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Award-winning journalist Art Lander Jr. posts news and information
about fishing, hunting, nature and self-sufficient rural living in Kentucky
Text and Photos 2012 Art Lander Jr.
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Fall 2011
What’s New
Elk archery harvest here
Deer Season 2011-12 here
CavPro KPA Series kayak paddles here
2011-12 Deer season dates/zones here
Target oaks for re-generation here
2011-12 Waterfowl seasons here
Summer 2011
What’s New
2011-12 Squirrel season here
Sandhill Crane season here
Dove season opens September 1 here
Fishing kayaks ideal for small waters here
Spring 2011
What’s New
Bad weather didn’t dampen turkey harvest here
The bullfrog’s song of summer here
Get your shotgun on target for turkey season here
Winter 2010-2011
What’s New
Ruffed grouse battling changes in habitat here
First black bear taken in Kentucky here
Fall 2010
What’s New
2010-11 Rabbit and Quail Season Outlook here
Kentucky’s 2010-2011 Deer Season here
Feral Pigs danger to native wildlife here
Summer 2010
What’s New
Emergency regulations for stripers in Lake Cumberland here
Crows abound in town and country here
Fall squirrel season opens August 21, 2010 here
Spring 2010
What’s New
Record harvest for 2010 Spring Wild Turkey Season here
Kentucky’s 2010 Spring Wild Turkey Season Opens with a Bang here
Winter 2009-2010
What’s New
Kentucky’s 2010-11 Deer Season Dates and Zones here
Steiner Merlin 8 X 32 binoculars are bright, light here
Lorpen Socks keep feet warm, dry and scent-free here
Coyotes a visible predator here
Elk season update here
Kentucky’s 2009-10 white-tailed deer season ends with higher than usual percentage of bucks in the harvest here
Deer harvests in Kentucky 2004-09 here
The era of the big buck in Kentucky here
Kentucky’s first bear hunt buried by snowstorm here
Fall 2009
What’s New
Shorter vanes, faster arrows here
Muzzy MX-3 broadhead here
Deer processing made easy here
Early Season Buck Disappearing Act here.
A message from the publisher here.
Posted Feb. 2, 2012
Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
2012 Turkey Season Outlook
When Kentucky’s spring wild turkey season opens on Saturday, April 14 hunters and wildlife managers alike will be keeping their fingers crossed for good weather.
“If it’s sunny on opening weekend, we’ll have a good harvest,” said Steven Dobey, wild turkey program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Last season on opening weekend we had heavy rains across most of state, and the harvest dropped 27.1 percent from the previous year.”
Kentucky’s 23-day statewide spring turkey season will continue through May 6, 2012 in all 120 counties.
For the first time ever, hunters bagged over 30,000 turkeys for two consecutive years, with a record harvest of 36,097 in 2010.
Dobey believes last year’s spring harvest of 32,191 would have been higher, possibly setting a new record, if the weather had cooperated.
“Statewide, our turkey population is excellent,” said Dobey. “The spring harvest of turkeys has grown steadily in the past 15 years, up from 13,606 in 1996.”
As expected, the wet weather had an adverse impact on last year’s reproduction which will be reflected in what hunters encounter while afield this year. “This spring hunters will likely notice fewer juvenile birds, and they could see fewer older gobblers, too, but there will be good numbers of two-year-old birds, which do most of the gobbling,” said Dobey.
The statewide brood survey for 2011 showed a decline of 42.2 percent of hens observed with at least one poult (young turkey), and statewide, the average number of poults per hen dropped to 1.4. “Western and central Kentucky appear to have had a little better reproductive success than the rest of the state,” said Dobey. “The birds that nested the earliest were significantly impacted by the heavy rains and flooding.”
Dobey said he believes Kentucky’s spring turkey season is perfectly timed. “Our number one goal is to offer hunter opportunity, while minimizing the impact on breeding.”
When the spring season opens each spring, on the Saturday closest to April 15, few hens are on the nest. “At that time only a small percentage are beginning to lay eggs, but aren’t sitting on a cluster of eggs yet,” explained Dobey. “There’s minimal risk that hens on the nest will be disturbed.” The peak of the turkey hatch occurs in late May or June, weeks after hunting has concluded.
