Minn., Wis. wolf hunts show different approaches to management

Posted on October 30, 2012 by admin

by Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio

October 29, 2012

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s first-ever regulated hunting season for wolves opens this weekend.

Wisconsin’s wolf hunt has been under way for almost two weeks.

When it comes to wolves, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a lot in common — in fact, Wisconsin’s wolves probably migrated from Minnesota. But differences in the hunts point up divergent approaches to wolf management. And some observers worry about whether both hunts will disrupt wolf packs enough to cause more problems than before. Continue reading →

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Potential Habitat Impacts from Proposed Crop Insurance Subsidies

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin
       

 

 

Wildlife Management Institute   October 16, 2012

While it remains to be seen whether the 112th Congress will pass a new Farm Bill before the end of the session, it is clear that direct federal payments to farmers that have been in effect since the mid-1990’s will very likely become a thing of the past. In lieu of direct payments, many in the agricultural community are championing a stronger federal subsidy program for crop insurance, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. If Congress adopts this approach, it will be critical that any crop insurance subsidy program underwritten by the federal government be guided by policy that protects against poor land and agricultural management decisions that result from artificially low-risk conditions for program participants. Continue reading →
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Asian carp DNA triggers new Chicago River fishing expedition

Posted on October 10, 2012 by admin

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
Oct. 9, 2012

 

Even as Michigan lawmakers lambaste the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for not moving fast enough to develop a permanent plan to stop Asian carp from swimming up the Chicago canal system and into Lake Michigan, genetic evidence that the fish are on the march continues to grow.

Tuesday the Army Corps announced it would send fishing crews onto the North Shore Channel of the Chicago River. The agency also will fish for Asian carp on a six-mile stretch of river in downtown Chicago. Continue reading →

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Minnesota: DNR asks court to allow disputed wolf hunt to proceed

Posted on October 4, 2012 by admin
By Steve Karnowski Associated Press TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press  Posted:10-4-12

TwinCities.com

 State officials have asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to reject an attempt by animal welfare groups to block the resumption of wolf hunting in the state.

The lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and Howling for Wolves is without legal merit, attorneys representing the Department of Natural Resources said in a filing dated Friday, Sept. 28. Continue reading →
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Ginseng poachers take to the woods as prices soar

Posted on September 28, 2012 by admin

TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press

Friday, September 28, 2012

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — They slink through the woods in camouflage and face paint, armed with tire irons, screwdrivers and hoes, seeking a plant that looks like a cross between a Virginia creeper and poison ivy.

They’re the new breed of ginseng diggers, a rough and tumble lot looking to parlay rising Asian demand for the increasingly rare plant’s roots into a fast buck.

Amid a sluggish economy, police say, more diggers are pushing into the backcountry from the upper Mississippi River to the Smoky Mountains in search of wild ginseng, eschewing harvest permits, ripping up even the smallest plants and ignoring property lines. Continue reading →

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