News
Dated reports and commentary, with original reporting linked in each article.
News · September 4, 2026
Mississippi has designated September 26 as National Hunting and Fishing Day for 2026, with a straightforward invitation: take someone new hunting or fishing.
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News · September 4, 2026
A new congressional inquiry is looking at who receives taxpayer-funded attorney fee reimbursements in environmental lawsuits and how those payments are used. It is an oversight investigation, not a change to hunting seasons,…
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News · September 3, 2026
Want to learn to fly fish without buying a pile of equipment before your first lesson? Chadron State Park has a hands-on class scheduled for October 10, with the rods, materials and tools provided. Nebraska Game and Parks will…
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News · September 2026
Minnesota is preparing a restoration program for oak savannas, the open, oak-dotted habitat between tallgrass prairie and woodland. The work is aimed at reconnecting remaining habitat in the central and southeastern parts of the…
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News · September 4, 2026
South Carolina's public forums on deer hunting with dogs have wrapped up. The immediate takeaway for hunters: the meetings did not change the rules. Current deer-dog hunting laws remain in place, and normal enforcement…
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News · September 4, 2026
Tyler Harmon took his son fishing hoping to put a little catfish on the end of his line. Instead, three generations of his family wound up in an 18-foot jon boat with a West Virginia record. Harmon's Ohio River blue catfish…
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News · September 4, 2026
A little native fish in Kansas is a good reminder that conservation work does not always come with antlers or a grip-and-grin photo. Sometimes it means keeping a population alive for decades while the chance to restore it is…
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News · September 3, 2026
Massachusetts tried to shake off a lawsuit over delayed nonresident carry permits by pointing out that the plaintiffs eventually got their licenses. A federal judge was not willing to let it disappear that easily. In Lawson v.…
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News · September 3, 2026
Kentucky just got the kind of access win hunters should pay attention to: 54,560 acres protected as Cumberland Forest Wildlife Management Area in the heart of the state’s eastern elk zone. This land south of Pineville had been…
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News · September 3, 2026
Tennessee elk country is getting some hands-on habitat work where it matters. On the Ed Carter Unit of North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, RMEF and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency cleared a 30-acre plot that had…
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News · September 4, 2026
NOAA Fisheries has updated recreational fishing effort and catch estimates for hundreds of species going all the way back to 1981. That sounds like dry data work, but every saltwater angler knows these numbers eventually show up…
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News · September 3, 2026
Eastern Nevada is a reminder that public land on a map does not mean much if regular people cannot actually get to it. Around Ely, the Schell Creek and Egan ranges hold big country managed by BLM and the Humboldt-Toiyabe…
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News · September 3, 2026
Mississippi red snapper anglers are getting another shot, but it comes with the kind of rules everybody needs to know before backing down the ramp. The state recreational red snapper season in Mississippi territorial waters…
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News · September 3, 2026
Atlantic mackerel are not moving like they used to, and NOAA Fisheries is leaning on both science and fishermen to figure out what is actually happening on the water. For years, mackerel followed a familiar seasonal track across…
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News · September 2, 2026
The national doe-harvest conversation is finally moving in the right direction, but some states still need hunters to quit treating antlerless tags like an afterthought. The National Deer Association’s latest look at antlerless…
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News · September 2, 2026
A new Third Circuit ruling should have every gun owner paying attention, even if machine guns are not part of your world. The bigger issue is how courts treat the Second Amendment when registration schemes get waved off as no…
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News · September 2, 2026
Tom Davidson Sr. going into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame is more than a nice plaque for a flats fisherman. It is a reminder that some of the best conservation work starts when anglers see a problem and refuse to shrug it off.…
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News · September 2, 2026
Isle Royale is dealing with the part of predator country that does not fit cleanly on a postcard. Wolves have been showing too much interest in campers, and the park is shutting down tent and hammock camping at four eastern…
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News · September 1, 2026
The fight over Northern Rocky Mountain wolves is headed back into the Ninth Circuit, and it matters to anyone who believes recovered predators should be managed with real-world tools instead of permanent courtroom gridlock. The…
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News · September 1, 2026
Two illegally killed turkeys in Tennessee turned into a much bigger case, and the ending is exactly the kind of message poachers need to hear: a lifetime hunting ban. TWRA says the case started March 28 after a citizen reported…
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News · September 1, 2026
Vermont’s bear rules are getting a hard public look, and that is exactly what should happen when a state is deciding how to manage a real big-game population. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board is weighing changes that would…
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News · September 1, 2026
Louisiana has another conservation funding window open, and groups with shovel-ready habitat and access work should not sleep on it. The Louisiana Outdoors Forever Technical Advisory Board is taking pre-applications for its…
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News · August 31, 2026
California’s Sept. 1 dove opener is more than another date on the calendar. For a lot of hunters, it is the first real signal that fall is here, and for plenty of new hunters it is their first legal bird hunt. The season opens…
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News · August 31, 2026
Here is a land deal that actually means something on the ground: more protected habitat and more room for the public to hunt, hike and backpack in southwest Montana. In the Tobacco Root Mountains west of Bozeman, a 396-acre…
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News · August 31, 2026
Poaching is not hunting. Shooting deer and leaving them to rot is theft from every legal hunter, every landowner and every kid who is trying to learn the right way to do this. Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers are asking…
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News · August 31, 2026
Yellowstone is making a hard fisheries-management call on Buffalo Creek, and the reason is simple: native cutthroat need protection from invasive fish before the damage spreads farther. Buffalo Creek, a tributary of Slough Creek…
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News · August 31, 2026
Four South Carolina anglers are facing wildlife charges after officers say they were caught well over the flounder limit in Georgetown County. This is the kind of case that reminds everyone why bag and size limits are not…
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News · August 31, 2026
Montana anglers are getting some water back, and that is good news when it is backed by cooler conditions instead of wishful thinking. Hoot-owl fishing restrictions are being lifted on the Smith and Sun Rivers in FWP Region 4…
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News · August 31, 2026
Georgia has a new saltwater record on the books, and this one did not just edge out the old mark. It stomped it. The Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division certified Chris A. Germano of St. Simons Island with a 42-pound,…
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News · August 31, 2026
California salmon anglers need to pay attention on the lower Klamath. The spit fishery at the mouth of the river is closing to angling at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, and it will stay closed for the rest of the 2026 season.…
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News · August 31, 2026
Good fisheries do not happen by accident. They need water, forage, cover and people willing to do the slow habitat work that never gets as much attention as a grip-and-grin photo. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries…
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News · August 30, 2026
This is the kind of conservation story that deserves more attention: local hunters and volunteers getting off the couch and improving public ground with their own hands. Pheasants Forever volunteers in Lyon County, Minnesota,…
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News · August 28, 2026
Fishing gets stronger when more people have a real path into it, and that includes women who want more than a sales pitch and a pink rod on the rack. They need time on the water, straight instruction and a community that treats…
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News · August 28, 2026
Coastal habitat does not come back because somebody writes a nice slogan about it. It comes back when people move dirt, rebuild islands, stabilize shorelines and stick with the work long enough for birds, oysters and fish to use…
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News · August 27, 2026
Fish habitat is where conservation gets real. Not in a slogan, not in a fundraising buzzword, but in coldwater streams, wetlands, culverts, spawning gravel, estuaries and the ugly little problem spots that decide whether a…
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News · August 28, 2026
Colorado hunters, trappers and anglers have another commission meeting worth watching, because the agenda reaches straight into how people use public wildlife resources. These are not small details when they decide seasons,…
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News · August 28, 2026
Illinois just got another reminder that invasive carp are not some distant problem you can ignore until they hit the boat ramp. Young silver carp showing up farther north in the Illinois River is exactly the kind of sign…
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News · August 28, 2026
A Wilmington angler just put a new North Carolina yellowfin grouper record on the board, and the best part is how ordinary the trip sounded before one fish changed the whole day. That is offshore fishing. You can grind through a…
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News · August 28, 2026
The National Elk Refuge is looking at a new long-term plan for bison, elk and habitat, and this is the kind of wildlife management work that deserves more than a headline skim. Big herds, winter range, disease risk, public…
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News · August 27, 2026
Atlantic menhaden are small fish with a big job, and managers are again taking public input on how much industrial reduction harvest should be allowed in Chesapeake Bay. If you fish the coast, you should understand why this…
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News · August 28, 2026
Mississippi offshore anglers are getting a September window for two hard-pulling fish, but it is not a season to stumble into without knowing the dates. These openings are short, and the clock matters. The Mississippi Department…
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News · August 28, 2026
Alaska is shutting down coho fishing in a pair of Juneau-area waters, and the reason is not complicated: not enough fish are making it back. When escapement keeps missing the mark, managers either act now or everyone pays later.…
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News · August 27, 2026
This is the kind of case that needs to be separated hard from legal hunting. A poacher is not a hunter who made a paperwork mistake. A poacher steals from the resource, from lawful hunters and from every kid waiting for their…
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News · August 27, 2026
A 44-inch lake trout out of Payette Lake is a trophy fish story, but the better story is what happened before that fish ever hit the net. Big fish do not show up by accident when a fishery has been out of balance. Kim Anderson…
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News · August 26, 2026
Fish habitat does not fix itself, and it sure does not survive on slogans. The work takes money, partners and people willing to deal with culverts, dams, stream connectivity, spawning water and the unglamorous pieces that decide…
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News · August 26, 2026
Idaho fall Chinook season is open, but anglers need to pay attention before they throw gear in the truck and head for the Clearwater, Snake or Salmon rivers. The opportunity is there, but the rules changed for a reason. Idaho’s…
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News · August 26, 2026
South Atlantic red snapper has been one of the clearest examples of what happens when fishermen can see fish on the water but the management system still hands them seasons measured in hours or days. That kind of disconnect…
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News · August 26, 2026
North Carolina is taking a cautious first step back into elk hunting, and that is a big deal for anyone who understands restoration as more than putting animals on a postcard. When a herd grows to the point that limited, legal…
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News · August 25, 2026
This is the kind of conservation that does not need a press-conference backdrop. It needs boots, shovels, sweat and people willing to leave public ground better than they found it. On Aug. 22, volunteers gathered on the Hiawatha…
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News · August 26, 2026
Nobody loves buying another license, but this is the part some folks forget: those dollars are supposed to go back into the fishery. When that money is used right, anglers are not just buying permission. They are funding the…
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News · August 26, 2026
Wyoming hunters and anglers have every reason to watch a leadership change at Game and Fish closely. Agency names on letterhead do not mean much if the priorities drift away from habitat, access and sound wildlife management.…
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News · August 25, 2026