Kentucky’s turkey flock is arguably the best in the region.
Based on the number of birds taken per square mile, Kentucky has a higher harvest than six of the seven adjoining states -- Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri and Illinois. “We’re on par with Tennessee,” said Dobey, “but our season is half as long as Tennessee’s, and our bag limit is half theirs.”
Dobey said Kentucky has about 90,000 turkey hunters.
Of the successful hunters, about 25 percent take the season limit of two birds in the spring. Most of the birds harvested are adults. “Last season 16.7 percent of the birds taken were juveniles (jakes),” said Dobey. “With the impressive statewide flock in Kentucky hunters are able to be selective, and able to key on older birds.”
Posted November 24, 2011
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
DNA Valuable Tool in Wildlife Law Enforcement
Investigations and Research
Using DNA as a way to identify individuals is not restricted to the investigation of crimes against humans.
Wildlife law enforcement officers have been relying on DNA evidence since the late 1980s to help prosecute persons who take wildlife illegally. Biologists discovered that DNA provides valuable information about the population dynamics of the wildlife they monitor and manage.
"We use DNA as a forensic, investigative tool," said Capt. Myra Minton, acting assistant director of law enforcement for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "I can recall several cases where we used the DNA in blood evidence to match a gut pile to a deer carcass, or a deer head in a freezer with a deer carcass that had its head removed."
Minton said the department sends evidence samples to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forenics Laboratory in Ashland, OR, the only lab in the world dedicated to crimes against wildlife. The lab supports wildlife law enforcement efforts in all 50 states and the 150 foreign countries that have signed the CITES Treaty (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
DNA profiling, sometimes referred to as genetic fingerprinting, was developed by British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys in 1984.
Much of what we know about black bears in Kentucky is the result of DNA analysis. "We use hair snares as a non-invasive sampling method," said Steven Dobey, the departments bear program coordinator. "The DNA extracted from hair follicles allows us to individually identify each bear, determine the sex ratio of the population and ultimately estimate the size of the population."
Without DNA, there would be many important details about Kentucky bears that wouldnt be known otherwise, such as the very high proportion of females. A high number of female bears indicate the Kentucky population is past the colonization phase.
"By looking at the genetics we've determined that we have two bear populations in Kentucky: one along the Pine and Black Mountain areas from Pike to Bell counties, and one in the Big South Fork area of McCreary County," said Dobey. "On a genetic basis, these two populations are relatively distinct and it appears there's very little interchange among the bears from these two areas."
Biologists who monitor populations of migratory birds have also found DNA to be critically important to their work.
Avian biologist Shawchyi Vorisek said a cooperative program with the University of Kentucky involves DNA analysis of golden-wing and blue-wing warblers, neotropical songbirds that nest in Kentucky. "These two species have started to hybridize throughout their entire range," said Vorisek. "We're trying to figure out how much they have hybridized, if they are separate species, and if we need to manage them as separate species."
Sometimes DNA analysis can be used to answer difficult questions.
"We had a hunter who shot at what he thought was a mountain lion while bow hunting in Pennyrile State Forest," said Dobey. "There was some hair on the arrow so we sent it to the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, and the genetic lab verified that the hair was from a bobcat, not a mountain lion."
Posted December 9, 2011
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
The Nine-Banded Armadillo Expanding its Range into Kentucky
The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has been expanding its range in the U.S. since the mid-1800s, steadily moving north and eastward.
Armadillos first appeared in western Kentucky more than 20 years ago. "I recall the first report was a road kill in Aurora," said Steve Bloemer, wildlife program manager at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL).
Bloemer has worked as a biologist since 1982 on this area, bordered by Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Aurora, Kentucky lies at the western entrance to LBL on U.S. 68 in Marshall County.
"First there were reports from several counties in the region, then we started finding road kills in LBL and eventually we started seeing live armadillos here," said Bloemer.
The first confirmed sighting of a live armadillo in LBL was in the spring of 2002 when a farmer on a tractor saw one feeding at the edge of a field. Bloemer believes armadillos may have been present in the Tennessee River and Cumberland River bottoms for years before entering LBL.
