Jail time and fines handed down to the poacher of the 'Hollywood buck' 🧑⚖

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

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With that out of the way, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get another mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Justice for Hollywood - Heavy penalties handed down in famous poaching case 🧑‍⚖️

• Doomsday fish washes ashore - A rare fish that predicts natural disasters showed up in Cali 🌀

• Rich Idaho dude brought down- An Idaho man is in deep after being charged with selling LAP tags 🚔

• Jackson Hole’s new campaign - It’s funny, but shouldn’t be necessary 🤦

• Young men and the sea- Three kayakers get dragged out to see in epic marlin battle 🗡️

• We’ve got cubs! - Vancouver Island has grizzly cubs for the first time 🍼

JUSTICE SERVED
JAIL TIME AND FINES HANDED DOWN TO POACHER OF THE INFAMOUS ‘HOLLYWOOD BUCK’ 

Capturing national attention last year after killing a well-known whitetail outside of Richmond, Virginia, a pair of men have finally had their day in court. Jason Walters and Allan Proffitt were both handed down fines and jail time for their role in the illegal killing of the magnificent deer known as the ‘Hollywood buck’.

Following the posting of the picture to the Star City Whitetails Facebook page, the page’s administrator, Jeff Phillips, was met with an onslaught of photos and comments from users stating that they recognized the deer in the photo and it should have never been shot.

According to the users, the buck in the photo was the ‘Hollywood buck” – a large deer that was frequently seen and photographed around the Hollywood cemetery in Richmond. A quick glance at the photos and Phillips and many others noticed that the deer that was shot was most certainly the Hollywood buck.

Now after months of waiting, the two men were handed down their punishment by the state of Virginia for the killing of the Hollywood buck and two other deer that were found to have been killed illegally.

⚰️ “Doomsday fish” washes ashore in California just two days before the earthquake rocks Los Angeles. A group of paddle boarders and kayakers made an extremely rare find off the coast of La Jolla last week when they came across a dead oarfish. The oarfish, which can measure up to 36 feet in length, is also referred to as the “Doomsday Fish” as some believe they foreshadow natural disasters, such as earthquakes or tsunamis. And oddly enough, just two days after the fish was discovered, Los Angeles was struck by a 4.6-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 12, according to the USGS.

👮 An Idaho man has been charged with five felonies after trying to sell Landowner Appreciation Tags. These specialized tags, often referred to as LAPs, are available to landowners to apply for controlled hunt tags for certain species and sexes. As such, the accused, Karl W. Studer, 43, spent over $150,000 to acquire a number of these tags and according to reports, tried to sell them. 

Studer first appeared on IDFG’s radar in 2020 when he was accused of harassing elk with his helicopter. For lack of a better expression, things spiraled out of control from there. Following the investigation for the helicopter incidents, a warrant was served and his electronic records came under scrutiny. Within his phone and other digital device records, authorities found he and his accomplices were selling the tags, in some cases, for tens of thousands of dollars. He was also found to have killed a number of trophy elk during last year’s season and wrongfully tagged them with other friends and accomplices tags.

He’s been charged with five felonies and 15 misdemeanors and could face a potential fine of hundreds of thousands of dollars, over 20 years in prison and a lifetime ban on fishing and hunting.

🦆 US Fish and Wildlife publishes annual duck count numbers and things are looking good, really good. Marking the first overall increase in breeding ducks since 2015, it’s a good time to be a duck hunter here in the United States. And given the overall decline in habitat conditions, the numbers remain all the more promising.

“This year’s report suggests that some duck populations had better production last year than expected, with good carryover to spring of this year,” said Dr. Steve Adair, Ducks Unlimited Chief Scientist. “While estimates were down in the prairies, population levels were up in northern breeding regions. We heard reports of an early spring, with ducks migrating through when the prairies were still dry and likely overflying to the Boreal Forest. This is a pattern we’ve seen many times before, and it appears to have been the case again this year.”

