Hunting and Fishing News & Blog Articles

Photo Credit: Duallogic

I just read a very disturbing news article. Thanks to the article by author and rancher Cat Urbigkit in Cowboy State Daily, I’m able to pass along this information to help spread the word of very dangerous undertakings and games being played by the Federal Government and anti-hunting groups.

We’ve all heard the rumors of agendas to create “Buffalo Commons” or wide-ranging and connected bison herds in America again. Well, it isn’t just rumor.

According to the Cowboy State Daily, “A federal Bison Working Group will consist of the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Land Management, and the Geological Survey. This group will work on a strategy to “identify optimal approaches for populating new, healthy herds of wild bison” and “because most bison on Federal lands live in relatively small, isolated, range-restricted herds,” the new plan will focus on “managing these populations as one single connected population.” The executive order mandates completion of the draft plan by the end of this year.”

The funding proposal behind this is real, too, to the tune of $25 million from the Inflation Reduction Act funds!!! And did you notice that ranchers and private landowners weren’t included in the list of those with a seat at the table?

STOP THE INSANITY!!!!

Photo Credit: pexels-brett-sayles

Game and Fish is considering postponing the May 1 shed season this year. Winter conditions in Wyoming are unlike anything we’ve seen in 30 years and big game animals are struggling. Winter has lasted a long time and most of the state has well over 100% of objectives when it comes to snowpack. Jackson is currently sitting at 119%. The annual shed hunting season around the Jackson refuge historically begins May 1st. That may change this year as we are experiencing January-like weather and we’re well into April. Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik said, “if snow conditions and animal location create an impact for wintering big game that’s already been suffering large losses this winter, postponing the 2023 shed antler hunt would be a serious consideration.” 

So there you have it, it is a possibility but we are still a month out. With snow forecasted in much of the West currently, the wrath of old man winter is holding on strong. Temperatures in much of Wyoming are forecasted to be in the 50s and 60s next week so perhaps we are finally headed in the right direction. As long as it doesn’t get too warm too fast we won’t have too much of a problem with flooding in the coming weeks, we hope. 

As for those antlers? Well, I’m thinking more animals surviving winter and late-spring to create little ones is more important. How bout you? 

Source Link

https://buckrail.com/game-and-fish-may-postpone-shed-antler-hunt/

Photo credit: NoName_13_Pixaby

“He told us he was unable to get his dog to come back to him. He appeared very upset and stated he didn’t know why his dog would do something like this.”

A Jackson, Wyoming man lost control of his pet Husky early this week and the dog severely mauled two mule deer. This led to the dog being shot and killed by local authorities. It has been noted that while this is accepted practice for the protection of big game animals in Wyoming it is not commonly done and killing the Husky was not the officer’s first resort.

This instance serves as a stark reminder that dogs are predatory animals at their cores, carnivores whom, if given the opportunity, will gladly and wantonly kill for the pleasure of killing. The dog in question was in fact a pet and did not appear to have a history of chasing wildlife. However, there is a first time for everything. 

As a dog owner this is a nightmare scenario and if you read the article in full you’ll see that the owner did everything in his power to gain control of the dog to no avail. Even the most well trained dogs can be unpredictable. Keeping our dogs on a leash or under control with an e-collar is vital to their safety and the safety of the wildlife they may encounter. 

I love my dogs, as do many of you reading this. I also love wildlife. I do my utmost to mitigate any impact either my dogs or myself have on wildlife by maintaining control over them and exercising them in places where they won’t have a negative impact on wildlife. My point? Our dogs are our responsibility and we owe it to them to train them well, control them at all times and be proactive in deciding where we take them. Not all spaces are acceptable for dogs and like children, they don’t tend to make good decisions when faced with too much stimulation. 

