Washington Hunting Guide and Outfitting Company Plead Guilty to Lacey Act Violations 🧑‍⚖️

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the newsletter. If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about this morning:

• Harlequin romance - Washington guide and outfitter nailed in international scheme 🦆

• Setting dates - Pennsylvania announces first round of Sundays for hunting 🗓️

• Mulie plans - Montana continues to work with the public on future plans 🦌

• Holding steady - Wyoming officials bail on Laramie-area mountain lion hike 🐈

• Custer’s pronghorns - Custer State Park allows antelope hunting for first time in nearly a decade 👍

• Little people deer - Ever heard of a dwarf deer? 👼 

AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT
WASHINGTON HUNTING GUIDE AND OUTFITTING COMPANY PLEAD GUILTY TO LACEY ACT VIOLATIONS

Prized by hunters as a rare trophy, the harlequin duck is a coveted piece of the challenge to bag all 41 North American waterfowl species. For Branden Trager, a hunting guide from Brush Prairie, Washington, and his outfitting company, Mayhem Services LLC, the allure of dropping a harlequin proved too tempting, leading him down a path of deception that finally unraveled in a federal courtroom in Tacoma earlier this week.

The story kicked off in the fall of 2022, when Trager led a group of hunters into the wilds of British Columbia, Canada, chasing the elusive harlequin duck. The season in Washington was closed, but British Columbia allowed limited hunting, and Trager saw an opportunity, despite not being licensed to guide in Canada. Undeterred, he pressed forward, spinning a tale for Canadian and U.S. Homeland Security officials, stating that he was merely hunting with friends, rather than running a commercial operation. The lie was a thin veil, but it held - for a while.…

Pennsylvania Game Commission proposes new Sunday hunting dates: Lawmakers repealed the state’s longstanding ban on Sunday hunting earlier this month. Ahead of public comment next week, the commission developed a proposal for new dates. Read the full story. 

Wisconsin’s special fall hunting, trapping season application deadlines approaching:  The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds hunters and trappers that less than two weeks remain to apply for bobcat and fisher permits or a chance to hunt sharp-tailed grouse this fall. Read the full story.

Montana FWP hears from hunters ahead of drafting mule deer management plan: As Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks develops a new statewide Mule Deer Management Plan, several public workshops around the state provided key insight to what hunters are thinking, what things they’d like the plan to include, and opinions on key concepts for the plan. Read the full story.

Mountain Home-based Foret named Arkansas Game Warden of the Year: David Foret epitomizes the description that an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission game warden isn’t truly ever off the clock. The Mountain Home-based game warden first class was spending a day away from the job turkey hunting with his brother in 2024 when they saw a poacher scattering bait nearby to attract turkeys. Read the full story.

Wyoming Game and Fish commissioners shrug off pressure, reverse hike in hunting Laramie Mountains lions: Last winter in Cheyenne, Rep. Jeremy Haroldson told stories of seeing more mountain lions in the high country near his home: the Laramie Mountains. The Republican pastor from Wheatland recounted personal sightings of the stealthy large carnivores while testifying in support of a bill that sought unlimited, year-round mountain lion hunting — effectively stripping the Wyoming Game and Fish Department of the authority to manage the species. The proposal, led by Pinedale Republican Rep. Mike Schmid, ran into overwhelming opposition and died early in the legislative process.   Read the full story.

Custer State Park to allow antelope hunting for first time since 2017: The Game, Fish and Parks Commission voted recently to have an antelope hunting season in the park for 2025. The season will be Oct. 4-19. There will be five buck antelope licenses available to residents. Read the full story.

Game and Fish to offer remaining North Dakota deer gun licenses beginning Aug. 13: More than 1,100 deer licenses are available in four units for North Dakota’s 2025 deer gun season after the lottery, the Game and Fish announced Monday, July 21. Read the full story.

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

👼 Ever seen one of these dwarf deer? Ya, neither have I. Not sure where this fella originates from but he’s definitely got some dwarf-y qualities.

All things considered, they probably prefer to be referred to as ‘little people deer’…

It’s easy. Copy your link below and send it to your friends. If they sign up, you get free stuff.

Now, do it. (Please).

Oh, and one more thing…