The (New) Outdoor Pressroom

Florida manatee abuse nets fines, jail time

While this story is almost two weeks old, we think it deserves posting nonetheless. A couple of ne'er-do-wells who taped themselves hooking an endangered manatee in a Fort Lauderdale-area canal, then posted the video on MySpace, were sentenced to 30 and 15 days (respectively) in federal prison for manatee abuse. The two must also perform community service and post an apology on MySpace. Reported in the S. Florida Sun-Sentinel. You can view their incriminating video at CBS4 News.

Lawmaker offers bill to protect hunting in WV gorge

After an effort last year to curtail some hunting within the boundaries of West Virginia's majestic New River Gorge National River, a federal legislator has introduced a bill to prohibit future attempts to close acreage to hunters by the National Park Service. “I view it as a God-given right for West Virginians to hunt in the New River Gorge, by golly,” said bill sponsor, Rep. Nick Rahall, (D-W.Va). In the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Home-intruding deer trashes hoosier's house

A Parker city, Indiana man called police to his neighbor's unoccupied home Tuesday after he found a window broken and saw blood smeared on the living room walls. The city marshall discovered the culprit, a whitetail doe, and was able to drive it out through an open door--but not before it left its mark in every room of the home. "It looks like Charles Manson got loose," neighbor Jerry Morgan said. "It looks like helter-skelter." Reported in the Muncie Star-Press.

Rocky Mtn Refreshment: Brewer to provide grain for deer

Colorado-based Coors Brewing Company will donate more than 100,000 pounds of spent grain to the Colorado Division of Wildlife in an effort to aid the survival of mule deer in the Gunnison Valley, where heavy snows have prompted supplemental feeding programs. Read the press release from Coors.

WV bill would create hunter safety school curriculum

Legislation introduced by West Virginia state Sen. Sen. Billy Wayne Bailey would create a hunter safety public school curriculum where students could learn all facets of firearms and hunting safety. If approved, it would be the first statewide program of its kind in the country. "It's a way to take this kind of education in the classroom and make it more convenient for young people," the Wyoming County Democrat said. Via AP.

Record Maryland largemouth caught in Potomac

Woodbine, Md., resident Justin Riley, fishing in an Anglers Choice winter bass tournament on the tidal Potomac River on Saturday, caught a 11-pound, 2.88-ounce largemouth bass, surpassing the old Maryland freshwater mark by .88 ounces. Gene Mueller in the Washington Times and Ken Duke at ESPN.com.

Cabela's enacts strict guidelines for real estate sales

Following a negative reaction from many Montana sportsmen over its listing of certain parcels of access- sensitive lands on Cabela's Trophy Properties network, the outdoor gear mega-retailer has instructed member brokers that they must adhere to strict guidelines in the future or lose their CTP affiliation. Bill Schneider interviews Cabela’s Senior Vice President Mike Callahan in New West.

Montana county wants to be 'wolf hunter's paradise'

Talk about optimistic thinking. With the gray wolf set for removal from the federal endangered species list and becoming a state-managed species in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, at least one county in Montana is looking at the potential boon that wolf hunting could provide. The Mineral County Chronicle reports that with seven separate wolf packs, Mineral County is poised to become "a wolf hunter's paradise."

Proposed PA rifle ban sent back to drawing board

The Pennsylvania Game Commission voted 6-1 yesterday to table a plan that would have expanded southeastern Pennsylvania's no-rifle hunting area to include nearly all of Lehigh and Northampton counties. As a result, officials say it is unlikely any regulatory changes relating to rifle use will occur in 2008. Reported in the Allentown Morning Call and the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader.

Michigan man who killed 24-point buck was unlicensed

Alert authorities with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources compared information contained in a newspaper article about a 24-point buck taken during the archery season with the department's hunting license database to discover that the hunter was unlicensed at the time the buck was shot. Doubting the claims made by Christopher James in an Oct. 26 newspaper story, a computer search verified he did not purchase a license until 9:44 the morning after he shot the buck. Reported in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot.

Timber rattler proposed as W. Virginia state reptile

While we can't resist a reference to backwoods Appalachian religious sects while reporting this story (key the banjo music), we see where a resolution in the West Virginia state Senate last week would name the timber rattlesnake as the state's official reptile. Then again, the juxtaposition of politicians with scaly, slithering and poisonous snakes is delightfully ironic enough. Reported in the Beckley Register-Herald and the Charleston Daily Mail.

Idaho F&G employees told to avoid environmental activist

A memo sent yesterday to Idaho Fish and Game Department employees urged them to avoid phone conversations and other contact with an environmentalist who is accused of harassing staffers and assaulting a top state official. According to a report in the Twin Falls Times-News, Jon Marvel, who heads the anti-grazing group Western Watersheds Project, has a history of bad behavior around government officials. BLM staffers received similar instructions after an incident in 2000.

Sharpshooters target deer in suburban N.J. hunt

Today, sharpshooters at a suburban northern New Jersey nature preserve began a 10-day deer-depredation hunt scheduled for each Tuesday and Thursday through Feb. 28. Since this is New Jersey, rest assured there were plenty of whining residents and animal activists speaking out against the action, as well as an Associated Press writer eager to give them ink.

Angler hooks hair, divers dispatched

Call it a lousy day of fishing and a bad hair day rolled into one. A Lake Michigan angler's disturbing catch of a clump of what appeared to be human hair on Saturday resulted in the dispatching of divers near the Port of Indiana. Nothing was found during their 4-hour search. In the Chesterton Tribune.

Suit filed to block implementation of new wolf rules

Somewhat predictably, seven environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Missoula, Mont. federal court yesterday challenging new rules intended to make it easier to kill wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming that impact livestock and elk herds. Some of the familiar players include Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and The Humane Society of the United States. Reported in the Billings Gazette and the Casper Star-Tribune.