Outdoor Life - Wolf RSS

Michigan Governor OKs Wolf Hunt

Alex Robinson — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:51:14 -0400

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday blocked efforts by animal activist groups seeking a statewide vote on a 2012 law that allows wolf hunting. The 2012 law that gives the Michigan Natural Resources Commission the power to designate species as game animals was given final authorization by the state senate on Tuesday.

Prior to this legislation, the responsibility of wolf management decisions fell on the backs of lawmakers. The MNRS plans to list wolves as a game animal for selected hunts in the Upper Peninsula areas today. The Governor is all for this.

"This action helps ensure sound scientific and biological principles guide decisions about management of game in Michigan," Snyder said. "Scientifically managed hunts are essential to successful wildlife management and bolstering abundant, healthy and thriving populations."

Governor Snyder also signed into a law legislation that guarantees Michiganians the right to hunt and fish and allows Michigan members of the military to get free hunting and fishing licenses.

Way to go Governor!

The Massachusetts Mystery Wolf Photo

Alex Robinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:25:34 -0400

I experienced a college flashback this past week and not just because I was sitting in a bar. It was late Thursday afternoon and after greeting a couple of buddies shortly after walking through the door, IPhones began making their anticipated appearances. However, instead of predictable photos of strutting gobblers, the accompanying photo popped up.

“Yep, this thing was shot in Chester, Mass.—just a little north of here,” someone said. “Must have been one of those wolf/dog hybrid things because I heard that it was declawed.” And then I had my flashback.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics, a favorite undergrad communications textbook, immediately came to mind. Swapping the word “statistics” for “the internet” would help make for a modern-day version of a college textbook.

A day later we stopped down at the watering hole again. While waiting for our pizza, another local walked in with a printout of the same photo also claiming it to be a Massachusetts wolf shot by “a buddy’s friend.” He also said that it was shot a week or two ago. Hmmmmmmmm... I guess it’s not too surprising. Ever since the bona fide wolf kill in Shelburne, Mass. a couple years ago and the furor over the mountain lion roadkill in nearby Connecticut, these sorts of stories have been widely circulated. Just don’t believe everything you hear.

A little Google-Image investigating indicates that the photo first showed up on the Internet in May 2012. Further, depending on who you believe, it was either shot or trapped in Idaho or the Northwest Territories. It seems an odd-looking beast to me, but if you know more, leave a comment in the box below.

20 Best Taxidermy Photos from the Safari Club International Convention

Alex Robinson — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:58:49 -0500

We rounded up 20 of the best mount photos from the SCI convention floor. Let us know in the comments section which one you like the best.

Emotion and Science in Wolf Management

Alex Robinson — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:00:18 -0500

The first rule of wildlife management is that populations matter. Individuals don’t.

The second rule is that long-term trends—in species’ range and distribution, in habitat health, and even in human tolerance for various wild critters—trump the peaks and valleys of annual gain and loss.

Unlike the bloodless analytics of other scientific disciplines, wildlife management is organic. It happens outdoors. It’s often bloody. To borrow Hobbes’ perspective of humanity, most wild animals spend lives that are “nasty, brutish, and short.”

In Dan Nosowitz’s misinformed and virulent essay on wolf hunting around Yellowstone National Park, he seems ignorant of these tenets—and realities—of wildlife management.

He also seems intent on demonizing the very group of humans—licensed hunters—who have contributed more to the restoration of wildlife in America than any other group. He calls us “maniacs,” “mass shooters,” and “murderers” and suggests that hunting, and hunters, have no place in the wolf-management discussion. Nothing could be further from the truth—neither his description of hunters nor how he portrays our role in wildlife management.

By far the majority of Western hunters believe that wolves are part of a healthy, functional landscape. They belong. But we also believe that they need to be regulated, just as other wildlife populations are, with restrained, science-based management. In America, that means hunting by qualified, license-buying citizen sportsmen and women who are not agents of some “lunatic state” but are capable and effective woodsmen who respect, and even cherish, the very animals we hunt.

We hunters also fund wolf management. In the first year of state-sanctioned hunting, Idaho Fish and Game raised nearly $500,000 for wildlife conservation. That’s money that benefits elk, trout, and songbirds—along with wolves—and the habitat that all these creatures require.

ANTHROPOMORPHIZING WOLVES
Nosowitz’s rant, which masquerades as analysis, gets many fundamental facts wrong. He has plenty of company in misinformation. Wolf management is emotional and polarizing, and the first victim of any discussion about the apex predators is often the truth. But Nosowitz isn’t satisfied with sloppy reporting. He also laces his blog post with venom and an embarrassing lack of perspective.

Let’s start with Nosowitz’s introduction, in which he laments the legal shooting (by a licensed hunter) of a radio-collared wolf known as 832F. This is the photogenic alpha female known to park visitors as the “rock star of the Lamar Valley” for her habit of roaming near one of Yellowstone’s most trafficked roads.

Nosowitz seems to base his entire perspective of wolf management on this single animal. Indeed, several radio-collared wolves have been legally killed by hunters this season outside the boundaries of the national park. Because of the management implications of removing these “study animals” from the population, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission last week closed hunting along the northern border of the park.

But the licensed harvest (even of collared wolves) is well within management objectives of the sanctioned hunting seasons in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, the three states that have taken over management of gray wolves following their removal from the federal endangered species list in 2009. In fact, the states have not achieved their harvest objectives, which is a testament to how remarkably skilled wolves are at surviving in our vast landscapes. Last year, Montana set a harvest quota of 220 wolves, but only 166 were killed by hunters before the season closed. This year Montana is allowing wolves to be trapped as well as hunted with firearms in an effort to bring numbers of the predators in line with population objectives.

Does this sound like “legalized murder,” to use the tone-deaf rhetoric of Nosowitz? No. It is restrained harvest. Montana wildlife officials peg the minimum population of wolves in the state at 653. It’s likely to be much higher, because gray wolves occupy vast stretches of uninhabited country, and counting them is difficult.

