Team Fur News
Who Decides?
By FUR-FISH-GAME Editor, John D. Taylor
Shaprtail numbers in South Dakota took a big decline between 2024 and 2026 yet the state’s wildlife agency encouraged hunters to visit the state to hunt shartptails. Photo: Dennis Laughlin/Shutterstock
Back at the end of August, South Dakota’s Game Fish and Parks Department unveiled their annual upland bird hunting outlook, a prognostication of what the coming pheasant and prairie grouse seasons might hold for hunters. This is a much-anticipated news item, especially for non-resident hunters planning trips to the Mount Rushmore state, my home state. It’s also an important document for the state’s economy. Tourism is one of the leading economic generators in South Dakota, and hunting, particularly pheasant hunting, is among the big reasons people visit South Dakota in the fall.
For example, Game Fish and Parks (SDGFP) says hunting in general generates $681 million annually for the state and supports 16,000 full- and part-time jobs. These jobs generate $569 million in income for those in the industry. Pheasant hunting in specific generates between $250 million and $287 million in revenue for the state annually, including $12.6 million in “small game” license fees. Non-residents spend between $156 million and $166 million annually to chase our “ditch parrots,” a local colloquialism for pheasants. And in counties like Brown, Spink, Beadle, Brule, Lyman and Tripp – top pheasant counties – individual seasonal spending by pheasant hunters exceeds $10 million to $17 million.
The bottom line on all these figures is that hunting, particularly upland bird hunting, and especially pheasant hunting, is big business in South Dakota. Heck, we’re known for it. When I tell a stranger my home is in South Dakota, the first response is usually something like, “You guys have lots of pheasants.” And we do.
That’s why you’ll never see an official SDGFP upland bird hunting forecast that is rife with bad news, no matter if the bad news reflects an accurate accounting on upland bird hunting conditions or not. And that’s why the latest forecast, and last fall’s, had me fuming – especially when it started touting prairie grouse (sharptail and prairie chicken) harvests without considering current conditions.
The 2026 forecast starts out, naturally, with how much licenses will cost and noting how 140,000 rooster hunters bagged 1.3 million pheasants last season – 400,00 more bird than in 2025. Yowza! Also, some 17,000 prairie grouse hunters bagged 53,000 grouse in 2025. Those are pretty good numbers, if you’re tallying such things.
By comparison, North Dakota hunters topped our prairie grouse bag with 55,000 sharptails alone – no prairie chicken hunting there. Montana lumps all its prairie and forest grouse (sharptails, ruffed grouse, blue grouse and sage grouse) into one big very estimated bag and that tallied more than 1.14 million, according to the confusing way their Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department tallies bags. So, who knows how they stack up – too much “Yellowstone” and not enough biology, I guess. Nebraska, with sharptails and chickens, was way, way down on both species of prairie grouse due to bad drought. Kansas, with greater and lesser prairie chickens, doesn’t tally grouse harvest numbers anymore. (They used to, embarrassment, I’d guess.) Lesser chicken hunting is closed anyhow. And, while greater chicken numbers were growing, too much rain dampened spring hatch production. So, South Dakota is still up there when it comes to prairie grouse, and especially ditch parrots.
The South Dakota forecast goes on to note, with superlatives, that the “extraordinary” 2025 pheasant season bag was the result of a mild winter (true, and why we’re now in drought) followed by “favorable” spring and summer weather. Then it starts spinning prairie grouse opportunities, downplaying what really happened, noting somewhat offhandedly, the bag was down from 2024. No kidding... It also says prairie grouse numbers will be spotty – good in one place, not in another. That’s a cop out, the same excuse as “You shoulda been here last week, we saw plenty of _____ (deer, turkeys, sharptails, fill in the blank).
