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Pic Title: my LH 54
Posted By: gmoz2007
Posted On: Aug 02, 2008 7:14 am
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| DNR releases additional info on St. Martin Island incident |
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Posted By: Top Cat on Feb 01, 2010 9:04 pm
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By Kevin Naze
Contributing Writer
Published:
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 1:09 PM CST
Menominee, Mich. – Photographs of an Upper Peninsula island buck pole heavy with white-tailed bucks that flew around Internet sites and e-mails captivated hunters across North America and sparked a debate as to their authenticity and circumstances surrounding the kills.
While the photos are indeed real, some of the claims coming from the Nov. 19 “bust” on St. Martin Island – located just inside the Michigan/Wisconsin border where Green Bay waters meet Lake Michigan – are false, officials say.
Outside of a small parcel near the lighthouse that is managed by the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, the approximately 21⁄4-mile-long by 11⁄4-mile-wide island is privately owned. At least two tribal hunters were involved, but the rest of the group were non-tribal hunters, and all had licenses.
There were multiple citations for tagging violations, and warden discretion kept a number of individuals from potentially getting much harsher penalties, according to the Michigan DNR.
The two photos seeing the widest circulation on hunting blogs and message boards across the World Wide Web include 31 bucks hanging on two large poles – all of the bucks are 7 points or larger – and were taken by a CO. They were meant to be shared only internally until the investigation was complete, but someone within the Michigan DNR leaked the photos.
“With the Internet, once something gets out, it’s gone – there’s no stopping it,” said Michigan Conservation Officer Terry Short, of Menominee.
After that happened, a member of the island camp posted another picture on a hunting site that shows more than 20 of the largest bucks along with 10 hunters, three DNR officers, and a Delta County sheriff’s deputy. Many of the hunters were smiling.
The publicity generated around the globe caused frustration for the family of a Wisconsin businessman who owns most of the island and has had trespassing issues through the years due to its remote location near the Garden Peninsula in Delta County.
The island’s owner allowed an Upper Michigan caretaker and his friends to hunt on the island, but didn’t condone any illegal activity.
A long boat ride
Short wasn’t sure what to expect as he rode across bumpy seas during a 20-mile trip aboard a Delta County Sheriff's Department patrol boat aimed for St. Martin Island on Nov. 19.
Acting on citizen concerns of possible illegal deer-hunting activity on the island during previous seasons, Short and two other DNR officers and a sheriff’s deputy surprised more than 20 hunters who were preparing to take their kills back to the Upper Michigan mainland.
“It was pretty incredible, pretty impressive – something you didn’t really expect,” Short said, recalling his first look at the deer that were hanging.
Two large poles held 31 bucks and nine does. Another 10 or so deer, antlers, and heads were found on the ground around the camp, mainly a mix of smaller bucks and does.
“We didn’t have any problems,” Short said. “Some of the hunters were extremely cooperative. Some wanted as little contact as possible. That’s normal.”
While the hunters had enough tags for the deer, some simply failed to tag them, Short said.
By the time the investigation was completed, 11 citations for failure to tag a deer were written, a $144 fine in Delta County District Court. Michigan allows individual counties to set their own forfeiture amounts.
Since the weather had been mild, Short was surprised that so many carcasses were still hanging on what was the fifth day of the Michigan firearms gun deer-hunting season.
“It didn’t appear they were spoiling, though,” Short said. “At least I didn’t smell anything to indicate they were.”
Short said there were “a fair number of wife and girlfriend tags” on deer, and the women weren’t on the island at the time. Officers who followed up learned that some said they were there, while some admitted they weren’t.
If those hunters would have been cited for an illegal deer, Short said they would have had to spend five days in jail, pay $1,000 restitution for the deer, and pay up to $1,000 in additional fines, plus the loss of firearms and hunting privileges.
“That route wasn’t taken,” he said.
Provided they purchase the licenses and comply with certain restrictions, deer hunters in Michigan can shoot two antlered bucks during the firearms season. Short said tribal members are allowed two bucks and three antlerless deer, in addition to any state licenses they might buy.
Two hunters in the group were from Alaska, Short said; the rest were from Michigan. He called it “a lot of friends and family,” and believes only two were tribal members.
Unique situation
Short had seen some trophy buck photos from the island on the Internet in past seasons, and learned that the group was trying to manage for trophy deer. This was the year chosen to reduce the numbers, he said.
