Conservation officers remind hunters to follow off-road vehicle laws

With deer hunting seasons under way, Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation

officers remind hunters heading afield using an off-road vehicle (ORV) to follow ORV land-use regulations.

”Each year, we see hunters using ORVs where it is illegal to operate them,” said Lt. Andrew Turner, who leads the DNR’s Recreation, Safety and Enforcement program. “We remind hunters that ORV restrictions are in place to protect natural resources and minimize user conflict with other hunters and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. To ensure everyone’s safety and to help everyone have an enjoyable hunt, we ask riders to know the rules and encourage others to do the same.”

ORV land-use regulations hunters should be aware of include the following: 

• It is illegal to operate an ORV on public lands in the Lower Peninsula that are not posted open. ORVs are prohibited on state game areas or state parks and recreation areas unless posted open.
• On state forest lands, ORV use on designated trails is limited to vehicles less than 50 inches in width. Off-trail or off-route ORV operation outside of a designated area is prohibited, except for licensed hunters operating an ORV at speeds of 5 miles per hour or less for the purpose of removing deer, bear or elk. Big game ORV retrieval provisions do not apply to the Pigeon River Country State Forest or to state game areas and national forests.
• In all national forests, motor vehicles can be used only on roads, trails or areas that are designated as open on Motor Vehicle Use maps. For more information, contact the local national forest headquarters.
• It is illegal to operate an ORV from 7 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. on any area open to public hunting during the Nov. 15-30 firearm deer season. For exceptions to these time restrictions, see the 2013 Hunting and Trapping Digest or the Handbook of Michigan Off-Road Vehicle Laws.
• Roads, streets and highways maintained for year-round automobile travel are closed to ORV operation, including the shoulder and the right-of-way, unless designated open to ORV use by local ordinance. ORV operators should check with the county for local ordinances.
• Private land is closed to ORV operation except by the landowner and the landowner’s invited guests.
• An ORV may not be operated in a manner that creates an erosive condition. Michigan’s soils and shorelines are fragile, and ORV operation in these areas and along stream banks and other waterways is restricted.
• It is unlawful to operate any ORV in or on the waters of any stream, river, marsh, bog, wetland or quagmire.

For more information about ORV regulations – including rules for transporting weapons and hunting provisions for those with disabilities – see the Handbook of Michigan Off-Road Vehicle Laws atwww.michigan.gov/orvtrails. Maps of state-designated ORV trails can also be found there.

Violations of these and other rules should be reported by calling the DNR’s Report All Poaching (RAP) Line at 800-292-7800. 

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Freedom Hunt grows every year at Fort Custer

When state wildlife officials expanded efforts a number of years ago to make deer hunting more