Wyoming, with a much more liberal harvest structure, has an estimated wolf population of about 400 animals. Idaho’s population is pegged at about 850 animals. Since they were introduced into Yellowstone Park in 1995, gray wolves have roamed as far afield as Colorado, Utah, and even California.

One of the foundations of delisting was the states’ agreement to ensure wolf populations remain above certain benchmarks. Across their Western range, that minimum population is 300 wolves with at least 30 breeding adults. For each of the last 11 years, that minimum number has been exceeded by a factor of three. Last year federal biologists counted a minimum of 1,774 wolves in 287 packs and 109 breeding pairs. In a nutshell, the states’ wolf management—which includes sanctioned hunting—is working.

ACHIEVING BALANCE
Because Yellowstone Park’s pre-wolf elk herd was far too large for its carrying capacity, the ungulates overgrazed habitat. Wolves have restored balance to the landscape. But hunter harvest of elk, around Yellowstone’s border and elsewhere in the West, remains necessary to control populations and keep them in check with habitat.

The same is true of wolf hunting. In places where wolves can’t be hunted effectively, elk numbers have plummeted. In Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, elk mortality by wolves is so high that biologists are concerned with recruitment, or the ability of a cow elk to replace herself with offspring. Distasteful as it may be to some preservationists who would rather let nature seek its own balance, hunting has been the most effective tool of wildlife managers for more than a century.

Nosowitz may not be aware that the alternative to licensed hunters—who cherish a wolf pelt as a hard-won trophy—is widespread poisoning of wolves and aerial gunning by government agents.

But a clinical discussion of wolf management misses the point. Wolves are polarizing. They are lightning rods. And, unfortunately, the sort of emotional misinformation that Nosowitz perpetuates dominates discussions on both sides. On the preservationist side, wolf advocates seem to think that they any lethal removal is somehow subhuman. On the kill-’em-all side, wolf demonizers tend to associate the predators with all that’s wrong with the world.

The truth—and the sustainable future for these remarkable animals—is between those two poles. We Westerners are still learning how to live with wolves, but red-eyed rants like Nosowitz’s don’t get us any closer to an understanding of the give and take, cause and effect, that’s at the heart of modern wildlife management, and which will ensure that wolves remain part of our landscape far into the future.

Hunters Harvest 147 Wolves As Minnesota's First Season Ends

Alex Robinson — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:10:51 -0500

Minnesota hunters harvested 147 wolves during the state's first regulated wolf hunt, causing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to close the early-season harvest Sunday night as scheduled.

The DNR initially set a statewide limit of 200 wolves for the early season, according to their website. As hunters neared the quotas in each of Minnesota's three wolf zones, the DNR closed zones to further harvests.

The season opened Nov. 3 and the DNR closed the east-central zone just two days later. Eight wolves were killed, just one short of the zone's quota. The second zone to close was the northeast zone on Thursday, with 61 wolves harvested despite a quota of 58.

Although the zone exceeded the quota by three wolves, DNR officials stated earlier this year that targets in each zone are approximations. Final counts slightly above or below each quota aren't a problem, reports the Star Tribune.

The third and final zone closed Sunday at 10 p.m., which was the deadline for registering any final kills. Hunters in the northwest zone reported taking 78 wolves out of the allotted 133.

Minnesota hunters killed 119 of the 147 wolves within the first 10 days of the season. DNR wolf specialist Dan Stark correctly predicted hunters would not reach the 200-wolf quota earlier this month. Most people who hunt wolves during the early season do so while deer hunting, and the majority of deer hunters hit the woods during the first couple days of the season. After the initial rush, fewer deer hunters resulted in fewer wolf hunters and the unmet quota.

The DNR issued 3,600 permits to early-season wolf hunters and 2,400 permits for late-season hunters and trappers. The second season is scheduled to run from Nov. 24 through Jan. 31. Since hunters fell short of the early season's 200-wolf quota by 53 wolves, the DNR will increase the late-season quota by 53. That said, the total harvest for both seasons cannot exceed 400 wolves.

Best Opening Day: Minnesota Hunter Takes Deer and 80-Pound Wolf

Alex Robinson — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:28:10 -0500

Garrett Mikrut, 26, was hunting whitetail from his treestand north of Duluth on Saturday, the same day Minnesota's hotly-debated wolf season began. He noticed a doe and a fawn racing toward him and thought a buck might be in pursuit, reports the Star Tribune. But instead of a buck, two wolves appeared.

Mikrut quickly fired two rounds at one of the wolves. The second shot dropped the 80-pound male almost instantly, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

Of the 3,600 licensed wolf hunters in Minnesota, only 69 hunters have taken a wolf so far. That's a success rate of less than two percent. Wildlife officials expect the harvest to taper off as the early season continues, and most don't foresee meeting the 200-wolf harvest quota by the season's end on November 18. This is because the early wolf hunt coincides with deer firearms season, and harvest trends are similar for both species.

Typically 60 percent of whitetail harvests occur during the first three days of the season.

Mikrut didn't think he'd have an opportunity to shoot a wolf since he's only spotted one other wolf from his stand in 14 years. Mikrut's father, Paul, saw seven wolves in two days while hunting the Superior National Forest this weekend, but couldn't get a clean shot. Both won their wolf licenses in a lottery held by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, along with two other hunting buddies.

The father-son team also killed a pair of deer, with a doe for Mikrut and an eight-pointer for Paul.

Although many hunters belive wolf packs are crippling Minnesota's deer population, DNR research shows hunter harvest and winter severity are the primary factors that influence deer numbers.

Minnesota removed gray wolves from the state's endangered species list in January, making this the state's first legal wolf hunt since the 1970s. A second wolf season that allows trapping will open November 24. The late season also allocates a target harvest of 200 wolves.

Missouri Hunter Shoots Young Wolf or Massive Coyote

Alex Robinson — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:58:02 -0500

A Missouri bowhunter shot what appeared to be a massive coyote last week while deer hunting in the Franklin Island Conservation Area. But the sheer size of the animal is calling its biological identification into question.

