http://www.manitobahunters.com/ ManitobaHunters en-us Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:09:04 GMT 1440 CPG-Nuke Dragonfly ManitobaHunters News http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html http://www.manitobahunters.com/images/hunters1.jpg http://www.manitobahunters.com/ http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=31 if you are looking to join a hunting club join LA VERENDRYE GAME & FISH for only 20$ a person or 25 $ for a family of 4 under the age of 18 located 70 Stevenson road winnipeg manitoba . hope to get more members. for more info call 633-5967 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:09:04 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=30 for the 2010 hunting season there will be a program that lets youth go go hunting 1 week before muzzeloader opens to everyone this program is saposto get more youth into the sport of hunting youth hunters will still need to have there hunters safety and a deer license.this is a awsome way to keep the sport and i think every one shuld take advantage of it. Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:08:49 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=29 WINNIPEG - Manitobans celebrated Provincial Hunting Day today in Whittier Park by learning about wildlife conservation and how to cook wild game. Earlier this week, the province proclaimed the fourth Saturday in September as Provincial Hunting Day. They day is meant to celebrate the role hunting plays in wildlife management and conservation. Hunting season is now underway across the province. This year, Manitobans will be able to hunt big game on Sundays, and the requirements for youth hunting mentors have been simplified. For more information on hunting season dates and bag limits, visit www.gov.mb.ca/conservation. Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Manitobans-mark-first-Provincial-Hunting-Day-61937797.html Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:59:01 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28 Discovered animal destroyed after public safety deemed at risk By Mark T. Buss A 300-pound male black bear was shot and killed within Selkirk city limits early Wednesday morning as the public’s safety was deemed at risk. Selkirk RCMP Const. David Obirek said the time of day, the proximity to area schools and the options available to officials forced the hand of Conservation officers to kill the animal and dispose of the carcass. “It is unfortunate but in a heavily populated area like this the only option was to destroy the bear,” Obirek said. At 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, Mounties and Conservation officers converged on the 400-block of Sinclair Avenue following a report of a bear sighting. Wilf Huebsch at 401 Sinclair said he received a call from a family member letting him know of the situation. He said he went to his back door to look in the yard only to see the bear sleeping approximately 50 feet away. Huebsch noted the wild animal had no fear of him – not a good sign in a residential area, he said. “I opened the door and there he was,” Huebsch said. “He wasn't acared of me at all. He looked at me and put his head back down.” He said it wasn’t long after Conservation officials showed up and made the decision to kill the animal. Huebsch – himself a retired RCMP officer and former St. Andrews emergency co-ordinator – said authorities made the right decision. He said if they tried to tranquilize the animal, the bear could have bolted and caused untold damage. “We’re half a block from the elementary school, we’re a block from the high school, people are walking to work ... you don’t know what would have happened if he started to run,” Huebsch said. “The response was quick and I have no complaints.” The incident involving the bear actually began 10 hours earlier. Officials attended reports of a bear milling about in the 400-block of Nelson Avenue around 11 p.m. Tuesday night. The animal was reported to have crossed back and forth across the roadway from yard to yard. Obirek said once on the scene, officials chased the animal south. Watching it jump fences and plow through backyards, authorities lost sight of the animal behind the Sunova Credit Union on Main Street. They continued the search but to no avail. Obirek said discussions with Huebsch’s neighbours after the animal was put down led them to believe the three or four-year old large bear was rooting through garbage and gardens in the area as well as feasting on fruit trees through the night. The animal's carcass was taken to a landfill for dispossal. Wednesday’s incident raises the fall bear report count to over 60 with one month to go. Last year, 41 reports were forwarded overall. Some area residents believe bears have become more brazen as they continue to forage for food following a poor summer for berries and other items. Conservation officials say homeowners have a role to play in limiting bear sightings by managing their properties so bears aren’t attracted to them. Garbage and food should be secured in a manner that doesn’t allow odours to escape and attractants like compost piles and beehives should be covered. Bird feeders and garbage are reportedly responsible for 70 per cent of calls. Source: http://www.selkirkjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1763794 