The federal government is getting ready to approve new types of non-toxic ammunition for shooting ducks and geese… but the government isn’t even thinking about tackling a related issue. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The federal government is getting ready to approve new types of non-toxic ammunition for
shooting ducks and geese… but the government isn’t even thinking about tackling a related issue.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of approving three new types of non-toxic
shot for waterfowl hunting. Shotgun shell pellets used to be made of lead. But years of lead
pellets dropping into the wetlands found foraging waterfowl eating the lead and dying. So, lead
shot was banned in 1991. Since then, manufacturers have been looking for new shot formulations
that work well for hunters, but are non-toxic.
Nicholas Throckmorton is with the Fish and Wildlife Service and he says new kinds of shot give
hunters some options.
“Hopefully, late spring, early summer the three companies will be allowed to sell their new shot
formulations.”
While lead shot is banned, the government isn’t doing anything about lead bullets. Rifles still
use lead slugs. Game that is shot, but gets away is usually eaten by predators or scavengers.
Some of the animals, such as the endangered condor, have died from lead poisoning.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Poaching is an age-old problem for state game wardens and other conservation workers. Officials have tried a variety of methods to catch people hunting illegally. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland tells us in one state, officials are taking a somewhat unusual approach. They’re getting help from a new robotic turkey:
Transcript
Poaching is an age-old problem for state game wardens and other conservation workers.
Officials have tried a variety of methods to catch people hunting illegally. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland tells us in one state, officials are taking a somewhat unusual
approach. They’re getting help from a new robotic turkey:
It looks real enough. In fact, the so-called Robo-Turkey is an eastern tom turkey prepared by a
taxidermist, who put moving parts from a model airplane inside. Officers from Michigan’s
Department of Natural Resources control the bird from up to 100-yards away. Lieutenant Dave
Davis says they use it to catch people hunting out-of-season, trespassing, or shooting birds from
their vehicles.
“We’ll set up the decoy where the problem is, then we will do surveillance on it. We don’t just
leave it there unattended. Somebody’s gotta be watching it. Then we’ll wait for somebody to come
and shoot it, basically. It’s not rocket science.”
A local chapter of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation donated this bird, which is one of
several in use across Northern Michigan. The decoys have led to charges against a few poachers
this year, who can face up to $500 in fines. Lieutenant Davis says poachers who shoot the Robo-
Turkey get off easy. Shooting a real turkey illegally can mean a $1,500 fine and five days in jail.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Michael Leland.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a rule that would allow people to kill the Double-Crested Cormorant. The bird was once federally protected. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chris McCarus reports:
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a rule that would allow
people to kill the double-crested Cormorant. The bird was once federally
protected. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chris McCarus reports:
The double-crested Cormorants have become a nuisance because they eat a
lot of fish and their waste destroys trees and grass. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service wants tribes and conservation officials to identify Cormorants that pose a problem. They would shoot the birds with shotguns or destroy their
nests and eggs. Commercial fish farmers would also have the right to destroy
the birds.
Ray Rustem is with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He
says wildlife officials will need a coordinated effort to be successful.
“Well, these are very intelligent birds and hunting is going to be a lot more
difficult because they will learn very quickly if there is a boat around they are going to get shot at
and they’re going to avoid those kind of things.”
In the ’70’s, the pesticide DDT had killed most of the double-crested Cormorants in the Great
Lakes region. They’ve since recovered and now number about 1 million.
The federal government is accepting comment on its proposal to kill these birds.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Chris McCarus.
The federal government has downgraded the Gray Wolf from “endangered” to “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The move reduces the amount of federal protection for Gray Wolves. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:
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The federal government has downgraded the Gray Wolf from “endangered” to
“threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The move reduces the amount
of federal protection for Gray Wolves. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Mark Brush has more:
The downlisting of the wolf finalizes an action first proposed by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service three years ago.
Back in the early 1970’s wolves in the lower 48 states were only found in
extreme Northeast Minnesota. Now, confirmed populations are found in more
than eight states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Ron Refsnider is an endangered species biologist with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. He says the status change gives officials a new
way to deal with wolves that are killing livestock or domestic animals.
“Live trapping was the only way that those problem wolves could be handled.
Now that these wolves are being reclassified to threatened status. We’re
relaxing the protections for them, and those problem wolves… those wolves
can be killed by the DNR and by native American tribes on reservations.”
Refsnider says that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will now look at
delisting the gray wolf altogether. Delisting the wolf could lead states to
establish a hunting season for wolves.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mark Brush.
Tom Rakow, right, points out to Kent Rydberg the patch of forest with the tree stand he'll be using. Rakow is the founder and president of the Christian Deer Hunters Association. Rydberg is the membership director. (MPR Photo/Jeff Horwich).
