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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, October 22, 2020:

Rattling up big Texas bucks during the rut

Texas deer hunting identification guide

Hunting camp traditions fall to COVID-19

Some camps will be business as usual while others, especially those with older members, are seeing changes during the worsening pandemic. And some folks may not hunt at all.

This would have been the 23rd year for Camp Grouse, pitched in a small clearing among maple trees in the Chippewa National Forest in Cass Lake, but COVID-19 got in the way.

 

The group of five retired biologists, all in their 70s now and who live scattered across the state, decided their fall tradition of tenting in the grouse hunting woods for a week each October — complete with campfire meals, wine in plastic cups and plenty of fireside banter — wasn’t worth the risk.

 

Four of the guys did show up for a couple hours one day, at noon, to gather socially distanced and uphold their tradition.

 

Then they drove home in separate trucks.

 

“We each had our own lunches … We talked about lots of things but failed to solve any problems,’’ said Bill Berg of Knife River, the elder statesman of the group. “COVID made us think about next year’s Camp Grouse. Will it be allowed to happen? Can four or five of us ever be in truly close quarters again? Of course, we hope so.”

Hunting, fishing groups release statement on 30 by 30 concept

the nation’s leading hunting, fishing, and habitat conservation organizations released a statement on the Thirty by Thirty Initiative (30 by 30 Initiative) to establish a goal of placing 30% of the planet’s lands and waters under protected status by the year 2030.

Given the historic and ongoing role that hunters and anglers have played in land, water, fish, and wildlife conservation in the United States, the Hunting and Fishing Community Statement expresses support for:

  • Recognizing the positive role that hunting and fishing play in conservation;
  • Protected area definitions that allow for well-managed and sustainable wildlife-dependent activities;
  • Consideration of existing protected areas and other management strategies that achieve biodiversity conservation in measuring progress toward stated goals;
  • Targeted, science-based conservation measures developed through a stakeholder-driven process to address biodiversity threats; and
  • Clearly defined roles and authorities for the entities charged with carrying out the 30 by 30 Initiative proposal.

Coming on the heels of recently released reports identifying global threats to biodiversity, the 30 by 30 Initiative aims to generate support for increasing targets for global land and water protection prior to a meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), currently scheduled for May of 2021. Established in 1993, the CBD is an international treaty with three primary objectives: 1) The conservation of biological diversity; 2) The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity and; 3) The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Conservation officers investigating after Kentucky man dies in hunting incident

Conservation officers with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources are investigating after a Hopkinsville man was shot and killed in a hunting incident near Crofton.

Officers were notified of the incident around 6:30 p.m. Sunday and responded to the 23000 block of McKinney Road along with Kentucky State Police and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office.

 

The initial investigation reveals that Charles Newton, 58, died after being shot by Julian Newton, 63 of Sharon Grove.

 

Julian Newton was hunting from a motor vehicle parked along the edge of a field. At the same time, Charles Newton and his wife were on an all-terrain vehicle trying to observe a deer crossing a power line clearing. The pair saw Julian Newton in the motor vehicle.

 

Julian Newton told investigators that he thought the couple had left the area before he saw what he thought was a deer and fired his muzzleloader. Charles Newton was struck in the head and was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Christian County coroner.

North Dakota Game and Fish offers refunds for hunters in areas with high deer mortality

North Dakota Game and Fish is offering hunters with whitetail licenses in the western units 3D1, 3D2, 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 3F2, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F the option of turning those licenses in for refunds. This comes after continuing reports of white-tailed deer mortality in western North Dakota caused by epizootic hemorrhagic disease.

Hunters who return their licenses will have their bonus points restored, if applicable, to the same number of points prior to the 2020 deer gun lottery.

 

Bruce Stillings, big game supervisor, said the decision is based on evidence of moderate to significant white-tailed deer losses in some areas that might affect hunting success in those locations.

 

EHD, a naturally occurring virus that is spread by a biting midge, is almost always fatal to infected white-tailed deer, while mule deer do not usually die from the disease. Hunters do not have to worry about handling or consuming meat from infected deer because the virus that causes EHD is not known to cause disease in humans.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife to refund hunters after public land closed off due to wildfires

Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced it is offering refunds to second-season rifle hunters with deer or elk tags in Boulder, Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties because wildfires have forced the U.S. Forest Service to close two of the state’s most popular hunting grounds, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests.

Hunters with tags in Game Management Units (GMUs) 29, 38, and 39 will be affected by the closures, CPW said Tuesday. CPW has already issued refunds for licenses in GMUs 6, 7, 9, 19 and 20 along with S1 and S40.

 

“We are working closely with the Forest Service and will continue to monitor the situation and prepare for potential impacts to other seasons,” CPW’s Northeast Deputy Region Manager Kristin Cannon said in a statement. “These are unprecedented times and we ask that hunters do their part to observe emergency closures and other restrictions.”

 

The USFS and U.S. Bureau of Land Management also issued closures affecting federal land in Jefferson and Larimer Counties. The agencies said they will re-evaluate their decisions to close national forest lands daily.

Other Stuff That Might Tickle Your Fancy

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