Two Convicted in Illegal Elk Killing Case in Great Basin National Park 👏

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

• Borderlines - Pair convicted in Nevada for poaching elk in National Park 🧑‍⚖️

• Say it ain’t so - Yes, people thought Morgan Wallen was giving away hunting and fishing licenses 🤦

• Moose on the loose - An 80-year-old is trampled and a dog is dead 🫎

• Highway slaughter - With funding paused, a Wyoming group is aiming at raising $500M for wildlife crossings 🚸

• The boys are testy - Watch this trail cam footage of a pair of bears getting after it 🥊 

INVISIBLE LINES MATTER
TWO CONVICTED IN ILLEGAL ELK KILLING CASE IN GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK

In a case where supposed imaginary boundaries meet community snitches, a pair of boundary-pushing hunters have been nailed for blasting a majestic bull elk in a National Park that strictly prohibits the act. The incident, which took place back in November 2022, is a testament to the critical role of community vigilance and interagency cooperation in enforcing wildlife laws.

Back on November 9, 2022, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) received multiple reports from concerned community members about a possible illegal elk harvest. Nevada Game Warden Nick Brunson spearheaded the investigation, which revealed that a 6x6 bull elk had been killed more than half a mile inside the boundaries of Great Basin National Park - where hunting is a clear violation of state and federal regulations.

The investigation, conducted in collaboration with the White Pine County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed the involvement of a man and a woman in the illegal harvest. While specific investigative methods—such as forensic evidence or witness statements—were not disclosed, the swift response to public tips allowed authorities to build a strong case against the perpetrators…

🤦 No, Morgan Wallen did not actually give away free hunting and fishing licenses with his new album. Country music star Morgan Wallen’s latest album, I’m The Problem, comes with a promotional gimmick that’s got some fans hook, line, and sinker. As part of the promotion of the pop-country star’s new album, copies of the 37-track record sold exclusively at Target locations contain novelty “hunting and fishing IDs” which have since caused mass hysteria and confusion, particularly on TikTok (go figure).

According to reports, these plastic knick-knacks dashed some TikTokers’ viral dreams of casting a line legally for the low price of $17 and resulted in a number of sad face emojis from fans who thought they’d scored a free pass to the great outdoors.

Sure, state licenses can sport similar wildlife flair, but let’s be honest, the confusion is kind-of-sort-of-not-really all that understandable. Outside of the similar price point (fishing licenses are typically reasonably priced), there’s not much else in terms of validity to go on here. Or so most of us thought.

I’m just over here hoping that we never actually get to the point of degrading the value of licensing our outdoor assets to shameless celebrity gimmicks and promotion. I’ve got zero problems with Morgan, but we should all hope that we never get to a point in which our hunting and fishing licenses are given away like a prize inside of a box of Cracker Jacks (or country music album).

🫎 Moose on the Loose: Edmonton Senior and Colorado Man Attacked, Dog Killed in Separate Wildlife Clashes. In Edmonton, 80-year-old Hye Kyu Sohn narrowly escaped death when a moose charged him in his own backyard on Tuesday. The senior, tending to his garden, was blindsided by the animal, which left him with three broken ribs, two black eyes, a head injury, and a gash on his leg. Sohn managed to crawl to safety and call for help, later reflecting, “I could be dead.” Authorities suspect the moose, a female protecting her calf, acted out of instinct, unfortunately resulting in the injuries of the elderly man.

Meanwhile, in Woodland Park, Colorado, a tragic moose attack late last week, resulted in a man being injured and his dog killed. The man was walking his dog near his home when a moose charged, likely defending nearby calves. Despite attempts to intervene, the dog succumbed to its injuries, and the man required medical attention. Colorado Parks and Wildlife emphasized that moose, while generally non-aggressive, can become dangerous when protecting their young, urging residents to steer clear during calving season. These incidents underscore the unpredictable nature of moose in human-populated areas.

