|
|
 |
|
Week of January 13, 2014 |
| For Your Health |
| Hunting & Shooting Products/Issues |
| National |
| Regional |
| 2nd Amendment Issues |
| Illinois |
| Michigan |
| New York |
| Wisconsin |
| Other Breaking News Items |
|
or |
For Your Health
|
An apple a day really does keep the doctor away Courtesy of the British Medical Journal and World Science staff An apple a day for all adults aged 50 and over would prevent or delay around 8,500 vascular deaths such as heart attacks and strokes every year in the U.K. alone, a study indicates. The effect is similar to giving statins, or cholesterol-lowering drugs, to everyone over 50 years who isn�t already taking them, says the study in the Christmas edition of The British Medical Journal.
The researchers conclude that the Victorian-era proverb �an apple a day keeps the doctor away� is able to match more wide�spread use of modern medicine, probably with fewer side effects. The authors stressed that no one currently taking statins should stop; although by all means eat more apples. |
Using a mathematical model, the University of Oxford researchers analyzed the effect on the most common causes of vascular mortality of prescribing either a statin a day to those not already taking one or an apple a day to everyone aged over 50 years in the U.K. They calculated offering a daily statin to 17.6 million more adults would reduce the annual number of vascular deaths by 9,400, while offering a daily apple to 70 % of the total U.K. population aged over 50 years (22 million people) would avert 8,500 vascular deaths.
�This study shows that small dietary changes as well as increased use of statins at a population level may significantly reduce vascular mortality in the U.K.,� write the authors.
|
Hunting & Shooting Products/Issues
Trijicon HD Night SightsFor Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Handgun
New for 2014, Trijicon
now offers both Bright and Tough and HD Night
Trijicon Night Sights have served as the industry benchmark for more than two decades. Highly effective at close quarters, Trijicon Night Sights are standard issue with hundreds of municipal and county police and sheriff�s |
departments, numerous state police departments and federal law enforcement agencies. In addition, they�re the first choice of major handgun manufacturers, and are widely used in military applications and for personal defense.
HD Night Sights are designed to excel under the most demanding conditions by placing primary emphasis on faster front sight acquisition. This new design incorporates enhanced front sight visibility with a de-emphasized rear sight. Upfront, a tritium lamp lies within an extra-large, brightly colored (yellow or orange) dot area that provides a distinctive sighting picture. In addition, special photo luminescent (glow-in-the-dark) powder in the paint aids in faster front sight acquisition during transitional lighting operations.
Trijicon Bright and Tough Night Sights Trijicon self-luminous Night Sights increase night-fire shooting accuracy by as much as five times over conventional sights. Equally impressive, they do so with the same speed as instinctive shooting� and without the need for batteries. |
National
|
Obama Proposes Massive Gun Ban by Regulation Fiat In a �Friday media dump� designed to conceal its actions by releasing them after the press has left town, the Obama administration last week announced its intention to push two regulations which would massively expand the federal gun bans imposed on Americans.
The first proposal � from HHS � would effectively say that federal health privacy laws (HIPAA) do not apply to the Second Amendment.
This isn�t the first time Obama has stuck his leering eyeballs into Americans� medical records and private affairs. From its Orwellian government database on Americans� health records to its voracious seizure of Americans� phone records, the Obama administration can�t trample our personal privacy fast enough.
But HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius� efforts to turn over personal mental health information to the government�s gun ban blacklist (NICS) is particularly loathsome.
Not to be outdone in the Sebelius/Holder �Mutt and Jeff act,� Attorney General Eric Holder � currently being pursued for contempt of Congress � intends to seize guns from persons subject to �outpatient commitments (even without a court order) (and) � someone (deemed by some bureaucrat to be) lacking mental responsibility or deemed insane��
More than 150,000 law-abiding veterans have already lost their constitutional rights � with no due process whatsoever � because they consulted a VA therapist about a traumatic incident in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the Balkans.
