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Deer Hunter Killed in Apparent Bear Mauling in Alaska, Officials Say
Petition Urges U.S. Forest Service to Ban “Cyanide Bombs”
More Than 60 Conservation Groups Oppose Deadly M-44s EUGENE, OR — The Center for Biological Diversity, Predator Defense and scores of other conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Forest Service today to ban the use of M-44 devices, commonly known as ‘‘cyanide bombs,’’ in national forests. These wildlife-killing devices are spring-loaded ejectors armed with cyanide powder that have injured people and inhumanely killed thousands of animals every year. “M-44s are indiscriminate devices that can never be used safely,” said Brooks Fahy, executive director of Predator Defense, a national wildlife advocacy group. “I’ve worked with victims of M-44s for over 30 years and know firsthand that the federal government has no justification for attempting to ‘manage’ native predators with a device that kills and poisons endangered species, wildlife, dogs and humans — especially on our shared public forest lands.” Despite public opposition, the Forest Service has continued to authorize use of these dangerous devices by Wildlife Services, the animal-killing program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, M-44s have not been actually placed on national forest lands in the past several years, according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. If the Forest Service put the requested regulatory ban in place, the agency could not resume M-44 authorizations without involvement from the public. The Bureau of Land Management recently issued a ban prohibiting the use of M-44s by Wildlife Services on all BLM-managed lands. M-44s are not used on lands administered by the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Reclamation. Today’s petition asks the Forest Service to similarly ban use of the devices on the federal lands it manages. Wildlife Services poisoned 6,543 animals using M-44 cyanide bombs in 2023. Of these deaths 156 were unintentional. The program reported using M-44s last year in 10 states: Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming. State agencies in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico and Texas are also authorized to use M-44s. The devices continue to be used, even after a well-known tragedy in 2017 in Pocatello, Idaho. Canyon Mansfield was 14 years old when he inadvertently triggered an M-44 device placed on BLM land behind his home; the M-44 killed his dog and injured him. He is believed to have been spared from death because of the wind’s direction. “The Forest Service needs to step up with a ban so that we all can step safely in our national forests,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “I just can’t understand why the Forest Service won’t follow the lead of other land-management agencies that rightly recognized how dangerous cyanide bombs are to wildlife, people and their pets. Forest Service officials need to take a stand against these deadly devices.” Today’s administrative rulemaking petition complements ongoing efforts to pass federal legislation banning the devices, with two bills introduced in Congress this session. # # # The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Predator Defense is a national nonprofit advocacy organization devoted to protecting essential native predators, helping people learn to coexist with wild animals, and ending America’s war on wildlife. They have been championing native predators with science, sanity, and heart since 1990. |
| Predator Defense | predatordefense.org |
Officer arrested in Kalambaka for killing man during hunt
New U.S. Bill Aims To Prevent Hunters From Using Snowmobiles To Recklessly Run Down & Kill Wildlife
Idaho’s First Wildlife Overpass Wins National Highway Award
- Idaho Transportation Department
- Oct 31, 2024 Updated Oct 31, 2024
- https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/idaho/idaho-s-first-wildlife-overpass-wins-national-highway-award/article_99fb1574-97b7-11ef-9f79-1f2c3d1b3647.html
BOISE – Idaho’s first wildlife overpass, built last year on State Highway 21 just east of Boise, won a national award in the “Environment & Planning” category of the AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) President’s Transportation awards, announced today (Thursday, Oct. 31) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It was one of two awards won Thursday by ITD, and was the 23rd AASHTO President’s award, signifying the best work nationally by a state DOT, won by ITD since 2014. The second award was for cultural discoveries associated with the McArthur Lake project in North Idaho.
“These two AASHTO national awards again prove that our employees are fantastic,” confirmed ITD Chief Deputy and Chief Operations Officer Dan McElhinney. “The SH-21 Lucky Peak wildlife crossing is a great partnering example, and the U.S. 95 McArthur Lake Bridge showcased excellent Tribal teamwork, to solve wildlife safety with cultural preservation success.”
The AASHTO President’s Awards are considered the highest honor for state departments of transportation. It is proof positive that ITD consistently produces great projects on behalf of the taxpayers of Idaho.
The $7.5M project constructed a 150-foot long wildlife overpass and more than a mile of big-game fencing parallel to the highway to guide animals to the overpass, significantly reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions on this busy highway section. The project improved motorist safety and protected the well-being of residents and commuters, along with wildlife. It benefits the traveling public, hunting and recreational heritage, and helps sustain the benefits our valuable wildlife resources and public lands provide. ITD wildlife-vehicle crash safety data and Dept. of Fish and Game GPS data determined the location of the overpass by finding where most migrating mule deer and elk crossed the highway. This is the next step in the long-range vision to promote safety, mobility, and economic opportunity along SH-21 between Lucky Peak and Idaho City. The goal is to reduce wildlife collisions in the area by 80%.
