Wyoming's 'clean kill' bill misses the mark 🎯

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. For those of you who have also made it through, a pat on the back is deserved.

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:

• More to be done? - Wyoming’s ‘clean kill’ bill is good but… 🧾

• Mo’ money, mo’ conservation - Alberta raises $400K for bighorn hunt 💰

• Wolf bills - Montana intro’s two new wolf hunting bills 🐺

• Cat fight - Watch as a cat picks a fight with a mule deer buck 🥊

DOES MORE NEED TO BE DONE?
WYOMING ‘CLEAN KILL’ BILL IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT DOES IT GO FAR ENOUGH?

On the heels of an absolutely disgusting display of animal cruelty, House Bill 275 was written in response to a tragedy that took place in Daniel, Wyoming last winter.

Last February, Daniel resident Cody Roberts ran down a wild wolf with a snowmobile, captured the still-alive animal, took it to his home, duct-taped its mouth closed and posed for photos with it. If that wasn’t egregious enough, Roberts then went on to parade the injured canine inside the Green River Bar where more photo-ops and video content was filmed. Following the photo session, Roberts took the suffering animal behind the bar and killed it.

Coming as no surprise, the incident sparked international controversy which was only ignited further when Roberts was only charged for illegal possession of a live, warm-blooded animal, for which Roberts forfeited a $250 bond. 

As the cries from both the hunting community and non-hunting community rang out in unison, House Bill 275 was introduced in an effort to show the world that Wyoming was serious about cleaning up its tarnished reputation…

🐏 Alberta big horn tag auction raises $400,000 for conservation. Serving as the province’s official mammal, the bighorn sheep is an undoubtedly sought after big game animal in Wild Rose Country. Capturing the attention of hunters from around the world, getting a shot at one is often a once in a lifetime opportunity and one that has the ability to attract big price tags.

Using rare opportunities to raise funds for wildlife conservation is nothing new to the hunting world as auctioned tags remain a popular option for provinces and states alike. The Alberta government has used auctioned tags in the past to raise funds and cashed in again this week by auctioning off a coveted bighorn tag for a record-setting $4000,000.

The province hopes that it’s a sign of more to come as it prepares to auction off additional tags for cougar, pronghorn, moose and elk next month in Salt Lake City. The provincial government stated that all funds raised via auctioned tags go directly for animal conservation efforts such as disease management and research.

🐺 Two Montana wolf hunting bills could be heading to the House of Representatives this week. A pair of newly-introduced wolf hunting bills have made it through committee and could hit Montana’s House of Representatives as early as this week. With an estimated population of roughly 1,100 wolves, the two bills are aimed at ensuring that population levels remain healthy and sustainable.The two bills, HB 176 and HB 222 would see more wolves being hunted, advanced in the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee on Jan. 24 by party-line votes of 12-8.

HB 176 would require the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to establish hunting and trapping seasons for wolves with the intent to reduce the wolf population in the state to “450 wolves, which is the sustainable number of wolves that allows the state 23 to retain a delisted status for wolves,” in the proposed statute language. Meanwhile HB 222 would mandate the commission to authorize a wolf hunting season with an unlimited quota that must continue until the wolf population in the state is at or below 650 wolves, except that the commission could close the season in only May and June for the consideration of denning and whelping.

🥊 Watch as a mule deer and a black cat face off in the front yard. According to reports, the black cat, aptly named Shadow, is known to rile up the local deer. This time ol’ Shadow almost got more than he bargained for and cashes in one of his 9 lives.

🐡 Halibut for Hippies: “Bob,” Jim Boyce said, “I need some help getting fishing clients. I have the best fishing in Alaska for giant halibut, but nobody knows about it.” Jim, an Alaska Master Guide, is a former SEAL who did a couple of combat tours in Vietnam, and one of the very best coastal brown and black bear guides in Alaska. His lodge was in Port Alexander, a tiny, very remote town of less than 100 permanent residents—many of whom were running and hiding from something—at the southeastern corner of Baranof Island in southeast Alaska. The only access is by boat or floatplane, and there are zero services for tourists. I’d been a hunting client of, then helped guide, brown and black bear hunts with Jim, and trusted him unconditionally—but really?

“Better than Dutch Harbor?” I asked. Dutch, on Amaknak Island in Unalaska in the state’s extreme northwest, is legend for 300-pounders. “Serious as a heart attack,” Jimmy said. “I need you to write a story about the fishing here and help me chum up some clients.” Read the full story.

🦆 Murphy’s Law of Duck Hunting: They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. If I had to guess, I’d say whoever came up with that definition was probably acquainted with at least a few duck hunters—those intrepid outdoorsmen and women who abandon a warm bed on a cold morning to sit over a spread of lifeless decoys, in awful weather, with sometimes only slim chances of bagging a duck. These hapless hunters often go home empty-handed, but they enthusiastically repeat this punishing routine the following morning and on many subsequent mornings over the course of a season. Sound familiar? It certainly does to me. I’ve performed this curious ritual day in and day out during duck season for over three decades. Read the full story.

✍️ Roger Pinckney: High Priest of Daufuskie Island:  Most of us can say where we were when some big historic event happened. Well, I can also tell you where I was the very first time I ever read Roger Pinckney. Yes, that first paragraph of his was just that good. 

When I first discovered Roger,I had just recently started writing for this storied publication, and so had committed myself to reading every issue cover-to-cover, to learn more of the editorial elan and, more importantly, the people involved in its production. His first paragraph was so hilariously excellent, I instantly stopped reading, walked directly to my office and launched an email saying more or less “You have to connect me with this guy.”

Thus began a wonderful friendship.  Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…