Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Photo Courtesy of suemini8_Envato

History:

Grizzly bears used to roam the mountains and coast of California.  In the early 1900s, Californians experienced a large portion of grizzly bear conflicts.  Through poisoning and trapping, the grizzly bears were killed off.  The last recorded sighting of a California grizzly bear, in the wild, was in 1924.  For over 100 years, there have been no recorded grizzly bears on the California landscape.

Facts:

Mountain Lion

Since 1990, California has been a state of Ballot Box Biology.  Proposition 117 made the California mountain lion a protected species.  Ever since then, the California mountain lion population has been booming.  While the take of mountain lions has not stopped, now the taxpayer pays for it instead of hunters.  On average, 72 mountain lions are killed each year as a result of mountain lion and human conflicts.  

Black Bear

California has the highest population of black bears in the Lower 48.  California has a conservative estimate of 60,000 black bears within the state.  Even with California being a very large state, black bears don’t inhabit all of the state (only 40% of the state).  This creates a large density of bears.  In 2012, California passed a law that outlaws hound hunting for bears starting in the 2013 season.  In 2012, 1,962 bears were reported as taken during the season.  The following year (2013) without the use of hounds, that number dropped to 1,078 bears.  

Photo Courtesy of Eastmans Multi Media

 

In my last article, I described Wyoming’s landowner tag debate as a crossroads—one that demanded careful balancing between respecting private stewardship and protecting public opportunity. 

Now, after the Commission’s final decision to ratify the proposed changes to Landowner tags in Wyoming, the cart is moving down a path that may result in fewer tags for public draw hunters into the future.

Instead of giving a little and gaining a little in a system many felt had already tipped too far out of balance with public draw hunters, the Commission chose to expand landowner eligibility at yesterday’s meeting. In the draft regulations, there was an expansion of step-family as eligible, and for nonresident landowners to qualify for nonresident regional elk licenses without going through the public draw.

Moreover, landowners now will not need a Wyoming Game and Fish official to provide documentation of the 2,000 animal use days that serve as a requirement for the 160 contiguous acres they live on. While Wyoming Game and Fish had been understandably strapped for time to make these confirmations of animal use days, it’s now up to the proverbial “scouts honor” for landowners to prove the time animals are on their places.

Photo Courtesy of kjekol_envato

 

This is what happens when you let Ballot Box Biology dictate how you manage your state’s wildlife. As you’ll recall, Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program was authorized by Proposition 114 which barely passed on Nov. 3, 2020, by the smallest of margins, 50.91% to 49.09%. Colorado’s Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) professional wildlife managers and biologists did not ask to have wolves introduced to Colorado, it was forced upon them by voters, primarily from the urban areas of Denver and Boulder. The fact that Colorado hand tied our trained wildlife professionals and allowed uninformed voters to dictate our state’s wildlife management policies has had disastrous and expensive results.

The Curtain Is Pulled Back

As reported in “The Denver Gazette”, CPW spent more than $3 million on the state’s wolf reintroduction program in one year, which is more than three times as much as what voters were told it would cost during the ballot debate in 2020. Back then, budget analysts estimated that implementing the reintroduction program would cost approximately $800,000 annually, starting in fiscal year 2023-2024. The actual expenses from July 2024 to May 2025, as CPW reported to a legislative committee, were $3 million. An outrageous cost overrun.

As detailed in the “Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan”, the restoration of wolves is a multi-year effort, with intentions to release 10-15 wolves per year for 3-5 years. The program had a deadline to begin re-introduction no-later-than the end of 2023. This deadline was almost missed as no neighboring states would provide any wolves to Colorado. At the last-minute Oregon agreed to provide 10 wolves to begin this project. Now, according to CPW’s “2024-2025 Colorado Gray Wolf Annual Report”, by the end 2024, the total number of wolves present in Colorado was 15 with 15 more being translocated from British Columbia in January 2025, bringing the total to 30. Of these 30 wolves, in 2024 there were four reported wolf mortalities and by my count there’s already been 5 more in 2025, bringing the total number of wolf mortalities to nine out of the 30 reintroduced and paid for by the state. The “cost per wolf” just keeps getting higher and higher. 