Photo Credit: couragesings

Across much of the western portions of the Colorado Rockies, and especially the northwest corner of Colorado, this winter’s snowfall is significantly above average … and winter isn’t over yet. The National Weather Service’s Maybell weather station has recorded over 80 inches of snow for the area and it’s just as bad, and in many cases worse, in most of Wyoming.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Northwest Region Public Information Officer, Rachael Gonzales just posted an article stating, “…prolonged snow combined with strong gusty winds have made an already hard time of year for wildlife even more difficult. Food has been extremely difficult for big game to find as much of it is covered by deep, hard-packed snow.  This has forced thousands of animals to migrate farther west than they typically do, burning much-needed fat and calories they likely won’t replenish.”

“It’s tough,” said Assistant Area Wildlife Manager Mike Swaro. “There’s no other way to describe it. We typically see some mortality from starvation every winter. That’s just nature, not every animal survives. This year it feels like all we’re seeing is starving or dying animals.”

This winter has been very tough for big game in the Bears Ears and White River deer and elk herds, and exceptionally tough for the Great Divide pronghorn herds. In an area known for some of the largest elk herds in the nation, severe winter conditions have resulted in high elk calf mortality and above-average cow mortality. For deer, the combination of severe winter conditions and high prevalence of chronic wasting disease has affected the resiliency of this population. Over the past several years, biologists have observed a decrease in population and the sex ratio has fallen below the objective set in the Deer Herd Management Plan.

Pronghorn are seeing severe impacts this winter and significant mortality is being observed from aerial and on-the-ground observations. With extreme winter conditions persisting through March, pronghorn mortality continues to increase. Poor winter habitat conditions and little to no food sources have led to higher-than-normal mortality rates. 

Photo Credit: Yakov_Oskanov

The letter below came through my email this morning. I’ll not divulge who wrote it and it was unsolicited, but it does mirror my personal views on the issue of feral horses competing with wildlife. The mule deer, elk and especially pronghorn of southern Wyoming are at a tipping point this “spring” with more big blizzards on the way as I write this. 

It’s a foregone conclusion that Wyoming, northern Colorado, Utah and Idaho have suffered and will continue to see massive winter kill on ungulate herds for 2023. Unfortunately, as the below letter states, there isn’t much we can do about that in the moment. But what about giving the surviving animals every possible advantage to rebuild their numbers? 

Read the below letter and feel free to pass it along to whomever you think needs to read it. 

April 2, 2023

Photo Credit: Zelenenkajulija

HPAI H5N1 better known as the Eurasian Avian Flu, was first reported in California in July, 2022. The disease is mostly impacting birds but can be transferred to carnivorous animals when the infected bird is ingested. To date, this virus has been found in 45 of the 58 counties in California. In December, 2022 and January, 2023, the virus was detected in two dead mountain lions in Mono County.

These detections were unique because the cats were both part of a CDFW population study and wearing GPS collars. Even more unique is these two mountain lions were related (mother/daughter). With both cats wearing GPS collars, CDFW received a mortality notification and were able to recover the remains quickly. Both cats underwent a necropsy to determine the cause of death. They determined that the cause of death was swelling of the brain (encephalitis). They also noted that the cats had lesions in the lungs which caused a buildup in fluid. They are performing more testing to rule out the possibility of co-infections, but these two findings are associated with the Avian Flu.  

Although detections in carnivorous mammals aren’t widespread, CDFW is worried that the detections were so far away from the Butte County detection in a bobcat (January 2023). Mono County also had not had any detection in wild birds yet either. CDFW does not expect this virus to have a population level impact on California mountain lions, bobcats or other carnivorous mammals.

CDFW considers this a low-risk zoonotic pathogen, which means that it poses low risk of jumping from non-human animals to humans. Even with the low transmission risk to humans, the Center for Disease Control still recommends that you take protective measures if you encounter dead birds or mammals. If you run across a dead carnivorous mammal or bird and it doesn’t have obvious signs of the cause of death (I.e., shot, or hit by a car), call CDFW and report the finding. Do not handle the specimen if you can avoid it.  

