New Idaho wildlife overpass doesn't miss 🌉

Well, we did it. We put together a whole damn week worth of newsletters for you and honestly, it feels good. As I said on Monday, it was our goal to kick things up a notch for you guys and, based on your feedback so far, it sounds like it’s working so far.

As I always say, I appreciate everyone who reads, sends messages of encouragement and follows along with us each day. I trust that you’ll continue to spread the good word for us out there on the interwebs.

But before I get too carried away, let’s celebrate the fact that while 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 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

• This way, fellas - New Idaho wildlife overpass a proven success 🌉

• Two bucks (illegally) down - Maine is offering cash on the dash for information 💵

• Zombie drone ducks - “Here me out on this one” NM professor says 🦆

• 7-year-old shames me - His first deer is a monster 🦌

• TAXED - Bear shows up and claims hunter’s deer - and he doesn’t do a damn thing about it?!? 🐻

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THESE THINGS WORK
NEW IDAHO OVERPASS OVERCOMES RED TAPE TO MAKE TRAVEL SAFER FOR ELK, MULE DEER AND DRIVERS

With over one million vehicles passing through the mountainous area from Mileposts 17.2 to 19.6 of Idaho’s State Highway 21, collisions with large animals plagued both drivers and wildlife managers alike for a number of years. In fact, over the past 40 years, this particular stretch of highway had become somewhat of a hotspot for vehicle collisions with wildlife and was responsible for $40 million in damages as well as injuries and deaths in 2022 alone.

Following the data, Idaho’s Fish and Game department began getting vocal about the rate of collisions and the effects they were having on commuters as well as our valuable wildlife resources. It took some time, but people eventually started listening.

Working in tandem with the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), the two agencies began tracking wildlife-vehicle collision metrics using dead carcasses. What they found was that the number of vehicles colliding with wildlife was at a rate of 50 per year, with that number rising to over 100 crashes during severe winters when mule deer and elk were forced to winter in less harsh lower elevations…

🚨 Maine officials offer $4,000 reward for information on two illegally killed bucks. Bucks have been hitting the ground across the country for the past month-or-so, but as we’ve unfortunately learned, many are without the proper tag. This was the case in an on-going investigation in the state of Maine after officials discovered the bodies of two nice bucks on Mount Desert Island.

The body of the first buck was discovered and reported to game wardens on October 6th according to MDIF&W spokesperson Mark Latti. According to Latti, the second buck was discovered a month later on November 6th with its head cut off. Maine officials are under the impression that both of these deer were shot during the night and are offering a $2,000 reward for information on each of the deer shot or a $4,000 reward for information regarding both deer.

🦆 Professor brings dead birds to life using taxidermy to create ‘zombie duck drones’ to improve waterfowl research. An associate professor at New Mexico Tech Institute of Mining and Tech is working to bring dead birds to life with hopes of getting a better look into the lives of both pheasants and waterfowl species.

Using taxidermied waterfowl, professor Mostafa Hassanlian and his team are creating drones that will be outfitted with hidden cameras they hope will allow them to get up close and personal with subject species for research purposes. Hassanlian stated that attempts to use traditional drones in the past yielded sub-par results given the effects a buzzing foreign object has on the natural inclination of waterfowl species. 

“Traditional drones, with their motors and propellers, put the birds in distress, and we [can’t] study them,” Hassanalian said in an interview. “Developing this technology would allow us to have a tool to study them and monitor wildlife.”

Despite spending countless hours perfecting the movement of their new taxidermied drones, Hassanalian and his team have yet to deploy one into the wild. Having only tested them in controlled environments on their campus, they still need to work around FAA regulations, along with state and federal wildlife agencies who might have something to say about drone use in natural environments.

QUICK HITS // ^{_{FROM AROUND THE WEB}}

Kansas hunting regs for deer, elk, antelope to be discussed in Wichita: The Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission is holding its last public meeting of the year in Wichita next week. It will be at the Great Plains Nature Center beginning at noon on Thursday, Nov. 21. Read the full story.

Wisconsin study committee considers draft legislation to hunt sandhill cranes, aid corn growers:  A legislative study committee debated a package of draft legislation to tackle management of Wisconsin’s growing sandhill crane population Wednesday, including a proposal to hunt the birds. The committee will vote on the bills at its final meeting next month. Read the full story.

NY State Officials Respond to Chronic Wasting Disease at Deer Farm, Urge Hunters to Stay Alert:  The New York State Agriculture and Markets, along with the Department of Environmental Conservation, is actively addressing a case of chronic wasting disease at a farm on Hayner Road in the Town of Columbia. Read the full story.

7-Year-Old’s First Deer Is a Heavy 14-Pointer That Came in to a Decoy: They called the heavy-antlered 14-point buck “Moose.” And the Iwashige family had been after the oversized Kansas whitetail since the youth season opened in September. Are you kiddin’ me?

Mississippi deer population likely at record high. Hunters asked to shoot more: Mississippi's deer population may be at an all-time high and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is asking hunters to help get the population under control by harvesting more deer. Read the full story.

Rare chance to hunt elk at 2 wildlife refuges offered to hunters in Colorado: Each wildlife refuge will have one long hunt period starting the day after the end of the fourth rifle season continuing through Feb. 28, 2025. The application period ends Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. According to CPW, the hunts will help mitigate game damage conflicts on and surrounding the Baca and Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuges. Read the full story.

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

🖕 TAXED. Deer hunters sit idly by as a black bear approaches his fresh kill and runs off with it.  The taxmen are all around us and in many cases we don’t have a ton of control over how much ‘bite’ they take out of our paycheck, fish or wild game.

Take the case of sharks, unless the idea of jumping into the water to wrestle your red snapper from an 8-foot bull shark’s death grip is on your to-do list, he’s likely getting away with every bit of that fish that you allow him to. But in this peculiar case, these fellas just seemed to sit, watch and whisper to one another as a black bear appears on camera, saunters up to their fresh kill and claims it for himself.

Now, I’m not suggesting a Mike Tyson-esque approach to this or any other bear, but I, personally, would have least raised my voice a bit in an attempt to claim what was rightfully mine. But then again, I have a penchant for bear meat and in the event I had a tag in my pocket, he’d have been laying there beside my deer.

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

🐎 A group of wild horses band together to defend a foal from menacing pack of wolves. This group has a few trail cams set up in the Alberta wilderness and they get some impressive footage, including this video. If you get to scrolling, the one where a grizz chases the horses is worth the watch as well.

🤳 Unsuspecting tourists nearly get impaled by rutting deer. I don’t know where the hell this is or what the hell kind of deer those are, but it looked like it hurt.

CAMP TALK // ^{_{BEFORE YOU GO}}

We get a lot of questions and comments on here, and we figure it’s time to repay the favor. As part of our new Camp Talk section, we’re going to ask you, the reader, your opinion on some serious (and not so serious) topics to close out each newsletter.

On Tuesday I asked, I mentioned that my dog is named after the greatest college football QB of all time. Who do you think it is?

To which you all incorrectly responded with:

1. Watson

2. Jackson

3. Burrow

His name is Tebow. Like #15, uno-cinco, two-time National Champ, Heisman hoister and the eventual Mile-High Messiah 🐊 🙏

Here’s today’s question…

Oh, and one more thing…

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