Let me preface the following by noting that sharptails are my upland bird hunting passion. Regular readers may recognize this. I know sharptails, I live in their country, and I’ve been hunting them for more than 20 years. Sharptail numbers in 2023 were good. In 2024 they were phenomenal. Both falls, traveling from my Box Elder, South Dakota, home, I frequently saw huge flocks of 100 or more sharptails flip over the gravel roads I drove to get to my sharptail coverts. My English setters and I usually returned home with a sharptail or two each outing. (My personal daily limit is two, one shy of the state’s three-bird bag, for conservation purposes. I don’t need more than two birds.) Traveling east towards central South Dakota, we found prairie chickens in good numbers, too. The abundance in bird numbers was reflected in SDGFP’s estimated 2024 prairie grouse bag – 99,000 birds.
But last fall, 2025, the bottom fell out.
A wet spring and summer – we measured 7 inches of rain in July alone – likely stymied the hatch. SDGFP doesn’t note any of this, but I suspect it created the conditions for more mosquitoes, hence more possibility for West Nile virus being passed into birds. Since its 1999 introduction to the U.S., West Nile virus has been shown to decimate ruffed grouse and sage grouse populations. It’s impact on sharptails and prairie chickens is unstudied and unknown. But since ruffed grouse and prairie grouse are in the same family, it’s likely both species suffer the same impacts. Pheasants and turkeys seem to be largely immune to it.
Both factors showed up in bird numbers. In coverts where I could count on seeing 20 or more birds each visit – and these were not in one small area but all over the western part of the state – I’d encounter two or three birds, sometimes none. It was weird, especially when trying to start my young English setter, Theo, on sharptails.
To get Theo into birds, I ranged east because it seemed like the central part of the state was not in a sharptail drought. We hit more sharptails there, and prairie chickens, but fewer than I’d seen in the past, and fewer pheasants, too.
SDGFP’s forecast for 2025 bragged up 2024’s huge prairie grouse bag and suggested hunters come to South Dakota just for the grouse. Those who did were likely quite disappointed, unless they focused on the central part of the state.
Conditions going into this fall (2026) were equally unfavorable for most upland birds. Most of western South Dakota has been in drought, ranging from exceptionally severe in the southwest to very dry in the northwest. The central region got a bit more rainfall – I saw a much greener landscape there traveling back from the National Trapper’s Association conference in late July. East River South Dakota was also not quite so dry. Their corn crops looked green and in good shape. Drought means fewer mosquitoes – although you couldn’t convince me of that during early goose season, because when I looked at what was making my gloved hand itch, it was covered with dozens of mosquitoes that I promptly smushed into a bloody pulp – perhaps less impact on grouse numbers.
In the 2026 forecast, SDGFP says it’s hard to measure prairie grouse reproductive success prior to hunting season – another cop out – yet they measure pheasant broods. Why not grouse? Is that about the money pheasants generate and grouse don’t?
SDGFP says it monitors grouse numbers via wing boxes where hunters contribute wings from the birds they shoot. There are 18 boxes across nine counties in the 77,123 square mile state. These wings allow SDGFP to age grouse, determining how many young of the year birds have been bagged compared to adult birds. Yet I’ve only ever actually seen these wing boxes at a few locations on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands (near state capitol Pierre) and the Grand River National Grasslands, near Lemmon. This presents a skewed picture of prairie grouse. Only those that have been bagged (mostly young birds, even according to SDGFP) and only in two locations where many non-resident hunters go.
SDGFP also says it monitors prairie grouse numbers with lek counts – and this is an important caveat – in the “central part of the state,” which likely means the Ft. Pierre grasslands, right next door to SDGFP’s main office, where someone counts the number of male grouse displaying. Displaying means booming (inflating a neck sac and calling, somewhat like a turkey gobbler) in the case of prairie chickens, or dancing in the case of sharptails, on mating grounds called leks. With prairie grouse, the males display, while the females wait in the wings and choose the best dancer or boomer to mate with. The 2026 forecast notes that this is not a great indicator of fall populations because it only counts males. Yet it is an actual count of real birds, not a count of dead birds’ wings showing what happened the year before.
The alarming trend in wildlife biology of all sorts – big game, “small” game and non-game – nowadays is to use computer modeling to determine wildlife populations, then guess what a sustainable harvest level is. The data used to extrapolate these numbers was mostly based on what in-the-field biologists encountered in the past. For example, if an in-the-field biologist saw 10 males on a lek, or 10 young bird wings among 20 in a wing box in 1998, they’d conclude that there were 20 grouse on the lek or that half birds bagged by hunters were young birds. This sort of information drives the formulas that computer modeling uses to extrapolate current numbers.
