Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Ducks Unlimited Announces History’s Largest Wetlands Conservation Campaign 06-06-2006 08:45
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MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 5, 2006 – In the race against time to save North America’s wetlands, Ducks Unlimited and its foundation, the Wetlands America Trust, have announced the launch of the largest wetlands conservation campaign in history. The Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign will raise $1.7 billion over the next five years to conserve North America’s wetlands for future generations.
Jim Kennedy, president of Wetlands America Trust and chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, Inc., announced the campaign at the 69 th annual Ducks Unlimited convention in Phoenix, Ariz., in front of nearly 1,000 DU members.
“I can’t imagine these places going away, and we are not going to let them,” he said. “America’s greatest treasure is the grasslands of the prairies, and wetlands are vital to our existence. I don’t want to have to describe wetlands to my future grandchildren. I want to be able to show them these wonderful places.”
According to Kennedy, DU plays a critical role in protecting wetlands across North America. In his speech, Kennedy said that, “What DU has done in the last 30 years is a miracle.”
However, Kennedy warned the audience that there is much left to be done in the effort to protect these crucial habitats. He asked the audience to stand with him. “The battle is not over,” he said. “This is where we need to make our stand.”
August A. Busch, III, chairman of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., stressed the timeliness of DU’s response to the conservation crisis at hand. In a video message, Busch said “We are in a race against time, and the world we share is only given to us in trust for our grandchildren.”
Wetlands for Tomorrow will raise funds for nine initiatives that will help DU restore and manage millions of acres of wetlands. Because these initiatives are specific to certain areas of North America, donors will be able to direct their gifts toward regions and projects in which they have a special interest or about which they are particularly concerned.
According to Don Young, executive vice president of Ducks Unlimited, time and effort are of prime importance. “Every 10 minutes in the United States, an acre of wetlands is lost,” he said. “We must reverse this trend, and with this campaign, we know we can do it.”
Gifts can be made online at www.ducks.org
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands — nature’s most productive ecosystem – and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.
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Look for Ducks Unlimited on the World Wide Web at www.ducks.org
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Bird Flu Resources 05-18-2006 08:11
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Everything you wanted to know about the bird flu
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/issues/AvianFlu/WBAvianFlu.htm
[Edited By PJ-Perea on 2006-05-18 08:41]
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
2006 SCDU State Convention a Success! 05-18-2006 08:10
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May 8, 2006 – The 2006 SCDU state convention at Hickory Knob State Park received outstanding reviews by this year’s convention attendees. Located on the quiet shores of Lake Thurmond, the park provided an excellent venue for DU volunteers to gather and celebrate South Carolina’s remarkable success in 2005. And they had cause to celebrate…SCDU is first in the nation in dollar’s raised over the previous year!
The Saturday Night Awards Banquet was attended by over 100 volunteers and guests. This year’s featured guest was renowned artist Ralph McDonald, one of the most popular Ducks Unlimited artists of all time.
A special congratulations goes out to South Carolina’s 2005 Top 100 chapters: Lexington, East of the Cooper, Grand Strand, Columbia, and North Myrtle Beach, who were all recognized for their accomplishments.
Plans are already being made for next year’s convention, so be on the lookout to mark your calendars and make plans to attend! Thanks again, South Carolina volunteers, for all you did to make 2005 a success!
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Migratory waterfowl group will meet May 16 in Columbia 05-18-2006 08:06
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The Migratory Waterfowl Committee will meet 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 16 at the Rembert C. Dennis Building located at 1000 Assembly St. Columbia. The meeting will be held in Room 345.
The meeting is open to the public. Anyone with business for the advisory committee, needing the agenda or directions to the meeting place should contact Sandra Hartley at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources in Columbia at (803) 734-3838. South Carolina Natural Resources board Milton Brazell of West Columbia is chairman of the Migratory Waterfowl Committee.
