Up North Journal Podcast

Mike and Dan talk with Lincoln Rohn of Michigan Deer Hunter's Let'em Go and Let'em Grow group.

1. Lincoln talks about his Illinois deer hunt this year and the problems he had while there.
2. Lincoln talks about his Saskatchewan Buck of a lifetime along with the obstacles he faced when he got to camp.
3. Lincoln talks about his Michigan deer hunting season and the luck he and his family had this year.

Lincoln talks about where the Let'em Go and Let'em Grow campaign has been and what they've been through this past year.

We all talk about the Anchor Creek Deer Co-op Rendezvous this past weekend and all the good information that came out of it from all involved.

Part 1 video:

https://www.facebook.com/AllbandResearch/videos/2050843048484132/

Part 2 video:

https://www.facebook.com/AllbandResearch/videos/2050902311811539/

What is upcoming this year?

Mike and Dan get to hit the ice for the first time in 3 seasons to ice fish!

1. Dan screws up his breakfast
2. First guys on the ice
3. Sunrise
4. Get fishing
5. Putting fish on the ice finally
6. Good to get out on the ice

2nd half of our 2017 year in review July - December!

Mike has to deal personally with the his first TB suspect deer at his camp.

1. Getting the news
2. Realizing we ate the deer heart
3. Worrying about TB
4. Realizing that he wasn't going to get it
5. Waiting on the results to come back

Happy New Year!

Mike and Dan take care of some end of the year business along with recapping the first half of 2017!

1. Coffee in the Cabin
2. Livestreaming
3. Out pet peeves this year
4. Deer Coop leader conference call
5. Deer blind furnaces
6. Our embarrassing moments in the woods
7. Danny makes venison sticks
8. Ulu knives
9. Mike and Dan's recap of the first half of 2017

An interview with Anna Mitterling MUCC's Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator discussing CWD in Michigan and how the state is dealing with it.

1. 3 years with Michigan United Conservation Club
2. Helps private land owners get together and work together to manage their property for deer and also for pheasants.
3. Helps landowners with deer impact studies
4. Worked for the DNR as a student assistant and did a research project on deer cooperatives
5. Works with the DNR and part of her position is funded by the DNR
6. Worked in the disease lab when the first positive test came in 2008 in Michigan
7. Also owns land in an original CWD zone
8. Talks about responses by hunters in the CWD zones
9. General hunting public doesn't care about CWD until it affects them
10. Make sure your informed and educated on CWD
11. Only about 40% of the hunters are complying with the mandatory CWD check in the CWD zone.
12. All heads are tested for TB but not CWD, only CWD zone heads are tested for CWD
13. Looking at the lymph nodes to see if they are abnormal
14. If abnormal they are further tested
15. Then if positive, they are sent to Ames, Iowa for the gold standard test to confirm a positive.
16. Peak of firearm season they are processing over 1300 heads a day!
17. 22,000 heads tested this year so far
18. Safety gear for the people doing the testing
19. How hard is it to get your deer head tested
20. Sharing testing results
21. Has CWD been here a long time and just now found or is it new?
22. Why worry about CWD since the prevalence is so low now?
23. The positives Michigan has had, all but one of the deer looked healthy when taken
24. The prions have been documented to last over 20 years
25. Impact on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
26. What is the long term impact?
27. Keeping deer densities low is key to keeping CWD in check
28. Does QDMA's current goals work at keeping CWD in check
29. Reasons for shooting does to help with this problem
30. Where does the money come from for testing?
31. What is the best thing you can do besides getting your deer head tested?
32. Do road kill deer get tested?
33. DNR ran out of test kits and had to wait for more since only one place in the world makes them.
34. How do you know how many doe to shoot in your area per season?

Mike and Dan talk about the special doe reduction hunt at Mike's deer camp with four youth from Indiana's Backwater Legacies Hunter Academy.

1. Getting to camp
2. Scouting the next morning to get our game plan together
3. First hunt of the trip
4. Next day's hunt
5. Getting another plan together for the last full day

Mike takes two doe in two minutes with a muzzleloader!

Getting the kids involved in the field outdoor education class!

Setting up for coyotes

Mike has deer heart for the first time

Wrapping up camp and stopping at the DNR check station for another in the field educational experience.

