Cicadas Buffett

Last spring in Eastern Ohio marked one of the largest regular cicada hatches, the Brood V 17 year hatch. While at the time it made for an ever-present din for a few weeks, the long-term effect is on other wildlife.

The 17-year periodical cicadas from Brood XIV last emerged in 2008, and they are expected to emerge again in 2025. 

Brood X Great eastern brood 17 2021 2038 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan

From bass to opossums to turkeys, the cicadas create a veritable smorgasbord in life and death. This is especially beneficial for young of the year. Translation, the next couple of years should provide excellent turkey populations. With luck, and where I am most interested, is it can help our struggling grouse populations at all. They really need it.

From: http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/UserFiles/Image/spotlightnod/forecast2016/OH%20Rangewide%20RUGR%20Drumming%20Index%201972-2016.png 

Cicada Lifecycle


 What Brood V Looked Like in Ohio

Sportsmen—Hang On To Public Land Access

Public lands are unique to America and make America unique. It was because of the foresight of a previous generation of leaders, Muir and T. Roosevelt, that we have these opportunities today. They faced many of the same challenges we face today, from the same factions with the same dialog. They're back again and will try to move quickly and disguise what is actually happening. Don't be fooled. 

From the group leading the charge, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. 

"In 1912, Roosevelt said, “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.” While in the political arena, he succeeded in making conservation a top-tier national issue. T.R. had the foresight to address these issues still so significant to sportsmen today, understanding that if we want to safeguard critical habitat, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations, we must plan carefully today."



http://www.trcp.org/mission/

Turns Out, Common Ground is Common Ground – Trump and Non-Trump Voters Agree

Madison County, Montana (Creative Commons license)

You suspected it might be true, but now there's proof. Article excerpted in it's entirety, access the complete article here: http://www.rgj.com/story/life/outdoors/recreation/2017/01/31/poll-trump-and-non-trump-voters-agree-public-lands/97307654/

"Respondents in western states want land protected, access for recreation, oppose increased fossil fuel development 

Updated to include response from Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev.

If bitter political fighting is tearing your Facebook feed apart at the seams, take heart. There’s at least one issue that does more to unite than divide voters in the western United States; public lands.

Polling from seven western states shows Democrats, Republicans and independent voters have similar interests when it comes to federally managed public land. The poll, conducted through the Colorado College State of the Rockies project and led by Democratic and Republican consultants, measured the attitudes of voters in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. And the results showed that, despite the volume of political vitriol on social media, most people who responded want the same thing.

“The overwhelming sentiment voters are expressing is wanting to protect and preserve public lands,” said David Metz, the Democratic pollster on the project.

“It was more striking where we saw agreement than where we saw big differences,” Republican pollster Lori Weigel said."

Read the complete article here:
http://www.rgj.com/story/life/outdoors/recreation/2017/01/31/poll-trump-and-non-trump-voters-agree-public-lands/97307654/

Monarch Rising in the North

In many respects, the Monarch Butterfly is the canary in the coal mine for North American prairies. They are species with an amazing life story that relies on a variety of interdependent connections throughout its migration. But at the end of the day, they are dependent on the Milkweed. Because of that, gaps in prairie conditions (the same gaps that can lead to trapped and zombie populations of other native species – can be especially trying for Monarchs.

The great swaths of tall grass prairie are few and far between. Milkweed has been cursed as a weed. Clean farming techniques have wiped out ditches and "dirty" fencerows that used to at least harbor pockets of the necessary plant.

That's what lead this group, Monarch Rising, in Fitchburg, WI to take action.

From their website:

"Rooted in Fitchburg, WI, Monarch Rising is a public effort and awareness to keep Monarch Butterflies from becoming extinct. 

Goals:
- Increase awareness
- Plant Milkweed
- Create Monarch way-stations"

Sometimes, it really is that simple to do good for a species as the second bullet: "plant milkweed." To that end, their site even makes it possible to buy Milkweed seeds to start your own Monarch way-station. That will benefit all pollinators, upland prairie species, and the entire ecosystems that depend on them. That includes us.

You can learn more through these links:

http://www.monarchrising.com/
http://www.monarchwatch.org/

Great News for Ohio Bobwhites

Bobwhite Quail might be native to much of the country, but they haven't had an easy time lately. The problem is almost 100% habitat related. But there might me help from what many might consider an unlikely benefactor for small animals: roadways. There are several programs underway that should benefit Bobwhites and other upland animals with minimal impact.

Buckeye Sportsman Podcast Roadways Projects ODNR Pheasant Biologist Mark Wiley talks Pheasant hunting and Attorney Jack Moser discusses legal issues facing Ohio Outdoorsmen.
Listen:  http://buckeyesportsman.net/2015/12/dec-19-2016/ 


OHIO TAKES ACTION FOR BOBWHITE QUAIL WITH FIRST QUAIL FOCUS AREA IN HIGHLAND COUNTY Bobwhite quail—a native species, as well as a current species of concern in Ohio—have a brighter future in the state after a successful landowner meeting established Ohio’s first-ever quail focus area. Forty-two landowners attended the meeting, voting to name the 9,930-acre, 10-year focus area the Fallsville Quail Heritage Area. Quail habitat restoration will be the focus of the area, which is located in Highland County, just north of Hillsboro.
Read more: https://quailforever.org/Newsroom-(1)/2015-April/Ohio-Takes-Action-for-Bobwhite-Quail-with-First-Qu.aspx

Slow Motion Shorthair

Somehow managed to catch two chipmunks at the same time in a live trap. Jurgen was really interested in that ...

New Rural Action

Pick your site: coal pile or deer carcass? If you want to catch wildlife on video in a reclaimed area, it seems both can be a good draw. With some work.

From this article in the Columbus Dispatch:

"With a pH level of 4.5 when the cleanup started two decades ago, 'Monday Creek was comparable to vinegar,' Schlater said.

Aquatic wildlife has increased since then, from four fish species to 35 species today, including seven types of darters, and large-mouth, small-mouth and spotted bass. 'This shows that water quality is improving significantly,' Schlater said."