AM OUTDOORS HOT SHEET

The latest in outdoor news and events in Michigan.

Updated 9/ 15 / 2010

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Youth Waterfowl Season Spetember 18 - 19, 2010

Department of Natural Resources and Environment officials remind hunters that Youth Waterfowl Weekend is this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18-19, statewide.

Youths 10 to 15 years of age can hunt ducks, geese, mergansers, coots, and moorhens from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset both days. All youths must be accompanied by an adult, who may not hunt except, adults may take geese in the Upper Peninsula as the regular goose season will have already opened in the North Zone.

Youths must possess a small game license but are not required to have state or federal waterfowl stamps. Adults are not required to possess a waterfowl hunting license or federal stamp unless they are hunting.

Wolves in Michigan One Step Closer to State Management

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) today announced the results of an initial review of petitions they received to remove grey wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan from the federal endangered species list, saying the information in the petitions may warrant delisting species. 

This finding was in response to petitions submitted in spring 2010 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Safari Club International. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) supported these petitions, and DNRE Wildlife Division officials are pleased that the USFWS has moved one step closer to removing wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan from the list of endangered species.

The recovery goals established by the USFWS have been met since 1999, and the current wolf population in Michigan and Wisconsin exceeds the recovery goal by more than 10 times.

"Wolves are fully recovered in the Great Lakes region and we urge the USFWS to move forward in a deliberate process to delist wolves," said DNRE Director Rebecca Humphries.

The wolf remains federally endangered, but this finding is an important step in toward delisting, Humphries said. The next step after this 90-day finding will be a full status review by USFWS. The full status review will determine whether delisting is warranted or not. Over the next 60 days, the DNRE will provide scientific data regarding Michigan's wolf population to the USFWS to help support delisting.

A similar series of events occurred after Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota petitioned the USFWS to delist in 2006. A full status review determined that delisting was warranted, and the wolf was removed from the list in 2007. Federal courts overturned the delisting and the wolf was placed back on the list in 2008.

"Since the 2008 we have learned more about wolves in Michigan," said Chris Hoving, DNRE's endangered species coordinator. "The next delisting effort will incorporate the most recent science on the genetics, distribution and number of wolves in the Great Lakes."

For more information on wolves in Michigan, go to
www.michigan.gov/wolves .

Michigan's Early Canada Goose Season Opens Sept. 1

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment reminds hunters that the early Canada goose hunting season opens statewide Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Early goose season, designed to target resident giant Canada geese, runs through Sept. 10 in the Upper Peninsula and in Huron, Tuscola and Saginaw counties, and through Sept. 15 elsewhere in Michigan.

Prospects for the upcoming goose season are excellent; the resident Canada goose population is estimated at 300,000 birds, the second highest population ever recorded. Hunters may take five Canada geese daily during the early season.

Wildlife officials remind hunters that a number of Canada geese in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties within the Kalamazoo River watershed were covered with crude oil following the Enbridge pipeline rupture in late July. Hunters who observe oil-covered geese or other oiled wildlife should report them to 800-306-6837, the Enbridge wildlife response hotline.

Geese that were rescued, cleaned and released sport double leg bands, one of which reads: Oil Spill Bird Contact Michigan DNRE 1-517-336-5030.

 Hunters who harvest the birds can call the phone number to get more information. The Michigan Department of Community Health suggests that adverse health effects from consuming these birds are unlikely.

Crossbow Hunting Regulations Expanded for Hunters Statewide

Crossbow regulation changes expanding opportunities for hunters ages 10 and up statewide have been approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission and are effective immediately, Department of Natural Resources and Environment officials announced today.

The crossbow regulation changes include the following:

- Lowering the minimum age for crossbow use from 12 to 10 years of age statewide
- Expanding the use of crossbows to all legal hunters during all archery and firearm seasons statewide, except in the Upper Peninsula, where crossbow use will remain prohibited during the late archery and muzzleloader seasons, unless the hunter is disabled
- Allowing the use of modified bows where crossbows are legal
- Including a temporary crossbow permit for hunters with temporary disabilities
- Eliminating a provision that limited the maximum bolt velocity for crossbows
- Eliminating the 3-year sunset provision for the use of the crossbow in the affected section of the Wildlife Conservation Order

Hunters using crossbows will still be required to obtain a free crossbow stamp. The stamp allows DNRE staff to monitor and survey crossbow hunters to determine the effect the crossbow regulations have on hunter recruitment, retention and harvest. Results of the DNRE's mail survey conducted after the 2009 hunting season indicated that participation in archery deer hunting increased after crossbow regulations were liberalized.

