Oklahoma Poacher Swaps Drug Addiction for Illegal Hunting High 🤒

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:

MAYBE TRY WORKING OUT?
OKLAHOMA POACHER SWAPS DRUG ADDICTION FOR ILLEGAL HUNTING HIGH

In a case that highlights both the scale of illegal hunting and some of the personal demons driving it, an Osage County man has reached a plea agreement after facing 140 separate wildlife violations uncovered during a multi-agency investigation.

Our story kicks off in the winter of 2024 when Game Warden Larry Green received a complaint about a Pawhuska resident road hunting and illegally taking deer. Warden Green along with Warden Spencer Grace launched a thorough investigation that included cross-checking licensing and harvest records, reviewing social media, and building the probable cause they needed for a search warrant.

What they found was shocking…

🐏 Wyoming Game and Fish Euthanizes Young Bighorn Rams After Urban Wander Into Cheyenne. Wyoming wardens made the call to euthanized two young Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep rams last week after the animals wandered into the outskirts of Cheyenne. Officials are under the impression that the roughly 1- to 2-year-old rams were likely from either the Iron Mountain herd in southeast Wyoming or a nearby herd west of Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Given that Bighorns are highly susceptible to pneumonia and other pathogens that can be picked up from domestic livestock, the decision was driven by strict disease prevention protocols. Officials feared the rams may have commingled with sheep or other animals during their travels through lower-elevation areas, posing a risk of transmitting devastating outbreaks back to wild herds if released.

Game and Fish spokeswoman Amanda Fry noted that while such urban wanderings by young rams aren’t common, the agency follows its statewide Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Working Group Plan, which calls for euthanasia in suspected contact cases to protect broader populations. The meat was donated to Wyoming First Lady Jennie Gordon’s Food from the Field program.

🐺 Colorado Kills Lone Gray Wolf After 22 Sheep Depredations. Colorado Parks and Wildlife lethally removed an uncollared gray wolf in Routt County on Friday, after it was confirmed as the culprit behind repeated livestock attacks. The wolf, originally from the Copper Creek Pack but traveling alone since separating in September 2024, had been linked to 10 depredation incidents involving at least 22 sheep across Rio Blanco and Routt counties since last summer.

CPW and ranchers tried an array of non-lethal deterrents over months, including range riders, livestock guardian dogs, scare devices, increased human herding presence, and hazing permits. Despite these efforts, the “elusive” wolf continued its pattern, prompting the difficult decision for lethal removal after a rash of fresh incidents earlier that week.

CPW Director Laura Clellan described the call as “never an easy one,” praising the impacted producers for diligently working through all available tools. Governor Jared Polis echoed the sentiment, stating that Colorado’s wolf management plan balances recovery goals with practical lethal control for chronic problem animals.

🚀 Conservation Groups Sue to Block SpaceX Land Swap in Texas Wildlife Refuge. A coalition of conservation organizations and a local Native American tribe has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to halt a proposed land exchange that would transfer 715 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron County, Texas, to SpaceX. In return, the company would provide 683 acres of its own private land to the agency for addition to another refuge. The suit, filed by the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, Center for Biological Diversity, Save RGV, and South Texas Environmental Justice Network, challenges the deal that was approved earlier this month.

Plaintiffs argue the swap violates multiple federal laws, including the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Administrative Procedure Act. The refuge supports over 1,200 plant species, 300 butterflies, and around 700 vertebrates, including 520 bird species, plus endangered ocelots and piping plovers. The lawsuit seeks to block the exchange unless the agency fully complies with environmental and historic protections.

🐐 Ain’t nobody taking this lady’s goats. Watch as this British Columbia farm owner takes matters into her own hands after a cougar tries to make a meal out of one of her goats.

No word on the condition of the goat…

Oh, and one more thing…