"At first we were getting a disproportionate number of sightings on the north end of LBL, especially from campers driving in and out of the Hillman Ferry Campground," Bloemer explained.
The busy campground is just a few miles south of the Barkley Canal, which connects the two huge reservoirs near their dams. "This past summer we received a report from a bow fisherman who saw an armadillo swimming the Cumberland River," he said.
Rivers, lakes and small streams are not an obstacle to range expansion. James Loughry, a zoologist and armadillo expert at Valdosta State University in Georgia, said he believes armadillos move up watersheds. "It’s a misconception that they’re desert animals. Armadillos are more adapted to swamps and riparian areas where there’s wet soil."
Loughry said armadillos don’t swim well, but they gulp air to inflate their stomach and intestines, helping them float. "They can traverse smaller streams by sinking to the bottom and walking across to the other side," he said.
The mammals, which are primarily nocturnal, like to dig in loose soil, leaf litter and rotting logs looking for grubs, beetles, ants, termites and worms to eat. They lap up this prey with their sticky tongues. They also will eat amphibians, small reptiles, fungi and plant tubers.
Nine-banded armadillos typically weigh 12 to 22 pounds, with an overall length of 20 to 42 inches, including their tails. In the wild, they can live up to15 years and become sexually mature before they reach age two. Armadillos have a two to three month mating season in summer and a four-month gestation period. A single fertilized egg develops into four identical embryos. Young remain underground, living on mother’s milk for three months, before leaving their burrow.
The armadillo’s outer shell is made up of hardened bony plates covered with scales, which are connected by flexible bands of skin. This armor covers the back, sides, head, tail and outside surfaces of the legs. The underside of the body and the inner surfaces of the legs have no armored protection, but are covered by tough skin and a layer of coarse hair.
"The first road-killed armadillo I encountered in Kentucky was in 2003, and the first live one I saw was in 2006," said John MacGregor, a herpetologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
MacGregor said in recent years there have been several confirmed sightings by staff biologists in eastern and south central Kentucky.
Steve Bonney, northeastern region wildlife coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, encountered a road-killed armadillo in Rowan County in 2009 on the way to work. "I routinely record road kills. When I saw what I thought was an armadillo, my radar went off," said Bonney. "It kind of shocked me."
When Bonney arrived at work, he immediately drove back to the site of the road kill on Ky. 801 in Farmers, Kentucky to photograph and pick up the armadillo.
Of the 20 known species of armadillos, the nine-banded armadillo is the most widely distributed. It is the only armadillo species to have ventured north of Mexico. Today, the nine-banded armadillo is established as far east as South Carolina and as far west as southern Nebraska. Loughry said range expansion "has been consistent over the years, and is the continuation of a long-term trend."
But what biologists can’t agree on is why range expansion is occurring so fast. Factors that may be fueling this expansion include: climate change, the armadillo's general adaptability, its high reproductive rate and little desire on the part of humans to hunt or eat armadillos.
The two most likely things to cause armadillo mortality are getting run over by vehicles on roads or being eaten by coyotes.
"In the 1980s armadillos in Florida and Georgia merged with populations coming east from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi," said Loughry.
Today, armadillos are established in 15 southeastern states. They are expanding into the Appalachians and up the Atlantic coast.
Posted December 26, 2011
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Venison on the Grill!
November is the month when most hunters “put up” their winter’s supply of venison.
A review of Telecheck records reveals that last deer season hunters bagged 80,516 deer in November, or about 73 percent of the entire season’s harvest of 110,376 deer.
Venison as tablefare is unmatched. It’s the original local, free-range red meat, with fewer calories than beef or pork, and less cholesterol than chicken.
The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory reports that a serving of three ounces of venison has 133 calories and only about seven grams of fat.. This includes more than four grams of monounsaturated fats, which can help lower bad cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke if eaten in moderation, according to the American Heart Association.
Venison is a good source of protein, too, as well as vitamins B12, B6, B3, and B2, and trace minerals – phosphorous, selenium, zinc, and iron.
Deer in the wild are also free of the growth hormones and antibiotics that commercial beef cattle typically receive when they are fed corn and other grains while being “finished” in feed lots.
