New Utah Law Calls on Non-Consumptive Users to Pony Up and Help Fund WMAs 🤑

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:

• Pay to play - Utah is expecting all users of specific state WMAs pay their fair share 🤑

• Cutler under fire - Ex-NFL QB Jay Cutler gets lambasted over Africa hunt 🙈

• Stable condition - Victim in this weekend’s Wisconsin bear attack identified 👨‍⚕️

• Swamp Moose sighting - 8-year-old prankster breaks the internet 🧌

• Mama doesn’t play - Watch as this mama deer puts the run on a hungry ‘yote 😡 

PAY TO PLAY
NEW UTAH LAW CALLS ON NON-CONSUMPTIVE USERS TO PONY UP AND HELP FUND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS

As the growth of hunting seems to have flatlined over the last couple of decades, the growth of other outdoor pursuits has exploded. Hiking, trail running and bird watching are just a few other outdoor activities that have seen exponential growth over the same period of time. As more outdoor recreation areas and Wildlife Management Areas are being utilized by a larger portion of the general public, states are now forced to look at ways to level the playing field when it comes to who they are going to tap for the bill.

As far as the state of Utah is concerned, they passed a new state law, which took effect in May of this year, that now makes it a requirement for all users over the age of 18 to have a valid hunting or fishing license to access certain Wildlife Management Areas. Focusing on the state’s most trafficked wildlife areas surrounding city centers, the state is hopeful that not only will the new measure help balance the books, but also ensure that everyone is paying their fair share…

🏈 Jay Cutler’s African Hunt Triggers the Virtue Mob. Ex-NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, never a stranger to public scorn, just lit up the internet by posting Instagram pics grinning next to a dead sable antelope in South Africa. After “Kicking off the Africa hunt with a beauty,” Cutler announced that he had a “Sable down.” Social media (naturally) exploded with sanctimonious fury, slamming Cutler for killing what some claim is a “critically endangered” giant sable antelope (*smacks head*). The truth is that in South Africa - where Cutler was hunting - sable populations are stable, and regulated trophy hunting is legal and used to fund vital conservation efforts and feed local communities. 

The good news is, Cutler remains unfazed and he continued to post up wins from his African hunt. And while detractors continue to clutch their pearls snarking that this might very well be the first time Cutler has hit his target (OK, that hurt), let’s not forget that the conservation models in Africa are in place to protect the very animals so many are quick to defend. If it wasn’t for dudes like Jay paying big bucks to knock these beautiful animals down, there likely wouldn’t be any of them left.

👨‍⚕️ UPDATE: woman in stable condition after black bear attack in northwest Wisconsin. The woman who was attacked this past weekend in northern Wisconsin has been identified. Reports indicate that 69-year-old Karen Frye is now listed in stable condition after sustaining severe injuries in a black bear attack that took place on Saturday afternoon.

Despite a multi-agency effort to locate the bear responsible for the attack, DNR officials stated yesterday that the bear in question remains at large. With only a cub sighting to their credit so far, the DNR issued a statement indicating that they still have plans to euthanize the bear, if found. 

“Humane euthanasia is not always the standard practice in human/bear conflicts,” Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist said in a statement. “Our actions in these types of situations are very carefully determined based upon the totality of the known evidence of each event. Although we’re still working to piece together every element of what transpired in this incident, we know enough to warrant attempting to livetrap at the location of the incident and humanely euthanize this bear if captured.”

The agency also stated that if the bear’s cub is captured, they plan on relocating and releasing the bear back into the wild as it should be more than ready to survive on its own at this point.

🧌 “Swamp Moose” sightings in Bighorn National Forest turn out to be an 8-year-old in a ghillie suit. In Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest, the Fourth of July weekend birthed a new mythical-legend: the "Swamp Moose." Think Bigfoot, but with a single antler and a penchant for green camo. Turns out, it was just 8-year-old Bridger Knox from Cheyenne, rocking a ghillie suit with a moose antler strapped to his head, pranking tourists during his family’s annual camping trip. The Knox clan, who are self-proclaimed camping veterans, cooked up the stunt when tour buses clogged the roads, betting on the chaos a kid in a creepy costume could spark. Bridger wandered fields and fence lines, freaking out passersby, while his dad’s social media post of the “creature” racked up 70,000 views. According to the family, they’re already plotting to make the Swamp Moose a recurring gag, though they’re wary of hunters mistaking Bridger for actual game. Wyoming’s got its jackalope and maybe even a Bigfoot or two; now the state can add a pint-sized cryptid troll to the roster too.

1. One of my favorite things about America is that, generally speaking, people believe in God. Or in very the least, don’t believe God to be an absurd idea.

2. We really ought to stop outsourcing our moral intuition to statistics. 

3. Is life really unfair or are you just lazy sack of potatoes? 

4. Sure, Lamborghinis and are cool and everything, but have you ever tried 500 acres and never having to answer an email ever again?

5. Seeds not trees 🙏

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👊 Mama don’t take no sh*t. Watch as this mama deer puts the run on this coyote and isn’t fooled by his playful behavior.

He was definitely looking for some fawn action…

Oh, and one more thing…