Before computer modeling, biologists actually got off their rumps, got into the field, and physically counted the numbers of real critters on the landscape – deer, birds, even fish. Granted, this was also a limited snapshot of what was happening, no better than wing boxes or lek counts, but it tallied real things, not artificially generated numbers. The use of computer modeling is an alarming thing to those who care about wildlife, who treasure the game animals we hunt. Just as artificial (emphasis on that word) intelligence generates fake pictures, memes and steals the thoughts, words and experiences of collective humanity to come up with dumb stuff for social media entertainment, relying on computer modeling to determine sustainable wildlife harvest numbers is a falsehood, a lie. What suffers is wildlife.
My question about all this is who decides? Who decides if tourism money trumps the value of wildlife resources? Who decides that computer modeling is smarter than a thinking biologist doing real, in-the-field, genuine research? Who decides, in the case of states that don’t measure upland bird harvests that it’s not worthwhile to have that information? Who decides, like in my former home state of Pennsylvania, that no one cares about grouse, pheasants, woodcock or rabbits, but that deer, turkeys and bears are where a wildlife agency charged with sustaining all wildlife should focus its energies?
I’d like to kick the people who decide this stuff in the britches and tell them to get real again. Because it’s wildlife that’s at risk.
For example, a couple of years ago, I ran into a trio of deer hunters in my favorite sharptail covert. They were packing out a mule deer buck from a successful hunt on the western side of the covert, while I returned from hunting the eastern side. We talked for a bit and seeing my dogs and shotgun, they told me they hunted sharptails there, too.
“We hunt here every opener,” the father proudly said, his two sons nodding agreement. “And we always shoot our limits.”
Knowing the covert, knowing how many birds I’d seen there hunting it across many years, and guesstimating how many total birds might be in the place, given the habitat, I tallied maybe 20 to 25 birds total on average each year. Doing the math on their take, nine birds (if they were being honest), means they just took out nearly half of that covert’s sharptail population, believing they were righteous, decent and successful hunters. All because some SDGFP “biologist” in Pierre decided prairie grouse were abundant last year, five years ago, or 10 years past, based on computer modeling.
That’s just wrong.
Sources
https://gfp.sd.gov/economic/
https://pheasantsforever.org/upland-news-media/articles/promises-on-the-horizon/
https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1269
Black-Necked Stilt Numbers Soar In Wisconsin
A black-necked stilt at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.
Since 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have coordinated efforts to survey black-necked stilts, a migratory shorebird that has established a breeding population at Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area in Wisconsin. Recent surveys show stilt numbers are growing. Biologists documented 81 nests, including 78 on the federal refuge. This is nearly double the high number of nesting stilts from a 2022 Horicon Marsh survey when all nests occurred on the refuge. This means that Horicon Marsh, principally the refuge, now likely has the largest breeding population of black-necked stilts anywhere east of the Mississippi. Biologists call this a “remarkable happening.” These elegant shorebirds with long, rose-colored legs and black-and-white feathers are typically found along the US coastlines and at a few large inland sites in the West. Recently, however, stilts began to nest in the Mississippi Valley in the upper Midwest. The first nests appeared on the refuge in 1999. The stilts typically build their nests on mudflats near or within cattail stands, and Horicon Marsh provides just the right conditions for these birds to breed. Two factors may be contributing to population growth. One is climate change – both severe drought and flooding leads stilts to expand their range north from the Gulf Coast. Another factor could be the breeding habits of the birds themselves.
