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:
Mo’ tags, less problems - After numerous sightings in the southeastern regions of Michigan, hunters are asking for more tags 🐻
Here to stay - Gov. Tim Waltz makes the use of crossbows in Minnesota permanent 🏹
Move ‘em out - Idaho officials capture and relocate 34 cow elk 🚚
50/50 shot - Florida opens up alligator LEQ draw 🐊
Noisy guests - When a Gatlinburg hotel reports an odd noise in the restroom, it’s safe to assume it’s a bear 👮
A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY
MICHIGAN HUNTERS WHO BUILT THE BEAR BOOM NOW WANT MORE U.P. TAGS AFTER DETROIT-AREA SIGHTING
During the early morning hours of Sunday morning, a homeowner’s security camera in the Downriver community captured something most metro Detroiters never expect to see in their backyard: a black bear strolling casually through their yard.
This rare southeast Michigan sighting isn’t an isolated fluke. It’s the latest sign of a broader, deliberate conservation success story — one that hunters and wildlife managers helped engineer over the past decade. But as bears expand their range deeper into the Lower Peninsula, many in the hunting community are now asking whether Michigan’s black bear management plan needs a key adjustment that would include more hunting tags in the Upper Peninsula to keep populations in better balance…
QUICK HITS // FROM AROUND THE WEB
Public hearing set on increase in Indiana’s bobcat hunting and trapping quota: If this rule change is passed, the number of bobcats allowed to be hunted and trapped would increase from 250 to 400, a 60% increase. The season would start on Nov. 8, and run through Jan. 31, or until the quota is met, whichever is earlier, consistent with the 2025 season. Read the full story.
Utah officials urge hikers to stay alert in cougar country as deer give birth: "People are most likely to encounter cougars in areas frequented by mule deer, and at dawn and dusk, which is when cougars typically hunt." Read the full story.
Crossbows here to stay in Minnesota as data points to growing use in deer season: Crossbows have been permitted during Minnesota’s annual deer hunting season since 2023 under legislation passed by the Minnesota Legislature. That authorization had been set to expire in June 2026, but the new law removes the sunset provision and makes the use of crossbows permanent. Read the full story.
Fish and Game staff move 34 elk from Big Willow drainage in Southwest Idaho to the Panhandle: Idaho Fish and Game crews recently captured 37 elk over two days from a nonmigratory herd that has caused significant agricultural damage on private land northwest of Emmett for years, and released 34 of them in the Panhandle Region's Unit 7. All the elk that were moved are cows. Read the full story.
IDFG cutting them loose
Record Turkey Hunt Highlights Healing Mission of Minnesota Veterans Outdoors: “The Minnesota NWTF State Chapter has been proud to support this hunt since the beginning, and it remains one of the most meaningful things we do each year,” said Ralph Warzecha, NWTF Minnesota State Chapter president. “Being part of an event that gives back to veterans through the outdoors is something our volunteers care deeply about.” Read the full story.
Florida opens application for statewide alligator hunt: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is accepting applications through May 18. More than 15,000 people apply for a license, FWC said, but only about 7,000 people actually get one. Read the full story.
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
🐻 Someone or something was making an awful racket in the bathroom of this hotel. So the owners called in Gatlinburg’s finest who were able to free the trapped restroom occupier.
My favorite part was the first cop who immediately bailed…
QUOTABLES // WORDS TO LIVE BY
I like one-shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot.”
— Elmer Keith
HUMPDAY MEME // THANKS, BROTHER
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
Ziggy Stardust is likely the all-time best musical alter-ego, but honorable mentions to Chris Gaines, Percy Thrillington and a few more of these ones you’ve might not have heard about. I make a conscious effort not to carry my phone with me at all times. It’s freeing, makes me feel lighter and, you know, avoids that whole being relentlessly tracked thing. This author has a theory about how about 98% of people he encounters drain the sh*t out of him. That other 2% though? He loves them and is on a mission to seek out as many of them as he can. And nine websites that prove that the internet is not an absolute wasteland.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
Feeling moosey.
SHARE WITH FRIENDS // WE’LL SEND YOU COOL SH*T
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…
