Since 1946, MUCC’s youth camp programs have helped introduce Michigan’s outdoor heritage to generations of kids. More than ever before, the decline in fishermen and hunters threaten the prosperity and conservation of Michigan’s wildlife. We need to encourage our children to participate in the bounty of Michigan’s resources to ensure the growth of our economy and the quality of life in Michigan.

This is why we ask you to join for a day of fun in our Michigan outdoors!

When: Friday, June 7, 2013

Where: Grand Blanc Huntsman’s Club

9046 Irish Road, Grand Blanc, MI 48439

What: Charity Sporting Clays Shoot

To Register: Call: 517/346-6454 or Email: nnielsen@mucc.org

Visit our event page for more information and to download registration forms and event flyers.

The post Get Kids in the Outdoors: Lt. Governor’s Charity Sporting Clays Shoot appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Spring is finally here in Mid-Michigan and as far as the Michigan OutofDoors Youth Camp is concerned that can only mean one thing!!  It is time for the annual Volunteer Camp Clean Up event.  Since we moved camp to Cedar Lake dozens of clubs and volunteers have spent 100’s of labor hours renovating, improving, cleaning, and making the camp safe for all of our summer campers and rental groups throughout the season. Without the helping hands of volunteers our camp would not be the beautiful facility and education center it is today.

In the past whether it has been installing a new fishing dock, putting new screens on the cabins, or building a yurt so our daycamp partners have a place to learn, our volunteers have always stepped to the plate to help give the Cedar Lake Outdoor Center the best facility possible.

With that in mind the time has come for this year’s clean up days.  We will be sprucing up the camp on Friday May 10^th and Saturday May 11^th.  Friday we will be working from Noon- until 5PM and Saturday the big day we will be back at it starting bright and early at 8AM and working throughout the day.  Lunch will be provided on Saturday to all of our volunteers so come ready to work up an appetite!

This year projects will include brush clearing we had a large amount of pine branches come down over the winter so bring your chain saws and hand saws,  cabin and building cleaning, staining and waterproofing the decks, and other assorted tasks.

So grab your friends and fellow club members, your Carharts/work gloves, your saws and other helpful tools, and come down and lend a hand at camp.

Please RSVP: Camp Director Shaun McKeon, smckeon@mucc.org or 517-346-6466

The Cedar Lake Outdoor Center is located at:

2500 Pierce Rd.

Chelsea, MI 48118

The post Volunteers Needed for Youth Camp Clean Up This Weekend appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

WHEN: Saturday, May 11, 2013
9am – 1pm

WHERE: Van Pines Nursery
14731 Baldwin St.
West Olive, MI 49460
(616) 399-1620

WHAT:
Hand Out: 300 plants per Club
Eastern White Pine Jumbo Husky Transplants
White Spruce
Norway Spruce

CONIFERS TRANSPLANTS:
Austrian Pine $.50 each
Arborvitae $.50 each
Firs $.50 each
Hemlocks $.50 each
Scotch Pines $.50 each
Black Hills Spr. $.50 each
Blue Spruce $.50 each
Norway Spruce $.50 each
White Spruce $.50 each

ASSORTED SUPER POTTED LINERS: $1.00 each
Pine
Spruce
Fir

ASSORTED A/G PLUGS $.25 each
Pine
Spruce
Fir
Arborvitae
Hemlock

Thank you to Donna Briggs for helping organize the tree giveaway! Also, if you receive trees, please remember to send a thank you to Van Pines for this wonderful opportunity!

Download the Flyer to distribute at your club

The post 2013 MUCC Club Tree Giveaway appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

The Michigan OutofDoors Youth Camp has been in operation since the 1940s and has been a place where kids can come and learn about the outdoor world around them as well as the sports of hunting, fishing, and trapping.  Over the years more than 55,000 kids have come through our camps and have learned to enjoy the outdoors safely and have left camp with a deeper appreciation and respect for the natural world.  Many of these campers were and still are sponsored by our members around the state and clubs from all across Michigan send kids to our camp for a one of a kind summer experience.

Over the years, the Novi chapter of Safari Club International has really stepped to the plate for outdoor education. This year, in cooperation with George F. Riley and the Riley Foundation, it will be sending 80 kids to the camp.  Through a program called the Riley Wilderness Youth Camp the funding for 80 youth to attend camp is being provided by the foundation.  In accordance with SCI-Novi’s mission to promote acceptance and understanding of hunting as a tool for wildlife conservation through education, these youth will have the opportunity to become more engaged in the world they live in.