“There are people who have large tracts of land (in the U.P.) that generate bucks like these (on St. Martin),” Short said. “It can be done individually in small areas. But it’s difficult to do over a large area like the Upper Peninsula.”
Short said he didn’t know if the group made any large drives, but he did see extensive evidence that deer were being fed.
“I understand they were basically stand hunters baiting the deer in,” Short said. “The browse lines were very high. I’m not sure how they maintained that many deer. It’s likely that this winter a lot of those deer would have just died.”
A lack of predators and nowhere for the deer to go made it a unique situation, Short said. Due to the influence of wave action from Lake Michigan, the ice rarely firms up enough in winter for deer to make it to other islands or the mainland. It’s possible, he said, that some deer might swim from one island to another on occasion.
A 13-year DNR employee, Short has seen the story heat up with a lot of misinformation on the Internet. He also heard that the hunters were culling what they believed to be the smaller bucks to allow the larger ones to grow bigger bodies and racks.
Several years ago, all the bucks shot on the island reportedly weighed more than 200 pounds dressed.
St. Martin Island covers about 1,250 acres, and most of it is owned by the St. Martin Partnership, which is a family ownership that goes back at least three generations, according to a Michigan DNR spokesperson. About 47 acres around the lighthouse is owned by the federal government, and 36 acres is owned by David Uihlein.
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| The Testicle Festival |
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Posted By: trapperG on Nov 30, 2009 11:38 pm
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Here is what Gary ( and I am sure Ranger as well) are waiting for. " The Testicle Festival"
This is a brief history about American Post 392 in Deerfield MI. This post was chartered in 1946 by WWI and WWII Veterans. There was also at one time a Post 248; but there is no record of when it disbanned. In 1970 improvements where made and membership had grown from 27 up to 80 ( as of 2005 ). Post 392 had struggled and percivered by sheer determination and community involement. Congrats to them!
Now for the Testicle Festival. This started 40 years ago with a guy and his brother - in - law that owned a slaughterhouse and they would bring home the testicles and fix them up every week. Well it had grown to the point they couldn't do it anymore so a Sports bar took it over for several years and once again it had grown and then The American Legion Post 392 had taken it over in 2001.
I had called the number listed on the website and spoke to the Commander Albert Ray's wife about the festival and she assured me it was ok to speak to her husband about the Testicle Festival,LOL,,I thank God she was wonderful about this whole thing, I sure was turning all shades of red while I was on the phone with her; but all in all she did tell me if I can make it to the festival I could sit next to her. LOL. I did finally speak with Commander Albert Ray and he said this Festival just keeps growing and growing every year, they have people from Canada and Florida and quite a few other States; last year they had 3 bus loads come in besides thier locals and others from surrounding towns. They do sell t-shirts and have a DJ for this even that starts at 10 am until 10 pm. They sold 240LBS of testicles last year, now that is a lot of testicles. I did inform him I have never had testicles before in my life; he assured me that they do taste like chicken.
I am seriously thinking about going to this Testicle Festival and maybe I might try one myself, mind you I did say maybe. If anyone else would like to join me let me know by e-mail.
Well thank you so much Bowtech for this wonderful idea for an around town article. I think.
Here is the link for the Testicle Festival.
http://deerfieldamericanlegion.com/Annual_Testicle_Festival.php
Squeaks101
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| Latest Member Submitted Article! |
The Traditional Muzzle Loading Firearms
By: trapperG
On: 2009-11-30 00:41:10 |
By: David Urmann
Black powder is commonly called gunpowder. It is a mixture of explosive substances which consist of charcoal, sulfur, potassium nitrate and saltpeter. The mixture can instantly burn when ignited, capable of propelling bullets. Black powder is commonly used for firecrackers and also with the traditional muzzle loading firearms.
Black powder was first discovered during the 9th century in China. The mixture was discovered by a Taoist monk who is also an alchemist. The discovery has resulted in the development of gunpowder weapons of the Chinese.
The modern technology has developed the black powder used in modern firearms. The traditional black powder is still in use by many owners of the old muzzle loading firearms.
As many states provide muzzle loading hunting seasons, there are many hunters becoming interested in using muzzle loading guns also. These guns have been favored by many hunters tracing back during the Civil War.
Many people would like to... read more
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