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Va. town tries to prove existence of 'ghost cats'
BLACKSTONE, Va. — Like some other residents of this small town, Mary Elizabeth Goodwyn doesn't go outside after dark much anymore. Since 2003, the Courier-Record has run at least 15 stories on cougar sightings in town and in the neighboring 41,000-acre Army National Guard training base.
Read complete story from the AP's W.V. state wire

Scientists to use satellites to count kangaroo rats
Scientists plan to use satellite photos to count Giant Kangaroo Rats, the first-ever monitoring of an endangered species from outer space.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Could blaze orange turn key states red or blue?
Outdoors passions run so strong that last year lawmakers considered moving the fishing opener to spare anglers the dilemma of having to choose between hitting the lake and marking Mother's Day. It explains why presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama are targeting hook-and-bullet voters — a bloc expected to turn out in especially high numbers because of a state ballot question on natural resource financing.
Read complete story from the AP's Minnesota state wire

McCain and Obama on hooks and bullets
John McCain and Barack Obama spoke about hunting and fishing in a Q & A with Field & Stream magazine, taking questions on outdoors activities.
Read complete story from the AP's Wisconsin state wire

Woman mistakes elk's call for a fight, calls cops
A woman who lives in Mesa Del, a subdivision just northeast of Payson, called the Gila County Sheriff's Office early Monday morning to report a fight, saying she heard a lot of screaming. Responding deputies quickly realized the woman was really hearing elk.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Forget on a plane, try snakes near the drain
Elena Trowell, a 22-year-old brunette from Georgia, slips into a warm bath in her duplex on Sunday morning, reclining as water tumbles over her feet. To her utter horror, she discovers the stuff of urban legend: A skinny, foot-long snake had fallen from the faucet to her bath water, Trowell said, dismissing the opinions of utilities officials and animal experts who called such a thing impossible.
Read complete story from the Palm Beach Post

N.D. ranchers support ban on hunting rights sale
Property rights advocates are squaring off with sportsmen and ranchers as the state Legislature decides whether to extend a ban on selling the right to hunt on property separately from the land itself.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Hunting fades in California amid sprawl, immigration and video games
Like county fairs and drive-in movie theaters, hunting has been on a steady decline over the past generation in the Golden State. The number of people with hunting licenses in California — now 298,000 — has fallen 61 percent since 1970, even as the state population has doubled.
Read complete story from MercuryNews.com

North Pole ever closer to having no ice
The area of Arctic Ocean covered by the ice has shrunk one-third below what's been normal over the past three decades. It's the first year that both the Northwest Passage over the top of North America and Russia's Northeast Passage are free of ice, environmentalists pointed out this week.
Read complete story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Five men and a gator
Five Elloree, S.C., men are still running on adrenaline after killing a 13.5-foot alligator at Stumphole Landing in the first days of South Carolina's first gator hunt since the 1960s.
Read complete story from The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, S.C.

Experts say Gulf wildlife likely to return
As game wardens continued their rescue missions of humans in the Southeast Texas Gulf region this weekend, a repopulation of wildlife was already well under way.
Read complete story from the Austin American-Statesman

Broward leaders tackle hot topic: Are iguanas friend or foe?
The never-ending showdown between man and beast will move to Broward County Commission chambers Tuesday when commissioners will ask one of the great questions of our time: What can we do about those darned iguanas? Some want to put classify them as "reptiles of concern," but a wildlife specialiast says ''This is locking the door to the barn after the horse has been gone for a week.'"
Read complete story from AP's Florida state wire

Federal study says grizzlies thriving in Montana
Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey announced Tuesday that there are approximately 765 bears in northwestern Montana. That's the largest population of grizzly bears documented there in more than 30 years, and a sign that the species could be at long last rebounding.
Read complete story from the AP's Montana state wire

N.M. game director's hunting license may be revoked
The head of the New Mexico's Game and Fish Department could lose his hunting license for two years for illegally shooting a deer on private land during a hunt in southeastern New Mexico.
Read complete story from the Las Cruces Sun-News

Outdoor sales continue growth through July despite cooling economy
BOULDER, Colo. — Core outdoor retailers kept up the positive momentum in July, in spite of tough economic conditions. Sales in all three channels, specialty, chain and internet, totaled $372 million, 10 percent above July 2007.
Read complete story from the outdoorindustry.org

National Parks to waive entrance fees on Sept. 27
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — All National Park Service sites, including Yellowstone National Park, will offer free admission on Saturday, Sept. 27, in honor of National Public Lands Day.
Read complete story from AP's Florida state wire

Troublesome mussels may have invaded Utah fisheries
Invasive mussels that have wreaked havoc on fisheries across the nation may have landed in Utah. Wildlife officials recieved word from a Bureau of Reclamation lab in Colorado late last week that samples taken from Pelican Lake and Red Fleet Reservoir in the Uintah Basin and at Midview Reservoir on Ute Tribal Lands tested positive for the larval form of what could be zebra or quagga mussels.
Read complete story from AP's Utah state wire