available and accessible to hunters with disabilities, they realized early on that some of those hunters needed a little assistance from able-bodied helpers to pull it all together. Plus, the Nov. 15-30 time frame wouldn’t work because many of those potential helpers would be busy hunting themselves.
So the Natural Resources Commission approved a hunt for mid- to late October, when more sportsmen and women might be available to assist.
Jonathan Edgerly, a natural resources specialist at Fort Custer Training Center, the state-operated National Guard facility near Battle Creek, thought he had the perfect venue for a holding an event for hunters with disabilities. The deer herd on the base needed thinning and – because of the amenities, including barracks and mess hall – Fort Custer would offer the perfect situation to hold a deer camp for guys who might not be able to go to camp in November. He enlisted partners from the conservation community and created the first “Freedom Hunt,” which was attended by eight hunters.
Seven years later, the only thing that has changed is that a lot more hunters are involved. This year, Edgerly said, was a rousing success, with a record 47 hunters in on the Oct. 17-20 hunt.
“Everything went well,” Edgerly said. “We got some, missed some, saw the big one that got away, and everyone’s excited about next year. That’s what we aim for; we’re just looking to have a good deer-camp experience.
“We just try to provide a deer-camp atmosphere, where someone’s disability is not an issue, where they can show up and enjoy deer camp without having to worry about additional hurdles.”
Participants, who apply to be part of the hunt, must qualify under fairly strict criteria. Only those who have been issued a permit to hunt from a standing vehicle, have been deemed 100-percent disabled or unemployable by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or are legally blind or have a permit to use a laser-sighting device, are allowed.
The hunters are spread out over some 3,000 acres of the 7,500-acre fort. Each is assigned a volunteer guide, who assists the hunter in taking his position. In some cases the guide stays and sits with the hunter throughout the hunt. In others, the guide might sit in the vehicle or even go back to the mess hall and await a cell phone call when the hunter is ready to call it a day.
“They can hunt as much or as little as they want,” Edgerly said. “Most guys stay over at least one night. Some guys are die-hards, got to get a deer, and get out there all day. Then there are guys who will go out for an hour.”
Some 200 volunteers are involved the hunt, Edgerly said. “We have some people who come early and set up blinds or trim shooting lanes, some work in the kitchen, and some come after the hunt and take down blinds or clean up.”
Volunteers come largely from conservation and sporting clubs. Tony Snyder, president of the Michigan chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, said his group has been in it since day one and takes a lot of pride in the hunt.
“The National Wild Turkey Federation has a program for sportsmen with disabilities – Wheeling Sportsmen – and this thing ties right into that,” Snyder said. “This will probably be the biggest NWTF Wheeling Sportsmen’s event this year. It would have been last year, but I didn’t submit the paperwork.
“Our guys, who come from the Turkeyville Toms – the Calhoun County chapter of NWTF – have been steady. We initially started out just providing all the help for breakfast, but now our guys are staying around all day, helping retrieve deer and everything else.”
Most of the hunters use pop-up blinds that have been donated by equipment manufacturers, though some local Boy Scouts built two wheelchair-accessible blinds this past year. Brian Woodward, a 54-year-old quadriplegic who works in information technology for Ford Motor Company, used one of them.
“I got to break it in for them,” said Woodward, who was an avid hunter when he broke his neck in an auto accident in 1983. “It’s pretty cool.”
Woodward uses a joystick to maneuver his shotgun – which is mounted on an adaptive device and equipped with a camera that gives him a view of the sight picture – and a straw, on which he inhales, to pull the trigger. Woodward killed a deer from the blind, the second he’s taken in the seven year he’s attended the Freedom Hunt.
Woodward wasn’t the only wheelchair hunter to score this year. Mario Muscat, 54, killed an eight-point buck opening day. Muscat, who has used a wheelchair since a construction accident when he was 19 years old, has taken two deer in the six years he’s attended the Freedom Hunt. He’s a huge fan.
“This is the greatest – lots of good guys,” said Muscat said. “It’s a deer camp – good stories, good help, and there are a lot of guys who are disabled worse than me and they do a great job with them.”
Claude Miller, a 66-year-old disabled Vietnam veteran, killed a five-point buck that he called in with a grunt tube. Miller, who’s been attending the Freedom Hunt for six years, said “this has been the greatest thing I’ve been to ever since I started coming. It’s a bunch of guys who just click, though vets usually do. Good food, great camaraderie, good times.”
Edgerly said he was hoping to attract veterans when he started the Freedom Hunt – the name was coined by a disabled vet on the steering committee, he said – but never intended to limit it to them.
“We’re geared toward veterans,” Edgerly said. “But we’re not excluding anyone. The past two years it’s really taken off. The word’s getting out and people are taking advantage.”
The Department of Natural Resources, a sponsor of the Freedom Hunt, is expanding its outreach to veterans and others with disabilities, too.

Operation Freedom Outdoors is a partnership the DNR has formed with a number of conservation organizations and groups that advocate for those with disabilities to create top-notch outdoor recreation opportunities in Washtenaw and Jackson counties by connecting Camp Liberty – a recreation facility for veterans with disabilities – with the adjacent Sharonville State Game Area.
“Veterans and others with disabilities deserve the same opportunities as the rest of us to enjoy our natural resources,” said DNR Wildlife Division Chief Russ Mason. “Providing that opportunity is really what Pure Michigan is all about.”
For more information on Camp Liberty, visit www.camp-liberty.org.
For more information on the Freedom Hunt, visit www.fortcusterhunt.org. 

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Sportsmen Against Hunger Accepting Deer, Light Goose Meat

North Dakota’s Sportsmen Against Hunger Program is again accepting donations of deer at select

processors across the state. In addition, the program is also able to accept light goose breast meat (snow, blue and Ross’s geese) for the first time this fall.

Canada goose meat, while accepted during the early goose season, is not eligible for donation during the regular waterfowl season.

