Pneumonia Outbreak Devastates Utah Bison Herd, Alters Once-in-a-Lifetime Hunts 🦬

In the event that the weekend wasn’t quite long enough for you, here’s to hoping that your favorite dispatch from the outdoor world can give you 5-or-so minutes to prep yourself for yet another week.

So, without further ado, let’s grab that coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past few days. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

MAKING CHANGES ON THE FLY
UNEXPECTED PNEUMONIA OUTBREAK DEVASTATES UTAH BISON HERD, ALTERS ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME-HUNTS

In what is being called an unprecedented die off, nearly 40 percent of the adult bison in Utah’s Book Cliffs have gone toes up over the past month or so. According to state biologists, the culprit is a rare pneumonia outbreak that swept through the Bitter Creek subunit of the free-ranging bison herd beginning in late July.

Since then, the adult population of bison in the region has dropped from roughly 150 animals to about 90…

NGPC Approves Changes for 2027 Mountain Lion Hunting Season: Nebraska Game and Parks has approved the 2027 mountain lion hunting season, with several changes taking effect. The Niobrara Unit will expand east to Highway 14, and its harvest limit rises to ten lions, including up to five females.  Read the full story.

Virginia board approves ‘last resort’ fee increases for hunting, fishing, trapping licenses:  The Virginia Board of Wildlife Resources voted 6-4 on Thursday to approve fee increases for hunting, fishing and trapping licenses for the first time in 14 years. License prices were raised by the maximum amount required by law — roughly $5 to $20 depending on the package — for Virginia residents.  Read the full story.

Nova Scotia girl may reel in a record with 700-lb. tuna catch:  A 13-year-old girl from Wedgeport, N.S., may break a record with her 711-pound giant bluefin tuna catch. Délynn Jacquard attended the annual Wedgeport Tuna Tournament and Festival with her family, climbing aboard her dad’s fishing boat the Pelagic Predator. Jacquard reeled-in the fish on Thursday, maybe fighting it on the line for an hour, she says. When she saw the massive creature emerging from the water, she was shocked. Read the full story.

Idaho Fish and Game culls more wild deer trapped in domestic elk farm: Idaho Fish and Game employees shot and killed more than 65 wild deer this summer that made their way into a fenced domestic elk hunting facility near Rexburg that is under a chronic wasting disease quarantine. Read the full story.

Four bear attacks in one week across Colorado as activity ramps up: Four bear attacks happened in the last week alone, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, as the latest sent a man in Jefferson County to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to his legs on Friday. Read the full story.

Why are some of Nevada’s elk dying each spring? Researchers seek answers: University of Nevada, Reno and Nevada Department of Wildlife researchers have teamed up to try to get to the bottom of the phenomenon, informally termed seasonal elk mortality syndrome. Read the full story.

🛶 The moment you realize the Walmart raft probably was a bad idea. Thankfully these fellas made it out, dried out the meat and didn’t lose a damn thing.

Dreams and nightmares all rolled into one…

We all get them, but do Amber Alerts really work for missing kids? In the event that you were wondering, they have finally named this year’s invertebrate of the year. There’s a reason we’re drawn to certain books and it might be because each different genre does something a little different to our brains. And why you should probably, most definitely, suck at your hobbies.

Oh boy.

📸 by @wingz_and_thingz

Oh, and one more thing…