$20K reward offered in case of decapitated deer
LAKE BUTLER, Fla. — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are trying to figure out who killed and decapitated a prized, 12-point deer from a game farm in Union County.
Read complete story from AP's Florida state wire

New strategy targets abundant salmon runs
A new strategy in salmon conservation turns conventional recovery methods upside down. Instead of focusing on the weakest runs and rivers — the federal Endangered Species Act approach — it focuses on rivers where wild salmon runs are relatively robust.
Read complete story from AP's Oregon state wire

11-year-old Maine boy lands record Arctic charr
Wildlife officials have verified that an 11-year-old boy has caught a record-breaking Arctic charr in Maine.
Read complete story from AP's Maine state wire

Famed shark fisherman Frank Mundus dies at 82
Frank Mundus, the legendary Long Island shark fisherman said to have inspired the Captain Quint character in the movie "Jaws," has died. He was 82.
Read complete story from AP's New York City wire

Bass Pro Shops coming to Hanover County, Va.
Bass Pro's 150,000-square-foot store will open Oct. 1 in the U.S. 1 corridor in Hanover County. General manager Greg Bulkley said he expects the Hanover store to become a tourist destination, luring visitors from across Virginia and bringing in travelers from Interstate 95.
Read complete story from Richmond Times-Dispatch

Dog calls 911
PHOENIX — "Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy  a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Hawaii attack survivor tells tale of finicky shark
HONOLULU — A surfer who put his fingers into the mouth of a shark to pry himself free during an attack believes the fish took no further interest in him because it didn't like the taste of his leg. Todd Murashige, 40, spoke with reporters at The Queen's Medical Center on Thursday, two days after he was attacked in waters off Oahu.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Colorado ranch owner accused in deaths of 32 bison
FAIRPLAY, Colo. — Jeff Hawn, a software executive who owns a luxury home outside this old mining town, warned his neighbor, rancher Monte Downare, to keep his bison from roaming onto his property or risk having them hunted. Hawn later sued Downare, alleging the buffalo had turned his land into a feedlot. Then shots rang out. The remains of 32 bison were strewn across Hawn's property and nearby land after Hawn gave permission to hunt bison on his property. Hawn now finds himself in criminal court, charged with theft and 32 counts of aggravated animal cruelty following the March shootings.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Prospects for September teal season are decent
The breath of coolish air that sneaked over Texas this past week brought with it more than just a sigh of relief from those weary of summer's ceaseless scorching. Up there in the night sky, riding the hint of north wind, bands of small ducks bore south across the Red River. Blue-winged teal are on the move. And they are heading for the Texas Coast.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Minnesota's scaup limit won't change
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied a request to change this year's new scaup, or bluebill, limit in Minnesota and the rest of the Mississippi Flyway.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Freshwater fish in double trouble since '89, study says
About four out of 10 freshwater fish species in North America are in peril, according to a major study by U.S., Canadian and Mexican scientists, and the number of subspecies in trouble has nearly doubled since 1989. One biologist called it "silent extinctions," because few people notice the dramatic dwindling of certain populations deep in American lakes, rivers and streams. And people are the chief cause of the problem by polluting and damming freshwater habitats, experts said.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Land open to hunters shrinking in ND
BISMARCK, N.D. — A state guide that maps tracts of public land open to hunting in North Dakota was outdated as soon as it was published, a state official says. Almost daily, farmers lured by high commodity prices are closing their fields to hunters in favor of crops.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Turtle group wants to trap foxes that prey on eggs
CASWELL BEACH, N.C. — An effort to protect the sea turtles that nest on the state's barrier islands has turned into a bitter feud in the small town of Caswell Beach, where a faction of pro-turtle volunteers want to trap and kill foxes that sometimes dig up the turtle nests.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Survey finds ND pheasant numbers down
BISMARCK, N.D. —The state Game and Fish Department says roadside surveys indicate North Dakota's pheasant numbers are down 31 percent from last year.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Bear boards fishing boat, mauls man in British Columbia
VICTORIA, British Columbia — A Canadian man is recovering in the hospital after a black bear swam across a river, climbed onto a dock and then jumped on a boat and attacked him. Conservation officer Gord Hitchcock said Wednesday the 52-year-old man was fishing at a marina in a tiny coastal community off Canada's Pacific coast when the bear mauled him.
Read complete story from MSNBC.com

Zap! Marauding grizzlies in for nasty shock
JACKSON, Wyo. — It's Monday, and up Pilgrim Creek, in an outfitter camp just south of the Teton Wilderness, a 600-pound eating machine with a nose 2,000 times more powerful than a human's is lurking in the bushes. But Scott Millward has a little surprise for the snout of an inquisitive bear who pokes through a mesh fence — 7,000 volts.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Feds set fish shipment rules for Great Lakes
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Federal regulators trying to contain a fish-killing virus in the Great Lakes region have issued rules for shipping live fish across state lines that some wholesalers say will be financially devastating.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

