The Outdoor Pressroom

Minn. DNR conducting lead bullet fragmentation test

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is conducting a study to examine the fragmentation of lead bullets by shooting various bullet types into sheep carcasses. The sheep will subsequently be X-rayed and tested at the University of Minnesota's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. "The goal is to simply give hunters some recommendations on bullet selection,'' said Lou Cornicelli, big game manager for the agency. Doug Smith reports in The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Utah court's access ruling divides anglers, landowners

A July 18 ruling by the Utah Supreme Court allowing access rights across streambeds on private land is poised to heighten tensions between anglers and landowners in the state. "The public has the right to touch privately owned beds of state waters in ways incidental to all recreational rights provided for in the easement," the opinion states. In the Park City Record.

Court upholds non-Indian hunting ban on reservation

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Montana has the right to bar non-Indians from hunting big game on privately owned fee lands within American Indian reservations, even if the land belongs to the hunter. The 9th Circuit upheld a U.S. District Court ruling that agreed with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' position that the state ban on non-Indian hunters was not based on race. In The Billings Gazette.

KY pastor reaches plea deal in snake bust

The pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, KY, who was arrested earlier this month for trafficking poisonous snakes, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 7 counts of buying, selling or transporting protected wildlife. Gregory Coots, 36, will pay $6,400 in fines and receive 2 years probation. Via AP.

NJ lawmakers demand release of bear counts

With New Jersey's nuisance bear reports up 44 percent over last year, legislators from the heart of bruin country are demanding that the Department of Environmental Protection release bear population estimates and suggested the numbers are being suppressed. But DEP officials contend they do not have statewide numbers, only "a study area estimate." In The Star-Ledger.

S&W: The Heller v. DC commemorative revolver

Smith & Wesson announced yesterday it will produce an engraved version of its Model 442 revolver to commemorate the historic June 26 Heller vs. DC Supreme Court decision. The gunmaker said a revolver will be presented to each of the six plaintiffs in the case, including lead plaintiff Dick Heller, and a portion of sales will go to The Second Amendment Foundation. S&W press release.

Breeding wolves confirmed in Oregon

Biologists in northeast Oregon have confirmed the presence of Oregon's first reproducing pack of wild wolves since the predators were exterminated from the state decades ago. Michael Milstein in The Oregonian.

N. Dakota ball games experience moose delay

Authorities in Minot, N. Dakota cancelled the scheduled youth games at a city softball complex yesterday when a pair of moose calves, weighing approximately 800 pounds each, decided to take the field. "We dropped the fence and headed them in the direction we wanted them to go, and fortunately, they went that way," said Richard Schnell, the Minot police department's animal control officer. AP reports and see the video.

6-legged deer recovering after dog attack

A six-legged whitetail fawn is recovering in a Rome, Georgia animal clinic after it was attacked by dogs this weekend. Veterinarian Dan Pate said the fawn has two distinct pelvises and had two tails, one which was amputated during surgery. "It is really an anomaly. It appears it had an identical twin that didn’t form all the way," said Dr. Pate. In The Rome News-Tribune.

India: Crocs deployed as forest guardians

Cash-strapped state game agencies take note: Authorities in India have deployed nearly 60 captively bred crocodiles around wildlife areas to discourage trespassing and tree-poaching. "We are pressing into service these reptiles for forest conservation. Once crocodiles are firmly ensconced in the water inlets, human intrusion would be greatly curtained," says Golakh Rout with the Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division. Reported by Press India.

Gimme some skin: Carp perform pedicures

Wanna hear the latest from the land of spas and pampering? It's carp pedicures. The Associated Press reports today that a northern Virginia spa has been offering pedicures performed by tiny carp for the past four months. John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife, Yvonne Le, said 5,000 people have taken the plunge so far. Bottom feeding, indeed.

Bear removed from NM neighborhood after online tracking

New Mexico Game and Fish personnel were called to remove a 300-pound black bear in an east Albuquerque neighborhood last week, in part due to Internet-savvy residents who had been tracking the bear's movements on a Yahoo group. The 7-year-old bruin was tranquilized and relocated. Reported on KOB.com.

City's blessing: Boaters should respect baptism services

As the result of an incident at Chickamauga Lake on the 4th of July in which an impatient boater launched his watercraft while a church baptism service was taking place at a public ramp, the Soddy-Daisy, Tenn. City Commission has voted to require churches wishing to perform future such services to first contact City Hall. “When we get to a day and time that a person can’t respect another person’s religious activity of baptizing, we’re in trouble," said Soddy-Daisy Mayor Bob Privett. In The Chattanoogan.

