from the rules will be “not statistically different from zero” and could be between minus 15,000 and plus 30,000 jobs.

In fact, the new regulations will likely eliminate tens of thousands of jobs annually, especially in energy-intensive industries that rely on low-cost electricity to survive and face growing competition from foreign companies that pay far less for energy, labor and raw materials. Small businesses will also get hammered.

“EPA cannot certify that there will be no SISNOSE from this rule,” the agency admits. “SISNOSE” is EPA-speak for “significant impacts on a substantial number of small entities.” In other words, the rules are likely to inflict significant economic harm on small businesses, and thus on the health and welfare of numerous (former) small business owners, employees and families. The agency failed to explain why it has once again ignored the adverse impacts on human health and welfare caused by its rules.

EPA also confessed that U.S. power plants actually contribute a mere 3% of the total mercury deposited in computer-modeled American watersheds, and thus in fish tissue. Citizens will justifiably wonder where the other 97% comes from, and why we should spend so much money for so little benefit. (The “missing” mercury comes from foreign sources and from volcanoes, subsea vents and other natural sources.)

To see how extreme EPA’s scenarios are, consider five more egregious errors in the final regulations.

• First, EPA admitted it could “calculate risk” for only 3,100 (4%) of the continental USA’s 88,000 watersheds.
• Second, for over 60% of the 3,100 watersheds it did model, EPA took only one or two fish mercury measurements – making it virtually impossible to adopt even valid 75th-percentile fish mercury values. There is a breaking point where extremely poor statistical sampling renders EPA’s pretentious number crunching, conclusions and rules invalid. That breaking point has clearly been reached.
• Third, the agency’s estimates for mercury exposure risks are solely for “hypothetical female subsistence consumers” who daily eat almost a pound of fish that they themselves catch in U.S. streams, rivers, and lakes over a 70-year lifetime. That’s less than 1% of U.S. women. For the rest of American women (who eat mostly ocean fish, purchased at a grocery, on a far less regular basis), EPA’s rules are irrelevant.
• Fourth, EPA admits that only 22 to 29% of its computer-modeled watersheds are “at risk” from EGU mercury, even when it erroneously assumed that at least 5% of total Hg deposition into the watersheds came from U.S. power plants. If the modeling criteria were tweaked only slightly – to reflect average freshwater fish consumption rates for American women, and require that at least 15% of total mercury deposition be attributable to EGUs – not one U.S. watershed would be at risk.
• Finally, EPA ignores the presence of selenium in nearly all fish. Its strong attraction to mercury molecules protects fish and people against buildups of methylmercury (MeHg), mercury’s biologically active and more toxic form.

Combining any series of small probability scenarios results in a near-zero likelihood that the events will actually happen. If each of five scenarios has only a 20% chance of happening, the likelihood that all five will happen is 0.032 percent.

As the preceding analysis suggests, the probability that all the EPA’s improbable scenarios will actually happen is virtually zero; the likelihood that its new regulations will benefit human health is also zero.

However, EPA still stubbornly “disagrees that [mercury] exposure levels in the U.S. are lower than those in the Faroe Islands.” Exposure to MeHg in the U.S. is “the same” as in the Faroe Islands, EPA insists.

The agency is simply wrong.

Extensive medical and scientific studies demonstrate that average Americans are exposed to at least 5 to 10 times less MeHg than average Faroe Islanders. The islanders consume large quantities of pilot whale meat and blubber – which is high in methylmercury, high in PCBs and low in selenium. As a result, their blood mercury concentrations can be up to 350 times higher than the mean blood mercury levels measured by the Centers for Disease Control for average American women.

The Faroe Islands study is irrelevant to mercury exposure risk for average Americans. EPA’s use of that study is deceptive. American women and children are safe from any likely threats from mercury.

To top it off, EPA itself proclaims: “The emissions limits in today’s rule are technology-based … and do not need to be justified based on their ability to protect public health.”

In other words, if the technology exists to eliminate these pollutants, the agency will impose the new regulations – regardless of their cost, their effect on electricity prices and reliability, their impact on factory and other jobs, and whether the rules actually do little or nothing to improve human health.

It has become increasingly obvious that EPA’s real goal is to assert its authority over ever-increasing segments of our economy; reinterpret medical and scientific studies to fit its regulatory agenda; and replace as many coal-fired power plants as possible with costly, unreliable renewable energy systems.

American voters, elected officials and courts need to challenge these radical, unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats, demand an end to EPA’s distortion of science and reality – and reverse these flawed rules.

Willie Soon is a natural scientist with strong interest in mercury and public health issues. Paul Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Congress of Racial Equality.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- About 160 students from two Las Vegas-area schools will learn about elk, hunting and conservation as part of a first-annual educational workshop to be held in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation convention and expo.

The inaugural Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience is set for Friday, Feb. 3.

“This event is being organized as a fun field-trip for students from Explore Knowledge Academy and the Innovations International school,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Students will arrive at the Las Vegas Convention Center at 9:00 a.m. and begin a lesson that’s seldom taught in public schools, how hunters have helped so many species go from vanishing to flourishing.”

Following a short lecture on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, students will tour the exposition hall, enjoy the booths and attractions and hear from biologists, hunters, outfitters, conservation groups and agencies about sustainable use of wildlife resources.

“We’ll treat the students to lunch and send them back to school, hopefully with a much better understanding of how true conservation works,” said Allen.

There is no cost for the students or schools.

Funding and support for the workshop are being provided through an endowment from Larry and Brenda Potterfield of MidwayUSA.

“We continue to be amazed at the vision, commitment and generosity of the Potterfields and MidwayUSA. We’re very grateful for their partnership,” said Allen.

The RMEF convention and expo, nicknamed “Elk Camp,” is an annual public-welcome conservation fundraiser hosted in part by International Sportsmen’s Expositions. The Feb. 2-4 event includes the expo hall and hundreds of booths, seminars and other attractions, plus the 2012 RMEF/Leupold World Elk Calling Championships, all at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Full convention registrants can also enjoy banquets, auctions, entertainment and other festivities planned for the Riviera Hotel.

For more information, visit www.rmef.org.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres, an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

About International Sportsmen’s Expositions (ISE):
Founded in 1975, ISE produces five consumer sportsman shows across the western United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada (Las Vegas) and Utah. Check dates and show special events at www.SportsExpos.com.

Ducks Unlimited Names Wyoming’s Volunteer of the Year

Ducks Unlimited

CASPER, Wyo. --(Ammoland.com)- Ducks Unlimited recognized Brian Balfour of Casper for his outstanding contributions to the organization in Wyoming.

Balfour has been volunteering his time to the Casper and Powder River DU chapters for 20 years and recently joined the Wyoming DU Special Waterfowl Action Team (SWAT) that helps chapters around the state when they are shorthanded.