SC opens public alligator hunt this weekend
CHARLESTON, S.C. — For the first time in almost a half century, South Carolina is holding a public alligator hunt, the month-long season beginning Saturday and limited to 1,000 permits.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Restoration efforts help trout species in Idaho
POCATELLO, Idaho — Conservation efforts in southeastern Idaho have helped improve populations of Bonneville cutthroat trout in the Bear River system, fishery managers say, adding that more restrictive regulations that began in 2006 have helped protect the fish.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Poaching case could test new NM law
SANTA FE — The mule deer was a trophy, all right — antlers with a 32-inch spread. If it goes down in history, however, it likely would be for legal reasons, the center of a court dispute over whether the state can collect $10,000 in civil penalties from the poacher.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Nevada wardens seize 187 illegal African frogs
RENO, Nev. — "It's not just an ordinary frog!" says Grow-a-Frog's Web site. It also turns out the mail-order tadpoles are not legal in Nevada and at least 10 other U.S. states, and game wardens there they tracked down Grow-a-Frog as the source of nearly 200 African clawed frogs they've seized in recent weeks.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Zoologists capture first photos of okapi in wild
LONDON — Zoologists have captured the first photos of the okapi in the wild, saying Thursday they offered evidence that the animal once mistaken for a unicorn has managed to survive war and poaching in a park in a lawless swath of Congo. The doe-eyed animal, which can be found in zoos worldwide, is a relative of the giraffe but has zebra-like stripes on its legs and rear.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Jellyfish washing onto beaches sign that population booming
Naturalists say hundreds of jellyfish that have washed up on beaches around San Luis Obispo, Calif., in recent weeks are the result of a natural population boom. The jellyfish are likely moon jellies, a common jellyfish species that is known to breed in great numbers, said Steve Johnston, a staff member at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Read complete story from SanLuisObispo.com

Australian researchers discover elusive frog thought extinct
SYDNEY, Australia — A tiny frog species thought by many experts to be extinct has been rediscovered alive and well in a remote area of Australia's tropical north, researchers said Thursday. The 1.5 inch-long Armoured Mistfrog had not been seen since 1991, and many experts assumed it had been wiped out by a devastating fungus that struck northern Queensland state.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Cutting injuries while hunting
The fall hunting season is upon us and this year, because of the fires, there could be more hunters stalking around your favorite woods. Although not required in California, it would be prudent to wear hunter orange clothing. Big game animals cannot see the bright orange color and wearing it will help prevent being accidentally shot by another hunter.
Read complete story from the Times-Standard

North Pole adventurer Ralph Plaisted dies at 80
Cliffs of ice 40 feet high. Days of waiting for a two-mile-wide stretch of water to freeze enough for safe crossing. Getting wet — and occasionally falling below the frigid landscape — on a daily basis, with temperatures reaching 65 below zero.
Read complete story from the Pioneer Press

Feds issue rule to limit spread of fish virus
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The federal government has issued a regulation designed to prevent the spread of a virus that has caused large fish kills in the Great Lakes.
Read complete story from the AP News

Cutthroat trout ducks endangered species list
Federal officials say they don't need to put the Bonneville cutthroat trout on the endangered or threatened species list, and that pleases Utah members of Trout Unlimited who have worked for decades to bring back the fish once thought extinct.
Read complete story from the Salt Lake Tribune

Cold water rings dinner bell for West Coast salmon
A federal oceanographer says a flip-flop in atmospheric conditions is generating a feast for salmon and other sea life off the West Coast, reversing a trend that contributed to a virtual shutdown of West Coast salmon fishing this summer.
Read complete story from the AP News

Big Sur condor dies of lead poisoning
BIG SUR, Calif. — A California condor captured in Big Sur has died of complications from lead poisoning.
Read complete story from the AP News

Oyster lunch yields 26 pearls for Lebanese couple
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese restaurant owner Raymond Salha and his wife were having oysters for lunch when she made a stunning discovery — a cluster of 26 pearls inside an oyster on her plate.
Read complete story from the AP News

Deer breaks into Granville house, dies in bedroom
GRANVILLE, Ohio — A deer crashed through a screen door into a Granville home Monday and thrashed about for several minutes, striking furniture and glass windows before dying in a bedroom.
Read complete story from the Newark Advocate

Sturgeon strike again; man and son injured
A 4-year-old boy's arm was broken, and his father was cut by a jumping sturgeon on the Suwannee River on Sunday afternoon.
Read complete story from the Gainsville Sun

Culverwell convicted of 16 charges
CRAIG, Colo. — After almost nine hours of deliberation, Rodney Culver­well's jury found him guilty of 16 of 80 poaching charges filed against him April 1 by the 14th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Read complete story from the Craig Daily Press