Items scheduled on the agenda for the meeting of the Waterfowl Advisory Committee include:
* Comments
* Old business
* Items for board action
* New business
* Artist Commission Contract Committee
* Contract painting background depiction
* Artist commission status
* Status of 2004, 2005 prints
* Update on print sales-distribution of funds
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Need a motor, boat or ATV? 04-24-2006 10:25
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The S.C. Department of Natural Resources will conduct a public auction of surplus property and equipment on Wednesday, May 17 in West Columbia. The auction of items such as vehicles, boats, outboard motors, all-terrain vehicles and other equipment deemed as surplus will be held at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Styx Receiving Compound at 2760 Fish Hatchery Road in West Columbia. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 17. Registration for the auction is May 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. All items may be viewed on preview day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 16 at the Styx compound. A list of the items scheduled for auction will be posted on the DNR Web site at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/admin/procure/surplus.html or go to “Doing Business with DNR” on the DNR homepage and click on “Surplus Property.” Some items may be added or removed according to DNR’s needs. For questions regarding the upcoming auction, call (803) 755-1149 in West Columbia.
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
CP-33 Acreage Allocation 04-24-2006 09:29
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As a result of some states requesting additional acreage, the Farm Service Agency made a decision
to reallocate additional acreages to those states with a high landowner demand.
Edgefield, SC (April 08, 2006) – Quail Unlimited has received notice that the Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture announced an official reallocation of CP-33 acres. The notice was distributed to county and state agency offices last week. CP-33 is the upland habitat buffer practice of the Conservation Reserve Program that was developed to specifically benefit bobwhite quail and other grassland wildlife species. Quail Unlimited staff was involved in the initial development and recommendations for the specifics of the program at both the national and state levels.
The CP-33 practice has proven very successful in some states, yet landowners in other areas have not taken full advantage of its benefits. Originally, 250,000 acres nationwide were allotted for enrollment in the CP33 practice. An enrollment deadline of December 31, 2007 is the target date for complete enrollment of the practice. As a result of some states requesting additional acreage, the Farm Service Agency made a decision to reallocate additional acreages to those states with a high landowner demand. Therefore, some states were given additional acreage allotments and some states which had not used much of their original acreages were reduced.
States gaining additional acreages were: Illinois (7,500); Kansas (7,500); Maine (400); Missouri (2,600); South Carolina (5,000); and South Dakota (1,000). States losing original allotments include: Alabama (4,400); Colorado (500); Florida (500); Georgia (3000); Louisiana (1,900); New Jersey (400); Okalahoma (7,500); Pennsylvania (1,000); Tennessee (4,300) and West Virginia (500). (See table – http://www.qu.org/crp.cfm)
Landowners interested in enrolling their properties in the CP-33 practice in the above states who now have increased CP-33 acreages should contact their local Farm Services Agency office.
For a complete listing of updated CP-33 acreage allotments; please visit http://www.qu.org. Additional information on the Conservation Reserve Program and the CP33 practice are available on this site as well as instructions to obtain a free CP-33 DVD developed by Mississippi State University.
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Wingshooter News 04-20-2006 08:27
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Plan and prepare now for fall dove hunting
Now is the time to begin the planning and preparation of fields to attract doves during the upcoming season. The mourning dove is one of the most popular game species in the Southeast, and fall dove shoots are a South Carolina tradition.
Large numbers of doves will feed on waste grains and weed seeds in harvested peanut, corn and wheat fields. Fields can also be planted in millet, sorghum, sesame, corn, sunflowers or other crops and managed specifically for dove hunting. It is legal to plant a field with grains attractive to doves, and harvest or mow all or part of it, or none of it at all, and shoot doves over the area. Dove hunters are reminded that shooting over top-sown grains is not permitted. Well-managed dove fields provide benefits to doves and other wildlife before and after the hunting season.
Landowners interested in dove field recommendations should contact the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Small Game Project at (803) 734-3609 in Columbia, or a DNR regional wildlife biologist. Dove field planting information can also be found on the DNR Web site at (Adobe PDF file which requires the free Adobe Reader to view the file) http://www.dnr.sc.gov/pubs/AttractingDovesLegally.pdf.
