Game Wardens Deploy Tracked Decoy Antlers to Catch Trespassers 👮

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

HIGH-TECH ENFORCEMENT
WYOMING GAME WARDENS DEPLOY TRACKED DECOY ANTLERS TO CATCH PRIVATE-LAND TRESPASSERS

A routine spring shed-antler hunt turned into a trespass citation for a local father after his 7-year-old son picked up what appeared to be a legal find along a familiar access road. Unbeknownst to the father-son duo, the antler contained a hidden tracking device planted by Wyoming Game and Fish Department wardens in cooperation with frustrated ranch owners.

Miles Galovich was cited on April 19th for trespass after his son grabbed a five-point elk shed about 20 yards off a gated access road on or near the LU Ranch in Hot Springs County. It just so happened that the antler was one of several decoys rigged with GPS trackers and placed on private/deeded ranch property to deter chronic spring trespassing during the sensitive calving season…

🦆 Montana Hunters Face Felony Charges After Allegedly Killing and Stockpiling 223 Ducks on Sun River. John Carullo of Simms and Matthew Krekelberg of Bozeman, have been charged with felonies after wildlife officials say they killed and stockpiled 223 ducks along the Sun River in Lewis and Clark County this past January — roughly ten times the state’s legal possession limit of 21 birds per hunter. On one day alone, game wardens observed the pair on private land shooting mallard drakes while each carried two shotguns and had valid hunting licenses. Officers recovered 66 ducks at the scene, and investigators later determined the men had taken about 120 birds over just two days. A subsequent search of Carullo’s shop uncovered even more ducks, which included some freshly killed and others that had already been butchered, pushing the total to 223.

Krekelberg admitted to wardens that he had lost count and shot over the limit, explaining it had been a poor hunting year and the pair wanted enough meat to last all year. Carullo told investigators he had hunted the Sun River Valley 20 to 25 times that season. Montana law values each illegally taken duck at $25, putting the seized birds at roughly $5,575 in restitution value. Each man was charged on March 25th with felony unlawful possession, shipment, or transportation of game birds; if convicted, they face up to $50,000 in fines, up to five years in prison, and loss of hunting privileges for up to three years. Officials allowed each to keep the legal 21-duck possession limit. Their next court appearance is scheduled for May 1 in Lewis and Clark County Justice Court.

🚁 Alaska Judge Greenlights Shooting Bears from Helicopters to Aid Recovering Mulchatna Caribou Herd. Just yesterday, a Superior Court Judge ruled that Alaska wildlife agents can once again kill black and brown bears — including from helicopters — as part of an intensive management program aimed at helping the Mulchatna caribou herd recover.

Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman rejected a request by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity to halt the program while their lawsuit proceeds. The groups argued the state lacked sufficient data on bear population sustainability and that predation isn’t the primary driver of the herd’s decline. The ruling comes at a critical time, as the Mulchatna herd in southwest Alaska is about to begin calving, when newborns are especially vulnerable to predators.

The Mulchatna herd once numbered around 190,000 and declined sharply in the late 1990s and early 2000s. State officials say the bear removal program, which killed about 180 bears (mostly brown bears) from 2023–2024 and 11 more last year, has contributed to the herd’s modest rebound (populations have grown by about 25% since 2019).

The decision allows the controversial predator control effort to continue during the upcoming calving season. Opposing conservation groups are said to be reviewing their legal options.

💪 Colorado Elk Herds Devastated by Historic 2022-23 Winter Now at or Above Population Objectives. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that the Bears Ears (E-2) and White River (E-6) elk herds in northwest Colorado have fully rebounded and are now at or above their long-term population objectives.

"I’m here today to tell you, it’s working," said Andy Holland, Colorado Park and Wildlife's big game manager, during a CPW Commission meeting on Wednesday. "We’ve been adding licenses back for two years. ... Following these three mild winters, in this severe winter zone, elk populations are back at, or above, population objective." 

The brutal 2022-23 winter, one of the harshest in seven decades, caused 30 to 40 percent mortality through starvation and exposure. In response, CPW slashed hunting licenses in 2023, with hunters and landowners supporting the cuts. Favorable conditions over the following three mild winters and strong forage allowed the herds to recover faster than anticipated. Recent helicopter surveys showed robust calf recruitment, with more than 20,000 elk classified in the White River herd alone for the second year in a row.

As a result, CPW is recommending major increases in 2026 hunting licenses. Hunters can expect about 2,000 more (⬆️ 76%) in Bears Ears and 4,400 more (⬆️ 60%) in White River, bringing quotas pretty damn-near pre-crash levels.

🦫 Your chances of getting attacked by a beaver or low, but never zero. Watch as this 8-year-old in New Jersey got charged and proceeded to pick the animal up and launch it back into the water.

Turns out they caught the beaver later on and the damn thing was rabid…

The pull of the weekend.

📸 by: @fetching_feathers

 Oh, and one more thing…