The youth are provided a full scholarship to attend one of two sessions of camp, depending on age and interest.  The Riley Jr. Camp is for boys and girls ages 9-11 and focuses on a sampling of outdoor activities, ranging from archery, and canoeing to fishing and hunter safety class.  The other camp option is the Riley Advanced Camp for boys and girls age 12-14. This camp is focused on the skills and techniques of big game hunting as well wildlife conservation.  Youth in the advanced camp will also have the opportunity to become hunter safety certified and will spend time shooting skeet during their week at camp.

These scholarships are available to youth who are interested in connecting and learning more about the outdoors and all are encouraged to apply.  The candidates who most qualify for the award will meet the following criteria:  1. Youth with limited outdoor experience, 2. Lack of a mentor to help them get started and learn about the outdoors, 3. Not yet having earned a Michigan Hunter Safety Certificate, and 4. Lack of family financial resources to attend a camp like program.

Please visit http://www.scinovi.com/rwyc.html for an application and more information on the camp can be found at www.muccyouthcamp.org

A big thank you to  SCI-Novi, the Riley Foundation, and all of our clubs who sponsor campers, help maintain our facilities, volunteer their time and skills at camp, and believe in protecting our heritage for future generations to come.

The post SCI-Novi, Riley Foundation Sponsoring 80 to MUCC Youth Camp appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

The Sport Shooting Ranges Act (SSRA) was originally passed in 1989 to provide shooting ranges protection from noise and nuisance lawsuits as urban sprawl brought more residential homeowners in closer proximity to existing shooting ranges. It was amended in 1994 to further exempt then-existing shooting ranges from local zoning ordinances.

The SSRA specifically protects any “person who owns or operates or uses a shooting range that conforms to generally accepted operation practices…” and specifically defines “person” to include proprietorships, partnerships and corporations, which are business and commercial entities. Further, the act specifically defines “sport shooting range” to mean “an area designed and operated for the use of archery, rifles, shotguns pistols, silhouettes, skeet, trap, black powder or any similar sport shooting.”

When courts interpret statues like the SSRA, they are supposed to adhere to the definitions and clear terms of the statute. Outside sources like dictionary definitions are supposed to be consulted only if the statutory definition is unclear. Instead, the Court of Appeals fixated on the word “sport,” pulled out a dictionary and decided that since “sport” was defined as “athletic activity,” “diversion or recreation,” any range that also had business activities was unprotected by the SSRA.

Nowhere in the SSRA does it exclude shooting ranges with business or commercial activities from its protections, but somehow that’s what the Court of Appeals decided. The Court of Appeals reasoned that it had to do this to avoid making the single word “sport” meaningless in the statute, but in doing so, it made the entire Sport Shooting Ranges Act meaningless, since almost every range charges at least a user fee, and the majority of Michigan shooting ranges also provide firearm instruction for a fee.

If the Court of Appeals’ decision stands, Michigan’s shooting ranges, including many of those operated by MUCC member clubs, could once again be in jeopardy of having to defend countless noise and nuisance lawsuits and anti-shooting zoning regulations resulting from urban sprawl. We won’t know what the Michigan Supreme Court decides on Thursday, but the arguments will be an important factor in how the justices ultimately rule.

Follow MUCC on Facebook and Twitter for current updates on this case and other important conservation issues. On Thursday, April 11, we’ll provide up-to-the-minute updates on this case, the DNR’s wolf hunting regulation proposals to the Natural Resources Commission and a new bill package before the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.

The post Shooting Range Case Before Michigan Supreme Court Thursday appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

The Michigan Chapter of National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF) and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will have our annual habitat tree planting day on April 6.

Volunteers will plant trees from one to three feet in height in one gallon pots, water them, and put them in a secure area for safe-keeping. Like an assembly line, volunteers will rotate jobs, have fun, and get a chance to meet new friends  and see old friends, too.

NWTF will provide food and refreshments for a cook-out, too, and the work day will last three to four hours. Volunteers will meet at 10:30 AM at the DNR Rose Lake Wildlife Office at 8562 Stoll Road, Bath MI (on the left near the old pheasant pens).

