Jail Time and $22,000 in Fines for Oregon Serial Poacher

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:

• Some things never change - All the lifetime bans in the world won’t stop this guy from poaching 🙈

• That’s nature - Yellowstone photographer captures the moment a bison falls to its death in hot spring 📸

• Tahoe bear euthanized - After terrorizing multiple campers, Cali officials made the call 🐻

• Almost there - PA’s Sunday hunting push is on its way to the House for a final vote 🗳️

• Cutting cows, Florida-style - Nevermind Alligator Alcatraz….🐊 

Miss something this week?

HE STILL WON’T LEARN HIS LESSON
JAIL TIME AND $22,000 IN FINES FOR OREGON SERIAL POACHER

In a case coming out of Oregon, a Grant County man who was investigated for over 50 wildlife crimes committed between 2023 and 2024 had his day in court earlier this month and was handed a hefty sentence.

The culmination of what turned into a two-year investigation ended up with the unnamed suspect getting handed a 95-day jail sentence and over $22,000 worth of fines and restitution for his poaching spree. 

Things kicked off in the spring of 2023 when Oregon’s State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers were tipped off about the suspect, whose hunting license was suspended at the time, being in possession of a 6x6 bull elk. As officials investigated this initial crime, the suspect was later convicted for unlawful take/possession of bull elk and was handed a lifetime ban of his hunting privileges in the state of Oregon. 

Done deal right? Wrong…

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📸 Photographer captures the moment a bison stumbles into a hot spring and succumbs to its injuries. On June 21st, a bull bison died after stumbling into the scalding 160-degree Fahrenheit waters of Yellowstone National Park’s Grand Prismatic Spring. As witnessed by dozens of visitors around 7:30 a.m., the bison initially entered a shallow area, briefly escaped, but then fell into a deeper section, where it thrashed helplessly before succumbing to the extreme heat. 

The Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone’s largest hot spring, has neutral water that doesn’t dissolve organic material but causes rapid tissue breakdown due to its high temperatures, averaging 192°F at the surface. According to Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, such incidents are rare but occur when animals misstep into thermal areas, lacking specific instincts to avoid them. 

The unfortunate, yet natural event highlights the implicit dangers of Yellowstone’s thermal features, often disregarded by tourons tourists visiting the National Park.

🐻 Black Bear Euthanized After Attacking Camper in Lake Tahoe Trailer Break-In. A female black bear with a history of human conflict was euthanized last weekend after breaking into a trailer at Eagle Point Campground in Emerald Bay State Park near Lake Tahoe. According to reports, the bear attacked a female camper, who attempted to scare it off by banging pots and pans and screaming. Despite her efforts to thwart an attack, the defiant bear continued its assault later swatting at the camper causing injuries. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California State Parks identified the bear as a "public safety bear" due to its repeated B&Es into homes and vehicles over the past two years, including an incident on June 10 where it entered a vehicle with a child inside. The bear was tracked to another nearby campground, confirmed via DNA testing, and euthanized by a ranger on June 23.

The bear’s two cubs were captured and sent to the Gold Creek Wildlife Rescue in Auburn, California, for rehabilitation, with hopes of releasing them back into the wild to prevent them from adopting their mother’s behavior. Despite multiple attempts since June 17 to haze the bear away from human areas, its persistent aggression led to the euthanasia, a decision described as a “last resort” by CDFW.

🚔 Texas officials in search of information regarding illegally killed buck. Authorities in New Braunfels are seeking public assistance to identify those responsible for illegally shooting a white-tailed buck with a crossbow and leaving it to die.

On June 25, the deer was discovered near 109 Mission Drive in Comal County. Texas Game Wardens reported that it was shot with a black, green, and white crossbow bolt, possibly a "Rage" brand, equipped with an expandable broadhead.

The buck was left to bleed out, resulting in the abandonment and waste of its carcass and meat.

Anyone with information leading to the conviction of those involved in this illegal act is urged to contact Operation Game Thief at 1.800.792.GAME(4263).

Miss something this week?

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Get an extra shot to score an Arkansas elk hunting permit at the Buffalo River Elk Festival : If you didn’t get a chance to apply for one of Arkansas’s public land elk permits in May, you still have a chance to get one of the on-site permits that will be drawn with the others at this year’s Buffalo River Elk Festival in Jasper on June 27-28.  Read the full story.

BLM seeks public input on proposed guided hunting permit in southwest Montana: The Bureau of Land Management invites the public to comment on a proposed special recreation permit application from Bozeman Hunting Company to conduct commercially guided hunting trips on public lands in Gallatin and Madison counties.   Read the full story.

Pennsylvania Sunday hunting changes one step closer to law: The State Senate passed House Bill 1431, which would repeal the Commonwealth’s Sunday hunting ban, by a vote of 34-16 on Wednesday. It now heads to the House, where it previously passed, for a final vote of concurrence. Read the full story.

Ted Nugent blasts Michigan DNR: ‘Get the hell out of our way’ on deer hunting: Michigan rocker and avid hunter Ted Nugent took aim Wednesday at the state’s Department of Natural Resources, telling officials to “get the hell out of our way and let us do our job” when it comes to hunters helping manage deer overpopulation. Read the full story.

Funds from Maine’s Antlerless Deer Permits Help Purchase over 10,000 Acres of Critical Habitat: Maine hunters have a strong conservation history. Hunting helps keep wildlife populations healthy, and hunters provide biologists with critical data and help to fund the research and management of wildlife species, including species that are not hunted such as songbirds and endangered species. Hunters also help fund land acquisition – protecting important wildlife habitat for hundreds of species. Read the full story.

NY deer hunters may soon use smartphone tags instead of paper: The proposed regulations include three main changes: the introduction of electronic hunting tags, a reduction in the harvest reporting deadline, and adjustments to the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP). Read the full story.

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🐊 Y’all ever wonder how we cut cows down here in Florida? Watch as this alligator makes his way through a raw milk farm in Arcadia and upsets the herd ever so slightly.

Don’t spoil all that dairy now, fella…

Miss something this week?

The pull of the weekend.

📸 : @morgan_is_fishing

Oh, and one more thing…