Collared gray wolf activity recorded by CPW from May 27 – June 24, 2025

 

The June 2025 Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map is now available, displaying the wolves’ movements throughout the state during this month. For a watershed to indicate wolf activity, at least one GPS point from at least one wolf collar was recorded within the boundaries of the watershed within the last 30 days.
Wolf Movement Updates:

CPW lethally removed gray wolf 2405, a member of the Copper Creek Pack, in Pitkin County after determining livestock producers had experienced chronic wolf depredation despite implementing all reasonable non-lethal deterrence measures and removing any attractants capable of luring wolves.Biologists received a mortality alert for gray wolf 2507. As a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is performing a necropsy and investigating the cause of death.Wolves continue to make broad movements across many western counties (see map). Wolves travel long distances to find food, mates and space to live.CPW is monitoring four potential dens.

Below is last month’s map for comparison:

PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Eastman Outdoor Photography

 

What Happened
What initially was reported as a helicopter pushing deer away from hunters, turned into a large-scale poaching operation. IDFG investigated the incident which led them to Karl Studer. Studer was originally charged with 8 felony and 17 misdemeanor charges. This was spread throughout Blaine, Camas, Minidoka and Twin Falls County. Eventually the charges were consolidated to an inditement by the Twin Falls County Grand Jury on seven felony wildlife related charges in early 2025.

The Evidence
Part of the State’s case against Studer were the flight logs from the helicopter along with cell phone GPS data. The cell phone data likely came from a search warrant performed on Studer’s phone. On 06-02-2025, Studer entered a guilty plea in front of Judge Hancock. Studer plead guilty to the unlawful killing of a bull moose as part of a plea agreement with the Twin Falls County Prosecutors. In exchange for his guilty plea, the remaining 6 felony charges were dropped.

The Sentence
On 06-23-2025, Studer was sentenced for his guilty plea. Both the prosecution and defense fought over whether Studer should have a lifetime hunting license suspension in Idaho. The defense argued that Studer was not a greedy man, pushing for only a 5-year license suspension. For me, it does not get greedier than what Studer did. In the end, the state got the lifetime hunting license suspension. Judge Hancock also imposed a fine of $50,000 (on top of court fees and restitution fees to the state for the poached animals), and 5 years of unsupervised probation. Studer also has a suspended prison sentence of 3 years Determinate and 2 years Indeterminate with credit for time he served in jail.

My Thoughts
That is a fancy way of saying, if Studer messes up in the next 5 years, he can end up getting sentence to prison time. Personally, I think this type of a sentence is too light for the crimes that Studer allegedly committed. This is often the case with plea deals. Unfortunately, prosecutors must weigh the cost of a trail with the possibility of a non-guilty outcome. This comes at a cost of a more appropriate sentence. Often with conspiracy cases, plea agreements are offered to the co-conspirators in return with testifying against the other co-conspirators. Studer was not alone when committing these alleged crimes and not much is known about the others involved. Makes me wonder if he is going to testify against the others. That is just speculation on my part as of now, however.

This review features Spartan Forge’s mapping application for mobile and desktop computers. Ike Eastman talks about map features and hunting advantages of using Spartan Forge’s unique tool set with Bill Thompson, Spartan Forge CEO. Not only is this a handy tool for e-scouting and knowing property boundaries in the field, you can access Eastmans’ TagHub for hunt application research before you ever apply for that next dream hunt. It’s an all-in-one hunt research and mapping option including unique map layers such as LiDAR. Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR, is a remote sensing method that can visualize through foliage and vegetation to give you an even more detailed look at landscape topography. Spartan Forge even offers a free version of its service to help hunter’s at every life stage.

Start exploring now at https://bit.ly/SpartanForge-Eastmans

The post Gear Lab Video: Mapping for Hunt Research with Spartan Forge appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

In this review, hunter Brandon Mason showcases the SecureIt Agile 14 and Agile 52 gun and gear storage models. Brandon walks through the universal compatibility of SecureIt’s CradleGrid accessories across both models, showcasing the modular interior system that allows for a personalized setup to suit any loadout. He also takes a closer look at the digital keypad entry on the Agile 52, breaking down how to operate and program it for secure, quick, access.

The post Gear Lab Video: SecureIt Agile Series Review: Model 14 & 52 appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Last week, I wrote a blog breaking down Senator Lee’s (R-UT) proposal to mandate the sale of 2-3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land and National Forest land in 11 western states. Well, a lot has happened since then, which means an update is warranted. As a reminder, on June 11th, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) released a proposal as part of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s contribution to the Senate’s budget reconciliation bill—otherwise known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” mandating the sale of millions of acres of public lands across the west. 