The post Avian Flu In California Mountain Lions appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Photo Credit: Galyna_Andrushko

When people think of the old West images of weathered cowboys like Vigo Mortensen in “Hidalgo” and native tribes of horse oriented hunters roaming the desert on horseback looking for buffalo are the first thing that comes to mind. Often these memories are etched as a mural, that at one point or another, the person probably saw in a dental office or museum. Let’s call a spade a spade, the horse often makes the image what it is, and therein lies the conundrum of what we face with “wild” horses. Perception is king. 

The perception and deep ties that our culture has to horses are what make managing wild horses so incredibly tough to navigate. Emotion in our current cultural state trumps reality and sound judgment and in the case we are discussing today it certainly has pervaded to the point of serious damage to ecosystems. Hunting wild horses isn’t in the cards, large scale round ups aren’t working well anymore, and mass sterilization leaves the horses in the ecosystems for many years to continue their destruction. Can you imagine the outcry from our culture from otherwise “reasonable” people who would protest a mass culling of overpopulated wild horses? 

I think of an older couple who moved to Wyoming for a time to work as missionaries in our region. In their off time they took the Wild Horse Loop as often as they could to enjoy the animals and were sure to bring every relative and friend along with them. Once when I mentioned that the horse population was hurting mule deer and antelope habitat in a major way you could have heard a pin drop. I didn’t even mention that efforts were being made to bring the population down through chemical sterilization and mass herding. This couple was otherwise very pleasant to be around and honestly level-headed. However, trying to explain to them that the wild horses are part of the reason that antelope and mule deer are dying this winter wasn’t going to make sense. 

This isn’t just limited to my home state of Wyoming by any means. Without going into a master’s level thesis of research I would submit that  Nevada big game animals might be the ones getting the strongest kick to the guts from a population of horses that is soaring over objective. Going through Nevada’s unit and regional descriptions in February it was the same song over and over. Destruction of prime elk and mule deer habitat as wild horses roam the desert, creating the need for massive habitat restoration and replanting. Some of my contacts there told me that the horses are starting to look malnourished in some places, competing with each other for scarce food. NDOW documented this as well with reports that the horses are moving to higher elevations outcompeting even the hearty elk. 

With all this doom and gloom the real question is, what do we do? Mass roundups are no longer providing the needed drops in population to keep them on the landscape without doing harm.  Sterilization efforts can’t keep up and even if a young horse is sterilized they can live for decades, those of you who own horses do the math on just how much food they can consume. 

Photo Credit: Brandon Mason

Another day, another snow storm. Unless you are pushing the envelope on 80 years on this rock then this winter will probably be the worst you’ve ever seen in Wyoming. The winter conditions in the Cowboy State and others have gone from bad to worse, and now possibly even to the level of catastrophic. 

A few short weeks ago we were sitting on levels not seen since the brutal winter of the mid-1980s. Now, some are saying we are knocking on the door and maybe even through the threshold of the great winter of 1949! One of the worst on record. Although we may not be at the snow levels seen in 1949, we have now passed the longest winter on record by some accounts. It seems to be more about how the snow has come and not as much about the actual snow levels that have many throughout the state very, very concerned for our wildlife populations. 

Although no official statement regarding actual numbers has been made by the Game and Fish Department, very credible, on the ground, sources have reported some devastating news for Wyoming big game hunters and enthusiasts. Some areas on the western and Southern ends of the state could possibly see winter kill ratios in the neighborhood of 80% for their deer and antelope herds! Needless to say, if this turns out to be true, it would be beyond devastating for an already struggling deer herd. 

The ever-famed Wyoming Range deer herd could drop below 20,000 deer, a far cry from a population that once sported over 80,000 deer. The antelope in the area are in even worse shape with a double whammy of winter kill and a rare pneumonia outbreak creating a vicious double-edged sword for the pronghorn herds in and around the Pinedale and Baggs regions. 

Last night in Pinedale, the Governor of Wyoming hosted an emergency public meeting to discuss the dire situation in Wyoming. A full house was in attendance as well as a full boat of heavy hitters from the state agencies and the University. Many in attendance even offered to completely forgo the hunt altogether in Wyoming for the next year or two if it might help the situation. 