While the news of 34 million breeding ducks being accounted for this year is fantastic, it’s important to keep in mind that annual duck counts remain roughly 4 percent below the long-term average.  With species such as mallards and wigeons making gains, redheads, blue-winged teals and pintails all posted losses on the year. While most species seem to be adapting well to the ever-changing climate and environment, it's a trend we ought to all keep an eye on.

My 8th grade English teacher told me I had a voice for radio but I later realized she was simply implying that I didn’t have a face for TV. And rather than work through the trauma caused by her reckless comments all those years ago, I’ve decided instead, to embrace it.

Our pod is now almost a month old and I appreciate everyone who has listened - it’s way more popular than I expected it to be. So, thank you for that. We’ll continue making tweaks and maybe even add some intro music in the near future, you know, to make it seem more professional or something.

In the meantime, I invite you to tune in every week to get my Week in Review episodes and monthly for our Stories from the Field features. If you haven’t subscribed, there’s no better time than the present. Step to it.

Animal rights group protest alligator hunting season in Sanford, FL: The group, also known as ARFF, protested a few days after the opening day of Florida’s alligator hunting season at Cameron Wight Park in Sanford. Read more at Click Orlando. 

Boston man spotted hunting rabbits with bow and arrow in the Fenway:  At about 1:45 a.m., officers responded to the area and observed a man with a bow and arrow who “possibly injured a small rabbit” with the weapon, but he “threw the rabbit into a bush and it ran away from there,” according to a police report. Read more at Boston.com

New Hampshire Small Game Hunting Seasons Open September 1:  Small game hunting season for gray squirrel starts on September 1 and is a great way to introduce someone new to hunting. On October 1, ruffed grouse, woodcock, cottontail rabbit, pheasant, and snowshoe hare seasons each open. Read more at NHFG.

Idaho bear hunters will have new rules regarding grizzly bears starting Sept. 1 and mandatory bear ID for 2025: Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently approved temporary rules for black bear hunting in Idaho that include new requirements for bear baiting and a mandatory bear identification course for hunters.   Read more at IFG.

WV Division of Natural Resources announces early bear firearm seasons:  The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced two early firearm seasons for black bear hunters. Read more at WVVA.

CONTROVERSY // ^{_{THIS WEEK’S SH*T DISTURBER}}

🤦 Jackson Hole launches a campaign begging tourists to get some Selfie Control and use their new app. I’m a firm believer that telephones, or at least those of the smart variety, have f**king ruined this place. And this is one of the many reasons why…

Because we can no longer resist the urge to record every single moment of our lives, places like Jackson Hole have been forced to create campaigns like their new Selfie Control filter to help curb the urge. Operating like an app, the filter contains a bison, black bear, grizzly bear, elk and moose that can be used to help the user determine whether or not they are too damned close to the animal in question. 

While, I personally, refuse to wait for that bison to close in on me from my guesstimate of 50 yards, I suppose there are some out there more committed to the shot than I ever would be.

"We get it; it's hard to tell if a moose or bison is 25 or 100 yards away just by 'eyeballing' it, especially when you're in a place like Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Park with sprawling, wide open spaces," the new Jackson Hole campaign site says. "That's why we created the Selfie Control filter—an Instagram filter to help you gauge proper distance while still letting you get that shot."

So, no.  I don’t get it. 

We ought to give large mammals a wide berth or get slapped with a monstrous fine. Cut the crap.

VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

🍼 First footage of grizzly cubs on Vancouver Island documented by local photographer. The rare footage shows a sow and her two cubs who are eventually run off by a herd of Roosevelt elk.

🛶 A trio of kayakers hook into a marlin off the coast of California and get dragged for 11 miles trying to land it. After a 6-hour fight and noticing that they ended up more than 20 miles offshore, they made the decision to give up on landing the massive fish, but did get some epic footage of the fish and the adventure.

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