“When I look back to where we were and came from, ITD started from scratch, with a simple notion and idea to meet and talk with stakeholders and people with differing interests and contrasting missions regarding the unwanted consequences of wildlife vehicle collisions and what can be done about it,” explained Project Manager Scott Rudel. “This award celebrates the collaborative work and accomplishments done in the name of safety, protecting the health and welfare of people and wildlife, preserving our natural resources, and maintaining our quality of life (recreational and hunting heritage) which benefits all who live in Idaho, the traveling public and our wildlife populations. It gives credence that by extending that collaborative hand, ITD ‘bridged’ the gap and found a better way to do things on so many different levels.”
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101-Year-Old Bowhunter Bags a Buck
Summerville man turns himself after shooting couple while deer hunting. A judge has set a high dollar bond.
- By Caitlin Bell and Alan Hovorka cabell@postandcourier.com, ahovorka@postandcourier.com
- Oct 31, 2024 Updated Oct 31, 2024
SUMMERVILLE — A hunter who fired a 20-gauge shotgun at a couple on a walking trail told a magistrate Oct. 31 he knew he wasn’t supposed to be hunting near the path.
Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, of Summerville, turned himself into the Dorchester Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 30 after he killed a woman and wounded her husband as they were walking their dog at night.
Police said McDonald mistook the couple for a deer when he fired his shotgun at them. Lori Wind, a 54-year-old Summerville resident, died at the scene.
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The sheriff’s office charged him with involuntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to arrest warrants.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources has charged him with night hunting and two counts of negligent use of a firearm resulting in death and great bodily harm.
Dorchester County Magistrate Judge Tara Frost set a $400,000 cash surety bond for McDonald on Oct. 31.
McDonald appeared by video before Frost. He told the judge he didn’t think he was a bad person and said the shooting was an accident.
“I knew I wasn’t supposed be out there,” McDonald said from jail.
McDonald does not have an attorney. Frost reminded him against incriminating himself.
First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe’s office will decide whether to prosecute.
About 10 of his family members packed into a small Dorchester County bond courtroom as Frost decided whether to release him from custody. McDonald lives with his family. His father said his son is not a flight risk and would work 12-hour shifts at his company once released.
His father told Frost he would remove all other firearms from their home.
In a news conference before the bond hearing, Dorchester County Chief Deputy Sam Richardson declined to say whether McDonald owned the shotgun, if he had a hunting permit or any hunter safety training.
Richardson said McDonald and his family are cooperating with the investigation.
Richardson said he didn’t know if McDonald or the victims were using a flashlight or any other kind of illumination or low-light vision equipment. He said police do not think there was any residual daylight from sunset and that the walking trail does not have cameras.
He declined to say about how far away McDonald was when he shot at the couple.
“There is no excuse for being reckless with a firearm,” he said.
1 killed, 1 arrested after shooting at Georgetown County store
- From Staff Reports
At about 8:15 p.m. Oct. 29, Wind and her husband were walking their dog along the Sawmill Branch Trail when about three or four shots came at them from a wooded area, according to an arrest warrant.
Police found Wind lying dead next to the unlighted paved walking trail. Wind’s husband was taken to a hospital. The chief deputy did not know his condition. Richardson said the 911 call came in soon after the shooting.
Richardson said police were made aware that hunters were sometimes reported near the walking trail. He said the sheriff’s office is working with Summerville Police Chief Doug Wright to step up patrols of the area. He said it’s one of the few green spaces in the area that does not allow visitors at night. Generally, Summerville parks are open until 10 p.m., he said.
Hunting licenses are required for everyone age 16 and older in South Carolina, according to S.C. Code of Laws and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
People born after June 30, 1979, must complete a hunter education course before obtaining a license, said DNR spokesperson Stephen Fastenau.
“Ultimately, it is a hunter’s responsibility to clearly identify (the) target and what lies beyond it, along with adhering to other essential safety rules,” Fastenau told The Post and Courier.
Always pointing a firearm in a safe direction is one key principle covered in mandatory hunter education, he said.
For people enjoying recreational trails near hunting areas, Fastenau said wearing an orange safety vest or hat and carrying a flashlight in low-light conditions or at night can aid in visibility.
Richardson said state law prohibits hunting deer within 300 yards of residential structures.
Summerville High School alums remember lifelong friend found murdered in Texas
- By Caitlin Bell cabell@postandcourier.com
There have been 10 hunting-related deaths in South Carolina between Jan. 1, 2020 and present, according to Fastenau.
This incident is the second fatality tied to hunting in 2024. On Jan. 21, 2024, a 13-year-old boy died while squirrel hunting on private property in Orangeburg County when the boy’s friend shot and killed him.
In Nov. 2023, 6-year-old Avery Davis was shot and killed by a stray shotgun pellet in Orangeburg, according to previous reports in The Post and Courier.
The boy had been hunting with his father in an elevated tree stand with another 6-year-old when a teenager on the ground shot too high. The stray buckshot struck Davis in the side of the head. He died at an area hospital.
In April 2023, a turkey hunter was killed in Laurens County, according to previous reports in by The Post and Courier.
On Dec. 26, 2022, a 17-year-old was killed in Kershaw County.
On New Year’s Day 2020, a father and daughter, mistaken for deer, were shot and killed by other hunters in Walterboro, according to previous reporting by The Post and Courier.
Exposing the Big Game 