Minnesota Pheasant, Rabbit Numbers Up
Statewide pheasant and rabbit numbers are up in Minnesota, says the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
Minnesota’s annual August roadside survey showed a nearly 20% increase in statewide pheasant numbers, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). This year’s pheasant index was 90 birds per 100 miles of roads driven, compared to 75 birds in 2025. Pheasant numbers increased in the west-central, central, and southcentral regions by 74%, 25%, and 17%, respectively. The west central and southwest regions both had pheasant indices above 130 birds per 100 miles and should provide the best pheasant hunting opportunities. However, pheasant numbers decreased in the southeast, east central and southwest regions. A warm winter likely helped hen survival, MDNR says and a drier, warmer spring and summer created better nesting and brood-rearing conditions compared to 2025. Cottontail rabbit numbers were also higher than in the past 60 years. The rabbit index, 14 rabbits per 100 miles of survey route, was similar to 2025 (14.5 rabbits) but exceeded the 10-year average (seven rabbits per 100 miles) and the long-term average (six rabbits per 100 miles). The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other habitat set asides play a large role in Minnesota pheasant and rabbit production, MDNR says. Yet between 2025 to 2026, the state lost 42,000 CRP acres and experienced a net loss of 22,500 other acres of protected wildlife habitat compared to 2025. The full report is available via mndnr.gov/hunting/pheasant.
Montana Bears Are Causing Trouble Again
Black bears across the Rocky Mountain states are having a hard time finding food when they need it most and are entering towns and causing problems. Photo: Love Photoroom/Unsplash
On a mid-August evening in Red Lodge, Montana, an adult black bear attempted to attack a person walking near Roosevelt Middle School. Fortunately, a good Samaritan intervened and was able to prevent the attack. No one was injured. The incident was predatory in nature — the black bear was approaching the person slowly, purposefully and methodically. Predatory encounters can occur when bears have been heavily food conditioned. This year, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has observed unprecedented levels of food-conditioned bears in the Red Lodge area due to improperly stored attractants, primarily trash. Meanwhile, FWP also received an increased number of black bear reports from Billings. The reports have predominantly been in areas close to the Yellowstone River or the outskirts of Billings. Though many Billings area residents have never experienced black bears near their properties, bears are relatively common in the area. Community help in storing attractants is essential to ensure these bears don’t become food conditioned. The Yellowstone River corridor is a natural wildlife pathway and, as urban development expands in the valley, so does the overlap of bears and humans. The increase in town bear sightings is likely due to the shortage of natural foods this year—a phenomenon observed throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Natural bear foods such as chokecherries are extremely limited this year. With fall approaching, and bears entering hyperphagia – a period of intense eating to pack on fat for winter hibernation – bears are seeking alternative foods wherever they can find them, including in town. Conflicts could increase in the fall as bears become more desperate in their search for food. To stay safe in bear country, FWP encourages anyone to stay alert and look for bear activity; carry bear spray in an accessible place and know how to use it; travel in groups (especially kids) and make noise; avoid traveling at night, dawn or dusk; and keep bear attractants (anything from soap, trash, grills and leftovers to pet foods) in a secure place. Visit igbconline.org/be-bear-aware or call (406) 587-6733.
Christmas Gifts from F-F-G
Perfect gifts like this metal sign version of our 100th anniversary issue cover are waiting.
Although we're just hitting the month of November, now is a great time to start thinking about getting Christmas gifts for the important people in your life. With our small staff, the earlier the better, as shipping takes some time. To ensure Christmas delivery we recommend you order books by Dec. 8th, and merchandise by Dec. 11th. You can check out our list of products here: Christmas with F-F-G.
Missouri Deer Regulation Changes
Missouri is changing several of its deer hunting regulations to address chronic wasting disease and be more responsive to public input.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds deer hunters, landowners, and others of changes to deer regulations for the upcoming deer-hunting season. These changes, MDC says, focus on simplifying regulations and responding to public input. The changes include:
• Reduced Nonresident Buck Limit - Nonresident deer hunter numbers have increased nearly 50% in the last 10 years, and this concerns residents. So, MDC reduced nonresident buck limits from two to one.
• Earlier Youth Hunt - MDC moved the Early Youth deer hunt ahead one week to October 24 and 25 this year. This will avoid conflicts with Halloween activities.