Although the nation's largest coyote on record was 74 pounds, this male predator weighed in at a hefty 81 pounds, reports the Columbia Daily Tribune. And what's more, biologists from the Missouri Department of Conservation say the animal wasn't even fully mature.

The MDC announced in a press release that no tags or markings suggest the mystery predator was a captive animal. The MDC collected tissue samples for DNA analysis to confirm the species, which will take three to six months. MDC speculates the animal may be a wolf, but other possible identifications include a large coyote or some sort of hybrid animal.

The hunter, who asked the MDC to withhold his name, shot what he thought might be a state-record coyote around 8 a.m. on Oct. 30. Coyotes are in season in Missouri and the hunter had a license. If the animal turns out to be a coyote, it will be returned to him for mounting. If the DNA analysis confirms it's a wolf, the MDC will dispose of it.

Gray wolves haven't been native to Missouri since the late 1800s when populations succumbed to hunting and habitat loss. While the MDC reports there is no evidence of breeding populations in the state, wolves are still a protected species in Missouri.

Regional wildlife supervisor John George told the Columbia Tribune the animal might be a wolf that traveled hundreds of miles in search of new territory. A wolf was killed by a landowner in 2010 in Carroll County, and another was shot in 2002 in Grundy County. Both had wandered to the state from the northwest, George said.

What do you think? Is this mystery predator a coyote, a wolf, or some sort of hybrid? Comment below!

First Wolves Taken in the Wisconsin Hunting and Trapping Season

Alex Robinson — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:42:57 -0400

It was only a one-day trap season for Keith Follis’ but it was one he’ll remember forever.

On October 20, the Wisconsin native joined a select group of only 18 hunters and trappers to take a wolf in the state’s wolf season when he trapped one of the reintroduced predators in Brule. “The wolf wound up weighing 62 pounds,” Keith told the Duluth News Tribune. “But in the brush, it looked like 100 pounds. They’re a big animal. They’re real tall.”

Keith, 51, was especially elated to share the event with his 73-year-old father Buck Follis.

As of this writing 18 wolves of an allotted maximum harvest of 116 wolves have been taken since the season began October 15.

DNR wildlife biologist at Brule Fred Strand is more than pleased with the results of the season thus far. “I think 18 wolves in the first week would certainly greatly exceed my expectations,” Fred said. “Those people who were successful had done their prep work and scouting work ahead of time so they knew where to be and what to do.”

Of course not everyone is as excited as Fred.

Howard Goldman, director of the Minnesota Humane Society, is certain that this hunt will mean the end of wolves in Wisconsin long before the season ends February 28. “I think the population will crash,” Goldman said. This belief is one of the reasons the Humane Society filed a lawsuit asking that wolf protection come again under federal regulation.

In the meantime, hunters and trappers in Wisconsin are free to take to the field to make memories just as Keith and his father did.

“We’ll hang it [the wolf] on the wall,” Keith said. “It’ll be kind of special, something me and my dad did together.”

Lawsuit Blocks Wolf Hunters from Using Dogs in Wisconsin

Alex Robinson — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:17:14 -0400

A lawsuit to prevent the use of dogs to hunt or trail wolves in Wisconsin has succeeded until at least Dec. 20, the date Judge Peter Anderson will hold the next hearing in the case.

As the result, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued a statement Thursday alerting wolf hunters that "the season will proceed but without the use of dogs."

The wolf hunting and trapping season is scheduled to begin Oct. 15. The use of dogs to pursue wolves had been authorized by state statute to begin Nov. 26.

Groups filed a lawsuit against the DNR in August, claiming the department did not have adequate rules in place to prevent potentially deadly exchanges between wolves and dogs, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Wisconsin is the only state to authorize the use of dogs to hunt wolves. The practice was included in Act 169, passed in April by the Legislature. Plaintiffs claim the use of dogs to hunt or trail wolves violates state animal cruelty laws.

Judge Anderson placed an injunction on the use of dogs to hunt or trail wolves while the case is being decided. He will hold a hearing Dec. 20 to consider the state's request to lift the injunction.

The DNR has issued 1,160 wolf hunting and trapping licenses. The wolf harvest quota was set at 201 statewide, 85 of which are reserved for Native Americans in the ceded territory.

The DNR established five wolf management zones, each with a harvest quota. The season would end in a zone when the harvest quota was reached. Hunters and trappers are required to report kills within 24 hours.

If the harvest quota is not reached, the season would run through Feb. 28.
The state's wolf population was estimated at between 815 and 880 animals in late winter, according to the DNR.

Lawsuit Aims to Halt Minnesota Wolf Hunt

Alex Robinson — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:53:39 -0400

With its neighbor Wisconsin already locked in a wolf hunting lawsuit, Minnesota is now entering its own legal battle over Canis lupus.

Two anti-hunting groups, The Center for Biological Diversity and Howling for Wolves, are suing Minnesota in hopes of stopping a wolf hunt that is planned for Nov. 3. The groups argue that the state did not offer a long enough public comment period before announcing the hunt.

This from MPR News: "They say the DNR did not provide enough time for public comment before setting up the wolf season. The groups want the Minnesota Court of Appeals to stop the season until there's a decision on the case.

Wolves were taken off the endangered species list in Minnesota earlier this year and the state Legislature authorized a wolf hunt after a public comment period."

Minnesota is home to more wolves than any other state in the lower 48. The DNR estimates the wolf population at about 3,000 and that population has been stable for 10 years. The hunt has a target harvest of 400 animals.

Coolest Summer Hunting Opportunity: Wolves in Idaho

OL Editor — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:32:39 -0400

Think your hunting season has to wait untill the fall? Think again.

Private land wolf hunts continue in Idaho despite the regular season ending Sunday, July 1. Idaho Fish and Game spokesman Niels Nokkentved told the Great Falls Tribune that anyone wanting to hunt wolves this summer must have a permit ($11.50 for residents and $31.75 for nonresidents) and landowner permission in advance.

