Michigan's Conservation Sentinel Since 1953

“The news paper for people who love the north”

Early April 2013 Vol. 60 No. 9 $2.50 Digital Delivery

Michigan’s Conservation Sentinel Since 1953

Sniffin’ Out Springtime Toby the Beagle—an adopted member of The North Woods Call family—checks out the melting snow and fresh scents of the changing season.

Slicing & Dicing Sound Off: Reprise: Gahagan the DNR Budget Reader Survey Nature Preserve Page 1 Page 1 & 8 Page 3

Wolf Management SS Badger Gets Another Trust Recommendations Two-Year Reprieve Fund Raid? Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

www.mynorthwoodscall.com Let us know your thoughts Sound off: Reader survey Spring break: It’s not Florida, but it will do It’s time, once again, for the traditional North two weeks, taking photographs, watching spring un - Here’s your chance to sound ble. But straightforward and hon - Woods Call spring break. fold and looking for new story ideas. off in a constructive manner—and est answers to these questions will That means we will not publish in late April and As longtime readers know, The Call for many help improve The North Woods help us take stock of where we’re the next issue of the newspaper will be the early years has scheduled regular quarterly breaks in the Call in the process. at and where we go from here.” May edition. editorial production schedule—usually in January, The newspaper has been pub - As always, The Call’s future No big plans here, other than to relax, regroup April, July and October. lished for seven months now—in depends on reader support and and generally catch up on things around home that The next few weeks should bring warmer weather both electronic and print for - growing the overall subscriber have not gotten enough attention lately. (hopefully), spring wildflowers and a welcome mats—since it was resurrected base to a point where more com - There’s also a good chance we’ll be wandering greening of the landscape. following the death of former mercial advertisers are attracted to around the north country sometime during the next Enjoy. We’ll be back in early May. publisher Glen Sheppard. To help the publication. Without those assess where things are at and things, there is little reason—or where they should go in the fu - economic ability—to carry on, ture, a brief reader survey is being VanBuren said. Early April 2013 Vol. 60, No. 9 conducted to solicit input around “We’re still working to get $2.50 Digital Delivery three basic questions: some solid legs under this ven - What do you like about the new ture,” he said, “and we often won - North Woods Call ? der whether we are meeting the What don’t you like about the needs and expectations of our new North Woods Call ? readers. A small handful of peo - Do you plan to renew again ple have already let us know their Michigan’s Conservation Sentinel Since 1953 when your current subscription ideas about some issues, but not runs out? enough for us to really have a The publisher is asking all good understanding of the readers—particularly those who whole.” have actually signed up since last Readers can give their feed - September—to consider these back in three ways, according to questions carefully and answer VanBuren—send an e-mail to ed - them directly. Specific positive [email protected], fill suggestions will be most helpful, out and submit the reader survey he said, and you may remain on the mynorthwoodscall.com anonymous, if you choose. website, or use the form on Page 8 “We know there are probably to put their thoughts in an enve - as many opinions as there are lope and send them via snail mail. readers,” said Mike VanBuren, The deadline for submitting The Call’s editor and publisher. your thoughts and suggestions is “and we’re always walking a June 1, 2013. tightrope in terms of pleasing Results will be shared some - everyone, which is seldom possi - time during the summer.

North Woods Notes

EARTH DAY: It’s nearly time to celebrate Earth Day 2013 on Mon - day, April 22. Several organizations are planning observances and ac - Budget cuts are affecting most state agencies, including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. tivities surrounding that date. The Kalamazoo Nature Center, for example, will offer free admission, along with a 5K trail run and vari - Slicing & dicing the proposed DNR budget ous other activities aimed at families and kids. Earth Day began in 1970 to create awareness of the earth’s environment and to encourage con - As support continued to build among conservation funding to operate Detroit’s Belle Isle as a state park; servation efforts. In 1990, it was taken international and today more groups for a proposed restructuring of Michigan hunt - and $2 million to replace the Chinook , a 66-year-old than 500 million people in 175 countries are said to observe the event— ing and fishing license fees, the state House of Rep - Great Lakes research vessel. the theme of which is reportedly, “The Face of Climate Change.” resentatives was slicing and dicing the governor’s The adjustments—part of the targeted General HOLLAND POWER PLANT: The Michigan Court of Appeals has Fiscal Year 2013-14 budget proposal to eliminate Fund cuts that are occurring in most departments— ruled that state regulators legally approved the City of Holland’s appli - other desired strategic reinvestments in natural re - represent a $2.3 million reduction from current cation to expand coal-burning capabilities at its James DeYoung power sources programs. budget levels and a nearly $19 million reduction from plant. The appellate court upheld a lower court’s decision that the In late March, the House Appropriations Subcom - Gov. Rick Snyder’s original budget proposal, ac - Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) properly is - mittee on Natural Resources approved a package that cording to analysts. sued permits to the city. The Sierra Club had filed suit, claiming that the included changes to license fees that are consistent Changes can still be made and there is some hope plant didn’t comply with the Clean Air Act and that state regulators did - with those supported by the Department of Natural for restoring certain line items—such as funding for n’t consider cleaner technologies, but a three-judge panel found that the Resources (DNR), but which exclude General Fund a new Great Lakes research vessel—but citizens still DEQ conducted “an adequate best-available control analysis.” support for some other proposals. need to make their concerns known to their senators ENERGY INPUT: The citizen input process on Michigan’s energy Eliminated was $3.5 million in ongoing funding to and representatives. future began in March with the launch of a new website and announce - support the hiring of 25 new conservation officers and Yet another version of the bill was expected to ment of seven public forums around the state. Five of the public fo - $600,000 in one-time funding for the academy; an ad - emerge soon from the Senate Appropriations Sub - rums had been held as of this writing, but there were two more still ditional $150,000 for aquatic invasive species pre - committee on Natural Resources. Both bills will then scheduled—at Northern Michigan University in Marquette April 12 and vention and control; $9.7 million from the state go through their respective chambers and probably at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City April 22. The Waterways Fund for emergency dredging and other land in a conference committee to reconcile differ - agenda and speakers for each event, which run from 1 to 5 p.m., are pro - boating-related projects; $3.7 million in ongoing ences. vided about two weeks prior to each session. There will be ample time for the public to comment during the forums, officials said. The gover - Wolf hunting recommendation expected April 11 nor will rely on the factual questions, information, reports and sugges - The Michigan Department of whether a wolf hunt should take ence- and management-based de - tions presented when making his energy recommendations in December. Natural Resources (DNR) has place, as well as the parameters of cision about the possible harvest For more information, visit michigan.gov/energy. been asked to prepare a formal such a season. Included in the of wolves in our state.” GREAT LAKES CLEANUP PLANS: The federal government is recommendation regarding wolf DNR’s multi-faceted investigation Madigan said the NRC plans to making plans to continue a long-range cleanup program for the Great hunting in the state by April 11. has been series of public meetings bring out-of-state wolf experts in Lakes—known as The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative—although de - The Natural Resources Com - around the state (Ironwood, Mar - during May to meet with Policy cisions about how to pay for it will be made on a year-to-year basis. mission (NRC) requested the rec - quette, St. Ignace, Gaylord and Committee members. TRUST FUND GRANTS: Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation ommendation—for information Lansing). The 2008 Wolf Management approving $23,348,700 in Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund only, at this point—during its “Interest in this decision is, un - plan will serve as in important grants, funding 76 recreation development projects and land acquisi - March meeting and wants to hear derstandably, very high throughout guide tool for the meetings and for tions in 43 Michigan counties—66 to local units of government and 10 from the DNR when the commis - Michigan,” said John Madigan of any recommendation that is made, to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. sion convenes next at the Saginaw Munising, chairman of the NRC’s according to the DNR. The KALAMAZOO RIVER DREDGING: The U.S. Environmental Field and Stream Conservation Policy Committee on Wildlife and agency’s staff is also compiling an Protection agency has ordered Enbridge Inc. to do additional dredging Club. Fisheries. “We are continuing to analysis of historic wolf damage in the Kalamazoo River to clean up oil from a massive 2010 spill. The The DNR has been exploring look at various data and informa - complaints. company will dredge sections of the river above Ceresco Dam near Bat - the matter since December, when tion, and work with the DNR, The NRC is expected to exam - tle Creek & Morrow Lake in Kalamazoo County’s Comstock Township. the NRC directed the agency’s other wildlife experts and the pub - ine all relevant information at its (Continued on Page 2) Wildlife Division to recommend lic in order to come to the best sci - May 9 meeting. Page 2 Early April 2013 THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll

