Federal Lands Shift Further Toward Open Access as Hunting Rules Are Lifted ⛰️

As we continue to slowly but surely inch back towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

SEEMS LIKE A GOOD DEAL
FEDERAL LANDS SHIFT FURTHER TOWARD OPEN ACCESS AS DOZENS OF HUNTING RULES ARE LIFTED

As of yesterday, the force fourth was definitely with America’s hunters and anglers as dozens of site-specific restrictions on hunting and trapping were officially lifted across roughly 76 federal sites, thanks to a swift directive from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

The changes are the latest implementation of Secretarial Order 3447, the landmark “open unless closed” policy Burgum signed in mid-January. That order set a clear new default for Department of the Interior-managed lands that would see hunting and fishing opportunities presumed open unless a specific, documented legal, safety, or resource-protection reason requires otherwise. It directed agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Reclamation, to review and remove unnecessary bureaucratic barriers while better aligning federal rules with state wildlife agencies…

🐍 Opossums Become Unlikely Heroes in Florida’s Battle Against Invasive Burmese Pythons. In Florida’s Everglades, invasive Burmese pythons have triggered a massive ecological collapse, wiping out huge numbers of native mammals including raccoons, opossums, bobcats and even deer. Given that they’re voracious predators that can swallow prey whole, they are severely disrupting the food chain, leading biologists scrambling to find new ways of slowing them down.

In addition to using robotic rabbits (jury’s still out on that one) wildlife researchers have since found another clever, yet low-tech way to fight back that includes fitting opossums with tracking collars. Given that opossums are one of the pythons’ favorite meals, this accidental discovery has suddenly morphed into a deliberate conservation tool. As the python devours a collared opossum, the signal from inside the snake reveals its exact location, allowing teams to track, capture, and kill it. Given the dispensable nature of the operation, they’ve switched to cheaper VHF trackers and plan to collar at least 40 opossums this year to see how things go. And in an effort to appease whoever might be in opposition to something so common sensical, scientists feel the need to remind the public that they’re not using the animals as intentional “bait” but are simply documenting the natural predation that’s already happening at high rates. Because nothing says 2026 quite like having to justify removing an aggressive invasive species while defending the native wildlife populations it’s already decimating.

🎥 Bozeman Man Convicted of Illegal Deer Hunting After Witness Captures Shooting on Video. A Bozeman man by the name of Juan Garcia-Gomez, pleaded guilty last month in Madison County Justice Court to three misdemeanor hunting violations including unlawful possession of a game animal, unlawful hunting from a public highway, and failing to validate his general deer license. The case stemmed from an incident that took place last November near Jeffers, where a witness recorded video and photos showing Garcia-Gomez leaning against his vehicle in the roadway and shooting a mule deer buck on a nearby hillside. After the shot, the candid camera recorded him loading the animal into his vehicle and driving away.

The detective witness also collected a spent shell casing from the road and reported the incident to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, allowing wardens, working with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, to investigate and detain Garcia-Gomez. He was ordered to pay $1,100 in fines and received a 24-month suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges across all 50 states thanks to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.

🔎 Multi-Agency Search Underway for Missing 69-Year-Old Mushroom Hunter in Northeast Oregon. The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office is leading a large-scale search-and-rescue operation for Mickey Dean Cearns, a 69-year-old man from Stanfield, Oregon, who went missing on Sunday while on a family mushroom hunting trip. He was last seen around 2:20 p.m. just north of Mount Emily Snow Park, off Forest Road 3102.

Search efforts began immediately with ground teams, drones, and K-9 units from Umatilla County, joined by teams from Baker, Union, and Grant counties. Yesterday, Life Flight provided aerial support, and command shifted to an incident management team including Wallowa County SAR to sustain operations. The terrain is described as challenging, with dense vegetation and steep areas. Cearns is bald, 6 feet tall, 220 pounds, and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, multi-colored tie-dye shorts, and red walking shoes. Officials are asking the public to stay out of the search area to avoid interfering with air and ground teams.

🦅 When freedom stares you down. Watch as this big ol’ eagle lands on this family’s back deck in Washington State and proceeds to stare directly through man’s best friend.

Amazing birds…

Oh, and one more thing…