• Antler-Point Restriction Removed - Antler-point restrictions (APR) were removed. Yearling bucks, which the APR protects, travel many miles and can spread chronic wasting disease (CWD) long distances. Removing APRs will minimize the spread of CWD and simplify regulations.
• No CWD Management Zones - MDC removed CWD Management Zone designations. Most counties either had a CWD case or are within 10 miles of a confirmed case, so the zones are no longer needed.
• No Feed and Minerals - Placing feed and minerals to attract deer has been prohibited in counties where CWD was detected since CWD was first verified in Missouri. This artificially congregates deer, increasing the risk of disease transmission. Placing feed and minerals for deer in counties within 10 miles of CWD cases remains prohibited.
• No CWD Portion - MDC removed the CWD portion of firearms deer season to simplify regulations. This will not significantly affect the deer harvest.
• County Rotation CWD Sampling - Mandatory CWD sampling during the November firearms deer opening weekend will now take place in every county once every four years. In 2026, CWD sampling will take place in 28 counties on November 14 and 15.
• CWD Management Permits - MDC increased the minimum acreage requirement to at least 20 contiguous acres for CWD Management Permits and simplified the application process.
• No Targeted Deer Removals - MDC will no longer conduct targeted deer removals after deer season. Instead, MDC will work with hunters, landowners and other partners to develop a localized approach where hunter harvest is the primary CWD and deer management tool.
More about these regulation changes and other information is available in MDC’s 2026 “Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” booklet, available online at mdc.mo.gov, or call (573) 751-4115.
Lead-Free Ammo Rebates Available
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) has partnered with Conservation Science Global to offer hunters rebates of up to $60 for lead-free ammunition use.
Lead bullet fragments can remain in field dressed gut piles or deer carcasses and are easily consumed by many scavengers. The fragments can be deadly to scavengers. To help reduce such impacts, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) has partnered with Conservation Science Global to offer rebates of up to $60 for lead-free ammunition use. The eligible ammo includes factory-loaded ammo, lead free bullets used in reloading and slugs or sabots. Hunters can purchase lead-free ammo at any time and location to meet the eligibility requirements. Hunters will need to include their contact information, the name of the store where the lead-free ammo was purchased, a copy of the receipt (photo or PDF) and a copy of their New York state deer license. For complete information on how to get a rebate, visit https://huntersforconservation.org/new-york. For information on New York’s deer hunting and lead-free ammo, visit https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hunting/deer-bear/non-lead-ammunition.
Texas Ticks And African Swine Fever
African swine fever, potentially spread by wildlife, could be headed to North America, and Texas A&M researchers are studying it, to come up with management strategies. Photo: Slatan/Shutterstock
A small, nest-dwelling tick found across large parts of Texas could play an outsized role in how the United States responds to African swine fever (ASF) should this virus reach US domestic or wild pigs. Though ASF is not currently in the U.S., it is present in the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. Scientists say ASF is “on our doorstep.” ASF is highly contagious and often fatal in pigs, making it one of the most economically devastating livestock diseases in the world. The research project seeks to understand whether Texas populations of the tick could help sustain or transmit the virus if it were introduced into the U.S. — and how that risk could affect the food supply, trade and cross-border livestock movement. The study is part of a $1.4 million Department of Homeland Security-funded research project. Researchers at Texas A&M mapped where Ornithodoros turicata — a soft tick species native to Texas and the southwestern United States — is most likely to survive and examined what that means for ASF preparedness. ASF spreads primarily through direct contact between infected pigs, contaminated feed or meat products and infected environments. However, in parts of Africa, where the virus is endemic, it’s maintained in wildlife through soft ticks in the same genus as O. turicata. Unlike the common hard ticks most people encounter, soft ticks behave differently. They live inside animal dens and burrows rather than on vegetation. They feed at night and quickly — often for less than an hour — and then retreat back into crevices. They can live for a decade or more. If ASF were introduced into pig populations and also infected local tick populations, those long-lived ticks could allow the virus to persist even after infected animals are removed. This puts the $50 billion U.S. pork industry, as well as feral pigs, are at risk from ASF. Where ASF has been introduced, outbreaks have led to mass depopulation of swine herds, long-term trade restrictions and billions of dollars in losses. Research showed most of Texas is suitable tick habitat. It also suggested potential northward expansion and highlighted highly suitable areas in southeastern Georgia, where the tick has not yet been documented. Warmth and moisture were key to tick habitat. Researchers are also concerned about wildlife hosting the tick and ASF. If ASF were introduced, pig-to-pig transmission would likely drive early spread. However, the tick vectors could extend the duration of an outbreak and complicate eradication efforts. Wild hog populations add another layer of complexity. Feral swine are widespread and difficult to control, potentially amplifying and bridging domestic and wildlife populations. In parts of South Texas, the presence of free-ranging African warthogs further elevates concern. Warthogs can have the virus and not be sick. The study is available online, Visit onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.72738.