Results of the 2011-2012 season have hunters in Idaho taking 255 wolves and trappers taking another 124. Private land hunts will continue through the summer with the regular season starting up again on August 30 with trapping starting on November 15.

Nearby Montana will set its wolf season dates at a meeting on July 12. The two states must each keep at least 150 wolves and 15 breeding pairs within their borders to maintain state authority over the predator.

Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Tony McDermott told the Tribune, "We've got plenty of wolves, and we want to try and keep them a safe distance from populated areas. We're not seeing a lot of livestock loss there, but wolves are getting close around densely populated areas like Coeur d'Alene."

What's your favorite thing to hunt in the summertime (legally of course)?

Minnesota Plans Two Wolf Hunting Seasons for Fall 2012

Alex Robinson — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:07:49 -0400

Minnesota is home to more wolves than any other state in the lower 48, and now North Star State hunters are finally going to have a hunting season, or two.

State officials are hustling to finalize plans for two wolf hunting seasons this fall. One will start on the opening day of deer season and another will start in December and probably run during the planned wolf-trapping season, according to the Star Tribune.

The plan is to have quotas for each season which requires hunters to follow online the number of wolves killed. Once the kill quota is reached, the season will close.

The Minnesota DNR lobbied for only a single stand-alone wolf season, but in order to meet hunters' requests, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill that calls for another hunt that coincides with the deer season.

The bill highlights an important point about wolf hunting: Not many hunters are dedicated or skilled enough to hike into the Northwoods in the middle of winter to track down and kill a wolf. Most wolves will likely be killed by trappers or deer hunters.

The 35 Best Hunting and Fishing Towns in the US

Alex Robinson — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:54:56 -0400

Now in its fifth year, our annual “Best Towns for Sportsmen” feature is an OL institution. Readers love to argue the merits of their burgs based on our rankings; local newspapers crow about the inclusion of their town; and realtors call to ask for extra copies of the issue.

This year we’re forgetting all the socio-economic data and focusing on what matters most: hunting and fishing. In the next few pages, you’ll find the 35 towns in the U.S. where we would live right now, based solely on the outdoor opportunities there. Some boast bass and deer, others elk and trout or ducks and redfish. Regardless, each of these towns is an outdoors mecca in its own right, and from sea to shining sea, they offer the best hunting and fishing in America.

#1 - Appleton, WI
More than 170 years ago, trappers and fur traders chased the promise of lucrative beaver pelts up the Fox River and settled the town of Appleton. Today, enormous whitetail deer draw outdoorsmen and -women to the Fox River Valley. The Boone and Crockett Club recently anointed Wisconsin the number-one trophy whitetail state in the country, with Cheesehead hunters logging 383 B&C entries in the last five years. In the last three seasons, three different bucks killed within 50 miles of downtown Appleton have either broken or threatened Badger State records. But there’s a lot more to do in Appleton than sit in a treestand.

Nearby Lake Winnebago and the Fox River, which runs through town, are premier walleye fisheries. Green Bay, 30 minutes to the north, offers some of the best smallmouth bass and muskie fishing in the country. Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area sits 70 miles to the south and is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the country. Hundreds of thousands of geese migrate through the region each fall. Sixty miles to the north, the 661,000-acre Nicolet National Forest, home to deer, bears, and grouse, is one of the last true wild places in the northwoods.

#2 - Salmon, ID

This town’s name should be your first clue as to why it attracts sportsmen the way a spawning run draws bears. Located right on the Salmon River—and bordering millions of acres of public hunting ground, including the largest wilderness area in the Lower 48 (the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness)—Salmon has, well, everything.

The Salmon and its tributaries offer world-class fishing for trout, steelhead, and other species year-round. On the crags and benches above the Salmon and other nearby rivers, wingshooters chase chukar and huns, while at higher elevations blue and spruce grouse predominate.

The big-game scene has changed in Salmon with the resurgence of wolves. But trophy elk, mule deer, and whitetails are still accessible, and the hunting for bears and mountain lions is second to none.

#3 - Venice, LA

If you like your saltwater rimmed by white sand beaches, palm trees, and tiki bars, this is not the place for you. However, if you live to hunt and fish, and yearn to do it 24/7/365, then this tiny community at the mouth of the Mississippi River beckons.

Despite its infamy as the epicenter of both Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Venice remains arguably the greatest place in North America to fish and hunt waterfowl.

In 2011, Bassmaster Classic competitors ran down the Mississippi from New Orleans to Venice—more than two hours by boat—to fill their livewells with largemouths. However, it’s world-class redfish and speckled trout fishing that draw the recreational fishermen. You will catch fish here every day that you hit the water, and you can’t say that about very many other places in the country.

If you get bored in the marshes, big-game fishing opportunities—from marlin to tuna, sailfish to swords—are plentiful around the offshore gas and oil rigs.
September marks the beginning of teal season in this waterfowler’s paradise, with more than 14 percent of the country’s wetlands located in this region of southern Louisiana.

#4 - Rapid City, SD

This gateway to the ruggedly beautiful Black Hills region of western South Dakota offers its 67,000 residents a wide variety of hunting and fishing opportunities. Mountain lakes and coldwater streams to the west of town are home to brook, brown, and rainbow trout. In the surrounding prairie, a constellation of reservoirs and stock dams hold largemouths, pike, and panfish.

Hunting opportunities are available nearly year-round. Whitetails, mule deer, elk, and Merriam’s turkeys prowl the mountains. A short drive will put you into pheasants, sharptails, and prairie chickens. Pronghorns, coyotes, and prairie dogs are plentiful in the grasslands.

#5 - Centerville, IA

They got the name right. Centerville is in the middle of a sportsman’s paradise. Epic whitetails get the headlines (the 307-inch Lovstuen Buck was killed just north of here), but south-central Iowa has plenty of four-season opportunity: abundant turkeys and waterfowl, plus great crappies, walleyes, and channel cats on Rathbun Lake north of town.