“Brian is a model volunteer,” said Robert Hathaway, DU regional director for Wyoming. “He is very good at troubleshooting problems and overcoming tough obstacles, which are qualities we value in our volunteers.”

Balfour manages the firearm transactions for both chapters and is a top ticket seller for their events. He is often accompanied by his wife, Susan, who also volunteers her time with DU.

“Brian is extremely dependable and we can always count on him to get the job done,” said Lucy Pate, member of the Casper DU committee. “We are all fortunate to have a huge asset like Brian on our team.”

Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

PRATT, KS -–(Ammoland.com)- The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) is introducing a new five-year initiative — the Kansas Quail Initiative — aimed at improving habitat conditions for bobwhite quail, an upland species that has declined throughout much of its range.

The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Kansas State Chapter was the first conservation group to provide financial support for this important conservation effort, committing $12,500. The NWTF also will help deliver and promote the program by helping locate interested landowners and assisting with habitat improvements.

The NWTF has 33 chapters in Kansas with more 2,800 members. More than $885,715 has been raised and spent by Kansas chapters on projects within the state.

“It was a no-brainer for the Kansas State Chapter to step up and become the first conservation organization to support the Quail Initiative,” said Todd Adolph, NWTF Kansas State Chapter president. “We have a positive working relationship with KDWPT, and I expect this initiative will be a big success.”

The Kansas Quail Initiative aims to increase quail populations by 50 percent in five years within “focal areas.” A northern focal area includes portions of Lyon, Osage, and Wabaunsee counties, and a southern focal area includes parts of Neosho and Labette counties.

National Wild Turkey Federation

KDWPT biologists identified these regions as areas with high restoration potential, and they both contain sizable amounts of public land that can be used for core habitat improvements.

“The fact that the NWTF has committed to this initiative shows that we’re not just about turkeys, and that our volunteers understand the urgency to conserve habitat for quail” said Jared McJunkin, NWTF conservation field western region supervisor.

For private landowners in the focal areas, this initiative will increase available cost-share assistance to 100 percent of the estimated costs of implementing quail-friendly practices on their property. KDWPT is committed to spending as much as $100,000 per year on private land habitat improvements in the focal areas for each of the five years of this initiative.

KDWPT also will emphasize the voluntary public access and habitat improvement program in these focal areas to promote enrollment in continuous Conservation Reserve Program practices.

To become an NWTF member, or for more information about the NWTF, go online to www.nwtf.org or phone (800) THE-NWTF.

2012 Safari Club International Hunters Convention

Outdoorchannel TV

Las Vegas, NV. --(Ammoland.com)- Outdoor Channel, America’s Leader In Outdoor TV, invites attendees of the Safari Club International’s (SCI) 40th Annual Hunters’ Convention to stop by the network’s booth to meet and greet some of the Outdoor Channel’s top celebrities and learn more about America’s leading outdoor sports network.

The premier hunting event, which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 1^st through 4^th, features a lineup of the network’s most popular talent who will meet and greet fans.

In addition, Outdoor Channel is exclusively presenting “SCI TV” for the fourth consecutive year.

With nearly one million square feet of exhibit space, with representatives from six continents, the SCI Hunters’ Convention, also referred to as “The Ultimate Hunters’ Market,” attracts over 20,000 attendees a year to see the latest and greatest in guns and hunting equipment. The convention offers dozens of informative and educational seminars throughout the event, all while honoring SCI’s mission is to protect the freedom to hunt and to promote wildlife conservation.

As America’s Leader In Outdoor TV, Outdoor Channel provides action-packed, family-friendly adventures featuring the biggest on-air celebrities in outdoor entertainment.

SCI TV – All SCI, All the Time!
Wednesday, February 1 – Saturday, February 4 | Mandalay Bay Convention Center & Area Hotels

Once again, Outdoor Channel is set to produce SCI TV, an informative and entertaining television production that will air at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and area hotels during SCI’s Hunters’ Convention. SCI TV will be hosted by Mike Rogers of “SCI Expedition Safari Presented by MidwayUSA,” and will feature daily updates from the convention floor, in-depth interviews with the hottest hunting personalities, and segments from Outdoor Channel’s best-in-class hunting shows and many of SCI’s philanthropic and conservation efforts.

Sportsmen Against Hunger Reno, NV Event
Wednesday, January 31 | Reno Events Center

This year, Outdoor Channel is the network partner for the “Sportsmen Against Hunger” event at the Reno Events Center, being hosted by SCI’s non-profit arm, Safari Club International Foundation. The volunteer event, which is held the day before the kick-off of the annual Hunters’ Convention, brings together SCIF’s local Reno chapter as they extend their time and resources to serve hot meals comprised of meat donated by area hunters and anglers.

Safari Club International’s 40^th Annual Hunters’ Convention Nuts & Bolts

The SCI Hunters’ Convention runs from February 1-4 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. For complete information, visit http://www.showsci.com/.

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) joined the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), and other partners at the 2012 SHOT Show to announce the start of a yearlong celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR), one of the most significant and successful partnership approaches to fish and wildlife conservation in U.S. history.

The “WSFR 75 – It’s Your Nature” celebration brings together federal and state fish and wildlife agencies; the hunting, shooting, angling, and boating industries; and conservation groups to mark a milestone of partnership success that has led to 75 years of quality hunting, fishing, shooting, boating and wildlife-related recreation. The occasion also marks the beginning of a new era in wildlife conservation, during which the partners will establish new goals for fostering and maintaining partnerships to continue conservation and outdoor recreation into the next 75 years and beyond.

“The Service is proud to join our partners in recognizing more than seven decades of wildlife conservation and quality outdoor recreational opportunities,” said Director Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “With our nation’s support and our partnership’s renewed commitment, WSFR will help more Americans enjoy wildlife and our great outdoors for many years to come.”

Through the WSFR program, several innovative and foundational fish and wildlife conservation programs are administered. The first was created on September 2, 1937 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, which raises funds through a dedicated excise tax on sporting guns and ammunition. In 1950, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act was enacted and added to the WSFR program. Through this law, funds are provided for fish conservation and boating and fishing recreational programs in each state through an excise tax placed on certain fishing and boating equipment and fuels.

“Since its 1937 inception, WSFR has provided more than $14 billion to support fish and wildlife restoration and management,” said Hannibal Bolton, the Service’s assistant director for the WSFR program. “The program and its partners, including the sporting arms industry, conservation groups, and sportsmen and sportswomen, are coming together for this anniversary to renew their commitment to conserve fish and wildlife and enhance hunter, angler, and boater recreation.”

These funds, administered by the Service, are combined with hunting license dollars in each state to fund important state wildlife conservation and hunting programs.

“The 75th anniversary of the WSFR program is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate the conservation victories that have been made possible because of this innovative funding approach,” said Jonathan Gassett, PhD, president, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “WSFR has made the difference for the survival and abundance of some species, and because of it, many fish and wildlife populations are at historically high levels today.”