Photo credit: Brandon VanDyken

As I looked down at my ram laying on the shelf below us, I realized that I had finally killed a ram. The excitement and emotions got even higher as I picked my way down the cliff towards him. This was our seventh year of hunting sheep in this unit, we had blown opportunities and missed shots in past years.  My buddies and I had burned all our points to hunt this unit and it was worth it. We were sheep hunting, something we had always wanted to do. 

Being up in this country makes you feel small, with only the gear you can carry on your back or on the back of your buddy’s mules, which helps a lot. Either way, it requires you to bring your best. Being in shape is a must and having the right gear is helpful. None of this matters though, you first have to have a tag in your pocket. That is the biggest hurdle to sheep hunting – the tag.

Sheep hunting in recent years has become increasingly more expensive with hunts for Dall’s and Stone’s costing more than your child’s college tuition. The draw odds in states with Rocky Mountain and Desert sheep have become harder to draw than the PowerBall jackpot. However, there ARE ways to increase your chances of getting to sheep hunt.  

Yes, it may still take time and will cost money. The one thing that holds true is that you have to pay to play. Whether that is in state drawings or going to events like Wild Sheep Foundation banquets and playing the raffles. It all increases your chances, and you need to start now. I want to give you ideas on how to do that and a few on what you may need to do once you have successfully acquired a tag.

A strategy I wish I had started sooner is applying in other states and getting in raffles. The Wild Sheep Foundation holds both their national show and local banquets, all of which have raffles or drawings.  Your chances of winning at one of these are usually far higher than in the state draws. Even if you only buy one ticket at these, you are drastically increasing your odds of hunting.  

Photo Credit: byrdyak

As Colorado nears the actual implementation of its fairy-tale wolf “reintroduction” plan, some inconvenient and ugly realities of plunging the large predator back into the mix of modern society are taking center stage. First, it seems that wolves harbor severe contempt for domestic dogs and they don’t discriminate whether the dog or dogs in question are working animals or pets; the end result? Fido loses badly. 

It seems we’ve seen something similar in Colorado already this year with the cougar killing spree taking place on the state’s front range. Hmmm, I see a pattern here. 

Second, in an interesting attempt to protect its beloved, transplanted wolves, Colorado is implementing a 60 mile buffer zone with the bordering states of Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. Sixty miles? That’s laughable as young wolves or displaced wolves will travel much further than that seeking home ranges or suitable habitat. It’s also exactly how the North Park wolves responsible for killing dogs and livestock got to Colorado in the first place. 

To me this attempt to provide a safe-space displays enormous ignorance on the part of Colorado FWP and is the exact same thinking that led to the wolf “reintroduction” run amuck in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Combine said ignorance with seemingly willful arrogance that they know how to manage a species that’s been vacant from the landscape for at least two generations of biologists and you’ve got the makings of a Shakespearian tragedy; Macbeth – ambition – ignorance – arrogance – disaster. . . you get the picture. 

I’ll be in the back with my popcorn. 

Photo Credit: byrdyak

Less than a week ago Governor Cox signed the amended bill that allows year round mountain lion hunting in the state of Utah, in an effort to curb the quickly declining mule deer populations. Mule deer have been steadily declining the past several years because of extreme drought in much of the state. This effort is intended to help slow that decline until Utah can recover from the drought. 

Another piece of legislation that was attached to this bill is that the state will set aside $1 million a year to acquire land and preserve it for wildlife habitat and hunter access under the Division of Wildlife. For every dollar the state puts in, the federal government will match it with three dollars through the Pittman-Robertson Act. The state wants to purchase more land with tax dollars from private landowners and protect the land for public use. Much of these purchases will be grazing land. Through these purchases, the state will still allow grazing allotments. 

