Local organization proposes antler point restrictions in northwest Michigan

The Northwest Michigan chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), in partnership with Leelanau Whitetails, has proposed new antler point restrictions (APR) for deer hunting in the following 12 counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Missaukee, Mason, Osceola, and Wexford.
This proposal seeks to require that all antlered deer (bucks) harvested in the 12-county area must have at least three antler points on one side. Current regulations allow hunters to take bucks that have at least one antler that is three inches long or longer. The proposal would continue the current statewide requirement that hunters taking two bucks must ensure at least one of those bucks has four or more antler points on one side. The proposed regulation would be consistent with the current regulation in Deer Management Unit (DMU) 045, which is Leelanau County. The restriction will be considered by the Natural Resources Commission for implementation starting with the 2013 deer season. Antlerless deer regulations within the proposed area would continue to be determined by the Natural Resources Commission based on recommendations by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Division staff.
Under guidelines adopted by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), mandatory regulations proposed by sponsoring organizations will only be implemented where a clear majority of 66 percent support among hunters in the proposed area is documented. Support will be determined by a survey mailed to a sample of hunters who indicated on the 2011 DNR deer harvest survey that they hunted deer in one of the 12 counties. Surveys will be mailed starting in August.
"This proposal is the first to reach this stage since the moratorium has been lifted," stated DNR deer biologist Ashley Hippler, "We are looking forward to seeing how the majority of northwestern Michigan deer hunters feel about antler point restrictions."
The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA will be hosting meetings in each county to provide information, answer questions and explain their reasons for making the proposal. The first meeting is scheduled for April 26 at 7 p.m. at the Benzie Central High School.
Additional meetings will be announced as they are scheduled.
The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA will provide payment to offset the cost of doing the hunter opinion survey.
The NRC had placed a moratorium on accepting APR proposals in 2006, to allow the DNR to assess experiences with initial guidelines which were implemented in 1999. The NRC assembled a stakeholder workgroup late in 2010 to provide recommendations regarding revisions to the process. The DNR is now evaluating proposals based on the recommendations from that workgroup. The NRC is the body that has authority over decisions to implement APR and other harvest regulations. The proposal review process provides valuable information to inform those decisions.

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Walk-In Access enrollment deadline June 1

Department of Natural Resources Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A June 1 deadline is in place for landowners in 21 southwestern Minnesota counties to earn money by allowing public hunting on their private land through the Walk-In Access (WIA) program, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Privately owned parcels of 40 acres or more, which are already enrolled in a conservation program such as Conservation Reserve Program or Reinvest In Minnesota, may qualify for WIA. River bottoms, wetlands and other high quality habitat will also be considered for the program.
WIA pays landowners by the acre to allow hunting access. Bonuses are added if more than 140 contiguous acres are enrolled, if the land is within one-half mile of existing state or federal hunting land, or if a multi-year agreement is signed. Local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) offices are handling program details and enrollments.
This is a voluntary program for landowners. Recreational use laws provide extra liability protection for WIA acres.
WIA land is for public hunting only. No target practice, trapping, dog training, camping, horseback riding or fires are allowed. Enrolled acres are for walk-in traffic only; no vehicles are allowed on conservation land. Parking is along roads or in designated parking areas. DNR conservation officers will address trespass and hunting violations.
Once private land is enrolled in the program, bright yellow-green hexagon signs are placed at the property boundaries.
A map of the 21 counties involved in the program and more information on WIA can be found online or by calling Marybeth Block, DNR Walk-in Access coordinator, at 651-259-5223.
Locations of parcels enrolled for 2012 will be on the website in August. WIA is a partnership between the DNR, SWCD, Board of Soil and Water Resources (BWSR) and U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is funding the first two years of the program.

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KDWPT COMMISSION APPROVES BIG GAME AND TURKEY REGULATIONS

(Photo credit: SLV Native)