A sick fish story out of Vermont is a good reminder that fisheries management is not just stocking trout and arguing over limits. Sometimes it is disease work, lab work and figuring out what is going wrong before it spreads or…
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News · August 25, 2026
A fishing trip in the Florida Keys turned serious fast when lightning hit a charter boat near Islamorada and left the vessel disabled. It is the kind of reminder every boat owner and fisherman ought to take seriously, especially…
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News · August 24, 2026
Missouri is still putting one of its old native predators back where it belongs, and that is good fisheries management whether the fish has teeth or not. The Missouri Department of Conservation’s alligator gar restoration…
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News · August 24, 2026
Arkansas is putting conservation in front of kids in a way that actually sounds useful: wild game, habitat, debate, field knowledge and problem-solving instead of just another poster on a classroom wall. The Arkansas Game and…
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News · August 24, 2026
North Carolina just got a hard reminder that coastal fish do not belong to the loudest lobby, the biggest net or the most comfortable bureaucracy. They belong to the public, and the state has a duty to manage them like it. Wake…
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News · August 24, 2026
The Forest Service is taking another swing at the Travel Management Rule, and anybody who hunts, fishes, traps, scouts or camps on national forest ground should pay attention. Access is never just a line on a map. It decides who…
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News · August 24, 2026
Louisiana waterfowl hunters are getting a new early opportunity this fall, and it is a good example of rules following what birds are actually doing on the landscape. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved the…
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News · August 24, 2026
Alabama hunters and fishermen have a new license system to deal with today, and this is one of those boring-sounding changes that actually matters when opening day is staring you in the face. When 2026-2027 hunting and fishing…
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News · August 24, 2026
Florida fisheries do not run on wishful thinking. They run on habitat, water, food, and enough real data to know what is happening under the surface. The 2026-2027 Forage Fish Research Program fellows have been announced, and…
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News · August 24, 2026
Louisiana red snapper fishermen are getting two more shots at the private recreational season, but the window is tight and the details matter. LA Creel data shows 35,109 pounds remain in Louisiana’s 2026 annual private…
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News · August 22, 2026
Minnesota just added another piece of ground where ducks, pheasants, deer, pollinators and regular hunters all win. The Bruce Behm Tract adds 197 acres to the Burr Oak Lake Waterfowl Production Area a few miles northeast of…
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News · August 21, 2026
Michigan duck hunters just bought time for four state-managed waterfowl areas, but nobody should confuse a bailout with a fix. After budget problems threatened to reduce daily hunting opportunities for the 2026 waterfowl season,…
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News · August 21, 2026
Michigan is testing a deer rule that puts the hard truth right on the table: if you want better buck structure and fewer deer on the landscape, somebody has to shoot does. Hunters in five Lower Peninsula counties may be able to…
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News · August 21, 2026
The silver carp fight near Lake Michigan just got another warning light. Sampling crews removed hundreds of juvenile silver carp from the Marseilles Pool of the Illinois River on Aug. 13 and 14, according to the Illinois…
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News · August 21, 2026
Pennsylvania elk hunters are looking at the biggest rule shakeup since the modern elk season began. Archery elk season opens Sept. 12, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission has redrawn elk hunt zones for the first time in more…
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News · August 21, 2026
The Forest Service fight has never been just about trees. It has always been about whether public land stays usable for the people who hunt it, fish it, manage it, fight fire on it and depend on it. The agency manages 154…
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News · August 21, 2026
Camp Bullis just showed what hunters can do when they stop talking about access and start building it. On Aug. 15, hunters and volunteers at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis turned out for a public land workday on the…
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News · August 21, 2026
Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge is opening a cooperative agriculture opportunity, and it is a good reminder that conservation on working landscapes is not always clean, pretty or simple. The refuge in Nevada is offering fall…
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News · August 21, 2026
Anglers at Burt Dam got the kind of access win that is easy to take for granted until a “No Trespassing” sign shows up. The Town of Newfane, New York, announced Aug. 14 that public access below Burt Dam on Eighteen Mile Creek…
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News · August 20, 2026
Grizzly bear recovery has to lead somewhere besides permanent federal limbo. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed revising the Endangered Species Act 4(d) rule for grizzly bears in the Lower 48. The change would give…
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News · August 20, 2026
Pennsylvania just cut loose a century-old layer of fish and game law enforcement, and hunters and anglers should be paying attention. The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Fish & Boat Commission have jointly ended their…
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News · August 20, 2026
Pacific bluefin tuna are showing what can happen when countries actually manage a highly migratory fish instead of just arguing over who gets the last one. A joint working group between the Inter-American Tropical Tuna…
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News · August 19, 2026
South Atlantic red snapper anglers may still get a shot at a real season this year, but it is tied to data, accountability and a fast public comment window. Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have submitted revised exempted…
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News · August 19, 2026
Pennsylvania trout anglers are getting a new statewide minimum size, and the numbers behind it are aimed straight at protecting wild brook trout. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will raise the…
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News · August 19, 2026
Florida water is not a theme park, and Silver River just handed out a brutal reminder. A woman swimming in the Silver River near Ocala lost her right arm after a nearly 10-foot alligator grabbed her on Aug. 8. She was with a…
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News · August 20, 2026
Idaho just picked up $1.65 million in federal access money, and this is exactly the kind of program hunters and anglers ought to be watching. Idaho Fish and Game says the grant will support and expand Access Yes!, the state…
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News · August 19, 2026
Kent County, Michigan, is trying something that more places with suburban deer problems should be willing to try: connect responsible hunters with private landowners instead of pretending deer manage themselves. A new online…
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News · August 19, 2026
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is turning 50, and it is worth remembering what public land can look like when conservation stays connected to regular people. The refuge was established on Oct. 8, 1976, after decades…
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News · August 19, 2026
A North Carolina court just put a hard line under something fishermen have been saying for years: coastal fisheries are not disposable, and the state has a legal duty to protect them. Wake County Superior Court ruled in favor of…
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News · August 19, 2026
Nebraska’s new Public Access Atlas is out, and this is the kind of access tool hunters, trappers and anglers should actually use. The 2026-2027 atlas pulls together more than 1.3 million acres of publicly accessible land across…
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News · August 18, 2026
The U.S. Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, and every hunter and angler who uses national forests should be paying attention. The agency says the roadless rule has…
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News · August 18, 2026
Louisiana is opening a recreational alligator harvest lottery, and this is what regulated use of a recovered predator resource looks like. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says applications open Aug. 20 and run…
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News · August 17, 2026
Montana is putting a weekly lottery on hunting access at Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks, and the important part is this: hunting is staying on the landscape. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will limit access to…
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News · August 17, 2026
Alaska is shutting down coho retention in the Susitna and Little Susitna River drainages, and the numbers explain why. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says no coho salmon 16 inches or longer may be retained in those…
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News · August 17, 2026
CWD is not just an adult deer problem, and hunters need to pay attention to what the research is starting to show. A 2025 northern Illinois study found CWD-positive does were no less likely to get pregnant than negative does.…
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News · August 17, 2026
Florida’s Python Challenge just put another hard number on the invasive predator problem in the Everglades. The 10-day event ran July 10-19 and drew more than 900 participants. Together they removed 280 Burmese pythons. Veteran…
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News · August 17, 2026
New Jersey saltwater anglers are being asked to put real catch information on the table before future summer flounder and black sea bass regulations get shaped. NJDEP Fish & Wildlife and the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council…
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News · August 14, 2026
Public-land decisions are not just made in Congress. A lot of them are made through agency plans, comment windows, access proposals, habitat projects, and management changes most people never see until the decision is already…
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News · August 17, 2026
Menhaden are not just bait. They are the groceries that keep predator fish, birds, and marine mammals alive. When industrial boats strip the forage base, every fisherman down the line pays for it. The north-central Gulf is back…
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News · August 17, 2026
Massachusetts has a new permanent fish and wildlife chief, and the job matters to everyone who hunts, fishes, traps, manages habitat, or cares about science-based conservation in the state. The Massachusetts Division of…
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News · August 14, 2026
Wisconsin’s northern elk country is getting the kind of habitat work that actually puts food on the ground. In the Great Divide Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, RMEF and its partners have put more than…
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News · August 14, 2026
A sailfish tournament win is worth more when it puts real data back into the fishery. The Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series and Fish Bluewater have tied championship bragging rights to billfish conservation through The…
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News · August 14, 2026
Florida’s Gulf gag grouper season is short, and that means anglers who plan ahead get the most out of it. The September opener puts West Coast crews back on one of the Gulf’s best nearshore opportunities. Gag grouper can live…
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News · August 14, 2026
Florida marine conservation just got another local boost from anglers willing to put money behind the resource. CCA Florida’s 26th Annual Orlando BBQ fundraiser drew more than 150 guests to Mud Hole Custom Tackle’s Curt Baker…
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News · August 14, 2026
Hunters and anglers just got one of the biggest public-access wins the refuge system has ever seen. The Department of the Interior says a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service final rule will add 1,488 hunting and sportfishing…
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News · August 14, 2026
Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada has a habitat-management proposal on the table, and the public comment window is short. USFWS opened a 21-day comment period on a draft environmental assessment and draft…
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News · August 14, 2026
Idaho anglers have a salvage order at Oakley Reservoir, and it is not because the fishing is too good. It is because the water is disappearing. Idaho Fish and Game issued a fish salvage order for Oakley Reservoir, also known as…
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News · August 14, 2026
Billfish management needs real movement data, not guesswork, and anglers are helping put that information on the table. The Billfish Foundation says its Groundswell Projects satellite tagging work is producing new information on…
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News · August 13, 2026
Washington hunters and anglers have another commission meeting worth paying attention to. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is meeting August 13 through 15 in Long Beach, with the sessions also available online. The…
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News · August 13, 2026
Nebraska has real wildlife management business on the calendar, and hunters should not sleep through it. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is set to meet Friday, August 14, at the Blair Public Library. Commissioners are…
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News · August 13, 2026
Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission has a meeting loaded with issues that touch both fish and hunters. The commission is scheduled to meet Friday, August 14, at ODFW headquarters in Salem with an online stream available.…
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News · August 13, 2026
