Grand Rapids Area Gun Clubs Offer Plenty of Winter Fun

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Once winter arrives in West Michigan and fields get blanketed with snow, shooting sports enthusiasts turn to area clubs for fun and camaraderie.  Regardless of their shooting preference, trap, skeet and sporting clays or dressing up like a cowboy for a Wild-West experience, most say winter target shooting is a great way to beat cabin fever.

If you are looking for venues where men and women shoot, places that are group-friendly and don’t require membership, take a look at my latest story on the Experience GR Blog, published for the city of Grand Rapids.  Read more: Grand Rapids Area Gun Clubs Offer Plenty of Winter Fun

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On target: West Michigan Archery Center provides unique opportunity

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Howard Meyerson

 

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West Michigan Archery Center offers instruction for adults and youth. Photo by Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Six years ago, the project was just a dream — a hopeful wish to create a West Michigan archery center where Olympic hopefuls and experienced and novice archers could gather, practice and advance their skills. Today that wish has become a reality, and the organizers behind the West Michigan Archery Center say its trajectory is on target.

“We’d like to be open 20 percent more and have more time for activities, but we are operating in the black and are starting to realize our capacity,” noted Josh Zuiderveen, a WMAC board member. “We’re open year‑round and have activities there seven days a week. But it’s a volunteer‑run facility.”

WMAC, which opened in 2014 at 3500 10 Mile Road NE in Rockford, is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the sport of archery. It is also an Algoma Township public park and part of Plainfield Township’s Premier Park. Some of its users may hone their skills to hunt, but most are there for the pleasure of target shooting, Zuiderveen said. Continue reading →

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The Magic of Rivers

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Howard Meyerson
Punchbowl Falls in Columbia river Gorge, by Paul Weeks [Flickr,CC]

Punchbowl Falls in Columbia River Gorge. Photo by Paul Weeks [Flickr,CC]

Found on American Rivers‘ Facebook site.

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Removing a Dam Can Be a Net Win for the Planet

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Howard Meyerson

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian.

In Michigan, like elsewhere,  there is a move afoot to remove dams where ever possible – a move I heartily endorse.  Many dams are aging and the cost to fix them is prohibitive. The downstream implications for residents and natural resources is devastating if one or another should go.

But hydro has been valuable over the years. It was a smart technology in its time and it continues make an important contribution to the power grid where it operates safely and effectively.  This article  in Smithsonian lays out why the long-term trajectory for hydro is downward. With other power sources coming online, or in development, the benefits of removing them are now thought to outweigh the benefits of keeping them. Read More: Removing a Dam Can Be a Net Win for the Planet | Smithsonian.

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Captain, fishing guide provides lifelong learning experiences

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Howard Meyerson
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Captain Chuck Scribner is in his element on the Manistee and Au Sable rivers. Photo by Howard Meyerson.

By Howard Meyerson

MANISTEE, MI -Wayne Andersen was attempting to lead a hooked steelhead when Captain Chuck Scribner offered him some gentle pointers. Andersen had cast to a visible current on the Manistee River and the fish quickly hit his salmon‑colored bead.

“Let him swing. Don’t try to pull him out (of the current). If you try, you will bust him off,” Scribner advised in his relaxed, encouraging style. “Let the current do its job … We’ll get him.”

Two minutes later, both men were smiling as Scribner netted the 7‑pound steelhead and brought him aboard for a few photos before releasing it.

“That’s a beautiful fresh fish,” Andersen, of Ludington, said. He’d spent the day refining his casting technique, a common thread with Scribner’s clients both novice and advanced. Some guides focus on finding fish, but teaching is an inherent part of Scribner’s style — a special quality that brings clients back year after year.

“I’ve fished with Chuck about five years. I wanted to learn more about steelhead fishing,” Andersen explained. “No matter where you fish with him, it is always a pleasant learning experience.” Continue reading →

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Pigeon River: flowing free after dam removal

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Howard Meyerson
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The Pigeon River now flows freely through the old dam site. Photo: Michigan DNR.

By Howard Meyerson

Grand Rapids, Mich. – It took more than 100 years and three major mishaps, but the Pigeon River is free-flowing once again.  The Song of the Morning Yoga Retreat dam was removed this fall. Deep in the heart of the Pigeon River Country State Forest east of Vanderbilt, the state designated Wild-Scenic River is now etching its way back into its historic streambed.

“Aaahh, finally,” declares Tim Cwalinski, senior fisheries biologist at the Michigan DNR’s Gaylord office. “A removal like this is a watershed moment in a career. Certain dams are limiting factors on fisheries and aquatic habitat. The Song of the Morning (SOM) dam was one of those.