Another attachment to this amended bill is to let the use of trail cameras for hunting on private land be legal again after it was just banned early last year. The ban on trail cameras on public land for hunting from July 31 to Dec. 31 will still be in effect. 

https://www.sltrib.com

The post Update: Governor of Utah Signs Bill-Open Season On Cougars appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Photo Credit: mblach

About 80 elk were herded back up to Parley’s Canyon on Sunday after it was decided they were a public safety risk, being close to I-80 during heavy traffic hours for the better part of a month. The elk moved down to a golf course in Salt Lake City for the green grass after being pushed down by the worse than normal winter conditions in the hills surrounding the valley this year. I-80 was briefly closed and the elk were herded across the Interstate and back up to the canyon where there isn’t any green feed. DWR figured these elk were in good enough condition and picked a nice day to push the elk off the golf course. It’s a tough call to do but public safety is of utmost importance. 

This is a good reminder to give the deer and elk a break until green-up as shed season kicks in out West. If you are out there hiking around, even if you feel like you are being low impact, you will still spook deer and elk which stresses them at the most critical time of the winter, right now. March has been cold and snowy for much of the Western part of the country so it’s not looking good for our ungulate herds. Green-up hasn’t started in Wyoming so deer and elk are extremely depleted and weak and easily susceptible to stress and death. Unfortunately, I think the worst of the winter die-off has yet to come so please be aware of that when you consider going shed hunting or even hiking in the coming weeks.

If you absolutely have to get out and enjoy the outdoors, and I don’t blame you, try to recreate in areas with no wintering ungulates. 

https://www.ksl.com/article

https://cowboystatedaily.com

Photo Credit: Simon_Pixabay

California is a state of limited opportunities when it comes to species like pronghorn, elk and bighorn sheep.  Some of those opportunities are getting better and some are not.  

While some species aren’t doing so well in California (and in other states), the elk are doing well. Elk numbers are on the rise and California will be (hopefully) increasing opportunities for hunters. The proposals are not solidified as of now but soon we should know if the proposals will be adopted. The Commission should be voting on these proposals within the next few weeks.  

California is looking at adding numerous new elk hunting zones to increase opportunity throughout the state. They are also looking to add over 100 new elk tags. This will have an impact on not just the areas that will be newly open for elk hunting, but throughout the state. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is expecting this to help point creep on certain tags and spread-out applications for the current tags. This could mean improved draw odds for elk tags in California.  

While elk are doing well in California, the bighorn sheep are not in one of the Hunt Zones. Pneumonia has hammered one of the herds recently to go along with years of drought. This will result in some changes to tag allocation in one if not more Hunt Zones. California allocates tags as a representative of a population of rams in a herd. California allocates tags to harvest only 15 percent of mature rams in a herd population. So, if there are 33 mature rams in a herd, they will allow for 5 tags. If that mature ram number is cut significantly by pneumonia and drought, expect a significant reduction in tags. With that being said, look for some big changes to tags this year for bighorn sheep and for the coming seasons.

Keep an eye out for more on these species in the Eastmans’ Bowhunting Journal i137 and on Eastmans’ TagHub.

Photo credit: Jessica Rockeman

Currently IDFG is tracking 182 mule deer fawns and 149 elk calves throughout winter and early spring. These youngsters were captured in the fall/early winter and fitted with tracking collars. Which will allow biologists to follow their what, where, when and how, in regards to mortality rates for these two species. The more we know and understand about what “happens and when” the more we can contribute to the implementation of countermeasures. 

As of now, approximately 30% of the mule deer fawns and nearly 10% of the elk calves have already died statewide. These numbers don’t jump out too much, but they are concerning. We can see very similar numbers over the past five winters, however, the scary part is March and April are often the toughest months for these critters as their fat reserves are minimal and they need time to transition from fall forage to spring forage which can result in a high mortality rate if we have rough weather in March and April. 

Long story short, this makes for a potential killer recipe. Not to mention areas like SE Idaho where we know the snowfall and record cold temperatures are crushing deer and elk populations, for example, Unit 69 near Idaho Falls is showing roughly 45% mortality of fawns and Unit 75 is at a whopping 67% fawn mortality! What does this mean for deer and elk in the Gem State? Well, that is a multi-faceted answer. But we can assume that 2023 hunting in many areas will continue without major changes, however, with die-offs we can be assured that only the fittest animals survive, this is typically mature bucks and does. 