Conservation means different things to different people. Your interests or your profession might color your view. For example, a hunter, an environmental activist, or a farmer might each define conservation dramatically differently. But other aspects of our lives also affect our views about nature. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jeff Horwich says for some people, the idea of conservation is closely connected with their idea of spirituality:
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Conservation means different things to different people. Your interests or your profession might
color your view. For example, a hunter, an environmental activist, or a farmer might each define
conservation dramatically differently. But, other aspects of our lives also affect our views about
nature. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jeff Horwich says for some people the idea of
conservation is closely connected with their idea of spirituality:
At one time whole families, whole villages used to live or die by the hunt. So for some hunters, it
seems fitting that before they go out to kill something the afternoons start with a prayer.
“Lord help us to hunt in such a way that it is pleasing to you. . .We recognize you’re
here.. .We just put it in your hands, in
Christ’s name, Amen.”
It’s a cloudy, windy day in the countryside west of Hutchinson, Minnesota. Tom Rakow and
Kent Rydberg stand side-by-side with their bows, president and membership director of the
Christian Deer Hunters Association. The group is based at Rakow’s home in Silver Lake, but
claims hundreds of dues-paying members around the country.
Rakow grew up in Wisconsin, and came to deer hunting long before he came to God.
“Unfortunately I poached my first deer while I was squirrel hunting at age 11, and things just kinda
went downhill from there. Deer hunting was my God.”
A teenage Rakow was carrying an archery permit when he shot his first deer with a .22, an illegal
kill. So, to make it look legal, he stuck an arrow in its side and got away with it.
Rakow went through a religious conversion at 21. He became a born-again Christian. He says he
realized deer hunting was his own false idol. He says either he had to find a way to harmonize
God and deer hunting or the hunting had to go.
“That’s buck manure. And here’s another scrape there.”
We’re moving over a plowed field, into tall grass on our way to tree stands in the forest.
Needless to say, the Reverend Rakow is now at peace with his two passions. He ministers to 80
people in his independent church each Sunday, and spends up to 30 days in the woods each fall.
Rakow’s theology of hunting balances two messages from the Bible. First is the chance to
appreciate God’s natural splendor. Rakow marvels at pheasants, mice, and of course, deer.
“Ultimately God created that deer. What did I have to do with that? You know, he fed that deer in the wild,
caused the antlers to grow, I didn’t have any part of that.”
But the Bible’s second message is the mandate to hunt. Rakow cites Psalm 8.
“There is a hierarchy. Humans, you, I, we have been made in the image of God. We have a
divine responsibility. We should be stewards over creation and part of that is hunting as a management
tool.”
Using the Bible as a hunting guide leads to some distinctive viewpoints. The Christian Deer
Hunter on trespassing:
“If we love our neighbor as ourself, we’re not going to be going somewhere where they don’t want us to
be.”
On authority:
“So as far as you can see, the Bible and the DNR are pretty well in sync with one another?”
“Well, I don’t know if I want to go that far. But Romans:13, Paul writing to the believers in Rome, he
says that powers that be have been ordained of God and we are to submit to those powers.”
And on the plague of chronic wasting disease ravaging deer in his home region of Wisconsin:
“Being from that area, I mean, I know that there are a lot of people that to them deer hunting ranked up there
where it once did for me, where it was more important than God.”
Rakow wouldn’t necessarily call chronic wasting disease a punishment brought by God. But he
does see it as a result of violating the good stewardship rules laid out in the Bible.
And the perspective of the Christian deer hunter raises new questions that have not yet captured
the public imagination.
“I’m completing a book, that one of the chapters is Would Jesus Shoot Bambi?”
The answer is complicated, but it boils down to this: Bambi is not a real deer and yes, Jesus
would.
For an hour we sit in dead silence, 20 feet apart and 15 feet off the ground in tree stands. Then,
behind us, some rustling. Rakow tenses, his bowstring drawn back to his shoulder.
Rakow’s trailing string winds off into the brush.
“I think I just basically trimmed some hairs off his back. When I find my arrow that’s usually not
the best sign.”
But for the Christian Deer Hunter, it’s all right. The membership director, Kent Rydberg, didn’t get
one either. But God talks to him all the time on the deer stand, and that’s something.
“When God’s all around you, it’s sort of hard to put him out of the way. So there’s been some
really good thinking times.”
Of course it’s always better to fill your permit. But these guys have decided it’s not just deer
they’re hunting for out here.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jeff Horwich.
Growing numbers of Canada geese are taking up residence in the Midwest instead of migrating in the spring and fall. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie MacDowell reports, government officials and environmental groups are coming up with creative ways to control the growing population:
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Growing numbers of Canada Geese are taking up residence in the Midwest instead of
migrating in the spring and fall. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie
Macdowell reports – government officials and environmental groups are coming up with
creative ways to control the growing population:
Canada geese are becoming a familiar sight on front lawns and in retention ponds across
the Midwest. Goose excrement is a nuisance to residents and bacteria in their feces can
make people sick. Vid Rapsys owns an Illinois franchise of the “Geese Police.” This
special force uses border collies to gather and frighten geese away from private property
without hurting them.