But it’s the human dimension of this place—the classic Midwestern courthouse square, the easy friendliness of its residents—that makes this a great town to call home. Plus, Centerville has some bona fide hunting pedigree: It’s the original home of groundbreaking Knight muzzleloading rifles.

#6 - Grand Junction, CO
Magnificent mesas and endless elk—Grand Junction’s breathtaking scenery makes the perfect backdrop for chasing public-land bulls. Numerous alpine trout lakes keep local anglers busy.

#7 - Georgetown, SC
Several rivers converge at the Intercoastal Waterway in this city in the Carolina Lowcountry. Famed lakes Moultrie and Marion are a short drive to the west.

The Francis Marion National Forest provides more than a quarter million acres of public-land hunting for deer, turkeys, quail, and small game.

#8 - Bend, OR
Drive less than an hour from Bend and you can be fishing a stream in a desert canyon, a high alpine lake, or a spring creek.

#9 - Bismarck, ND
If you’ve got your eye on walleyes, set your sights on Bismarck, on the banks of the Missouri River. Grouse, pheasants, ducks, and geese abound in fall and winter.

#10 - Saratoga, WY
With the North Platte River running through downtown Saratoga, your next trout is never more than a cast away. Elk, deer, and pronghorns roam the mountains and prairies around town.

#11 - Traverse City, MI
Glacial inland lakes hold perch and smallies, and Traverse Bay offers big-water angling opportunities. But the area’s four blue-ribbon trout streams get top billing. The Boardman, which winds through downtown, is the birthplace of the Parachute Adams fly.

#12 - Lake Placid, NY
Fish for brown trout on the famed West Branch of the Ausable River, and catch lake and rainbow trout on Lake Placid. Whitetail deer and black bears roam the quarter-million acres of state lands surrounding this quaint Adirondack mountain town.

#13 - Cody, WY
Cody is heaven on earth for big-game backcountry mountain hunters. Mild weather means more opportunities to chase bighorns, elk, mule deer, and pronghorns.

#14 - Islamorada, FL
Watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, where offshore fishing for everything from grouper and snapper to dolphin and swords abounds. Cast to tarpon, permit, and bonefish on the flats as the sun sets over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the west of town.

#15 - Ely, MN
Just miles from the million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Ely is a pike and walleye fisherman’s paradise in the summer, and a whitetail mecca come fall.

#16 - Thompson Falls, MT
This secluded town west of the Rockies is surrounded by massive swaths of national forest. The two most accessible, the Kootenai and Lolo, hold elk, whitetails, ruffed grouse, and turkeys.

#17 - Show Low, AZ
You’ll find pronghorns to the north of town, and elk, deer, and lions to the south and east. The nearby White Mountains are the only place in the world to fish for Apache trout.

#18 - Russell, KS
Pheasants, quail, doves, turkeys, waterfowl, and deer provide hunters in the heart of the Smoky Hills a dizzying array of opportunities.

#19 - Toccoa, GA
Tucked into the southeastern corner of the Chattahoochee National Forest, Toccoa is 15 minutes from the Lake Russell Wildlife Management Area, home to deer, turkeys, bears, squirrels, rabbits, and wild hogs. Lake Russell is stocked with trout, and nearby Lake Hartwell has hybrid stripers, brown trout, and crappies.

#20 - Craig, CO
Craig offers access to a million acres of public land just 7 miles from town, and boasts two of the largest elk herds in North America.

#21 - Cadiz, KY
In less than 30 minutes, you’ll be into bass, crappies, and catfish on Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley. Deer and duck hunting are vital threads in the local sporting fabric.

#22 - Logan, UT
Located in the Cache Valley, Logan is surrounded by marshland for waterfowl hunting and myriad blue-ribbon trout streams.

#23 - Homer, AK
Halibut, ling cod, salmon, and rockfish are plentiful in Kachemak Bay, while local rivers host spawning salmon runs, plus Dolly Vardens, grayling, and monster rainbows.

#24 - Wellsboro, PA
Nearby Pine Creek, which runs through Pine Creek Gorge—aka the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon—is a prime flyfishing destination. Surrounding that oasis is state land set aside for whitetails, black bears, rabbits, squirrels, and pheasants.

#25 - Rogers, AR
In the heart of the Ozark Mountains, Rogers is a short drive from 31,700-acre Beaver Lake and its epic striped and largemouth bass fisheries.

#26 - Montauk, NY
The Atlantic Ocean and the Long Island Sound meet at this home of world-class saltwater fishing. Hook up with bluefish and stripers faster than you can count them during the spring and fall blitzes.

#27 - Goldendale, WA
Salmon, steelhead, bass, walleyes, perch, crappies, and catfish live in nearby waters. Duck, goose, and deer hunting starts at the edge of town.

#28 - Los Alamos, NM
Stay close to home for walleyes, catfish, bass, and trout, in waters like Abiqui Lake, Rio Chama, and Rio Grande. The nearby Valles Caldera National Preserve runs a lottery program for monster elk.

#29 - Sebago, ME
Sebago hugs the northwestern shore of Maine’s deepest lake (and the town’s namesake). Locals troll for landlocked salmon around rocky points and shoals.

#30 - Arnold, NE
With only 500 residents, tiny Arnold is home to more whitetails and mule deer than people. That game-rich environment has fostered a hunter-friendly culture in this north-central Nebraska town.

#31 - Mammoth Lakes, CA
Surrounded by dozens of fishable lakes and streams, this central California fishing hotbed is ringed by the stunning Sierra Nevada mountains.

#32 - Woodward, OK
Kansas’ big-buck cup runneth over the border into Woodward, in northwestern Oklahoma, where a number of 150- to 200-class bucks are tagged every fall.

#33 - Beckley, WV
The New River is a prime destination for smallmouths, walleyes, and muskies, and many of its tributaries teem with wild trout.

#34 - Harrisburg, IL
Though the nearby Shawnee National Forest is best known for its whitetail hunting, the area is also home to turkeys, waterfowl, upland birds, and small game.