On June 23nd, we woke up to the news that the Senate Parliamentarian struck the land sale provision from the larger reconciliation bill for violating something called the Byrd rule. This complicated rule requires, in general terms, that in order to avoid a sixty-vote threshold for passing a bill, language must be focused on raising revenue or cutting expenses, not policy.  As long as it meets that requirement, the bill can pass with a simple majority. However, not one to give up, late in the evening on June 24th, Senator Lee decided to take another run at selling public lands with amended language to his prior bill. As of the time of writing this blog, he has not confirmed that the next circulating among the public can be attributed to him. But it largely matches what he’s said publicly that he intends to do. Since there isn’t much time left before the Senate acts, it makes sense to operate as though this is the new text.  

So, like the prior blog, here’s a no-frills breakdown of what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in Senator Lee’s Proposal. 

Mandates a Massive Sell-Off of Public Land

First, Sen. Lee did remove National Forest land from the mandatory sale, but the bill continues to mandate the sale of large amounts of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. The amended bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to begin disposing of, “as soon as practicable” after bill passage, and every 60 days after that: 

 

David Willms – Associate Vice President for Public Lands

Before joining the National Wildlife Federation, David served as a natural resources policy advisor to Wyoming Governor Matthew H. Mead, and a natural resource attorney in both the public and private sector. He also teaches a graduate course on the Endangered Species Act at the University of Wyoming, and writes frequently on various wildlife and land management issues.
David received a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and Management and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming. He lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with his wife and three young children.

Ike Eastman and Dan Pickar break down the public land sale in the Senate Budget Reconciliation Bill (Big Beautiful Bill). They discuss what could be lost, how it impacts Wyoming, its wildlife, and the nation, and what you can do to help to stop it.

David Willms – Associate Vice President for Public Lands

Before joining the National Wildlife Federation, David served as a natural resources policy advisor to Wyoming Governor Matthew H. Mead, and a natural resource attorney in both the public and private sector. He also teaches a graduate course on the Endangered Species Act at the University of Wyoming, and writes frequently on various wildlife and land management issues.
David received a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and Management and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming. He lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with his wife and three young children.

 

There’s something special about returning to your old stomping grounds on a crisp October morning, elk bugles bouncing off the hills you once called home. For many who grew up in Wyoming, the desire to come back and hunt familiar ground never quite goes away. It’s not just an element of nostalgia, either. It’s been reported that Wyoming exports nearly 70% of it’s youth who have these memories. 

That’s why a new proposal being floated in the Wyoming Legislature has started a conversation last week at the TRW Committee Meeting in Dubois. 

A “nonresident native” tag program is being proposed, one that would grant a pathway for former Wyomingites to return and hunt on more reasonable terms. These wouldn’t be general nonresident tags open to the world. They’d be reserved for those with legitimate ties to the Cowboy State.

On the surface, it’s a heartwarming idea. But for those of us who think deeply about wildlife management, hunting opportunity, and the places that keep us living in Wyoming, it deserves a hard look.

Letting Emotion Override Conservation

Wyoming caps nonresident tags at about 16% of total draw tags for elk, and 20% for pronghorn and deer with residents getting priority on most general seasons. This framework keeps pressure in check and maintains a dang good hunting experience for the half-million people who choose to have wind-bent doors and live in Wyoming year-round.

Photo Courtesy of Eastsmans’ Publishing

Mycoplasma ovipneumonia was recently found in Bighorn sheep in Montana’s Missouri River Breaks. This is the first time pneumonia has been detected in area 622 of Montana which led to a sizable winter dieoff and the closure for hunting in the Hunt District. There are herds in Montana that have this type of pneumonia bacteria that have been doing okay for quite some time, which would suggest that herds infected long ago developed herd immunity to this bacteria. 

However, this strain of M. Ovi bacteria has never been sequenced before in the labs. It’s just slightly different. So where did the bacteria come from? According to an FWP disease ecologist, domestic sheep and goats carry many variations that haven’t been documented in wild sheep. 

We do know that the Browns’ ranch in the Breaks began grazing 500 domestic sheep and goats beginning in 2019. What was once a disease-free, isolated, sheep stronghold, is now in peril. Populations have been declining since 2019 with lamb recruitment down to 33 lambs per 100 ewes in 2022 and 2023, which is half of what they were producing from 2016-2021. 