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:08:54 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27 By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun Rory Chapple was hunting for elk near the Kechika River in northern B.C. when he says he came face-to-face with a grizzly. Photograph by: Handout, Vancouver Sun An arrow intended for an elk instead saved a veteran bow hunter’s life when a grizzly attacked him last week in northern B.C. Rory Chapple, an autobody worker from Fort. St. John, was on an annual elk hunting trip with four buddies near the remote Kechika River when he left camp in search of elk at about 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. He was alone because his buddies didn’t want to hunt in the rain. Armed with his bow and quiver, he was ambling up a hill when he heard something huffing behind him. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with a growling grizzly sow and three yearling cubs. “I’d walked about 100 yards before she came out of the bush and charged me,” Chapple, 39, said. “I couldn’t outrun her and I had nowhere to hide. It was a losing battle so all I could do was holler and scream at her.” As she charged toward him, the screaming Chapple began backing up but his heel hooked on a root and he tripped. The bear lunged and Chapple grabbed the only tool he had — an arrow from his quiver — and stuck it in her throat. He didn’t have time to load the bow. “My first reaction was to save my ass. It’s ‘what can I do to survive this.’” Chapple said. “She landed on top of me, pushed my head into the ground and stepped on my right leg, ripping my pants.” As the bear turned away, the arrow pushed deeper into her throat but she eventually managed to dislodge it and fled with her cubs into the willows. That’s when the shock hit, Chapple said, and he was “hunched over like a bowl of jelly” when his buddies found him. “I was close enough to camp so they could hear me screaming,” he said. “You realize it’s a matter of life and death here and all I had to defend myself was a bow and arrow. “It could have definitely been worse.” The hunters searched for the bear but there was no sign of her or her cubs in the area. Chapple, a father of two girls, said this is the first time in seven years that he has seen a bear near the Kechika River, which is in a remote part of B.C. To get to the camp, he and his buddies drove for eight hours up the Alaska Highway and then took a boat for another 3.5 hours on the river. The group returned home two days later, with Chapple relatively unscathed. Chapple, who is president of the Fort St. John archery club, said he plans to return to the Kechika River next year and has already bought a can of bear spray. The arrow that saved him, he said, will be kept safe in a glass case. Source: http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/hunter+uses+arrow+fight+grizzly/2001599/story.html Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:18:46 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26 East Selkirk resident disgusted after bear report goes unchecked By Mark T. Buss An East Selkirk resident who watched a mother bear and four cubs roam his property for over four hours on the weekend is disgusted with the way his report was handled by Manitoba Conservation officials. Kyle Wass said not only did Conservation officers fail to attend the scene, he still hasn’t received a follow-up call. “I grew up in a hunting family and I’ve had a lot of dealings with (Conservation) over the years, but the fact nobody would come out and investigate ... I was stunned,” Wass said. Wass said the incident started around 2 a.m. on Sept. 5 when his two dogs became agitated and began barking vigorously in the family’s backyard on Strathcona Road across from Happy Thought School. Wass said he went outside to investigate, only to find the dogs had treed two bear cubs on the property. Realizing something else was in the yard, he turned to find a 250-pound sow and two more cubs scampering up a tree. “She was right behind me and I didn’t even know it,” Wass said. “Needless to say, I got back into the house pretty quick.” Wass contacted the Selkirk RCMP, who gave him the Conservation 800-number tip line to call, which he said he did. After going through the automated directory, Wass said a woman answered the phone who, he said, sounded like she wasn’t to impressed with having her sleep disturbed. “She told me the Selkirk Conservation office was the hardest one to get hold of and advised me to leave the animals alone and they would eventually go away,” Wass said in a joking tone. “I tried to explain I lived in the village, across from the elementary school ... that I didn’t live off in the boonies somewhere bears normally wander through, but that didn’t seem to matter.” “I couldn’t believe it,” he added. Able to eventually gather his dogs in the house, Wass said he and his family spent the next four hours watching the bears climb down from their perch and move from the back yard to the front yard. As the clock passed 6 a.m., and the bears were still on his property, Wass said he realized no Natural Resources officers were coming to investigate. “By 7 a.m. the bears were gone from my yard but we didn’t know where they went,” Wass