Valuable hides go missing from wildlife exhibit
LAWTON, Okla. — Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge employees staffed an exhibit last week at the Comanche County Fair to educate the public on the illegal trafficking of animal hides and the depths of the black market. In doing so, they may have educated a thief. Valuable hides and rare items from the exhibit were stolen.
Read complete story from the Oklahoman

Helena police to start killing deer in city
HELENA, Mont. (AP)  Helena police will begin killing mule deer in the city limits next week. Police Chief Troy McGee told city commissioners Monday that he expects officers to reach their quota of 50 deer by the end of October.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Keys residents dig in to protect exotic wildlife
ISLAMORADA, Fla. — Six-toed cats, pelicans with broken wings and frisky dolphins should rest easy as Hurricane Ike brushes past the Florida Keys, where wildlife centers have spent days looking after the vulnerable animal population.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Tehama County Hunt club license is in limbo
A Department of Fish and Game official said the owner of a Red Bluff hunting club is willing to plead guilty to at least one charge of unlawful take of game, even though District Attorney Gregg Cohen decided last week to not press charges. Red Bank Ale & Quail Outfitters owner Brian Riley would not confirm the plea or discuss the meeting he had with a DFG official Wednesday in Sacramento. But he is "very optimistic" the dispute will be resolved by the end of next week.
Read complete story from the Daily News

Thousands of dead nutria wash ashore
WAVELAND, Miss. — What was originally thought as a few hundred nutria killed during Hurricane Gustav has swelled into thousands as clean-up of the dead animals continues.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Permit would allow killing of at-risk species
TUCSON, Ariz. — Pima County plans to apply for a federal permit by December that would allow — with detailed restrictions and monitoring — the harming or killing of endangered species in the course of legal endeavors, such as development.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Three arrested in Tucson area rooster fights
TUCSON, Ariz. — An investigation has led Pima County authorities to three people accused of running separate cockfighting rings.Deputies noticed roosters that had been altered for cockfighting. A search warrant was obtained and investigators found 46 birds, 29 roosters and 17 hens.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Dallas-area residents surprised by legal hunting in city limits
Lori Castoldi awoke last week to the sound of gunshots near her Prosper home. The men swarming nearby fields were hunters firing the first shots of dove season, which runs Sept. 1 to Oct. 30 in North Texas.
Read complete story from the Dallas Morning News

Wake County angler sets sunfish record
Another freshwater fish state record has been broken — this time by Wake County angler Sean Vanderburg, who caught a 1-pound, 14-ounce green sunfish from a private pond in Caswell County on July 27.
Read complete story from the News & Observer

Oregon man captures 6-foot-long lizard in his yard
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — An Oregon man playing in the yard with his toddler sons captured a 6-foot-long lizard capable of killing pets and injuring humans. Ryan Nelson said he thought it was a crocodile when he first spotted the Nile monitor by the rose bushes. He was able to capture it and wrestle it into a large metal dog cage.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

N.J. cops kick in door over bird's cries for help
TRENTON, N.J. — Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house. Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue. But instead of a damsel in distress, officers found a caged cockatoo with a convincing call.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It's a fishing tale that packs a wallop so strong it broke the jaw of a southeastern Arkansas teen and covered him in fish blood and guts. Seth Russell, 15, of Crossett, was cruising Lake Chicot on a large inner tube towed by a boat when a Silver Asian carp leaped from the water and smacked him in the face.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Asian elephant cured in rehab of heroin addiction
An Asian elephant that became addicted to heroin at the hands of illegal traders will return home after a three-year rehab program, Chinese state media said Thursday.
Read complete story from the AP Wire

Balls found inside 'rattling' dog
A dog had to have 13 golf balls removed from its stomach after eating them on walks around a Fife course.
Read complete story from BBC News

Oregon teen cited for wounding cougarg
A 14-year-old boy in Southern Oregon has been cited for allegedly shooting and wounding a cougar before buying a hunting tag and killing it.
Read complete story from AP's Oregon State Wire

Typo turns annual duck stamp into calling card for phone-sex service
About 3.5 million federal "duck stamps," featuring artwork by a Plymouth artist, are affixed to a card bearing a misprinted number, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday.
Read complete story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

Giant bear raids marijuana plantation
On Tuesday, Garfield County, Utah, Sheriff Danny Perkins, sheriff deputies and U.S. Forest Service personnel discovered a marijuana grow on the east side of Durfey Creek on Boulder Mountain. Though there have been several recent marijuana grow seizures in Utah, this one has a twist — it had been initially raided by a giant bear.
Read complete story from the Rocky Mountain News

Ban on feeding, baiting deer will shake up hunting in Michigan
Many Midland-area deer hunters are almost certainly altering their strategies for the seasons ahead, reflecting a Lower-Peninsula-wide ban on feeding and baiting deer and deer relatives.
Read complete story from Midland Daily News

Hunter rescued after tumbling down waterfall
A bow hunter who slipped into a creek, then tumbled about 50 feet down a waterfall in Pitkin County has been flown to a hospital in Grand Junction after spending two nights outdoors.
Read complete story from The Denver Post

Horse attacked; cougar to blame?
Is a cougar stalking prey in eastern Missouri?

