July 17th, 2008
By Arthur

There have been a lot of newsworthy happenings in Michigan lately, and I figured that doing a post to cover a few of the hot issues would be a good idea. I think that covering these posts will make people that live in Michigan more aware of these particular events, and also will let those people, who are from other states, to be aware of the things that Michigan has happening.

The first thing is a new partnership that has been formed in our state. The MUCC will be joining with NASCAR’s Racing for Wildlife to establish what will be known as the Outdoor Education Initiative. Racing for Wildlife is a partnership between the Ryan Newman Foundation and The Conservation Fund. The partnership will also include MUCC, Michigan Internation Speedway, Racing for Wildlife, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The main goal of the Outdoor Education Initiative is to restore the Mill Lake Youth Camp which is in close proximity to Camp for Kids. Camp for Kids is also run by the MUCC as well.

I think this is honestly the best news that has hit our state in quite some time. I think it is great that this partnership has come to be a reality, and that their main goal is to get a camp restored that will allow for kids to actively participate in the outdoors. All of thee above listed organizations definitely got this one right. I was also glad to see the Michigan International Speedway jump on board as well. To see these organizations give back to our home state is great. That it directly benefits Michigan’s youth is even better.

The next thing that has been in the news is a very controversial topic in the state. I wrote about this particular topic already, so I won’t go into my views on the subject again, but I will tell you that House Bill 5741 passed the house which will allow for anyone to use a crossbow during the archery season. This bill originally started to ease restrictions on handicapped individuals who wanted to use a crossbow, but once it went through the House Committee on Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources, the bill changed to include crossbow use for anyone in any general license season.

This bill has not passed the Senate yet, but from everything I’m hearing, it is going to pass there as well. So, regardless of what side of the issue you are on, you better be getting ready to share the woods with crossbow hunters next year.

The last news item I wanted to cover involves only the U.P., but I can see this particular item trickling down into the Lower Peninsula over time. At its June meeting the Natural Resources Commission adopted a hunting license regulation that will allow for what is called Hunter’s Choice.

The choices are as follows:

• One unrestricted buck tag good for any buck with at least one 3-inch antler
• Two restricted buck tags, one good for a buck with at least three antler points on one side and one good for a buck with at least four antler points on one side

I think this last topic is a good one, and one that I wouldn’t mind seeing become law in the Lower Peninsula. I definitely think that something has to be done in order to help our buck quality, as well as our buck-to-doe ratios. I think that this particular license change is a good step in the right direction for the state, and will hopefully allow those persons who hunt in the U.P. to have a better chance at seeing a few more quality bucks.

There is a lot happening in the Michigan outdoors lately, and hopefully my post helped everyone to stay informed.

Popularity: 15% [?]

June 05th, 2008
By Arthur

I truly believe that most people in Hollywood have gone crazy. I’m not sure what it is, but I think that most of the Hollywood celebrities out there are a little out of touch with reality. They tend to be very eccentric and completely on the opposite side of what I believe.

Then yesterday I was poking around the internet and I ran across this little gem. Apparently Angelina Jolie, despite being a touch weird at times, isn’t afraid to protect her kids and family. This is what she said in a recent interview with Vanity Fair:

“If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them.”

Apparently she has more guts, and values her and her kids life more, than say Elayne Boosler or Bill Maher. They both readily admitted one evening, on Maher’s Politically Incorrect television program, that they didn’t think they could shoot someone to protect themselves. It’s nice to see our lovely Ms. Jolie doesn’t have that problem. She even touched on the subject further:

“Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one. And yes, I’d be able to use it if I had to. I could handle myself. I think there are certain combat skills that would come out. I tend to want to throw an elbow.”

And then she even went further than that:

“There’s a side to me that people know is humanitarian, and there’s a side to me that’s a mommy. But there’s also the side that likes to get down and dirty and run and jump around and fire guns.”