“This next spring we will get steelhead moving up from Mullett Lake. They spawn throughout the lower river. Those that (once) put the brakes on at the dam will now go upstream where they have been absent forever. There are going to be some competitive forces playing out with brook trout and brown trout, but we’ll watch to see what happens there.” Continue reading →

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Popular Montmorency County flooding to be filled following dam construction

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Howard Meyerson
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The long-dry flooding will be refilled in 2016. Photo: Michigan DNR

By Howard Meyerson

Atlanta, Mich – A popular Montmorency County flooding now dry for several years will be replenished with water in 2016. Construction of a new dam at Foch Lakes flooding was completed in November. State officials say the 85-acre Atlanta State Forest impoundment will be refilled and that recreation there should resume as it has for many decades.

“It’s a big horseback riding and dispersed camping area. People fished there for pike, bluegill and bass. It’s right in the heart of elk-country,” said Tim Cwalinski, senior fisheries biologist with the Michigan DNR’s Gaylord office. “As soon as we drew it down in 2012, we had a lot of people yelling at us. But we said ‘Sorry, this is a failing structure that has to be fixed.’”

Foch Lakes was created in 1948 by damming Foch Creek, a tributary of the Black River. It is one of seven impoundments owned the DNR Fisheries division. In 2012, the agency was told by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality dam inspectors that the cracked and failing concrete dam had to be renovated or removed. It had been repaired in the past, but the time had come. Continue reading →

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Hunt on Your Schedule at Grand Rapids Area Pheasant Preserves

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Scott Brosier was 13 years into his career as a Midland County sheriff’s deputy when he decided to call it quits. Law enforcement work had become a grind. He longed to spend his days working outdoors, training hunting dogs and guiding others.  Brosier pulled the trigger in 2011 hoping to realize his dream. Then with the backing of his wife Ada, his business partner, he purchased Pine Hill Kennels and Sportsman’s Club, a private Rockford-based pheasant hunting preserve.

Pine Hill is one of four pheasant hunting preserves found within 30 minutes of downtown Grand Rapids. If you’re looking for an opportunity to experience the good old days of pheasant hunting over the holidays, consider booking a hunt at any one of the four in my latest piece on the Experience GR Blog, published by the city of Grand Rapids. Read more: Hunt on Your Schedule at Area Pheasant Preserves, GR

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DNR to plant 50,000 extra hatchery brown trout on Muskegon River to replace missing year-class

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Howard Meyerson
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Muskegon River anglers noticed a year-class of browns had disappeared. Photo by Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

Anglers who fish the Muskegon River for trout are going to get a little extra something this month. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources intends to stock an additional 50,000 brown trout in the waters downstream from Croton Dam.

The fall fingerlings are expected to give the river’s trout fishery a boost. River anglers have been complaining that an entire year-class — the normally abundant 12-inch to 16-inch 2-year-olds — went AWOL this past season.

“This is just a one-shot deal. It’s what’s available (from the hatchery),” noted Scott Heintzelman, the agency’s central Lake Michigan management unit manager. “And given the circumstances it may be a good fit.

“We got calls from anglers that a year-class was missing. And when we did our (spring) walleye egg take, we looked at the trout population and definitely saw the same thing — a bunch of carryover trout (those that survive through the winter) were missing from Croton Dam downstream to Pine Street or Henning Park.

“People said they were still catching some of the larger fish, but the bread-and-butter class from the year before was gone.” Continue reading →

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Conflicts between wolves, hunting dogs in Michigan decline in 2015

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Howard Meyerson
gray_wolf_canis_lupus Hollingsworth John and Karen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Gray wolves in Michigan attacked fewer hunting dogs in 2015. Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Wikimedia Commons.

By Howard Meyerson

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Michigan’s 2015 bear hunting season ended in October with fewer incidents than last year of hunting dogs being attacked by wolves. Only three attacks were reported to the state, down from 17 in the 2014 season, state wildlife officials said.

“It’s tough to speculate about why,” said Kevin Swanson, wolf and bear specialist for the Michigan DNR. “Livestock depredation reports are down too. We had 23 of those last year and only 11 so far this year. It’s possible that wolf numbers have declined, but we don’t know that and plan to do a wolf survey this winter.”

Michigan’s wolf population was last tallied in 2014. The DNR survey showed a minimum of 636 wolves in the Upper Peninsula. There were approximately 125 wolf packs with an average of 5 wolves per pack. Twenty-three packs were known to be pairs of wolves.  Continue reading →

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