Some residents think so, following recent alleged attacks of a buffalo and a horse on separate but neighboring properties in Jefferson County, and following other sightings in recent months of a potentially dangerous animal that hasn't been indigenous to Missouri for more than 80 years.
Read complete story from AP's Missouri State Wire

Judge leans toward government in sea lion dispute
A federal judge says he is inclined to allow the government to kill up to 85 sea lions a year at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River to reduce salmon predation.
Read complete story from AP's Oregon State Wire

ODFW puts 6-year-old boy out of business
Frog Boy has been busted. A first-grade businessboy was pitted against state game law this week, when young Cole Gomes, 6, of Alder Slope, Ore., was told his lucrative frog-selling venture is illegal.
Read complete story from The East Oregonian

Golfer Tripp Isenhour pleads no contest in hawk killing
A pro golfer accused of killing a hawk at an Orlando golf club in December entered a plea of no contest and agreed to a list of conditions related to the counts in court today. Tripp Isenhour, 40, agreed to one year of supervised probation, four hours of anger management classes, and 100 hours of alternative community service.
Read complete story from The Orlando Sentinel

Retriever's nose acts faster than smoke alarms during blaze
A Labrador retriever with a sharp nose helped his owners safely escape their burning home in Potomac early yesterday morning when his frantic barking awakened them minutes before smoke alarms went off. The quick reaction by Jet, an adult black Lab who normally slept on a pillow in the kitchen near his basket of dog treats, also helped shave minutes off the response time for firefighters, allowing them to isolate the blaze in the garage and save most of the home.
Read complete story from The Washington Post

Angler's freak catch: himself!
Peter Inskip, 42, had to be cut off his own line after a two-inch lead weight shot through his neck and lodged at the top of his chest. The dad-of-one was fishing for carp at a lake near his home when he tried to cast his line out into the water.
Read complete story from The Sun

Los Alamitos to trap and kill coyotes for a week
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — It's a bad time to be a coyote in Los Alamitos. The Orange County city will start trapping and killing coyotes Wednesday. Officials are responding to reports of the animals roaming the streets, killing pets and frightening parents of young children.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Reef's health better than believed
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A government study finds that marine life and habitat of Gray's Reef off the Georgia coast are in "fair condition," although problems remain. The sanctuary encompasses about 23 square miles — a protected area including fish and other species, including the threatened loggerhead sea turtle.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

State weighing how much to fine Taylor Shellfish for using public aquatic lands
The state's largest shellfish company for years has illegally farmed oysters and geoducks on nearly 16 acres of public land, according to state officials. The Department of Natural Resources is still determining how much of a penalty to issue against Taylor Shellfish Farms, which may have netted millions of dollars in profits from the tidelands.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Ore. study: inbreeding threatens spotted owls
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Declines in populations of the endangered northern spotted owl are leading to inbreeding and a resulting lack of genetic diversity needed for survival, making the birds more prone to disease and other problems, a report by an Oregon State University scientist concludes.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Fish kill reported in South River cove
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland officials are investigating a fish kill in an enclosed cove off South River, near Annapolis. More than 100,000 menhaden died over the Labor Day weekend.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Anthrax kills wildlife near Turner's ranch
BOZEMAN, Mont. — State wildlife officials say naturally occurring anthrax has killed two deer and is likely responsible for the deaths of 14 elk in drainages near Ted Turner's ranch in the Bozeman area.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Herring curbs seen as threat to lobstermen
BANGOR, Maine — New restrictions on herring fishing could cause problems for Maine lobstermen who bait their traps with herring. Commercial harvesters are being barred from landing Atlantic herring in the western half of the Gulf of Maine during certain periods this month.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Man says he found dead shark in Lake Michigan
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — There's no telling what might turn up in Lake Michigan. Rich Fasi of Traverse City says he found a dead 2-foot shark in the water while fishing on West Grand Traverse Bay on Wednesday.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Judge dismisses challenge to deer, elk ban
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has dismissed a challenge to Kentucky's ban on transporting deer and elk into the state, saying the lawsuit was premature because a state court has already struck down the law.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Tough time for Missouri prairie chicken transplants
ST. LOUIS — Coyotes and other predators have picked off many of the 45 male prairie chickens that were relocated from Kansas to a prairie in western Missouri this spring in hopes of boosting the state's plummeting population. Still, Missouri Department of Conservation officials remain upbeat about the prairie chicken translocation project.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Snakehead fish found in Charles County, Maryland
LA PLATA, Md. — More than 150 snakehead fish have been found in Charles County. Officials with Maryland's Department of Natural Resources say the invasive predators were found last week in puddles near Mattawoman Creek, which flows directly into the Potomac River.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Missouri battling ash borer infestation
ST. LOUIS — Missouri is battling a pest that could threaten potentially millions of trees in the state. Emerald ash borers, a small, metallic green beetle native to Asia, were found in July. Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing trees to starve and die.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Bears behaving well due to abundant food
JACKSON, Wyo. — Bears in Teton County have mostly stayed out of trouble this summer and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department says an abundant berry crop probably deserves the credit. Last year was a record year for bear-human conflicts in Teton County, with about 200 reported conflicts during an unusually dry spring and summer.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Two hikers rescued from North Cascades
Two hikers who spent more than a day stranded on an 18-inch ledge in the North Cascades were rescued Friday, aided by workers who stayed with the couple until they were well enough to descend below cloud cover and be retrieved by a helicopter.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Rabid bat may have bitten dog walker in Ithaca, N.Y.
ITHACA, N.Y. — Authorities are trying to track down a man who was apparently bitten by a rabid bat while walking his dog in a park in central New York.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Hiker, 27, falls on Mount Si, dies, despite rescue efforts
A man who fell 200 feet while hiking Thursday on a trail on Mount Si near North Bend, Wash., died, despite the efforts of a companion who scrambled down to his friend and administered CPR for more than hour.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Scrawny halibut nets Oregon angler $10,000
A scrawny 8-ound halibut was all it took for Mike Schlimgen to avoid the wall of shame and become $10,000 richer. Schlimgen is the third angler this year to reel in a $10,000 tagged flatfish, but he's the first to do it while in possession of a $10 Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby ticket.
Read complete story from HomerNews.com