#35 - Uvalde, TX
This beating heart of south-Texas deer country is also home to some of the best dove hunting in the nation. Lake Amistad sits on the Mexican border 70 miles to the west of town and offers excellent bass and catfish opportunities.

Worst Town - Camden, NJ

Little-known fact: The upper Delaware River’s fabled American shad run is caused in large part by the fish trying to get the hell away from downriver Camden as quickly as possible.

Who could blame them? Camden, a perennial favorite on any “Most Dangerous Cities” list, laid off half of its police force in January. Take a cue from the shad and stay far away from Camden.

Do you have any suggestions for other fishing and hunting towns not mentioned on this list? We'd love to hear from you, so enter your favorite town in the comments section below or click here to upload photos.

Wisconsin Wolf Hunting Bill Signed, Season to Begin Mid-October

Alex Robinson — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:25:35 -0400

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a bill today allowing wolf hunting in the Dairy State. The season, open to both hunters and trappers, will run mid-October to the end of February. This bill comes after the Federal government delisted wolves as an endangered species in January. Despite this, many view the bill as politically driven, and not based on science. Norm Poulton, regional coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources’ Wolf Recovery Program, believes the bill will greatly reduce, if not destroy, the wolf population.

“If you look at these bumper stickers, they don’t say 350 wolves, they say no wolves,” Poulton told WJFW.com.

Another DNR employee and spokesperson for the wolf hunting bill, Kurt Thiede, says eradicating wolves is not the plan.

“What we looked for in the legislation was making sure that we had, through rule authority, the ability to regulate permit numbers, set goals, establish zones, and then also close the season by emergency order, if necessary,” said Thiede told WJFW.com, before adding that one of the reasons behind the bill was to help those forced to interact with wolves. “The current level which they’re at, there are problems being caused across the north for landowners, farmers, that have to coexist with wolves. So we see this as an opportunity, through our delisting and the federal delisting, to help manage that problem.”

One issue that both sides can agree on, however, is that no one knows just how many wolves there are in the state. Estimates run between 350 and 750 animals. Volunteers that assisted in counting the animals have stated that they will no longer participate for fear of leading hunters to wolves.

What do I think about all this? I’ll put it this way: I’ve already called my friend Richard Sanders, who is a landowner and Wisconsin native, to tell him I’ll be visiting sometime this winter. Your thoughts? Comment below!

Click on the following links for more news on wolf hunting in Wisconsin:

Wisconsin Legislators Must Weigh Wolf Hunt Against Native American Traditions
Wisconsin Landowners Will Soon Be Allowed to Shoot Problem Wolves
Wolves in the Great Lakes Region Taken Off Endangered Species List
Wisconsin DNR Calls For Great Lakes Wolves to Be Delisted

China Police Kill Wolf Suspected of Attacking 7 People

Alex Robinson — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:28:15 -0400

Police in eastern China believe they have killed a gray wolf responsible for attacking seven people in Tengzhou in the span of six days, Msnbc.com reports. Two of the victims, including a 62-year-old woman, died as a result of the horrific encounter.

Authorities wasted no time in shooting at the wolf when they encountered it in a wheat field on Monday. Police shot the wolf in the leg and then chased the injured animal for an estimated 12 miles before they were able to finally kill it.

It is still unknown if the wolf killed was actually the one responsible for the attacks or why the wolf attacked in the first place. Some speculate that the wolf attacked because it had rabbies.

Wolf attacks on humans are rare — there have been only two documented cases of fatal wolf attacks on humans in North America, according to a 2010 Msnbc.com report.

Possible Wolf Pack Sighting in Northeast Utah

Alex Robinson — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:08:49 -0500

Last week the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reported that a helicopter crew spotted four wolves or wolf-dog hybrids in a remote area of northeast Utah. For more than a year, the division has been investigating wolf sightings in the region, but it won't confirm this sighting until it has DNA evidence.

The division is now trying to track and capture the animals. This from the press statement:

"If the animals are wolf-dog hybrids, Kevin Bunnell of Utah DWR says the animals will be killed. If the animals are wolves, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has management authority for the animals.

Except for a small area in northern Utah, Bunnell says, any wolf that enters the state is fully protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.

Outside of that small area in northern Utah, Bunnell says the DWR doesn't have any management authority over wolves in Utah. All management authority rests with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The USFWS has given the DWR approval to capture the animals and draw their blood."

MT Wolf Quota Falls Short, Hunters Ask for Extension

OL Editor — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:23:00 -0500

Hunters killed 163 wolves in Montana this season, far short of the state’s 220 animal quota. This shortfall of around 25% has led some in the state to call for an extended season -- the season ended at sunset on Wednesday February 15 -- and others to say enough is enough. Some hunters and livestock owners are urging wildlife commissioners to allow the season to continue.

Animal activists of course didn’t want a wolf season in the first place and are adamant against extending the season because it would carry over the predator’s breeding season. Stuck in the middle of these opposing views are the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission, who undoubtedly can’t please everybody.

"The quota is a ceiling; it's not a basement. If we haven't reached the ceiling we haven't failed," Bob Ream, chairman of Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission told the Associated Press. "It's been a good season and people should treat wolves like other game animals."
But “other game animals” are what some hunters in the state are concerned about. Many feel the state’s declining elk numbers are the result of too many wolves, which were reintroduced to Montana and Idaho in the mid 1990’s. Hunters and trappers in Idaho have killed 294 wolves to date. That state’s wolf season runs through June 30. Unlike Montana, Idaho has no statewide quota. A 2011 wolf population count for both states should be completed next month.

As of press time it doesn’t look as though the Montana season will be extended. Last month Ream and fellow commissioner Ron Moody voted against extending the season in portions of the Bitterroot Mountains near the Idaho border in response to complaints about declining elk numbers. A final vote on the matter is set for Thursday.