A Montana bison hunt that has been used as a herd-management tool since 2018 has been canceled after the Bureau of Land Management revoked American Prairie’s bison grazing permits. That wipes out a rare public opportunity:…
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News · August 14, 2026
Low water is changing the access game at Nebraska’s Lake McConaughy, and boaters need to plan before they show up at the ramp. Nebraska Game and Parks says private boat launch services will be the best access option at Lake…
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News · August 12, 2026
Atlantic menhaden are not just bait. They are the groceries for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, whales, ospreys, and a pile of other saltwater life up and down the East Coast. This fall, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries…
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News · August 12, 2026
Here is a clean-water conservation story that deserves more attention than it will probably get. USFWS, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the Missouri Department of Conservation have been recognized for their work raising, breeding, and…
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News · August 12, 2026
If you fish the coast, run a boat, hunt the marsh, or just like seeing clean water, this is the kind of work that backs up the talk. The 39th Annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup is set for Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 8 a.m. to…
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News · August 12, 2026
Prescribed fire is one of the best habitat tools a landowner has, but plenty of people never use it because they are smart enough to respect it. That is where a Prescribed Burn Association can make a real difference. A…
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News · August 11, 2026
South Carolina red snapper anglers have a short window to speak up on a proposal that could shape how the fishery is counted and managed. SCDNR says NOAA Fisheries has released the state’s revised Atlantic red snapper Exempted…
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News · August 10, 2026
Wildlife commissions do not get to operate above the people they serve. A fourteen-month independent investigation requested by Washington Gov. Ferguson has put fresh heat on the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission. Sportsmen’s…
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News · August 12, 2026
Colorado’s Upper Arkansas River is getting a real shot of water when fish need it most. The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District approved a cooperative effort on August 6 to dedicate up to 2,500 acre-feet of…
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News · August 12, 2026
Here is a conservation win that came from decades of actual wildlife work, not internet outrage. USFWS has finalized a rule downlisting the razorback sucker from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The…
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News · August 11, 2026
Florida Gulf anglers are getting a short gag grouper season, and the dates are tight enough that nobody should be guessing at the ramp. FWC issued an executive order setting the 2026 recreational gag grouper season in Florida…
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News · August 10, 2026
Access is conservation you can actually put your boots on. USFWS says the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund has been putting money into projects that restore habitat, improve water quality, reduce flooding and runoff, and…
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News · August 10, 2026
Mississippi offshore anglers are getting another red snapper window over Labor Day weekend. The season reopens for private recreational anglers and state for-hire vessels at 12:01 a.m. Friday, September 4, 2026, and runs through…
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News · August 10, 2026
A major Second Amendment fight is now sitting in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, and lower courts are already hitting pause. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Viramontes v. Cook County out of Illinois and Grant v. Higgins…
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News · August 10, 2026
A lobster spot is not worth a man’s air supply. That should not have to be said, but here we are. A Florida man is facing an attempted murder charge after an alleged July 29 confrontation during Lobster Mini-Season. According to…
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News · August 10, 2026
Florida Gulf anglers are getting a short, defined shot at greater amberjack this fall. FWC issued an executive order modifying the 2026 recreational season for greater amberjack in Florida state waters of the Gulf. The season…
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News · August 10, 2026
Alabama just put more real money into oyster habitat, and that is good news for more than oyster boats. ADCNR was awarded $7.1 million in Natural Resource Damage Assessment funds for a project called Improving Resilience for…
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News · August 10, 2026
If you fish the Southeast, NOAA is asking for input. Do not sit that out and then complain when the rulebook lands on your head. NOAA Fisheries is holding a virtual On the Water Wednesday meeting on August 19 from 5:00 to 7:00…
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News · August 7, 2026
Florida’s bass reputation is built on big fish, winter tournaments, and lakes people travel across the country to fish. But the water under that reputation is in trouble. Central Florida waters like the Kissimmee Chain, Harris…
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News · August 7, 2026
A new map layer is worth paying attention to if you hunt mule deer on public ground. onX released a Roadless Rule layer showing National Forest lands that do not have traditional road access. The Mule Deer Foundation points out…
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News · August 7, 2026
The National Wildlife Refuge System is not just scenery behind a government sign. It is hunting, fishing, habitat work, waterfowl production, public access, volunteers, biologists, and a whole lot of quiet conservation most…
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News · August 7, 2026
This is the kind of access work that actually changes a hunting season. The Hobble Creek Access Project in western Wyoming opened the door to about 16,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service ground north…
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News · August 7, 2026
Louisiana is pushing for more control over how recreational greater amberjack is managed off its coast, and this is exactly the kind of fight Gulf anglers understand. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a…
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News · August 7, 2026
Fish habitat is not a side issue. It is the whole foundation under every good day on the water. The National Fish Habitat Partnership released the third edition of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, marking 20 years since…
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News · August 6, 2026
The Senate Farm Bill markup stayed clean of anti-hunting and animal-rights amendments, and that is a win worth noting. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry worked through Chairman John Boozman’s Farm Bill…
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News · August 6, 2026
Arkansas just changed the rules for a lot of people using state wildlife areas, and it is bigger than a hunting-license issue. As of July 1, anyone 16 or older using certain Arkansas Game and Fish Commission-owned wildlife…
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News · August 6, 2026
Tennessee bass anglers have a real chance to speak before the next statewide black bass plan gets finalized. TWRA is taking public input on its Tennessee Black Bass Management Plan through September 4, 2026. The plan is meant to…
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News · August 6, 2026
The Colorado River fight is not some distant city-water argument. It is a fish, wildlife, habitat, farming, hydropower, and public-land issue all stacked on one stressed river. On July 31, the Bureau of Reclamation released the…
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News · August 6, 2026
Colorado’s wildlife commission just got a formal warning over how it handled furbearer limits. The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and Safari Club International say the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission violated basic…
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News · August 5, 2026
Idaho is shutting down sturgeon fishing on part of CJ Strike Reservoir, and the reason is not paperwork. It is dead fish. Idaho Fish and Game Director Jim Fredericks signed a conservation closure for sturgeon fishing on the…
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News · August 5, 2026
South Carolina houndsmen and deer hunters need to pay attention to this one. The SCDNR public hearing on deer hunting with dogs scheduled for Monday, August 10, has been moved to a larger venue: FAITH Church, 848 Bells Highway,…
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News · August 5, 2026
Louisiana commercial fishermen are about to hit the stop sign on Greater Amberjack. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issued a Declaration of Emergency closing the commercial Greater Amberjack season in…
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News · August 5, 2026
Public land does not stay good by accident. Somebody has to put boots on the ground and do the work. The National Deer Association has five Public Land Workday events lined up in August, with projects scheduled in Missouri,…
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News · August 5, 2026
Pacific halibut anglers just got more room to work off the Oregon and Washington line. The Columbia River subarea — Leadbetter Point, Washington, down to Cape Falcon, Oregon — is opening all-depth Pacific halibut fishing seven…
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News · August 5, 2026
Alaska is tightening the rules on Susitna River coho, and this is the kind of change anglers need to know before they hit the water. ADF&G is reducing the coho salmon bag limit from two fish to one and prohibiting bait in the…
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News · August 4, 2026
Minnesota has a new chronic wasting disease detection, this time in a wild deer near Stillwater. The Minnesota DNR says a landowner reported a female deer that had been hanging around for several days, acting unafraid of people…
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News · August 4, 2026
California anglers can get paid to do something useful for native fish. The 2026 Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby is offering $5,000 in prize money for anglers who catch Sacramento pikeminnow in the Eel River watershed. The…
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News · August 4, 2026
A Colorado mule deer winter range project is getting real money and real work behind it. The Mule Deer Foundation is partnering with the Eagle Ranch HOA, BLM, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife on a habitat restoration and fuels…
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News · August 3, 2026
Oregon sportsmen just caught a break. Initiative Petition 28 — the PEACE Act — failed to qualify for the 2026 general election ballot after state verification left it short of the valid signatures needed. The measure would have…
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News · August 4, 2026
Mississippi deer hunters have another CWD resource to pay attention to before the season gets rolling. MDWFP hosted an educational presentation before the July Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks meeting, with Deer…
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News · August 3, 2026
Thirty-five years of elk work in the Blue Mountains is worth paying attention to. The Blue Mountains Elk Initiative has been operating across northeast Oregon and southeast Washington since 1991, bringing RMEF, ODFW, WDFW, the…
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News · August 3, 2026
A Lake Champlain tournament just gave every angler a plain reminder: know exactly where you are fishing and have the right license in your pocket. Major League Fishing disqualified Chad Mrazek’s Day 1 catch from the Pro Circuit…
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News · August 3, 2026
Wyoming anglers are being told to pay attention to water temperatures, not just the bite. Hot weather, low flows, and record drought conditions are pushing some streams and rivers into the danger zone for trout, and the Wyoming…
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News · August 2, 2026
Idaho Chinook anglers need to check the rulebook before they fish. All Chinook salmon fishing on the South Fork Salmon River closed at the end of fishing hours on July 29 under an Idaho Fish and Game closure order. Salmon…
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News · August 2, 2026
South Carolina hunters have a short window to get in on SCDNR deer lottery hunts. Applications for youth and adult deer lottery hunts are open now through August 15, 2026. For each deer lottery, applicants can choose up to 15…
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News · August 1, 2026
Mississippi hunters have a deadline coming fast. Applications are open for Wildlife Management Area draw hunts for deer, dove, rabbit, and early teal, with the current application window running July 15 through August 15, 2026.…
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News · July 31, 2026
Mississippi’s velvet deer season is back on the calendar, and hunters who want in need the special Velvet Season Permit. Permits are available beginning August 1, 2026, anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold. The season…
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News · July 31, 2026
Two Ohio men who built an outdoor YouTube channel around deer hunting have pleaded guilty to a pile of wildlife violations, and the bill is heavy. William Bethel and Justin Booth, both from Columbus, pleaded guilty to 20 counts…
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News · July 31, 2026
A quiet-sounding federal rule fight over drain tile setbacks has real consequences for ducks, wetlands, and hunter-funded conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region. The issue is how close agricultural drainage systems can be…
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News · August 1, 2026
Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission just got hit with the kind of investigation findings that should make every hunter, angler, and trapper pay attention. An independent investigation ordered after complaints about…
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News · July 31, 2026
Pennsylvania trout anglers are getting a major rule change on January 1, 2027. The statewide minimum size for trout harvest is going from 7 inches to 9 inches, the first statewide increase in more than four decades. The rule…