Industry and agency partnerships have helped to the successes of the WSFR program to become what it is today.

“The WSFR programs have not only supported fish and wildlife conservation, they have also supported small businesses that manufacture and sell hunting and fishing equipment,” said Myke Lynch, general manager of Green Top Sporting Goods in Richmond, Virginia. “The industry supporting sportsmen has a multi-million dollar impact on the nation’s economy, and it depends on healthy fish and wildlife populations.”

The WSFR 75th anniversary will include participation in various fish and wildlife conservation events and conferences throughout the year, to culminate with National Hunting and Fishing Day in September 2012.

For more information about the WSFR program and its 75th Anniversary in 2012, visit:

• wsfrprograms.fws.gov
• www.wsfr75.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/WSFR75
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/wsfr75

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq.

HeadWaters Land Conservancy

Gaylord, Michigan –-(Ammoland.com)- HeadWaters Land Conservancy will receive the honor, along with a check for $600.00 at the Trout Unlimited yearly membership gathering in Grayling on February 4th.

Laura Justin, Executive Director of HeadWaters Land Conservancy, is thrilled to receive the recognition. “It came as a complete surprise. I was so happy after the phone call that I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day” said Justin.

“Being recognized by an organization like T.U. is a big deal to us. They are a highly regarded group and their work on the AuSable River matches our conservation mission.” Justin continued, “Our top priority for 2012 is the AuSable and reaching out to landowners who want to preserve this critically important river. Working with organizations like Trout Unlimited will help us to achieve our protection goals.”

Winning the honor from Trout Unlimited caps a very successful year for HeadWaters Land Conservancy. 520 acres of land and 10,480 feet of waterfront were protected in 2011. HeadWaters was also fortunate enough to receive the gift of a preserve on the Sturgeon River from the J.A. Woollam Foundation. The Sturgeon River Preserve is dedicated to the late Rusty Gates for his great accomplishments in river stewardship and protection. The preserve is 40 acres of thick forests, wetlands, upland areas of bracken fern and a meandering stretch of the Sturgeon River.

The preserve is located on Whitmarsh Road about 10 minutes from Gaylord, and is open to the public for their enjoyment.

Since its inception in 1994, HeadWaters Land Conservancy has protected the natural diversity and beauty of northeast Michigan by preserving significant lands and scenic areas in perpetuity with conservation agreements. A conservation agreement is a voluntary act by a land owner to impose permanent restrictions on their land for its preservation. HeadWaters works within an eleven county service area, one of the largest in the state, preserving lands in Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Crawford, Roscommon, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties.

Hunting is Conservation

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Record-high membership. Strong fiscal performance.

A landmark 6 millionth acre of habitat stewardship and protection.

On the momentum of these and other accomplishments in 2011, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is eyeing 2012 with ambitious goals for conserving elk country, improving predator management and control, and building public understanding of hunters, leadership in conservation.

“Our members and partners were part of something pretty special last year,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

Highlights from 2011 include:

• RMEF helped enhance habitat on 111,894 acres, mostly on public lands, for elk and other wildlife. The total exceeded the organization’s annual goal by 11,894 acres.
• Protected 40,952 acres of habitat, exceeding RMEF’s annual goal by 7,952 acres.
• Passed the 6 million-acre lifetime mark for habitat enhanced or protected, finishing 2011 with a combined total of 6,123,622 acres.
• Reached 636,424 acres secured for public access including hunting.
• Restored a wild elk herd in Missouri.
• Fueled elk restoration projects in Virginia and Maryland.
• Continued legal and legislative efforts to manage and control gray wolves.
• Reached more than 700,000 students and others with positive messages on hunting, shooting and conservation.
• Recorded a fourth straight year with a new record for membership, now at 184,135.
• Received the highest rating, 4 Stars, from America’s top charity ratings service.
• Finished the RMEF fiscal year with budget-positive black ink.

Allen said these successes and others have RMEF entering 2012 on a crest of enthusiasm. With the organization’s annual convention and membership rally just around the corner (Feb. 2-5 in Las Vegas), plus hundreds of local RMEF banquets and fundraisers slated for coming months, expectations are building for another memorable year.

Dozens of on-the-ground conservation projects are already in the works. Habitat stewardship and protection efforts are expected to reach milestone figures in several states. Nationally, RMEF could reach the 8,000 mark in total projects completed as it marches toward its 7 millionth acre impacted for elk and other wildlife.

Youth and public education initiatives, all with a hunting heritage slant, will continue to receive funding and volunteer manpower from RMEF in 2012.

RMEF also will power two special campaigns.

The first will focus on the growing need to manage and control predators. Wolf, bear, lion and coyote populations are well above science-based objectives in many areas. In extreme cases, predation and negative effects on game species are causing declines in hunting participation. Lost hunting license sales now are translating to budget cuts for conservation agencies. Balancing predator populations could help.

Second, RMEF is vowing to help Americans better understand how all wildlife, both game and non-game species, depend on hunters. “Hunting Is Conservation” will apply a variety of tactics to communicate an important message, that is, without hunters and the money they provide for today’s habitat, research, management and law enforcement programs, the outdoors overall would surely suffer.

Allen said, “We’re proud of the year we had in 2011, but we can’t afford to celebrate too long, because the causes of conservation are constantly evolving and changing. We can’t wait to respond. We have to get out in front of the issues.”

He added, “If success builds on success, then I believe RMEF is well positioned to help make a meaningful difference again in 2012.”

To join and support RMEF, visit www.rmef.org.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres—an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

Black-Capped Chickadee VS Carolina Chickadee

Ohio Department Natural Resources

COLUMBUS, OH --(Ammoland.com)- The fourth annual Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp Contest will feature black-capped and Carolina chickadees, which are common in Ohio and frequent backyard feeders.

The two species look nearly identical, but black-capped chickadees occupy the northern 1/3 of the state, and Carolina chickadees are found in the southern 2/3 of the state.

“We encourage Ohio residents to use their photography skills to showcase our native songbirds,” said James Zehringer, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). “This is a unique opportunity to share the beauty of our black-capped and Carolina chickadees.”

Entries will be accepted Aug. 13-31, and the photographer with the winning image will receive $500. The contest is open to Ohioans age 18 years and older, however, budding photographers, age 17 and younger, will be able to compete in the youth division. For complete contest rules, visit www.wildohiostamp.com.

Photographers submitted 58 images during last year’s contest. The winning salamander photograph was captured by Nina Harfmann of Pleasant Plain. Her photo of a spotted salamander will appear on the 2012 Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp and be available for purchase on March 1.

The inaugural Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp, featuring a Baltimore oriole, went on sale March 1, 2010. Since then the stamp has raised more than $45,000. The collectible stamp and its companion photo contest are part of an innovative program intended to raise awareness and support for wildlife diversity.