Another culprit adding to the decline of the sheep in the Breaks is the influx of mountain lions. Lions are occupying more of the Breaks now according to Region 6 Wildlife Manager Scott Thompson. 

https://www.dnews.com

Collared gray wolf activity recorded by CPW from April 22 – May 27, 2025

 

The May 2025 Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map is now available, showing the wolves’ movements around the state this month. For a watershed to indicate wolf activity, at least one GPS point from at least one wolf collar was recorded within the boundaries of the watershed within the last 30 days. 

Wolf Movement Updates:

This review features Browning’s X-Bolt 2 Speed rifles with the fluted or carbon barrel options. Hunter Brandon Mason breaks down all the features of each model at the rifle range and in the field. Both models feature the Vari-Tech composite stock finished with Browning OVIX camo. This stock allows for a personalized fit for any shooter with easy to adjust comb height, grip angle and length of pull. The ‪Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed Carbon Fiber SR boasts a Preferred Barrel and comes with the Recoil Hawg muzzle brake. Paired with Hornady‬ Precision Hunter ammo, both rifles were shooting tight groups in no time.

The post Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed Rifles Detailed Reviews appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Photo Courtesy of Eastmans’ Publishing

“Hunters flying in to a landlocked spot will have to wait 24 hours before they can legally hunt under the new bill.” 

Using a helicopter to access landlocked parcels of public land is becoming more popular in places like Montana, much to the chagrin of folks without the inclination or money to utilize the method of transportation. Nevermind that folks wanting to access the locked up ground via traditional methods of transportation wouldn’t be able to anyway because it’s landlocked in many instances. 

Nevertheless, Montana has passed SB 106 which places a 24-hour waiting period from time of travel to time of hunt and adds that helicopters must land within “100 feet of a two-track road.” 

Needless to say, there will be folks both applauding and decrying SB 104, as there is with any new legislation, but my take is that Montana could have just made flying a chopper into landlocked public land illegal across the board, but they didn’t. Montana sided with public-land hunters and issued a commonsense law that upholds fair chase hunting standards. 

That said, will I be chartering a chopper to access public-land elk or mulies anytime soon? Probably not, but it’s nice to know that I could if I wanted to. 

Photo Courtesy of Eastmans’ Publishing

 

Nice work to everyone who took the time to send your elected representatives a message, email or made a call to express your opposition to the proposed sale of 1.5 million acres of your public land in Nevada and Utah. That’s how “government of the people, by the people, for the people…,” is supposed to work and it appears that it has indeed done just that. I would also encourage you to send a thank you for listening message as well. 

The proposed sale of public land in Utah in particular was in reaction to growing frustration surrounding the bureaucratic red tape local communities in Washington and Beaver Counties have been tangled up in when trying to acquire usage of federal land for growth, government and infrastructure. I guess Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, figured it would just be easier to work language into the budget bill that would pave the way for the sale of lands in question. 

However, co-chairman of the new Public Lands Caucus, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and his group stood up and were able to get the public land sale language removed from the budget bill. Zinke made this astoundingly common sense remark in response to the language being stricken… 

“There’s a lot of frustration down in the West. I understand that,” Zinke said in response to the amendment earlier this month. “But I prefer the management scheme. And I give an example as a hotel — if you don’t like the management of a hotel, don’t sell the hotel. Change the management. That’s where I sit on that position.”

Photo Courtesy of Eastmans’ Publishing

 

Modoc, Plumas, Sierra and Shasta county officials have recently declared that the wolves they’ve been forced to live in close proximity to are a threat to the well being of the people. In other words, those folks are afraid that the wolves, who have a penchant for killing livestock in and around homes and ranches, have grown complacent toward humans thanks to California laws prohibiting people from so much as hazing the predators away from homes and domestic animals. 

“These are wolves that have been in people’s back yards, including walking through children’s sandboxes,” Coe told Farm Press. “An elk was killed by wolves literally on the doorstep of a home that had a family in it during the night.” 

Shasta County in particular has declared an emergency on May 13th, as supervisors stated a, “significant threat to public safety from the presence and impact of gray wolves in close proximity to rural residents,” 

Others, including Amaroq Weiss, a “senior wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity,” are downplaying the concern expressed… ‘“People’s enormous fears of wolves attacking and killing humans have no grounds,” she said.”

