Free Republic

According to an email sent May 13, 2025, by Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Gibbs, Nicole Rosmarino is the sole finalist for the director of the State Land Board, which is the state’s second largest landowner with 2.8 million surface acres and 4 million mineral estate acres. Gibbs said, per statute, the board provides public notice for 14 days prior to a formal appointment which will occur at the next regularly scheduled public board meeting, which is June 11 and 12 in Denver. An email sent to DNR confirmed the hire Friday. The mission of the State Land Board...

Today, Congressman Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s, R-Colo., legislation to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List and ensure that action is not subject to judicial review passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee. The Pet and Livestock Protection Act will restore authority back to state lawmakers and state wildlife officials to control the gray wolf population. H.R. 845 will now head to the full House of Representatives for a vote. “The damage to pets, livestock and wildlife from an unmanaged wolf population can no longer be ignored. The gray wolf has exceeded federal and...

Hunters and their allies secured a significant public lands victory this week after years of fighting for access to a remote plot of federal land surrounded by a pharmaceutical executive’s private retreat.

Nunaga: Ten Years of Eskimo Life by Duncan Pryde 285 pages, 1971, Walker Publishing Company, Inc. New York, 1972 American edition. Available at Amazon from about $10 used. Nunaga is extremely well written, a riveting story of a young man from Scotland who goes to Canada in 1955, seeking fortune and adventure. He answers an ad for fur traders by the Hudson Bay Company.In 1955, eighteen-year-old Duncan Pryde answered the Hudson Bay Company ad. “Fur traders wanted for the far north,…single, ambitious, self-reliant young men wanted…” Pryde lived the Eskimo life for years, becoming adept at survival in the Arctic...

Bob Ringstad never missed hunting deer in Wisconsin for 80 consecutive deer seasons from 1945 to 2024.This correspondent became friends with Bob Ringstad a few years ago. At 92, he is intellectually very sharp. His knowledge of history and North American archeology is impressive. His knowledge of hunting and firearms, accumulated over eight decades, is marvelous.This correspondent has talked with Bob a number of times and interviewed him about his long hunting experience in the Wisconsin deer habitat of the North Woods.Bob’s father was a veteran of WWI and the first state forester in the North District of Wisconsin. At...

Canadian wolves were released into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and central Idaho in 1996 — but within a few years their territory and numbers had greatly expanded, along with their negative impact on livestock and elk herds.

In his first term, and approaching his taking of office in his second term, President Trump spoke of the importance of Greenland to American security and the desirability of purchasing Greenland.Historically, the United States of America has been interested in Greenland because of its strategic position. Attempts have been made to purchase the island. In WWII, the United States became the de facto protector of the island. The USA maintains a military base in Greenland.It is uncertain if President Trump will acquire Greenland for the United States. This may be the opening gambit in a negotiation for more control over...

There are advantages to shooting prairie dogs from a vehicle, and apparently it’s common practice in Wyoming — although technically illegal. Casper-area resident Rob Ward said that he and a friend were shocked this past summer when, as they were shooting prairie dogs from the bed of a pickup, a game warden came by and told them they were breaking the law. “This whole situation we found ourselves in, my buddy and I, is kind of ridiculous,” he said. Avid hunter and gun dealer Scott Weber of Cody told Cowboy State Daily that like many Wyomingites, he also enjoys prairie...

There is no road rage quite like backroad rage. The story of the failed prosecution of Alphonsus O’Connell involved allegations of many of the familiar elements of road rage, and not just by him, but also his alleged victim: honking, tailgating, brake checking, forcing someone off the road, brandishing a firearm. It also had vastly conflicting accounts about what actually happened that call to mind the old joke that anyone driving faster than you is a maniac and anyone slower is an idiot. The fact that it happened on a dirt road in the wild Newfoundland woods with no witnesses...

Recently crocodiles have been in the news in Costa Rica. There has been an increase in crocodile sightings and within the last year or so folks are starting to wonder if there’s a problem with the country’s crocodile population. I’ll be forthright with my feelings on the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). For me, they are the perfect blend of awesome and slightly terrifying. Personally, an increase in crocodile sightings would directly increase the happiness level of my life. I already have an informal scale between my wife and I for how awesome my day was based on the number of...