So even if you weren’t an Angelina fan before you almost have to be one now after reading that. On a serious note it is good to see that someone isn’t afraid to stand up for themselves and have the guts to protect themselves and their kids. In today’s society I applaud Ms. Jolie for coming out and being truthful about what she feels and not falling into the politics of being a celebrity.

Very nice!

Popularity: 23% [?]

June 03rd, 2008
By Arthur

I know it is only Tuesday, but I’m already trying to make my plans for the weekend. There are a few things in the works and hopefully I can work all of them in and make the weekend a good one.

First off, for all of you Michiganders, Gander Mountain is having its Biggest Archery Event Ever at the Lansing Gander Mountain this weekend. This is a huge tent event and will include a 3-d Archery shoot, 100 vendors, door prizes, free seminars, a bargain tent, and a silent auction. There is suppose to be a representative from Diamond bows there, and since I purchased my Black Ice last year, I would love to visit with them and see what they have to say. Maybe they will even be nice enough to throw a few goodies my way. I might even run into Mike Adams, from UpNorthJournal, and the Hooks and Bullets blog. I know he is going to be in attendance and doing some interviews for one of his future podcasts. Hopefully our paths cross. That would be pretty cool!

The next thing I have planned for the weekend is to check the trail cam. I finally put it back out last weekend, in a spot that it has never been before, and I’m excited to see what kind of results we get. We didn’t hunt this area last year either, because I was slightly in error of where the property lines went. Once the landowner set us straight towards the end of last year though, I knew that I would be sticking a trail cam up in the area and seeing what we found. Jeff and I can’t wait to hunt this area this fall. It should be a prime spot. Hopefully a few growing antlers show up on it this weekend.

The last thing on the weekend agenda is my cousins house warming party. A few of you might remember them from last August when their house was hit by the tornado. Well they are finally getting back to normal and having a little get-together to say thank you to everyone who helped them get back up on their feet. I’m glad that things have returned to normal for them, and I can’t wait to be able to hang out with everyone under much different circumstances then the last time. It should be a great time.

So a great weekend coming up, and in the meantime I hope to get some grass planted in the backyard this week. The weather report is not looking to agreeable for that little adventure though. Now if Friday would only get here!

Popularity: 27% [?]

May 19th, 2008
By Arthur

Michigan has a pretty decent black bear population. The DNR estimates the population to be around 15,000-19,000, with approximately 90% of those bears living in the Upper Peninsula. While I do agree with that statement, I think our state is starting to see a definite change in the areas where black bears live.

About 5 years back we started to notice bear tracks on the banks of the Pere Marquette river near Baldwin, Michigan. It honestly didn’t surprise me at the time, but it definitely was evidence that these animals were starting to move south. Michigan does have a black bear season, but the population still tends to be steady, and the evidence of that is the fact that these bears are starting to move to the southern part of the state.

A couple years back the DNR had to issue a statement because of the amount of black bear sightings that were being reporting in the Lansing area. People were witnessing a sow and cub, moving along the edge of a Wal-mart parking lot, and started calling authorities to report the “escaped” bears. Of course the DNR knew better and issued statements about the known population of black bears in that area of the city. They also shared the knowledge of a bear den in the area.

In January of this month, my father-in-law’s neighbor made a point to come out and talk to him, and let him know that she had seen a black bear in her back yard in Olivet, Mi. My father-in-law has ten acres near the city, and she witnessed this bear in her yard, and let him know that her dog was still so scared by the sightings, that he would barely go outside at night to take care of his business. While I wasn’t really surprised, it did hit home that bears were in this part of the state.

Now recently we have had a bear cub hit in Hastings, Mi and then, just last Friday, we had a bear shot in downtown Battle Creek by the city police. Having a bear that far south is just amazing and is definitely solidifying these bears presence in the southern part of the state.

I think it is pretty exciting, and while I think being able to hunt them down here, is a number of years down the road, I think it is going to add a whole new dimension to my hunt as I walk into the dark woods getting ready for a morning hunt. To know there could be a black bear in the area just makes it that much more exciting.

Pretty cool!

Popularity: 19% [?]