Under these new regulations, tens of millions of police and firemen with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder � or people who, as kids, were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder � could lose their constitutional rights without any court order, merely because they sought a benefit under a federal program.
And you want to know the hidden agenda behind DOJ�s �commitment� language? We have a member in a rabidly anti-gun state. Many years ago, he was picked up by police and, without the approval of any court, sent to a mental facility overnight for �observation.� The mental facility found no mental problems and promptly released him.
|
However, many years later, as a result of that state�s anti-gun crackdown (which Holder is now trying to emulate), his name has been sent to the NICS system. He has lost his constitutional rights, and it will cost him tens of thousands of dollars (which he does not have) to get them back.
We believe this is unlawful under current law. But it will probably not be unlawful by the end of Holder�s regulatory proceedings. What does Sebelius have to say about this? Well, she is surprisingly flip: �There is a strong public safety need for this information to be accessible to the NICS, and some states are currently under-reporting or not reporting certain information to the NICS at all.�
And this from the White House: ��when persons with a mental illness do not receive the treatment they need, the result can be tragedies such as homicide or suicide.�
But herein lies the problem: When Americans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder realize that nothing they say to their therapist is really confidential, they�re not going to be seeking treatment for very long. But there�s an even more fundamental problem: Last winter, Barack Obama decided that he would devote the first half of 2013 to the destruction of what he and his supporters characterized as �the gun manufacturers� lobby.� Tens of millions of Americans let their senators and representatives know that they found Obama�s views and Obama�s legislation to be odious and offensive. As a result, it was rejected in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
So now, as has happened so many times before, Obama has set himself �above the law.� What could not be done using constitutional processes is now being slammed through by regulatory fiat.
The Justice Department and HHS regulations will now be submitted for �public comment and review.� But, as with everything else Holder and Sebelius do, this is little more than a sham.
Rather, our efforts will be to get Congress to defund these unconstitutional efforts. And we will start by submitting proposed legislation to friendly senators and representatives.
|
|
US Army Corp report to prevent Invasive Species Today, USACE submitted to Congress the GLMRIS Report that presents a range of options and technologies available to prevent aquatic nuisance species (ANS) movement between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic connections.
The report contains eight alternatives, each with concept-level design and cost information, and evaluates the potential of these alternatives to control the spread of 13 ANS, including Asian Carp. The options concentrate on the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) and include a wide spectrum of alternatives ranging from continuing current activities to complete separation of the watersheds. The CAWS is a complex, multi-use waterway and is the primary direct, continuous inter-basin connection between the Mississippi River Basin and Lake Michigan.
Each of the eight alternative plans that are presented in the GLMRIS Report includes a general location, conceptual design elements, |
estimated implementation time, and cost information. The report also includes potential mitigation measures to address impacts to uses of the CAWS resulting from the implementation of the range of alternatives. Mitigation measures evaluated address potential impacts to water quality, flood-risk management, natural resources and navigation.
The GLMRIS Report is unique because it identifies a range of options and is adaptable for the incorporation of future technologies. The report provides a description of various evaluation criteria that can be used by stakeholders to compare plans. However, this report is not a decision document and does not rank, rate, or make a recommendation.
USACE will host a number of public meetings throughout January 2014 to discuss the contents of the report and allow for public comment. For more info on report and upcoming public meetings: http://glmris.anl.gov/glmris-report/index.cfm |
|
USFWS releases 750,000 Late-Fall Chinook into Battle Creek That�s not Battle Creek, MI
Approximately 750,000 late-fall Chinook salmon were released into Battle Creek Jan. 13-14, 2014, the USFWS anounced. The Coleman National Fish Hatchery (NFH) in Anderson, Calif. produces approximately 1 million late-fall Chinook salmon juveniles each year. About 250,000 were released at the hatchery in early December 2013.