Our 60th Year: Looking Back to April 7, 1954 — Excerpts from The North Woods Call — Minute Man of Today

By Marguerite Gahagan A desire to organize a rifle and pistol club in Otsego County is ex - pressed by William Bankov (of Gaylord) in a story in this issue of The North Woods Call . As an expert marksman and member of the historic National Rifle Association (NRA), he expressed the opinion that such a club would especially benefit the younger people in this area. In this month’s issue of The American Rifleman appears an edi - torial by the executive director of (the NRA) asking “is the rifleman outmoded?” This editorial points to the proposed national budget for 1955 with some $34 billion alloted for national security. Of that sum, one item for $100,000 is earmarked for the “National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice.” In accordance with the Act of 1916, the money is (to be) used for “the instruction of citizens in marksmanship and promotion of rifle practice.” The editorial writer anticipates the arguments against added in - struction of citizens in marksmanship, because of the atomic age ... “The very nature of the new weapons of war will enhance, rather than diminish, the value of the rifle,” says the editorial, pointing out SS Badger Gets Temporary Reprieve that in future wars there will be greater dispersion on the battlefield and ‘safe’ rear installments of former days will face a constant threat. The coal-fired SS Badger—seen here moored in Manitowoc, Wisconsin last summer—would be allowed “Subversive groups, fifth columnists and just plain cut-throats will to continue dumping tons of toxic ash into Lake Michigan for at least two more years under a proposed thrive in the confusion resulting from a thermo-nuclear attack on any consent decree between the owners and federal authorities. The agreement—announced in late March and one of our major cities. subject to a 30-day public comment period—is a compromise hammered out by Lake Michigan Car Ferry “More than ever before, the individual soldier and individual civil - Inc., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice. The ship reportedly ian will be forced to rely upon the weapon with which he is armed flushes nearly four tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan each day during a shipping season that runs from and his own ability to use it effectively if he is to survive.” May 6 to Oct. 13. Under intense fire from conservation groups and others, the company had sought to con - “It is equally important, therefore, that the civilians who stay at tinue dumping coal ash until 2017, but would now have to begin reducing the pollution during the 2013 home—employed in industry, or tilling the soil—should be trained in and 2014 seasons. The owners would also have to pay a $25,000 civil penalty for violating water quality the use of personal firearms,” the editorial continues, pointing out standards for mercury in 2012. The ferry has been authorized by a 2008 permit to dump coal ash into the that wives, sisters, or daughters, too, might find such training may lake, but the permit expired Dec. 19, 2012. While the proposed agreement doesn’t specific how the Badger mean the difference between life and death. will stop future pollution, the owners say used ash will be stored on board during the crossings and is ex - “It was his skill with the musket that stood the Minute Man at ploring the possibility of using compressed natural or liquified natural gas as fuel. Concord in such good stead. Our country was won by stout-hearted men with firearms in their hands,” it emphasizes, adding that such Arbor Day events home defense might be necessary again. are scheduled at “That is why we should see to it that every citizen is taught the essentials of basic marksmanship. The National Board for the Pro - North Woods Notes Michigan parks motion of Rifle Practice was created by Congress for that purpose. A full schedule of Arbor Day Let us provide it with sufficient funds to do the job.” programs is planned across the While the ability to shoot well means more small game and deer state for April 26-27. to folks in the north woods, and membership to the type of club urged (Continued from Page 1) by Mr. Bankov would doubtless be based more on that sporting KALKASKA “FRACKING”: Despite continued public protest The public is invited to join state park and visitor center staff angle, the thinking of the quoted editorial should not be ignored for against hydraulic fracturing, Encana Oil & Gas Co. has requested the more pleasant one of getting one’s game limit. “fracking” permits for 13 more wells in Kalkaska County. In applica - for family-friendly outdoor pro - tions filed with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality grams that celebrate the many (DEQ), the company says it would require more than 300 million gal - benefits of trees. Assault rifle ban stalls in U.S. Senate lons of groundwater for the production activities. Needless to say, north - Programs will be held at the The proposed ban of so-called “assault weapons” and high-capac - ern Michigan conservationists are up in arms over the request. “It’s Carl T. Johnson Hunt and Fish ity magazines failed to clear a U.S. Senate committee in late March and extremely irresponsible to allow the withdrawal of our groundwater at Center at Cadillac’s Mitchell State was dropped from a larger package of new gun laws slated to be con - such a magnitude without any type of cumulative study being done,” Park (3 p.m. April 26 and 1 p.m. sidered by the legislators this month. Paul Brady of Bear Lake Township told the Traverse City Record-Eagle . April 27); the Eddy Discovery “Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” said Sen. Diane Feinstein, the DAM MANAGEMENT: Six Michigan dam management projects Center at Chelsea’s Waterloo California Democrat who proposed the legislation. “The enemies of have been approved for grants by the Michigan Department of Natural Recreation Area (2 p.m. April 27); this are very powerful.” Resources totaling $2.35 million. Grant recipients will use the funds to the Gillette Visitor Center at Congress passed an assault weapons ban in 1994, but it was allowed remove selected dams without an economic purpose, or repair those with Muskegon’s Hoffmaster State to expire when lawmakers didn’t renew it a decade later. economic purposes. The projects include Phase II of the Boardman Park (11 a.m. April 27); the The Senate still planned to vote on the ban, officials said, but only River Dam Removal project ($357,725), the Kalamazoo River/Otsego Hartwick Pines State Park Visitor as an amendment to the larger gun bill. Not including it in the larger Township dam repair project ($725,000), the Lyons Dam removal proj - Center at Grayling (all day); Lud - package all but guarantees that it will not pass, observers say. ect in Ionia County ($994,975), the Shiawassee Dam removal project ington State Park (10 a.m. to 10 The move is a setback for the Obama administration’s push for broad in Shiawassee County ($162,700), the Vassar Dam removal project in p.m. April 27); the Porcupine new gun control laws, but welcome news for dedicated proponents of Tuscola County ($40,300) and the Sunday Lake Dam Spillway gate re - Mountains Wilderness State Park Second Amendment rights.. placement project in Gogebic County ($69,300). near Ontonagon (1 p.m. April 27); DUCKS UNLIMITED LICENSE PLATES, ETC.: Michigan the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center at Help compile The North Woods Call history lawmakers have approved bills to create specialty vehicle license plates the Bay City State Recreation If you have stories to share about The North Woods Call , or to raise money for Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the organization’s wet - Center (9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 27); photos and background information about the newspaper’s land conservation efforts. Gov. Rick Snyder signed the legislation into Tahquamenon Falls State Park role in Michigan conservation history, please contact us at: law March 20. The Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office of DU also re - near Paradise (5 p.m. April 27); cently received the Department of Natural Resources’ Partners in Con - and the Wolf Lake State Fish [email protected] servation Award. The organization was honored for its outstanding Hatchery Visitor Center near Mat - tawan (11 a.m. April 27). contributions to Michigan’s natural resources, including its continued Just who were Maggie and Shep? work with state officials on a variety of wetland restoration and devel - There is no cost for these Help us put together a thorough profile of these two leg - opment projects. events, but a Michigan Recreation endary publishers of The North Woods Call for an upcoming LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN: Public input is being sought on a Passport is required for entry into history book and “reader” focusing on the newspaper and its draft land management plan developed by the Michigan Department of state parks and recreation areas. role in Michigan conservation. Send personal stories to: Natural Resources with the assistance of an advisory group. Several re - Specific details about each pro - 5411 East DE Avenue gional open houses will be held from April 9-25 around the state. The gram can be found at the Michi - Kalamazoo, Michigan 49004 plan, which outlines a strategy for DNR-managed public lands, is re - gan Department of Natural Or contact us at: quired under a law enacted last year that capped how much land the Resources’ Celebrate Arbor Day [email protected] DNR can acquire for public use. For details: www.michigan.gov/dnr. With the DNR website. For updates. t-shirts & caps, Also follow us on visit our website at: Facebook, Twitter www.mynorthwoodscall.com & Blogger THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll Early April 2013 Page 3 The North Woods Call legacy lives on at Gahagan Nature Preserve EDITOR’S NOTE: Early the preserve was established. The subscribers to the resurrected Department of Natural Resources North Woods Call may recall see - was days away from selling the ing this feature story when it first property when a local civic group appeared last October. Because managed to grab onto it and— most of our current readers signed through legislative action—got it up after the story was published, transferred to the Roscommon we thought we would share it Metropolitan Recreational Au - again—this time on the better- thority.” quality newsprint that we are now This occurred largely through using. Our apologies to those of the efforts of John Rosczyk and you who are experiencing a bit of Pat Demers—then chair and vice deja vu. chair of the Roscommon Metro - politan Recreational Authority, he ROSCOMMON, Mich. — One said. They recognized the prop - of the sterling legacies of The erty’s value and made significant Marguerite Gahagan’s cabin is the centerpiece of the Gahagan Preserve North Woods Call is the Mar - effort to acquire the land for fu - guerite Gahagan Nature Preserve Education Director Tom Dale ture generations, according to selections from her North Woods In addition, Kirtland Commu - —an oasis of land preservation year.” Dale Call writings and information nity College sponsors the Visiting and conservation education lo - The preserve offers summer “We came within days of not about the preserve. The biogra - Naturalist Program—one of the cated at the southern edge of nature camps, along with occa - having the preserve,” he said. phy was officially released and preserve’s popular outreach activ - Roscommon. sional evening programs, and Marguerite Gahagan—a nov - made available during the pre - ities. Other schools pay fees to Established on property do - there is an opportunity for groups elist and early Michigan conser - serve’s open house last October. participate in the preserve’s Envi - nated to the Michigan Department of parents to learn how to teach vation journalist—founded The Dale, a retiree of Kirtland ronmental Education for the Fu - of Natural Resources by the Call’s ecology lessons—complete with North Woods Call in 1953, fol - Community College where he ture program. founder and first editor when she education kits that can be used in lowing jobs with the Toledo taught a variety of life sciences, Dale said the board would like died in 1997, the preserve consists their children’s classrooms. Since Morning News , Detroit Mirror , works part-time under contract to grow the preserve—add of mature pine forests, cedar 2000, the preserve has provided Detroit Times and, finally, The and is the only paid employee of acreage on its perimeter—but swamps and the beginnings of approximately 160,000 student Detroit News , which she joined in the preserve. “We have ten or funding is minimal and they need Tank Creek, which feeds into the contact hours of environmental 1934. She was known as a hard- twelve reliable volunteers,” he much more. He also would like to South Branch of the Au Sable education to area children, ac - driving reporter who made said, and twenty more who will be one day hire a young naturalist River. cording to Dale. weekly visits to northern field sta - there occasionally when begged.” educator on a full-time basis. Upon her death, Gahagan gifted In addition, the preserve has tions of the Department of Natural An eight-member board of di - The public can help by getting ten acres of land and her cabin partnered with several other or - Resources, which was then rectors governs the preserve. involved. home, which served as a founda - ganizations to collect data and known as the Michigan Conser - A portion of the preserve’s fi - “We need memberships, spon - tion for the preserve. Another 50 regularly monitor water quality in vation Department. nancial support comes from a sors, donors and users.” Dale said. acres of land was added later. the upper Au Sable River water - Gahagan lived in the Roscom - small endowment left by Mar - There also are many opportu - “Our principle mission is to shed. Each June and September, mon cabin for the last ten years guerite Gahagan to maintain the nities for volunteers. preserve (the land) and educate volunteers collect insect speci - that she published the Call . “The property, which is invested in var - The Marguerite Gahagan Na - our community on the value of mens at six points along the river cabin is the center of everything ious funds, as well as from an - ture Preserve is located at 209 preserving wildlife habitat,” said system. The type, quantity and we do,” said Dale. In addition to other small interest-bearing Maplehurst on the immediate out - Education Director Tom Dale. variety of these macro-inverte - educational programming, it is account at the Roscommon skirts of Roscommon. It is a non - “We host about sixty elementary brates are used to determine the available for rent to groups and in - County Community Foundation. profit corporation and all and middle school class field trips overall health of the water. dividuals, he said. The rest comes from member - donations are tax-deductible. each year. We also have a natu - “Our mission was Marguerite’s Other than the structure itself, ships, donations, grants, bequests Memberships are $15 per year for ralist who visits about twenty area mission,” Dale said—preserving the only piece of Gahagan’s per - and user fees. an individual, $25 for a family schools and takes the message to and protecting the resource. “She sonal property that remains is her “We primarily serve the and $50 for an organization. nearly five thousand students each died without ever knowing that typewriter, he said. Roscommon Area Public Schools For more information, phone Gahagan sold the Call in 1969 and they pay us to use the pre - (989) 275-3217, or visit: to Glen Sheppard, who continued serve,” he said. www.gahagannature.org. publishing the newspaper until his death in early 2011. Dale said the publication has always been very well respected. Both Gahagan and Sheppard made huge contri - butions in the fight to protect Michigan’s natural resources, he said, although in different ways. “Marguerite had a much larger subscription distribution,” Dale said. “She worked harder at it. She was more newsy and some - what confrontational. He was less newsy and way more confronta - tional.” Dale and his colleagues have recently finished a biography Marguerite’s beloved pond near her Roscommon cabin as seen in 2011. about Gahagan, which includes The Gahagan cabin has become a classroom for area school children