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Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina has temporarily closed portions of Milltail Road and Long Curve Road after black bears started approaching vehicles with little fear of people. Refuge staff have seen or…
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News · July 31, 2026
West Virginia’s pumpkinseed sunfish record did not just get set this summer. It got set and then broken again less than three weeks later. Ken Neer of Morgantown put the first mark on the board June 25 with a 9.09-inch,…
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New York deer hunters are getting a major rule change built around a simple management problem: too many deer in too many places, and not enough antlerless harvest where it matters most. DEC has finalized a statewide…
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News · July 30, 2026
NOAA Fisheries has finished its 12-month review of a petition to list the smalltail shark under the Endangered Species Act and found that listing is not warranted. The petition came from the Center for Biological Diversity in…
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News · July 30, 2026
Idaho has a new catch-and-release northern pike record, and the story comes with a management angle anglers should not miss. Timothy Hicks caught a 49.75-inch northern pike on June 13 while fishing Lake Pend Oreille, beating the…
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News · July 29, 2026
Maryland striped bass anglers need to put this one on the calendar: targeting striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is closed August 1 through August 31. That means it is not just a keep-or-release issue.…
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News · July 29, 2026
Minnesota deer hunters are getting more opportunity in 2026. The DNR increased harvest opportunity in 43 deer permit areas, while about two-thirds of the state stays the same as last year. No deer permit areas were moved…
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News · July 29, 2026
USFWS is taking public comments on proposed commercial guiding fees at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, and anyone who cares about hunting access on federal refuges should pay attention. The comment…
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News · July 29, 2026
A piece of forest on the north shore of Big Bear Lake is set to stay habitat instead of becoming another housing project. The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust had a $10 million deal in place to buy the property from RCK…
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News · July 29, 2026
New York reopened paddle-in campsites 5 through 11 on Long Pond in the Saint Regis Canoe Area after a nuisance black bear was euthanized. The campsites had been closed while the bear was active along the western and north…
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News · July 28, 2026
California ocean salmon anglers just got an inseason reality check on the North Coast. Federal managers closed the Klamath Management Zone, from the California/Oregon border down to 40º10′ N. latitude, after preliminary numbers…
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News · July 28, 2026
North Carolina is preparing for its first legal elk hunt in modern times. Gov. Josh Stein signed House Bill 747 on July 7, authorizing the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to issue two elk permits for the 2027…
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News · July 28, 2026
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a short public comment window on drain tile setbacks in the Prairie Pothole Region, and waterfowl hunters ought to be paying attention. The deadline is August 7. The Prairie Pothole…
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News · July 28, 2026
The National Deer Association has August public land workdays lined up in Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and Iowa. This is the unglamorous side of conservation: trash bags, sweat, invasive plants, habitat openings, shooting…
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News · July 27, 2026
Oregon’s IP28, also called the PEACE Act, has failed to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. The campaign turned in 142,784 signatures, but state verification found only 104,262 valid signatures. It needed 117,173. That means…
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News · July 27, 2026
Colorado has lowered bag limits for several furbearers, including bobcats, foxes, and raccoons, after action by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. The change means hunters and trappers need to check the current…
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News · July 27, 2026
Wisconsin sturgeon spearers have until August 1, 2026, to apply for a 2027 Upriver Lakes tag or buy a preference point. The drawing covers the Upriver Lakes portion of the Winnebago System: Poygan, Winneconne, and Butte des…
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News · July 27, 2026
The 2026 Special Report on Fishing says 57 million Americans went fishing in 2025, representing 18% of the U.S. population. That is up nearly 25% from a decade ago, and overall fishing outings were up too. That is good news, but…
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News · July 27, 2026
Minnesota is seeing another hard lesson in what prolonged heat can do to a fishery. The DNR says hot summer conditions are stressing fish in lakes, rivers, and streams statewide, with 212 fish mortality reports across 102…
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News · July 27, 2026
Massachusetts is putting $50,000 from saltwater recreational fishing permit revenue into public access projects in Truro, Barnstable, and Chatham. The money comes through the Division of Marine Fisheries and is meant to improve…
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News · July 27, 2026
Georgia’s 2026-2027 Hunting and Fishing Regulations and Seasons guide is now available online and in print through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division. It is not the most exciting reading you…
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News · July 27, 2026
Florida schools will get another shot at bringing fishing and conservation into the classroom when FWC’s School Fishing Program registration opens Thursday, August 20 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. The program is open to brick-and-mortar…
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News · July 27, 2026
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is asking anglers, paddlers, landowners, outfitters, and other stream users to weigh in as it updates management for black bass in the state’s free-flowing warmwater streams. The plan will…
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News · July 24, 2026
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has confirmed non-native brown trout in the Flathead Drainage, including Ashley Lake and a reported fish from Church Slough. That may not sound like much if you are used to brown trout being…
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News · July 24, 2026
An Idaho man has been sentenced to prison and banned from hunting for life after investigators tied him to an illegal guiding operation involving black bears and elk in eastern Idaho. Joelseph Jenkins of Pocatello pleaded guilty…
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News · July 24, 2026
NOAA is developing a strategic plan for shark depredation, and anyone who fishes saltwater knows why this matters. Shark depredation is when sharks remove or damage hooked fish, and it is not just an annoyance. It can mean lost…
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News · July 23, 2026
The Greater Amberjack Count is raising the same kind of question the Great Red Snapper Count raised before it: are federal fishery managers working with population estimates that are too low? Dr. Sean Powers with the University…
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News · July 24, 2026
Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia has introduced the South Atlantic Red Snapper Fair Access Act of 2026, and the idea is simple: if federal managers close South Atlantic red snapper to recreational anglers in federal waters,…
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News · July 23, 2026
Isle Royale National Park has closed the Duncan Narrows and Three Mile campgrounds through at least July 31 after wolves repeatedly moved into developed camping areas, sniffed and pawed at tents, dragged backpacks away, and in…
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News · July 23, 2026
The Department of the Interior has made several major Endangered Species Act changes in a short stretch, and the habitat piece is the one hunters and anglers need to watch closely. One rule removes the regulatory definition of…
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News · July 23, 2026
The Texas kangaroo rat is a tiny nocturnal rodent from the Rolling Plains that moves like its name says, hopping on its hind legs and using a long white-tipped tail for balance. It is not a game animal, but its story still…
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News · July 22, 2026
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court just handed down a 7-0 ruling that matters to every hunter who believes conservation law and property rights both have to mean something. In Punxsutawney Hunting Club, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Game…
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News · July 22, 2026
Massachusetts hunters are down to the wire on S.3064, the bill package that includes repealing the Sunday hunting ban and moving archery reform forward. The bill is in a conference committee now, which means three senators and…
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News · July 22, 2026
More than 100 conservation leaders, fisheries biologists, agency administrators, and B.A.S.S. Nation conservation directors from 34 states gathered in Knoxville for the 2026 B.A.S.S. Conservation Summit. The main issues were not…
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News · July 22, 2026
A pond full of 10- to 14-inch bass might feel like a good problem when kids are catching fish every cast, but biologically it is often a warning sign. Stunted pond bass are usually what happens when too many predators are…
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News · July 22, 2026
The fight for public lands is bigger than any one camp. Hunters, anglers, hikers, climbers, paddlers, backpackers, and working guides may not all use the land the same way, but they are looking at the same locked gates,…
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News · July 21, 2026
More than 200 outdoor recreation businesses and trade groups are telling Congress to move the America the Beautiful Act before the August recess. Good. Public land and public water access do not maintain themselves, and the…
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News · July 21, 2026
The Metlakatla Indian Community in Alaska is pulling 27 abandoned and derelict vessels out of the Annette Islands Reserve, and that is the kind of conservation work that deserves more attention than it usually gets. Old boats…
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News · July 21, 2026
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are releasing about 1,500 zoo-reared Poweshiek skipperlings into restored prairie fens in Michigan and Manitoba this summer. It is the first reintroduction of this endangered…
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News · July 21, 2026
Here is a practical hunting access issue that does not get enough campfire talk: liability. Whether a person owns hunting ground, leases a farm, runs a hunt club, or lets friends and new hunters use a property, the risk is real.…
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News · July 21, 2026
Arkansas smallmouth anglers have new rules to pay attention to, and this is bigger than just another line in the regulation book. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has added eight streams to its Smallmouth Bass Blue Ribbon…
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News · July 20, 2026
Minnesota duck hunters have a rules proposal on the table that is worth reading before everyone starts yelling from the blind. The DNR is taking public comment on an optional three-duck daily bag limit that would run alongside…
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News · July 21, 2026
Idaho has a fisheries management program that understands something simple: sometimes anglers and spearfishers are the tool that makes the most sense. On Lake Pend Oreille, people can earn cash by turning in walleye and lake…
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News · July 20, 2026
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rescinded the blanket 4(d) rule under the Endangered Species Act, and that is a policy change sportsmen should understand. It means threatened species will not automatically be treated the…
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News · July 19, 2026
The Department of the Interior is moving toward giving Western states more room to manage grizzly bears where recovery benchmarks have been met or exceeded. That is exactly the kind of wildlife decision that should be driven by…
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News · July 19, 2026
Oregon sportsmen got a little breathing room, but nobody should mistake it for a finished fight. Initiative Petition 28, the ballot push aimed at gutting hunting, fishing, and animal agriculture in the state, failed its first…
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News · July 19, 2026
Arkansas duck hunters need to keep an eye on St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has proposed a waterfowl hunting draw for part of that northeast Arkansas property, and that could change how…
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News · July 17, 2026
Johnston Atoll just hit the 100-year mark as one of the most remote pieces of America’s wildlife refuge system, and it is a good reminder that conservation is not always happening where people can see it from a road. President…
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News · July 17, 2026
Everybody likes to talk about deer management until it is time to deal with the deer after the shot. Processing capacity matters, and the National Deer Association is putting some work behind that point. NDA and the American…
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News · July 16, 2026
New World screwworm is back in the United States, and this is one of those animal-health issues hunters, ranchers, and wildlife managers need to take seriously without turning it into campfire panic. The parasite is the larval…
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News · July 17, 2026
Florida has another python problem, and this one is not just more snakes spreading out of the Everglades. Wildlife officials say Burmese pythons are now established in part of western Charlotte County, north of the species’…
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News · July 17, 2026
