Young Hunter Dies After Saving His Dog from Icy Pond 🙏

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

WE LOST A GOOD ONE
23-YEAR-OLD HUNTER DIES AFTER SAVING HIS BELOVED DOG FROM ICY POND

In a heartbreaking display of tragic heroism and selflessness, 23-year-old Luke Kitterman of New Memphis, Illinois, lost his life on Monday while attempting to rescue his dog while goose hunting with a group of buddies in rural Clinton County.

Kitterman was out with five close friends near New Baden, on a roughly 4-acre frozen pond when the incident unfolded around 3 p.m. The group had downed a bird, and Kitterman's loyal hunting dog, Bourbon, dashed across the ice to retrieve it. The ice, which was reportedly only about three inches thick, gave way beneath the dog, plunging Kitterman’s companion into the freezing water.

Without hesitation, Kitterman dropped to his belly and crawled carefully across the fragile surface to reach his struggling fetcher and managed to successfully pull the dog out and get it to safety. Unfortunately for Kitterman, just as he thought he’d saved his dog's life, he now found himself in jeopardy as the ice beneath him began to give way…

🙏 Over 200 Deer Antlers and Mounts Seized After Ohio Poacher is Hit with $14K+ Penalties and 10-Year Multi-State Hunting Ban. A multi-year investigation by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, sparked by a resident's tip back in January of 2023. The tip raised concerns about a large buck whitetail deer that had reportedly been harvested by the son of a Harrod man named Steven Niese, with the informant alleging that Niese himself had actually shot the animal. The probe uncovered extensive evidence of violations, including a search warrant that led to the seizure of over 200 deer antlers, which included 164 sawed-off antlers, 58 antlered deer skulls, two shoulder mounts, and 11 antlers on broken skull caps, all of which have since been forfeited to authorities.

Steven Niese, 42, of Harrod, Ohio, was arrested and convicted last summer in Lima Municipal Court on three counts of possession of untagged deer parts and three counts of falsifying information during game checking. Penalties include more than $4,000 in fines and court costs, over $10,000 in restitution, a 10-year suspension of his hunting license across all 50 U.S. states (effective from June 15, 2025), and nine days of jail time to be served on weekends during specific deer seasons. Wildlife officials noted Niese's history of prior wildlife-related convictions dating back over 20 years, including misdemeanors in multiple counties for issues like hunting without permission, violating rules, and other offenses.

💩 An Oregon Brewery is Making Beer for the Super Bowl Made from Bear Poop. That’s right, Portland’s own Columbia Sportswear and Breakside Brewing have teamed up to create an unusual limited-edition beer called Nature Calls as a promotional tie-in for Super Bowl LX coming up next weekend. The beer is billed as the first of its kind in brewing history, made by infusing brewing water with bear scat (aka: bear sh*t) collected from American black bears in the wild—specifically gathered from trails in Montana. The brewery processed the water to make it safe for consumption before fermenting it into a crisp lager featuring notes of huckleberry and honey, along with malted grains from the Pacific Northwest.

The stunt aligns with Columbia's "engineered for whatever" branding, humorously embracing whatever nature provides—even bear poop. As Columbia Brand President Joe Boyle quipped: “If Mother Nature hurls bear poop at us, we’ll ferment it into a frosty pint. From the inside of a bear to your mouth — we’re making nature’s crap easier to swallow.” The beer will be available at Columbia's booth during The Players Tailgate at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara and at Breakside Brewing locations in Oregon.

And this is why I stick with my Busch Light.

🥱 Yellowstone Grizzly Spotted This Week, Marking One of the Earliest Sightings on Record. A grizzly bear was spotted wandering the slopes of Specimen Ridge in the north end of Yellowstone National Park this week and was captured on video by wildlife photographer Rob Harwood. Described as an adult of undetermined sex and not particularly large, the bear appeared to be casually moving without fixating on any obvious food source. Bear biologist Frank van Manen, a long-time researcher in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, called it “one of the earliest sightings on record,” noting that grizzlies typically don't emerge from hibernation until early March (with large males sometimes as early as late February, and females with cubs much later in April or May).

Experts attribute such unusual winter activity primarily to food availability rather than just weather, as bears are opportunistic and may leave dens or stay active if they find accessible food like winter-killed bison or elk carcasses. Van Manen stated that hibernation is driven by lack of food access, and while a combination of factors (including possibly milder fall/winter conditions delaying den entry) could play a role, details on this bear's condition make it hard to pinpoint exact causes. Yellowstone officials note that bears can occasionally wake and roam any month, though full spring emergences are usually later; this January sighting stands out as exceptionally early compared to historical patterns.

Wyoming big game applications open for 2026-27 hunting season, key deadlines approaching: Applications are open to hunt this year in Wyoming. Elk, deer, pronghorn, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and spring turkey applications opened Jan. 2. The deadline to apply for licenses varies based on residency and species. Read the full story.

Deer hunt numbers close to last year, as deer populations drop across Iowa: DNR state deer biologist Jace Elliott says hunters took just shy of 102,000 deer through the various seasons this year, which is similar to last year. He says the numbers varied quite a bit through each region. Read the full story.

Pennsylvania hunter finds buck of a lifetime with his flintlock rifle: A Pennsylvania hunter passed up on several bucks during archery and rifle seasons because trail camera photos revealed an older massive buck was in the area. Fortunately for Chris Rhoades of Fairview, his patience paid off on New Year’s Day with the largest buck of his hunting career. Read the full story.

MassWildlife seeking public input on potential hunting changes including hunting on Sundays: MassWildlife is seeking public input on three potential changes. Sunday hunting, hunting with crossbows and revising the minimum setback distances are three potential changes. Read the full story.

Illinois bill would expand free landowner hunting permits to 10: A total of 10 permits would be made available to landowners for free, consisting of five archery season permits and five firearm season permits. The permits would apply to all parcels of land the landowner owns and would be valid only for deer permits, turkey permits and a combination deer-turkey permit.  Read the full story.

Wisconsin will issue the most licenses ever recorded for this fall’s bear hunt: The board unanimously signed off on a quota of 4,160 bears and 15,245 licenses for the fall bear hunt, following recommendations from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story.

💪 Another daring rescue, this time by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Earlier this week officers got a call about a bighorn sheep ewe that had fallen through the ice on the Taylor River near Gunnison – and was stuck in the river. Finally, thanks to a bit of engineering (with the help of a tow strap) and lots of strength, their team got her out.

She spent the night warming up with state officials and was released the next day…

The pull of the weekend.

📸 by:@polebridgemercantile

Oh, and one more thing…