It is important to note $14 out of every $15 Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp sold is invested in Ohio’s Wildlife Diversity Fund. The fund supports habitat restoration, purchases and conservation easements, wildlife and habitat research projects, creation of wildlife educational materials, as well as efforts to restore and conserve endangered and threatened species.

Promotion and sale of the Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp has been a grassroots effort and found early success thanks to the dedication of conservation groups across Ohio. For a limited time only, stamp collectors and conservationists will be able to purchase the 2010 and 2011 stamps.

More information about the Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp and other wildlife-related topics can be found at www.wildohio.com.

Michigan Wolves Removed from Endangered Species List - Wolf Management Plan in Effect

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Michigan --(Ammoland.com)- Management authority over wolves in Michigan has been officially returned to the Department of Natural Resources, putting the state’s Wolf Management Plan into effect, the DNR announced today.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to remove wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the federal endangered species list became official today. The Great Lakes region includes Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Wolves remain a protected, nongame species in Michigan, but state management will afford more options when dealing with wolves preying on livestock or dogs.

“Delisting is a victory for the state and for Michigan citizens who have been affected by this issue,” said DNR Director Rodney Stokes.

“The state’s healthy wolf population is a reminder that Michigan still has places where wild animals such as wolves can live and thrive. Fully implementing the state’s Wolf Management Plan will allow us to more effectively respond to problem wolves, while maintaining a self-sustaining wolf population and increasing social acceptance of the species as a whole.”

The DNR will continue to recommend nonlethal methods of control as the first option for residents. However, in cases where nonlethal methods are not working or are not feasible, state officials will now have greater flexibility to use lethal means to remove problem wolves when appropriate. In addition, Michigan residents will be able to legally protect their livestock and dogs if an animal is being attacked by a wolf.

The Michigan Legislature passed laws in 2008 to allow livestock or dog owners, or their designated agents, to remove, capture, or, if deemed necessary, use lethal means to destroy a wolf that is “in the act of preying upon” (attempting to kill or injure) the owner’s livestock or dog(s). These state laws took effect Jan. 27, 2012.

Livestock or dog owners who use lethal means to destroy a wolf must observe the following guidelines:

1. Report the lethal take of a wolf by calling the Report All Poaching (RAP) hotline at 800-292-7800 no later than 12 hours after the lethal take.
2. Retain possession of the wolf until a DNR official is available to take possession. A DNR official will respond to the scene within 12 hours of notification.
3. Do not move or disturb the dead wolf. The only exception to this rule is if a wolf has been killed in the act of preying upon livestock and leaving the wolf in place would impede normal farming practices. In that case the wolf may be moved to a secure location once photographs are taken of the wolf and the area where lethal means were used.

“Although lethal control methods are now legal in certain circumstances, wolves remain a protected species in Michigan and no hunting or trapping season is in place,” said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler. “The DNR will investigate and continue prosecution of any wolf poaching cases.”

Illegally killing a wolf is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both, and the cost of prosecution. Suspected poaching violations may be reported 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the DNR’s RAP hotline at 800-292-7800.

There are an estimated 687 wolves in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. For more information on Michigan’s wolf population, greater detail about the two laws governing wolf depredation, and to see the state’s Wolf Management Plan, visit www.michigan.gov/wolves.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

The Center For Vision & Values

Grove City, PA --(Ammoland.com)- On Tuesday evening, I had the honor of attending the State of the Union address as the guest of Congressman Mike Kelly (PA-03).

Here are my impressions in abbreviated form:

The address seemed more like a rewrite of previous speeches than an original work. Sure, there were new anecdotes and fresh twists on old policy proposals, but the essential narrative remains: My predecessor messed up; none of your problems are my fault; I can make life fairer if Congress will approve my plans to increase federal spending and take more money from Peter to help Paul.

Even President Obama’s partisan allies seem to have wearied of the “same old, same old.” I was struck by how often the Democratic applause seemed tepid and tentative. (It sounded louder on the TV replay—amazing how electronics can create an illusion.) Statements that would have elicited enthusiastic cheers three years ago were met with uneasy silence.

Yes, Democrats stood and clapped when the president mentioned one of their pet causes, but their efforts seemed forced, neither heartfelt nor genuine.

The president started and finished by paying tribute to our military and stating the truism that Americans can accomplish great things when we are united. Bravo. But in between those patriotic bookends was a dismal speech. Could the American people possibly be ignorant or gullible enough to accept all the fallacies and half-truths in this speech?

Here is a sampling:

The president claimed that three million jobs have been created in the last 22 months. Perhaps. But how many jobs have ended during that same time period? Labor force participation is still trending down, and unemployment and underemployment remain so severe that 19 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are living with their parents. These are not signs of a healthy job market.

President Obama promised no more bailouts, yet one of his pet causes is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that authorizes bailouts of “too big to fail” financial institutions. He promised no more handouts, yet in the same speech proposed handouts and subsidies to certain businesses, homeowners, etc.

He proposed increased government control over capital and banks. He wants to require banks to refinance mortgages on terms set by the government.

He also proposed a Financial Crimes Unit to combat fraud. (Are the FBI, the Federal Reserve, and some 116 federal agencies with oversight of financial institutions not enough?) If the president succeeds in establishing an anti-fraud squad, will it crack down on the entities that promise to fund retirement programs but instead borrow money to cover current disbursements? That is what the Social Security System is doing because of President Obama’s two-percent cut in withholding from wages. Will Uncle Sam be exempt from oversight by the Financial Crimes Unit?

Even Obama’s choice of words was telling. He spoke of his desire to “consolidate” the federal bureaucracy, not “shrink” it.

At one point, Obama remarked that Americans are “cynical” about Washington. His address helps explain why. His talk of unity was belied by his second-class treatment of Republicans during the address.

The Democrats had printed copies of Obama’s text—a simple courtesy denied to Republicans.

After raising the American flag and extolling the great accomplishments of our military forces, President Obama made it clear that the only federal spending he is serious about cutting is military spending. To add insult to injury, he will order the Navy to waste part of its (reduced) budget purchasing over-priced and less reliable green energy.

Imposing politically correct energy on our armed forces illustrates how obsessed this president is with centralizing economic planning. It reminds me of the Chevy Volt fiasco. First, Team Obama coerced GM into making a high-cost, uneconomical car that few people want; then it boosted the Volt’s sales figures by directing federal departments to purchase Volts. Now, after spending billions to artificially increase the supply of high-cost, uneconomical wind and solar energy, President Obama will use his authority as Commander in Chief to artificially increase demand for green energy.

First, the president uses taxpayer money to subsidize an inferior, unwanted product, then he uses taxpayer money to buy it—a double whammy.

Appealing to our national pride, President Obama promised not to cede dominance in green energy production to China and Germany. Excuse me, but who wants to be Number One at losing money? Please, let the Germans and Chinese take over those money-losing boondoggles. With over $15 trillion of national debt, we can’t afford them.