Arctic sea ice drops to second lowest level on record
WASHINGTON — More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years, and it could be set in the next three weeks. The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that sea ice in the Arctic now covers about 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point since satellite measurements began in 1979 was 1.65 million square miles set last September.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Invasive mussel forces boat quarantine at Tahoe
RENO, Nev. — A 32-foot cabin cruiser was quarantined at Lake Tahoe after a harbor master spotted invasive mussels encrusted on its stern as it was about to be hoisted into the water. Wildlife and environmental experts describe the incident as a close call.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Deer, elk farm owners in Michigan hit hard by quarantine
A move by the state of Michigan to quarantine 580 deer and elk farms and ban baiting in the Lower Peninsula is sending shock waves through the state's outdoor recreation and business communities. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture began implementing those actions this week after a 3-year-old doe on a Kent County breeding farm tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
Read complete story from The Grand Rapids Press

Poaching case to challenge Colorado Dept. of Wildlife
Opening arguments in Rodney Culverwell's trial suggested the case will look at whether the state did enough to protect the rancher's pro­perty from wildlife or if Culverwell unduly took the law into his own hands. Culverwell, 41, a Moffat County rancher, is charged with 80 poaching crimes that stem from alleged incidents where elk damaged his crops and fencing this winter. "Instead of picking up his phone, Culverwell picked up his gun."
Read complete story from The Craig Daily Press