Potomac shore homeowners want to silence duck hunters

Owners of multi-million dollar homes on the Fairfax, Va. side of the Potomac River say that gunshots from duck hunters who are permitted to erect blinds within 100 yards of their property wake them up, stress them out, spook their pets and scare their children. "It's very disturbing to be trying to write Christmas cards and to hear shooting," said Elizabeth Ketz-Robinson, 59, a psychotherapist who lives on the water with her husband, Don, and three golden retrievers. "I want to tear my hair out sometimes." In The Washington Post.

One of California's 'most abusive poachers' gets fine, jail

A man called one of the state's "most abusive poachers" by California Fish and Game has been convicted in Superior Court, receiving one of the most severe sentences ever ordered for game violations. For his numerous deer-poaching activities, Jesse Rodes received a $10,000 fine, 90 days in county jail, three years probation, and loss of hunting and firearms privileges. Reported by Tom Stienstra in The SF Chronicle.

Colo. game officers kill bad Beaver Creek bear

Colorado Division of Wildlife authorities killed a bear that had broken into at least five homes and ripped the door off one residence while people were inside. “It would not go in the traps, so we actually tracked it and euthanized it,” said DOW spokesman Randy Hampton. In The Summit Daily News.

Turtle kissing goes awry: snapper bites man's tongue

Calvin "Clicker" Embry, a 41-year-old laborer and turtle hunter from Wayne City, Ill., says he's performed his crowd-pleasing turtle-kissing act about a hundred times--and he'd never been bitten. That is, until he tried kissing a 15-pound snapping turtle on the 4th of July, when something went terribly wrong. "That doctor hadn't ever seen anything like this, so he took some pictures for the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine," Embry said. Evansville Courier & Press columnist Len Wells writes that the snapper's work on Embry's tongue affects his speech to a degree, but he says it won't make him stop kissing snappers' snouts.

Judge grants injunction restoring wolf protection

Biology from the bench: Citing that "genetic exchange has not taken place," a federal judge in Montana has restored ESA protection for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, effectively blocking the plans of state game agencies to hold fall hunting seasons for the predators in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Via AP.

Agony at sea: tainted grouper sickens anglers for days

Toxic yellowfin grouper eaten by two Florida anglers while fishing in the southern Bahamas left the men in agony for eight long days. Ciguatera, caused by eating fish that contain toxins from reef algae, leads to vomiting, diarrhea, vertigo, itching and the unusual symptom of a reversal in sensing temperature. Health officials are trying to pinpoint exactly where the toxin-laden fish, which have sickened at least 10 Palm Beach County residents since the end of June, were caught. In The Palm Beach Post.

Calif. cougar 'victim': it might have been a dog

Confronted with the lack of physical evidence corroborating his story, a 50-year-old man who claimed he was attacked by a mountain lion in a Palo Alto park has suggested that "if it wasn't a mountain lion, it was perhaps a dog." Police say no charges will be filed in the case, though game wardens, a federal tracker and hounds were sent to hunt for the aggressive cat in an effort costing thousands. The San Jose Mercury News.

Heller : 'Rejected again'

Security guard Dick Heller, plaintiff in the District of Columbia vs Heller Supreme Court case that ended Washington D.C.'s 32-year-old handgun ban, was turned away by authorities on the first day of the city's registration program for not bringing his specific firearm as stipulated by the city's newly passed stringent regulations. "I've been rejected again," said Heller. Reported by AP.

Maine angler hooks, reels in drowning man

An experienced angler and rod builder is credited with saving the life of a man who reportedly jumped from a 114-foot high bridge into the Kennebec River in Hallowell, Maine Thursday morning. Bob Greene, 42, snagged the floating man with a Chug Bug lure and reeled him to shore using a 7-foot spinning rig with 25-pound test line. In The Kennebec Journal.

No $10 ticket, no $10K for another AK halibut angler

For the second time in three weeks, a halibut with a $10,000 Homer Jackpot Derby tag was landed by an angler who failed to purchase a $10 ticket to make him eligible for the cash prize. Prior to this year, no angler has landed a $10K fish in the 17-year history of the event. In The Anchorage Daily News.