Leftover Fall Turkey Licenses Go On Sale August 30, 2010

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment reminds hunters that leftover fall turkey licenses go on sale online and at all license vendors at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 30. More than 30,000 licenses are available, the bulk of them in southern Michigan .

Most of the available licenses are for private land only, though there are some general licenses in some areas. A hunter may buy one license per day until the unit quota is reached.

Fall turkey season opens Sept. 15 and runs through Nov. 14.

Fall turkey season provides a great opportunity for hunters to get a bird for their Thanksgiving dinner, said DNRE upland bird biologist Al Stewart. And because the season runs through Nov. 14, it gives archery deer hunters the chance to harvest another game animal.

Michigan Deer Harvest Decreases Nine Percent in 2009
Michigan hunters harvested about 9 percent fewer deer in 2009 than they did in the previous season, according to Department of Natural
Resources and Environment wildlife biologists.

Hunters killed an estimated 444,047 deer last year, down from 489,922 in 2008, according to the DNRE's annual mail survey.

Hunters killed 5 percent fewer antlerless deer and 14 percent fewer antlered bucks in 2009 than in the previous season.

Overall, hunters purchased about the same number of deer hunting licenses last year as they did in 2008. An estimated 686,392 hunters
went afield in 2009, a one percent decrease from the previous season.

Forty-three percent of hunters reported killing at least one deer last year, a 4 percent decline from 2008.

Hunter success was down most significantly, about six percent, during the traditional Nov. 15-30 firearms season. Success was about one
percent higher during the state's archery seasons, something wildlife officials think might be attributed to liberalized rules for using
crossbows.

The complete harvest survey is posted online at www.michigan.gov/dnrhunting.

Fall Turkey Application Deadline - August 1, 2010

Fall turkey hunters can apply for permits starting July 1, through August 1, 2010. Some regulation changes have been made for various areas. Please make sure you see the new fall turkey hunting application guide for complete details. Drawing results will be posted
at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings on August 16. Applicants will not be notified by mail.

Asian Carp Found Beyond Lake Michigan Barrier
Officials in Illinois have announced the discovery of a live bighead carp in Lake Calumet, 6 miles on the Chicago side of Lake Michigan, in an area near where a poisoning operation that ended June 4 took place. It marks the first time anyone has found an Asian carp, live or dead, beyond an electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lockport. Detroit Free Press.

Spinning-Wing Decoys Banned At Shiawassee River State Game Area

Waterfowl hunters will not be allowed to use spinning-wing decoys at Shiawassee River State Game Area this fall, the Department of Natural
Resources and Environment announced today.

Acting on a request by the Shiawassee Flats Citizens and Hunters Association, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted to ban
spinning-wing decoys - popularly known as “robo-ducks" from the managed waterfowl hunts at Shiawassee on an experimental basis. The NRC directed the DNRE to evaluate the ban for three years with hunter opinion surveys.

Although research has shown no conclusive biological impacts from the use of spinning-wing decoys, the Shiawassee hunting group proposed the ban because the use of the decoys can negatively impact the hunting experience of other parties sharing the same field.  Some hunters say the decoys can sometimes spook birds from entire fields during certain periods of the season.

The proposed ban was presented to the Citizens Waterfowl Advisory Committee (CWAC) at its March meeting. CWAC supported the proposed ban at Shiawassee.
 

DNRE Reminds Anglers About Bait Restrictions
Anglers who purchase spawn or minnows for bait should make sure it is certified as VHS-free. Certified VHS-free bait is widely available and may be used anywhere in the state for 14 days. The use of bait that has not been certified as disease-free is restricted, depending on where the bait was collected, and anglers need to follow the regulations to use uncertified bait in the correct locations. Uncertified bait can only be used for three days after purchase. All bait collected by anglers is considered to be uncertified bait.

VHS virus, a virus that causes fish to die from internal bleeding, has caused mortalities among a number of species of fish in Michigan. The
disease has been found in Michigan waters of lakes Superior, Erie and Huron. VHSv was detected in yellow perch in Lake Superior from the
Paradise area in 2009 and in lake herring from the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin waters.The virus has been found in fish sampled in Lake
Huron from Cheboygan and Thunder Bay in 2006 and in spottail shiners from Saginaw Bay in March 2010. Fish have been found to be positive from Lake Erie in Ohio waters each year since 2006. VHS virus has been found in fish in Lake Michigan, but not in Michigan waters. And it has been found in at least two inland lakes - in Budd Lake in Clare County in 2007; and in Baseline Lake in Washentaw County in 2009.

“There is no known treatment for VHS" said DNRE Fish Production Manager Gary Whelan. “Our best defense against it is trying to prevent
its spread. It is important to anglers to realize that the virus is not yet widely distributed in Michigan, thus anglers have the opportunity to
help slow its spread by using baitfish properly.