Less than a week after a 15-year-old girl shot and killed two at a Madison, Wisconsin, Christian school, CNN went all in to shame fathers out of buying hunting rifles for their sons. Breitbart News noted the alleged Abundant Life Christian School shooter used a handgun, and Madison Chief of Police Shon Barnes later said she actually had two handguns in her possession. CNN reported that the origins of the two handguns in the girl’s possession have been traced but cannot be made public at this time because of the ongoing investigation.

He committed a fowl. A hunter in the Canadian Arctic ruffled the feathers of a group of student “goose detectives” after he killed and ate one of the birds the youngsters were tracking from more than 3,500 miles away. Devon Manik, an Inuit hunter, made a meal of the goose after shooting it dead, unaware that students in Dungarvan, Ireland had tagged about 100 brent geese for a school project to monitor the species’ flight path as it migrated between Ireland and the polar region, according to The Irish Times. Manik said the waterfowl trek to the area in June...

The incident occurred Dec. 9 in Lunenburg County, which is between Richmond and Danville, Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources said in a statement. A hunting group was following the bear when it ran up the tree, the department said. As the group retreated from the tree, a hunter shot the bear. The animal fell onto another hunter [the victim] who was standing about 10 feet (3 meters) from the bottom of the tree. The department identified the man as Lester C. Harvey, 58, of Phenix, Virginia. A member of the group rendered first aid before Harvey was rushed to two...

I have been reading the articles concerning Proposition 127 and how this undermines the Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s ability to properly manage wildlife. I agree 100 percent. However, there is another insidious movement underway that will undermine both the CPW and hunting in a big way. The National Forest Service is quietly, but steadily closing off dispersed camping — camping in areas other than designated campgrounds. I experienced this in September on my muzzleloading deer/elk hunt in South Park. This will probably be the last tented hunting camp I will be able to do with my hunting partner. I am...

Sleepy Eye, Minnesota — Carrying a Beretta shotgun, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz trekked through tall straw-like grass for three hours on Saturday for opening day of the state's pheasant hunting season, but didn't get one shot off despite his efforts. "There's good days and there's great days pheasant hunting," Walz said when the day wrapped up. Scott Rall, a friend of the governor who he often hunts with, made the sole kill on Saturday. Recovering the body of the birds was a top priority in the instructions given to the hunting party, but no one was able to find the...

On the evening of September 6, 2024, Owen Beierman, 12, and his father, Ryan, 43, were hunting bears near Siren, Wisconsin. Siren is about 50 miles north and 50 miles east of Minneapolis, in northwest Wisconsin.Owen shot a 200 lb black bear with his .350 Legend rifle. The bear ran off, leaving a strong blood trail. Even mortally wounded bears often run for some distance. The Beiermans borrowed a Labrador retriever from their neighbors and started tracking the bear about 20 minutes after it was shot. It was already getting dark. Game is often shot just after sunrise or shortly...

A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution lifts the veil on what happens when octopuses and fish hunt together. As it turns out, this cross-species relationship is more complex than anyone expected. Animals of the same species often cooperate—work together to reach some kind of goal. But it's relatively rare to find cooperation between individuals from different species. A classic example you'll be familiar with is the close relationship between dogs and humans, whether in the context of herding sheep or hunting. In these situations, the dog and the human work together to achieve a goal. That's mammals....

It's going to take some time for Ryan Beierman's scars to heal, but he's alive and well today thanks to the quick thinking and good aim of his 12-year-old son Owen. The father and son were on a bear hunt in western Wisconsin earlier this month when Owen spotted a 200 pound black bear emerge in a clearing. Owen fired a shot and struck the bear, but it ran off into the thick brush. Ryan says he and his son waited about 20 minutes for the bear to bleed out before trying to track it. [....]The elder Beierman says he...

A 12-year-old boy slayed a 200-pound bear to save his father’s life during a family outing gone horribly wrong. Owen Beierman, 12, shot-and-killed the black bear before it could fatally maul his dad, Ryan, who became pinned under the monstrous beast when shots fired to kill it missed. ‘My left cheek was sliced open and blood was oozing out of the flap. There were two fang marks in my forehead and my face was smattered with blood,’ Ryan told the Star Tribune. ‘The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine,’ he continued.... Owen, a regular...

On August 14, 2024, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article about research done exploring the relationship between the opening of deer hunting season and “shootings.” The article found that there was a significant increase in “shootings” in rural counties associated with the opening of deer season. At first glance, the premise appears to be one of establishing by statistics of the obvious. Of course, there are more “shootings” when deer season opens. The entire point of deer season is to harvest deer by shooting them.More shooting is done prior to deer season because many hunters...