Hunters Protest Putting a Bounty on Wolves in Montana

OL Editor — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:10:24 -0500

It was only a year ago that the wolves in Montana were taken off the Endangered Species List, but now some ranchers in Jefferson county are petitioning for a bounty system to be instated on the species to cut down livestock predation. Wolves went extinct in Montana by the 1930’s largely because of such a system.

Hunters are one of the most vocal groups opposing the bounty petition, according to the helenair.com. One of the main arguments against the instating a bounty is that wolf hunting has not been open long enough to lower the population.

“Give [hunters] the chance to learn about this and let the process work a little bit,” said Josh Pallister, an avid hunter from Jefferson county. “It’s not that I love wolves, but we are uneducated about them.”

Jefferson County commissioner Leonard Wortman said that if more than 51 percent of the county residents petition for this system, that they have no choice but to put it into action. Of course, the county residents including the ranchers, would be taxed to pay for the bounty funds.

Wolf Reintroductions Considered for Elk Control in Colorado

Alex Robinson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:06:37 -0500

While it's unlikely federal wildlife officials will reintroduce wolves into southern Colorado in order to reduce elk populations, the measure is at least being considered.

Spurred by a public comment, U.S. Fish and Wildlife is kicking around the idea of reintroducing wolves as a means of controlling elk numbers on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, according to Chieftain.com. Cottonwoods and willows have been hit hard by elk herds on the refuge, which sits just west of Great Sand Dunes National Park, about 50 miles north of the New Mexico borderline.

"Right now, [reintroducing wolves] is a question. You have a lot of elk, a lot of people would say you need a large predator," Laurie Shannon, a planning team leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told Chieftain.com. "We may not move forward with it, but right now it's on the table."

But the option to reintroduce wolves is not the most popular measure on the table. This is probably because there's no telling exactly where wolves will go once they are reintroduced. The Baca National Wildlife Refuge rests in the San Luis Valley, an alpine valley spanning 8,000 square miles between Colorado and New Mexico. Most of the San Luis is desert, but the land complex surrounding Baca includes 500,000 acres of mostly wild lands that contain one of the largest assemblages of wetland habitat in Colorado.

Wisconsin Landowners Will Soon Be Allowed to Shoot Problem Wolves

OL Editor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:39:59 -0500

Wisconsin residents will be able to legally shoot wolves beginning mid-February at the latest. Well, some citizens anyway.

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are expected to be de-listed from the Federal Endangered Species list in Wisconsin come January 27. This move gives management authority to the state which has already stated its intentions to allow landowners or people leasing land to shoot wolves if they are attacking domestic animals on their land.

Individuals can apply for the permits beginning this week. Wisconsin's DNR Area Wildlife Biologist Fred Strand explained to the Northlands News Center, "This is different then a public hunting or trapping season, this is strictly to livestock owners on their own land to take control actions of wolves that either have or potentially will cause damage to their livestock.”

The permit will initially be good for 90 days.

Conditions under which shooting permits would be issued include the following:

1.) Landowners who have had verified attacks on livestock or pets on their property within the last two years can request permits.

2.) Landowners with vulnerable pets of livestock, and whose property lies within 1 mile of a property that has had a depredation during the same year can obtain permits.

3.) Farmers with livestock in DNR designated proactive control areas can request permits.

4.) Farmers who have had verified harassment of livestock can receive permits.

5.) Any landowner in an area where a perceived human safety situation occurs can be granted a permit.

(List courtesy of Northlands News Center)

Live Hunt: How to Trap a Wolf in Alaska

OL Editor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:18:53 -0500

I’ve been trapping hard in Alaska for the last several years, focusing mostly on marten. I’ve done very well on marten each year, but not much else. This year, my goal is to take a wolf.

I’ve always had wolves come through occasionally, but this year the 40-mile caribou herd is a lot closer, and I have a pack of wolves running my trail every few weeks. They’ve marked my trail as part of their territory and second to finding a moose that they’ve killed, this is one of the best ways to catch them.

This is where I’ll take my stand.

I trap in an area that burned a few years back, and I have had to chainsaw every inch of my 12 miles of trail. It’s only a matter of time before the whole pack comes through again to re-mark its territory, and since there is so much downed timber from the fire, they are almost exclusively using my trail.

If I plan things right, I could catch several or all of them. My first step is to make a urine post set (with fox urine) where they peed to mark their territory. They’ll be infuriated to smell that a fox has moved in on their ground and won’t hesitate to re-mark the post.

This should get me the first one, but I’m counting on their pack behavior to get me more. If I hang up the Alpha male or female, the rest of the pack will spend awhile milling around. So, I set several blind sets in my trail, and also in side trails I packed down in a circle around the area.

For now it’s a waiting game … I will keep you posted!

The Year of Canis Lupus: Wolf News in 2011

Alex Robinson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:06:24 -0500

For outdoorsmen, 2011 should be remembered as the year of the wolf. After decades of legal battles that kept management of recovered grey wolf populations in limbo, wolf management responsibilities were finally given back to state governments in a handful of regions. Here's a quick recap of what happened with Canis Lupus last year.

In February 2011, politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, pushed to get wolves off the Endangered Species List. In a tricky, but savvy move, Senator Jon Tester D-MT and Representative Mike Simpson R-ID attached riders to last April’s federal budget bill to delist wolves in Idaho and Montana. It worked, and they crafted it so lawsuits by environmentalists would be hard-pressed to overturn it.

And just before the New Year, the Obama administration removed wolves of the Great Lakes region from the endangered list. In both the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes, wolf populations have exceeded their recovery goals, paving the way for hunters and trappers to help keep the populations in check--at least in Montana and Idaho for now.

Last fall, Montana and Idaho opened seasons on wolves. Idaho set no quota on its estimated 1,000 wolves. To date, Montana hunters have killed 122 wolves and have until February 15 to bag nearly 100 more. Unlike Montana, Idaho has opened up its backcountry to wolf trappers who have taken 24 wolves, while hunters there have killed 173. Most of their season runs through Mar 31.