said. “This is a pretty active place. People take their dogs for walks, people jog ... it wasn’t a very good feeling.” Wass’ mother-in-law Elaine Markwart said her family had two other bear sightings within the last week – one on Frank Street and one of Church Road – including allegations of gunshots Monday night. Markwart believes bears have become more brazen as they continue to forage for food following a poor summer for berries and other items. “They’re starving,” Markwart said. “They’re looking for food and I think that makes them dangerous.” A former Lord Selkirk School Division trustee, Markwart said the bear sighting’s proximity to the Happy Thought School – where children spend their summers congregating on the playground – is unsettling. “This is potentially dangerous situation in a residential area and we can’t get a proper response?” Markwart questioned. “If (Conservation) doesn’t handle this, who does?” Environmental sources say protocol regarding bear sightings involves reports being forwarded to the appropriate Conservation office which will then result in a call from a Conservation officer. At press time, it was undetermined if the Saturday morning report was ever forwarded to the Selkirk office. Barry Verbiwski, head of Conservation’s problem wildlife unit, confirmed 59 bear reports have been called in the Selkirk area this year with approximately one month to go, as opposed to 41 all of last year. Verbiwski advised homeowners have a role to play by managing their properties so bears aren’t attracted to them. Garbage and food should be secured in a manner that doesn’t allow odours to escape and attractants like compost piles and beehives should be covered. “Bird feeders and garbage are responsible for 70 per cent of calls,” Verbiwski said. He added not all reports are investigated but did confirm ones where animals won’t leave a property are normally followed through. Although he couldn’t officially comment on Saturday’s incident, Verbiwski said having four cubs and a mother in a rural residential setting should have sent up a red flag in his view. Selkirk Journal calls to Conservation Minister Stan Struthers’ communication staff were not returned as of press time. Bear attack While bear sightings are not that uncommon in and around East Selkirk, the community’s worst fears were realized in August 2005 when Harvey Robinson, 68, was attacked and killed by a 250-pound black bear while out picking plums behind his Two Mile Road property in the RM of St. Clements. The incident could have been even more disastrous had family members not waited for RCMP officers to arrive on the scene. As they stood near Robinson’s body, the bear came charging out of the bush forcing a Selkirk Mountie to shoot the bear twice with his 9-mm pistol. The bear was found dead five hours later in a massive search that included Selkirk RCMP, Manitoba Conservation and seasoned St. Clements hunters while a helicopter soared overhead. Source: http://www.selkirkjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1749579 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:33:29 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=25 Petersfield teen digs in at Oak Hammock Marsh camp By Hayley Brigg A local teen had the chance to fuel his inner conservationist last week. Zachary Clemons, a 13-year-old Grade 8 student from Petersfield, spent a week-long excursion at Oak Hammock Marsh Aug. 11-14 after being selected to participate in Ducks Unlimited Canada’s (DUC) 14th annual Great Greenwing Adventure. Clemons, along with 10 other youth from across Canada and two from the U.S., were handpicked by DUC to participate in an all-expenses-paid trip to Oak Hammock from for what DUC calls the ‘eco-adventure of a lifetime’. “It’s an opportunity for kids who may already been involved and interested in the environment to build on and foster that interest,” said Rick Witsherd, education manager for Oak Hammock Marsh. “The hope is that eventually they might go on to pursue studies or careers in the environmental or conservation field.” The group spent the week visiting not only Oak Hammock Marsh, but Delta Marsh north of Portage la Prairie to work alongside University of Manitoba biologists, learning how to study wetlands and waterfowl. “They’ve been able to do some really great things like participating in a small bird and waterfowl banding program,” said Witsherd. “They’ve even had the opportunity to learn how to use wildlife radio telemetry.” In addition to the educational side of the camp, the students had the opportunity to have fun, learning how to make decoys, use a GPS system, canoe, skeet shoot and do water and invertebrate sampling. Clemons said he was encouraged by his parents to apply for the camp, submitting a personal essay detailing his experience with environmental-related activities and explaining why he felt he deserved to be selected. “Conservation is important to me because I want it to be around for my children and grandchildren,” he said. “I respect the wetlands in my area and I enjoy going duck hunting, especially at Netley Marsh. I always make sure that when we hunt, we only leave our footprints behind.” For Clemons, he says the experience he had at the camp was not only an enjoyable one, but it ignited a more profound interest into pursuing