Federal aid to fisherman to be given out this week
BOSTON — Millions of dollars in federal aid is headed to the state's struggling fisherman this week. Gov. Deval Patrick announced Tuesday that $13.4 million will be distributed to about 500 fishermen and fishing businesses.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Wyoming loses gun case in federal court
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A federal appeals court in Denver has ruled against Wyoming in a lawsuit over a state law that seeks to allow people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence to regain their gun rights. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that the procedure spelled out in Wyoming law fails to expunge the criminal record of people convicted of domestic violence.
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University of Idaho professor to study antelope mating
MOSCOW, Idaho — Pronghorn antelope are the fastest animals in North America, accelerating from zero to 40 mph in seconds. The speed in their long delicate legs is an adaptation from a pre-Ice Age existence, when they had to outrun fierce predators that roamed the grasslands — "It was a fearsome environment," said University of Idaho professor John Byers, who will study if they have a mechanism to avoid inbreeding.
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Ore. scientists announce finding fossil of oldest gecko
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Scientists from Oregon State University and the Natural History Museum in London have announced the finding of the oldest known fossil parts of a gecko, a lizard, preserved in amber after 100 million years. Because of the preservative power of amber, a fossil tree resin, the gecko's foot retains tiny sticky toe hairs that still give modern geckos the ability to cling to flat surfaces or run across a ceiling.
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Teens trapped under ice held on to each other for life
The two boys lay battered for more than five hours. Trapped under ice as thick as 7 feet, each clung to the other's hand. It was the touch of a friend that helped keep each alive. Alessandro Gelmini had been hiking with Alec Corbett near Snoqualmie Pass on Thursday afternoon when the ice arch they stood under collapsed. Their mothers, who had taken the teens and their sisters on the day hike, watched in horror.
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Reward offered in killing of eagle near Reno
RENO, Nev. — Federal wildlife officials are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for killing a golden eagle near Reno and tying its carcass to a tree.
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NY state says nuclear plant kills too many fish
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The huge numbers of fish sucked to their death by the cooling system at the Indian Point nuclear plant prove that the system harms the Hudson River environment, a state official has ruled. The finding by J. Jared Snyder, assistant commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, is a victory for plant critics who claim that up to 1.2 billion fish and eggs are killed each year as the plant continuously draws in river water for use as a coolant.
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French police find bodies of 8 missing climbers
CHAMONIX, France — French police found the bodies of eight climbers Monday after they went missing in an avalanche near Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest peak, officials said. The bodies were buried beneath up to 165 feet of ice and the climbers — four Germans, three Swiss and an Austrian — most likely had fallen into a deep crevasse, said Regis Lavergne, commander of the High Mountain Gendarmes based in Chamonix.
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Feisty puppy scares off 3 bears in NJ back yard
WYCKOFF, N.J. — If only Goldilocks had a cockapoo. A 15-pound cocker spaniel-poodle mix named Pawlee scared off a mother bear and her two cubs Sunday morning after they strayed into his owners' back yard.
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Border fence design blasted as causing flooding
TUCSON, Ariz. — Environmentalists say flooding caused by a new border security fence in southwestern Arizona shows the structure is being built too quickly and without regard for the environment. Critics say the design caused debris and water backup during a July 12 storm that led to flooding at the port of entry at Lukeville and Sonoyta, Mexico, and at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
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Desert tortoises making slow march toward recovery
SALT LAKE CITY — It's been 18 years since the federal government decided to protect the shy, slow-moving Mojave desert tortoise. Despite that step, wildlife officials still don't know if it has done any good to stop the tortoise's widespread decline in the scrubby desertlands of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
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Salmon fishing guides could get disaster relief
REDDING, Calif. — Sacramento River fishing guides facing a major drop in business after authorities placed severe restrictions on fall salmon fishing could soon see some relief. The California Salmon Council has announced that it will distribute disaster funds to fishing guides who are losing business because of Chinook salmon fishing limits on the river.
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Man arrested carrying weapons at Pelosi hotel
DENVER — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefly evacuated from her downtown Denver hotel on Saturday when a man carrying two hunting rifles and two pistols tried to check in to the hotel. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said 29-year-old Joseph Calanchini of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon after police officers at the Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case while checking in.
Read complete story from The Associated Press in the Denver Post

Australian officials euthanize lost baby whale
SYDNEY, Australia — The baby humpback whale was starving, injured and hours from death. So despite anguished cries of "Murder!" and "Shame!" from protesters who thought it could still be saved, wildlife officials on Friday euthanized the animal, which had strayed into the waters off north Sydney nearly a week ago.
Read complete story from the Daily Herald of Suburban Chicago

Woman who stabbed ex-husband's lizards sentenced to picking up roadkill
A West Dundee woman convicted of stabbing two of her ex-husband's pet lizards was sentenced Thursday to 50 hours of picking up roadkill. Kane County Judge Grant Wegner called the community service component of 38-year-old Sara Tinsley's sentence "appropriate, given the circumstances" of her crime, which proved fatal for one of the two bearded dragon reptiles, named Fred and Ethel.
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Tribes want better Oregon water for fish diet
PORTLAND, Ore. —Northwest Indian tribes want tougher water quality standards on toxins in fish that are a major part of their diet. Tribes say they probably eat 10 times more fish than the average person, putting them at higher risk from water pollution.
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Florida deputies Taser Plop-Plop the unruly emu
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Bay County Sheriff's deputies were forced to use a Taser to subdue an escaped emu named Plop-Plop. The large female bird escaped from a farm last weekend and on Monday, she holed up with some horses and goats in a pen.
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South African who threw man to lions out of prison
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A white farmer who threw the body of his fired black worker into a lions' pen has been freed on parole after less than three years in prison. The case drew worldwide attention and impassioned protests from demonstrators who saw the killing as another racial attack in a country still grappling with its apartheid past.
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Mexico starts campaign to save endangered porpoise
ENSENADA, Mexico — Mexico is investing 163 million pesos (US$16 million) to save a highly endangered type of porpoise from fishing nets in the upper Gulf of California. Scientists say they believe the population of the vaquita marina  Spanish for "little sea cow" — has dwindled to 150 or less from more than 500 a decade ago.
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Canyon flood damaged 'most beautiful place'
It may be four weeks until tourists can return to stare as towering waterfalls cascade into blue-green pools near an American Indian village in a canyon miles west of Grand Canyon National Park headquarters. Tourism is a lifeline of the community of Supai deep in a gorge off the main Grand Canyon that is accessible only by foot, helicopter or mule.
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Once rare, coastal dead zones are multiplying worldwide
Around 1910, when scientists began studying the marine areas of low oxygen known as dead zones, there were only four worldwide. Now, there are 405 in the world's coastal waters, covering a total area of 95,000 square miles, according to the latest research published in the journal "Science." A global study led by Virginia Institute of Marine Science Professor Robert Diaz shows that the number of dead zones has increased by a third between 1995 and 2007.
Read complete story from Environment News Services