President Obama’s SOTU address demonstrated that he has no intention of altering his course. If you’re satisfied with his policies over the last three years, maybe he’s your man. If you think we need to try something different, he’s probably not.

— Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and fellow for economic and social policy with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College.

© 2012 by The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. The views & opinions expressed herein may, but do not necessarily, reflect the views of Grove City College.

Bird Feeding Staples - Black Oil Sunflower Seed Is Magic Mix

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

LITTLE ROCK, AR --(Ammoland.com)- Feeding birds in yards enthralls many thousands of Arkansans every winter.

When they are ready to move up a notch from using bags of mixed seed from discount stores and groceries, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission suggests, there are two effective steps to take.

1. Black oil sunflower seed.
2. Magic Mix.

Using these, the backyard bird feeder gets many more varieties of visitors. The ratio of wanted versus unwanted species like house sparrows and starlings increases sharply.
Black oil sunflower seed is available from farm supply outlets, garden centers and bird specialty stores. Magic Mix is something you concoct at home.

It’s simple. Like making a stew or chili, there are all sorts of variations to Magic Mix, and no one insists you have to go by a recipe or formula. Magic Mix is a name that came from somewhere years ago, and capitalizing it just seems logical, although it’s not a brand name by any means.

Magic Mix is lard, peanut butter and cornmeal. You can add other things. Exact proportions aren’t needed. Just mix it so it looks and feels right.

In a large mixing bowl, blend in lard and peanut butter, using more lard than peanut butter. A pastry blender works well or you may prefer other kitchen tools you have on hand. Then gradually mix in cornmeal to reach a consistency somewhere in the vicinity of Play-Do or muffin mix. It needs to be fairly stiff and solid but moldable and not crumbly. You’ll use a goodly amount of cornmeal.

It will be greasy. You’re using lard. If the greasiness bothers you, wear latex gloves, but you can wash hands later.

A very rough guide on proportions is two parts lard, one part peanut butter, one part cornmeal. Some Arkansans toss in a handful of flour also, saying this small addition helps the mix achieve the preferred consistency.

To get the Magic Mix to the birds, just put it out anywhere above the ground. Purchased or homemade suet feeders work well. So does pressing a handful of Magic Mix into the bark of a tree.

Hanging log feeders are heavily used in some yards. These are just sections of a fence post with several large holes drilled and a sturdy screw eye placed in one end. Then it is wired or hung on a bent-out coat hanger form a tree limb.

To make several of these log feeders, buy a cedar fence post from a lumberyard, fence company or a farm supply store. A six-foot post can be cut into six sections, each a foot long.

Secure an inch-and-a-half spade bit in an electric drill or drill press and bore staggered holes about an inch deep around the post. Four holes to a section are about right. Below and slightly to one side of each large hole bore a quarter-inch hole. Insert a three-inch piece of wooden dowel into each of these small holes for perches. Don’t glue the dowels in place because they will rot and break before the cedar deteriorates. Pull out the stub of dowel and replace it with a new one.

Use a good-sized screw eye and put it in the center of the top of your feeder. Screw it all the way down. Then use a wire or coat hanger and hang the feeder after it’s filled with Magic Mix. These cedar feeders will last for years.

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -–(Ammoland.com)- Kansas landowners — and those from across the country — will receive free land-use management consultation at Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic 2012, in the Kansas City Convention Center Feb. 17-19.

The Landowner Habitat Help Room, sponsored by Best Buy and Geek Squad, will feature the latest technology to evaluate landowner needs.

A dozen work stations featuring large-screen monitors will provide a detailed look at each landowner’s property. The room is designed to give farmers and landowners site-specific information about conservation programs they can implement on their land. Biologists use aerial photography, topography, and soil information for individual planning. Landowners just need to bring the legal description of their property (township, range, and section).

Through one-on-one consultations with leading wildlife experts, landowners have the opportunity to learn about conservation and habitat options on their land available through federal, state, and local programs.

Accompanied by trained Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever biologists or partnering biologists from the Missouri Department of Conservation; the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism; or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, landowners will be educated on ways they can improve their acres for wildlife and even what local, state, and federal conservation programs that qualify for enrollment.

“Your next wildlife habitat project starts at Pheasant Fest,” says Steve Riley, Farm Bill wildlife biologist manager for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “The Landowner Habitat Help Room is one of the many ways Pheasants Forever’s premiere event goes beyond a trade show and becomes an interactive event where wildlife habitat is the main focus, and a lasting impact is made.”

With the most current streaming data available, the Landowner Habitat Help Room will offer topographic and aerial maps on any piece of property in the entire country. For more information, phone Brad Heidel at 651-209-4956 or email bheidel@pheasantsforever.org, or phone Rehan Nana at 651-209-4973 or mail rnana@pheasantsforever.org.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON --(Ammoland.com)- Following a State of the Union address during which the president focused heavily on jobs, economics and natural resources, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today released its TRCP 2012 Conservation Policy Agenda, highlighting federal funding challenges and key policy issues central to the nation’s hunting and angling traditions.

Ensuring strong funding for conservation programs – many of which face cuts or elimination in budget proposals being considered by Congress – led the list of the sportsmen’s policy priorities.

Developed in concert with the TRCP’s individual and organizational partners, which include national hunting, fishing and conservation organizations, labor unions and grassroots sportsmen, the report outlines the sportsmen’s consensus priorities over the coming year.

“Federal funding for crucial conservation programs, responsible management of both public and privately owned lands, judicious administration of our aquatic and marine resources … all while sustaining the fish and wildlife populations that sportsmen prize. These form the core of the TRCP’s policy objectives over the year to come,” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh.

“Hunting and angling contribute significantly to the more than 9.4 million jobs and $1 trillion annually generated by the outdoors and historic preservation,” continued Fosburgh. “We remain ready to seize opportunities and explore new ideas that can benefit fish, wildlife and their habitats, all while ensuring a brighter future for the American outdoor way of life.”

Issues highlighted in the TRCP 2012 Conservation Policy Agenda include the following:

• Leveraging the combined weight of the outdoor community – especially hunters and anglers – to ensure continued federal funding for conservation, in 2012 and beyond;
• Implementing federal policies to better conserve fish and wildlife during all phases of energy project planning and development, both traditional and renewable;
• Sustaining a robust and economically competitive Conservation Reserve Program, along with other components of the Farm Bill Conservation Title;
• Securing reauthorization and full funding of the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (“Open Fields”) in the 2012 Farm Bill and funding in upcoming appropriations bills;
• Upholding and defending the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, including preventing the advancement of any federal legislation that would weaken it;
• Sustaining fisheries populations and recreational use opportunities with a strong and effective Magnuson-Stevens Act, comprehensive and timely data collection and restoration activities in the Gulf of Mexico;
• Preventing development of the Pebble Mine Complex in Bristol Bay, Alaska;
• Restoring Clean Water Act protections to the nation’s wetlands, rivers, lakes and streams;
• Ensuring strong funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and State Wildlife Action Plans to address the challenge of climate change and its effects on fish and wildlife.