North Dakota Upland Birds Up
North Dakota pheasant numbers, according to late summer surveys, were up 3.8%. Photo: Hans Veth/Unsplash
North Dakota’s late summer roadside surveys show pheasant and sharptail grouse numbers are up slightly, but Hungarian partridge numbers are down. Total pheasants observed (80 per 100 miles) are up 3.8% from last year. Broods per 100 miles (9.6) and average brood size (5.3) are similar to last year. The statewide number of pheasants observed per 100 miles is 57% above the 10-year average. The northwestern region showed a 7% increase, to 85 pheasants per 100 miles. Broods per 100 miles and average brood size were also up slightly to 10.5 broods, with an average brood size of 4.7 chicks. The southeastern region showed slight declines. The highest pheasant counts came from the southwest, with 112 pheasants and 13 broods per 100 miles. Meanwhile, sharptail numbers are down, due to another year of poor production, due to extremely hot, dry stretches this summer. Sharptails numbers were up 16% statewide (9.7 sharptails per 100 miles), but remain 31% below the 10-year average. Brood survey results showed 1.1 broods per 100 miles and an average brood size of 5 chicks. Hungarian partridges observed per 100 miles were down 17% (13 partridge per 100 miles). Observers recorded 1.2 broods per 100 miles, and 8 chicks per brood.
Ohio’s 2027 Turkey, Bass, Otter Proposals
Ohio anglers could see simplified regulations come spring of 2027. Photo: Natali Martynova/Unsplash
Ohio spring turkey hunters and bass anglers may be facing some new regulations come 2027. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) proposed changes to spring wild turkey hunting dates and simplified bass fishing regulations in August. Comments on the proposed regulations were taken through the end of September, with a vote on the proposed changes by the Ohio Wildlife Council scheduled for October 28. The proposed spring turkey hunting changes include separate youth dates for the south zone (April 17 - 18) and northeast zone (April 24 - 25), and a split turkey season for other hunters – South Zone, covering most of Ohio, April 24 to May 23; Northeast Zone, covering Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull counties, May 1 to May 30. The changes are focused on better aligning with turkey nesting. Hunting hours for youth weekends were proposed to be 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. In the South Zone and Northeast Zone, hunting hours for the first nine days of each season were proposed to be from 30 minutes before sunrise until noon. The remainder of the season legal hours are from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. The bass fishing proposals aim to simplify length limits and daily bag limits for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Under the proposal, most waterbodies with site-specific bass regulations would fall under the statewide limit of five bass and minimum length of 12 inches. If approved, the fishing regulation changes would take effect March 1, 2027. Also, a proposal to provide an online game check option for river otter trapping is being considered. If approved, this would take effect November 15, 2026. Visit ohiodnr.gov or call 1-800-WILDLIFE (945-3543) or (614) 265-6300 for updates on these proposals.
