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Three of the most powerful pro-hunting organizations in the country fired some sharp criticism Friday at Salt Lake City-based Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and its subsidiary, Big Game Forever.

The National Rifle Association, Safari Club International and Congressional Sportsmen Caucus said they strongly support legislation before Congress to delist gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act. But the three groups say the two Utah organizations are claiming in a draft news release that they are opposing the legislation, an allegation that “blatantly misrepresents” the groups’ position.

In a Friday news release, they urged the media and congressional offices to “thoroughly investigate and independently confirm” any claims the Utah groups make.

Big Game Forever is a spinoff of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, with supporters such as retired baseball star Wade Boggs and comedian Jeff Foxworthy, that is raising funds to lobby for the bill to delist the wolves.

In its own release Friday, Big Game Forever said it was disappointed by what it called an “inaccurate press release” from the large pro-hunting groups. They said the release in question was a draft sent to a limited number of people that was likely leaked to the public.

“While we cannot control the actions of third parties, Big Game Forever has acted in good faith and has attempted to address concerns as they were expressed,” said the release. “Big Game Forever was surprised by the tone and content of this very public press release as we had no indication that this matter had not been resolved privately.”

The Salt Lake Tribune

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The ex-boyfriend of one of two women shot to death on Valentines Day in the Lower Northeast has been arrested, police said.

Shaun C. Warrick, 27, was found Thursday in the 3800 block of North Darien Street in Hunting Park and arrested without incident by homicide detectives and US marshals.

Warrick was charged with two counts of murder and related offenses for the fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend, Tiffany Barnhill, 19, and her cousin, Mercedes Ivery, 21.

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I’ve had the distinct pleasure of chasing after a variety of turkey subspecies in Texas and New Mexico, and the toughest aspect of hunting any of these birds is attempting to expect the unexpected and trying to plan accordingly.

The spring season kicked off this weekend in South Texas and begins April 2 in northern counties, and putting in scouting time is the most important thing you can do before going afield in search of filling even one turkey tag much less seeking multiple successes. The most important things to consider are finding roost locations and logical food and water sources, locating setup areas that allow for good concealment and multiple lines of long sight and finding travel routes that intersect these locations.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my hunting failures and miscues and those of others while chasing after turkeys, it’s that they simply are creatures of habit. Until they are pressured from hunters, predators or other outside influences, they typically will react the same way and do the same things. That means good things if you’re able to find where they are and where they want to go, while doing it without spooking them.

As with scouting, hunters should know as much about the quarry they’re chasing, and after studying up on various reports and discussing the issue with biologists and wildlife experts, and seeing the same things in the field, it leads to the conclusion that turkey behavior has a distinct biological component. Knowing why turkeys do some of the things they do is another way to put in your homework and examine a number of scenarios before you head out.

With that in mind, here’s a glimpse at the three seasons within a turkey season, and why gobbling picks up in two, a great thing for hunters looking to fill their tags.

Early season

The beginning of the spring turkey season, regardless of whether it’s in the eastern Panhandle, the Hill Country or deep South Texas, is much like fall bass fishing: It’s a big transition time. Around the middle to end of March and even into the middle of April in northern locales, turkeys will begin to break up from larger winter flocks and gobbling activity will spike. Birds will move away from locales where they spent a lot of time in previous months and seek out breeding areas. This typically occurs in the same locations where they have built nests, which can play into your favor if you keep track of where you bagged a bird the previous year.

During the early season, I’ve seen and heard amazing amounts of activity from toms and hens, including fighting and general cutting up, and it’s not unusual to hear hens being more vocal during this time frame, too. The reason for this behavior has been linked by biologists to being a result of the uncertainty and very nature of birds that have broken off from flocks where they had spent lots of time.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from hunting turkeys, it’s that familiarity makes turkeys feel most safe, and when they don’t have the security of other birds for whatever reason they often will go silent, which always means tougher hunting.

