I am writing this during the first week in February. The wind chill is -12 degrees and expected to remain there all day and for the next several days. It has been a brutal winter with record setting low temperatures and very deep snow. Unless a source of food is found many of our wildlife will not be here come spring. It is hard to believe that not one news media or any so called conservation organizations have expressed any concern.
On this past January 26th, long time member Ned Stuits, age 88, passed away. Ned was a navy veteran, having served during World War II. During his career he was a teacher, football and basketball coach. Ned retired to the Kaleva area in Manistee County.
Ned was a founding member of the Michigan Conservation Foundation, who we have worked with very closely over these years.
Did you ever wonder about our D.N.R? They are supposed to use Scientific Wild Life Management according to Proposal G passed in 1996. Look at how many times they have changed deer hunting regulations. Perhaps this time they may get it right especially if they would drop the Antler Point Restriction and let the hunter choose the type of buck they are looking for. The majority of hunters in nine counties were not contacted in the flawed surveys that they conducted, “ie” survey sent to a nonresident in Washington State.
Did you ever wonder how the DNR thinks? They make Rules and Regulations on wild whims and guessing. Adult Hunters have to count antler points to make sure we don’t shoot an illegal Buck. Last year I had a seven point buck go by me at 30 yards, but I couldn’t count the points as his ears covered the small rack.
If you were out there this spring and bagged a fat wild turkey anywhere in northern Michigan, I hope you took a few moments to locate and thank the people who made sure that bird made it through the winter.
In many areas of northern Michigan, that was the hard working members of the several chapters of MWTHA, but in other areas, it was private property owners, many of whom probably had to pass on a lot of other things to pay up to $8.75 a 50 pound bag of shelled corn—the highest price in history.
After a very long, cold, and snowy winter, with much of the snow not melting until mid-April, we had a surprisingly good spring turkey hunting season here in Area J, despite the fact that turkeys in many areas apparently didn’t survive the winter. That was no surprise to many of us-without winter feeding, those birds didn’t have good odds, particularly; if they weren’t located in agricultural areas, which we don’t have a lot of any way, or on someone’s bird feeder, or were one of the approximately 3000 birds I did try to reach with a very limited winter turkey feeding program that was operated a bit differently than usual, but was very successful and agreeable to all involved.
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