Late-fall Chinook salmon eggs are collected at Coleman NFH from returning adults. The juveniles then are raised at the hatchery for about one year and typically are released from December through early January. The fish are released on site into Battle Creek, a cold-water tributary of the Sacramento River, so they complete the imprinting cycle during their out-migration to the ocean.
This release strategy increases the likelihood these fish will return to the upper Sacramento River as adults to contribute to the in-river fishery and return to the hatchery in sufficient numbers to perpetuate runs and ensure continuity of collecting, spawning and rearing activities for important Chinook salmon propagation programs. This on-site release practice for late-fall Chinook salmon also is consistent with the best science available and the standards and guidelines for releases of salmon in the Central Valley of California put forward in the California Hatchery Scientific Review Group Report (2012).
Releases generally are timed to coincide with periods of rainfall, which increases flow and turbidity of rivers, enhancing survival of the fish as they make their way to the ocean. However, a record dry year in California delayed this year�s release of late-fall Chinook.
In previous years, the Service experimented with trucking juvenile fall-run |
Chinook to the Sacramento River Delta for release in San Pablo Bay. However, science now shows that although trucking young salmon downstream can improve overall survival, the process interferes with the imprinting cycle, causing adult salmon to �stray� instead of returning to their river area or stream/creek of origin.
�In the case of the Coleman fall Chinook salmon that were trucked to the Delta, straying was excessive, and there was almost a complete lack of returning fish from the trucked groups back to the hatchery,� said Scott Hamelberg, project leader at Coleman NFH Complex. Similarly for late-fall Chinook salmon, disrupting the imprinting cycle by trucking the fish to some downstream location will promote straying. Straying has high potential to: 1) result in fewer fish returning to Battle Creek for future broodstock use, 2) impact the upper Sacramento in-river fishery for late-fall Chinook salmon if they do not ascend high enough up the Sacramento River, and 3) result in ecological or genetic impacts or loss of returning adults through the return of adult late-fall fall Chinook salmon to areas not normally known to support late-fall Chinook salmon.
Four distinct runs of Chinook salmon spawn in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system, named for the season when the majority of the run enters freshwater as adults: fall, late-fall, winter and spring. Fall and late-fall Chinook salmon and steelhead are propagated at Coleman NFH. Winter Chinook, an endangered species, are propagated at Livingston Stone NFH near Shasta Dam. Late-fall Chinook are found mostly in the Sacramento River between the Red Bluff Diversion Dam and Keswick Dam. Although not a species listed under the Endangered Species Act, late-fall Chinook are a species of concern due to limited range and population size.
Coleman NFH was constructed in 1942 as part of the mitigation measures to help preserve significant runs of Chinook salmon threatened by the loss of natural spawning areas resulting from the construction of Shasta and Keswick dams on the upper Sacramento River. Situated on Battle Creek near Anderson, Calif., the hatchery produces 12 million fall Chinook salmon, 1 million late-fall Chinook salmon, and 600,000 steelhead trout annually. |
Regional
|
Army Corps releases long awaited report on Great Lakes The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study The GLMRIS Report presents the results of a multi-year study regarding the range of options and technologies available to prevent aquatic nuisance species (ANS) movement between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic connections. Through a structured study process, USACE identified thirteen ANS of Concern established in one basin that posed a high or medium risk of adverse impacts by transfer and establishment in the opposite basin. USACE analyzed and evaluated available controls to address these ANS, and formulated alternatives specifically for the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) with the goal of preventing ANS transfer between the two basins.
The report contains eight alternatives, each with concept-level design and cost information, and evaluates the potential of these alternatives to control the transfer of a variety of ANS. The options concentrate on the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) and include a wide spectrum of alternatives ranging from the continuation of current activities to the complete separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. The GLMRIS Report also includes an analysis of potential impacts to uses and users of the CAWS, and corresponding mitigation requirements for adverse impacts to functions such as flood-risk management, natural resources, water quality, and navigation.
