Blind paddler planning to run the Colorado River in Grand Canyon

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Erik Weihenmayer climbed Mt. Everest in 2001 – a feat in and of itself and one that takes your breath away when you realize he is blind. Weihenmayer made the cover of Time Magazine that year.

But the 44-year-old adventurer and athlete is now training for another mind-boggling feat: paddling a kayak down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and  some of the gnarliest whitewater in the country.

“This is 10 times scarier than the scariest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve done some pretty scary things.”, he said in a recent New York Times story.

No doubt it is. I wish him luck. Weihenmayer has been training at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte NC. Read more: Paddling blind on the Colorado River.

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Michigan listed 16th for Boone and Crockett North American Trophies

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Nice trophy bucks can be found in Michigan if you know where to look. Photo by Dave Kenyon

By Howard Meyerson

Michigan’s firearm deer season opens Thursday, and though some hunters may find fewer deer in local areas that were hit hard by EHD, the midge-borne disease that killed so many deer this fall, it should still be a good season overall for hunters. Some might even take nice trophies if they know where to look.

State wildlife officials are predicting a modest increase in the deer harvest in the northern two-thirds of the state. Three mild winters in a row have been good for whitetail reproduction and survival. Deer numbers are slowly increasing there.

EHD deaths were concentrated in Ionia, Montcalm, Clinton, Branch and Calhoun counties, according to state wildlife officials, but the disease showed up in 30 counties.
“Some folks are going to see less deer,” said Brent Rudolph, the deer program specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Hunters killed 214,070 deer during the 2011 firearm deer season — down from 2010, when they killed 220,303 deer, according to state records. Fewer hunters were out, too. Only 578,855 took up firearms, compared to 593,074 in 2010.

In spite of that, Michigan remains a good deer hunting state, not only producing good numbers of deer but a fair number of trophy deer. Continue reading →

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Boardman River washout: fish, wildlife impacts not serious

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Brown Bridge Dam is the site of the washout in October. A few feet of water remains behind the dam.
Photo by John Russell

By Howard Meyerson

Wildlife and fish habitat on the Boardman River was hit hard by a five foot deep surge of water on October 6 when a 20-foot draw-down of Brown Bridge Dam pond got out of control. State and other officials studying the aftermath say they do not anticipate any serious long-term fish or wildlife losses, but the six-hour flash flood did change some of the landscape.

“I am expecting some impact on wetlands, but those are going to be minimal. There was a natural floodplain downstream of the dam,” said Todd Kalish, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources representative on the Brown Bridge Dam implementation team.

“We don’t expect any impact on mammals along the river. There have been some stranded turtles that were rescued. Some fish were rescued too. There is a bald eagle out on Brown Bridge Pond that is still flying around having a field day (eating dead fish), the same with the otters and raccoons.” Continue reading →

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Hunters value conservation as much or more than second amendment

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

A National Wildlife Federation survey of hunters across the U.S. found they think conservation is as important or more so than the right to bear arms, according to a story on  Michigan Outdoor News. If that is so, they might want to give more consideration to who they vote for. Hunters are largely a conservative voting group. Read more: Conservation is important.

 

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Collaborative Conservation: How hunters help birds

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Sandhill Cranes flock aboive Michigan Audubon’s Haehnle Sanctuary where hunter dollars have helped conserve non-game birds like cranes. Photo by: Tom Hodgson

By Howard Meyerson

Talking “turkey” would have meant precisely that in the 1930’s, an era when wildlife biologists managed lands for individual species. But state, federal and private (NGO) wildlife managers say the parlance and philosophy of wildlife management has long-since changed. Talking turkey today, or ducks or deer or pheasant, often means providing habitat for non-game birds and butterflies too.

The quandary for wildlife managers is how to pay for it. Most of the money available for habitat comes from hunters. So, modern-day wildlife management increasingly involves joint ventures between hunting and non-hunting wildlife conservation organizations. Continue reading →

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National survey finds more people hunt but trend still downwards in Michigan

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Some exciting talk has circulated in recent weeks about a new U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report that finds hunting participation increased across the U.S. during the past five years.

The agency released its preliminary National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation in August. The survey is conducted every five years and often is the basis for conversation by policy makers about the economic impact of hunting, fishing or wildlife viewing.

The August report said, “Hunting participation increased 9 percent from 2006 to 2011” in the U.S.

Among the survey’s many findings was that in 2011 “13.7 million people, 6 percent of the U.S. population 16 years old and older, went hunting. Hunters in the U.S. spent an average of 21 days pursuing wild game.