The dynamic for the season usually is set early and dominant gobblers looking to breed will cut out hens, leaving subordinates ripe for the plucking, especially younger toms and jakes that usually will come running to your hen imitations. It’s not unusual to see large groups of jakes and subordinate toms hanging around the boss gobblers and their hens, which makes locating birds easier in the early season, especially if you can find roost sites. This is where safety in groups plays the largest role, and before birds begin to break off into even smaller flocks as the season progresses is one of your best bets to bring home a nice bird.

Midseason

During the middle to end of April in much of Texas — and even earlier in South Texas — a gradual change begins, and gobbling and loud behavior that had been present even just days before slowly tails off. Biologically, the birds have established their dominance or lack thereof and the challenging nature of birds in the early season gives way to less aggressive tendencies, especially as the pecking order has been set.

Gobblers typically stay close to hens all day and also roost near them at night, and birds that are this henned-up are almost impossible to lure away from their harems. The toughest aspect about this part of the season is that toms will respond to calls a good majority of the time, but they simply won’t break free from hens they’ve already found. Even if you try to tempt them with sweet talk or challenge them with raucous gobbles they often end up following their harems whatever direction they feel like going — usually the other way.

One way you can swing things in your favor is to consider another aspect of turkey biology involving hens. As the middle of the season wears on, hens typically begin to visit their nests during late morning to lay eggs after breaking apart from toms at daybreak.

This precisely is why changing up your tactics and hunting later in the morning and into the afternoon can mean the difference between bagging a bird and coming back empty-handed.

Late season

This portion of the turkey framework sees another peak in gobbling activity, and like many hunters, this is my favorite time to hunt these wily critters. The biological aspect during this time of year to consider is the fact that this period sees most hens on nests incubating their clutches of eggs, while gobblers are left to roam in search of other hens to breed with.

This is the magic time, though there are some things to think about that could make things tough. The first is that there simply will be fewer gobblers and the ones left will have heard myriad calls, especially if you’re hunting public lands. These birds also may have ended breeding activity before the season is even over, meaning your calling will fall on deaf ears. In this case, targeting food sources and setting up an ambush likely is your best play, especially as hungry toms that have eaten little during breeding season look to replenish themselves.

Hunting has the potential to be tough early this season, but there’s no better time to enjoy a fine spring day. It should be rewarding with or without filling your tags.

WILL LESCHPER IS AN AWARD-WINNING MEMBER OF THE OUTDOOR WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA AND THE TEXAS OUTDOOR WRITERS ASSOCIATION. WRITE TO HIM AT LESCHPERW@YAHOO.COM.

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A duck-shooting protester has been shot in the face with pellets on the first day of Victorias controversial hunting season.

The 43-year-old St Kilda woman was taken to hospital in a stable condition with facial injuries after being hurt at Lake Buloke near Donald in the states north-west about 9:00am (AEDT) on Saturday.

Police say the shooter was a 14-year-old boy who accidentally hit the woman while hunting with his uncle.

The firearm has been seized and the exact circumstances of the shooting are being investigated.

The Coalition Against Duck Shootings Kurt Opray says the woman was trying to help injured birds.

She was just in the water seeking to scare birds away from the shooters and render assistance to birds that have hit the water, he said.

If they cant keep the sport safe for themselves and others who happen to be in the vicinity it should be finished.

But duck hunters say the protester who was injured was breaking the law.

Field and Game Australia CEO Rod Drew says protesters are not legally allowed in the water while shooting is occurring.

There are human safety regulations under the Wildlife Act which make it an offence to enter the water before 10:00am when the hunting is occurring and these people were in the water when they shouldnt have been, he said.

They have a right to protest but we dont believe they have a right to put themselves and other people at risk.

Wildlife officers have fined 17 duck-shooting protesters for illegally entering wetlands today, the second day of the season in Victoria.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) fined 64 protesters and 23 hunters on Saturday.

The DSE says todays protesters were caught breaking the rules in the same place. Eleven hunters were fined for a range of breaches.

Tags:
human-interest, animals, law-crime-and-justice, animal-welfare, crime, australia, vic, donald-3480

First posted March 20, 2011 14:32:00

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March 19, 2011 |(0) Comments

Wade Brockman of Tomah makes his living as a cranberry grower. Aside from work and family, though, he says his life revolves around hunting.