Pending approval by the S.C. Natural Resources Board and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2006-07 mourning dove season dates will be Sept. 2-Oct. 7, Nov. 18-25, and Dec. 21-Jan. 15. Afternoon hunting only (noon to sunset) is allowed Sept. 2-4. The bag limit is 12 doves per hunter per day.
Several factors should be considered when planning a dove field. Larger fields are often more attractive than smaller fields. Generally, a dove field should be a minimum of 3 acres in size and should be designed to allow at least 1 acre per hunter. Fields should not be located near busy highways, residential areas, schools, hospitals, or other areas where safety or noise could be a concern. Also, doves are easier to attract if fields are located within an agricultural landscape, rather than within a large block of woodlands.
A single field can be manipulated to attract good numbers of doves through the season by alternating strips of several different crops. For example, browntop millet, which will mature in 60-70 days, will provide food during the early dove season. Dove proso millet will mature in 80-90 days and will be available after the browntop falls. Corn or sunflowers could be planted on remaining strips to provide late-season food sources. Doves prefer small-seeded, black-oil-seed varieties of sunflowers over the larger striped-shell sunflowers.
Dove fields should be planted on dates that allow the seed to mature about two weeks prior to hunting, which allows doves time to locate the food source and become accustomed to feeding in the field. Planted strips within fields should be 30-50 feet wide, and kept as weed-free as possible. Doves have weak feet and will not use a field where they have to scratch and search for food. For this reason, it is best to plant crops in rows to facilitate cultivation. Herbicides labeled for the various plantings are also recommended. Row plantings also make finding downed birds easier. In fields with heavy weed growth, light discing of strips throughout the field will improve the attractiveness of the field to doves by exposing seeds of native weeds and planted crops.
Overshooting will drive doves away from even a high-quality dove field. A field should not be hunted more than once or twice a week, and the birds should be allowed to feed unmolested during the last two hours of daylight. A particular field should be hunted morning or afternoon, not both.
After the close of dove season, fields should not be plowed under. Crop residue as well as associated weed seeds will continue to provide doves and other wildlife with a reliable food source throughout the remainder of winter and early spring.
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Waterfowl Info 04-20-2006 08:26
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The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sets the migratory game bird seasons in South Carolina using the regulatory processes and season frameworks established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Charleston scoping session will allow all sportsmen and wildlife managers to have input into future migratory game bird regulation.
Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act, the Secretary of the Interior has the authority to determine whether migratory bird hunting can take place and issue regulations to guide management. Migratory game birds are species designated in conventions between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia.
The draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which will contain management alternatives, will be published for comment next year. The notice of the public scoping process was published in the March 9 volume of the “Federal Register.”
Written comments regarding the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement scoping are due by May 30 to: Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, MS MBSP-4107-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. Alternately, comment may be sent by fax to (703) 358-2217 or by e-mail to huntingseis@fws.gov. All comments received from the initiation of this process on Sept. 8, 2005, (when the Service published a Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement) until May 30 will be considered.
For more information on the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on migratory bird hunting, visit the Web site: http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/fedreg/MGBHR.HTML.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates the hunting of waterfowl, cranes, rails, snipe and woodcock and doves and pigeons. Regulations governing seasons and limits are created annually since bird populations change from year to year. The annual regulations have been written by the Service each year since 1918. Other regulations, termed “basic” regulations, such as those governing hunting methods, are changed only when a need to do so arises.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
USDA Wildlife Grant 03-29-2006 13:33
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USDA Provides Up to $1.7 Million for Fish and Wildlife Habitat Improvements
Grants will develop and evaluate technology to improve fish and wildlife habitat
COLUMBIA, March 29, 2006—U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Bruce Knight today announced that up to $1.7 million will be available through competitive grants to develop and evaluate technological tools for fish and wildlife habitat improvements. Proposals are due by April 27, 2006.
