Concerned Citizens Against Resource Exploitation (CCARE) Speaks Out
February 25, 2010
The Natural Resource Commission, at their monthly meeting scheduled for March 4, 2010, will make the final decision.
According to CCARE spokesman, Charles Markham, “This proposal is not based on sound science.” In a letter received by CCARE last month, the lead bear biologist for DNRE stated the MI black bear population was 11,100 prior to the 2009 bear season, a revision from the 19,000 bear estimate in the bear management plan signed by Director Humphries in June 2009. Read more
Elk Foundation Funding Tops $190K for Michigan Initiative
October 27, 2009
MISSOULA, Mont. New grants from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will fund conservation and education projects in eight Michigan counties, and swell total RMEF support for the state?s Pigeon River Habitat Initiative to more than $190,000.
The 2009 RMEF grants will affect Cheboygan, Delta, Montmorency, Muskegon, Oakland, Otsego, Ottawa and Presque Isle counties.
“Our volunteers in Michigan devoted themselves to the 2008 fundraisers that made these grants possible. This is where Elk Foundation banquets, auctions and other events transform into on-the-ground conservation work, and it’s part of the payday for all of our supporters who are passionate about giving something back to the outdoors,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. Read more
Western Great Lakes Gray Wolf Population Goes Back On Endangered List
June 30, 2009
In a move that is becoming extremely nauseating and utterly ridiculous, void of any science that President Obama promised would return to decisions like this, the government reached an agreement with those groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, who had sued to stop delisting, the gray wolf was returned to government protection. It appears the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not exactly follow the legal steps before they could declare a removal from the Endangered Species Act list.
Before a move such as delisting, the USFWS must provide a 60-day public comment period and evidently this was not done. Because of that, the U.S. Government and the HSUS, et. al., reached an agreement that puts the wolves in Minnesota back under a “threatened” status and the rest of the wolves return as endangered. Wolves in Idaho and Montana that have be removed from the list, are not affected. Read more
Did Feds Address Court Rulings For Wolf Delisting?
January 15, 2009
Yesterday Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett announced the intentions of the Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the gray wolf from protection of the Endangered Species Act in the Western Great Lakes region and portions of the Northern Rocky Mountains. Following legal procedures, the USFWS will post the Final Rule in the Federal Registry next week and then 30 days thereafter, the rule takes effect.
The process of attempting to get the wolf delisted has been a confusing mess, mired in lawsuits, twisted out of shape by frustrating and puzzling rulings by judges and just as disturbing was the direction or seemingly lack thereof, the Feds took in dealing with the issue. Read more
It Is Time To Submit Your Michigan Turkey Applications
January 12, 2009
Michigan turkey hunters it is now time to apply for your spring wild turkey permits. Read more
DNR Seeks Help Finding Lower Peninsula Denned Bears
December 19, 2008
The Department of Natural Resources is once again seeking help from hunters and trappers through the winter who encounter denned black bears while in the field in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In the Northern Lower Peninsula, this effort is part of an ongoing DNR program to annually radio-collar a sample of female bears. Bears are also becoming more common in the Southern Lower Peninsula and biologists are interested in learning more about their movements and habitat associations.
“Information gathered from bears will assist biologists in managing the black bear population,” said DNR Wildlife Biologist Mark Boersen. Currently, three female bears are being monitored from the air and ground in the Northern Lower Peninsula through the use of radio tracking equipment.
After locating a denned bear, DNR biologists will determine if the animal is a good candidate for radio-collaring. Bears that are selected will be sedated by a biologist and fitted with a radio-tracking collar and ear tags. Hair samples will be taken for DNA analysis and a small non-functional tooth will be collected to determine the bear’s age. Upon completion of the short procedure, biologists will carefully return the bear to their den where it will sleep through the remainder of the winter months.
People who encounter bear dens are asked to record the location, with a GPS unit if possible, and contact Mark Boersen at the DNR Roscommon Operations Center at 989-275-5151 for bears in the Northern Lower Peninsula; or Dwayne Etter at 517-373-9358, ext. 256, for bears in the southern Lower Peninsula. The public is reminded that it is illegal to disturb a bear den or disturb, harm, or molest a bear in its den.
Contact: Mark Boersen 989-275-5151
Agency: Natural Resources
USFWS Reinstates Protection For Wolves “In Compliance With Court Orders”
December 15, 2008
On December 11, 2008, recorded in the Federal Register, the Department of Interior, more specifically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published the final rule that places the gray wolf in nearly all of the lower 48 states, under federal protection of the Endangered Species Act. What this final rule does, I doubt 99.999999% of Americans understand. Read more
Fishing Law Changes For Michigan In 2009
November 24, 2008
New fishing laws go into effect on April 1, 2009 for Michigan Anglers Read more
Can We Trust How Wolves Are Being Managed In Montana Or Other States?
November 18, 2008
If we back up through a regression of what is controlling wolf management, if nothing else we have to scratch our heads. The fate of the gray wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains as well as the Western Great Lakes region lies in the hands of two judges. One judge in Montana (Donald Molloy) says Wyoming’s wolf management plan isn’t good enough to sustain a wolf population. The same judge says we must continue to protect the wolf because he thinks until sub populations of wolves interbreed there is little hope the wolf will survive.
The judge in Washington, D.C. (Paul Friedman) who ruled to place the wolf in the Great Lakes region back under federal protection says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can’t create Distinct Population Segments because there is no definition of what that is. Read more
Michigan Baiting Ban Now Permanent
October 13, 2008
Thursday of this week, Michigan’s Natural Resource Commission voted to make the current CWD baiting ban permanent. Read more
After a little internet searching, reading, and checking up on this stuff I found its a pretty well established product in Canada and hails from Quebec where they have this funny habit of speaking a lot of French. Thus the name, Jig-A-Loo, and the companys claim it derives from a saying they have up north, Ive got it! 
