This gallery contains 5 photos.
Fly fishing on the Muskegon River is always a good time. It’s big water with a great population of brown trout, rainbows and steelhead. I joined Phil Cusey, a Grand Rapids fishing guide and friend, for this delightful day. Drew, … Continue reading
Zac Corell and Tristan Ogdahl, of Grand Rapids, and Jacob Tubergen, of Rockford, use spotting scopes to view wolves and grizzly bears sharing a bison carcass along Soda Butte Creek in Yellowstone National Park
Leader David Buth, of Grand Rapids, coaches Arynn Hans, of Grand Rapids, as she uses a shave horse and draw knife to peel bark from a maple sapling she is working into a walking stick
By Howard Meyerson
GRAND RAPIDS — When you ask David Buth if his “Summer Journey” program is just another summer camp, the tall, lanky, mountain-climbing adventurer is likely to answer: “No. It’s way more than that.”
For Buth, an East Grand Rapids High School graduate who has a master’s degree in environmental science, the program is about community.
His high school and middle school students travel west to study field ecology, wildlife biology, volcanoes, mountain climbing and yoga.
Those are just some of their remarkable endeavors.
“These kids learn firsthand from people who know first-hand,” Buth said. “They study wolves at sunrise in Yellowstone, climb in the Grand Tetons, tour caves and get involved with international bird-banding projects.
“They develop rich connections with each other — the kind of connection that comes when you climb a mountain with 10 people who have your back.” Continue reading
Some great photos today from Field & Stream online. The gallery has 27 pending record fish from around the world and other earlier IGFA record catches.
Benchawan Thiansungnoen (above) was fishing in Thailand when she hooked this pending All-Tackle World Record rohu, a freshwater species, on a lump of bread mix. It weighed 29 pounds, 13 ounces. There are lots more in the F&S lineup. They are good fun to see. Read more: Latest pending records
It seems the Net has been awash with tripe about an alleged state raid on a Michigan pig hunting ranch. April 1 was the date that feral swine were formally classified as an invasive species in Michigan. It’s too bad anti-government interests are attempting to portray the subsequent compliance visits by the Michigan DNR as something heinous. They are likely to get their snouts rubbed in the dirt.
The decision to classify feral pigs as “invasive” has a long and storied public process behind it. The Michigan legislature got involved and had a chance to create a regulatory program for the pigs, but failed to act. Now some pig hunting enthusiasts are angry. The DNR is doing what they said they would after a year of listening to top wildlife experts from around the country. Here’s Michigan DNR’s latest rebuttal to the claims of raid and abuse. Read more: False Rumors
Photo by; Bryan Hansel
I confess: I have thought about buying a dry suit for paddling, but my wetsuit has gotten me through everything I’ve encountered on the Great Lakes. On the other hand, I don’t tend to tour far offshore. And, I’m always cognizant of the risks of immersion when I do go out further.
“When the water drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, you should start dressing for immersion.”
That’s the starting point for this informative article by Bryan Hansel, a kayak guide in Minnesota and blogger. His blog, Paddlinglight.com, is an excellent place to get tips and advice. Bryan does a superb job of explaining the ins and out of choosing a dry suit. Read more: Staying Dry
The battle to keep lead hunting ammunition and fishing sinkers continues to play out in Congress. A bill passed Tuesday by the U.S. House calls for assuring that hunting can continue on public lands, that lead ammunition is permissible, and seeks to tie the hands of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in regulating lead.
The bill also calls for limiting the authority of U.S. presidents when it comes to setting aside historic and culturally significant federal lands.
The legislation was passed by a 274-146 vote. It also allows for a limited number of polar bear trophies to be imported from Canada. Trophy hunting for polar bears has been prohibited in Alaska since 1972. Read more: House bill
Is it art? Is it functional? Is it a social experiment?
Whatever the case, it appears to be bicycle non-grata on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
On the other hand, it is six feet wide and eight feet long. Only 300 have been built by the German company that manufactures them. It gives new meaning to the notion of bike-touring with friends.
One person steers. Everyone pedals. Go left here? No, right. No, straight. Read more: Bicycle.
He 
might just as well have called them jack-booted thugs. Too bad. It isn’t true.
NaturalNews.com editor Mike Adams posted comments on his blog Monday claiming the Michigan DNR “has, in total violation of the Fourth Amendment, conducted two armed raids on pig farmers in that state, one in Kalkaska County at Fife Lake and another in Cheboygan County.” Michigan DNR has responded: Nope! Not true. Read more: DNR responds
Michigan fish managers were impressed with the recent proposal by salmon anglers who requested a one to two-year moratorium on salmon stocking in Lake Michigan. That was unheard of in the past.
The request was announced publicly Saturday at a half-day salmon stocking workshop in Benton, Harbor, MI where members of the state’s Lake Michigan Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee explained they would prefer to err on the side of caution rather than risk the collapse of the charter and recreational salmon fishery.
Jay Wesley, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan basin coordinator, complimented the LMCFAC members’ lake-wide concerns. He said past discussions got testy when stocking cuts were proposed. Continue reading
After more than 30 years in the outdoor writing business, you would think I'd know better.
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