Outdoor Conservationist Shane Mahoney answers the question on what can we do to make an impact on wildlife.

1. Everyone can do something for the outdoors
2. Explain to people that planting a flower garden does more than beautify your property
3. Share personal experiences
4. Share simple stories
5. Share your wild food with others
6. Caring for a pet is the same as caring for our wild creatures, so share those conversations
7. Explain to little children that if we fill in wet areas where vegetation decays, rots and stinks, but if we do it will kill the tadpoles. If we get rid of the smell it will cost us the frogs.
8. Question of the greater good
9. Teach them to care for the animals they cherish
10. Get elderly to share with others the importance of the outdoors
11. Get involved on the local level
12. Young kids will gladly give up their best toys for a young puppy wagging its tail or a frog, or lizard, or a pony.
13. This is what's at the heart of the conservation movement
14. One natural world, one humanity, one chance
15. "I" have to do something

Interview with outdoor author Shasta Sitton who has written 2 hunting books for kids.

1. Wyatt's First Whitetail and Grace Goes Bowhunting
2. Wrote a story for her son Wyatt and decided to publish it
3. Eva Shocky endorsed Grace Goes Bowhunting
4. Promotes safety, conserbation, practicing and ethics
5. 3rd grade reading level but you can read to kids from 0-12 years of age.
6. Grew up in Idaho and learned to hunt from mom and dad.
7. Shot her first elk at age 14
8. Compare and Contrast between Michigan and Idaho
9. Advice on getting females into the outdoors
10. You can buy on www.whitetailpress.com www.amazon.com www.qdma.com www.drdeer.com
11. The publishing process
12. Publishers and Illustrators do not like hunting
13. The 5 UNJ quirky personal questions

Mike and Dan cover their post Thanksgiving Festivities

1. Time with friends and family
2. Black Friday shopping
3. Disc Golf
4. Public land damage

Deer Camp wrap up for Mike and Dan

1. Mike's camp success and goals
2. Dan's camp success and goals

Tree Planting

1. Grow cages to protect
2. Tree truck bark protection from mice and rabbits
3. Growing seasons and mast production

Outdoor books for kids

1. From Shasta Sitton and Whitetail Press
2. Mike ordered two books
3. Wyatt's First Whitetail and Grace Goes Bowhunting
4. Great gift for Christmas
5. www.whitetailpress.com

Negativity in the outdoors a rant by Mike

Mike and Dan give their take on what they are thankful for this year.

Mike and Dan give their take on the recent viral video of Chris Brackett and also on the Michael Waddell Rant on the viral video and state of the outdoor industry.

Mike and Dan recap their weeks at deer camp on Michigan's firearm opener.

1. Successful or not
2. Weather
3. Deer seen or not and why
4. Movement
5. Issues at camp
6. Thoughts on all day sits

After issues with using a treestand safety harness Mike solves some of the issues he had in stand

1. Safety strap too short
2. Couldn't shoot right out of the treestand
3. Used a Life Line to solve the issues
4. Talked about how he tied in to the tree to allow more freedom of movement

A week of bow hunting at deer camp with friends and family

1. Setting treestands
2. Trail cam photos to set the tone for the hunt
3. How did the new food plot planting do
4. How often do you check your cards
5. Only hunted stands when the weather conditions were correct
6. Mike got to hunt with his dad and his friend David Boggs
7. Predators played a role in our deer hunt
8. Moved a treestand in the middle of a hunt
9. Two other friends made it camp later in the week
10. Rain played a big role in our hunt along with a full moon at night
11. Deer moved during the middle of the day
12. Saw four bucks the entire week
13. No bucks chasing yet
14. Socks our piebald doe made an appearance
15. We are looking forward now to the opener of firearm deer season on the 15th.

Mike was able to attend a lecture with Shane Mahoney at Michigan State University tuesday where he was talking about being a leader in conservation and how to acheive that goal.

1. Shane's childhood and background and how that shaped his life
2. His thoughts and beliefs on conservation
3. What conservation is today and the issues that shape it
4. How conservation can survive in the long term and what it will take to survive
5. How will you become part of that goal and fit into it to accomplish the long term goals of conservation