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Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks trapped and euthanized a black bear along Hungry Horse Reservoir in Flathead County after repeated conflicts in a pair of campgrounds.

FWP wildlife specialists received reports of a black bear getting into unsecured food attractants at the Flathead National Forest’s Emery Bay Campground and Goose Head dispersed camping site, also known as FK & L, on the north end of the reservoir. The bear was reportedly hanging around the campgrounds seeking food sources, and conflicts included breaking a window of a vehicle to access a cooler and getting into a tent at Emery Bay. A camper was cited for disobeying the Flathead National Forest food storage order by improperly storing a food attractant.

FWP set traps July 4 and the Hungry Horse Ranger District closed the camping sites. FWP captured the male bear on July 8 and euthanized it due to food conditioning. The Hungry Horse Ranger District has lifted the area closure order. Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

This post is rerun from a few weeks ago and was already published.  Since I had a few questions about wild hogs, Ms. Hauger of the USDA followed up, as promised, today.  Her response is included below…GW

Years ago, a few friends and I learned about the presence of feral pigs in mid-Michigan, sighted in our big-game firearms and headed to an area reported to have been invaded by the invasive hogs.  We poked around and reluctantly headed home without locating a trace.  If it interests you as a hunter, farmer, or as an outdoors enthusiast, a report has been submitted to the DNR this past week of a wild hog in south-central Shiawassee County between Perry and Owosso!  That’s right and I am the person responsible for reporting the shocking experience.

If you live in the area – specifically a mile west of M-52 on W. Tyrrell Road – you may be contacted as part of a USDA investigation into the matter.  While driving on the dirt road at approximately 35 MPH, the large, lone hog scurried across the road without hesitation no more than 40 yards and vanished before my eyes into heavy cover.  I’ve estimated its weight to be approximately 300 pounds.  I really don’t know if my jaw bones have ever been stretched so far down!

After dwelling on the moment, I realized it may be a good idea to report the sighting on the DNR’s website section on invasive species.  Once there, the form gets quite detailed about location, date, and time of the observation.  After that, I followed up with a phone call to Dwayne Etter at 517-284-4725, who is the DNR’s wildlife research specialist in such matters.  Apparently, he was away from the office, so I left a voice mail hoping for a return call that never came.  Not to be denied, I followed up with a call to 517-284-9453, which is the general line and the receptionist directed me to Amberly Hauger of the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) wildlife services division at 517-336-1928 and she promptly answered my call.  The USDA receives national funding to work with the state(s).

I didn’t get some of my questions answered, because officials are notified not to divulge information to members of the media without first conferring with higher-ups.  However, she cordially promised to follow up with answers to specifics later.

If you are not familiar with the appearance of these destructive animals, there are plenty of photos online.

How many we have in Michigan nobody really knows; however, the ferocious beasts have been spotted in many of Michigan’s 83 counties.  Wild hogs are known to carry up to 34 different diseases, some of them highly infectious and deadly to animals and people. These can be spread by a bite, by handling the carcass, or by eating the pork without taking careful precautions. Pig farmers are particularly fearful feral pigs could bring back swine flu. This respiratory disease was eradicated in 1978 only after decades of intense, concentrated effort. It was hard enough to eliminate the disease when it was localized on farms that could be isolated. If this disease were to spread freely among an uncontained population, it would be nearly impossible to contain.

Pursuant to MCL 433.14a(3), individuals not affiliated with the government may kill feral pigs as follows:

• A person may kill swine running at large on private propertyif the person is, or is accompanied by or has the permission of, the owner or lessee of the property.
• A person may kill swine running at large on public propertyif he or she possesses either of the following:
• • A license to carry a concealed pistol issued under MCL 28.421 to MCL 28.435.
  • A valid hunting license for any game issued under the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, MCL 324.43501 to MCL 324.43561.
• This empowerment does not authorize the discharge of a bow and arrow, crossbow or firearm in an area where the discharge of that weapon or hunting of that weapon is prohibited by a local ordinance. MCL 433.14a(4).

Those who kill wild swine under these provisions are to report incidents to local law enforcement.  The Michigan DNR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture may want to collect blood or tissue samples from the carcass to test for diseases or to determine migration patterns for the species.

Below is the response to my questions to the USDA received today 7/10/24:

Hi Glen,

Thanks for being patient and allowing me time to answer your questions in regards to your article for the Argus Press about feral swine.  See below.

• Are there other pig reports in Shiawassee County?
• Over the last few years we haven’t received any additional feral swine reports in Shiawassee County. If anyone does see one, they can report the sighting(s) to Michigan DNR’s Eyes in the Field website https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/ors/Home. Select mammals, and then in the dropdown box, select Russian Boar Observation.  USDA Wildlife Services works closely with the Michigan DNR to follow up on any feral swine reports.
• Can wild pigs be hunted in game ranches?
• While it’s legal to kill domestic pigs on game ranches, invasive species such as feral swine are a bit different. For more information regarding hunting feral swine, please reach out to the Michigan DNR or visit their website.
• Are the number of pigs increasing and what is the population doing?
• The first feral swine report in Michigan was roughly 30 years ago, and though at one point it was documented there were feral swine reports in 72 of the 83 counties.

Today  that is not the case and [there] are only a handful of counties that have verified feral swine reports in the last few years.

Let me know if you have any follow up questions!

Thanks!

Amberly Hauger

Wildlife Biologist

USDA-Wildlife Services

Okemos, MI

The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) released a new video on the construction of the largest water guzzler in Nevada to combat past drought-related die-offs of desert bighorn sheep.

Nevada is the driest state in the union, and Clark County, which includes Las Vegas within its boundaries, is the driest. It is also home to the Muddy Mountains and one of the southwest’s largest desert bighorn sheep populations.

“Guzzlers are engineered devices designed to capture and hold water, dispensing it into drinking tanks available to desert bighorn sheep and other animals,” explained Kevin Hurley, WSF’s VP of Conservation. “Extreme drought conditions in recent years significantly stressed the Muddy Mountain herds. It was time to go big.”

Working closely with WSF Affiliate the Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, the Wild Sheep Foundation matched a $30,000 grant from Spanish gunmaker Bergara to help fund a special guzzler project in the Muddy Mountains. The project also received funding from the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), WSF Affiliates, Nevada Bighorn Unlimited Fallon, and Reno and Meadow Valley Wildlife Unlimited.

“Working with WSF and NDOW on the Muddy 7 project has been an incredible privilege”, said Dakota Russell, Vice President of Bergara Sales. “At Bergara, we were determined to go beyond just providing funding through the Bergara Foundation; we wanted to be actively involved with boots on the ground. While many of the projects’ volunteers may never hold a sheep tag, their dedication to supporting the sheep and other wildlife was unwavering, as if they spent every fall hunting these mountains. This project was truly a team effort, and it required the commitment and hard work of everyone involved to bring it to fruition.” Read more