WICHITA — The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission met at the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita on Thursday, April 26. During the Public Hearing portion of the meeting, the commission approved recommended changes to the management units for fall turkey hunting season. The recommendation adds two units for a total of six, and will allow biologists to adapt hunting regulations and bag limits to better manage the state’s turkey populations.
In other action, the commission approved recommendations for the season dates and permit allocations for the 2012 antelope seasons. Archery season for antelope is Sept. 22-30, and Oct. 15-31. Archery permits are sold over-the-counter to residents and nonresidents, and all antelope management units are open to archery hunting.
The muzzleloader-only antelope season is set for Oct. 1-8, and is open to residents only. Twenty-six muzzleloader-only permits are authorized for Unit 2; 12 permits are authorized for Unit 17; and eight permits are authorized for Unit 18.
The 2012 firearm antelope season is set for Oct. 5-8 and is open to residents only. One hundred firearm antelope permits are authorized for Unit 2; 40 are authorized for Unit 17; and 10 are authorized for Unit 18.
The application period for resident antelope muzzleloader and firearm permits is May 8-June 8. All applications must be submitted online through the KDWPT website, www.ksoutdoors.com.
In final public hearing action, commissioners approved recommendations for the 2012-2013 elk hunting season. Archery season: Unit 3 (statewide except Fort Riley and Morton County) — Sept. 17-Dec. 31; Unit 2a (Fort Riley) — Sept. 1-30. Firearm Season: Unit 3 — Nov. 28-Dec. 9, and Jan. 1, 2013-March 15, 2013; Unit 2a, either-sex holders — Oct. 1-Dec. 31; antlerless-only permit holders – Oct. 1-31, Nov. 1-30 and Dec. 1-31 (one-third of the permits valid in each season segment). Muzzleloader season: Unit 2 and Unit 3 – Sept. 1-30.
Ten either-sex elk permits and 15 antlerless-only elk permits are authorized for Unit 2. Only residents are eligible for elk permits, and applications for limited-quota permits must be submitted online by July 13, 2012. An unlimited number of antlerless-only and either-sex hunt-own-land permits are authorized for Units 2 and 3. An unlimited number of the antlerless-only and either-sex elk permits are authorized for Unit 3.
The KDWPT Commission’s next meeting is scheduled for June 21 in Kansas City.

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report summary for April 26, 2012

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wisconsin experienced more seasonable spring weather in the last week, with cooler temperatures along with some precipitation across the entire state. The cooler weather slowed some spring activities, but many things are still well ahead of schedule, with reports of ducks and geese hatching clutches this week. The rain dropped fire danger levels to low to moderate, but by Thursday they had already crept back up to High in northwestern and western Wisconsin.
The rain also raised water levels some on many rivers, but most rivers continue to run below seasonal spring norms. The North Fork of the Flambeau River was running low for this time of year, while the South Fork was at more normal spring levels. The St. Croix River has moderate to high water levels. The Lower Wisconsin River was running about seasonal norms.
The cool weather slowed fishing pressure in many areas. The prolonged, slow warm-up of northern lakes has extended the walleye spawning season and delayed musky spawning. With the cooler temperatures, crappie and bluegill spawning is likely still couple of weeks off, so it could be occurring during the May 5 game fish season opener. Walleye fishing was good on the Wisconsin Rive near Stevens Point. Walleye fishing has also been good on Lake Winneconne.
Strong east winds in the last week have kept fishing pressure low along Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Some walleye action was reported again this week on both the east and west shores of the Bay. Pier and harbor fishing was slow, but when winds have been light a few brown trout and coho salmon have been caught. A reminder that the catch-and-release early inland trout season closes this Sunday, April 29.
Third period turkey hunters are reporting many hens are sitting on nest and tom turkeys have been difficult to call in, with some better action later in the afternoon. Leaf-out is also progressing rapidly across the state, making it more difficult for hunters to see birds.
In addition to waterfowl and turkeys, many of the early migrant birds are also now on nests, including woodcock, sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans. Wildlife officials are ready to begin aerial surveys of swan nests, hoping to again find a record number of nesting pairs. Last year, 197 nesting pairs were found, about 10 times the original recovery goal of 20 by 2000. Learn more about Wisconsin's successful restoration of trumpeter swans to its landscape and what's next. Eagle eggs have hatched and eagles are providing a great wildlife watching experience. Swallows, rufous-sided towhees, yellow-rumped warblers, and white-crowned sparrows have begun to show up with the increase in insects.
Hepatica, Dutchman's breeches, spring beauty, cut-leaved toothwort are blooming and trilliums began to bloom this week in the south. Marsh marigolds are still in bloom in many areas. June berries, or serviceberries, are flowering. Lupine is showing flower shoots and will be blooming shortly.
This Friday, April 27 is Arbor Day in Wisconsin, and more than 100 fourth and fifth grade students will be joining Smokey Bear and Alice in Dairyland on the Capitol lawn in Madison to watch a sugar maple, the state tree, being planted at a noon Arbor Day ceremony [pdf; 4.5MB] at the corner of East Mifflin and North Pinckney streets.

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(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MADISON – Dozens of volunteers assisted state wildlife researchers in capturing and placing radio-collars on 132 yearling and adult deer in January, February and March. Now the call is going out again for volunteers to help locate fawns born to does that were fitted with implant radio transmitters designed to signal when fawns have been born in mid- to late May.
“With the whitetail birthing season just around the corner, volunteers are again needed to sweep the woods looking for the newborns,” said Chris Jacques, Department of Natural Resources research scientist. “When located, fawns will be fitted with expandable radio collars so we can follow them through their first year of life to determine causes of death, whether it be due to nutrition, environment, vehicle, hunters or predators. This is real applied research and last year’s volunteers found the work rewarding.”