Sportsmen Against Hunger is a program administered by the North Dakota Community Action Partnership, a nonprofit agency that serves low-income families across the state. SAH raises funds to pay for processing of donated deer and geese, and coordinates distribution of ground venison and goose meat to food pantries around the state.

The State Game and Fish Department strongly supports the SAH program and encourages hunters to consider donating deer, according to agency Director Terry Steinwand. The program can accept whole deer only, which must be processed at a participating licensed meat processor.

According to NDCAP Executive Director Andrea Olson, the SAH program has sufficient funding available to process deer and geese this fall. “The meat that is generated is so appreciated by the families who receive it,” Olson said. “They are all so grateful for access to a nutritious source of protein; something that is often expensive and otherwise difficult for them to obtain.”

A list of participating processors and more information is available on the Community Action website at capnd.org.

Participating processors will not accept deer shot in the hind quarters, and donated deer will be processed individually or only with other donated deer.

Hunters can clean their light geese at home prior to delivery to a processor, but breast meat brought from home without a wing or head attached to the meat, must be accompanied by written information that includes the hunter’s name, address, signature, hunting license number, date taken and species and number taken.

Hunters may also deliver light geese directly from the field to a processor, but identification must remain attached to the bird until in possession of the processor.

Hunters interested in donating light geese are encouraged to call processors to have a clear understanding of how goose breasts will be accepted.

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Morning temperatures dipping well below freezing

It is finally starting to feel like fall in Wisconsin. With temperatures dipping well below freezing the morning, the frost has been hitting the trees hard leading to more leaf drop. The leaf drop is assisting archery and game bird hunters in finding their targets easier. In parts of northern Wisconsin snow has started to cover the ground, which helps in the pursuit of game. Whitetail scrapes and rubs are becoming more prevalent, and more deer movement is occurring during the day time hours.

Mixed success has been reported during the opening weekend of pheasant season. Some areas that received controlled burns in the spring made it a little harder to locate game birds. Wolf season is off to a much faster start compared to last year’s inaugural season. A second wolf was harvested in Columbia County this week, and one wolf was taken by bow and arrow in the northwoods. Wolf hunting and trapping Zone 2 is now closed, due to the zone reaching its quota. Do not forget that the Lake Winnebago sturgeon spearing license deadline ends on October 31.

There will be several Halloween hikes occurring on state properties this weekend. On Saturday October 26 there will be Halloween hikes at Copper Falls State Park, Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Devil's Lake State Park, Heritage Hill State Park, High Cliff State Park and Willow River State Park. The MacKenzie Center in Poynette will be hosting a haunted hay ride on Saturday as well. For more information on these events visit http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/getoutdoors/events.html.

Conifer, hardwood and shrub seedlings are available to purchase through the DNR nursery program beginning September 27, 2013. Landowners are required to purchase a minimum of 300 trees or shrubs and must use the stock for conservation plantings. An application is available online at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/TreePlanting/, by calling 715-424-3700 or from your local DNR office. Nursery stock is sold at cost with variable prices depending on the species, age and quantity ordered. Cost sharing may be available to help defray the cost of nursery stock, site preparation and planting. Contact your local DNR forester for more information.

Cool, windy and wet weather (and even some snow) seemed to limit a lot of fishing activity in the northwoods in the last week. Water temperatures have now dropped into the low 50's and upper 40's, and the fall turnover is now completed on most lakes in the north. Musky anglers have continued to provide most of the fishing pressure on our northern lakes and their success has started to get inconsistent. Door County bass fishing remained hot from the county line to Washington Island. Fishing on Lake Wisconsin and the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway is also picking up due to lower water temperatures.

Deer muzzleloader season to offer first firearms opportunity for adult deer hunters in Oklahoma