Trust Fund raiders hard at work Big-Time Fishing Efforts to raid the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Michigan’s non-tribal, (NRTR) for unintended purposes continued apace in March, as the state-licensed commercial Senate Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Committee passed Senate fishing industry harvested Bill 229. more than $4 million worth of The bill would raid the fund to pay for dredging the state’s wa - fish during 2012, according to terways, even though an emergency dredging plan was already the Michigan Department of passed for 2013. Natural Resources. That’s While it’s clear to most observers that the state’s waterways and 3,762,000 pounds with a harbors need dredging due to low water levels, conservationists say dockside value of $4,087,000 the NRTF is not the appropriate funding mechanism for such proj - prior to processing, marketing ects. and retail sale. The total store Even though the NRTF is protected against such legislative raids value is estimated to be worth under Michigan’s Constitution, it continues to be eyed by politicians nearly $20 million to the state’s whenever there is an intractable budget challenge. economy and the industry Citizens are being urged to speak out against this seemingly ille - supports an estimated 300 gal use of Trust Fund dollars. fishing and fishing-related jobs. Page 4 Early April 2013 THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll Conservatives and conservation: Why not? Opinion Page Rush Limbaugh calls me an “environmental wacko.” Conservation Quote I’m one of those people who North Woods Journal believe in saving energy, preserv - By Mike VanBuren “If you follow your heart, if you listen to your gut and if you ing wild areas, and treating the extend your hand to help another—not for any agenda, but for earth as a finite resource that the sake of humanity—you are going to find the truth.” should be handled with care. I get ing resources for future genera - rather than fighting against those alarmed when I hear about air pol - tions. And—language-wise at liberals who are. If ever there was — Environmental Activist Erin Brockovich lution, “fracking,” food contami - least—“conservatism” comes a bipartisan issue, this is it. nation, and open-pit strip mining from the same root word as “con - Few modern social concerns in the Upper Peninsula. servation,” for crying out loud. are as vital to our health, recre - Landfills: A throw-away world Rush seems to hate this. He I know there are some mem - ation and economic prosperity. There have never been so many mountains created since God likens me to a Nazi extremist. He bers of the so-called “political Human progress should not be rested on the seventh day. Mountains of garbage, that is. says I don’t understand the right”—whatever that is—who measured solely on the basis of Almost everywhere we go these days, new land formations are world’s bounty, or the simple feel as I do. dollars and development, but also rising from the earth, filled with paper, plastic,construction debris principles of supply and demand. ConservAmerica, for example, on what we have preserved and and various other undesireable byproducts of the modern world. Worse yet, he’s convinced I’m is a national grassroots organiza - protected. Hungry seagulls often glide around these constantly growing ge - one of those “whining liberals” tion that claims to be “the envi - Of course, there will always be ographic blights—looking for discarded Big Macs and curly fries— who use environmental scare-tac - ronmental conscience of the disagreements as to how to best and you can sometimes smell excess methane gas from tics to push big government. Grand Old Party.” Members be - go about this work and far too decomposing organic material being burned off as you drive by. The funny thing is—in most lieve we can preserve our envi - often we’ve seen that professed It’s all rather unsightly, unhealthy and seemingly unnecessary areas of my life—I’m a fairly con - ronment and boost our economy concerns for the environment are compared to the more natural drumlins, moraines, hills and val - servative guy. at the same time. They want to just smokescreens for more sinis - leys we’ve known. Is there really any reason to generate so much As an independent thinker, I resurrect the GOP’s once-strong ter political agendas. trash, then toss it out and bury it in some bulldozed mound that believe that pure conservatism— conservation tradition and restore In an ideal world, we could rises like devil’s Tower in the rural landscape? based in a deep respect for the natural resource stewardship and simply educate people about en - We think not. uniquely American ideals of life, sound environmental protection vironmental issues and trust them From what we understand, landfills are primarily used to “set - liberty and the pursuit of happi - as part of the Republican vision to do what’s right. Isn’t that what tle” disposed items into the ground, rather than decompose them. ness, and anchored in personal for America. personal responsibility in a free Waste management companies compress discarded material faith and responsibility—makes It seems like this would be society is all about? that can’t be recycled, burned, or degraded, piling layer-upon- much more sense than the fre - something we could all support, Sadly, the reality is that indi - layer until a baby mountain is created. quently deceptive, often ineffec - but many Republican leaders— viduals and corporations don’t al - Critics say that landfills create a toxic soup of industrial and tive and sometimes immoral not to be confused with conserva - ways do what they should, and home-cleaning chemicals. Electronic waste—everything from policies espoused by the major tives—don’t seem to be listening. there’s an ongoing need for some lead to cadmium—creates water-quality issues near such land - political parties. Some may dis - They want to scrap laws that have kind of regulation and enforce - fills, they say. These chemicals accumulate and mix over time, agree, but I’m convinced that cleaned up air and water, pre - ment action. and can be washed away periodically by rain, threatening water those organizations are populated served natural areas, and pre - But politicians and bureaucrats supplies. largely by inflexible ideologues vented the extinction of native are not any more selfless and In addition to the various types of gases that are created by or - who only see the world through species. trustworthy than individuals and ganics and chemicals, dust and other forms of non-chemical con - their own selfish ambitions and What’s that all about? corporations, so there are all kinds taminants can make their way into the atmosphere. greed. Anybody with the smarts to get of pitfalls on the path to good None of this sounds very appealing to us—or smart. As some Call readers have dis - elected ought to be able to see that stewardship. lately, the rights to a number of different landfill facilities have covered, I have particular diffi - more—not less—needs to be done Republican Theodore Roo - been sold to companies that want to mine precious metals and culty relating to modern “liberal” to defend the natural world that sevelt called conservation “a great other minerals that can be found in these locations. Not a bad or so-called “progressive” our children and grandchildren moral issue, for it involves the pa - idea, but that activity also causes its own problems with atmos - thought. It seems to run counter will inherit. triotic duty of ensuring safety and pheric pollution. to how most people live their While significant environmen - continuance of the nation.” We don’t have an easy solution to the throw-away world in daily lives. Nevertheless, I have tal progress has been made during Roosevelt, of course, may have which we live, but it’s clear we should all be trying to eliminate as often found myself walking hand- the past few decades, we can still been the first “environmental much garbage as possible coming out of our households, mu - in-hand with left-leaning Democ - benefit from cleaner air, water, wacko” to be elected President of nicipalities and industries. We should simply say, “No” to using rats in battles to protect our soil and food supplies. And re - the United States. Maybe it’s time disposable items and embrace recycling. natural heritage. ducing wasteful consumption to put another one in the Oval Of - Much easier said than done, however. I wonder why that is. today will likely bring greater fice—along with several others at We imagine that some day in the distant future—if the world Shouldn’t more conservatives benefits tomorrow, including bet - all levels of government and in - lasts that long—cultural archeologists will dig into these giant be conservationists and more con - ter economic performance. dustry. garbage heaps and try to understand how their human ancestors servationists be conservatives? You’d think more conserva - And there’s no good reason could have preferred the mindless convenience of a throw-away After all, there are few things tives would be leading the way to they couldn’t be conservative in society over the wisdom of sustainable living. more “conservative” than protect - safeguard our natural resources, thought and deed. Green living: Conservation in the “good old days” Farley’s World: True or false? In our last issue, we quoted popular Canadian writer and en - Here’s one of those anony - that we reused for numerous we didn't have electric ma - vironmentalist Farley Mowat in an editorial about wolves. A mous Internet commentaries other things, such as house - chines to do everything for us. reader has since pointed out that Mowat has been heavily crit - that we normally wouldn’t hold garbage bags and covers When we packaged a fragile icized for playing loose with the facts during his prolific literary share, but it has a conserva - for our schoolbooks. item to send in the mail, we career. tion twist: We walked up stairs, be - used wadded up old newspa - That’s true. We first heard this criticism years ago and had Checking out at the store, the cause we didn't have an esca - pers to cushion it, not Styro - considered not using the chosen quote for that very reason. young cashier suggested to the lator or elevator in every store foam or plastic bubble wrap. Most of Mowat’s work is ostensibly nonfiction, but he is said older woman that she should and office building. We walked Back then, we exercised by to have never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Even bring her own grocery bags be - to the grocery store and didn't working so we didn't need to go his defenders have acknowledged that he does not necessar - cause plastic bags weren't climb into a 300-horsepower to a health club to run on tread - ily strive for absolute reality, because his primary passion is to good for the environment. machine every time we had to mills that operate on electricity. communicate more universal truths. The woman apologized and go two blocks. We drank from a fountain Be that as it may, we remain fond of Mowat’s writing be - explained, "We didn't have this Back then, we washed the when we were thirsty instead of cause it captivated our imagination during our younger years green thing back in my earlier baby's diapers because we did - using a cup or a plastic bottle. and—along with the clearly fictional works of American novel - days." n't have the throwaway kind. And we replaced the razor ist Jack london—inspired us to learn more about the subjects "That's our problem today,” We dried clothes on a line (via blades in a razor instead of covered in his books, most notably those described in “Never the young clerk said. “Your wind and solar power), not in throwing away the whole razor Cry Wolf” and “People of the deer.” generation did not care enough an energy-gobbling machine just because the blade got dull. Mowat himself is a compelling character and a fine story - to save our environment for fu - burning up 220 volts. kids got We had one electrical outlet teller. He may well be flawed and deserving of some criticism, ture generations." hand-me-down clothes from in a room, not an entire bank of but he is also quite gifted as an observer and writer. She was right —our genera - their brothers or sisters, not al - sockets to power a dozen ap - So—for now at least—we’re willing to shrug off his factual tion didn't have the green thing ways brand new clothing. pliances. And we didn't need a meanderings as “artistic license.” in its day. Back then, we re - We had one TV, or radio, in computerized gadget to receive turned milk bottles ANd pop the house—not a TV in every a signal beamed from satellites bottles to the store. The store room. And the TV had a small 23,000 miles out in space in A note to letter writers sent them back to the plant to screen the size of a handker - order to find the nearest burger All letters must be signed. Please include your name and mail - be washed, sterilized and re - chief, not a screen the size of joint. ing address (e-mail address, too, if you don’t mind). filled. the state of Montana But she was right. We did - We won’t publish addresses or phone numbers, but we must have Grocery stores bagged our In the kitchen, we blended n’t have a green thing back in them to verify that letters are authentic. No unsigned letters will be groceries in brown paper bags, and stirred by hand, because those days. used. It’s OK for your signature to be electronic. THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll Early April 2013 Page 5

