Anti-Hunting Groups Mount a New Effort to Ban Hunting by Replacing the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission 😑

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

• Respect the hustle - The anti-hunters are back in Colorado with new initiative 😑

• Sundays in, bears out - Conn. rules on Sunday hunting law and strikes down possible bear season (again) 🐻

• Moose (still) on the loose - It’s calving season and y’all need to stay away 🫎

• Shot down - Michigan suit to extent ‘yote season struck down in court 🧑‍⚖️

• Lion changes - Nebraska is making tweaks to this year’s mountain lion season 🐈

• Snapped - A pair of snapping turtle poachers busted in New York 🐢

• Treed hound - I ain’t ever seen a better definition of a treeing hound 🐶 

Miss something this week?

THEY’VE GOT NO QUIT
ANTI-HUNTING GROUPS MOUNT A NEW EFFORT TO BAN HUNTING, THIS TIME BY REPLACING THE COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION

You’ve got to respect the hustle. Like Rocky or your favorite annoying Instagram influencer, the anti-hunting crowd out in Colorado has no quit. Despite ‘winning’ the 2020 ballot initiative on wolf reintroduction, activists have gone 0-3 in recent bill attempts, including an attempt at restricting certain firearms, and a pair of provisions aimed at banning big cat hunting. But like a dogged out hunter with one more ridge to climb, these insufferable groups are channeling their inner Cam Hanes, and are now attempting to topple the state’s Parks and Wildlife Commission.

Introduced as the Big Beautiful Colorado Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection Act, a new ballot initiative known as Initiative 82 seeks to create an independent commission that would act parallel to the current Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission. In an effort to overthrow work in conjunction with the state’s commission, the newly-formed independent commission would exist to create legal protections for unnamed “keystone species,” which, of course, remains wide open for interpretation…

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🫎 Colorado Officials Warn of Aggressive Cow Moose After Three Attacks in the Last Week. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has issued a warning about potentially aggressive cow moose following three separate attacks in Park, Grand, and Routt counties over the past 7 days. The incidents, which seem to be coinciding with calf season, highlight the heightened aggression of female moose protecting their young, particularly when dogs are involved. Last Friday, a cow moose charged and trampled two women walking four off-leash dogs, forcing them to escape onto a nearby roof. No medical treatment was sought, and CPW could not locate the moose involved. The second incident occurred the following day near the South Willow Creek trailhead in Grand County, where a cow moose charged a hiker walking a dog, resulting in minor injuries treated on-site, though the moose and calf fled before CPW arrived.

The third incident took place on Sunday in Steamboat Springs at River Creek Park, when a woman walking two leashed dogs was seriously injured by a cow moose and required hospital treatment, while a male passerby assisting her was also attacked but released after on-site evaluation.

In response to these incidents, CPW euthanized an orphaned calf after its mother moved it out of sight, citing concerns about habituation to humans posing a threat to public safety. The agency emphasized that most moose conflicts involve dogs, urging owners to keep pets leashed or at home.

👍👎 Connecticut Legislature Approves Sunday Hunting on Private Land, Rejects Bear Hunt in General Assembly Session. As the 2025 legislative session in Connecticut concluded, lawmakers approved a significant change by passing House Bill 7231, allowing Sunday hunting on private land for the first time in state history, with a Senate vote of 32-4 on Wednesday. This decision ends one of Connecticut’s last "blue laws," a restriction hunters had fought for decades to overturn, previously eased in 2015 for bow hunters. The move was welcomed by avid hunters who called it "long overdue," though some opposed it, valuing Sunday as a day of peace in the woods.

However, a separate proposal to establish a bear hunting season did not advance, as lawmakers removed language that would have allowed the governor, upon recommendation from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), to initiate a hunt to manage growing human-bear conflicts.

Instead of a bear hunt, the legislature opted for a substitute bill from the Environment Committee, expanding protections for farmers by building on existing laws that permit killing nuisance bears damaging crops. This shift followed a contentious debate, with DEEP and some lawmakers arguing a limited bear hunt was needed to curb increasing encounters, while others, like House Speaker Matt Ritter, pushed for non-lethal solutions like bear-resistant trash cans to keep bears out of suburbs.

🐺 Judge Shoots Down Hunting Groups Suit, Michigan Coyote Season Remains Shortened as Bill 5721 Seeks Extension. In what has been a valiant effort to keep fighting the good fight, a pair of pro-hunting groups that launched a lawsuit at Michigan’s Natural Resource Commission over shortened coyote seasons were humbled in court earlier this week.

The Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association, sued the NRC, challenging their previous decision to shorten seasons, arguing it lacked scientific backing. A judge recently upheld the NRC's authority, dismissing the lawsuits and leaving the shortened season, which is set to run July 15 to April 15, in place - with exceptions for nuisance coyotes on private land year-round.

That said, efforts to restore the year-round season are underway. House Bill 5721, introduced by Rep. Greg Markkanen last month, seeks to extend coyote hunting to a full 12 months for fur harvester license holders. The NRC considered a similar proposal in March of this year but tabled it on April 10th, amid ongoing opposition and litigation. As of now, the shortened nine-month season remains in effect, while the future of the bill and potential reversal of the restriction remain uncertain.

Miss something this week?

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Nebraska Game and Parks to consider changes to mountain lion hunting season: Staff will recommend a mountain lion season in the Pine Ridge, Niobrara and Wildcat Hills units, with adjusted harvest limits compared to the 2025 season.  Read the full story.

Wyoming Landowners Express Concerns with Changes to Hunting Licensing: The regulations for issuance of licenses, permits, stamps, tags, preference points, and competitive raffle chances is a prevalent topic in the hunting community and was a major point of discussion during the public meeting held Wednesday evening at the Wyoming Game and Fish(WGF) Green River Regional Office. Read the full story.

New York State Officials Bust Individuals Illegally Hunting Turtles: New York State DEC officers reports that they responded to a call from the Somers Police Department about suspicious activity on Muscoot Reservoir. Upon arrival, environmental officers said that they observed the three individuals in a rowboat stop at a nearby peninsula, and remove a large object from the boat before proceeding to a nearby cove to dock. Read the full story.

Thousands Apply for Bear and Elk Hunting Permits in Missouri: The latest numbers from the Missouri Department of Conservation show 5,249 bear applications and 8,409 bull elk applications were received last month for this year’s respective hunting seasons.  Read the full story.

Spring Turkey Hunt Breaks Records In Minnesota This Season : The spring turkey hunt in Minnesota is record setting.  The DNR released their spring harvest numbers and the record that was set last year has been surpassed by this year's harvest.  Last year's record was 16,714 while this year's number is 16,880. Read the full story.

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🐶 Welp, that’s the truest definition of a treeing hound I’ve ever seen. Not sure how this hound managed to follow the cat all the way up the damn tree, but here we are. Apparently the cat was embarrassed for him and everyone was ok in the end.

But…how??

Miss something this week?

The pull of the weekend.

📸 : @allieroams

Oh, and one more thing…