When Fish and Game raised tag prices for elk by 12 percent and deer by 17 percent in 2009, tag sales dipped by 18 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Sales have continued to decline since, spurred by the poor economy. In 2013, nonresidents purchased about 40 percent fewer deer and elk tags than in 2008.
Read More
...in the wild in Mexico.The Mexican gray wolf was almost wiped out in the U.S. Southwest by the same factors that eliminated it in Mexico: hunting, trapping and poisoning.The last five survivors in the U.S. were captured between 1977 and 1980, and then bred in captivity. The first wolves were re-introduced into the wild in the Southwest starting in 1998, mainly in Arizona and New Mexico.The Mexican gray wolf remains an...
Read More
Beaver -- You could see as many as 100 mountain goats on Aug. 2. And you might not need binoculars to see them. At some past viewing events, goats have gotten as close as 35 feet to those viewing them. On Aug. 2, the Division of Wildlife Resources will host its annual Goat Watch on the Tushar Mountains east of Beaver. The event is free. The trip will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the convenience store at the bottom of Exit 109 off Interstate 15. (Exit 109 is the exit on the south side of Beaver.) From there, participants will caravan to the top of the Tushar Mountains. When you reach the top, you'll be close to 11,500 feet above…
Read More
...raffle tickets to hunters from Wyoming and across the country. Each ticket gave the holder the chance to win one of 10 hard-to-get hunting licenses for species including antelope, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, gray wolf, black bear, mountain lion or wild bison. The department also sold more expensive tickets for a "Super Tag Trifecta" draw, where the winner could select licenses for up to three of the above species. Wyoming Game and Fish Director Scott Talbott...
Read More
...sage grouse counted at leks (breeding sites) to counts from 1996 -- 2000 when Idaho began intensified surveys statewide. Current sage-grouse lek data indicate that many populations could be hunted at the "Restrictive" level. The guidelines also allow the flexibility to consider local issues, such as insufficient data, isolated populations, or impacts of wildfire and West Nile virus. F's upland bird managers will present sage-grouse hunting season recommendations to the Idaho...
Read More
WASHINGTON - More than 200 professional fish and wildlife scientists, including 12 former state fish and game agency directors and several former high-ranking federal agency officials, urged the U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management yesterday to "act promptly and meaningfully to conserve intact and unfragmented BLM-administered public lands across the West." "We recognize the critical importance of habitat provided by 245 million acres of Bureau of Land Management-administered public lands," stated the scientists in a strongly worded letter, "and we are concerned about mounting pressures that could result in the development and fragmentation of these lands. Barring responsive action by the BLM, many large landscapes could cease to support abundant fish and wildlife populations that have…
Read More
The Fish and Wildlife Service is phasing out the use of neonicotinoid insecticides on national wildlife refuges in its Pacific region, which includes Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. USDA is commissioning surveys and focus groups to find out more about food stamp recipients who aren’t exempt from the program’s work requirements. Respondents will be paid $40 to complete the interview. Rail Board Warned on Grain Focus.
Read More
The decision this past week during a meeting in Salmon was unanimous. The Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1sPIpYB) that the commission approved a letter opposing the monument to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and the Idaho Congressional Delegation.
Read More
Those types of traps are more typically used underwater to trap beavers, or up in trees to trap pine martens. Whereas a bobcat will go in and investigate." Bobcat trapping season runs from mid-December to mid-February.
Read More
July 13--In massive areas of the Jemez Mountains and Otero County, it's the meadow jumping mouse. Also in southeast New Mexico and Texas, it's the dunes sagebrush lizard. In Colorado and other Western states, it's the sage grouse. And Congress needs to change the law to recognize that -- since environmentalists and bureaucrats insist there is no leeway. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal.
Read More