Finding deer is not the only hard part of a Western hunt anymore. A lot of hunters are spending almost as much time figuring out legal access as they are glassing basins. Checkerboard land ownership, shifting boundaries, more…
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News · July 17, 2026
The Roadless Area Rule is back in the crosshairs, and public-land hunters ought to understand what is actually on the map before the comment periods and political noise get rolling. The 2001 rule limits road building and logging…
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News · July 16, 2026
The aeʻo, also called the Hawaiian stilt, is being moved from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. That is good news, but it is not a finish line. It is proof that long-term habitat work and predator…
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News · July 16, 2026
A kid with a rod in his hands is a lot better for the future of fishing than another speech about recruitment. The 38th annual Antler Down Cares Youth and Families Trout Fishing Derby on the Little Red River near Heber Springs,…
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News · July 16, 2026
Wisconsin’s long-running fish-sticks research just picked up a national Sport Fish Restoration Project Award, and the takeaway is simple: habitat work is not window dressing. Done right, it can put more fish in the water. The…
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News · July 16, 2026
Good deer habitat does not happen by accident, and Buffalo Ridge Refuge in western Tennessee is a solid reminder of what active public-land management looks like. The National Deer Association wrapped up its last public…
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News · July 16, 2026
The razorback sucker is being moved from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and that is what a real conservation win looks like: not a victory lap, but proof that long-term work can move a species in the…
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News · July 16, 2026
When the Willow Fire pushed toward the Leadville National Fish Hatchery, hatchery crews and Colorado Parks and Wildlife had to make a fast call: move the fish or risk losing years of native trout work. The fire started about two…
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News · July 16, 2026
Sacramento River salmon fishing is back, and for a lot of California anglers and river-town businesses, that is more than a line on a regulation sheet. For the first time since 2022, bank anglers can target salmon on the…
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News · July 15, 2026
The National Elk Refuge has confirmed a second chronic wasting disease case in an elk, and this is exactly why disease surveillance cannot be treated like background paperwork. The elk was found dead in late April, estimated at…
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News · July 15, 2026
The Interior Department has rolled out a revised proposal that would give Western states more flexibility in managing grizzly bears where recovery benchmarks and population goals have been met. The proposal does not change the…
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News · July 15, 2026
USFWS has finalized a revised Canada lynx critical habitat designation for the lower 48, narrowing the map to areas the agency says are essential for conservation. The final rule designates about 14,030 square miles of critical…
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News · July 15, 2026
Alaska bowhunters have a real equipment fight in front of the Board of Game, and it goes deeper than arguing over gadgets. Proposals 2 and 3 would change what is legal in restricted archery hunts. One would allow verifiers,…
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News · July 15, 2026
Aquatic invasive species do not need much help moving from one lake to the next. A wet bilge, a dirty trailer, a livewell, or one careless launch can be enough. That is why simple ramp-level education still matters. Wildlife…
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News · July 14, 2026
Colorado hunters and trappers have a real fight on the calendar this week. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is meeting July 16 and 17 in Ignacio, with furbearer and small-game regulations, wolf updates, and a petition…
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News · July 14, 2026
Wyoming’s Game and Fish Commission is taking up a stack of rules that matter to hunters, anglers, and anyone who cares about science-based management. The July 14-15 meeting in Sheridan includes final action on Chapter 47, the…
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News · July 14, 2026
Water is habitat, especially in dry country. Two recently completed projects backed by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation grants are putting that truth on the ground for elk and other big game in California and Arizona. At Camp…
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News · July 14, 2026
Florida’s 2026 Python Challenge is underway, putting hunters back into the Everglades to remove one of the nastiest invasive predators in the country. The 10-day competition runs through July 19 and offers a $10,000 grand prize…
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News · July 14, 2026
Southwest Virginia elk country just got a practical habitat boost. In the North Fork of Pound Lake area of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, invasive plants have been cutting into forage quality for elk,…
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News · July 14, 2026
Divers just got another practical tool in the fight against invasive species. SSI has launched a new Invasive Species Management Specialty, and the course is built around more than just knowing what a lionfish looks like. The…
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News · July 13, 2026
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed a 90-day finding on a petition to list the diamondback terrapin under the Endangered Species Act, and the agency says there is enough new information to begin a 12-month status…
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News · July 13, 2026
Maryland is defending SB 334, a law set to block future sales and transfers of many Glock and Glock-style pistols beginning January 1, 2027. The fight is now front and center in Bathras v. Moore, a federal Second Amendment…
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News · July 13, 2026
Delaware is still fighting to defend HB 451, the state law written to prohibit most adults ages 18 to 20 from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling firearms and ammunition, with limited exceptions. In Birney v. Delaware…
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News · July 13, 2026
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed a 90-day finding on a petition to list the plains spotted skunk under the Endangered Species Act, and the agency says the petition presented enough new information to start a…
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News · July 10, 2026
West Virginia hunters and trappers have their next rulebook on the table. The state has published its 2026-27 hunting and trapping regulations summary, covering season dates, bag limits, legal methods, licensing, and harvest…
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News · July 10, 2026
Billfish management depends on knowing what fish are actually being counted. A new research publication highlighted by The Billfish Foundation looks at a faster way to identify marlin species using portable X-ray fluorescence…
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News · July 10, 2026
Summer billfish tournaments are not just weigh-ins and dock talk. This season, research crews are using the traffic around major events to collect biological samples, deploy tags, and fill gaps in what we know about marlin…
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News · July 9, 2026
Delaware hunters just got a major win. The 2026 legislative session is over, and the state has repealed its old Sunday hunting ban. HB 278 opens Sunday hunting for all legal game animals and game birds during established…
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News · July 9, 2026
South Carolina deer hunters who run dogs need to pay attention before other people write the story for them. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is holding three public meetings in July and August to gather input…
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News · July 9, 2026
The Illinois River is seeing an extensive die-off of invasive silver carp between Henry and Peoria, and for once an invasive carp headline is not all bad news. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the event appears…
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News · July 10, 2026
Tennessee just added more public elk country, and that is the kind of conservation win that matters long after the press release is gone. The Laurel Fork project adds two tracts totaling 1,322 acres to the North Cumberland…
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News · July 10, 2026
Lake Eufaula just got a practical fish-care upgrade, and bass anglers ought to like this one. The Major League Fishing Fisheries Management Division, working with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and Kubota…
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News · July 10, 2026
Two women walked away from a black bear tearing into their tents in Wyoming, and the lesson is about as blunt as it gets: bear country does not care how careful you meant to be. Maggie Bassett and Shonna Dehl were camping July 5…
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News · June 29, 2026
Ohio just opened another big chunk of public ground to oil and gas development, and anyone who cares about wildlife areas and state parks ought to be paying attention. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission approved…
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News · July 9, 2026
Missouri sportsmen have a Conservation Commission meeting on the calendar today, and even routine-looking agendas deserve attention from the people who hunt, fish, trap, and pay for conservation. The Missouri Conservation…
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News · July 9, 2026
Pennsylvania elk hunters and public-land users have a Game Commission meeting worth watching. The Board of Game Commissioners is set to meet July 10 in Harrisburg, with elk management, hunt zones, and State Game Lands additions…
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News · July 8, 2026
South Dakota hunters and anglers have a pile of real business in front of the Game, Fish, and Parks Commission this week, and it is the kind of meeting folks should not sleep through. The GFP Commission is set to meet July 9 and…
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News · July 8, 2026
Iowa deer hunters have a management meeting worth paying attention to. The Iowa DNR is set to discuss proposed county antlerless quota changes for the 2026-27 deer seasons, along with public land projects and a public comment…
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News · July 8, 2026
Oregon has a proposed ballot measure in the works that could go straight at hunting and fishing statewide. If it qualifies and voters approve it, the measure would wipe out the regulated system Oregon hunters and anglers use…
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News · July 8, 2026
Washington salmon anglers just got the kind of news nobody wants, but the reason matters. WDFW has canceled the Upper Columbia sockeye season for now after early return data came in far below the preseason forecast. Managers had…
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News · July 8, 2026
New York’s first full report from its black bass tournament permit and reporting system gives fisheries managers something better than guesswork. In 2025, permitted tournaments reported more than 51,000 largemouth and smallmouth…
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News · July 8, 2026
Mississippi just added new public hunting ground in the Delta, and that is the kind of access news hunters ought to pay attention to. MDWFP announced the opening of Alligator Wildlife Management Area, a new WMA near the town of…
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News · July 7, 2026
Massachusetts anglers and hunters have a board meeting on the calendar today, and these are the rooms where outdoor rules get shaped whether sportsmen are paying attention or not. The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board…
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News · July 7, 2026
Seven local fisheries projects are getting money in 2026, and this is the side of fishing that does not always make the loudest headlines but keeps the resource alive. AFTCO is putting $25,000 into conservation grants for…
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News · July 7, 2026
A new shark-tracking study is a good reminder that the Gulf is not just a vacation backdrop. It is working marine habitat, including for one of the ocean’s top predators. Researchers analyzed satellite and acoustic tracking data…
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News · July 7, 2026
A turtle release in Massachusetts just hit a milestone that took more than two decades to earn. That is how real conservation usually works: slow, patient, local, and easy to miss if all you want are quick headlines. At Great…
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News · July 6, 2026
Montana’s Elkhorn Mountains just gave us another reminder that poaching is not hunting. It is theft from every legal hunter who buys licenses, waits on the draw, follows the season, and accepts that sometimes the answer is no.…
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News · July 6, 2026
A 35-year-old burn scar in Pennsylvania is getting the kind of habitat work that benefits more than one species and does more than look good in a press release. In the Pennsylvania Wilds, a ruffed grouse stronghold overlaps with…
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News · July 6, 2026
Kentucky’s elk country is getting the kind of woods work that pays off in acorns, hard mast, winter food, and healthier habitat for a pile of wildlife. RMEF says its support helped the Kentucky Division of Forestry improve…
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News · July 6, 2026
The Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Landing Blitz is underway, and the message is about as plain as it gets: anglers and boaters need to stop hauling trouble from one waterbody to the next. The coordinated two-week effort…
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News · July 5, 2026
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is closing portions of public-use areas July 6-10 while crews conduct aerial feral swine control, and this is exactly the kind of wildlife management that sounds harsh only to people who do not…
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News · July 5, 2026
Alabama just added a serious piece of structure to the Gulf, sinking the 408-foot Argosy VI about 23 miles south of Orange Beach as the newest artificial reef in the state’s reef zone. The former riverboat casino was gutted,…