If you aren’t paying attention to numbers of fawns it might seem like things are okay this year, but in 2-5 years we will see the disparity. Thus, we need to strongly consider how we as sportsmen and women hunt these areas. IDFG tries to preserve animals with permit reductions, season closures, etc. However, it is inevitable that you will find areas offering permits for animals that you and I as hunters should strongly consider how we hunt/harvest. Just because you have a tag for a doe or buck doesn’t mean you should fill it on a healthy doe or young buck… It is up to us to hold the line in some instances and teach others the same. Shooting a dry doe or old, saggy-eared, gray faced buck won’t affect numbers very much, it might even help. But shooting young bucks or a doe in her prime will have a noticeable impact on herd health in many areas throughout the state, especially over the next couple years. 

We will keep you posted as reports come in later in April. Right now we can hope and pray for a mild-ish spring and keep tabs on the SE Idaho units as snow melts off.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission Meeting, 15-16 March 2023

During today’s meeting in Aurora, the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission addressed many topics; to include Preference Point Banking, Group Averaging, and Big Game License Allocations. Prior to this meeting, CPW’s Staff conducted public outreach on these topics, which could be implemented as early as the 2024 big game hunting season. The results of the public comments gathered were: 

Staff Recommendations discussed during today’s meeting follow: 

–Based on the 2023 comment form results, 69% of resident hunters ranked status quo as their least preferred option, showing that residents want CPW to take some kind of additional action on license allocation. Furthermore, 86% of residents and 74% of non-residents ranked a 75/25 (R/NR) across-the-board allocation as either their first or second choice. 

Photo Credit: harrycollinsphotography

Results are now available for the Arizona mid-winter draw.

Results are only available through a portal account and can be found here: https://www.azgfd.com

Successful applicants who have been watching their checking accounts closely may have already noticed a charge from AZGFD for the amount of their tag. Now by logging in to the portal you can see full results including the tag and hunt numbers.

If you were one of the lucky applicants who now holds a coveted AZ tag you have already completed the hardest part of your quest. According to the department there were over 225,000 applicants for less than 25,000 permits. So at the macro level every tag holder had to beat out 8 competitors for a chance to pursue Grand Canyon state elk or goats in 2023.

Those fortunate enough to hold buck and bull tags are looking good. The state is experiencing tremendous winter moisture on the heels of an above average monsoon. This is good news for the author of this article and everyone else with a tag in their pocket.

Photo Credit: Mike_Pixabay

Wyoming Pronghorn – Disease & Winter Mortality: Worth Applying? – Todd Helms

“This year, we are going to be at the lowest license issuance since I started tracking it in 1998,” Binfet said. “And it probably goes way beyond that.”

Wyoming is a notoriously harsh place to call home; drought ridden summers followed by extreme winters can make survival almost impossible for even the hardiest critters, like pronghorn. When you factor in disease outbreaks such as the most recent one south of Pindedale, which has claimed 200 pronghorn and counting, it simply stands to reason that tag numbers will be cut and hunting opportunities will be decreased, and rightly so.

This is the time of year when I’m helping folks make decisions on Wyoming applications, heck everyone one in our office does, but what I’ve been telling folks this year hasn’t been popular when it comes to “antelope”. Even my own dad was a bit incredulous about my application advice for speed goats in 2023. 

In short, buy points if you’re a non-resident. Most areas of the state are going to see more tag reductions and that means higher drawing odds and this year the trophy quality is more than likely not going to be worth the point spend in the best areas. Guy just finished up his Wyoming pronghorn analysis and it looks bleak. Taking his advice and going with what I’ve been observing, now is the time to bank points and wait for conditions to improve and antelope numbers to rebound. Remember, pronghorn do the bulk of their horn growing during the winter and when winters are harsh, like this one, they put more energy into survival than horn growth. 

photo credit: Christopher_Boswell

One of the best things about being a Wyoming resident is having the opportunity to speak your peace regarding wildlife management, especially hunting season dates and proposals. Well, for the next two weeks Wyoming residents get to do exactly that. 