So it should come as no surprise that Brockman was in a tree stand on his farm Nov. 28, the last day of the 2010 Wisconsin gun deer season.

He didnt see a deer, didnt fire a shot. But he did bring home a trophy that day, one that is now officially of historic proportions.

While Brockman hunted out the deer season, a worker combined corn on another part of the 800-acre farm.

The worker found a large, dead animal in the field and reported it to Brockman.

Considering Monroe County has lots of cows but relatively few bears, you know what I was thinking, said Brockman, 35.

What Brockman found not only surprised him but has caused a revision to the state – and likely world – record book.

The animal was indeed a very large, very old black bear. It had been dead for perhaps two months, said Brockman, so no weight could be attained.

However, since bear records are based on skull measurements, he obtained a permit from the Department of Natural Resources to legally take the bear into possession.

The result? The bears skull measured 23ensp; 5/16 inches, a Wisconsin record.

If accepted by Boone and Crockett, it would rank third in the world, said Brockman.

Both Boone and Crockett and the Wisconsin Buck amp; Bear Club have categories for pickups, animals found dead from vehicle collisions, for example.

The bear tops the 22ensp; 12/16 bruin taken by gun hunter George Spaulding in Washburn County in 2002.

The skull was officially scored by a panel last weekend in Wisconsin Dells, said Steve Ashley, director of records for the Wisconsin Buck amp; Bear Club.

It will be listed as the Wisconsin record as soon as Ashley receives the paperwork, likely in the coming days.

The world-record black bear scored 23ensp; 10/16 inches, according to Boone and Crockett records. It also was a pickup, in Sanpete County, Utah, in 1975. It is owned by Cabelas Inc.

Brockman said the bears teeth were worn down to the gum line. Based on its skull size, most estimates place the animals live weight at over 600 pounds.

There were at least three bears killed in the 2010 Wisconsin bear hunting season that weighed over 700 pounds. None of the skulls was as large as the one Brockman found.

Adding intrigue to the story of the record-breaking animal: The huge bruin had gone undetected in the area.

We have seen some smaller bears on the farm, Brockman said, adding that in addition to the time he spends hunting and working on the farm, he has several trail cameras on the property. But no one had seen anything this large around here, ever.

Bears have been increasing their distribution in Wisconsin, with sightings becoming more common in the southern two-thirds of the state.

Hunters killed a record 5,040 black bears in the 2010 Wisconsin hunting season, according to the DNR.

Brockman said his rural neighborhood was accustomed to a wide range of harvests from the land, but the record bear has created a stir.

Theres a sense of awe that this big bear was living near us, Brockman said. Im a big shed antler hunter and spend a lot of time looking around the land. But I never would have imagined wed find something like this.

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Some people say Im living the dream, Dan Hoke yelled with a smile from the back of his horse as he trotted into a near blizzard. Of course, theyre never out here to see what its like working their dogs in the winter.

The hunting-dog trainer, who owns Dunfur Kennel (dunfur.com) near the Four Lakes Exit off Interstate 90, says the best field-trial or hunting dogs arent shelved for the seven months between hunting seasons.

Theyre like any elite athlete, he said. They need to stay in shape, and theyre always learning.

Its really not fair to a dog to leave it on the couch or in the kennel most of the year and expect it to be ready to perform when the hunting season starts.

Hoke trains pointers and retrievers year-round in different venues from his yard to wide-open spaces.

To keep up with his big-running field trial pointers, he rides horseback through the scablands, where braces of dogs will cover many miles as they sprint for 45 minutes in search of a pen-raised bird he has hidden in a couple of square miles of sagebrush.

He fits the field trialers with radio telemetry collars in case he loses track of them.

Its not good for business to lose somebodys dog, he said.

When a serious winter storm moved in on a recent horseback training session, Hoke merely carried on.

His dogs still were enthusiastic, and his horse took it in stride.

His horse, by the way, has helped train hundreds of dogs.

It doesnt even flinch or blink an eye at the muzzle blast of a shotgun over its back.

Its good for dogs and horses to be worked in all sorts of weather so they become at ease with it, Hoke said.

Sooner or later, youre going to hit bad weather in a field trial or a hunting trip, he said, noting the top dog on that day might be the one familiar with the conditions.