Hunting Habitat Still Recovering At Fort Robinson
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) officials say habitat conditions at Fort Robinson State Park and adjacent lands have been heavily affected by wildfire and won’t be as productive as usual.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) officials say habitat conditions at Fort Robinson State Park and adjacent lands have been heavily affected by wildfire and won’t be as productive as usual. Mike Morava, regional park superintendent for NGPC, said the landscape is slowly recovering from the South Fork Fire, which burned about 40,000 acres including most of the park in June. Rainfall has been limited since the fire, and Morava said wildlife populations are substantially down in most of the burned areas. Those who hunt the area should be careful, he said. Some fences and gates with hazardous barbed wire are down in areas of the burn. Trees that were weakened from fire have begun falling over. The lack of vegetation also has increased the risk of flash flooding. Similar conditions may be found on other public lands where fire occurred, including Fort Robinson Wildlife Management Area, Peterson Wildlife Management Area, the Soldier Creek Wilderness and Nebraska National Forest. Some areas of Fort Robinson that didn’t burn have been grazed more heavily than usual by the park’s livestock because of the shortage of range forage prompted by drought and the fire. Visit outdoornebraska.gov or call (402) 471-0641.
Montana Vaccinates Nearly 900 Bats At Libby Dam
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks biologists, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff, and partners from six additional government agencies and nongovernment organizations vaccinated nearly 900 bats against white nose syndrome at Libby Dam in July. Photo: Daniel Istvanko/Shutterstock
In late July, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff, and partners from six additional government agencies and nongovernment organizations did something no one has ever done before. Anywhere. On the night of July 29 between 10 p.m. and midnight, 43 people worked together to trap and vaccinate 888 bats against white-nose syndrome (WNS) at Libby Dam. Researchers have demonstrated, in both lab and field studies, that the vaccine is safe for bats and increases their chance of survival. It doesn’t prevent bats from getting infected by the fungus that causes WNS, but it helps them fight the infection. Bats play an incredibly important role in Montana’s ecosystem health and agriculture. White Nose Syndrome was first detected in eastern Montana in 2020, followed by confirmation of the disease in 2021. By 2022, 98 percent – about 2,000 – of the bats hibernating in Azure Cave died. The same fungus was detected at Libby Dam in 2025. WNS does not impact all bat species. Of those impacted, some are hit harder than others. The Libby Dam bat colony is one of the largest maternity colonies in the state, a mix of Yuma and little brown bats, species heavily impacted by WNS.
Wisconsin Issues 2026-2028 Fish Consumption Booklet
.jpg)
Wisconsin’s “Choose Wisely” booklet lists the consumption advisories for fish caught from waterbodies across the state. Photo: Jim Crowley/Unsplash
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS), recently published an online version of the 2026-2028 Choose Wisely booklet, which outlines consumption guidelines for fish caught from waterbodies across the state. While fish are a great source of lean protein and healthy omega-3 fats, pollutants from the water they live in and the food they eat can build up in their bodies. Some pollutants can build up to levels that can be harmful to wildlife and humans who eat fish. WDNR routinely samples fish from popular fishing areas and waters with suspected pollution and contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a type of PFAS. Scientists use the levels of contamination found in the fish and the best available evidence for how those contaminants affect human health to determine how much fish is safe to eat over a lifetime. Sean Strom, WDNR environmental toxicologist, said it’s important for anglers who frequently eat fish to check for new advisory updates. The last “Choose Wisely” was from 2024. Certain locations, such as parts of the Yahara River Chain of Lakes and the Wisconsin and La Crosse rivers, now have more restrictive consumption advisories, including "Do Not Eat" for some species. WDNR and WDHS encourage anglers who eat fish from Wisconsin’s waters to review the newly updated recommendations to ensure they are following current safe-eating guidelines. Visit dnr.wisconsin.gov or call 1-888-936-7463.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Maine Trappers’ Association
The Central Maine Chapter will hold its annual Fall Fur Auction, December 13 at the Palmyra Community Center, 4 Madawaska Rd., Palmyra, Maine. Doors open at 7 a.m., auction begins at 8 a.m. Wardens will be on site to tag fur, 3% commission charged. Call Ted Perkins (207) 570-6243.
Pennsylvania Trappers’ Association
The Pennsylvania Trappers Association, District No. 10 Fur Sale will take place on Saturday, January 16, at the Stockertown Rod and Gun Club, located at 206 Lefevre Road, in Stockertown. Doors open at 7 a.m., the sale begins at 9 a.m. Contact Bob (610) 759-9203.