🚸 Wildlife Crossings Stall as Wyoming Group Seeks $500M to Save Wildlife from Highway Slaughter. In a bold move to save Wyoming’s wildlife from becoming roadkill, the National Wildlife Federation is gunning for $500 million in private donations to revive stalled wildlife crossing projects across the West, with a sharp focus on Wyoming’s deadly highways. Federal funding for these crossings, which is crucial for protecting mule deer, elk, and pronghorn from the 6,000 annual vehicle collisions in Wyoming alone, has dried up, with only $80-$100 million left in a shrinking $300 million grant pool, now frozen under the Trump administration’s budget scrutiny. A key project on U.S. Highway 26 near Dubois, a $28 million effort to build underpasses and an overpass for mule deer migration, is on hold, leaving advocates like Beth Pratt and the WYldlife Fund to rally private dollars to keep the momentum going.

The urgency is real: Wyoming’s highways slice through major migration routes, turning roads like U.S. 189 into “slaughterhouses” for wildlife, with 80 deer-vehicle crashes reported yearly on just one stretch. Recent successes, like the $37 million Kemmerer crossing set to start construction in 2025 and the Dry Piney project cutting collisions by 81%, prove these crossings work, saving the lives of animals and drivers alike. Pratt, fresh off a fundraising win for a California crossing, is touring Western states to push for more, arguing that $500 million could jumpstart projects nationwide. With Wyoming’s mule deer herds battered by habitat loss and collisions, the stakes are high to get these crossings built before more animals—and dollars—are lost.

🥊 It’s spring time in Montana and the boys are a bit testy. Watch this trail camera capture a pair of young bears duke it out earlier this month. Imagine running into these two in the dark?!?

You’ve got to watch this one with the sound on…

✈ Don Sheldon - Brass-Balled Bush Pilot Pioneer: Don Sheldon came into this world in Colorado but was raised in the wilds of Wyoming. At age 17, he made his way to Alaska and took a job working 16-hour shifts in the Step-and-a-Half  Dairy seven days a week for $40 a month. He then joined up with a buddy, pooled the last $12 the two men had to their names, and scored a pair of one-way train tickets to Talkeetna in the Alaskan interior. That’s when World War 2 interrupted their plans.

Sheldon logged 26 missions as a B-17 tail gunner in Europe and learned to fly via the government’s Civilian Pilot Training Program. After the war, he bought a military-surplus airplane and headed back up to Talkeetna to make his fortune. Along with business partner Stub Morrison, Sheldon established Talkeetna Air Service out of the backwater Alaskan village of the same name. Read the full story.

🫎 Alaska afloat: Watching the small bush plane take off from the makeshift gravel runway in the middle-of-nowhere Alaska, leaving us with our rafts, gear, and archery equipment seemed like a dream a year and a half prior when we started planning this adventure. It had been that long since Doug walked into my office and confidently stated that he was going on a moose hunt in Alaska soon if I wanted to tag along. If I hesitated to say yes at all, I don’t remember it.

He described how he had just found out that someone on his delivery route had unexpectedly passed away. He recalled how the gentleman always took care of himself and seemed to be very healthy. It was that realization for Doug – that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow – that catapulted him to start making preparations for one of the hunts that was on his bucket list; a self-guided float trip for Alaskan Moose. He just needed a willing and able partner, and I was his huckleberry.  Read the full story.

✍️ My gonzo night at Hunter S Thompson's cabin:  It is 4.30 on a Thursday morning and I am writing these words on the big red IBM Selectric III that once belonged to Hunter S Thompson. Owl Farm, Thompson’s “fortified compound” in Woody Creek, Colorado, is dark and silent outside. Even the peacocks he raised are sleeping. The only sound anywhere is the warm hum of this electric typewriter and the mechanical rhythm of its key strikes, as clear and certain as gunfire.

In April, Thompson’s widow, Anita, began renting out the writer’s cabin to help support the Hunter S Thompson scholarship for veterans at Columbia University, where both she and Hunter studied. It sits beside the main Thompson home on a 17-hectare estate marked with hoof prints and elk droppings that gradually rises towards a mountain range. A short walk uphill is the spot where Thompson’s ashes were fired into the sky from a 153ft tower in the shape of a “Gonzo fist”, a logo he first adopted during his unsuccessful 1970 campaign to be sheriff of nearby Aspen. Johnny Depp, who played Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, picked up the $3m tab for that elaborate sendoff, which took place shortly after Thompson killed himself in 2005.  Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…