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News · June 30, 2026
When trout water gets low and hot, the right move is not squeezing one more grip-and-grin out of a stressed fish. The right move is backing off and fishing somewhere else. Trout Unlimited is telling anglers two plain things…
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News · June 28, 2026
Maryland’s tidal bass program is a good reminder that strong fisheries are built with more than luck and tournament weigh-ins. Since the early 1980s, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has stocked more than six million…
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News · July 3, 2026
Wisconsin deer hunters have their 2026 framework, and the big takeaway is that antlerless opportunity is still going to be handled county by county, unit by unit, instead of pretending the whole state has the same deer problem.…
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News · July 1, 2026
Lake Michigan is giving Sheboygan anglers the kind of summer report that makes people check their calendar and start looking for an open morning. Sheboygan charter captain Dan “Dumper Dan” Welsch reported that big king salmon…
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News · July 1, 2026
The Shark Trust has opened entries for Shark Photographer of the Year 2026, and it is a good reminder that sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras need more than fear headlines to tell the truth about them. Entries are open until…
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News · July 2, 2026
The future of bass fishing is not just boat ramps, electronics, and tournament jerseys. It is also the young fisheries people who will be making habitat, access, and management decisions long after today’s arguments cool off.…
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News · July 1, 2026
A 12-year-old Texas boy surviving a shark attack in the Bahamas is a hard reminder that wild water does not become tame just because it is clear, warm, and looks like vacation. Parker Roll was on a family trip near Staniel Cay…
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News · July 2, 2026
Vortex and Hunter Constantine turned a limited-run carry belt project into a $10,000 donation to the Second Amendment Foundation. The collaboration was limited to 250 Vortex x Hunter Constantine Carry Belts, and once those sold…
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News · July 2, 2026
A fatal alligator attack in Florida is a hard reminder that wild water is not a swimming pool, and big predators do not care how ordinary the day started. On June 28, 31-year-old Brittany Clark was attacked while swimming in the…
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News · July 2, 2026
Oregon finally handed down the kind of poaching sentence that sounds like it understands the damage. Christopher Matson, 48, of Umatilla, pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife and firearm-related crimes after a nearly two-year…
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News · July 2, 2026
South Carolina is taking public input on deer hunting with dogs, and this is one of those issues where hunters need to show up before other people write the story for them. SCDNR is holding three public meetings to gather…
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News · July 2, 2026
A Michigan bank fisherman just proved again that you do not need a glitter boat to tangle with a serious fish. Andrew Karsten was fishing the St. Joseph River below the Berrien Springs Dam on May 22 when the dam gates opened and…
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News · July 1, 2026
California just dropped an emergency rule on shore- and pier-based shark fishing, and saltwater anglers need to understand exactly what changed. The California Fish and Game Commission approved restrictions meant to reduce…
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News · July 1, 2026
Louisiana red snapper anglers get a bigger holiday window this week, but it is a short one and folks need to keep the dates straight. LDWF Secretary Tyler Bosworth signed an emergency declaration raising the recreational red…
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News · July 1, 2026
New Jersey hunters are facing another fight over traditional ammunition, and this one has moved into court. The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and Safari Club International have moved to intervene in a lawsuit seeking a…
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News · July 1, 2026
More fish do not come from slogans. They come from habitat, water, access, and people willing to put money and work on the ground. The National Fish Habitat Partnership, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and partners are…
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News · July 1, 2026
Striped bass anglers need to check how they are measuring fish, because the definition changed and a bad measurement can turn a legal day into a ticket. Starting May 17, 2026, total length for striped bass in affected commercial…
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News · July 1, 2026
Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge has a public-comment window open on a utility project that sounds small on paper but matters on the ground. Northern Lights, Inc. has asked to relocate an existing above-ground powerline inside…
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News · June 30, 2026
Virginia hunters and gun owners got a temporary break before a pair of July 1 restrictions could land full force. A judge granted a statewide preliminary injunction on June 29 that pauses enforcement of Virginia’s new ban on the…
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News · June 30, 2026
Idaho’s Moose Creek Reservoir is a good reminder that managing a fishery sometimes means making an unpopular mess now so the water fishes better later. The reservoir near Bovill has had a long-running problem with invasive…
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News · June 30, 2026
New York deer hunters have rule changes coming for 2026, and the message behind them is clear: the state wants more antlerless deer taken where numbers are above goal. Several wildlife management units are being added to the…
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News · June 30, 2026
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is closing the lower gravel road from July 6 through July 17, and anyone planning a refuge trip needs to know that before they roll up to the gate. The closure applies to all public access…
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News · June 29, 2026
Federal fisheries management just got a new round of council appointments, and saltwater anglers ought to know why that matters. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick finalized the 2026 appointments to the Regional Fishery…
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News · June 29, 2026
North Carolina flounder anglers have their 2026 dates, and it is another short window that nobody should miss by assuming the season is wide open. The recreational flounder season is set for September 1-14, 2026. The minimum…
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News · June 29, 2026
Atlantic menhaden are small fish with a big job, and the fight over who gets to harvest them is not some inside-baseball commercial issue. It hits striped bass, bluefish, tuna, whales, ospreys, coastal bait supply, and the…
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News · June 29, 2026
Public land does not stay usable on good intentions. Roads wash out. Trails disappear. Boat ramps crumble. Water systems fail. Gates, bridges, campgrounds, culverts, and access points all need maintenance, and deferred…
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News · June 28, 2026
North Carolina is adding an early crack at antlered deer in seven counties, and the reason is not trophy talk. It is CWD management. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has created a Special Early Season for…
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News · June 28, 2026
There is a big silver carp die-off underway on the Illinois River, and so far the state says it looks natural, not chemical. Illinois Department of Natural Resources staff are monitoring an extensive die-off in the Peoria pool…
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News · June 26, 2026
Mississippi anglers have a round of freshwater regulation changes to read before they assume last year’s lake rules still apply. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks says the updates are meant to simplify…
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News · June 27, 2026
Delaware just did something every state that still restricts legal hunters ought to look at closely: it repealed an outdated Sunday hunting ban and gave working families more room to hunt inside the seasons already set by…
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News · June 27, 2026
Louisiana sportsmen have a wildlife commission meeting on the calendar that deserves attention, not excuses after the fact. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is scheduled to meet Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 9:30…
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News · June 25, 2026
Mid-Atlantic anglers who fish for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, or bluefish need to pay attention to this one. Managers are looking for recreational stakeholders to help talk through whether for-hire fishing should be…
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News · June 26, 2026
Massachusetts hunters just got a real opening in a fight that has been dragging on for generations. S. 3064 has moved to a conference committee with House-added language that would repeal the state’s Sunday hunting ban, legalize…
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News · June 26, 2026
South Carolina redfish anglers are about to live under tighter rules, and the reason is plain: the state says the redfish population has slid to an unsustainable level. Beginning July 1, 2026, the new rule is one redfish per…
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News · June 26, 2026
Old fence can be just as real a wildlife problem as drought, weeds, or bad policy. It does not make speeches. It just sits there catching elk, mule deer, antelope, bears, and anything else trying to move across the country. On…
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News · June 25, 2026
Mule deer do not need another speech about habitat. They need work on the ground, and Colorado’s Eastern Plains are getting some. The Mule Deer Foundation says it has helped support more than 8,800 acres of targeted cheatgrass…
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News · June 25, 2026
Wildlife conservation is not only fences, food plots, tag numbers, and habitat crews. Sometimes it is freezers, tissue samples, cell lines, and scientists trying to preserve genetic options before they are gone. The Department…
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News · June 25, 2026
Good deer habitat does not always start with a dozer, a blank check, and a consultant walking around with a clipboard. A lot of it starts with understanding how deer use a property and making smart, affordable changes that…
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News · June 24, 2026
Working dogs and hunting dogs dodged a bad one in the latest Senate Farm Bill draft. The clean draft released by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman leaves out the anti-hunting restrictions and greyhound-ban…
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News · June 25, 2026
Migratory bird hunters may get season answers sooner under a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service framework, and that matters more than most people outside a duck blind realize. USFWS announced a rule package on June 25 that moves…
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News · June 24, 2026
Oregon hunters, anglers, and trappers have a Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting on June 26 that deserves attention. The official business meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. at the Redmond Grange, with agenda items that include…
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News · June 24, 2026
Colorado is putting anglers to work against invasive northern pike at Green Mountain Reservoir, and there is nothing wrong with paying people to help fix a fishery. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Green Mountain Reservoir Pike…
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News · June 25, 2026
Divers have a simple job this July: get in the water, pay attention, and help put better shark and ray data on the map. The Shark Trust’s Great Shark Snapshot 2026 is set for July 18 through July 26. The citizen science project…
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News · June 23, 2026
New York deer hunters are getting more antlerless opportunity in places where the herd is running above target, and that is exactly the kind of management tool that should be on the table when the biology calls for it. The New…
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News · June 23, 2026
Duck hunters should be watching the 2026 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey instead of waiting until the season booklet shows up. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field reports are out, and this is the annual…
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News · June 23, 2026
Colorado is using a sharp new tool against invasive brook trout, and the goal is not politics. It is giving native cutthroat trout a fighting chance in their own water. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been working with so-called…
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News · June 23, 2026
Michigan anglers need to pay attention to House Bills 5801 and 5802, because this is not a small paperwork change. It could change who gets to take Great Lakes sportfish and how those fish are valued. The bills would loosen…
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News · June 22, 2026
More than 900 bison in Montana are now at the center of one of the oldest fights in Western wildlife management: what happens when native wildlife, livestock interests, public land, disease concerns, and tribal priorities all…
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News · June 22, 2026
New Mexico hunters, anglers, and trappers have a commission meeting on the calendar that should not be ignored. The New Mexico State Game Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday, June 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Eastern New…
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News · June 22, 2026
Wisconsin deer hunters have a Natural Resources Board meeting worth watching this week. The Wisconsin NRB is scheduled to meet Wednesday, June 24, starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Black River Falls. The…
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News · June 22, 2026
Gulf grouper fishermen need to start planning around a much tighter rulebook. NOAA Fisheries published a final rule on June 17 that cuts the Gulf Other Shallow-Water Grouper complex annual catch limit by 54.7 percent and sets a…