Individual grants will range from $10,000 to $200,000. Selected applicants may receive up to 50 percent of the project cost. Applicants must provide nonfederal matching funds for at least 50 percent of the project cost, up to half which may come from in-kind contributions. An exception allows for limited resource and beginning farmers and ranchers, tribes, and community-based organizations to obtain up to 75 percent of project matching funds from in-kind contributions. State and local governments, federally recognized tribes, and non-governmental organizations, including colleges and universities, are encouraged to apply.
Project proposals should explain how the applicant plans to develop, test, implement and transfer innovative solutions that benefit fish and wildlife on cropland, grassland, forestland, rangeland, riparian areas, wetlands, streams, rivers, vernal pools and areas where farmland and urban land meet. Projects can be single or multi-purpose and can run from one to three years. They must address the following natural resource concerns on working agricultural land:
-effects of buffers, field borders and riparian areas on fish and wildlife;
-improvements to wetland restoration and management practices;
-grassland establishment and management for wildlife;
-evaluation of fisheries habitat, stream restoration and management;
-use of electronic technology, including Geographic Information Systems, to measure fish and wildlife response to conservation practices; and;
-improvements of fish and wildlife management systems for limited resource and beginning farmers and ranchers and Native American tribes.
For more information, please visit the grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=8643
Posted By:
PJ-Perea
Guest
Waterfowl Hunters Encouraged to Comment On Migratory Bird Hunting 03-23-2006 15:39
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MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 23, 2006 – Duck and goose hunters have a great opportunity to let the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) know what they think about migratory bird management in the United States. During the next 34 days, USFWS will hold 12 public meetings around the country to hear what you have to say. It’s all part of a process that will result in drafting a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the hunting of migratory birds.
The SEIS will consider a range of management alternatives for addressing sport hunting of migratory birds under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. You can also send comments directly to the USFWS.
Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act, the secretary of the interior has the authority to determine whether migratory bird hunting can take place and issue regulations to guide management.
Ducks Unlimited, a world leader in wetland and waterfowl conservation, supports sustainable use and harvest of renewable resources based on sound science. We support migratory bird hunting, when conducted in an ethical and sustainable manner, as a legitimate and acceptable use of a renewable resource and encourage our supporters to make comments to the USFWS in support of migratory bird hunting.
The SEIS will update the 1975 EIS and 1988 SEIS for issuing annual hunting regulations.
Written comments from the public are due by May 30, 2006. Send comments to: Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, MS MBSP-4107-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. Or fax your comments to (703) 358-2217 or e-mail huntingseis@fws.gov.
For more information, please see http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/fedreg/MGBHR.HTML
The 12 public meetings are listed below.
March 24, 2006: Columbus , Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency Columbus, 350 North High Street; 1 p.m.
March 28, 2006: Memphis , Tenn., at the Holiday Inn Select Downtown, 160 Union Avenue; 7 p.m.
March 30, 2006: Rosenburg , Texas, at the Texas Agricultural Extension Service Education Center, 1402 Band Road, Suite 100, Highway 36; 7 p.m.
April 5, 2006: Anchorage , Alaska, at the Howard Johnson Motel, 239 North 4th Avenue; 7 p.m.
April 6, 2006: Denver, Colo., at the Colorado Department of Wildlife, Northeast Region Service Center, Hunter Education Building, 6060 Broadway; 7 p.m.
April 10, 2006: Hadley , Mass., at the Northeast Regional Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive; 7 p.m.
April 12, 2006: Charleston, S. C., at the Fort Johnson Marine Laboratory, 217 Fort Johnson Road, James Island; 7 p.m.
April 19, 2006: Fargo , N. D., at the Best Western Doublewood Inn, 3333 13th Avenue South; 7 p.m.
April 20, 2006: Bloomington , Minnesota, at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, 3815 East 80th Street; 7 p.m.
April 24, 2006: Salt Lake City , Utah, at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, 1594 West North Temple; 7 p.m.
April 26, 2006: Arlington , Virginia, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 200; 1 p.m.
April 26, 2006: Sacramento, California, at the California Department of Fish and Game, Auditorium, Resource Building, 1416 Ninth Street; 7 p.m.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands — nature’s most productive ecosystem – and continues to lose more than 100,000 wetland acres each year.