The alternatives presented in the report include: 1.Continuing current efforts (i.e., the electric barriers) with �No New Federal Action � Sustained Activities�
|
2.Nonstructural control technologies (i.e., education, monitoring, herbicides, ballast water management) 3.A technology concept involving a specialized lock, lock channel, electric barriers and ANS treatment plants at two mid-system locations in the CAWS 4.A technology concept (CAWS buffer zone) using the same technologies as number 3, preventing downstream passage from Lake Michigan at five points and preventing upstream passage at a single point at Brandon Road Lock and Dam 5.Lakefront hydrologic separation with physical barriers separating the basins at four locations along the lakefront of Lake Michigan. 6.Mid-system hydrologic separation with physical barriers separating the basins at two mid-system locations 7.A hybrid of technology and physical barriers at four mid-system locations, leaving the Cal-Sag channel open 8.A hybrid of technology and physical barriers at four mid-system locations, leaving the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal open
The GLMRIS Report presents evaluation criteria to help readers distinguish among the alternatives. Evaluation criteria include design elements unique to each alternative such as initial or long-term operational costs and duration for implementation, as well as related qualitative features for each alternative, such as the magnitude of impact for existing waterway uses or relative effectiveness of preventing interbasin transfer.
Start with the Summary of the GLMRIS Report for an overview of these alternatives http://glmris.anl.gov/glmris-report/ |
Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock involved in collision with vessel in Lake MichiganCLEVELAND � The Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock was involved in a collision with a 990-foot motor vessel in northern Lake Michigan Sunday morning, January 5
The Hollyhock is a 225-foot sea-going buoy tender home ported in Port Huron, Mich., and was conducting an ice escort at the time of the collision.
At about 10:45 a.m., the Hollyhock was breaking ice in front of the motor vessel Mesabi Miner during when the collision occurred. The cutter's crew |
reported significant damage to the stern and fantail, as well as two punctures in the hull about 20� above the waterline. The crew of the Mesabi Miner, en route to Gary, Ind., reported a 12" crack in the bow about 4' above the waterline and said the bow is pushed in about 8 to 12".
No pollution or injuries have been reported and neither vessel reported any flooding. The Hollyhock arrived in St. Ignace, MI. where it will undergo a complete damage assessment. The Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay, a 140' ice-breaking tug, home ported in St. Ignace, escorted the Hollyhock as a precaution. The Mesabi Miner unloaded its cargo in Gary, Ind., and then the damage and planned repairs will be assessed. |
2nd Amendment Issues
|
Judge throws out ban on Chicago gun sales A Chicago law prohibiting the sale of guns within the third-most populous U.S. city was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge.
�Chicago's ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms,� U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang wrote in a decision on Monday, January 6. The judge said he was delaying the effect of his ruling to allow the city time to seek a stay during an appeal or, if it elects to forgo an appeal, to consider and enact sales restrictions �short of a complete ban.�
The ordinance, adopted in 2010 after the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision invalidated a ban on gun possession within the city, allowed only the transfer of firearms through inheritance, prohibiting even gifts among family members. There were 415 murders and 1,864 shooting incidents last year, according to Chicago police, in the city of 2.7 million where President Barack
|
Obama's political career began.
The right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment must also include the right to acquire a firearm, Chang said.
Roderick Drew, a spokesman for the Chicago's Department of Law, declined to immediately comment on the court's ruling. Chang set a Jan. 13 deadline for the city to file papers seeking a stay and scheduled a status conference before him the following day at the federal courthouse in Chicago.
The lawsuit was filed in July 2010 by three city residents and the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers. The case is Benson v. City of Chicago, 10-cv-04184, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago). Read the full Court order here |
Illinois
|
Judge throws out ban on Chicago gun sales A Chicago law prohibiting the sale of guns within the third-most populous U.S. city was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge.