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News · June 21, 2026
California ocean anglers just got a hard lesson in how fast a fishery can get squeezed when emergency rulemaking is used like a shortcut. On June 17, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously for an emergency…
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News · June 21, 2026
South Carolina’s planned red snapper pilot season in federal waters is on hold, and anglers are once again stuck watching access, data, and court orders collide. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says its…
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News · June 21, 2026
Michigan is putting invasive species prevention right where boaters and anglers can actually use it — at the ramp. Wildlife Forever, the Michigan DNR, and the Ottawa National Forest are installing 14 watercraft cleaning stations…
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News · June 21, 2026
Arkansas just put real money toward the kind of access that actually gets people on the water. At its Thursday meeting in Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission authorized more than $5.5 million in boating and…
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News · June 21, 2026
Massachusetts has two new people stepping onto a board that hunters, anglers, and conservation-minded landowners should be paying attention to. The Healey-Driscoll Administration appointed Deborah Rocque of Worthington and John…
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News · June 19, 2026
A new federal bill is aimed right at one of the ugliest games in wildlife politics: anti-hunting groups suing the government, settling behind closed doors, and walking away with taxpayer-paid attorney fees. H.R. 9295, the Stop…
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News · June 18, 2026
Missouri put real effort behind hunter recruitment this past deer season, and the numbers are worth paying attention to. The National Deer Association says its Missouri Field to Fork and R3 work helped host or partner on 12…
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News · June 19, 2026
Minnesota fishermen are having one of those years that reminds everybody why healthy water and good fisheries management matter. The Minnesota DNR has already certified nine new state fish records in 2026. Two are record-weight…
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News · June 19, 2026
Oklahoma hunters and anglers have a real reason to pay attention on June 22. The Wildlife Conservation Commission is set to look at 2026-27 hunting and fishing regulations, and these are the kinds of decisions that shape what…
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News · June 19, 2026
Heidecke Lake is reopening to boaters in time for Illinois Free Fishing Days, and that is good news for anglers who have been waiting on water instead of fish. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reopening Heidecke…
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News · June 18, 2026
San Carlos Lake in Arizona is closed after a massive fish kill, and it is a rough reminder that a fishery can fall apart fast when drought, heat, and water management all stack up against it. The San Carlos Recreation and…
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News · June 18, 2026
Salt marsh restoration sounds good on paper, but the real question is whether fish are actually using the habitat. A new research effort out of Maritime Canada gets right to that point. Researchers studied two salt marsh…
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News · June 18, 2026
The Kuskokwim River is getting limited salmon fishing opportunities, and this is a good reminder that harvest rules are not just words on paper when fish, food, and culture are all on the line. The Yukon Delta National Wildlife…
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News · June 18, 2026
Wisconsin anglers on the Winnebago System have a new invasive fish rule to know, and this one is aimed at stopping a problem before it becomes impossible to control. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board approved an emergency…
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News · June 18, 2026
Maryland is putting money behind invasive fish removal, and this is one of those rare cases where catching a pile of fish lines up perfectly with conservation. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is pushing anglers to…
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News · June 18, 2026
Minnesota anglers have a chance to speak up on special fishing regulations before the 2027 season, and they should use it. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is asking for input on proposed new or changed experimental…
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News · June 17, 2026
Louisiana deer hunters have a new CWD rulebook to learn before the next season, and this is not something to skim the night before opening morning. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission ratified a Declaration of…
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News · June 17, 2026
Florida’s Atlantic red snapper mess is exactly why fishermen get tired of being told to just trust the process. The 2026 Florida Atlantic red snapper season was expected to run 39 days. Charter captains, headboat operators,…
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News · June 17, 2026
Kentucky just confirmed a problem no serious bass fisherman should ignore. Biologists with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources found Alabama bass hybrids in Lake Linville in Rockcastle County. It is the first…
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News · June 17, 2026
Striped bass season is heating up in Massachusetts, and anglers need to know the rules before a good day turns into a ticket. The recreational harvest limit is one striped bass per person per day. A legal fish has to measure at…
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News · June 17, 2026
Arkansas trout fishermen have a simple job this summer: catch them if you can, but do not beat up the resource just to prove a point. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is reminding anglers that rising temperatures put extra…
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News · June 16, 2026
A lot of conservation work is not flashy. It looks like trash bags, boat ramps, federal funding, and people making sure the money actually gets where it is supposed to go. During National Fishing & Boating Week 2026, the…
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News · June 17, 2026
Lake Cumberland is about to be full of young anglers, and that is good news for the future of fishing. The 17th annual High School Fishing World Finals and Abu Garcia High School Fishing National Championship Presented by Tackle…
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News · June 16, 2026
Georgia is taking hunting and fishing recruitment to a place with a lot more foot traffic than a license counter. Realtree, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Atlanta Braves are bringing Hunting and Fishing…
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News · June 16, 2026
Predator hunting is legal, necessary in a lot of places, and worth defending. That does not mean every ugly moment in the field gets a free pass. A video showing well-known hunter Aron Snyder stabbing a wounded coyote has turned…
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News · June 16, 2026
A good hatchery is not just a fish factory. It is a working piece of conservation infrastructure. Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery in Arizona raises at least 100,000 rainbow trout every year for waters in the Lower Colorado…
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News · June 16, 2026
Minnesota just put another strong turkey season on the board, and that did not happen by accident. Hunters registered a preliminary 15,245 birds during the 2026 spring turkey season, making it the third-best spring harvest in…
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News · June 16, 2026
The Pearl River just got another push toward bringing back a native sport fish that belongs there. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mississippi Department of…
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News · June 16, 2026
Colorado hunters need to pay attention to this one. A petition has been filed with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission asking the state to ban traditional lead ammunition for taking wildlife. That sounds like a narrow…
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News · June 16, 2026
Oregon is heading into a hard summer for cold-water fish, and anglers should not shrug it off. Low snowpack, drought, and warm water are putting salmon, steelhead, and trout under real stress. The Oregon Department of Fish and…
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News · June 16, 2026
Yosemite just opened more year-round fishing opportunity, and that is the kind of access news anglers should notice. The National Park Service updated Yosemite’s fishing regulations and removed longstanding seasonal closures…
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News · June 16, 2026
Tarpon are one of the most valuable and respected fish in the Florida Keys, but managers still do not have the kind of hard data most people assume exists. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust says tarpon are considered data poor. That means…
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News · June 12, 2026
Idaho is adjusting its proposed sage-grouse season, and this is the kind of wildlife management hunters should pay attention to. Idaho Fish and Game is asking for public comment on the 2026-27 sage-grouse season and tag proposal…
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News · June 11, 2026
Shark depredation is not just a dockside complaint. It is a real fisheries management problem. NOAA Fisheries highlighted a new scientific study looking at 100 years of shark depredation in Atlantic recreational fisheries from…
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News · June 8, 2026
If you are booking an Alaska halibut charter, there is a new rule to know before you plan on bringing fish home. NOAA Fisheries says that beginning in 2026, adult anglers fishing aboard a charter vessel in International Pacific…
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News · June 8, 2026
This is what practical wildlife work looks like when biology leads the decision. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says five orphaned black bear cubs rehabilitated and released into northern California in November…
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News · June 12, 2026
Public land deals deserve more than a rubber stamp, especially when wildlife refuge ground is involved. A land exchange between SpaceX and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in South Texas is now being challenged in federal…
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News · June 12, 2026
The fight over hunting and fishing is not slowing down, and sportsmen cannot afford to keep playing defense forever. Across the country, more states are putting the right to hunt and fish into their constitutions. Two dozen…
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News · June 11, 2026
Predator management gets a lot harder when rumor starts replacing biology. A new round of attention on Wyoming wolves has brought back an old claim that the wolves reintroduced to the Northern Rockies were some kind of oversized…
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News · June 12, 2026
Striped bass management cannot run on guesswork, and right now the data matters more than ever. Scientists with William & Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are wrapping up another season of…
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News · June 12, 2026
Some conservation work happens far from crowds, in water small enough that most people would walk past it without a second thought. One recent story out of the Sierra Nevada focused on Slinkard Creek, a narrow mountain stream…
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News · June 10, 2026
Public water access should not depend on who has the deepest pockets or the loudest lawyer. Colorado fly fisherman Roger Hill has spent years pushing back against one of the strangest stream-access situations in the West.…
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News · June 10, 2026
Public land is supposed to serve more than one interest. That includes ranching, wildlife, hunting, habitat, water, and the people who own that land together. The Bureau of Land Management has proposed major changes to federal…
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News · June 10, 2026
Roadless country is not wasted country. For a lot of hunters and anglers, it is exactly the kind of country worth fighting for. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved an amendment that would nullify the 2001…
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News · June 9, 2026
When people cheat the tag system, they are not just breaking paperwork rules. They are stealing opportunity from hunters who played it straight. Federal prosecutors have charged three New Mexico men connected to Big Horn…
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News · June 8, 2026
Recreational fishing is not just a pastime. It is one of the ways Americans stay connected to water, food, family, and conservation. NOAA Fisheries is recognizing National Fishing and Boating Week by highlighting the role of…
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News · June 8, 2026
Mid-Atlantic fishermen should pay attention when managers start talking about splitting the recreational sector. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission are looking for…
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News · June 9, 2026
Conservation decisions get a lot better when the people closest to the land are part of them. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is holding a virtual public hearing and reopening public comment on a proposal to list the southern…
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News · June 8, 2026
This is what a conservation win is supposed to look like. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the northeastern bulrush from the federal endangered species list because of recovery. When the wetland plant was listed as…
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News · June 8, 2026
A routine day on the water can turn bad fast when low water and dams are involved. A recent Tennessee WildCast episode highlighted boating safety with TWRA Captain Roy Smith and TVA’s Harrison Strickland, focusing on dropping…
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News · June 8, 2026
Public access does not mean much if people can be threatened out of using it. New Mexico’s stream-access fight just turned into a criminal case. According to Outdoor Life and court documents from the New Mexico Department of…
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News · June 8, 2026
