Family-Based Poaching Operation Hit with Big-Time Charges in Idaho 👮

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the newsletter. If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about this morning:

THE FAMILY BIZ
SMALL-TIME, FAMILY-BASED POACHING OPERATION HIT WITH BIG-TIME CHARGES IN IDAHO

A North Idaho family accused of running what prosecutors describe as a coordinated poaching operation is now headed toward a high-profile trial that’s drawing attention not just for the alleged crimes, but for how deeply the case entangles an entire family. 

Eddy, Angela, and Daniel Dills, of St. Maries, Idaho, are up against multiple felony charges tied to the illegal killing and sale of wildlife across northern regions of the state. And according to newly surfaced court details, the case is shaping up to be far more complex than a series of typical hunting violations.

According to prosecutors, the Dills family didn’t just break hunting rules, they operationalized it. Over months, across multiple counties, with dogs, paperwork, and an alleged buyer on the other end, what looks on paper like poaching starts to read more like some sort of a system. Not a particularly lucrative one, not a particularly sophisticated one, but one organized enough to raise a question you don’t usually ask in cases like this:

At what point does illegal hunting stop being a violation… and start looking like a business? Even a unprofitable one…

89-year-old Michigan hunting and fishing group may shut doors soon: If Michigan United Conservation Clubs doesn’t raise $100,000 by May 1, “we will be forced to close our doors,” President Stephen Dey said in an email sent to members and supporters Monday.  According to Dey, it’s been a long time coming. Read the full story. 

BC Hunting guide gets $30K penalty for leading client on hunt outside licence area: The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says in a social media post that the offence took place in September 2022 near McBride — a Robson Valley community about 180 kilometres southeast of Prince George as the crow flies — when the assistant hunting guide led a hunter to an area not authorized by the licence of his employer.  Read the full story.

New Desert Bighorn Sheep Hunting Zones Open for 2026-27 Season: The California Fish and Game Commission has adopted three new desert bighorn sheep hunt zones (Zones 11, 12, and 13) for the 2026-27 season. Read the full story.

Montana restricts opening week of shed hunting on Wildlife Management Areas to state residents only: New legislation requires a shed hunting license and blocks non-residents from gathering antlers on state-managed Wildlife Management Areas during the first seven days of the season. Read the full story.

Buckeye Youth turkey hunters harvest nearly 2,000 birds: Young hunters across Ohio saw strong success during the state’s special youth-only wild turkey hunting weekend, with 1,941 birds checked April 18–19, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Read the full story.

Utah moose dying from tick infestations, state looks to reverse trend: Moose in the Wasatch Mountains are being “sucked to death” by ticks, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources researcher Kent Hersey said, explaining a decades-long decline in their population. Warmer winters, meanwhile, mean a boom for the parasite’s population, so biologists are working on a solution to stave off the pests. Read the full story.

📸 When Your Trail Cam Is Just The Right Height. Watch this unique and totally rare POV of a bull elk giving the tree your trail cam is hanging on a quick rub.

Amazingly he was ok…

It’s easy. Copy your link below and send it to your friends. If they sign up, you get free stuff.

Now, do it. (Please).

Oh, and one more thing…