Reader Comment The North Woods Call : An editorial view from Wolf hunt: Voters should the Northern Michigan Conservation Network EDITOR’S NOTE: As background for the 2013 Call “2.0 ″ will be trying to reassemble the kinds of North Woods Call Reader Survey (see story on Page relationships that Glen had developed, which served not decide wildlife science 1 and response form on Page 8), we thought it might as the basis for much of the publication’s fine work. Mike, be helpful to share the following editorial published Sadly, these relationships were built during a time I’m with you on hunting wolves myself (or bobcats, or coyotes). last September on the Northern Michigan Conserva - which no longer exists. This was a time when suffi - I see no point, though the winter furs are truly beautiful and incred - tion Network website. cient stability existed within our state and federal nat - ibly warm for winter folk. We don’t like to admit this—we’re still building our ural resource agencies to allow for their employees This said, I have little doubt that the social carrying capacity has own contacts and news sources—but we only recently to develop trust in writers such as Glen Sheppard. been exceeded. Wolf biologist Jim Hammill told me years ago that discovered this website. We are impressed by what This was also a time when these agency profes - this would likely happen before the biological carrying capacity was we have seen and read there. sionals had confidence in the security of their own re - reached. As with much of the material found on the website, spective careers, allowing them to speak about If memory serves, I think he told me then that he thought the we feel this take on the challenges of resurrecting The matters which conflicted with their mission without Upper Peninsula might biologically support 1,200-1,500 wolves, but Call is quite balanced, informative and on-target. fear of retribution; and lastly, a time when funda - don’t hold me to that number. I know it was heaps more than the * * * mental changes in Michigan’s natural resource man - population at the time. As many of you likely know by now, the publica - agement were less frequent and far less draconian Though I won’t be in the hunt, I support the hunt because the bi - tion of The North Woods Call has resumed after a than those now being advanced almost daily in ologists support it and it will help control population in counties one-and-a-half-year suspension, following the pass - Michigan’s state legislature. where there is a problem. ing of conservation legend Glen Sheppard. These facts—combined with the realization that Remember, not that long ago U.S. Fish and Game (I think) brought This news comes at an especially good time for Michigan’s sportsmen-conservation community has in a hunter to kill a heap of wolves inside the city limits of Ironwood. those of us who have struggled in our attempt to at become even more fragmented and desensitized to My feeling is that if we have no hunt, yahoos will continue to kill least partially fill this huge conservation news and in - the political takeover of Michigan’s natural resource wolves illegally. formation void. If one even quickly peruses the management—will make this hill an even steeper one I think a hunt will reduce—not eliminate—this. archived posts assembled on this site, it also becomes to climb. People have already shown they will shoot wolves. As long as the clear that the there is no shortage of issues for a re - For these reasons, success for The Call will also population supports it, better the state control it and take revenue born Call to take on. partially depend on our ability to help provide sup - from it. Mike VanBuren has assumed the unenviable task port and content and promote this effort so that this Simple as that for me. of following “Shep” and Call founder Marguerite Ga - voice can be heard by the broadest audience possible. We love seeing wolves and bears in the wild—even close up. hagan, who first began this publication in the early It has become increasingly obvious that we are mak - What I’m sure of is that the “voters” of Michigan should not be de - 1950 ′s. Mike’s journalism experience includes work ing little headway against this new prevailing wind ciding wildlife management science (as with doves some years ago) as a writer, photographer and editor at northern by only talking to ourselves. and I’m equally sure that if self-styled pro-wolf folks are successful Michigan papers, which include the Antrim County Success for The Call would also mean that some in driving re-listing on the endangered species list, more animals will News , and the Kalkaska Leader and the Kalkaskian . us could return to spending more time in Michigan’s die as a result of illegal activity. Larger market experience includes the Kalamazoo forests, lakes and streams. Each time delisting was in sight and pro-wolf forces managed to Gazette and Flint Journal , and the W.K. Kellogg The cost for electronic subscriptions is $35. Printed prolong the downgrade, wolves died. Every time. Foundation where he served for two decades as com - copies sent through the U.S. Postal Service are $55 a I feel not as many would have been sacrificed had these people munication manager and video producer. Mike is year. not turned science into politics. also a past recipient of the Michigan United Conser - More information is available at: vation Clubs’ Ben East Award , presented for out - www.mynorthwoodscall.com Joe Heywood standing outdoor or conservation writing. Portage, Michigan For the time being, plans are to electronically pub - The Northern Michigan Conservation Network is lish The North Woods Call on a biweekly basis. Ac - a Web-based news and information source dedicated cording to Mike, long-term goals include making the to “connecting conservation-minded hunters, an - Thanks for story Tell your friends publication the primary source for Michigan conser - glers and outdoor enthusiasts to the issues facing vation news and information. Michigan’s forests, waters and wildlife.” Content Dear Mike, about The Call Perhaps the biggest challenge ahead for the The comes from a variety of contributors. Norm and I just read The North Woods Call and we are both de - Death pellets and the DNR: Don’t let paranoia trump truth lighted with your accurate and A North Woods Call reader is that kind of money. Plus, we’re well-written article (Vol. 60, No. likely someone with plenty of really here to protect the resource, 8—Late March). So here is a knowledge and trail savvy about not destroy it.” heartfelt thank you. the great outdoors. So ask your - The Wild Nearby An on-line search found that It’s good to get some recogni - self this: By Tom Springer the white pellet myth had found tion after all these years. Do you believe that the Michi - traction elsewhere on news sites gan Department of Natural Re - and chat rooms. For me it’s a Sincerely, sources (DNR), through a secret from an EHD-infected area pose a ever; it created acres of new mud backwoods urban legend, of a Norm and Barbara Spring campaign, would use aircraft-dis - health risk to humans. This in - flats where midges like to breed. cloth with those who believe the Grand Haven, Michigan persed poison pellets to kill thou - cludes the one Chadwick shot last Still, Chadwick isn’t worried long DNR introduced coyotes and see sands of deer across southern fall. term about EHD—and he doesn’t cougars lurking behind every The thanks goes to you for Michigan? “I just had some venison from think we should be either: wood pile. your efforts to stop the use of We will return to that question it tonight, so I know it’s safe,” he “If I had $10 million to cure a The DNR can, of course, be bu - DDT and other toxic pesticides in momentarily, but first some back - said. deer disease, EHD would not be reaucratic, insular, politicized and Michigan. We honor that legacy. ground. Armed with slides and unas - the one I’d choose. Chronic wast - slow to change. But to accuse the —Mike I recently attended a public sailable logic, Chadwick pro - ing disease is far worse. It per - agency of dispersing deer poison meeting in St. Joseph County ceeded to lay out the facts of last sists in the soil and we’d never get across entire counties—a massive, The North Woods Call where Steve Chadwick, the year’s EHD outbreak. Most are rid of it.” criminal operation that would DNR’s southwest region supervi - well-known, but his cogent sum - Chadwick’s presentation was - likely require not just helicopters, Michigan’s Conservation Sentinel Since 1953 sor, spoke about Epizootic Hem - mary bears repeating. n’t flashy, but it was interesting but military sized cargo planes? orrhagic Disease (EHD). Last It is the midge, a tiny gnat the and useful. No public relations Holy guacamole. Published regularly by: year’s EHD outbreak, as widely size of a pencil tip, which spreads doublespeak—just a front line bi - It’s easy to rail against social Newshound Productions llC 5411 East dE Avenue reported, was devastating to deer EHD. For most of its life cycle ologist who told the scientific