"Don’t Feed the Bears Act of 2025" Sparks Debate 🐻

While we continue to slowly inch towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

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

• Don’t feed da bears - Could a new proposal ban bear baiting on Fed lands across seven states? 🍩

• UM + RMEF - A big partnership is announced to build Center for Hunting and Conservation 🤝

• Any given Sunday - PA Commission opens up 13 straight Sundays for hunting this fall 🦌

• Might be time for a dog - This fella is going the distance 🥶 

COULD BE A SLIPPERY SLOPE
DON’T FEED THE BEARS ACT OF 2025 SPARKS DEBATE OVER BEAR HUNTING ETHICS AND CONSERVATION

On July 15th, U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar (D-MI) introduced the "Don’t Feed the Bears Act of 2025" (H.R. 4422), a congressional bill aimed at banning bear baiting on federal lands in seven states including Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah, and Wisconsin. Backed by a coalition of about 70 animal welfare and environmental groups, the bill has ignited a heated debate about the ethics of bear hunting and its implications for wildlife conservation. As the bill awaits review by the House Committee on Natural Resources, it raises critical questions about balancing hunting traditions with modern conservation principles.

The "Don’t Feed the Bears Act" seems like something of an attempt to toe the line between traditional hunting methods and fair chase principles. Proponents of the bill argue that baiting undermines ethical hunting standards and violates federal land management policies against feeding wildlife. Many of those in support of this bill and others like it, note that baiting can condition bears to human food and thereby increase human-wildlife conflicts, especially during the bears’ hyperphagia phase when they eat everything in sight as a preparatory step ahead of hibernation. In addition to conflicts, many worry that the practice of baiting bears actually works to artificially boost reproduction and thus leave hunters with an endless cycle of bears to bait and hunt…

🏫 University of Montana and RMEF Launch Center for Hunting and Conservation. Last week, the University of Montana and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation announced the creation of the Center for Hunting and Conservation, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Western United States. This partnership combines UM’s academic resources, particularly from the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, with RMEF’s expertise in wildlife habitat preservation to advance research, education, and outreach. The center aims to promote sustainable hunting practices and inform land and wildlife management through science-driven solutions, leveraging RMEF’s conservation legacy and UM’s research capabilities.

The center will focus on studying wildlife populations, habitat management, and the ecological role of hunting, while training future conservation leaders and engaging communities through outreach. By integrating regulated hunting into conservation strategies, it seeks to balance human activities with environmental stewardship, addressing challenges like habitat loss and changing public perceptions. Under the leadership of a director, the center seeks to broaden UM’s research scope, with goals to secure further research funding in the coming years.

🎯 13 straight Sundays of hunting now on the menu for PA hunters. In light of repealing the state’s Sunday hunting ban earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced on Monday, that 13 consecutive Sundays from September 14 to December 7 will be officially open for hunting. This expansion, supported by bipartisan efforts, aims to make hunting more accessible, particularly for younger people and those with weekday commitments, while also supporting conservation efforts like deer population management to reduce crop damage.

The decision builds on a 2019 law that allowed limited Sunday hunting and aligns Pennsylvania with 39 other states that have no Sunday hunting restrictions. While migratory game bird seasons remain excluded due to federal regulations, the move is seen as a strategic step to boost hunter recruitment and retention. The Game Commission plans to evaluate the framework in 2026 to determine if further adjustments are needed, balancing the interests of hunters and other stakeholders.

1. This week I learned that heat waves kill more people in Europe than guns kill people in America. Y’all need to get it together over there.

2. I never see white dog poop anymore. Is this because picking it up has become more fashionable?

3. The weakest part of our character establishes our daily habits. 

4. Human interests > Industry interests

5. David wrote his most beautiful words in his deepest pain 🙏

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🥶 That’s one heck of a walk there, son. The things we do to chase down game truly know no bounds.

Might be time for a dog, or in the least a rod and treble hook…

Oh, and one more thing…