The Outdoor Pressroom

New Arizona Game and Fish director named

Larry Voyles, a 35-year employee of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, will take over as head of the agency when current director Duane Shroufe retires in March. Arizona G&F press release.

Rifle-hunting ban in PA's Lehigh Valley not done deal

The anticipated ban on the use of deer-hunting rifles in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley is not necessarily a done deal, says Game Commissioner Gregory Isabella of Philadelphia, who said sportsmen have raised a number of concerns that may require more consideration before the measure moves forward. A preliminary Commission vote is scheduled for Tuesday. In the Allentown Morning Call.

Stolen game camera transmitted photo of thief

Ain't technology great? A Florida hunter reported that someone stole his digital trail camera that was cabled to a tree--but in the process, the unit transmitted a photo of the ne'er-do-well to the hunter's e-mail. The theft is under investigation. In the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Ewe won't believe it: Sheep make circle in UK field

We wouldn't fleece our Outdoor Pressroom faithful. About 100 sheep grazing in a UK farm field last week formed a perfect circle and remained there for at least ten minutes, baffling the farmer and witnesses. Forget about the mysterious origin of European crop circles, though we suspect an extremely talented, quick-acting and practical-joking Border collie was probably behind it . Reported in the London Daily Mail.

Possible record blue catfish caught & released?

A vague and abbreviated report in The Chattanoogan newspaper last week suggests that a potential world record blue catfish was caught, photographed and released near Greenville, Miss. recently. Source of the photos and story was an unnamed "TWRA fisheries biologist" who allegedly distributed an e-mail to his peers, writing that the fish was caught by an (also unnamed) "elderly man who let the fish go after his wife took the pictures."

Bad dog: Retriever eats two $900 Super Bowl tickets

Regular readers know how much we love offbeat dog stories here at The Outdoor Pressroom. It seems that Buddy, a 3-year-old black Lab, chewed and partially consumed two $900 Super Bowl XLII tickets this week after a courier slipped an envelope containing the coveted passes under the door of his Phoenix-area owner's home. Buddy, apparently, accepted delivery. Reported in the Arizona Republic.

Engineer at S. Cal. NASA lab snaps cougar close-up

Matthew Dickie, an engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory located in S. California's San Gabriel Mountains, was walking across a bridge on his way to his office building the morning of Jan. 16, when he and others spotted a mountain lion in the creekbed below. He reached for his camera, the cougar froze, and Dickie's awesome photo was soon ricocheting across Internet forums and Web sites. In the Los Angeles Times.

Golf pros list hunting, fishing as off-course hobbies

Almost half the 166 PGA pros on the 2008 tour list fishing or hunting as their favorite special interest off the course. The list includes Boo Weekley, Frank Lickliter, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Jose Maria Olazabal and David Duval. Outdoor writer Ed Zieralski in the San Diego Union Tribune.

Forget bake sales--Maine school band has bear hunt raffle

When bake sales failed to produce enough bread to pay for 200 Noble High School music students to travel to New York City, members of the band boosters in North Berwick, Maine decided to try something else--a raffle for a 6-day black bear hunt. The holder of the lucky $10 raffle ticket will receive lodging and meals for two at a bear camp in northwestern Maine for the first week of the 2008 bear-hunting season. Reported at Seascoastonline.com.

Windmills aerate ice-covered Montana lake

As the windmill blades turn at Wood Lake on the Rocky Mountain Front west of Great Falls, air moves through a hose and then through a device that diffuses the air, producing the kind of bubble effect seen in home fish tanks. This gives sensitive westslope cutthroat trout oxygen to help them survive while ice covers the lake. In the Helena Independent-Review.

Remington announces marketing deal with Brett Favre

In a press release, Remington Arms Company Inc., has announced a multi-year marketing agreement with Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Terms of the deal were not revealed. Favre will represent Remington in advertising campaigns, retail promotions and at special events.

Outfitters protest fees for Montana's Madison

Fishing guides and outfitters turned out in large numbers this week to voice their opposition to a plan that would require permits for guiding clients on a popular portion of Montana's Madison River. The permits, which would cost $90 or 3 percent of their gross revenues from river trips, are proposed by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks to help control crowding. Rod King, owner of the Bozeman Angler, summed it up this way: "This whole thing is going to be a cluster," he said. In the Bozeman Chronicle.

Feds announce new wolf rules for ID, WY, MT

New regulations released Thursday will allow wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to be shot if they are attacking stock animals or dogs, or if they are having an adverse impact on deer, elk or moose populations. Not surprisingly, animal protection groups are, well, crying wolf. Reported in the Helena I-R, AP, and the Billings Gazette.

Iowa hunters take another shot at dove season

SF 82, a bill that would create a dove hunting season in Iowa, has been introduced by Sen. Dick Deardon (D-Des Moines). “We have a new governor and the time is right to have another hunting sport in Iowa that could draw more non-residents into the state to hunt and provide much needed revenue from license and ammo sales,” said Deardon. Reported in the Muscatine Journal.

81st annual 'Coon Feed' this weekend in Delafield, Wisc.

What began as a private gathering among hunting buddies in the late 1920s eventually turned into a public dinner to help raise funds for local youth baseball teams. About 70 raccoons are needed to supply dinners for the expected 300 people who will attend the event, including Coon Feed regular U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner. Appearing in Greater Milwaukee Today.