Former Utah Wildlife Commissioner Embroiled in Illegal Baiting Scandal 🧑‍⚖️

The weekend might not be here 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 few days. 

Here's what caught our eye this week...

• Former commissioner in hot water- Scathing report alleges illegal baiting on official’s ranch 🧑‍⚖️

• End of the line- Wyoming’s most famous and well-travelled mulie meets her demise ⚰️

• Grandma got run over by a bison - 83-year-old woman gets gored 🦬

• Lizards, gators and bears - Florida’s wildlife wildin’ out ☀️

• Texas officials gun down CWD - 249 deer executed on Texas ranch 🦠

A TIMELY RESIGNATION INDEED
FORMER UTAH WILDLIFE COMMISSIONER EMBROILED IN ILLEGAL BAITING SCANDAL

Quietly resigning in what many believed was a grasp for more free time and the ability to pursue other interests last fall, Utah wildlife commissioner Wade Heaton’s motives are suddenly under question.

In addition to information gathered by a local reporter, Utah’s DWR also has released a 62-page report that explicitly names Heaton as a suspect in the state’s investigation into alleged illegal activity. The report alleges that Heaton, along with others, participated in illegal baiting operations on Heaton Ranch in Kane County where he operates Color Country Outfitters.

Heaton’s letter of resignation was delivered within a week of the scathing report being delivered, which has now been turned over to the Utah County Attorney’s Office for screening.

According to reports, Heaton Ranch is located on the Alton Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit, which is part of a program that allows landowners to receive vouchers for big game permits that can be sold. These permits are typically bundled with guiding services for astronomical prices like the one auctioned off by Heaton’s Color Country Outfitters in 2018 for $90,000…

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⚰️ End of the road for Deer 255 - A 10-year-old mule deer that was famously known for traveling incredible distances during migration has died. Deer 255 became on of Wyoming’s most famous mulies after she was collared back in 2016. Since then, researchers have been baffled by her annual 240-mile migration she completed each and every year. Her yearly journey brought her from her winter range in southwest Wyoming and into central Idaho. In total, researchers tracker her across over 3,300 miles in her lifetime and is believed to have migrated farther than any other animal known to science. The announcement this week indicates that Deer 255 died in April in Wyoming’s Red Desert, likely at the hands paws of a mountain lion.

🦬 83-year-old gored by bison - An elderly woman was gored earlier this month by a buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. The attack took place near Storm Point Trail at Yellowstone Lake and while officials have not released detailed information regarding the attack, it’s been reported that the buffalo was “defending its space” and “came within a few feet of the woman and lifted her about a foot off the ground with its horns.”

The victim was taken to Yellowstone Lake Medical Center for initial examination before being airlifted for further treatment in Idaho.

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🦎 That ain’t no gator - Just when we thought there was enough weird sh*it in the Sunshine State, a Florida woman found something to disprove that hopeful theory. Filming near her home in North Port on Florida’s Gulf Coast, she captured video of what officials believe to be an Asian water monitor - the second largest monitor on the planet behind the famous Komodo Dragon. Initially thinking it was an alligator, she went back for a second look and brought her camera to record the proof.

🐻🐊🐊 One bear, two gators - Keeping with the Florida theme, a kayaker on the St. Johns River captured a unique moment when he spotted what he thought was a wild hog crossing the river in front of him. Grabbing his camera, he quickly realized it was a black bear who was soon to take on two gators and come out the other side victorious.

ANNIHILATING CWD
TEXAS OFFICIALS TAKE DOWN ENTIRE CAPTIVE DEER HERD IN THE STATE’S “WORST-EVER CWD OUTBREAK”

They do everything a bit bigger in Texas and that includes culling infected whitetails at captive breeding facilities. 

On the heels of a two-year legal battle, Texas Wildlife officials got to doing the Lord’s work and worked their way through every last deer on Robert Williams’ 1,500-acre high-fence ranch in Kaufman County, known as RW Trophy Ranch.

The 85-year-old deer breeder watched helplessly as a team of 68 officials killed, dissected and disposed of the remaining 249 animals on his ranch. 

The first instance of chronic wasting disease detected on the ranch in 2021 was the tipping point into the years-long court battle between the rancher and both the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks & Wildlife. Williams and the state battled over an agreeable management plan to contain and stop any future outbreaks, but ultimately failed to come to a resolution…

WEEKEND MEME // ^{_{DOWN FOR THE COUNT}}

WANDERINGS // ^{_{A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY}}

The monk that crafted Minnesota moonshine during prohibition. Andre the Giant could really put them away. The bus in the middle-of-nowhere-Alaska that serves top-notch pizza. And in honor of D-Day: The veteran’s beach.

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Marlin hard after it.
📸 @marcmontocchio