�Chicago's ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms,� U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang wrote in a decision on Monday, January 6. The judge said he was delaying the effect of his ruling to allow the city time to seek a stay during an appeal or, if it elects to forgo an appeal, to consider and enact sales restrictions �short of a complete ban.�
The ordinance, adopted in 2010 after the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision invalidated a ban on gun possession within the city, allowed only the transfer of firearms through inheritance, prohibiting even gifts among family members. There were 415 murders and 1,864 shooting incidents last year, according to Chicago police, in the city of 2.7 million where President Barack |
Obama's political career began.
The right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment must also include the right to acquire a firearm, Chang said.
Roderick Drew, a spokesman for the Chicago's Department of Law, declined to immediately comment on the court's ruling. Chang set a Jan. 13 deadline for the city to file papers seeking a stay and scheduled a status conference before him the following day at the federal courthouse in Chicago.
The lawsuit was filed in July 2010 by three city residents and the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers. The case is Benson v. City of Chicago, 10-cv-04184, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago). Read the full Court order here |
Michigan
|
Fisheries Division staffers talk
Michigan ice fishing |
bottom, fish there and work your way up in the water column, Gannon said. �If the fish aren�t there, move up one crank of the reel at a time,� he added. �If that doesn�t work, cut more holes and keep moving. Stay mobile.�
Walleyes and perch are typically bottom feeders that are less likely to
be found up in the water column. Jim Baker, Southern Lake Huron
Fisheries Unit supervisor, likes to fish for walleyes on the Saginaw
River. �I like to fish two rods,� Baker said. �One with jigging lure
like a spoon or jigging Rapala, typically baited with the head of a
minnow, and a still rod with a walleye-sized minnow hooked through the
lips. Fish near the bottom; the depth can be anywhere from 10 feet to
out in the middle of the shipping channel. Sometimes they�ll hit the
spoon or Rapala and sometimes they�ll hit the minnows.�
Vince Balcer, a fisheries technician out of the Bay City office who
often fishes for perch on Saginaw Bay, also likes to use two rods. �We
use lightweight gear � light action rods � and I like to use one with a
live minnow hooked through the back to swim around and another with a
small spoon with a single hook and a bead on it to jig with,� Balcer
said. �When you get on a school with that spoon, you don�t have to mess
around with re-baiting.� Balcer said one of the keys to catching perch
is finding them in the first place. �You�ve got to keep moving,� he
said. �If you don�t find fish in the first half-hour, keep moving until
you find them. I�ll move 12 times a day if I have to.� |
|
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman winter program, Feb. 28-March 2 Register now Women seeking the opportunity to improve their outdoor skills are invited to register for the 13th annual Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) winter program in the U.P. The program will be held in Big Bay Friday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 2.
Sponsored by the Michigan DNR, this program offers instruction in more than a dozen types of indoor and outdoor activities, including cross-country skiing, dog sledding, ice fishing, fly tying, wilderness first aid, wood burning and more. Instructors provide basic and advanced instruction that is tailored to each participant's individual ability.
The program takes place at Bay Cliff Health Camp, a universally accessible facility, located in a picturesque wooded setting overlooking |
Lake Superior approximately 30 miles north of Marquette.
The $180 registration fee includes all food and lodging, as well as most equipment and supplies, except as noted in the registration materials. Participants will be housed in a dorm-style facility with amenities including a sauna and hiking trails with access to Lake Superior.
BOW workshops are for women, 18 and older, who wish to learn outdoor skills in a relaxed, noncompetitive atmosphere. The winter BOW program also includes special evening programs during the weekend event.
Early registration is recommended as the program fills quickly. For class info and registration www.michigan.gov/bow, and payments may now be made online as well. For more info contact Sharon Pitz: 906-228-6561 or [email protected] |
New York
DEC Adopts Sauger Management PlanUnder Governor Cuomo's NY Open for Hunting and Fishing Initiative, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today adopted a conservation management plan for one of New York's most imperiled fish species, the sauger. Sauger are uniquely adapted to thrive in large turbid rivers and lakes and were once common in New York portions of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and Lake Champlain.