Gag grouper fishermen in Louisiana have a short window to work with in 2026. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issued a Declaration of Emergency modifying the recreational gag grouper season in state waters. The…
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News · June 7, 2026
Idaho salmon fishermen have new summer Chinook opportunity on the books, and the details are worth reading before anyone heads for the river. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved 2026 summer Chinook seasons for the South…
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News · June 7, 2026
Bear country does not care how experienced you are. Outdoor Life republished a first-person account from Alaska about a man who was charged by a grizzly sow with three cubs in snowy timber. He had no warning, no clean setup, and…
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News · June 5, 2026
A lot of people see a stocked trout and never think about what it took to put that fish in the water. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service highlighted work at Norfork National Fish Hatchery, where hatchery staff and volunteers…
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News · June 4, 2026
Real habitat work usually starts with dirt, water, permits, and public comment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened a 15-day comment period on a draft compatibility determination at Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in…
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News · June 3, 2026
Public land decisions are not always about trailheads, boat ramps, or hunting seasons. Sometimes they are about whether modern infrastructure fits the mission of a wildlife refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a…
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News · June 7, 2026
Sharks do not need fairy tales. They need people who understand what they are and how ocean systems actually work. Wildlife Forever announced the winners of the 2026 Guy Harvey Shark Award, a special division of the Art of…
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News · June 5, 2026
Sometimes the woods hand you something you were not looking for. Outdoor Life published a story about shed hunters who found human remains on a family deer property in Missouri. The discovery included a skull, spine, and other…
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News · June 5, 2026
Not every conservation story starts with a tag, a limit, or a season opener. Sometimes it starts with somebody putting binoculars in a kid’s hands. Idaho Fish and Game announced summer birding walks at the Edson Fichter Nature…
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News · June 4, 2026
Good fishing opportunity depends on managers paying attention while the season is actually happening. NOAA Fisheries published an inseason notice adding more June dates for the all-depth recreational Pacific halibut fishery in…
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News · June 4, 2026
A 70-pound lake sturgeon just reminded everybody how much life is still moving through our big rivers. Nebraska Game and Parks fisheries biologists were collecting paddlefish for a study this spring when they pulled a rare lake…
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News · June 5, 2026
The Texas coast may still be carrying a piece of wildlife history most people thought was gone. On Galveston Island, unusual wild canids have been drawing attention for years. They look mostly like coyotes, but biologists and…
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News · June 5, 2026
Good fisheries science gets stronger when fishermen are part of it. NOAA Fisheries highlighted work on the West Coast where anglers, charter captains, university researchers, and agency biologists are collecting data that helps…
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News · June 4, 2026
Salmon recovery is not built in a comment section. It is built in culverts, tide gates, stream channels, and years of work nobody sees. NOAA Fisheries is pointing to the Salmon SuperHwy effort on the Oregon coast as a clear…
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News · June 4, 2026
Public land access means nothing if the public cannot legally reach the land. The corner-crossing fight in Montana is getting hotter. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Christy Clark said earlier this year that corner…
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News · June 4, 2026
Free Fishing Day is one of the simplest ways to keep fishing alive for the next generation. Idaho Fish and Game announced that June 13 will be Free Fishing Day across the state. On that day, anyone can fish in Idaho without a…
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News · June 4, 2026
Waterfowl hunters in Idaho have new rules to read before the season gets here. Idaho Fish and Game announced that the 2026-27 Migratory Game Bird seasons and rules booklet is now available online. Printed copies are expected to…
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News · June 3, 2026
Access is not always a political fight. Sometimes it is a sinkhole under the road. Idaho Fish and Game temporarily closed the parking area at the Crystal Lake access site near Priest River after staff found a sinkhole beneath…
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News · June 4, 2026
Not every important wildlife story has antlers, fins, or feathers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put a spotlight on bats this week, and it is worth paying attention to even if you are more interested in deer, ducks,…
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News · June 3, 2026
A hunter killed a mule deer in Alaska, and that is a bigger wildlife story than one doe in the freezer. Outdoor Life reported that the April harvest is the first documented case of a hunter killing a mule deer in Alaska. Mule…
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News · June 2, 2026
Wildfire is not just a summer headline. It is a habitat issue, an access issue, and a wildlife issue. Outdoor Life reported that the United States is already having its worst wildfire year in a decade. According to the National…
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News · June 1, 2026
Access is not only about opening a gate. Sometimes it is about making sure people can actually find the rules, maps, and information they need once they are already out there. Idaho Fish and Game announced a partnership with the…
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News · June 2, 2026
Stocked trout might not make national headlines, but this is exactly how a lot of fishermen get started. Idaho Fish and Game announced that more than 11,000 catchable-size rainbow trout are being stocked in Panhandle Region…
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News · June 2, 2026
Public land access matters, but access without management can wreck the very ground hunters and fishermen depend on. A new executive order from President Trump repeals two long-standing federal orders from the 1970s that shaped…
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News · June 2, 2026
Salmon seasons can change fast, and Idaho fishermen need to pay attention before they head for the river. Idaho Fish and Game announced that four Chinook salmon seasons are being closed or modified at the end of fishing hours on…
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News · June 2, 2026
Sometimes a great fish story is also a reminder of why bowfishing matters. A 16-year-old Kentucky bowfisherman, Brayden Shaw, arrowed an 82-pound bighead carp on the Ohio River in late May. The fish could become a youth…
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News · May 28, 2026
Good fisheries science does not only happen in a lab. Sometimes it starts with people on the water paying attention. NOAA Fisheries highlighted a year of tracking data from a whale shark nicknamed Larry, a 26-foot male tagged…
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News · May 27, 2026
Washington’s wildlife fight has moved from heated commission meetings into federal court, and hunters should be paying attention. A federal civil rights lawsuit filed in April by Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Lorna…
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News · May 29, 2026
A recovery plan is not just paperwork when it decides how forests, wildlife, and working land get managed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft recovery plan and recovery implementation strategy for the coastal…
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News · May 28, 2026
Fishermen complain about bad data for a reason. The answer is not less science. It is better science with fishermen involved. NOAA Fisheries announced a $2.3 million cooperative research effort to study Atlantic mackerel with…
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News · May 29, 2026
Some fish stories are big because of the fish. Some are big because the fish came back at all. The Lahontan cutthroat trout is the largest cutthroat trout in the world, a native Great Basin fish that once lived in places like…
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News · May 29, 2026
Feral hogs were already enough of a problem. Now the CWD angle makes it even harder to ignore. New reporting on emerging research shows that wild hogs can carry chronic wasting disease prions after scavenging infected deer. That…
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News · May 29, 2026
Fishing technology has changed faster than a lot of fisheries rules. Minnesota is a good example of why that matters. A new study estimates that Minnesota anglers harvest about 36,000 tons of freshwater fish a year, roughly 80…
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News · May 29, 2026
This is the kind of conservation work that does not get enough attention because it happens on dirt, not in slogans. Alabama’s Black Belt Prairie is getting a $17.5 million boost through the USDA’s Regional Conservation…
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News · May 28, 2026
Poaching is not hunting. It is theft from the resource and from every sportsman who does things the right way. A Texas man is facing 74 charges after game wardens say he illegally killed multiple whitetail bucks in residential…
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News · May 29, 2026
Chinook seasons are never just another date on the calendar. They are the result of fish counts, hatchery goals, river conditions, tribal and recreational opportunity, and a whole lot of people watching the same run from…
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News · May 22, 2026
Texas may finally start treating mountain lions like a species that needs real data, not guesswork. Outdoor Life reported that Texas wildlife officials are proposing mandatory harvest reporting for mountain lions. That matters…
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News · May 18, 2026
Predator management is not a one-way street. Outdoor Life reported that Wyoming wildlife managers are looking at reducing wolf harvest limits after a gray wolf population decline tied to disease near Yellowstone. The draft…
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News · May 22, 2026
This is exactly why fishermen do not trust red snapper management. Outdoor Life reported that a federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking state-led Exempted Fishing Permits for South Atlantic red snapper in Florida,…
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News · May 14, 2026
Public land does not mean much if the public cannot legally reach it. Outdoor Life reported that Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Public Land Water Access Association sued Montana officials over corner crossing. The case…
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News · May 22, 2026
This is what real fisheries conservation looks like. NOAA Fisheries reported on the long effort to restore salmon and steelhead passage in California's Alameda Creek. It took decades of work, planning, construction, and…
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News · May 19, 2026
Some conservation work is ugly, hot, muddy, and necessary. FWC opened registration for the 2026 Florida Python Challenge, which puts public attention back on one of the clearest invasive predator problems in the country. Burmese…
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News · May 11, 2026
More red snapper days matter. FWC announced expanded 2026 red snapper seasons and federal approval tied to Atlantic red snapper state management. For people who do not fish offshore, that may just sound like another regulation…
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News · May 13, 2026
The fish does not care if you missed the regulation update. The officer will. FWC issued an executive order closing recreational harvest of gag grouper in Atlantic state waters starting August 2. It is the kind of rule change…
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News · Jan. 30, 2026
A dive flag only works if people treat it like a life depends on it. DeeperBlue reported on spearfishing safety legislation introduced in Hawaii, with diver visibility and boating safety at the center of the issue. That should…
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News · May 18, 2026
Predator country is beautiful until it turns serious. Idaho Fish and Game reported that a hunter shot a charging grizzly bear in defense of life near Cave Falls Road. Any time a grizzly is killed, people are going to react. Some…
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News · May 26, 2026
More access is a good thing, but it comes with a responsibility. The Department of the Interior announced a proposal to expand hunting and fishing opportunities across parts of the National Wildlife Refuge System and national…
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News · May 26, 2026
Sometimes conservation sounds like the word nobody wants to hear: closed. Idaho Fish and Game announced that a portion of the Lower Salmon River is closed to Chinook salmon fishing. That is not the update any fisherman wants,…
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News · May 26, 2026
This is why sportsmen cannot ignore politics. Outdoor Life reported that a radical Oregon initiative aimed at hunting, fishing, and animal use has moved closer to the ballot. If you hunt or fish, even outside Oregon, you should…
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News · May 27, 2026
A fish can be great in one place and a problem in another. Outdoor Life covered why smallmouth bass, one of the most loved sportfish in the country, can also create serious management problems when they end up in the wrong…
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News · May 21, 2026
If fishermen are not in the room, fishing gets managed by people who may never feel the cost of a bad rule. NOAA Fisheries opened nominations for the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council. It is one of those agency…
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News · May 19, 2026
You cannot have duck season without duck habitat. The Interior Department announced more than $67 million for wetland conservation projects and national wildlife refuges. That kind of headline does not get the same attention as…
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