Hunting

Every spring Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks issues a message to Montanans to leave new born fawns, birds, and other infant wildlife where people find them. "If you care, leave them there," said Ron Aasheim, spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Helena. Aasheim said that most birds, for instance, learn to fly from the ground up, and not from the nest. "Whether you find a fawn or fledgling bird under a tree in a neighbor's yard or bunny under a bush it's important to know that wild animals commonly cache their young for periods of time to protect them from predators while the adults are feeding." Montana law prohibits the capture, feeding, possession and harassment of wildlife—both game…

Wildlife Board approves permits for fall hunts Salt Lake City - Nearly 2,000 additional hunters will have a chance to hunt buck deer in Utah this fall. After learning how well deer are doing in Utah, members of the Utah Wildlife Board approved the additional permits at their April 30 meeting. Most of the additional permits are for the state's general-season hunt. A total of 86,550 permits will be available for the general hunt this fall. In 2014, a total of 84,800 general-season permits were offered. Hunters applied for the permits earlier this year. Results of Utah's big game permit draw will be available by May 29. Permits for 2015 In addition to buck deer hunting permits, board members approved…

PHOENIX - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued a letter supporting federal legislation that allows skilled sportsmen to aid in the management of bison herds in Grand Canyon National Park. "This legislation is a sensible solution to address the impact of bison on the Grand Canyon's natural and cultural resources," Brnovich wrote in the letter. "Hunters were the first conservationists and hunting plays a valuable role in sustaining healthy wildlife populations." Brnovich issued the letter to U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jake Flake, who sponsored S.782: Grand Canyon Bison Management Act. U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar sponsored companion legislation (H.R. 1443) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Grand Canyon Bison Management Act seeks to enlist hunters to help control a…

MISSOULA, Mont. - A bighorn sheep killed in a highway collision in Alberta has the largest horns ever recorded for the species. Boone and Crockett Club measurers today certified the specimen as a new World's Record. The horns' final score of 209-4/8 B&C points edged out the previous World's Record, a ram taken near Luscar Mountain, Alberta, in 2000 that scores 208-3/8. The new No. 1 ram was hit by a vehicle on a highway west of Longview, Alberta. A local rancher who knew of the ram and found the animal on his property obtained a possession permit from Alberta Fish & Wildlife. He said, "This ram and a younger ram had lived on the ranch where I worked since…

With wolf-delisting back on the national stage and new efforts to shut down 165 million acres of prime mule deer hunting in the Western United States, Big Game Forever will use the expo as an opportunity to meet with supporters from throughout the west to talk about this important issue and what can be done to finish the job of ensuring western states' right to manage wildlife.

OLYMPIA - About 44,000 acres of wildlife land in Kittitas County east of Ellensburg will be seasonally closed to motor vehicles Feb. 1 through April 30 to protect wintering elk. The winter closure includes portions of the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area, which is managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The closure only restricts motorized vehicle access; the public may still access the area by foot, horseback, or mountain bike. The area subject to the closure is north of the Vantage Highway, south of Quilomene Ridge Road, east of the Wild Horse Wind Farm and west of the Columbia River. This is the eighth year of the seasonal closure of the wildlife area lands, said Scott McCorquodale,…