Indiana State Trappers’ Association
The Indiana State Trappers’ Association will hold its 2027 ISTA fur sales on two dates: The first takes place on January 30, 2027, at the Selvin Community Center, located at 11900 Yellowbanks Trail, in Dale, Indiana. (Note change of location.) The second takes place on February 13, 2027, at the Miami County Fairgrounds, located at1029 W 200 N, in Peru Indiana. You must be an ISTA member to sell. Lot numbers can be purchased prior to the sale date, and both events should attract fur buyers from several states. Doors open at 8 a.m. Both sales begin promptly at 9 a.m. Dale is in the Central time zone, and Peru is in the Eastern time zone. For information call or text Byron Tiede at (219)-863-3803.
Idaho Trappers Association
The Idaho Trappers’ Association (ITA) will hold three fur sale in the coming months: The Upper Snake Trappers’ Fur Sale will take place February 12 and 13 at the Bannock County Event Center, located at 10588 Fairground Drive. A second fur sale will take place March 12 through 14 at the Elmore County Fairgrounds, located at 855 E. 1st Avenue, in Glenns Ferry. The third fur sale, a second Upper Snake Trappers’ Fur Sale, will take place April 10, at the Rupert Civic Center, located at 620 F Street, in Rupert. For more information about these three fur sales, call Rusty Kramer at (208) 870-3217.
West Virginia Trappers’ Association
The West Virginia Trappers Association will hold their annual fur auction March 5 through 7 at the Gilmer County Recreation Center, 1365 Sycamore Run Road, in Glenville, West Virginia. Vendors will be present. Consignment for finished fur begins at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The fur auction is on Sunday, March 7 at 1 p.m. Contact Jeremiah Whitlatch (304) 916-3329 or e-mail info@wvtrappers.com.
Independent Fur Harvesters of Central New York
The Independent Fur Harvesters of Central New York will hold a fur auction, Saturday March 6, at the Pompey Rod & Gun Club, located at 2035 Swift Rd. in Fabius, New York. Check in is 8 a.m., the auction starts at 9 a.m. There is a 10% commission on all sales. No skunks, per the location. Contact Mike Kraus (315) 440-0318, or email mkraus6224@gmail.com.
Coming in our December 2026 Issue
Features
• Forget The Script - Phil Goes takes his friend Jay on a river float for whitetails and
discovers there are warmer ways to hunt deer.
• 50 Years Of Rabbit Hunting - Dave Fisher looks at his how his rabbit hunting has changed across his half-century of experience.
• Not This Time, Trap Burglars! - Rachel Langley and husband Jake must thwart coons to catch North Dakota fishers. Here’s their adventure.
• New Mexi-Mearns - Seeking a respite from Wyoming’s winter bite, Garhart Stephenson and his border collie, Tucker, head to New Mexico for Mearns’s quail.
• Tracking Deer In New Hampshire - Jake Mowry shares the experience of hunting whitetails by tracking them in New Hampshire snow, a New England classic.
• Curlew Lake Ice Fishing Adventure - Richy J. Harrod and his crew head to Washington state to catch trout and experience a “perch palooza” on ice.
Other Stories
• Blue Hour Memories – Garrett Boop shares his memories of introducing his daughter, Maddie, to trapping and the experiences they shared.
• Paste Bait For Trout – Mike Valoski shares his tips for using paste bait on trout.
• Remakes - Mike Bodenchuk looks at how to maximize returns for trap set remakes.
• Weird Sets – Serge Lariviere looks at some of the odd sets that producing surprising results he encountered over time.
• A Family Friendly Deer Hunt – South Carolina’s Marc Epstein shares his experiences as a former Santee • National Wildlife Refuge manager on deer hunts there that focused on getting kids, later families, out hunting.
• An Ode To Autumn – Aaron Payne reflects on his father's influence in his deer hunting experiences.
End of the Line Photo of the Month
Ronnie Robichaud, St. Marie, NB, Canada
Subscribe to this newsletter
Put Subscribe in the subject line and include your first and last name.
SUBSCRIBE TO FUR-FISH-GAME Magazine
