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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, April 23, 2020:
Two men suspected of killing federally protected birds at Lake Texoma
Two men are facing charges in Marshall County suspected of illegally killing several birds near Lake Texoma.
Cody Jones, Bryan County game warden, said he was on patrol April 14 near the Cumberland Cut area when he saw something on the side of the road. “It was a pile of birds that was approximately, about knee high,” Jones said. He found several great blue herons, greater and lesser egrets and double crested cormorants, around 30 birds total. Those species of birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which prohibits their killing, capturing or transport. The alleged poachers have charges pending in Marshall County and could face state charges totaling $7,920 or federal charges totaling $15,000 each, up to six months in jail and lose their hunting licenses.
Missouri man charged in deer hunting accident that killed grandson
A northeast Missouri man is now facing three charges in connection with a fall hunting accident that left his grandson dead.
Donald Howe Sr., 75, of Edina, Missouri, is charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter, unlawful possession of a firearm and hunting on private land without permission. The deadly deer hunting accident happened on Nov. 17 on private property outside Baring, Missouri. Investigators said aAndrew Howe, 17, of Edina, was killed when his grandfather mistook him for a deer and shot him. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. According to court documents, Howe allowed Andrew to walk through the woods without wearing hunter orange.
Port Aransas to ease some restrictions on fishing
Fishing from shore in the ship channel and on the jetties will be allowed beginning at midnight tomorrow under a new declaration issued by the Port Aransas mayor.
Easing certain restrictions, the order reverses some (but not all) of the facets of orders the mayor put out in previous weeks in order to discourage the spread of the coronavirus. The mayor has said that he was imposing the restrictions in order to prevent tourists from coming to town and possibly spreading the coronavirus. Fishing from Gulf of Mexico beaches or in the beach surf zone remains prohibited under the new order. Guided fishing trips and head boat fishing charters are allowed “if vessels restrict vessel occupancy 50 percent and have a sanitizing and social distancing plan posted in a visible location on each vessel,” the order said.
Michigan sportsmen’s group files suit to strike down governor’s order banning motorboat use
A statewide conservation group is asking a judge to strike down Michigan’s temporary ban on the use of motor-powered boats as unconstitutional. The Michigan United Conservation Clubs, a consortium of local groups that together count more than 40,000 members, filed a complaint Sunday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Daniel Eichinger.
The complaint is among several suits filed against Whitmer by landscapers, cottage owners and sportsmen over her executive orders regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. MUCC said it has supported the state’s closure of Tippy Dam and other sites where anglers were not complying with social-distancing rules intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. But Whitmer’s blanket ban on motorboat use is unwarranted and unconstitutional, MUCC said in a news release. The group is asking the court to block its enforcement.
Hunting nutria in the Louisiana bayou
Millions of marsh-destroying nutria roam Louisiana’s bayous. Our mission is to take them out and, yes, eat ’em.
I can’t help but be transported back in time the instant Ryan Lambert hands me a .22 rifle and points his 28-foot mothership hunting barge into the bayous off the Mississippi River. Lambert and I have been close buddies for years, chasing redfish, ducks, and even swordfish together from his lodge out of Buras, Louisiana. But now we’re loaded to the teeth on a cold day in February to hunt…swamp rats. I’m having flashbacks to my childhood.
Coronavirus impact: Florida fishing industry smacked hard by pandemic
COVID-19 is the latest in a wave of major impacts on the $1.7 billion economic mainstay.
Tom Hill, owner and manager of the Key Largo Fisheries says, “The effect of Irma here and Michael up north and down here dealing with an algae bloom, as well as, the red tide.” Hurricanes you can wrap your head around, but the coronavirus is the silent hurricane.” The fish wholesale and retail business is in flux as consumers shy away from perishables. “…Have lost their ability to sell the fish to fishing houses, processors because they have no idea where to go to sell the stuff,” Hill says.
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