Published: August 27, 2008 08:00 pm      

Outdoors In Brief: 08/28/2008

Deer management group to meet in TC

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Northwest Michigan chapter of Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) will hold its inaugural banquet at the Elks Club in Traverse City on Friday, Sept. 5.

The banquet, which begins at 5 p.m., is the annual fund-raising event for the organization and will include a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. There will also be live and silent auctions, raffles, games and more. Tickets start at $50. Prizes include a new gun, tree stand or bow.

For more information, contact the QDMA at (800) 209-3337 or visit www.qdma.com.

Salmon Classic this weekend in TC

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Grand Traverse Area Sports Fishing Association will host the Big John/Huntington Salmon Classic Aug. 29-31 on East and West Grand Traverse Bays.

The tournament headquarters will be the Holiday Inn.

The tournament features $22,500 in prizes in ladies, pro and amateur divisions.

Weigh-ins will take place each day at 3 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. Fish caught will be donated to local charities.

Pickerel Lake camp to close for work

VANDERBILT -- Renovations to the Pigeon River Country's Pickerel Lake State Forest Campground in Otsego County are scheduled to begin in September.

Temporary closure of the campground will start immediately after Labor Day Weekend on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

These improvements, funded with a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, will be completed prior to the 2009 use season.

The repositioning of campsites, and relocation of vault toilets and water wells within the campground's existing boundaries will increase the number of campground sites from 39 to 41.

Each campsite will be regraded, resurfaced and expanded to accommodate two cars and a larger trailer. Campsites will also be outfitted with new picnic tables and fire rings. New access routes to campground amenities will provide improved access for all campers. The completion of these upgrades will bring Pickerel Lake State Forest Campground into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for accessibility.

Antlerless licenses on sale Sept. 8

LANSING -- Private land antlerless licenses for southern Michigan and a six-county area of the northeastern Lower Peninsula go on sale over the counter at 10 a.m. Sept. 8. In the past, private land antlerless deer licenses went on sale Aug. 16.

Leftover licenses for both private and public land for the remainder of the state will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 17.

Hunters may purchase one antlerless license each day for either private or public land but may buy no more than five private land licenses total.

Hunters may purchase no more than two private land antlerless licenses for the U.P. and Northern L.P. combined, except there is no limit on the number of licenses a hunter may buy for the five-county bovine tuberculosis zone in the Northeastern Lower Peninsula.