General Areas Inhabited by Gray Wolves in Colorado – April 2025 Update

Collared Gray Wolf Activity recorded by CPW From March 25 – April 22, 2025

 

The April 2025 Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map is now live, which shows where wolves moved around the state this month. For a watershed to indicate wolf activity, at least one GPS point from at least one wolf collar was recorded within the boundaries of the watershed within the last 30 days.
 

Wolf Movement Updates:

CPW biologists received a mortality alert for female gray wolf 2514-BC. CPW, in cooperation with the National Park Service, has confirmed that the mortality took place in Rocky Mountain National Park. As a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating. A final determination of the cause of death will not be made until the investigation is completed. 2514-BC was part of the group of wolves translocated to Colorado from British Columbia. A female wolf (separate from the wolf in RMNP), released in Colorado in January after being translocated from British Columbia, has made significant movements across the state, covering more than 1,230 miles since translocation — an extraordinary display of the species’ natural exploratory behavior. This single wolf’s movement lit up nearly the entire southern line of watersheds on the map.Recent data shows activity in watersheds west of major population centers like Denver, Boulder and Estes Park due to the movement of other collared gray wolves. While these areas lit up due to brief movement on the western fringes of these watersheds, it does not mean that wolves were or are currently in high human-density areas.Wolves continue to make broad movements across many western counties (see map). Wolves travel long distances to find food, mates and space to live.CPW has an agreement with Utah, New Mexico and Arizona to ensure wolves crossing into those states can be safely returned to Colorado.

The post Colorado Wolf Update w/Mortality appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Photo Credit: Eastmans’ Publishing

Is it Time to Start Aerial Predator Culling in the Bob Marshall?

Ok, so we’ve recognized that elk herds are at historical lows in the Bob Marshall because of predators. Between wolves, black bears, grizzly bears, and mountain lions, elk numbers have been declining down to very little. Recently, according to studies FWP is counting less than 300 elk in a 50 mile winter range corridor of the South Fork of the Flathead River drainage. This is a 50 year low! I go over the specifics of these claims in the video link below. The same goes for moose and deer in the same locations. The answer is to kill predators. How do you manage such predators in such a remote location? Logistically it is very difficult so it’s going to cost money. There are no roads and it is wilderness. But there is an ANSWER! Alaska. Yep that’s right. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has been culling predators from helicopters for many, many years. 

You see, the predator and prey model is very simple. Do you want deer, elk or moose? Or do you want predators? You can’t have both. Deer, elk and moose populations aren’t declining because of climate change. They aren’t declining because of overhunting by humans. And they’re surely not declining because of less than ideal habitat in the Bob Marshall. The Bob has several burned areas from over the years that have created some of the best unused habitat you’ll ever see for elk and deer that just don’t have any animals.

Enter the Alaska model for predator management for the Mulchatna Caribou herd. According to Alaska Fish and Game, this herd consisted of nearly 200,000 animals in 1997. At that time, the herd provided more than 4,700 animals for 48 local communities. Now, there are only 13,000 animals left in the Mulchatna Caribou Herd which has been closed to hunting since 2021. Calf survival of this herd has declined by about 94% since 1997. Beginning in 2023, Alaska Fish and Game has become proactive on culling predators on critical calving grounds. That year, 94 brown bears, five black bears, and five wolves were killed from helicopters. Following the 2023 removals, staff documented an increase in calf survival through the fall with a caribou cow-to-calf ratio of 44 calves per 100 cows which is nearly double the 10 year average of 23 calves for every 100 cows. 

The numbers don’t lie. THIS IS SCIENCE. Culling predators is the answer. Just imagine what kind of herds we could grow if we implemented some of these same strategies on the calving ground in the Bob Marshall. Bring back the moose, elk, and deer! 

Bow hunter Dan Pickar, shares how to select a bow sight for hunting. This includes ergonomics, pin type, illumination, sight tape location, and more.

Sights included in this video:

Black Gold – https://bit.ly/BlackGold-Eastmans ULTRAVIEW – https://bit.ly/ULTRAVIEW-Eastmans Dialed Archery – https://bit.ly/DialedArchery-Eastmans  Spot Hogg – https://bit.ly/SpotHoggArchery-Eastmans

Bow included in this video:

Mathews Lift X – https://bit.ly/MathewsArchery-Eastmans

The post The Best Bow Sights for Hunting appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.