Mysterious honey bee disorder buzzes into court
The nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Washington DC to force the federal government to disclose studies on the effect of a new pesticide on honey bees. Studies on the pesticide, clothianidin, were ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from the pesticide's manufacturer, Bayer CropScience, in 2003 when the federal agency granted the company a registration for the chemical.
Read complete story from Environment News Services

Bigfoot's body a hoax; a rubber monkey suit on ice
Can you believe it? Georgia's "Bigfoot" was just a big hoax. The body of a supposed ape-man found in the North Georgia mountains was nothing but an empty rubber monkey suit embedded in ice, according to California Bigfoot enthusiasts who finally got a chance to examine it last weekend.
Read complete story from Cox News Service in AJC.com

Drought conditions lead to Oregon grasshopper infestation
BAKER CITY, Ore. — Grasshoppers, grasshoppers, everywhere. Baker County is in the midst of its worst grasshopper infestation in more than two decades. As a result, officials have been staging an all-out assault from the ground and the air. Helmuth Rogg, an entomologist and pest program manager with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, says the last big grasshopper outbreak dates back 22 years.
Read complete story from The Associated Press in USA Today

Sailor knocked from boat rescued 12 hours later
GREEN BAY, Wis. —A sailor rescued after he fell into Lake Michigan says one of the worst moments of the 12-hour ordeal came near the end, when a Coast Guard helicopter seemed to have its spotlight on him, only to turn away. "I heard the rotors and looked east and here was this magnificent whirlybird," James Nelson, 56, said after his rescue early Monday. "I waved my arms, but I sank underwater.
Read complete story from The Associated Press in the Chicago Tribune

Iditarod winner Jeff King's trial turns into map muddle
FAIRBANKS — The first day of Iditarod champion Jeff King's federal trial on charges of illegally killing a moose largely focused on the boundaries of Denali National Park. Attorneys for both sides spent more than seven hours questioning park ranger John Leonard, who led the investigation into the killing of a bull moose last September rangers said was 600 feet inside Denali's northern boundary. The 52-year-old King, who last won the Iditarod in 2006, does not deny taking the moose, but claims it was well outside of the park's boundary.
Read complete story from The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Bigfoot or big lie? Men present 'proof' of half-man, half-ape
Half-man, half-ape creatures — legendary Bigfoots — are stalking the remote woods of northern Georgia, according to two men who appeared Friday in Palo Alto to prove their claim. Facing a throng of skeptical journalists and true believers, Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton revealed a handful of blurry photos and DNA test results with help from notorious Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi.
Read complete story from the Palo Alto Daily News

Fishing & Hunting News falls prey to decline in ad sales
For more than a half century, Fishing & Hunting News has been a "must read" for anyone looking to stake out the best trout streams or deer hunting grounds. But the magazine, based in Woodinville, Wash., which produces editions covering Washington and 11 other states, will publish no more, a victim of a bad economy and the consolidation of sportsman gear companies that made up the bulk of its advertising base.
Read complete story from Puget Sound Business Journal

Teen's 4.52-pound crappie is largest on record in Illinois
Marcus Miller is officially in the record books. On May 14, while he was bank fishing a farm pond on his family's property between Centralia and Mount Vernon in Jefferson County, the 15-year-old Centralia High student landed a 4.52-pound crappie. Officials knew it was the biggest crappie on record in Illinois. They just didn't know what kind it was — black or hybrid.
Read complete story from the Belleville News-Democrat

Alligator hunters go on the prowl in Florida
LAKE WASHINGTON, Fla. —The airboat skipped across Lake Washington, into the deep dark of night. A narrow light came from a spotlight strapped to the airboat captain's head, as it swept arcs across the marshland. It's the best way to see the amber red glow of an alligator's eyes. And on Friday night, the first day of the public alligator hunting season, alligators were what the two men in the boat wanted. The bigger the better.
Read complete story from Florida Today

Florida carefully collects alligator eggs to replenish farmers' ponds
IN THE EVERGLADES, Florida — It's 7 a.m. in the marsh, and like some sort of cigar-chomping swamp cowboy, biologist Lindsey Hord is about to reach for something that could cost him a few fingers — or worse — if he's not careful. It's July 23, the first day of Florida's annual alligator egg collection program, a yearly ritual to replenish stocks for the state's gator farmers.
Read complete story from The Associated Press