“Hunters spent $34.0 billion on trips, equipment, licenses and other items to support their hunting activities in 2011.”

That’s a lot of money. And you could almost hear hunters, wildlife biologists, and ammunition manufacturers cheering in the woods. One can only imagine the hissing at coffee houses where anti-hunting factions might gather. Continue reading →

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Magic Sky: Counting Cranes Before the Storm

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

This gallery contains 8 photos.

Last night turned out to be a magical evening. I spent it counting sandhill cranes, having joined Michigan Audubon’s conservation director Tom Funke for the annual statewide crane count. What began as a typical grey Michigan afternoon with high winds, … Continue reading →

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Lake Michigan water trail summit in November

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Kayakers and others will be able to enjoy the sandy beaches along the Lake Michigan water trail. Photo by: Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

A two-day summit about the Lake Michigan Water Trail, a 1600 mile paddling route around the lake, will be held in Saugatuck Nov. 8 and 9. at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts. The event is open to the public and organizers say they hope to draw paddlers, cyclists hikers, convention and visitors bureaus and urban planners.

The event will focus on the development of a “multi-modal” route around the lake that includes US Bicycle Route 35, paddling and hiking routes as well as motor routes in Michigan, Illinois  Indiana  and Wisconsin..

“Some of this will be for developing the policy side, but the other major focus is how to market a Lake Michigan leisure corridor to the world, the region and to the people around the lake,” said Dave Lemberg, the conference coordinator and an associate professor at Western Michigan University’s Department of Geography.

Lemberg is the Michigan coordinator for the Lake Michigan water trail, a four state paddle route established by the Obama administration in 2009 as a National Recreation Trail.  Lemberg recently finished up an inventory of Michigan shoreline access sites. Indiana and Wisconsin have completed theirs. Continue reading →

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Beautiful fall paddling still requires taking precautions

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Dave McDaniel of Oscoda picks up loose gear preparing to help a couple retrieve their canoe after they tipped over. Photo by: Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Fall is a great time to go canoeing; the bugs are gone, and the colors are out. It also is a time for sensible precautions. Fall temperatures often are cold, and that can be a hazard, even on sunny days.

I was reminded of that a few weeks ago when I joined the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association for a day on the AuSable River. It wasn’t a hard route, and the group was mostly middle-aged paddlers with experience.

And yet, one older couple made a classic mistake. They came around a bend where a sizeable log jam extended out into the river. With little time to respond, the husband reached up to grab an overhanging branch to stop their progress.

What happened was predictable. He stopped, but the canoe did not; it rolled upstream and dumped them both into cold spring-fed water. The man is 78 years old. He has a pacemaker. His wife worried terribly about his well-being.

She later apologized to friends who came to their rescue and said: “Oh, I am sorry. We have been paddling for 50 years and never have gone over.”

Never once — until now. Continue reading →

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Officials set to stock Atlantic Salmon in Lake Huron

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Howard Meyerson

Atlantic Salmon are to be stocked in Lake Huron.
Illustration: Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory NOAA

By Howard Meyerson

After three-years of experimentation to determine whether Atlantic salmon can be successfully reared in state hatcheries, Michigan fisheries officials say it’s time to shift gears. The 2013 fishing season will be a bellwether of what is possible.

“We’ll have 60,000 to 80,000 Atlantic salmon yearlings available for planting in 2013,” said Todd Grischke, the Lake Huron basin coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “We are going into the stocking phase and will be evaluating the plants: where they go, where to best stock them and what to expect once we do.”

The decision to plant Atlantics in Lake Huron came at the urging of anglers after the 2004 Chinook salmon collapse there. Anglers knew that Atlantic salmon stocked in the St. Mary’s River by Lake Superior State University continued to thrive and return to be caught. LSSU stocks 25,000 yearling Atlantic’s annually and gets a 6 percent to 8 percent return to creel, according to Grischke.

“That return is excellent,” Grischke said. “Anything above 2 percent is good.”

Frank Krist is excited about the possibilities. He fishes Lake Huron four or five times a week and has come to favor having a multi-species fishery there. Lake trout fishing, steelhead and walleye have all exploded since the Chinook salmon disappeared due to the collapse of the alewife forage base.

“We see a lot of potential,” said Krist, chairman of the Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee. His group recently reviewed the DNR’s proposed Atlantic salmon stocking strategy which calls for planting them in the St. Mary’s and AuSable rivers first and the Thunder Bay River if there are enough to go around.

“When we looked at the return rate for Atlantic salmon they were five to ten times better than steelhead,” Krist said. “The Atlantics were able to adapt (to the changing food web). Continue reading →

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