institutions: government, schools, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49004. and distressing to anyone who the midge eats plant nectar. Yet truth as he knew it. That’s why he churches, soccer leagues. Run as Telephone: (269) 342-8724 loves wildlife. the pregnant female needs blood must have been so exasperated by they are by flawed humans, Chadwick gave his talk in a gun for her eggs to develop and that’s the stray question that I overheard they’re in constant need of over - E-mail: [email protected] club dining hall, redolent with the when she craves deer flesh. Once someone ask him in the parking sight and reform. But what hap - Website: mynorthwoodscall.com musty, knotty pine ambience par - bitten, deer have about 36 painful lot. pens when we unfairly tarnish and ticular to such places. He came hours to live. EHD makes their “What about those poison pel - tear down those invested with au - Online subscription: $35 per year and $60 for two years. across as bright, yet believable; a tongues swell (they call it “blue lets that kill deer? Is the DNR in - thority for the common good? Vibram-soled technocrat with a tongue” out west) and their eyes volved with that?” a man said. “I For one thing it breeds more cyn - Print subscription: $55 per year and $95 for two years hunter’s beard and DNR-issue bulge. Finally, driven mad with know somebody whose daughter icism and paranoia, neither of green sport shirt. fever, they go off to die near water found white pellets in the woods, which ever built anything worth - Address changes: Please send $2 to cover costs. “All ungulates can get EHD,” if they can make it that far. and then saw a helicopter over - while. he said by way of introduction, Officially, nearly 15,000 deer head. And farmers have found Ultimately, even grown men Editor & Publisher: Mike VanBuren “but for some reason only white - died from EHD in 2012, but the them in their fields. And a friend with “Question Authority” Publishers Emeritus: tails and mule deer die from it. actual losses could be in the knows someone at work who says bumper stickers have to trust Marguerite Gahagan “With cattle, pronghorn antelope 50,000 to 70,000 range. Although he’s found them, too.” someone. So who will you be - Glen and Mary lou Sheppard and elk, it just causes mouth le - Michigan’s first EHD outbreak “Uh, well … it’s not us,” said lieve? I’ll go with a guy who Advertising rates upon request. sions.” was in 1954, the trifecta of a mild Chadwick, caught a bit off guard. vows that our venison is safe— winter, warm spring and droughty “Helicopters cost about $800 an A Newshound Publication Yet not all whitetails afflicted and proves it every time he eats with EHD die. Nor do deer taken summer made it the worst year hour and the DNR doesn’t have some for supper. Page 6 Early April 2013 THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll Outdoor values: Lessons from Grandpa Roy More Opinion My grandfather grew up on a farm in Arenac County, one of a half-dozen brothers and sisters. Outdoor Rhythms Book Review Besides working hard on the By Doug Freeman farm, he naturally turned into an Death Roe: A Woods Cop Mystery avid outdoorsman—an enthusias - By Joseph Heywood tic lover of hunting and fishing. bass? My own shooting had been Copyright 2009 More importantly, he was a I remember pulling on those terrible, but I didn’t care. Firing Lyons Press sportsman in the best sense of the oars while wearing a bulky orange a real gun for the first time was a Gilford, Connecticut word. A bit of a purist, even. life jacket, trolling a feathered tremendous coup. And something ISBN 978-0-7627-7177-6 When we grandkids visited the spinner along the edge of the to brag about to my fellow third- If you’re one of those who like reading the “Conservation Officer classic old family home in Stan - weedy shallows, hoping for a graders back at Elmhurst Elemen - Logs” that appear regularly in The North Woods Call , you’ll proba - dish, the boys were always fasci - strike in the early morning hours. tary in Lansing. Indeed, I was the bly enjoy the “Woods Cop Mysteries” penned by Portage, Michigan, nated by the polished cabinet with Usually, no one else was on the talk of the playground—for a day resident Joseph Heywood. a glass front that was situated in a water. Ducks and loons were my or two. We’ve heard about these for some time—so far, there are at least corner of Grandpa Roy’s den. In - most frequent company. Grandpa Roy loved to tell us eight books in the series—but hadn’t actually read one until recently. side were well-oiled rifles and About that time, when I was stories around a bonfire late in the We chose to initiate ourselves with “Death Roe” for somewhat self - shotguns, many of them antiques, eight, Grandpa Roy decided to evening. Bobcats and bears, as ish reasons. The main character, Michigan Conservation Officer and all still working. teach me how to shoot. Mom was well as giant pike and trout, were Grady Service, contacts Glen Sheppard at The North Woods Call in Wisely, Grandpa kept that cab - upset with the very idea. She ab - the subjects of many of these Chapter 65 (most chapters are relatively short). inet locked and one eye on us at solutely didn’t want her only son tales, always with a reminder that The story begins when the protagonist busts a Ukrainian immi - all times as we admired the con - handling a real firearm at such a we younger people needed to pro - grant illegally selling salmon eggs and leads Grady Service into a tents. tender age. Only the intervention tect the woods and waters in order complex case that takes him throughout Michigan’s Upper and Almost as impressive was the of my dad—and strong promises to maintain a place for the wildlife Lower peninsulas—and into New York, Alaska and even Costa collection of fishing gear stowed of constant supervision—finally we loved to hear about. A lesson Rica—before the bad guys are nailed. neatly in our grandparents’garage. persuaded her, with misgivings. well-taught—and to a receptive There are plenty of familiar Michigan locations described in the Split bamboo rods, numerous fly- On a piece of land near the ap - audience. book and readers get a solid flavor of some daily duties performed by and bait-casting reels, spools of propriately-named Rifle River, Grandpa Roy must have known the state’s real “woods cops” and criminal investigators. line, nets large and small, and Grandpa had set up a simple tar - a lot of interesting people. One The author, a retired Upjohn Company vice president who regu - tackle boxes filled with every type get range, consisting of an earthen summer he went on a fly-in expe - larly spends time these days hanging out with conservation officers of lure and rig. A kid’s paradise. berm for a backstop and a low dition up to Great Bear Lake in to conduct background research for his books, is a prolific writer who Even today, a slight whiff of table lined with empty soda bot - Canada, accompanying the crew has written other adventure novels filled with political intrigue, as gasoline, or the sight of a Baby tles. He produced a single-shot of the original “Michigan Out - well as variety of nonfiction and poetry. Oh, and he’s also into pho - Ruth wrapper, returns me to that .22 caliber of a style popular in doors” TV show. (Even before tography, painting and cartooning—some of his humorous drawings spot. the late 1800s—light in weight that, Mort Neff had been one of having appeared in past issues of The North Woods Call . Up at the family cottage on with an octagonal barrel and (as I my heroes). And you can find some darn interesting outdoor- and issues-related Clear Lake (near West Branch), recall) some kind of swinging- The taste of those fresh lake blog posts on Heywood’s website (www.josephheywood.com). He Grandpa took pains to make sure block mechanism. trout fillets Grandpa brought back even sharpened his electronic pencil last fall on those of us who we were all properly instructed in Grandpa demonstrated how to from the trip was amazing. would dare attempt to resurrect Glen Sheppard’s beloved newspaper. the mechanics of effective fishing. load and fire the gun, breaking a Grandma prepared them expertly, “All kinds of folks rallied to him —not the publication.” Hey - Beyond that, he stressed the need couple of bottles. I can still hear along with heaps of mashed po - wood wrote in his blog. “You’ll have to accomplish something sim - for safety, a respect for our quarry, the surprisingly sharp report of tatoes, fresh vegetables and warm ilar and this will take trials by fire. I wish you luck.” and care for the natural environ - that little rifle. bread—all topped off with savory Heywood’s love for Michigan’s north country—he’s a 1961 grad - ment. So, with my father and grand - slabs of homemade blueberry pie, uate of Rudyard High School in the Upper Peninsula— and his deep He was more than generous father looking on, I was granted made with the wild berries we’d respect for the work of conservation field officers is quite evident in with all his fishing stuff, and al - the privilege of firing the