Two-Year Undercover Poaching Sting Yields 11 Convictions 👨‍⚖️

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:

BUSTED
ELEVEN SENTENCED IN OHIO DEER POACHING CASE FOLLOWING TWO-YEAR UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION

A two-year covert operation spearheaded by the Ohio Division of Wildlife has resulted in charges and sentences for 11 individuals, including five from Michigan, for a series of wildlife violations centered on illegal night hunting and dicey deer tagging practices.

The investigation kicked off back in 2023 after Wildlife Officer Austin Levering received a tip about a group of hunters who were allegedly jacking up deer at night and failing to affix any sort of tag to their harvests. When a second tip to the ODNR Communications Center reinforced the allegations, game wardens ratcheted up their efforts to catch the perps in the act. Over the following two years, undercover investigators infiltrated the group, gathering photos, videos, and direct observations of multiple violations…

Idaho Hunter Harvest Report: Elk and mule deer keep on climbing in 2025: It’s that time of year again. As we foam at the mouth anticipating which hunting units, weekends, and drainages to scope out this fall, here’s a summary of how last fall went, thanks to hunter harvest reporting. Read the full story.

Record warmth, open slopes give Wyoming’s fed elk a reprieve from advancing deadly disease: A historically mild winter has left Wyoming rangelands starved of snowmelt, and forage for wildlife is setting up to be sparse, parched and prone to catching fire. But in the short term, animals survived what’s typically the hardest season of the year with relative ease. And there were some silver linings.  Read the full story.

Gov. Mills signs right to hunting and fishing law: Gov. Janet Mills signed new protections for Maine’s hunting and fishing industry into law. The bill establishes a right to hunt and fish in the state constitution as it outlines Mainers’ right to food. Read the full story.

Arkansas rice producers wanted for waterfowl habitat, hunting program: Rice producers interested in helping Arkansas’s wintering waterfowl populations while drawing a few extra dollars from their farming practices have an opportunity to earn as much as $150 per acre additional income through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program.  Read the full story.

Missouri weighs new limits on nonresident deer hunting: One proposed change for the 2026 deer season would reduce the antlered buck bag limit for nonresidents from two to one, while nonresident landowners would retain a limit of two antlered bucks. Read the full story.

Texas Parks and Wildlife looking at creative way to expand eastern turkey hunting: This year only 28 birds were relocated to Texas, and those came from Rhode Island. However, those birds allowed TPWD to complete three years of releases near Sulphur Bluff in Hopkins County. While a spring season still exists in some of the originally restocked counties, none has opened in the super-stocked counties. That could change if the Texas Legislature goes along with the idea.  Read the full story.

🐈‍⬛ Sometimes you gotta get a little dirty for your next meal. Watch as this bobcat puts the stalk on an unsuspecting muskrat.

Who said cats don’t like the water?

Got ‘em on.

📸 by @didrik_stavervik

Oh, and one more thing…