Some hunters have questioned assumptions about fawn recruitment used by wildlife biologists for estimating deer populations. Recruitment is the net addition of new fawns to a population each year and is an important input in estimating deer population numbers. At the end of this three-year effort to monitor fawns, researchers hope to fine tune their inputs to population estimates based on real-world data collected in this research effort.
Volunteers will be assigned to search teams working in the vicinity of Shiocton in Shawano County and Winter in Sawyer County. When transmitters have been expelled (presumably when a fawn has been born), a search team will form a line and comb the woods, somewhat similar to a deer drive, in search of bedded fawns. Opportunistic searching in high quality fawning habitats also will be conducted across both study areas. Captured newborns will be fitted with a radio collar of their own and left for the doe to raise normally.
If a fawn dies, the collar will emit a unique signal that researchers will again use to locate the animal to determine cause of death. The collars are designed to expand as the deer grows and eventually drop off as the animal approaches its first birthday.

Impact of predators on deer populations of special interest to hunters

“Determining causes of death in fawns is vital to the accuracy of our deer population estimates,” said Jacques. “Of special interest is the impact of predators on fawn deaths. We have a suite of predators in Wisconsin, including black bears, bobcats, coyotes, and gray wolves, that may have some impact on yearly fawn production. What we are less certain of are the relative roles that each of these predators may play on fawn recruitment over the course of an entire year.”
During 2011, thanks to the help of volunteers across the state, researchers enjoyed tremendous success capturing fawns. A total of 104 fawns, including 68 (48 radio collared, 20 ear-tagged) in the Shawano area and 36 (30 radio collared, six ear-tagged) in the Winter area, were captured.
“Though we have collected just one year of field data, preliminary evidence indicates that predation (primarily by black bears and bobcats) is likely having some measurable impact on fawn survival across northern Wisconsin, having accounted for 14 of 22 (64 percent) deaths during the first month of life,” according to Jacques. “The predation impact across east central Wisconsin appears to be considerably lower, having accounted for just six of 18 (33 percent) recorded fawn deaths. Vehicle collisions and fawn abandonment appear to be primary causes of death, accounting for half of all recorded fawn deaths in the eastern farmland region. Fawn survival through December 2011 in the northern and east central study areas was 27 and 63 percent, respectively, indicating that the northern forest region is a much tougher place to scratch out a living for fawns than the eastern farmland region of Wisconsin.”
This work is possible only with the involvement and work of dozens of volunteers representing hunting groups such as the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Safari Club International and Whitetails Unlimited, the University of Wisconsin- Madison and UW-Stevens Point, the AFL-CIO Union Sportsmans Alliance, and hundreds of Wisconsin citizens.
“Anyone who has looked for newborn fawns or been startled to discover a fawn lying motionless in the forest or field next to them knows what a challenge it is to find them,” says Jacques. “They have excellent natural camouflage and instinct to remain absolutely still when approached. The transmitters will give us a better idea of where they are but it will still take time on the ground to locate them.”
For more information and to sign up as a volunteer search Deer Research on the DNR website.

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North Dakota: Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses Issued for 2012

A white-tailed deer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

North Dakota’s nonresident any-deer archery licenses are all issued for the 2012 bow season.

A total of 682 any-deer bow licenses were available for nonresidents. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department began issuing them April 1.

The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation. The department issued 4,550 mule deer licenses in the 2011 deer gun lottery.

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Iowa Commission Approves Changes to Fall Hunting Seasons

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Changes to Iowa’s waterfowl, deer and furbearer seasons, were approved during the April 12 meeting of the Natural Resource Commission of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The season proposals will be available for public comment in May prior to a public hearing on May 23.

Approved changes to the waterfowl regulations include a three zone, two season split with the Missouri River zone as the new third zone, and reduced Canada goose zone boundaries in some areas.

Changes to the resident deer hunting seasons this fall include reducing the county antlerless quotas by 13,000 in 20 counties, eliminating the November antlerless deer season, and shortening the January antlerless season by one week.

Approved changes to furbearer regulations include increasing the bobcat quota from 350 to 450 and river otter quota from 650 to 850.

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South Dakota Special buck apps due

Paper applications for the 2012 Special Buck Hunting Season need to be postmarked by Friday, April 20.
On-line applications will be taken through Tuesday, April 24 at 8AM Central time.
To apply for the 2012 Special Buck Hunting Season, click here

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