After only the second wolf season in decades, hunters in the lower 48 are beginning to discover just how difficult wolf hunting can be. Brandon Anderson is a guide with Mile High Outfitters out of Challis, Idaho. In the photo above, he holds up a massive 130-pound wolf shot by one of his clients. Travis Bullock, owner of Mile High, says wolves are a tough hunt and even tougher to kill. "They’re tough to hunt because they travel and roam around so much. And don’t think a .223 at a distance will do it," he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever shot an animal that can take lead like a wolf.”

More Wolf News
Minnesota Considers First Wolf Hunt in 35 Years
Wolves in the Great Lakes Region Taken Off Endangered Species List
An Honest Look at the Wolf: What the Nature Shows Don't Tell You
Montana Approves Wolf Hunt for Fall 2011
Montana Hunter Takes Wolf With Bow, First in Recent History

Top Ten Creatures You Hope To Stumble Across in 2012

OL Editor — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:36:29 -0500

Bigfoot, Loch Ness, mermaids, unicorns and dragons... I’ve never seen any of these creatures, and I’ve covered a lot of ground in my day. I’ve even been lost without a camera a few times. You’d think that would have been the perfect time to run into one of these! But, "Nope!", Chuck Testa’d. I’m not lucky enough. Question is what would a guy do? Shoot it? Probably.

There are a ton of myths out there, including whatever always swallows up that missing sock. I have no idea. And Da Turdy Point Buck--where’s he livin’? I definitely haven’t seen him and if I did, what would I do? Miss, most likely.

So, Happy New Year everyone! Let’s hear what critter you’d like to finally get an encounter with in 2012!

Here’s Mine: A Liger! If Napoleon believes--I believe!

Write your funniest ideas in the comments section for the chance to win an ASAP Survival Gear Pack. Last week’s Winner

Top Ten Christmas Gifts You Hope Fall Out of Santa’s Sleigh

10.) from pineywoods: Feral hog chia pet.

9.) from Buckshott00: A man bag. I don't care what the salesman told you, it's a purse!

8.) from Sven_Katur: A python.

7.) from Johnnie: Reindeer poop. I have three dogs and I pick up three dogs worth of poop all year long. The one gift that I hope Santa doesn't bring me this year is nine reindeer pooping on my lawn. I have enough poop to pick up as it is. Merry Christmas everybody!..... Johnnie and Family

6.) from pbshooter1217: A gift certificate to the mall, I was their long enough with my girl friend Christmas shopping.

5.) from Fishman24: A$$less Chaps, I just don't need them.

4.) from ishipley: naked Rosie O'Donell quote of the day calender

3.) from JM: Women's Lingerie...it's not the base layer I want to wear hunting.

2.) from Ric Waters: I carved a brook trout and wan't happy with it. My mom pulled it from my scrap heap, painted it, screwed brass hooks in the side and gave it to me for hanging my keys on.

1.) from drake_whisperer: A week long visit from my new mother-in-law...'nuff said...Anyone need company in a duck blind? The lab and I are ready to load up the wagon and peel out of here.....

Help Us Pick The Prize for Our Next Caption Contest!

Alex Robinson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:33:47 -0500

So Outdoor Life is part of a cool contest operated by Crown Royal, sponsor of Field & Stream’s Hook Shots show and maker of the whiskey that comes in a purple bag. The contest is called “Pass the Crown,” and it’s a variation on the Secret Santa gift exchange anyone who’s ever worked in an office is familiar with. Are you lucky enough to have never worked in an office? Then here’s how this works:

Each day from now until Dec. 15 Crown Royal is giving away a prize to a different web site to pass along to its readers. Today is Outdoor Life’s turn, but here’s the catch. Crown’s not telling us which prize they’re giving us right away. Instead, we get a clue, embroidered on one of their famous purple bags,* and we have to guess what prize the clue refers to. Based on that guess, we then get to decide whether to keep the prize in our bag or steal one of the prizes that have already been opened by a different site. Here’s a list of the prizes that have already been opened.

This is where we need your help. Do we keep our prize, or steal one from somebody else? You’ve got until 4 PM this afternoon to weigh in. Check out our clue (below), then post your best argument for keeping the prize in our bag or for stealing a specific prize from another site in the comments section here or on our Facebook post about the contest over at facebook.com/outdoorlife. If you can convince us your argument is best, we’ll go with your suggestion. If you’re not convincing enough, we’ll make the decision ourselves.

We’ll post an update here tomorrow telling you what prize was in our bag, and whether we decided to keep it or not. Keep in mind that any of the five sites who come after us can steal our gift, so don’t get too attached to whatever we end up with!

And last, of course; how will we determine which of our readers wins the prize we end up with at the end of the contest? It’ll be a caption contest, photo and date TBD. Stay tuned!

*Crown is running this contest is to get the word out about the custom-embroidered Crown bags ($9.95), and the free personalized Crown Royal bottle labels (21 and over, only) available at CrownRoyal.com. If you’ve got a Crown-lover in your family, this would make a great gift.

Wolf Collared in Western Wyoming, Gets Shot in Eastern Montana

Alex Robinson — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:20:34 -0500

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reported today that a collared wolf was recently shot on private land in southeastern Montana under a defense of property law (the wolf had attacked two lambs).

While a wolf getting shot in Montana doesn't typically make a gripping headline, this particular wolf traveled more than 300 miles from where he was originally collared.

The 2.5-year-old black wolf was collared in 2010 near Jackson, WY and was killed outside of Hammond, MT. Over the course of the wolf's journey, researchers lost his radio signal and the young male ended up off the radar.
This story serves as a good example of just how far wolves can disperse in a given territory. On average, wolves in the Northern Rockies will disperse about 60 miles, but they've been known to travel distances of more than 500 miles, according to FWP.

Contact the Montana FWP with wolf sighting information of tracks, scat or visual observations at the phone numbers below:
FWP Warden, Troy Hinck (406-853-7700)
FWP Field Biologist, Dean Waltee, (406-853-6198)
FWP Wolf Management Specialist, Abby Nelson (406-600-5150)