piece. I picked from around the lake. the pages of “Death Roe.” What is not so certain is whether the per - lowed us to use his wooden row - couldn’t hit a thing. After five or I know how precious such sonal and political corruption in the upper levels of the Michigan De - boat, a 14-footer painted a dark six shots in vain, Dad gently re - memories are, and how fortunate partment of Natural Resources’—or the interpersonal lustfulness forest green. Grandpa could have moved the rifle from my grip. He it is to have a caring family—es - among sexually charged employees and others—that the author de - afforded a much speedier craft, reloaded and took aim, breaking pecially a grandfather who set his scribes in the book are based in reality, or perhaps just the result of I’m sure. But why? Who needs three bottles in succession. Pos - grandkids on a responsible out - rich imagination and poetic license. Hey, it’s only fiction, so we to go fast on a 350-acre spring-fed sibly a stint in Patton’s Third door path. shouldn’t read too much into it, right? lake fringed by beautiful woods Army during World War II had We can only try to pass this on. What is clear in “Death Roe” is that Heywood provides some riv - and full of pike and smallmouth honed his skills. eting writing around a compelling story line. If this one book is an indication of what can be found in his other novels, they are well Five-year fisheries plan released worth the read. The final version of a new five-year strategic plan to guide future management activities of the Michigan Department of Natural Re - Youth Conservation Council named sources (DNR) Fisheries Division has been released. The plan provides a vision and lists broad activities for managing the The first 18 members of the Members include Ashley An - various components of the states fisheries, including fish, their habitat Michigan Natural Resources dres of Reed City, Claire Erwin of and angler participation, according to the DNR. It will help the Fisheries Commission’s Youth Conserva - Bloomfield Hills, Madison Go - Division meet its responsibilities to protect, manage and enhance Michi - tion Council have been named. dush of Bridgeman, Lori Goodwin gan’s aquatic resources, they said. Ranging in age from 14 to 18, of Detroit, Anna Hagler of Grand “It has taken over a year of intensive work and public engagement members represent a cross-section Blanc, Gabrielle Herin of Trenton, to define what needs to be and what can be accomplished,” said Divi - of young people and will share Jean-Claude Howd of Linden, sion Chief Jim Dexter. “The plan will help us continue to provide some their ideas about how to get new Austin Jones of Mayville, Ben Lit - of the finest freshwater fishing opportunities in the world,” generations invested in the future tlefield of Burr Oak, Wolfgang Several stakeholder groups were engaged in the process, including of the state’s natural resources. Lohrer of Oak Park, Sage Nash of the general public, constituent group leaders and Fisheries Division staff, “It was an impressive pool of Tecumseh, Garrett Nolan of he said. More than 10,000 individuals provided input through online applicants that made the selection Fowlerville, John Parham of Sag - surveys, or phone interviews. Additional public input was provided process difficult, but we finally inaw, Peter Pelon of Fenwick, when the draft version was reviewed during January and February. chose 18 youths that represent a Trevor Petroskey of Suttons Bay, Specific tactics are currently being developed and designed to sup - Officer of the Year variety of backgrounds and expe - John Rumery of Grand Rapids, port the plan’s strategies, objectives and goals, using information pro - Michigan Conservation Officer riences in outdoor recreation and Jonathan Trombley of Chatham vided by the public during the review process. Mike Hammill is the Shikar-Sa - community involvement,” said and Sigurd Utych of Newberry. To view the completed plan, visit www.michigan.gov/fishing. fari Club’s 2012 Wildlife Officer Raymond Rustem, Department of The Council will hold its first of the Year and the Department Natural Resources advisor to the meeting in June, with recommen - Office of the Great Lakes funding cut of Natural Resource’s (DNR) Council. dations expected by year’s end. The Michigan House Depart - programs. Law Enforcement Division Con - ment of Environmental Quality If the cuts stand, conservation - servation Officer of the Year. A Expanding Michigan’s bottle bill Appropriations Subcommittee has ists say, they will represent major native of Crystal Falls, Hammill voted to eliminate $700,000 in losses for the state’s environment Volunteers are currently being such as water, juice, sports drinks, joined the DNR in 2002 and has funding for the Office of the Great and economy. sought to collect more than energy drinks and alcoholic bev - worked on the east end of the Lakes and other water protection 250,000 signatures on a petition erages to the state’s deposit law. Upper Peninsula most of his ca - reer. A highly motivated and aimed at expanding Michigan’s They are hoping to get the issue Share your thoughts and ideas existing bottle bill. on the ballot for the 2014 general dedicated officer who is well-re - The North Woods Call welcomes letters and viewpoint A new grassroots organization election. spected by his peers, Hammill ex - articles. Please write tightly and include you name and known as Expand Michigan’s Bot - For more information, visit cels at balancing the spirit and contact information. tle Bill is spearheading the effort www.facebook.com/expandMI - intent of the law, according to his (Ideally, Viewpoint articles will be 700 words or less). to add sealed drink containers bottlebill. supervisor, Lt. Skip Hagy. THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll Early April 2013 Page 7 Conservation Officer Logs (3/4/13 through 3/17/13) Deer hunter uses heavy equipment to clear shooting lanes on state land DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 4 purchased two archery deer tags CO Marvin Gerlach investi - CO Rebecca Hopkins inves - A NOTE TO READERS: during the 2012 deer season. It gated a complaint of illegal cut - tigated a complaint of an ice These are brief excerpts from the CO’s bi-monthly field reports. was discovered that the subject ting of trees on state land in early shanty that had been set on fire in To conserve space, we have excluded the more routine activities in had filled his original archery tag March. He located an elevated Leelanau County. The shanty favor of what we think are the most unusual and interesting. early in the season, and was then blind currently under construction owners stated they poured gas on If you want a more complete log than we are able to provide, left with only an antlerless tag. on the state land. The subject the shanty and set it on fire be - you can find an archive of them under the Law Enforcement tab on While hunting in early November, building the blind had brought in cause they did not feel like drag - the Michigan Department of Natural Resources website. the biggest buck of his life heavy equipment off his private ging it off the ice, as required, by “forced” him to make an unethi - property to create a path to the the March 15th deadline. A ticket cious vehicle that left from the he might have a few fish. A check cal and expensive decision. Un - deer blind and had opened several was issued for illegal disposal of suspect’s residence and was ap - of his two buckets revealed 51 fortunately the subject made the long shooting lanes extending into solid waste. proaching the deer kill site. After bluegills, 26 fish over his limit. wrong decision and shot the buck a marsh—all on state land. For While following up on a com - stopping the vehicle and speaking As CO Foster took enforcement without a valid license. After good measure, the subject also de - plaint of a potential over-limit of to the driver, the CO detected an action, two citizens walking by killing the buck, the subject pur - cided to get a head start on his steelhead on Manistee Lake, CO overwhelming smell of marijuana wanted to know if there was any chased another archery tag and deer baiting, as several illegal Carla Soper contacted two possi - coming from the driver and the way they could assist the angler then took the deer to a taxider - deer baits were located near other ble suspect boats, each containing vehicle. The CO confirmed his by posting bond as he is the most mist. Enforcement action was deer blinds in the area. Enforce - two subjects. CO Soper found suspicions and discovered a large law-abiding citizen they know. taken. ment action was taken. that one of the vessels contained amount of marijuana and drug no life jackets, was not registered paraphernalia in the vehicle. The DISTRICT 8 DISTRICT 9 DISTRICT 2 and their boat trailer was display - subsequent investigation led the CO Kyle Bader observed an CO Todd Szyska and Intern CO Brett Gustafson investi - ing an invalid plate. Enforcement CO to a local residence where he angler walk on the ice with a full- Ryan