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Nick Kristofs dispatch from Bahrain is a must-read on the botched opportunities of the monarchy, mistakes by the opposition and descent into sectarian Sunni-Shiite darkness. Money quote:

I wrote a few weeks ago about a distinguished plastic surgeon, Sadiq al-Ekri, who had been bludgeoned by security forces. At the time, I couldn’t interview Dr. Ekri because he was unconscious. But I later returned and was able to talk to him, and his story offers a glimpse into Bahrain’s tragedy.

Dr. Ekri is a moderate Shiite who said his best friend is a Sunni. Indeed, Dr. Ekri recently took several weeks off work to escort this friend to Houston for medical treatment. When Bahrain’s security forces attacked protesters, Dr. Ekri tried to help the injured. He said he was trying to rescue a baby abandoned in the melee when police handcuffed him. Even after they knew his identity, he said they clubbed him so hard that they broke his nose. Then, he said, they pulled down his pants and threatened to rape him — all while cursing Shiites.

This sectarian hatred is lethal and contagious. It could seriously destabilize Iraq. Just look at the faces above.

(Photo: Iraqi Shiite Muslims hold up the Bahraini flag and an image of Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr as they protest in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad on March 16, 2011, in support of the Shiite protesters in Bahrain and against the violent crackdown by the ruling Sunni Muslim dynasty in the Bahraini capital Manama. By Ali-Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images.)

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A high-tech astrophysics experiment that will probe the mysteries of our universe is getting ready to fly to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour when it launches on its final mission next month.

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle physics detector that will primarily measure high-energy particles in space, called cosmic rays, and search for signs of antimatter and mysterious dark matter in the universe.

The most exciting objective of AMS is to probe the unknown to search for phenomena which exist in nature that we have not yet imagined nor had the tools to discover, said MIT physicist Samuel Ting, a Nobel laureate and AMS principal investigator, March 10 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

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A THREE-BEDROOM WATERFRONT TOWN HOUSE IN REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

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In Iceland, a Snowy Retreat

46.9 MILLION KRONUR ($400,000)

This seaside town house, built in 1999 in the Bryggjuhverfi section of Reykjavik, has three bedrooms and three baths. The back faces the North Atlantic, and a path leads along the top of the sea wall to a shared boat dock. On the ground floor, the tiled entry hall opens up to a wall of exposed antique brick. The hallway leads to a bedroom, currently in use as an office, and a bathroom with an antique sink and a wood ceiling. The second floor, reached via a curved staircase with an ornate iron railing, has wide-plank floors made from Icelandic oak. A bedroom there has been transformed into a sitting room. The dining room has a built-in painted wood sideboard with glass doors. The kitchen has wood countertops and a wall oven, as well as an island stove with both gas and electric burners. On the third floor, a floor-to-ceiling curtain separates the master bedroom from the living room, which has a vaulted ceiling. Double-height windows overlook the sea, and a wood-burning stove supplements the antique radiators, which draw heat into the rest of the house from geothermal wells. A loft above the bedroom could be used as an office or a sleeping area. All the interior doors are of frosted glass with stainless steel hardware. The windows each have triple panes of glass for sound insulation.

Perennial flowerbeds brighten a patio at the back of the house; the second and third floors have balconies. The house is 10 minutes by bus from downtown Reykjavik, and a 25-minute drive from the international airport. A grocery store is within walking distance, but most of the shops and restaurants are downtown.

MARKET OVERVIEW

An island nation close to the Arctic Circle, Iceland has a total of 130,000 residential units, said Gudrun Jonsdottir, the head of the price statistics unit at Statistics Iceland. She said sales transactions in the Reykjavik area in 2010 numbered fewer than 3,000; for the rest of the country the figure was under 1,000.

The residential market slumped markedly with the global economic downturn, according to Thorleifur St. Gudmondsson, a real estate agent with the Reykjavik company Eignamidlun. Sales volumes and prices fell sharply in October 2008, and the situation was worsened by high rates of inflation. Mr. St. Gudmondsson said inflation had since returned to normal levels and the market had stabilized somewhat. Ms. Jonsdottir said prices in the Reykjavik area fell by 3.8 percent in 2010, versus 9.5 percent in 2009.