 This weekend marks the first opportunity for adult deer hunters to head to the woods with a firearm

as well as the opening of one of the best kept secrets in deer hunting - the annual deer muzzleloader season.
     Set to run Oct. 26 through Nov. 3, the muzzleloader season attracts fewer hunters than the regular deer gun season that opens in late November. Still, last year there were 21,605 deer harvested by muzzleloader hunters.
     According to Erik Bartholomew, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, the deer muzzleloader season is going to be a great time to hunt and harvest deer. And hunters needing any motivation to go muzzleloader hunter need to look no further than the Wildlife Department's Facebook page, where numerous photos display the successes already had by hunters participating in the deer archery and youth deer gun seasons.
     "So far hunters have checked in over 12,000 deer using the Department's e-check system on wildlifedepartment.com," Bartholomew said.
     Bartholomew offers a few tips to muzzleloader season hunters, reminding them of the importance of spending time outdoors.
     "With the recent onset of cooler weather, deer will be moving longer in the mornings and earlier in the evenings," he said. "Hunters need to find natural food sources like oak trees that are dropping acorns or persimmon trees. But most importantly they just need to get out there and not miss any time in woods."
     Hunters are also reminded to read the complete details and regulations for deer hunting found in in the current "Oklahoma Hunting Guide," which is available free online at wildlifedepartment.com or in print anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold.
   

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North Dakota Hunters Report Few Sightings of Dead Deer

Even with thousands of hunters in the field during the opening week of the pheasant season, the State

Game and Fish Department received only a few reports from hunters who found dead deer in southwestern North Dakota.

Game and Fish personnel have been monitoring the deer population in the southwest since late August, when the first reports of dead deer, attributed to epizootic hemorrhagic disease, came in from Bowman, Grant and Burleigh counties.

Isolated deer deaths continued into mid-September, prompting the department to suspend the sale of slightly more than 1,000 antlerless deer licenses that were still available in units 3F1, 3F2 and 4F in the southwestern part of the state.

Dr. Dan Grove, Game and Fish wildlife veterinarian, said information received from pheasant hunters is helpful in evaluating the magnitude of an EHD situation.

“The area of the state where EHD traditionally occurs is covered with hunters,” Grove said. “With only a minimal number of dead deer sightings, combined with recent overnight low temperatures below freezing, it appears the worst of the EHD outbreak may be behind us.”

EHD is a naturally occurring virus that is spread by a biting midge. It is almost always fatal to infected white-tailed deer, and is most noticeable in western North Dakota when high whitetail populations combine with a hot and humid late summer and early fall. Most deer that die from this are infected before the first hard frost, which kills the biting midges that spread the disease. Mule deer do not usually die from the disease.

EHD causes dehydration and a high body temperature, causing deer to seek water prior to death. Other clinical and behavior symptoms may include respiratory distress; swelling of head, neck, and tongue; lesions on tongue and roof of mouth; indifference to humans; and in later stages, hemorrhaging from body orifices.

The transmission cycle of the viruses involved in EHD is complex and involves both domestic and wild animal reservoirs. Although it is rare for cattle to develop the clinical disease from the viruses that kill deer, during a wide scale outbreak such as in 2011, or a localized outbreak like this fall, it is not uncommon for cattle in affected areas to develop clinical disease. Grove said North Dakota is not alone this year, as EHD has been detected in wildlife in Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Michigan, and in both domestic and wild ruminants in Wisconsin and Iowa.

EHD is not a danger to humans. Hunters do not have to worry about handling or consuming meat from infected deer. However, hunters should not shoot or consume a deer if it appears sick.

More information on EHD is available by visiting the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov, and in the department’s North Dakota OUTDOORS October magazine.

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ORVs with orange flags are hunters with disabilities, operating under the law

Hunters enjoying Michigan’s deer hunting seasons may spot a fellow hunter on an off-road vehicle with

an orange flag. Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation officers remind everyone that hunters using ORVs with orange flags are operating legally and should not be harassed. 

A law approved in 2008 allows persons with disabilities who are hunting with proper permits to ride an ORV with an orange flag to identify themselves as a hunter with disabilities. 

The law is intended to prevent misunderstandings between sportsmen and sportswomen that might arise when confronted with an ORV operating in an area open to hunting. It is important for hunters to understand that under certain circumstances, ORV use is permitted, said Lt. Andrew Turner of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. 

Turner said the law simply allows hunters with disabilities to display an orange flag if they so choose. The law does not require a flag, and there are no size or height requirements in the law for the flag. The DNR chose orange for the flag color because orange flags are readily available, highly visible, inexpensive and commonly used for safety purposes.

“It is important to note that the law does not grant any additional privileges, such as cross-country operation, for ORV operators with disabilities,” Turner said. “It simply allows them to be identified as such.”

For more information on hunting opportunities in Michigan, visit the DNR website www.michigan.gov/hunting. 

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