Proper care of a deer in the field will ensure good-tasting venison.
Field dress the deer immediately, and rinse out the body cavity. Deer hunters who are camping, or are driving home after hunting, should take along several gallons of clean water for this purpose. Hunters who are able to bring their deer back to the house within minutes of it being field dressed, should hang up their deer and rise out the body cavity with a high-pressure nozzle on a garden hose.
It’s okay to hang a deer overnight with the skin on if the air temperature is below 50 degrees. If the temperature overnight will rise above 50 degrees, the deer must be skinned and butchered immediately.
The best cut of meat on a deer is the tenderloins, long, tender muscles inside the chest cavity, attached to the bottom of the spine.
The second best cut is arguably the backstrap, long, round strips of meat along both side of backbone, just above the ribs.
The deer’s hams, its back legs, are meaty, but tougher. The hams are typically cut into roasts and steaks, ground into burger or cut into chunks for soup or stew.
The shoulders, if not too badly damaged by bullets or arrows, are typically kept whole for the BBQ grill.
The best advice is to de-bone all cuts of venison, and remove all the fat. Never saw through bones because it spreads marrow across the surface of the meat, which gives venison a gamey taste.
Venison is a versatile meat that can be preserved several ways. When freezing cuts of venison, first wrap in clear plastic wrap, then freezer paper. This will prevent the meat from being exposed to air so it can be kept in the freezer longer.
Venison can also be canned in jars with a pressure cooker, or dried in the oven as jerky.
Always thaw frozen packages of venison in the refrigerator, not at room temperature and never in a microwave oven.
For tasty venison steaks, marinate before cooking, to tenderize and neutralize any gamey taste. Soy sauce-based marinades work great with venison, and can be bought at most grocery stores, or mixed up fresh. There are lots of recipes on the Internet. For best results, marinate the cuts of meat overnight in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Here’s a tip for better burger. Chunks of venison that are going to be ground up should be lightly salted, covered in water, and refrigerated overnight. The light salting draws out any blood and strong taste in the meat.
Venison really shines when it’s cooked on a BBQ grill, preferably one that has a lid to hold in the smoke and keep the fire from flaming. Dry rubs enhance the flavor of venison.
Here’s the recipe for a basic “Texas-style” rub that works well on venison or beef brisket: 2 T Kosher Salt, 2 T Garlic Powder, 2 T Paprika, and 2 T Black Pepper. This recipe makes a half cup of rub, as one ounce is equal to two tablespoons (T).
Rub should be stored in an air-tight jar or zippered plastic bag to retain its freshness. Sprinkle rub on both sides of the meat. Cook over indirect heat.
Don’t over cook venison. Venison is best when cooked medium-rare for maximum flavor, and juiciness.
Posted January 29, 2012
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Trapping Most Effective Way to Control Wild Pigs
In Kentucky, wild pigs may be hunted with firearms year-round with no daily bag limit, but wildlife biologists believe trapping is the most effective way to control the feral pests.
"In established populations, hunting often educates more pigs than it removes," said Chad Soard, a wildlife biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "Research has shown that relying too heavily on hunting will not control pigs and may hasten their spread."
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is working with landowners to help them deal with the destructive, unwanted swine which pose serious ecological, economic and disease threats.
"We've had verified sightings of wild pigs in 37 counties," said Soard. "For many of these sightings there's no evidence of established populations. They're just isolated occurrences of free-ranging pigs living independent of humans."
Soard said he gets regular reports from landowners about their ongoing efforts to remove pigs from areas of Kentucky with established populations. "You have to adapt your strategy to completely eradicate wild pigs," said Soard. "You have to understand the species. Shooting them on sight isn't always best."
Wild pigs live in maternal groups called sounders, usually made up of several related sows with their offspring. Several maternal groups may come together to forage so there could be as many as 20 to 30 pigs on a food source.
Mature boars tend to be solitary and don't tolerate the presence of other males.
Hunting in general, and sport hunting in particular, is ineffective for controlling or eradicating wild pigs because boars are targeted.
"The removal of all age classes concurrently is critical to any successful control or eradication plan," said Soard. "Reproduction often outpaces the most intensive hunting efforts. Juveniles can breed at six months so you have to concentrate your efforts on maternal groups, continually trapping over a long period of time."
