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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.
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‘Gut wrenching’: Sea lion with mouth sealed by netting rescued at Race Rocks
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, which sent rescuers to the ecological preserve off Metchosin on Oct. 22, described the situation as “gut wrenching.”
Darron Kloster, video by Alanna Kelly2 days ago2 days ago
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/letters/2024/10/31/letters-dave-hall-bobcat-trapping-harris-vs-trump-iu-student-media/75944233007/
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An adult male sea lion with gill netting so deeply embedded around its mouth and neck that it was starving was rescued on Race Rocks this month.
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, which sent rescuers to the ecological preserve off Metchosin on Oct. 22, described the situation as “gut wrenching.”
“Even for seasoned rescuers, seeing the extent of this animal’s suffering was distressing,” said Lindsaye Akhurst, senior manager of the society.
She said the net was tight and embedded deep into the sea lion’s neck, and his mouth was completely wrapped shut.
“The sea lion hadn’t been able to eat for what could have been weeks or even months,” Akhurst said. “We knew we had to act fast. … This was one of the most heartbreaking but rewarding rescues I’ve been a part of.”
The distressed sea lion had been reported two days earlier by the ecoguardian at Race Rocks Ecological Preserve. Rescuers co-ordinated a response with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, B.C. Parks, and Pearson College, which posts the guardians at the Race Rocks lighthouse.
Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian of Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue, sedated the sea lion with a dart, and the animal plunged into the ocean. A drone operated by federal fisheries personnel tracked the sea lion’s movements, helping the team approach safely once the animal was fully sedated.
It took 75 minutes for the the team to carefully remove the netting from around the animal’s neck, face and mouth. The netting was embedded so deeply that surgical scissors were required to cut away the entanglement.
After it was removed, the sea lion was given antibiotics, pain management and the sedative was reversed. The animal was observed swimming away and later hauled out onto a nearby rock, showing signs of recovery.
Haulena stressed the importance of preventing similar incidents.
“Rescues like this highlight the ongoing problem of marine debris,” he said. “While we’re grateful this sea lion is recovering, we need to focus on stopping these entanglements from happening in the first place.”
Race Rocks Ecological Preserve, located about 1.5 kilometres from shore and 14 km from Victoria, has been managed by Pearson College in Metchosin since 1997. The school maintains classrooms and residences there for ecoguardians who keep watch over several buildings and the Canadian Coast Guard’s automated lighthouse.
The group of small islands is sometimes called the Galapagos of the North because of its unique high tidal current that attracts marine mammals, sea birds, fish, algae and sea grass.
It’s a major haul out area for California and northern sea lions and a birthing rookery for harbour seals — and the most northerly birthing colony on the Pacific coast of North America for the northern elephant seal.
In its daily census, last updated on Sunday, a guardian counted 282 Steller sea lions, 425 California sea lions, 36 harbour seals and seven orcas, along with “too many” humpback whales to count.
Bird flu hits 2nd Tulare County poultry farm, 145 California dairies; 16 people infected
Visalia Times-Delta
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1:34
A second commercial broiler poultry farm west of Springville in Tulare County was confirmed to have an outbreak of bird flu on Oct. 24.
This outbreak affects an estimated 6,000 birds. On Oct. 16, a neighboring poultry farm with a flock of 786,600 birds, was also confirmed to have the disease.
H5N1 avian influenza, better known as bird flu, has been confirmed in 145 dairies in California in the past 30 days, according to the USDA Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Oct. 29. That number does not include the dairies affected by the disease in the first four weeks of the outbreak.
As a comparison, the rest of the U.S. has a total of two confirmed bird flu cases in livestock herds, both in Idaho.
There are now 16 human cases of bird flu in California, according to the Oct. 28 update from the California Department of Public Health.
The Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency reported that 11 of those cases were in Tulare County. Cases have also been reported in Kings and Kern counties.
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