Washington Man Facing Slew of Hunting Violations in Neighboring Montana 🧑‍⚖️

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:

• Multi-state bust - Washington man embroiled in cross-border poaching case 🚔

• Rarer than Bigfoot! - Florida anglers reel in rare and remarkable moonfish 🐡

• Charging moose put down - Wyoming angler kills charging cow 🫎

• We’re doing this again? - The Connecticut bear hunting debate is back 🙈

• Does anyone care about the dog? - Watch as these folks stand around and film a frustrated goat go after a dog 🐐 

DO NOT PASS GO
WASHINGTON MAN FACING SLEW OF HUNTING VIOLATIONS IN NEIGHBORING MONTANA

A Washington state man is up against a slew of potential charges after a multi-agency investigation revealed he’d been taking animals illegally, possibly for many years now. 

Working in tandem with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police were tipped off about possible cross-border transport of animal parts. Following the tip, WDFW Officer McOmber obtained and executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence revealing a number of animals they believed not only to have been unlawfully transported into Washington, but illegally killed in neighboring Montana.

At the time the search warrant was executed, Washington officers seized a variety of items including animal skulls, antlers, a shoulder mount, firearms they believed to have been used to kill the animals, and his cellphone…

🐡 Florida anglers haul in truly unique fish off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. Just a couple of days before the Florida Panthers reeled in their 2nd Stanley Cup, a group of Florida fishermen completed what is perhaps an even rarer feat. In a catch that is being touted as “the equivalent of seeing Bigfoot,” Florida anglers Laurel David and Capt. Richard Fairbanks landed a 148-pound Opah - or moonfish - off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.

The flat and colorful fish, which also happens to be the only warm-blooded fish species known to man, is more commonly associated with the Pacific waters around the Hawaiian islands where it is a popular food fish. As of right now, it is believed that this specimen is one of the only fish of its kind that has been caught off Florida’s coast.  

Known to spend the majority of their time at depths of 1,000 feet or more, these fish are typically caught exclusively by commercial ocean longliners. That said, while on a Father’s Day charter on Sunday, they were fishing at a depth of about 1,800 feet in search of swordfish when they hooked onto the massive opah. And while it did take the crew a minute or two to land the fish, the real work came after they were back on shore. According to the fishermen, these fish are broken down like a animal, offering 15 different cuts of meat to their clients, friends and family.

🫎 Angler Kills Charging Cow Moose in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, Calves Euthanized. On Saturday, an angler shot and killed a cow moose that charged him on the North Tongue River near Bear Lodge Resort in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest. According to Wyoming Game and Fish Department wardens, the encounter occurred at close range in thick willows, where the moose became agitated and charged, prompting him to fire multiple shots in self-defense. The moose succumbed to her injuries, and wardens later discovered two young calves nearby they believed to be hers. Due to their age, officials made the difficult call to euthanize the twin calves due to their inability to survive without their mother.

The North Tongue River area is known as prime moose habitat, attracting both wildlife and recreationists like anglers, which can inevitably lead to human-wildlife conflicts. The incident comes on the heels of multiple cow moose incidents over the past month or so, as noted in similar cases in Alberta, Colorado and Idaho where moose have charged to defend their young. Officials are reminding all recreationists in moose country to give cows their space and be aware of their surroundings at all times.

🙈 We’re really doing this again?  Yes, just a few months after shooting down yet another good proposal regarding bear hunting in Connecticut, it would seem as though we are. As the spring season continues to heat up in the northeast, a barrage of bear sightings and encounters in the Constitution State are once again lighting the fire underneath the ever-so-contentious bear hunting debate.

With over 400 sightings reported in Hartford alone so far this year, residents, once again, are reeling about their safety and are looking for solutions to this ever-growing problem. While there are half-hearted measures in place like bear-proof cans, self-defense laws and farmer’s tags, concerned citizens are asking for more. And with a new legislative session set to fire up again, it’s looking like this is one debate that is set to keep burning until residents find solace in the fact that legislators are doing something that actually serves to curb the burgeoning population of bruins.

🐐 Who’s going to protect the dog?!?!? Watch as this group gets a little too close to a mountain goat but cannot fathom pulling themselves away from their phones to pitch in for the pooch.

But then again, we are on his turf…

🌾 Northern Hospitality: I’d never seen that much wheat. Hell, I’d never seen that far before. Someone once told me that on the prairie, a man could see to the bend of the planet. Speeding along the Saskatchewan countryside, watching a harvest moon loom large and rise to the last light of day, I understood, at least a little. There was simply nothing to block my vision. No buildings. No cars. No people. Just wheat, and time to think.

The truck radio never worked well, even when reception was decent. Out here, it was useless, and the quiet lulled me into a calm, trancelike state, interrupted only by occasional snores from the backseat. Those snores came from Ruby, my new duck hunting buddy, curled up on an old quilt that had once belonged to another dog. Ruby knew very little about ducks yet. I’d picked her up in haste four months earlier from a breeder friend who told me my money was no good. Through more tears than words, I shook his hand—he’d sadly been there before, sifting through the train wreck created when a dog tragically dies before her time. Read the full story.

🏞️ Why You Should Never Go to Yellowstone National Park : A good 25 years ago, I scrubbed toilets and made beds in America’s first national park. For two summers, I lived in a dorm with a musty roommate, ate shitty food, backpacked every weekend, and had the time of my life. 

In August 2023, I returned with my family, and the park itself was generally the same. The mushroom-carpeted, moldy cabins that I cleaned were still there. The crusty, retired campground attendants were still angry. And Old Faithful still blew its load every 70-80 minutes. 

And yet something had changed. The tourons were on another level compared to those I encountered decades ago. For those who don’t know, the touron is a special kind of beast—half tourist, all moron. I’m not the only one to notice this. A recent Washington Post article pointed out the increasing boldness of tourists in the park, which harkens back to the old days when you could feed bears from your Ford. As I watched humanity disrespect this national treasure at every thermal feature, I realized the solution. Just don’t go. It’s insanely unsafe, and you’re probably going to die. If that’s not good enough for you, here are a handful of other reasons you should just go to Florida.   Read the full story.

🏡 What is Home?:  In As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner wrote, “How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.” For me, home has always been tied to family land and moments spent upon it: hauling catfish from a tiny pond with the great-grandfather from whom I get my name; stepping quietly through sun-chased shadows cast by trees under which my mother and her siblings played, hoping to see the big whitetail buck who ran the farm; baiting purple-shelled fiddler crabs to tempt sheepshead feeding upon the barnacle-encrusted pilings of my great-aunt’s dock. Most of that is gone or going now. For me that loss begs the question, what is home when the land is gone and the moments upon it exist only in my ever-faulty memory?

I believe I’ve found part of the answer to my question in America’s unique public lands system. As citizens of this nation, each of us owns more than 400 national parks, 560 national wildlife refuges, and 250 million other public acres. Within the states, additional land is preserved to the use of all citizens. Within an hour of my home, there are 210,000 public acres upon which I can hunt duck, deer, turkey, or bear. I need only drive fifteen minutes to a public boat ramp to look for tailing red drum.  Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…