Historic First Mule Deer Kill in Alaska Raises Tick and Disease Fears 🪳

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

A UNIQUE MILESTONE
HISTORIC FIRST MULE DEER KILL IN ALASKA RAISED TICK AND DISEASE FEARS

In mid-April, Westin Nelson became the first person on record to legally hunt and kill a mule deer in the state of Alaska. The adult female deer was taken in a friend’s yard in the Skagway area, marking a milestone in the species’ gradual expansion into the state.

Nelson, a Skagway resident who is said to have been spotting mule deer in the region for about five years now, had been preparing for the moment. He and a friend had a friendly competition to see who could harvest one first, so when the opportunity arose, he was ready…

🦃 83-Year-Old California Woman Seriously Injured in Wild Turkey Attack. An 83-year-old woman by the name of Mary Jo Kelly was attacked by a gang of wild turkeys while on an evening walk in Alameda, California, last Thursday. The birds ambushed her from behind, knocking her to the ground and caused her to break her glasses, bleed from the nose, and suffer severe bruising on her face. She required six stitches on her right hand after the incident and was left shaken by the ordeal.

City officials noted that the turkeys are in their spring mating season, which often makes them more aggressive. Animal control stated they currently cannot remove the wild birds, and police declined to take a formal report because the attackers were feathered and non-human. Kelly has urged officials to address the growing turkey problem before someone else is seriously hurt, as similar aggressive turkey incidents have occurred in the Bay Area in the past.

🫎 Wisconsin Man Faces Multiple Charges in Massive Multi-County Poaching Operation. A 27-year-old man from Pulcifer, Wisconsin, is up against eight criminal charges after Wisconsin DNR wardens uncovered an extensive poaching ring spanning five counties. According to authorities, Dylan Wolff allegedly hunted and fished illegally around 174 times between October 2024 and January 2026 while his hunting privileges were revoked. Investigators say he illegally harvested approximately 22 deer, two turkeys, and 43 fish across Shawano, Oconto, Waupaca, Brown, and Forest counties.

The case came to a head after wardens noticed suspicious activity near Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery in Embarrass. Surveillance and tracking led them to confront Wolff, who reportedly tried to leave the scene before stopping. The investigation involved multiple DNR wardens and is believed to be one of the larger poaching operations in the region in recent years.

🐻 176 Euthanized Bears Leads to Tougher Colorado Feeding Fines. Colorado is cracking down on humans who are actively contributing to the growing threat of bear conflicts. Under a new law signed by Gov. Jared Polis, people who knowingly leave out food, trash, or edible waste that attracts black bears can now face fines up to $1,000 for a first offense, with no warning required. Repeat offenders could be hit with penalties as high as $5,000 and the new law applies to both residents and out-of-state visitors, especially in campgrounds where bear-proof storage is provided.

The stricter rules aim to reduce human-bear conflicts, which have risen sharply in recent years. In the last two years alone, Colorado Parks & Wildlife has killed 176 bears after repeated interactions, often caused by unsecured trash or intentional feeding. Officials remind the public that once bears learn to seek human food, relocation becomes ineffective, leaving euthanasia as the only other alternative. The new legislation makes it easier to enforce existing rules by removing the need to prove “intentional” feeding.

💨 The speed at which these big bruins can go under a fence is astonishing.

There is not a single part of me that thinks I could outrun one of these things…

💁‍♂️ No Country for Doughy Men: “I like killing things.” That’s how I usually answer people when they ask why I hunt, though I say it smiling so nobody calls the authorities. You have to season every honest statement with irony now like you’re sneaking medicine into a dog’s food. Otherwise, people look at you as though you’ve admitted to keeping human heads in Tupperware containers beneath the basement stairs.

The truth is I do like it, though.

Not the blood. Not the guts. Anybody who claims to enjoy gutting a deer is either lying or belongs on some kind of federal watch list involving neighborhood cats. What I like is the moment before. The narrowing. That electric tightening of the universe where every useless thought suddenly burns away and your body becomes fully enlisted in one task.

Most people never experience that anymore. Read the full story.

🪿 The Grouse and the Goose: The first bird came on a bright October day in North Dakota, near Scranton. My friend and I were walking a huge field of what farmers call kochia. It was a low spot in the landscape, an island in a sea of monoculture. Everything else around us was harvested wheat.

This bight of weeds was the only cover in hundreds of acres, unless you counted the wild grasses that clung to the fence line. Seedpods were exploding, burrs clung to our pants, our dogs. There were badger dens augured into the clay, a few scattered bony remains serving as doormats.

Rocket, my veteran, was out front, trotting and getting antsy in the last vestiges of native prairie. I was trying to determine whether some of the cover was western wheatgrass or wild rye. Henderson, my puppy, was behind me. When I pressed the deep cover, I felt his chin hitting my ankles each time I stepped. Read the full story.

⛴️ Bucking a Stiff Ebb Tide : She came a rattling up river, a battered old trawler bucking a stiff ebb tide. She was plywood and fiberglass but there was an angular beauty about her. Crude blue letters on the prow bore her name: PIF. Her nets were doubled to the outriggers and tied clear of the water, like a tall woman hitches a long dress when she walks barefoot in the rain.

Captain Billy was at the wheel. I cannot tell you of a time when I did not know him. Back in high school we both wanted to run off shrimping. I figured to go to college first, then come back and quote Shakespeare while I pulled the nets, you know, “full fathom five” and all that. Billy reckoned to get right to it. He did but I got sidetracked. I was blessed to run boats from the Bahamas to Hudson Bay, but I never pulled a net. Forty-odd years later, standing on the end of that dock waiting for the PIF, I was fixing to get my chance. Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…