a environmentally-related career. “I want to become a conservation officer,” said Clemons. “I have always thought about being one but this has made me want to do it a lot more.” Source: http://www.selkirkjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1713417 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:43:41 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24 Whiteshell park area hardly pristine now By: Bruce Owen MEDITATION LAKE -- The wolf ambles through the clear cut, poking its nose in what little underbrush there is. A 2007 wind storm toppled thousands of trees here that loggers have cleaned up, so it's easy to pick out the lone animal. Chris Monk doesn’t want the proposed youth camp and all its services to set up in the area, where his family has fished for years. Chris Monk doesn’t want the proposed youth camp and all its services to set up in the area, where his family has fished for years. (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA) A timber wolf stares through the underbrush at Meditation Lake. (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA) The wolf looks at us for a few brief seconds and continues with his scrounging, not caring if we're there. A few minutes later, he trots off. To borrow a line from an old song, will he survive? The Doer government is entertaining the idea of allowing coffee-and-doughnut juggernaut Tim Hortons, through its Children's Foundation, to build a wilderness youth camp on the shore of Meditation Lake. Some fear the camp will ruin a pristine area of Whiteshell Provincial Park. Others say a year-round facility will only improve an area of the park that has been underserved by government. But to say Meditation Lake and the area around it is pristine wilderness is stretching things a bit. The wind storm and earlier logging operations -- now banned -- have changed virgin forest to a moonscape. On the way into Meditation Lake off Highway 307, there's also a big quarry with high piles of gravel and crushed rock, and a second but inactive quarry. The proposed $10-million camp that was to open by 2011 now appears to be in limbo as the province and the Tim Hortons Children's Foundation study its feasibility. Hiker Chris Monk and a companion want Meditation Lake to stay as it is, and any camp built in a more accessible area. "This is a paradise," Monk, 71, says, despite the rain and mosquitoes. "You're not going to have it back once you put the camp in here." His family fished for northern pike on the lake, taking their boat down the trail on a makeshift bicycle-wheel trailer. Many still do. If Tim Hortons gets the green light, it means building a new road to the lake for several kilometres off Hwy. 309 that's big enough to accommodate buses taking kids to the camp and trucks delivering groceries and taking away garbage. It also means extending electricity service and likely building a sewage lagoon and water-treatment system. With increased vehicle traffic, the province may have to improve Hwy. 307 from Rennie north to White Lake and Hwy. 309 from White Lake to Big Whiteshell Lake. "It's going to improve the park as a whole," Big Whiteshell Lake Lodge owner Karl Fabian says. "If they improve the roads, do you think any of the cottagers are going to complain?" Tim Hortons Children's Foundation vice-president David Newnham has said officials are to review a summer's worth of provincially collected water-quality data before any decision is made. Opponents say because the lake is shallow, and in dry years restricted in its outflow, it's plagued with blue-green algae blooms, making it unsuitable for swimming and canoeing activities. What causes the toxic algae is unknown. One theory is airborne contaminants from fertilizer used in agriculture might be to blame. The same algae blooms appear on Lake Winnipeg from time to time. "We want to make sure the water quality in the lake is appropriate for a children's camp," Newnham said. "It is possible we will need to take a look at other locations if Meditation Lake is not deemed to be an appropriate spot." Eric Reder, the Manitoba campaign director for the Wilderness Committee, said one option might be for Tim Hortons to take over and improve an existing facility elsewhere in the Whiteshell, though he wants the government to be more open should that happen. Reder also said new legislation should be enacted restricting development on Meditation Lake and nearby Horseshoe Lake. Maybe then, too, the wolf will survive. What's there MEDITATION Lake is 340 hectares in size, lying five kilometres west of Big Whiteshell Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park. Access is off Highway 309 running 4.5 km from Rennie. The landscape around the south end of Meditation Lake includes a large red pine stand and a fine sandy beach. The red pines were planted in 1957. The terrain is dominated by gently rolling bedrock. Wildlife is primarily white-tailed deer -- some say too many deer -- which attract predators like the wolf. Meditation Lake supports northern pike, walleye, perch, white sucker and smallmouth bass. The province is to plant up to 400,000 trees to reforest an large area around the lake hit by a 2007 windstorm. On April 1, 2009, logging was prohibited in Whiteshell Provincial Park. -- Source: Manitoba Government Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 18, 2009 A10 Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/thinking-through-the-camp-proposal-51090867.