Free food, fun and conservation – what a way to spend a Saturday!

Thank you for making a difference!

Tony Snyder, NWTF – Michigan State President

The post NWTF-Michigan Hosting Annual Habitat Workday appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Please take the time to help us thank those who have advanced the cause of conservation by nominating leaders in our community.

2013 Conservation Award Categories for Nomination:

• Fisheries Conservationist of the Year
•Wildlife Conservationist of the Year
• Educator/ Youth Conservationist of the Year
•Conservation Organization of the Year
•Corporate Conservationist of the Year

All Conservation Award entries must be postmarked by April 15, 2013. Awardees will be recognized at MUCC’s Annual Convention on Saturday, June 22, 2013.

How to nominate for MUCC’s Conservation Awards:

Send a descriptive summary of your nominee’s conservation-oriented accomplishments. Your summary should include:

•The full name, address, phone number and email of yourself and your nominee(s);
• Specifics on the important work your nominee has done to advance conservation, including where work has taken place, when work occurred, thorough description of the work, etc. (two pages maximum);
•If available, supportive information that more thoroughly describes your nominee’s work including magazine articles, books, reports, reviews, etc.; and
•The names of three people who can provide more information on nominee’s conservation work. Applications submitted must make the full case for the nominee’s award to be considered. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please submit nominations by April 15, 2013 to:

By Mail to:
MUCC Awards Committee
P.O. Box 30235
Lansing, MI 48909

Or by email to:
spride@mucc.org

2013 Call for Nominations

The post 2013 Conservation Awards: Who’s Your Conservationist of the Year? appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Rep. LaFontaine, who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, fielded questions from the public and Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) staff addressing gun rights, dredging, the economics of outdoor recreation, protecting the rights to hunt, fish and trap, invasive species management, and wolf management.

“I’m a huge supporter of the Second Amendment. I do believe it is your constitutional right and it should be protected,” said LaFontaine, in response to a question about gun rights. “Something you can do is to continually contact your elected officials. Don’t just assume that because you are a supporter or a member of a club that we know it’s something you’re passionate about. Continue to contact us. I get quite a few phone calls and emails and it’s refreshing to hear that because it’s something I believe in and I want to know that my constituents believe the same way.”

Rep. LaFontaine answers a constituent’s question.

Over 50 people attended the Sportsmen’s Town Hall, including members of the Richmond Sportsmen’s Club, Boy Scout Troop 84 in Richmond, the St. Clair Kennel Club, Waterfowl USA, Michigan B.A.S.S. Nation, the Citizens Waterfowl Advisory Council, local DNR Wildlife Division staff, MUCC members, staff from Candace Miller’s office, Natural Resources Commissioner Louise Klarr  and citizens of Rep. LaFontaine’s district interested in conservation issues.

The Richmond Sportsmen’s Club, located in the heart of the 32nd State House District represented by Rep. LaFontaine, provided their clubhouse as a location for the town hall and even served hot dogs and chili to attendees. The club, founded in 1947, offers ranges for rifle, pistol and trap shooting, as well as a 3-D archery course.

MUCC organized the Sportsmen’s Town Hall as part of its mission to unite citizens to conserve, protect and enhance Michigan’s natural resources and outdoor heritage. MUCC is also organizing the second Camo at the Capitol lobby day in Lansing on April 18. Hunters, anglers and trappers from all over the state will rally on the Capitol steps, meet with their legislators and possibly attend and testify at committee hearings like those chaired by Rep. LaFontaine.

To RSVP for Camo at the Capitol, email Drew YoungeDyke, MUCC Grassroots Manager, at dyoungedyke@mucc.org with the subject line “Camo at the Capitol.”

The post Representative LaFontaine Addresses Conservation, Gun Issues at Sportsmen’s Town Hall appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

The post Sportsmen’s Town Hall appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

This issue has been a decade’s worth of work for Michigan DU’s members and the journey has been filled, no doubt, with high times and low times.

We hope last week was an unforgettable high time for the dozens of DU members who came to Lansing to view the activity. The bills are not done yet, but they are greased and moving quickly. Each bill has to be passed in the opposite chamber before it makes its way to the Governor’s desk.

You can track the progress of the bills here:

HB 4337

SB 234

The post Ducks Unlimited License Plate Bills Pass House, Senate appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.