Cook were checking an - gated a fatal snowmobile accident action was taken. and a trooper with the MSP con - size fishing pole. The angler sent glers at the Clinton River Spill - on Mackinac Island. The subject, CO Angela Greenway re - tacted two additional suspects a few casts into the open water way Dam. As the pair walked who wasn’t wearing a helmet, re - sponded to a Report-All- with more marijuana, ampheta - while walking toward the edge of down to talk to the anglers, one of portedly lost control and hit a tree. Poaching (RAP) complaint of a mines and cash from the sale of the ice, within three feet of the the subjects whispered to his The passenger was thrown from subject who allegedly used his ve - the drugs. Felony warrants were open water. Just as CO Bader was buddy, “Oh no, here comes the the sled, narrowly missing several hicle to intentionally run over sev - issued and the subjects were ar - thinking “this guy is going to go DNR.” After checking their trees himself, and walked away eral wild turkeys in the roadway rested. through the ice,” he did. As CO tackle and asking for fishing li - with only bumps and bruises. and then take several of the birds. CO Chad Foerster was pa - Bader got his rescue disk from the censes, it became apparent why COs Jared Ferguson and A lengthy investigation revealed trolling the Saginaw Bay when he back of the truck, the angler was the comment had occurred. The Mike Evink assisted the Michi - the location of possible suspects. came into contact with two an - able to touch the bottom (the angler who was nervous could not gan State Police (MSP) on the When CO Greenway contacted glers who were proud to show off water was only three to four feet find his fishing license. A check Garden Peninsula with the recov - the suspects at their residence, she their limit of 10 walleye. Unfor - deep) and get himself back onto of the license system revealed the ery of human bones found by an observed a garbage bag on the tunately for them, they forgot the ice. When the angler made subject had not purchased a li - angler. The ice angler had gone to porch overflowing with wild their measuring device and had to dry land, CO Bader asked for a cense since 2011. Enforcement shore and had come across a turkey feathers, tails and parts. guess if the fish met the legal limit fishing license. He didn’t have action was taken. femur bone. He reported the find CO Greenway obtained a full con - of 15 inches. The CO measured his fishing license or ID on his CO Ken Kovach received a to 911. Soon after, the COs were fession from the subjects and ar - the fish and found that four of the person. The angler supplied a call that a group of subjects was needed to transport the angler and rest warrants will be sought 10 fell significantly short of the false name to CO Bader, which floating down Mill Creek in St. the troopers to and from the scene. through the prosecutor’s office. legal mark. Enforcement action his girlfriend verified. The alias Clair County stealing tree stands. was taken. did not have a fishing license, or The complainant saw the subjects DISTRICT 3 DISTRICT 5 show up on file. When CO Bader as they were attempting to take While on patrol, CO Duane CO Jason McCullough was DISTRICT 7 obtained his real name, the angler his stand. He scared them off and Budreau observed and followed checking ice anglers when he ob - CO Mike Mshar responded to had three outstanding warrants. reported it. CO Kovach was able a column of black smoke to a fire served one of the subjects had a complaint of a subject attempt - He did have a fishing license to respond downstream and con - where there were illegal materials over 35 bluegill lying on the ice. ing to snag walleye at the Allegan though and proper action was tact the four juveniles as they being burned. Three 17-year-olds The subject claimed that he would Dam along the Kalamazoo River. taken. were pulling their paddle boat out were in a bed of a pickup truck in sort the fish at the end of the day CO Mshar conducted an under - After observing anglers at a of the water. The subjects did not reclining chairs watching the fire. and throw the extras back in the cover patrol, fishing alongside the local dam, CO Rich Nickols have life jackets and were not Considering their age, CO Bu - water. The obvious problem was subject and witnessed the viola - checked two subjects fishing at dressed for the weather. Parents dreau gave them a warning and that all the “extra” fish would be tion. The subject was ticketed and the entrance to a fish ladder. One were contacted and did not know advised them to put the fire out, dead from lying on the ice. CO it was discovered that he had 13 of the subjects had tossed his fish - the juveniles were floating the then watched as they started to McCullough ticketed the subject prior violations with the DNR, ing pole in the river but the water river. The parents and juveniles kick snow on the fire. CO Bu - for taking an over-limit of with many related to snagging and was too low and the pole could be were educated on the dangers of dreau left and came back to check bluegill. illegal taking of walleye. The observed sticking out of the water. the cold water. The parents had about 20 minutes later and found CO Warren MacNeill re - subject’s equipment was also con - The subject admitted to fishing the juveniles contact the com - the fire going again, with the three sponded to a snowmobile fire on a fiscated. and said he usually buys a license plainant and everyone agreed as subjects sitting in their reclining local lake. Upon arrival, CO CO Cary Foster observed an every year on his birthday but he punishment the juveniles would chairs once again. This time a MacNeill found what was left of ice angler on Morrison Lake who didn't get one for the current sea - clean up trash along the creek. ticket for unlawful disposal of the completely burned snowmo - appeared to have panfish on the son because he did not have a While checking several anglers solid waste was issued. bile lying on the ice. There were ice near the holes he was fishing. valid ID. The subject also had a near the Clinton River Spillway During a routine patrol of Lake no injuries and it is believed a CO Foster moved to another van - warrant for failing to appear on a Dam, CO Kris Kiel and Intern Charlevoix, CO Andrea Erratt mouse nest may have been the tage point to monitor the angler’s snagging charge. The pole was Ryan Cook contacted a subject checked ice shanties still left on cause of the fire. activity and eventually contacted retrieved from the river and the with five northern pike on a the ice and anglers fishing for him as he left the lake. The angler subject was issued a ticket for stringer. The CO asked the sub - walleye. Upon contacting an an - DISTRICT 6 initially advised CO Foster that he fishing without a license and ject if he knew what the limit was gler at dusk, the subject stated he While investigating a complaint had no fish and only a lantern in given a notice to appear for the and the subject told him, “Some - had a cut finger and asked for a of a deer shot after dark, CO his bucket. When questioned on warrant. one told me six or seven pieces”. Band-Aid. While supplying him Larn Strawn stopped a suspi - the second bucket he responded CO Jeff Goss investigated a The subject got an education on with a Band-Aid, CO Erratt suspected illegal deer case found the legal limit and a ticket for the counted lines and found he was at a taxidermist. The subject had over-limit. fishing with too many lines. He Marketplace of the North was issued a Band-Aid and a ticket. Classified Ads CO Bill Webster received a complaint of an ice shanty frozen into the ice and left out past the VIDEO & BOOK— Buck Lake Ranch: Nashville of the North . A 20 % Off Spring Sale! March 15th deadline to have them 78-minute documentary and 133-page softcover book about removed. CO Webster responded historic music park near Angola, Indiana. $19.95 each; $35 for Caps & T-Shirts both, plus shipping & handling. For more information, see the to the area and chipped the shanty $12 each, plus $3 shipping out of the ice, along with empty Newshound Productions page at mynorthwoodscall.com. propane tanks and beer bottles. He then contacted the owner of Order online and view sizes/colors at: the shanty, who stated he planned Become a North Woods Call partner www.mynorthwoodscall.com on burning it the next day. CO Please join our efforts to keep readers fully informed about conser - Or send a check or money order to: Webster informed him that burn - vation and outdoor issues by providing us with news tips and/or pho - The North Woods Call , 5411 East DE Avenue ing would also be illegal and is - tographs. sued him a ticket for leaving his Send your tips, ideas and photos to: [email protected]. Kalamazoo, Michigan 49004 shanty on the ice past March 15th. Published periodically by Newshound Productions llC, 5411 East dE Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49004. 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Page 8 Early April 2013 THE NOrTH WOOdS CAll Final Shot