“Tell the dog to come by while it’s in the water. It’s going to swim in a clockwise motion
around the geese in the water. The geese become very unnerved when animals come in
the water after them. Especially animals that looked like they were stalking them on land
and now there’s someone after them in water.”
But Rapsys adds the Border collies don’t offer a permanent solution. Usually the birds
just fly a couple of miles away and settle in someone else’s lawn or pond. More
permanent options involve shaking goose eggs or covering them with vegetable
oil, which stops the growth of the embryo. But aside from killing geese during hunting
season, people are not allowed to harm a Canada goose. They’re protected by a law
written in the early 1900s.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Annie
MacDowell.
This hunting season there’s a lot more testing for a disease that’s killing deer in parts of the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
This hunting season, there’s a lot more testing for a disease that’s killing deer in parts of
the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Chronic Wasting Disease is similar to Mad Cow Disease. In this instance, it attacks deer
and elk, causing them to waste away, become disoriented, and eventually die. It’s been
found in captive animals in Minnesota, in the wild deer population in Wisconsin and just
recently a deer in Illinois was found to have Chronic Wasting Disease. Carol Knowles is
with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. She says about 4,000 samples of
tissue from deer are being taken during the hunting season. They’ll be sent to labs to see
how far the disease has spread in that state. But because the labs are being swamped with samples, it
will take a while before anything is known.
“It will take months to get all of those results back, yes. But we hope to expedite the ones in northern Illinois where we know we had at least one
confirmed case.”
Other Great Lakes states are also testing for Chronic Wasting Disease in their deer herds,
hoping to stop the disease from spreading quickly.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore plans to step up its education campaign about the do’s and don’ts of living in bear country. Park officials hope that will end this past summer’s encounters between campers and bears. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports:
Transcript
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore plans to step up its education campaign about
the do’s and don’ts of living in bear country. Park officials hope that will end this past summer’s encounters between campers and bears. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike
Simonson reports.
With about 30 bears on Stockton Island, some of them decided to swim for a less-
crowded scrounging area. So, this summer, campers reported bears rummaging through
their food on neighboring islands – forcing the Park Service to close a couple of
campsites.
Apostle Islands Resource Specialist Julie Van Stappen says the bear population may be a
little crowded. And even though there has been an annual hunt of bears since the mid-1990’s, she doesn’t expect much help thinning out the bear population from hunters.
“Very few people do it. You have to get out to the islands and there’s no motorized equipment allowed, so it would be a very different hunt.”
Next summer, Van Stappen says instead of moving bears or closing campsites, the best
bet is to educate campers about storing food, and not attracting bears in the first place.
She says that would be the simplest way to end the close encounters of the bear kind on
the Apostle Islands.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mike Simonson.
Wildlife managers in Wisconsin are facing a daunting task… how to dispose of thousands of potentially infectious deer carcasses. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Gil Halsted reports:
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Wildlife managers in Wisconsin are facing a daunting task… how to dispose of thousands of potentially infectious deer carcasses. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Gil Halsted reports:
Eighteen deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease in an area of southwestern Wisconsin. To keep the disease from spreading, the state plans to kill 30-thousand deer in the area. But because the disease is related to mad cow disease, county landfills are refusing to bury the deer carcasses. The fear is that the mutant protein known as a prion that causes the disease could seep out of the landfill and pose a threat to human health.
Topf Wells is a spokesperson for Dane County, one of several counties that have refused to accept carcasses.
“The problem that many people are concerned about is that these prions are probably not destroyed by the forces in a landfill that lead to the decomposition of a lot of material.”
If counties don’t change their minds, the state may have to store thousands of deer carcasses in cold storage units during this fall’s hunt. Incinerating carcasses is another option. But at 75 dollars a deer it could prove too costly.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Gil Halsted.
Zoos in the Great Lakes region are helping save two species of hornbills by collecting feathers from their captive birds for ceremonial headdresses in Malaysia. photo by - D. DeMello / Wildlife Conservation Society
Malaysian indigenous people welcome the hornbill feathers from zoos and say they will likely reduce the hunting of the birds in the wild. photo by - E.L. Bennett / Wildlife Conservation Society
Zoos in North America are collecting feathers to help save a threatened bird in Malaysia. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:
Transcript
A watchdog group is out with its annual list of endangered rivers, and this year it’s placing most of the blame for damage to the rivers on one government agency. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
This year the American Rivers’ list of endangered rivers included a section devoted to criticizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Melissa Samet is with American Rivers. She says this time they looked back at the past several years of the organization’s endangered rivers list.
“We revealed a pretty startling statistic, that 60-percent of the rivers that we have listed over the past 16 years as in danger were on the list because of the Corps of Engineers.”
The American Rivers report accuses the Corps of Engineers of destroying rivers and wasting taxpayers’ money by citing reports of whistle-blowers and independent analyses that charge the Corps exaggerates the cost-benefits of the projects it constructs on the rivers.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