“The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership looks forward to continuing to engage with the administration and Congress to expeditiously address problems of great concern to our community,” said Dr. Steve Williams, president of the Wildlife Management Institute, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and chairman of the TRCP policy council.

“The TRCP remains committed to advancing the values of the nation’s conservation-minded hunters and anglers, as well as all Americans who care about our shared natural resources and the outdoor activities that depend on them.

• Read the complete TRCP 2012 Conservation Policy Agenda.
• Review a one-page summary of the TRCP 2012 Conservation Policy Agenda.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations
and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions
of hunting and fishing.

DNR will take over management of the gray wolf in Wisconsin outside of reservations. This photo is of a captive gray wolf at the MacKenzie Environmental Education Center. Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Photo

Wisconsin DNR

PARK FALLS, WI --(Ammoland.com)- Beginning Friday, Jan. 27, 2011, the gray wolf will no longer be considered a federally endangered species in Wisconsin and other parts of the western Great Lakes region.

In Wisconsin, the state Department of Natural Resources will manage the wolf population outside of tribal reservation lands. DNR officials said areas where wolves have attacked domestic animals will be addressed immediately.

“We’ve been fighting hard to gain this authority, and we are grateful to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for removing gray wolves in the upper Midwest from the lists of endangered and threatened species,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp.

“We are ready and capable of managing Wisconsin’s wolf population at a healthy, sustainable level and we welcome the opportunity to begin addressing those areas where problem wolves are attacking domestic animals.”

Wisconsin regulations will treat the gray wolf as a protected wild animal, which means that authorization from the DNR is required before a person can attempt to “take” or kill a wolf. There are currently no plans for a hunting season on wolves. This would involve a change in state law and a public rule-making process.

Wisconsin’s 1999 wolf management plan and a 2007 addendum to the plan will be the basis of wolf management in the state. These documents outline the conservation strategy for Wisconsin’s wolf population, as well as, outlining the approach for controlling depredation situations. Copies of these documents can be found on the department website.

Landowners or people leasing land will have authority to shoot wolves only when in the act of attacking domestic animals on their land. They also will be able to get permits to shoot any wolf coming on their land if they have experienced wolf problems within the last two years.

Any wolf shot or trapped by a landowner or leaseholder must be reported to the DNR within 24 hours. The carcass must be turned over the DNR.

Conditions under which control permits will be issued include the following five situations:

• Landowners have had verified attacks on livestock or pets on their property within the last two years can request permits.
• Landowners with vulnerable pets or livestock, and whose property lies within one mile of a property with a depredation during the same year.
• Farmers with livestock in a DNR-designated “proactive control area.”
• Farmers who have had verified harassment of livestock.
• Any landowner in an area where a perceived human safety situation occurs.

Under the rule published by USFWS in late December, which takes effect Friday, gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment will no longer be considered either endangered or threatened by the federal government. The segment includes the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota and portions of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Along with permits to landowner, the services of U.S. Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Service trappers will again be available to trap and remove problem wolves in Wisconsin.

USDA-Wildlife Service, which operates in Wisconsin under a contract with the DNR, will be available to investigate reports of wolf depredations and when wolf depredations are verified would be authorized to capture problem wolves. Because suitable wolf habitat is saturated in Wisconsin, wolves captured at depredation sites will not be relocated but will be euthanized.

With the federal delisting of wolves, states will be required to continue monitoring of the state wolf populations for the next five years. The department currently uses a system of radio-tracking collared wolves, snow track surveys and collection of public wolf observations to track population trends.

The DNR will continue to recruit and train citizen volunteers to assist with wolf management, primarily through tracking surveys.

During the winter of 2010-2011, biologists estimated a population of about 800 wolves in Wisconsin. The results of this winter’s surveys will be available in the spring.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Wydeven, DNR mammalian ecologist, at 715-762-1363; Ed Culhane, DNR communications, at 715-781-1683, or Bob Manwell, DNR communications, at 608-264-9248

RMEF Team Elk Voted Best New Series on Outdoor Channel

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- “RMEF Team Elk,” the first television program fully owned and produced by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, is being honored as the Fan Favorite Best New Series on Outdoor Channel.

The show premiered in 2011 and new episodes for season-two will begin in July.

“RMEF Team Elk” co-hosts Brandon Bates and Cameron Hanes accepted the honors from Outdoor Channel during the 12th Annual Golden Moose Awards ceremony held as part of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, Jan. 19, 2012, in Las Vegas. More than 2,000 hunting industry leaders, TV personalities and media personnel attended, with a worldwide audience watching the event live online.

“No show affiliated with RMEF has ever been nominated before, but this year we collected four nominations and received an important win as a fan favorite, so this is very special,” said Steve Decker, vice president of marketing for RMEF.

He added, “‘RMEF Team Elk’ is more than just a TV show. It’s part of a conservation movement that’s making a difference for the future of elk and elk hunters. Since every RMEF member is a part of Team Elk, this is important recognition for all of us and the work that we’re doing together across elk country.”

Decker thanked elk hunters everywhere for watching the show and casting their votes.

Presented by MidwayUSA, “RMEF Team Elk” is sponsored by Weaver, Browning, Brunton, Danner, Hunter’s Specialties, Buck Knives, Eberlestock, Cooper Tires, Sitka, Nosler, Montana Decoy, Budweiser, Under Armour, Archer Xtreme and Buckstop Truckware.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres–an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

Ohio Department Natural Resources

COLUMBUS, OH --(Ammoland.com)- Overlooked wildlife will be the focus of the 2012 Ohio Wildlife Diversity Conference, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus.

The conference, titled “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife and is open to the public.

“We hope many people are able to attend this conference to learn more about the interesting wildlife we have in Ohio,” said Director Jim Zehringer, director of ODNR.

The Wildlife Diversity Conference has steadily grown in popularity. The first conference, held in 1985, drew 40 people. Last year, 975 people attended the day-long gathering.

The keynote speaker this year, Cindy Hale of the University of Minnesota, will discuss earthworms and their impact to the environment in her presentation, “Dances with Worms: The Great Lakes Worm Watch.”

Other conference topics include discussions of freshwater mussel restoration, aquatic invasive species, a Lake Erie pelagic bird survey, terrestrial crayfish, wildlife orphans, wetland restoration, as well as beavers, porcupines and fishers in Ohio.

The third Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp, which features the spotted salamander, will be available to conference attendees.

Proceeds from the sale of the stamp will be used to support:

• endangered and threatened native species;
• habitat restoration, land purchases and conservation easements; and
• educational products for students and wildlife enthusiasts.

