State of Emergency Declared in New Mexico County Over Mexican Wolves 🐺

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:

• It’s an emergency - Over 10,000 calves have been killed in New Mexico by wolves 🐺

• Held a gunpoint - Florida woman goes postal on pond-fishing teens 🔫

• Kansas has a fever - And the only prescription is more coyote hunting 🌝

• Bighorn closures - Montana makes the call after finding only 5 sheep 🐏

• Super hunt - Florida’s new gator hunt applications open next month 🐊

• Dude, where’s my decoy - It looks like this elk found it 🤔 

MO’ WOLVES, MO’ PROBLEMS
STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED IN NEW MEXICO COUNTY OVER MEXICAN WOLVES

Well, if you thought Colorado was going to hog all the wolf-related headlines this year, think again. In a developing story coming out of a small New Mexico county, exasperated elected officials held a special meeting yesterday to declare a state of emergency over some wild Mexican canines.

The smaller cousin to the northern gray wolf, these Mexican subspecies have been brought back onto the Arizona and New Mexico landscapes after nearly being extirpated in the early 1900s. Since then, these wolves have (rightfully) been placed under federal protection as latest estimates peg US populations at just over 350 wolves. 

Of those 350, it’s believed that 160-or-so of them reside in and around Catron County, New Mexico, closely situated along the Arizona border. With an abundance of the wolves and no predators (or real control measures) in place, both ranchers and hunting outfitters have been growing weary of their presence as of late, prompting the newly-introduced state of emergency…

HEADLINES // ^{_{DIGESTIBLE SNIPPETS}}

🔫 Teen anglers held at gunpoint over backyard fishing in Florida neighborhood. In Brevard County, Florida, a second incident in less than a year has seen an adult arrested for threatening teenage anglers with a weapon over fishing in a neighborhood pond. This time, 59-year-old Donna Elkins from Melbourne was caught on video confronting two boys, aged 13 and 15, who were fishing near a retaining pond behind her home—a common activity in Florida neighborhoods. Elkins, armed with a pellet rifle, allegedly pointed it at the teens, threatened to “blow their heads off,” and forced them to lie on the ground, claiming they were trespassing on her private property. The boys, fearing for their lives, recorded the encounter, capturing Elkins yelling about trespassing while they lay on the grass for about five minutes until her husband intervened and took the rifle.

Police, however, found a different story upon arrival. The boys had been fishing from a small peninsula 30 feet from Elkins’ property line, and a review using the onX app confirmed they could have accessed it from a nearby road without crossing private land. Satisfied that no trespassing occurred, detectives arrested Elkins on the spot, charging her with two counts of aggravated assault and false imprisonment. She was later released on a $25,000 bond. This incident echoes a prior case in Palm Bay where a man was arrested for a similar armed confrontation with young anglers, highlighting a tense divide over fishing rights in the county’s neighborhood waters.

🌙 Is the answer to Kansas’ growing coyote problem more hunting? Many seem to think so. Using a combination of night vision gear and electronic callers that mimic coyote howls or prey in distress, the regs around hunting for coyotes in Kansas is once again up for debate. First legalized in 2021, coyote hunting season runs from January to March and works to curb the Sunflower State’s booming coyote population, which now ranks fourth nationally and costs ranchers about $4 million yearly in livestock losses. Despite hunters best efforts, populations continue to grow and many ranchers and hunting advocates are of the belief that the only prescription for what ails them is extended hunting seasons.

Ranchers champion night vision hunting, citing significant losses of up to $1,000 per calf and noting coyotes’ nocturnal boldness, with hunters once luring seven at a time near his cattle. Hunters also support expanding the season, arguing it protects livestock and offers working hunters additional opportunities. However, opposition from rural residents like highlights safety concerns, noise disturbances, and risks of illegal deer poaching, while some wildlife commissioners favor maintaining seasonal limits.

The policy is now under review, with the Kansas Department of Wildlife gathering public input to decide whether to maintain, expand, or reduce the season, amid debates over its effectiveness and impact. With majority support for expansion but lingering hesitations, a final decision is pending later this year.

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

🎭 Hey bro…I think I found your decoy. Details are pretty scarce on this one, but the consensus seems to be that this is some kind of decoy this fella somehow pickup along the way.

It’s looking like he’s going to have to wait until his next fight to get that out of there…

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

Montana closes bighorn sheep hunting in HD 622: The closure was proposed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks after biologists conducting a spring survey last week only counted five sheep. One ram died while the biologists were conducting the survey.  Read the full story.

Wild turkey hunting season set to begin in Ohio: Ohio’s regular seasons are divided into two zones: the south zone, which begins on Saturday, April 19, and the northeast zone (Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull counties), which opens on Saturday, May 3.  Read the full story.

FWC to open Alligator Super Hunt applications next month : The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is opening an Alligator Super Hunt between Aug. 15 and Dec. 31. The 2025 application period will run May 2 through June 2.  Read the full story.

Applications open for Idaho's controlled hunting of moose, sheep, and goats: Applications for the controlled hunting of moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats are now officially open, according to Idaho Fish and Game.  Read the full story.

Alabama Hunters Still Take More Turkeys During Opening Week: Despite not being able to use decoys for the first 10 days of the season, Alabama turkey hunters continue to take far more birds during the first week of the season than any other week. Read the full story.

Hunting down the weekend.

📸 :@corytnaturephotography

Oh, and one more thing…