A new home in downtown Reykjavik costs 300,000 to 350,000 kronur per square meter ($238 to $278 per square foot, at $0.0085 kronur to the dollar), Mr. St. Gudmondsson said. However, “lots of 70-year-old apartments are made of timber, and you won’t get that price,” he added. In the suburbs, prices are lower, 200,000 kronur per square meter or less. In Bryggjuhverfi, the neighborhood of this home, prices can run as high as 400,000 kronur per square meter, but the average is closer to 200,000 kronur per square meter. This house is priced at about 230,000 kronur per square meter, which is typical for the area.

WHO BUYS IN REYKJAVIK

Investors from abroad see the current market as offering an opportunity to invest in Icelandic real estate, said Haukur Hauksson, a sales representative for the Reykjavik firm RE/MAX Baer and the listing agent for this property. He says buyers come from Britain and other parts of Europe, as well as from the United States.

BUYING BASICS

Foreigners can buy property without restriction, said Mr. St. Gudmondsson. A fee of 0.4 percent of the purchase price is required to register the deed. Cash buyers pay no other closing costs, but buyers who require financing pay an additional 2.5 percent of the purchase price — 1 percent to the lender, and 1.5 percent to the government in the form of a mortgage tax. Mr. St. Gudmondsson says the seller pays the agent’s commission, which varies depending on the agent but is usually 1.9 to 2 percent. A 25.5 percent value-added tax is levied on the commission. In complex situations, a lawyer is recommended.

WEB SITES

Official Iceland tourism site: visiticeland.com

Gateway to Iceland: iceland.is

Visit Reykjavik: visitreykjavik.is

LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

Icelandic; Icelandic krona (1 krona=$.0085)

TAXES AND FEES

Property taxes are about $1,500 a year, according to the listing agent. There are no condo fees.

CONTACT

Haukur Hauksson, RE/MAX Baer, 011-354-512-3400, remax.is.

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March 16, 2011 |(3) Comments

If you had told it 50 years ago, it would have been labeled St. Patricks Day blarney.

Or an early April Fools joke.

But in 2011, its becoming a well-known story bolstered by facts: Wisconsin leads the nation in turkey hunting.

For two years running, hunters in the Badger State have harvested more wild turkeys than any other state.

In 2010, hunters registered 47,539 turkeys in Wisconsins spring season.

According to records of the National Wild Turkey Federation and interviews with biologists around the country, the next highest states in spring 2010 were Missouri at 46,200 turkeys, Pennsylvania (42,478), Alabama (40,900), Tennessee (37,000), Kentucky (36,097) and Kansas (34,991).

That Wisconsin has a lot of turkeys isnt news to any resident who spends time outdoors or on the states roadways. The birds are commonly seen in all 72 Wisconsin counties, from the coulees of the Driftless Area to the edges of northern forests to suburban – and sometimes even urban – Milwaukee.

But it wasnt always so. In fact, Wisconsin didnt have a population of wild turkeys 50 years ago. The native bird had been wiped out by human settlement and unregulated hunting.

The birds began returning in the 1970s through a trap-and-transfer program by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Department of Conservation, with assistance from the National Wild Turkey Federation.

The wild turkey reintroduction is one of the shining success stories of Wisconsin wildlife management.

The fact that Wisconsin leads the nation in a species that wasnt even here 40 years ago is something to be proud of, said Scott Walter, DNR upland wildlife staff specialist.

There are many measures of success, but to restore a native species to sustainable, huntable numbers is widely regarded as proof of a job well done.

When habitat is improved for turkeys, it benefits a wide range of species, including non-game and endangered animals and plants.

In 2009, Wisconsins turkey hunting program generated $3.3 million for wildlife management efforts in the state. Although more recent figures were not available from the department, sales of turkey hunting licenses and permits have been stable.

Weve got a solid group of turkey hunters in the state that get out there year after year for the chance at a gobbler, said Walter. The spring hunt provides an extraordinary opportunity on the Wisconsin landscape.