Shooting into a group of pigs forces them to search for sanctuary. "You're going to spread out the population and push them onto neighboring properties," said Soard.
"Wild pigs are not prone to wandering. They're not overly territorial, except when boars are fighting over breeding rights," said Soard. "Populations tend to stay in a small area unless they are pressured."
Wild pigs make their presence known by the sign they leave such as rooted up areas in woods and fields and wallows around small ponds or wet areas.
Trail cameras are a good way to assess wild pig numbers and find suitable trap sites. "You can't just trap anywhere; you have to locate the trap on fresh sign, where the pigs are actively feeding or traveling," said Soard.
Large box traps can be used to catch wild pigs, but corral traps are better. "They allow non-targeted species to escape and are capable of catching entire maternal groups of pigs at one time," said Soard.
Corral traps are made from wire and typically have a swinging, saloon-style gate which lets the pigs enter, but blocks them from leaving the trap. A good strategy is to establish the trap site at an area where pigs can feed unmolested. Then, monitor the site with trail cameras and set the trap when the largest numbers of pigs are feeding at the site.
In Kentucky, it is illegal to possess wild pigs. Any captured pig must be killed at the trap site. They may not be removed from traps alive.
Corral traps are commercially available or can be homemade. "We have a cost share program to help landowners offset the cost of the traps," said Soard.
Winter is the best time to trap. Food is in short supply and pigs readily come to bait piles. A good location for trap sites for pigs is travel routes between bedding and feeding sites.
Trapping works. "The staff at Bernheim Forest corral trapped steadily for three years and reduced the population to the point where damage and observations have ceased," said Soard. "You can't trap for a while and quit. You've got to stick with it."
Posted Feb. 2, 2012
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com 2011-12 Deer Season Fourth Largest Overall Harvest
Kentucky’s 2011-12 white-tailed deer season ended Jan. 16 with hunters posting the fourth largest overall harvest.
“The 119,656 deer taken was the highest total since the 2008-09 season,” said Tina Brunjes, deer program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Good hunting weather may have been a contributing factor to the excellent harvest during the last two months of the season.”
There was a record harvest for the month of December (12,989), which surpassed the previous record set in December 2004 by 4,261 deer. “Muzzleloader hunters were responsible for that big jump, checking in 10,536 deer during their nine-day late season, Dec. 10-18,” said Brunjes.
January’s harvest was excellent too – 2,628 deer, or just 73 short of last year’s record harvest for the month.
Overall, hunters reported taking 55 percent male deer, and 45 percent female deer. Modern firearms hunters bagged 83,357 deer, muzzleloader hunters 15,161 deer, and archers 18,169 deer.
“For the last 10 years our harvest has gone up and down a bit, but overall the trend is stable,” said Brunjes. “That’s a good sign.”
This past season Kentucky had 90,247 successful deer hunters, but 77 percent (69,776 hunters) took just one deer. “Seventeen percent of our successful deer hunters (15,118 hunters) took two deer, and six percent of our successful deer hunters (5,353 hunters) took three or more deer,” said Brunjes.
By zone, hunters harvested 52,664 deer in the 35 Zone 1 counties; 30,160 deer in the 27 Zone 2 counties; 25,324 deer in the 33 Zone 3 counties, and 11,505 in the 25 Zone 4 counties.
The bulk of Kentucky counties are in deer management Zones 2 and 3. Brunjes said there’s still work to be done in the Zone 1 counties, where deer densities are too high, and in the Zone 4 counties, where deer densities are below target levels.
Archers and muzzleloader hunters took 61 percent antlerless deer, and modern gun hunters bagged the lowest percent of antlerless deer – 38 percent.
Actually, crossbow hunters posted the highest percent of does in the harvest, 63 percent, and established a new harvest record in the process.
Crossbow hunters bagged 1,969 deer, which represents about 1.6 percent of the overall harvest.
For the third consecutive season archers posted a harvest record, taking 18,169 deer, or about 15 percent of the total harvest.
“Overall, the hunters we have are being more successful,” said Brunjes. “We hope that all this success will help them in mentoring new hunters.”