Anyone who pre-registers online for the conference may purchase this collectable stamp at a discounted price of $12, which is a 20 percent savings. Details about the Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp are available at wildohiostamp.com.

Representatives from a range of conservation and natural resource organizations, such as the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Columbus Audubon and Ohio Biological Survey, will present displays and be available to answer questions.

Doors open at 8 a.m. for registration on March 7. The conference begins at 9 a.m. and lasts until 3:30 p.m.

For more information or to register for the conference online, go to http://bit.ly/WildlifeDiversityConference or call 800-WILDLIFE. The registration cost prior to Feb. 26 is $25. After that date, the admission cost is $35.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. For more information, visit the ODNR website at www.ohiodnr.com.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Louisiana --(Ammoland.com)- Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division agents are seeking leads for information about the shooting of a bald eagle north of Farmerville in Union Parish.

On Jan. 13, LDWF agents were notified by a motorist traveling along Louisiana Hwy. 15 near Goose Elkins Road about a wounded eagle walking beside the road. Agents responded and found a bald eagle with an injury to its wing.

The eagle was recovered and transported to the Wildlife Hospital at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Veterinary School of Medicine in Baton Rouge where it was determined the eagle was shot in the wing. The eagle had to have the tip of its right wing amputated and thus will not be able to fly. After recovery, the eagle will be placed in a zoo or other wildlife sanctuary.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting of this eagle should call the Louisiana Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-442-2511 or use LDWF’s tip411 program. To use the tip411 program, citizens can text LADWF and their tip to 847411 or download the “LADWF Tips” iPhone app from the Apple iTunes store free of charge.

The hotline and the tip411 program are monitored 24 hours a day. Cash rewards up to $2,000 are offered for information leading to the apprehension of individuals harming a bald eagle. Tipsters can also remain anonymous.

The bald eagle is protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The LSU Wildlife Hospital works largely off of donations to offer veterinarian care to this bald eagle and other wildlife in need of care. To make a donation to the Wildlife Hospital, please visit www.wildlife.lsu.edu/donations.shtml

For more information, contact Adam Einck at 225-765-2465 or aeinck@wlf.la.gov.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- In partnership with state, tribal, and federal agency partners, the Obama Administration today released the first draft national strategy to help decision makers and resource managers prepare for and help reduce the impacts of climate change on species, ecosystems, and the people and economies that depend on them.

The draft National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, available for public review and comment through March 5, 2012, can be found on the web at www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov

The strategy represents a draft framework for unified action to safeguard fish, wildlife and plants, as well as the important benefits and services the natural world provides the nation every day, including jobs, food, clean water, clean air, building materials, storm protection, and recreation.

“The impacts of climate change are already here and those who manage our landscapes are already dealing with them,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes. “The reality is that rising sea levels, warmer temperatures, loss of sea ice and changing precipitation patterns – trends scientists have definitively connected to climate change – are already affecting the species we care about, the services we value, and the places we call home. A national strategy will help us prepare and adapt.”

Congress called for a national, government-wide strategy in 2010, directing the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and the Department of the Interior to develop it. CEQ and Interior responded by assembling an unprecedented partnership of federal, state and tribal fish and wildlife conservation agencies to draft the strategy. More than 100 diverse researchers and managers from across the country participated in the drafting for the partnership.

The partnership is co-led by Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, representing state fish and wildlife agencies.

The strategy will guide the nation’s efforts during the next five years to respond to current and future climate change impacts such as changing species distributions and migration patterns, the spread of wildlife diseases and invasive species, the inundation of coastal habitats with rising sea levels, and changes in freshwater availability with shifting precipitation and habitat types. The strategy does not prescribe mandatory activities that agencies must take nor suggest regulatory actions; rather, it provides a roadmap for decision makers and resource managers to use in considering climate change implications to their ongoing wildlife and habitat management activities.

Elements of the draft strategy include: Descriptions of current and projected impacts of climate change on the eight major ecosystems of the United States, the fish, wildlife and plant species those ecosystems support and the vital ecosystem services they provide; Goals, strategies, and actions to reduce the vulnerability and increase the resilience of fish, wildlife, plants and the communities that depend on them in the face of climate change; Collaborative strategies and actions that agriculture, energy, transportation and other sectors can take to promote adaptation of fish, wildlife and plants, and utilize the adaptive benefits of natural resources in their climate adaptation efforts; and A framework for coordinated implementation of the strategy among government and non-governmental entities from national to local scales.

“For more than a century, state fish and wildlife agencies have been entrusted by the public to be good stewards of their natural resources. To do that, we constantly are called upon to address threats to our natural resources,” said Patricia Riexinger, Director of the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “Today’s pressures on fish and wildlife and their habitats are exacerbated by climate change and together they emphasize the need for increased conservation and science-based management. The strategy is our nation’s insurance for managing healthy and robust ecosystems in uncertain future conditions.”

“This strategy provides a framework for safeguarding America’s fish, wildlife and plant resources and the valuable services they provide over the long-term,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA is committed to working with federal, state, tribal and local government agencies, non-government organizations and the public in this process because we all have important roles to play in preparing all regions of our nation in a changing climate.”

Leading the development of the strategy is a Steering Committee that includes government representatives from 16 federal agencies, five state fish and wildlife agencies and two inter-tribal commissions. The Steering Committee includes representatives from the California, Washington, Wisconsin, New York and North Carolina fish and wildlife agencies to ensure that all 50 states’ fish and wildlife concerns are considered. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is providing staff support for developing the strategy.

Public comments can be submitted online through the strategy website via a special link. Written comments may be submitted via the U.S. mail to the Office of the Science Advisor, Attn: National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203. In addition, there will be five public information sessions in various locations around the country and two webinars to provide details and encourage dialogue on the strategy and its development. To register for these meetings and for more information on the public comment process, visit http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/public-comments.php

About:
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Retired FWP employees, freed from the institutional FWP muzzle, tell that FWP-tolerated wolves are turning the Montana landscape into a biological desert...

Montana Shooting Sports Association

Missoula, MT --(Ammoland.com)- The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is reported to be running out of money because of decreased hunting license purchases, and is considering asking the Legislature for license fee increases.

This is the first obvious symptom of something known as agency “death spiral” for FWP.

Over the past two decades, FWP has come to focus on wildlife and biology, when it should have been focused on fish and game.

This includes FWP’s shocking tolerance and support for large predators. FWP’s total, willing, even eager cooperation with fostering excessive populations of large predator has long been predicted to end in a financial crash for the agency, as word unavoidably spreads that there is no game left to hunt so there is no reason to buy a license.

For too long, FWP leaders have leaned on the scales of public policy by making excuses for the devastation wrought upon game herds by large predators, by fudging game counts and census numbers, and by blaming any game population declines that could not be covered up on climate change, sunspots, lazy hunters, or aliens – anything but the truth.