Only the Lake Champlain sauger population remains and even in this area the recent records of their occurrence are scarce. Sauger are also native to the Allegheny River, however pollution in the late 19th and much of the 20th centuries led to their extirpation. The population in the lower river is recovering; however access to much of the New York portion of the watershed is blocked by a dam.
"Sauger were once prominent members of New York's fish fauna, but are now at risk of being extirpated from the state," said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. "Actions including stocking, habitat assessments, population monitoring, and public outreach will be implemented under this plan, which will start the process of restoring sauger to its native range in New York waters."
The final Sauger Conservation Management Plan is available on the DEC website. |
The goal of the plan is to establish and maintain sauger populations in all suitable waters of native watersheds by 2030. The three objectives of the plan include: ●Establishing a self-sustaining sauger population in the upper Allegheny River watershed ●Determining sauger population status and documenting and improving habitat suitability in Lake Champlain ●Determining the suitability of Lake Erie's eastern basin watershed for sauger restoration
These objectives are designed to be implemented through 2020. Progress made towards meeting these objectives will serve as guidance in the development of new objectives and management recommendations for the period 2021 - 2030.
Governor Cuomo's NY Open for Hunting and Fishing Initiative is an effort to improve recreational activities for in-state and out-of-state sportsmen and sportswomen and to boost tourism opportunities throughout the state. This initiative includes the streamlining of hunting and fishing licensing and reducing license fees, improved access for fishing at various sites across the state, stocking as much as 900,000 pounds of fish, expanding fishing clinics and increasing hunting opportunities in various regions. Through these efforts, New York has become a premier destination for bass fishing tournaments at the Great Lakes, Finger Lakes, Lake Champlain and Oneida Lake. |
Wisconsin
|
Winter Free Fishing Weekend is Jan. 18-19 |
Wisconsin without a fishing license on Jan. 18-19 during the state�s second annual winter Free Fishing Weekend. - Read Full Article |
|
Walleye Stocking in Sawyer County 2013 440,481- the total number of LARGE fingerling walleye stocked statewide by the DNR in 2013 100- the number of lakes that were stocked with these large fingerlings
118,237- total number of large fingerling walleye stocking in Sawyer County (85,225 DNR, 33,012 private groups, 14 lakes in total) 57,352- total number of large fingerling walleye stocked into the Chippewa Flowage (34,352 DNR, 23,000 private groups) HIGHEST TOTAL IN THE STATE, possibly in the history of the state 22,308- next largest stocking of large fingerling walleye in the state (Shawano Lake), still lower than the Big Chip Fish Fest amount from 2013...
3,055- fingerling muskies stocked into the Chippewa Flowage, all PIT tagged |
I continue to be amazed at the generosity and enthusiasm in this area. There are many people who worked very hard to make these numbers possible. As you can see the numbers of fish purchased by private groups in this area is HUGE. Thank you all for all your efforts. My team and I are looking forward to 2014 and working hard to live up to the high standard that you have set. There are many exciting things coming our way.
Some of these numbers will be appearing in my weekly space in the Sawyer County Record.
Max H. Wolter Fisheries Biologist Hayward Service Center Bureau of Fisheries Management Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources phone:(715) 634-9658 ext. 3509 fax: (715) 634-9232 e-mail: [email protected] |
|
(Click on title or URL to read full article)
Attorney general wants carp
forums for state
Tab to keep Asian
carp out of Great Lakes could hit $18 billion, federal report
says |
The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the GLSFC, its officers or staff.
Reproduction of any material by paid-up members of the GLSFC is encouraged but appropriate credit must be given.
Reproduction by others without written permission is prohibited.
USFWS
Press Releases
Sea
Grant News
Home | Great Lakes States | Membership | Exotics Update | Great Links
Pending Issues | Regional News | Great Lakes Basin Report | Weekly News / Archives
