A woman hiking alone at Utah's Zion National Park died Tuesday after falling from Scout Lookout on Angels Landing trail, marking the third fatality there in one week. The bodies of two men from Nevada who died while trying to navigate the Virgin River on a makeshift log raft were recovered Monday, according to the National Park Service. The Salt Lake Tribune.
A novice fly angler using a $21 rod at Smith Lake near Kalispell, Mont. yesterday caught a 29.7 pound, 47-inch northern pike, the potential North American fly fishing record for the species, according to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. Ivan Keeney battled the fish for an hour from his canoe, finally wrapping a jacket around his hand to land the toothy pike. The Flathead Beacon.
After Washington radio station WTOP reported a female opossum was killed in an alley in Northeast D.C. Tuesday, a local humane group came forward to offer $1,000 in an effort "to catch her killer." Man, some people just don't get out much, do they? WaPo Breaking News Blog.
Here's something completely foolish for your Friday. Research published by a British academic in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies contends that wildlife documentary makers often violate animals' private lives when filming their secretive and intimate activities. "It might at first seem odd to claim that animals might have a right to privacy," suggests Brett Mills at the University of East Anglia. Walt Disney: Voyeur. BBC.
Five members of a Salt Lake City-area family have been charged with 19 felonies connected with illegal hunting during the past 18 years. Officers with the state Division of Wildlife Resources seized a total of 90 deer, four antelope and one elk that were believed to have been illegally taken by members of the Jensen family. The Deseret News.
A measure heading to the desk of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist prohibits the importation and personal ownership of Burmese pythons and six other species of large, nonnative reptiles. The bill, which would take effect in July, allows those now owning banned species to keep them. Meeting separately yesterday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to amend its rules regarding the ownership and sale of captive wildlife species. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Floyd Dominy, who oversaw some of the Federal Bureau of Reclamation's biggest projects—including the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in the 1960s—died last week at 100. Reviled by environmentalists, Dominy said organizations like the Sierra Club were elitist and that his projects improved upon nature. The Wall Street Journal. Hat tip to The Westerner.
Gerard Rausch's 4.34-pound white crappie may officially surpass the 50-year standing state record of 4.02 pounds, but first it took a 172-mile ride to Bass Pro Shops flagship store in Springfield, MO, where it currently swims in one of the facility's freshwater aquariums. After catching the fish at a farm pond near Chanute, Rausch tried unsuccessfully to have the fish certified, finally deciding to take it to Missouri. “We wanted to keep the fish alive so that we’d have proof,” he said. Brent Frazee in the KC Star.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced yesterday that he used a Ruger .380 he sometimes carries to shoot and kill a coyote that threatened his daughter's Labrador retriever as he jogged in an undeveloped area near Austin in February. Perry said he took a single shot with the laser-equipped handgun. "It pretty much went down at that particular juncture," said the Governor. "I did the appropriate thing and sent it to where coyotes go." Via AP.
After the close of trading yesterday, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. reported net sales of $68.3 million and earnings per share of 44¢ for the first quarter of 2010, compared with sales of $63.5 million and earnings per share of 30¢ in the first quarter of 2009. CEO Michael O. Fifer also said the quarter saw firearms unit production increase 3% from the fourth quarter of 2009, and 15% from the first quarter of 2009. Press release.
The subject of wolves and wolf hunting in the Northern Rockies returns to federal court June 15 as U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy will hear oral arguments in the lawsuit over removing wolves from Endangered Species Act protection. A coalition of groups opposing the hunting of wolves has charged the US Fish & Wildlife Service erred in delisting wolves in Montana and Idaho but not Wyoming, arguing the species should be managed as a regional population. The Missoulian.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said Monday he plans to sign into law this week a measure requiring county sheriffs to issue concealed-carry weapons permits to all applicants who meet application standards. "The people have spoken very loudly," Gov Culver said. "It's probably been running 10-to-one in e-mails and calls in favor of signing this bill." Via AP.
A five-year long DNA-based study published today in the Journal of Wildlife Management found an estimated 765 grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, or about 2 1/2-times the number originally thought to inhabit the region. The Washington Post.
The Montana Department of Tourism, banking on the affluent readers of the New Yorker magazine, spent $65,000—one-fifth of its summer budget—to place a 4-page advertising spread in the April issue, hoping to lure deep-pocketed, urban-based fly anglers and nature lovers to the state in coming months. The Great Falls Tribune.
While we doubt there is any intramural competition available, that doesn't stop the members of Virginia Tech's Frog-Gigging Club from enjoying nights in the area's sloughs and backwaters, shining lights along the shorelines, searching for bullfrogs to stick. “It’s fun,” says Thomas Mitchell, club founder and senior mechanical engineering major. “I mean it’s a unique thing. We have a good time and have a tasty meal at the end.” Virginia Tech Collegiate Times.