This coverup culture has been fostered by senior staff, always near retirement, who knew they’d be long gone from the hot seat when the FWP financial bus blundered off a cliff.

If the overall FWP attitude had not been so Hell-bent on “ecosystem management,” “biological diversity,” “natural balance” and other similar catchy but terminal “green” ideas destined to end hunting, FWP managers would have predicted the current agency financial crisis years ago. Nobody at FWP noticed or cared several years ago when the editor of the NRA’s nationwide American Hunter magazine published a feature article about his fruitless elk hunting trip to southwest Montana, a trip where the only tracks he saw were wolf tracks. Nobody at FWP noticed or cared about the other hundreds of warnings from Montana citizens.

Worse, those warnings were even ridiculed by FWP in mad pursuit of its own elite agenda.

The stock mantra from FWP managers has been: We’re the professionals. We know best. The outcome that concerned citizens predict will never come to pass. The “evidence” of crashing game herds citizens offer is just “campfire stories” and is without merit because it doesn’t come from paid FWP “professionals.”

Yet when retired FWP employees, freed from the institutional FWP muzzle, tell that FWP-tolerated wolves are turning the Montana landscape into a “biological desert,” FWP dismisses such comments summarily.

For the last two decades, FWP has been busy digging a hole for itself. As it sees daylight disappearing around the edges of the hole, it still won’t quit digging.

Of course, the obvious solution for the bureaucratic-bound and reality-disconnected FWP will be to announce,

“We’ve been managing wildlife for the general public (including the non-Montana public) for years. Now we need the general public to pay the bills.”

FWP has so fouled its nest by wasting the Montana hunting resource on predators and inadvisably removing hunters from the economic equation that it will now go to the Legislature asking for relief, including increased fees that hunters simply won’t pay to access a vanishing resource, and, ultimately, asking for tax increases on the general taxpayer seeking a bailout from the results of its bad decisions.

You can bet that when FWP approaches the Legislature demanding an allowance increase as a reward for having flunked Econ 101, MSSA and thousands of Montana hunters will be there to say “Absolutely no way.” FWP has not only ignored the many warnings from Montana hunters, it has mocked and disrespected them. Also ignoring a state law requiring it to control large predators to protect game herds, FWP has bulled its way down a path surrounded with warning signs.

What FWP needs is not more or alternate sources of money, but a total change in attitude and culture. Until that happens, let FWP starve! It is not serving Montana.

About Montana Shooting Sports Association:
MSSA is the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners. Visit: www.mtssa.org

American Bob Cat

New Jersey Fish and Game

Trenton, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- Although bobcats are considered a game species, they are currently classified as “Endangered” in New Jersey and are therefore managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

There is no open hunting or trapping season for bobcat, and it is illegal to intentionally take, kill or attempt to take or kill one in the State.

Bobcats legally harvested in other U.S. states or Canadian provinces may be possessed provided the pelt is affixed with a CITES tag from the state or province of harvest.

Bobcats thrive in a variety of habitats with high prey abundance and dense understory vegetation, including hardwood forests, mixed forests, brush, swamps and farmland habitats). Forest edges and rocky ledges and outcrops are also important terrain features. Bobcats seem to use the convenience of woods roads and established paths in forests to aid travel.

Bobcats are widely distributed across New Jersey, but are mainly found in the northwestern counties of Sussex, Warren, Passaic and Morris. They are scarce in the central and southern counties of the state. Trappers should make every reasonable effort to avoid taking bobcats, and should know what to do if a bobcat is accidentally captured.

Back feet often follow in the front foot tracks of bobcats. Bobcat track trails tend to “wander” compared with the more straight-line patterns of wild canids (foxes and coyotes). Bobcats travel and hunt with a deliberate and methodical walking pattern, rarely bounding unless chasing prey. Bobcat tracks are approximately 1½ – 2½ inches long and 1 3/8 – 2½ inches wide in dirt and up to 2½ inches long and 2¾ inches wide in snow. Bobcats have 4 toe pads on the front and hind feet. Claw marks typically do not show in tracks as they do with canids.
Coyote/Bobcat Track Comparison

Information to Help Avoid Bobcat Captures

• Wherever a bobcat track is identified, cable restraint sets should not be made in close proximity.
• Every year a growing number New Jersey trappers discover to their extreme discomfort that a bobcat is in one of their restraints, and that making sets on or near existing bobcat sign is a real problem as bobcats will repeatedly use the same travel patterns within their territories.
• Bobcats tend to use areas where cottontail rabbits are abundant. Trail sets that are effective for wild canids (fox and coyote) can be expected to capture bobcats as cats will follow canine trails, particularly those in open fields.
• Lures and baits that appeal to one species appeal to others as well. Visible baits of any kind, especially rabbits or parts of rabbits, should not be used if any bobcats frequent the area. Sight-attractants such as bird wings, feathers, pieces of fur, should not be used near the traps if bobcat may be present.
• The use of tainted rather than fresh meat baits provides significant attraction to coyotes and foxes but tends not to attract bobcat.

Reducing Mortality and Injuries to Incidentally Captured Bobcats

If you find a bobcat (alive or dead) in one of your sets, call: 877-WARN-DEP (877-927-6337). The dispatcher will notify the appropriate Endangered and Nongame Species zoologist. The dispatcher will record the trapper’s name and phone number. The zoologist will then immediately contact the trapper to meet with him/her and release/remove the bobcat from the cable restraint.

It is very important that a live bobcat be released as soon as possible to prevent further injury or death to the animal that might result from a prolonged time spent in the trap device. Every trapper should have and carry a catchpole and wire cutters as part of their basic trapline equipment to allow safe release of any unintended animal captures. Trappers are also advised to have a piece of heavy canvas (or carpet) large enough to cover a bobcat and a pair of heavy duty leather gloves.

How to Release a Snared Bobcat

• Approach any trapped bobcat slowly to avoid causing them to move about excessively. Never attempt to render a bobcat unconscious with a blow to the nose or head or by any other means. Life threatening injury to the bobcat may result.
• A bobcat will allow the catchpole loop to be placed over its head, but it can be expected to react when the loop is tightened. Tighten the catchpole loop only sufficiently to hold the bobcat securely without preventing its ability to breathe. If a catchpole is not available, an alternative method to release bobcat is to cut a strong forked stick to allow the pinning of the bobcat’s neck and shoulder to the ground while the snare is removed.
• It is important to keep the head of the bobcat pinned down to the ground. Quickly place a foot, with light pressure only, on the hindquarters to restrain the rear legs. Always be aware a bobcat may try to lash out at you with claws extended on any paw.
• Once the bobcat is immobilized, the canvas/carpet can be placed over the prone animal to quiet it as the cable restraint is cut off or removed quickly.
• The catchpole loop should only then be relaxed and removed to allow the animal freedom to escape. Important! – Special care should always be taken when releasing a bobcat. They are very capable of injuring the trapper with their teeth or claws.