General

Your State Will Be Next!  This Friday, February 17th, Lorna Smith, a new commissioner to the WDFW, will present a radical new model of game management in Washington state. Past readers of this blog recall that in 2022 the WDFW commission canceled the annual spring bear hunt in Washington, claiming …

The Montana deer population survey numbers for 2022 were published late last year and show that mule deer numbers are down, way down! There are a lot of factors to blame, starting with the largest culprit that has been proven by research in many Western states and that is drought. …

Shooting from or across a public roadway or right of way  Misdemeanor: Up to $1,000 fine, 0-6 months in jail, 0-3 years license revocation Idaho Code 36-1508(a) states “No person shall: Shoot from Public Highway. Discharge any firearm from or across a public highway…” Idaho Code 36-202(x) states: “Public highway …

Utah recently closed down all shed antler hunting through April 30. The only question rattling around in my largely empty skull is, “What took so long?”  Ungulate populations across southern Wyoming and northern Utah and Colorado are severely struggling this winter. I just passed through the Park City to SLC …

I haven’t found one yet, but I’ve heard there are recipes for eating crow. I wish I could find a good recipe because I’ve been eating my fair share of it lately. Every year during legislative sessions we hear of bills that come up that make us raise our eyebrows. …

Arizona has a big game draw process whose complexity rivals the trophy quality of its elk tags. If you are familiar with how the AZ system works, read on, for those who are new to applying in AZ or who haven’t read up on it in a while, scroll to …

Possess/Transport wildlife without a Proxy Statement – Idaho 36-502(a)(4) Misdemeanor: Up to $1,000 fine, 0-6 months in jail, 0-3 years license revocation Idaho Code 36-502(a)(4) states “No person shall give another person wildlife to possess or transport unless they also give the transporter a proxy statement…”.  “Possess” is both actual …

Folks paying attention to the ongoing saga of delisting the grizzly bear finally woke up to long-awaited response on the morning of February 3rd. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced their take on petitions for delisting that were submitted by Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. While the 90-day findings the …

Past readers of this blog recall that in 2022 the WDFW commission cancelled the annual spring bear hunt in Washington, claiming lack of scientific evidence for the hunt, despite 48 years of data and the elk population being significantly below target.  The main reason for the cancellation of this hunt …

  Failure to properly validate and attach the tag.  Misdemeanor: Up to $1,000 fine, 0-6 months in jail, 0-3 years license revocation.  Idaho Code 36-409(d) Idaho Administrative Code 13.01.08.320 https://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/current/13/130108.pdf  In Idaho, it is a misdemeanor to not properly validate and attach your tag immediately upon kill.  I’ll be breaking …