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:30:32 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23 The Lac du Bonnet Wildlife Association is experiencing a revival, thanks to a new executive that’s been formed to take the reins of the long-dormant club. A meeting was held last week at the Lac du Bonnet Community Centre to help bring some public attention to the club and the new executive’s plans to bring it back to life. “It went great,” new association president Gerry Arbez said. “We had 30 people sign up as members and I think we’re on the right track to getting the club started up again.” The new eight-member board is composed of Arbez, Bruce Williams, Ed Klassen, Devin Orvis, Art St. Amant, Devin McMurren, Ken MacMaster, and Neil Jack. The wildlife association has existed since the 1970s, and for many years was active in the community and contributed to many wildlife-related projects including fish and bird counts, walleye spawning ground development, feeding deer during harsh winters, and a lot more. However, membership dwindled in later years to the point where the club had virtually no members. Its only event for the past several years has been the annual Sno Golf tournament, which remains very successful. The association also recently donated $25,000 to the Lac du Bonnet Charitable Foundation. Continued After Advertisement Below Advertisement Arbez, who’s had a cottage in Pinawa Bay for the past 30 years, said the initiative to revive the club began when he and a few neighbours got together and started mulling the idea over. “We thought it was a real crime that Lac du Bonnet didn’t have an active wildlife association,” he said. “We felt the club was needed and wanted to see what we could do to get it re-activated.” So, the group spoke to past club president Pete Humble, who is now ready to turn over the wildlife association mailbox and bank account to the new executive. The bank account holds some funds that will be used to help get the newly-revived club off and running. “I think it’s really great that this new group has stepped forward to breathe some life back into the club,” Humble said. “For awhile there didn’t seem to be any interest, but it looks like that’s changed and that’s great to see.” Arbez said the club’s first activities have yet to be finalized, but could possibly include a club canoe trip, a mock turkey shoot using paper targets, and a post-hunting season dinner and awards night. He said the executive also wants to investigate the possibility of the club gaining access to a shooting range. There is currently one in Seven Sisters that was briefly discussed. “Whatever we do, we have to involve the youth,” Arbez said. “There’s a lot of possibilities in that regard.” Membership fees to the new club have been finalized, and are set as follows: —Family membership is $45 for 18 months —Single membership $40 for 18 months —Youth membership $10 for 18 months Six-month memberships are also available. Anyone with questions about the club can contact Arbez at 345-8956 or public relations director Ken MacMaster at 345-2925. Membership inquiries can be directed to membership director Art St. Amant at 345-2161. Source: http://www.lacdubonnetleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1629819[img] Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:39:15 GMT http://www.manitobahunters.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22 A researcher at the University of Manitoba is spearheading a first-of-its-kind study into how people are affected by chronic wasting disease. It is a highly contagious, environmentally transmitted prion disease found in wild animals, particularly deer and elk in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Prof. Stéphane McLachlan of the Environmental Conservation Lab, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources at U of M, has been awarded $400,000 to research the implications of CWD for people most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of the disease, especially aboriginal communities. The funding is being provided by PrioNet Canada in an effort to address the health-related risks posed by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease), CWD and other prion diseases, and to accelerate discoveries in these areas. The research, co-funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute, is part of a total infusion of $1.6 million to support three projects, including two additional Alberta-based projects. "Although no evidence indicates whether or not CWD is transmissible to humans, it may still have severe socioeconomic consequences for hunters, for those in the tourism and nature industries, and especially for aboriginal communities," said McLachlan. For example, he explained that many aboriginal communities are concerned about contamination and diseases of wildlife and therefore distrust the safety of wild food, which may undermine traditional livelihoods and lead to stress and compromised health. Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/research-to-target-wasting-disease-48416967.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:14:29 GMT