The final step for 22 hens and three toms released onto public land in the Baldwin Area. (DNR photo) Boosting northern Michigan wild turkeys Allegan County was ground habitat types such as we had in trapped within the city limits of zero when Michigan began re - southern Michigan—more open Norton Shores, were also relo - building its wild turkey population lands.” cated. in the 1950s. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the Stewart said that, since the re - Birds were shipped from Penn - DNR decided to expand turkey leases were primarily hens, he sylvania and released there, but as populations across the state, he hopes they’ll add to a bit of ge - the population grew and expansion said. netic diversity to the turkey popu - became a possibility, wildlife man - Today, southern Michigan is lations. Combined with crabapple agers began to look north. where the bulk of Michigan’s wild plantings and additional habitat “A long time ago, it was turkey population lives. Birds fur - improvements in the areas where thought that turkeys needed ther north have not fared as well, the turkeys were released, he’s op - 10,000 acres of contiguous woods due to poor nesting success and timistic that the transplanted birds with oak trees as large as you other factors. will thrive. could put your arms around,” said Over the past two years, the Turkeys are most easily trapped Al Stewart, upland game bird pro - DNR has been on a mission to re - during the winter, he said, when gram leader with the Michigan build the northern wild turkey they are in big flocks and attracted Department of Natural Resources populations, trapping and transfer - to corn bait. The latest trapping (DNR). “At that time—short of ring birds from thriving southern was done in March, when it was the Allegan area—northern Michi - Michigan populations to the north - still winter, but there was less gan showed a lot of promise.” ern areas of the state. snow up north and more favorable Areas such as Baldwin and Mio “There are still good numbers ground conditions. were selected as potential release of birds in northern Michigan,” With spring already here, it is sites, he said, because they had big Stewart said, “but from our hunter unlikely that more turkeys will be Trout Madness blocks of lands with mast-bearing survey information we’ve seen transplanted this year, according to The National Trout Memorial in the village of Kalkaska is a reminder trees. some decline in hunter satisfaction the DNR, but as long as there are that Michigan anglers will be taking to the state’s trout streams in “When we put birds up there in and hunter success.” robust populations in southern earnest the last Saturday of April. If you are preparing for this annual the sixties, those were the sites that DNR staff in the Barry State Michigan and landowners are will - event, be sure you have a current fishing license and are familiar with were considered the best,” Stewart Game Area recently moved 25 ing to share them, the opportunity all appropriate laws and regulations governing the sport. Kalkaska said. “Over time, we realized that birds—22 hens and three toms— exists to continue relocating birds. will host the 77th Annual National Trout Festival April 24-28, 2013. turkeys were more resilient to to the Baldwin area. Another six, —Michigan DNR Sound off on The North Woods Call ! The perfect gift for any occasion: Please take the time to respond to this brief survey by June 1, 2013. Be specific and use ad - ditional paper, if needed. You can also send an e-mail to [email protected] , Give The North Woods Call to that or fill out the survey at www.mynorthwoodscall.com . Your thoughts and ideas are impor - special person on your list tant to us as we consider the future of this publication. Thank you.

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