Free Republic

Wolves from a game camera in Wisconsin, courtesy Dean Weingarten On 20 August 2021, the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission voted to follow the intent of bill SB314, passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte, on 30 April 2021. SB314 was passed with the goal of reducing the wolf population while maintaining a minimum of 15 breeding pairs or 300 wolves in Montana. The 15 breeding pairs or 300 wolves are mandated to keep the wolf in Montana from being re-listed as an endangered species by the Federal government.Re-listing would remove management of the wolf...

Country music artist Kenny Chesney crooned in his 2008 song “Boats” that watercraft are vessels of freedom and harbors of healing.  Last June, I had the opportunity to learn about boating and its innumerable benefits during a Yamaha Outboards media event. It perfectly coincided with National Fishing and Boating Week.The charming town of St. Michael’s on Maryland’s Eastern Shore served as the backdrop. Deemed “the town that fooled the British,” this hidden gem was a one-time hub of shipbuilding, maritime activity, and commerce. Today, it attracts DC-area locals and tourists alike. Yamaha generously put us up at the Inn at Perry Cabins, one...

OVER 450 ITEMS AVAILABLE NOW! RIFLES • PISTOLS • COMPOUND BOWS • REVOLVERS First Option Browse and Bid Online! The auction has already started – visit the online catalog and place your bid today! If you can’t make it to the live auction, don’t worry! Online bids will be accepted throughout the live auction on March 10th. Second Option Browse and Bid In Person! Join us March 10th at the Packwood Community Center to See the Items and Bid In Person Packwood Community Center Packwood, WA [MAP] Preview Begins at 8:00am (PST) Live Auction Begins at 10:55am

The Washington State Parks Commission scheduled a special public meeting this morning in Olympia and the agenda was all about budget troubles and Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposal to merge that agency with the Department of Fish & Wildlife, creating a super-agency dubbed the Department of Conservation and Recreation. What good is a public meeting held at 10 o’clock on a Wednesday – that’s a work day for hunters and anglers who still have jobs, no thanks to the Obama “stimulus” package – when the genuine public really cannot attend? As posts on two popular outdoor forums, Piscatorial Pursuits and Hunting...

...Of the nearly 1,300 domestic species on the endangered list, the law has managed to "recover" a grand total of 10. That's a success rate of less than 1%. ...But even the trends don't look good. A mere 36% of listed species are considered stable or improving. And even this 36% is nothing to celebrate, given that in many cases the only reason a species is deemed on the mend is because officials overstated the problem in the first place. When the plant, Johnston's frankenia, was first listed, it was thought to have dwindled to about 1,500 specimens. Oops, someone...