The funds raised through hunting provide the wind beneath the wings of wildlife staff. At a time of budget shortfalls, turkey hunting is a critical contributor to the states conservation programs.

Wisconsin has held a hunting season for turkeys since 1983, when 1,200 permits were issued and 182 turkeys were harvested. In recent years, close to 50,000 birds have been taken and more than 200,000 permits issued.

The state record harvest of 52,880 turkeys occurred in 2008.

The 2011 Wisconsin spring turkey hunt opens April 9 and 10 for the youth hunt and April 13 through May 22 for the general season.

The general season is divided into six 5-day time periods, each running from Wednesday through Sunday. The DNR has made 225,729 permits available for the spring 2011 turkey hunt; more than 145,500 permits were issued to hunters who applied for permits by the Dec. 10 application deadline, leaving about 80,000 permits available after the drawing.

But quantity is only one measure. What about the quality of the Wisconsin spring turkey hunt?

In a random DNR survey sent to 20,000 turkey hunters in 2009, 85% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the hunt. And less than 15% were interfered with by another hunter.

The wild turkey is a special bird everywhere it exists, but youve got something special there in Wisconsin, no doubt, said James Earl Kennamer, NWTF chief conservation officer.

Another gauge of the quality is its appeal to new and youth hunters – the state holds more Learn to Turkey Hunt programs than any other species.

And since the state instituted the sale of extra turkey permits in recent years, every hunter has the chance to hunt in multiple periods each year.

As spring turkey hunting seasons begin around the nation, Wisconsin has clearly earned the right to be mentioned as a top turkey hunting state.

Considering that includes states such as Alabama, which never lost its population of native birds, and Missouri, which has long been considered a turkey hunting mecca and is the source of Wisconsins reintroduced flock, thats saying something.

The Wisconsin turkey story will continue to evolve. But if state and private landowners continue to improve wildlife habitat and carefully manage the hunt, the hardy and adaptable bird is likely to produce many sequels.

Extra permits on sale: Remaining permits for the 2011 Wisconsin spring turkey hunting season will go on sale next week on a first-come, first-served basis. The permits will be offered for sale by zone, one zone per day, through Saturday (March 26), when all remaining permits will be available.

The sales start at 10 am Monday (March 21) for Zone 1, followed by Zone 2 on Tuesday, Zone 3 on Wednesday, Zone 4 on Thursday and Zones 5 and 6 on Friday.

All zones will be on sale from Saturday until the season ends or the time period is sold out.

The fee for leftover turkey permits is $10 for residents, $15 for nonresidents.

The permits may be purchased through the DNR website at www.dnr.wi.gov, at authorized license agents, at DNR Service Centers or by calling (877) 945-4236.

Lands opened to turkey hunting: The Nature Conservancy will open 11,800 acres of land in Wisconsin to turkey hunting, a result of recent negotiations with the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

The federation had appealed a DNR decision to limit public hunting and trapping on the lands purchased under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

The Nature Conservancy owns 25,700 acres in Wisconsin and 96% is open to some form of hunting, said Chris Anderson, senior media relations manager with the organization. Anderson said hunting is an important management tool for TNC, citing the need to control the number of deer on certain properties to protect plant communities from over-browsing.

The areas newly-opened to turkey hunting include TNC lands in the Baraboo Hills State Natural Area in Sauk and Columbia counties, in the Quincy Bluff State Natural Area in Adams County, in the Spring Green State Natural Area in Iowa County, in the Page Creek State Natural Area in Marquette County and the Summertom Bog State Natural Area in Marquette County.

In addition, all TNC-owned lands in Door County will be open to fall turkey hunting after Nov. 1 each year.

The appeals were filed on the behalf of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Wisconsin Trappers Association and five individual hunters and trappers.

The appeals challenged the prohibition of certain hunting and trapping practices; lands purchased with stewardship funds are, with few exceptions, to be open for hunting, fishing, trapping, cross county skiing and hiking.

The Nature Conservancy has a list of hunting opportunities in Wisconsin on its website at www.tnc.org. The page is being updated and is expected to reflect current information March 21.

Send e-mail to psmith@journalsentinel.com

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