I’ve posted the meeting dates and places below but for more information regarding proposed regulation changes follow this link https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Get-Involved/Public-Meetings

Keep in mind that our winter this year has been very hard on the animals we love and it’s up to us as stewards of both the wildlife and the land to make the right decisions and sometimes that means swallowing a tough choice like tag reductions or season dates being cut back. Any way you slice it Wyoming’s wildlife aren’t out of the woods yet as far as winter is concerned. 

Also, remember that if you cannot attend meetings in your area you can still weigh in online at the link above. 

Meeting Dates and Places

Photo credit: WirestockMisdemeanor: Up to $1,000 fine, 0-6 months in jail, 0-3 years license revocationMandatory 1 year license revocationIdaho Code 36-1201(c) states: “License to be Carried and Exhibited on Request. Have the proper required license, temporary license, authorization number or other information required by rule, on his person at all times when hunting, fishing or trapping and produce the same for inspection upon request of a conservation officer or any other person authorized to enforce fish and game laws.” Idaho Code 36-401 states in part “No person shall hunt, trap, or fish for or take any wild animal, bird or fish of this state, without first having procured a license”

Idaho Code 36-1201(c) covers both your hunting license and tag. The part that covers the tag is the “other information required by rule”.  With this code, you are required to carry it “on your person” as opposed to “in your possession”.  This is specific for a reason. I can think of a bunch of scenarios where someone could get in hot water because of this code.  

I know a lot of people who carry their tag in their backpack and that has caused some problems for them. One situation I know of happened to a friend of mine. He used to keep his tags in his backpack lid.  Over the course of the season, he damaged his backpack and had to use his back up pack.  

When he swapped out his packs, he forgot to transfer over the license and tags. Long story short, he ended up killing a bull elk about five miles from the trailhead. He went to tag the bull and realized he did not have his license or tag with him. He did the right thing and called the Game Warden and told him what he did. This ownership of the error kept him from a citation.  

A more common situation I could see happening is still with people keeping their tags in their packs.  People often drop their packs on the mountain, when making the final stalk on an animal. If you forgot to grab your tag and license from your pack, you’d be in violation. Now let’s say that your stalk was successful, and you shoot a nice 165-inch muley. Well, under Idaho law, you could be charged with felony unlawful possession of a “trophy” mule deer because of the score and the misdemeanor violation of not having your license on your person. It’s a slippery slope when it comes to the application of some of these laws and you might not be charged that way, but you could.  

To stay out of these situations, I always keep my license and tags in my bino harness. That bino harness goes on whenever I am hunting, and it only comes off when I am done hunting, this way my tags and my license are always on my person.  

Photo Credit: wirestockc

The Utah legislature passed a bill on Wednesday that would radically change the rules on cougar hunting. HB 469 would make for an open season on cougars 365 days a year and you don’t need a tag, just a hunting license. As you can imagine critics are outraged by this bill that would basically treat a lion like a coyote. Utah currently has no shortage of coyotes. 

Anti-hunting groups claim this bill is not based around science or actual real numbers where proponents of the bill are more interested in saving Utah’s diminishing mule deer herd. Also attached with the bill are changes to the recent trail camera rules, outfitters, guides, and land acquisitions to ensure public access in the future. 

Faith Jolley of DWR said that “recent studies on select mule deer populations have indicated that cougars cause deer populations to fail to meet management objectives and increased harvest of cougars on those units has correlated with an increase in adult doe survival and growing the deer population”. She added that cougar numbers have increased over the past decade in the majority of Utah’s hunting areas. 

The Utah Houndsmen Association would like to see the bill struck down claiming that lions are needed for the ecosystem but the main concern is how the legislature circumvented to public process that’s been in place. The bill would go into effect May 3rd if signed into law by Governor Cox. 

Cougars on the Loose