"DU will leverage this gift with funding from other partners to secure a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant," DU Manager of Conservation Programs Bob Dew said. NAWCA grants require matched funding of at least 1:1 nonfederal to federal. "The gift from Sempra Energy Foundation will allow DU to proceed with this important work," Dew said.

The project includes construction of approximately 70,000 linear feet of earthen terraces and associated vegetative plantings at two project locations. The Black Lake Tract is located five miles west of Hackberry, Louisiana, and the East Cove Unit is located within and adjacent to the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge.

Erie, Pennsylvania - Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) announce the 2008 multi-state meeting for the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and New Jersey will be held on August 9, 2008 at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC) in Erie, Pennsylvania. This event will focus on fostering partnerships between PF/QF chapters and complimentary organizations, as well as plans for future conservation efforts. All PF & QF members & partners are invited to attend.

"This meeting is going to be a great time for everyone involved," said Shon Robbins, regional wildlife biologist for PF/QF, "it's an opportunity for chapters to get together, for younger chapters to learn from more established ones, and it's also a chance for some of our partnering organizations to learn more about Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and all of the great work our members put their blood, sweat, and resources into completing."

The multi-state meeting will have featured speakers that include Howard Vincent, PF/QF president and chief executive officer, Janine Kohn, PF/QF community outreach and education specialist, and Jack Kile, Pennsylvania state council president.

African Indaba Volume 6 Number 4 

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African Indaba Volume 6 Issue Number 4 

Michael Yacino, a long-time champion of Massachusetts sportsmen and women, recently received the Governor Francis W. Sargent Conservation Award from the Fisheries and Wildlife Board for his contributions to conserving the Commonwealth's natural resources. Yacino, of Douglas, is the seventh recipient of the award established in 2000, by the Board to honor the former governor and noted conservationist who directed the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) in 1963 and '64.

"Mike Yacino has been a tremendous supporter of Massachusetts's conservation and land protection efforts, as well as an effective leader in protecting sportsmen's interests and educating young people regarding wildlife conservation and outdoor skills," said Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Mary Griffin.

MISSOULA, Montana-A longtime, avid volunteer for wildlife conservation efforts in Minnesota, Pat McMullen of Farmington, Minnesota, has been hired as the state's regional director by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

McMullen will be responsible for rallying and coordinating Elk Foundation volunteers in chapters across the state, fundraising, working with partners such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and organizing on-the-ground conservation efforts.

Since 1984, the Elk Foundation and its partners have completed more than 70 conservation projects in Minnesota with a value of nearly $1.4 million. In 2008, the organization awarded four grants totaling $21,586 will help fund habitat enhancement projects in Beltrami, Kittson and Marshall counties.

OLYMPIA, Washington- The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking volunteers to participate in a cooperative arrangement that gave hunters access to approximately 262,000 acres of private timberlands near Mount St. Helens last year.

For the second straight year, Weyerhaeuser Company is willing to provide special elk permit hunters with additional motorized access to miles of private logging roads on the St. Helens Tree Farm - provided that enough volunteers can be found to assure a safe and orderly hunt.

Key tasks for volunteers include orienting hunters, staffing access points and maintaining safety buffers between hunters and active Weyerhaeuser operations, said Sandra Jonker, regional wildlife manager for WDFW.

"We got off to a good start last year with 54 volunteers, and hope to increase participation this year," Jonker said. "As before, the amount of timberland that will be opened to hunting will be directly proportional to the number of volunteers that sign up."

This looks like a growing Family

MISSOULA, Mont.—A federal judge has halted state authority to manage wolves alongside other resident wildlife, a ruling the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation calls “contrary to the North American model of wildlife conservation.”

A preliminary injunction was granted last week to activists who had challenged the delisting of gray wolves as an endangered species. The injunction cancels planned wolf hunts in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

“We’re disappointed. This ruling not only supports needless lawsuits, it fails to address real problems in those states. We needed active, local management through the respective state wildlife agencies,” said David Allen, president and CEO of the Elk Foundation.

“And it’s a sad day when unsubstantiated scientific theories can commandeer the very conservation system that made America’s outdoors the envy of the world,” he added.

The North American model of conservation, unique to the U.S. and Canada, is considered the most successful system ever developed for wildlife. Science-based, it utilizes hunters for funding and balancing wildlife within local tolerances. It’s the system that restored and sustains prey like elk and deer as well as predators like mountain lions and bears. Biologists—including those who led wolf restoration efforts from the beginning—say there’s no reason why the model couldn’t be just as successful with wolves.

Families Afield introduces more than 131,000 people to hunting

EDGEFIELD, S.C.— With Governor Paterson signing New York's Junior Hunting bill July 23, the total number of states adopting legislation to reduce barriers to new hunters has climbed to 27 since the Families Afield program began in 2004. New data shows that across the United States, this program has opened doors to more than 131,000 youth and adults new to hunting.

New York state's Assembly Bill 11033 is expected to do the same as it lowers the age for mentored big game hunting to 14. Before this legislation was passed, New Yorkers had to be 16 years old, which was the oldest minimum age for big game hunting in the nation.

New laws such as this are the result of the Families Afield initiative, which was launched to help turn the tide against waning youth and new adult hunter recruitment and license sales -- a key source of revenue for state wildlife agencies. The program is spearheaded by the National Wild Turkey Federation and its partners, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, who work with the National Rifle Association, local sportsmen's organizations, wildlife agency personnel and legislators to pass bills that remove barriers for new hunters.

Saint Paul, Minnesota - Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) announce the hiring of Bradley P. Heidel of Forest Lake, Minnesota, as the organization's new Director of Special Event Sales. In fact, Brad has already booked over half of the exhibitor booths for the 2009 National Pheasant Fest slated for Madison, Wisconsin on February 6, 7, & 8 in just his first two months with the organization.

As the new Director of Special Event Sales, Heidel will facilitate the advancement and growth of PF's signature event, National Pheasant Fest, as well as other events and celebrations. National Pheasant Fest 2009 will be Pheasants Forever's fifth such event. Nearly 30,000 people attended the fourth-ever Fest this past January in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the event has grown into the nation's largest event for upland hunters, farmers, sport dog owners and wildlife habitat conservationists. The 2009 Fest will take place at the Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center.