Outdoor News Daily

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced that a written examination for individuals interested in obtaining a license to use leashed tracking dogs to find wounded or injured big game animals is scheduled for Friday, August 22, 2008, from 10:00 AM until noon at designated DEC regional offices. All applicants for this exam must register before August 18, 2008.

Before this exam was first offered in 1990, DEC conducted experimental testing with a small group of leashed tracking dog handlers. Now there are approximately 160 licensed handlers in the State.

For further information or to apply to take the exam, please contact:
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Department of Natural Resources today warned canoeists, kayakers, tubers, and those fishing that the footbridge over the Pigeon River in Cheboygan County on the High Country Pathway in the Pigeon River Country State Forest has collapsed and is blocking the river.

“River users will need to portage around the collapsed bridge until the debris can be safely removed, or completely avoid this part of the river,” said Laurie Marzolo, DNR Pigeon River Country Unit Manager.

The DNR announced in June that the Pigeon River footbridge and the Black River footbridge on the High Country Pathway were both closed for repairs. The Pigeon River footbridge has a 7.5-mile temporary reroute in place. This detour takes trail users on Campsite Road, the north spur of the Shore-to-Shore Trail and on Tin Bridge Road. Camping at Pine Grove State Forest Campground is available using a one-mile connector.
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On a cold January morning at Saguaro Lake, the quick thinking of two off-duty Phoenix police officers, who coincidentally were out tournament bass fishing, saved the lives of three javelina hunters whose boat started sinking while crossing the lake.

The heroic actions of Mike Perry and Mark Potts earned them a “Commendation for Excellence” from the Arizona Game and Fish Department Deputy Director during the June commission meeting in Phoenix.

“All too often and usually after the fact, we see the tragic end results of bad decisions. It is very rare to honor folks who have actually made a real difference. Without a doubt, the quick and heads-up actions by Mark Potts and Mike Perry saved three lives that day and prevented a tragedy,” said Kevin Bergersen, law enforcement programs coordinator / boating law administrator. “All hunters, indeed all boaters, can learn from this near miss.”
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Officer Bret Gill with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is credited with saving the life of a woman after he risked his own life to enter a vehicle on fire to pull her to safety.

The incident occurred at 1 a.m. on County Road 231 near State Road 100, in Union County.

Gill was off-duty and on his way home when he saw a visibly distressed woman running down the road. She waved him down and told him there was a crash and a car was on fire. He called 9-1-1 and followed the woman to the location where he observed a crowd of people around the vehicle which was nearly fully engulfed in flames.

“She (the passenger) was lying across her seat and her legs and shirt were on fire,” Gill said. “I grabbed her by her arms and pulled her out, and then I rolled her on the ground to put the fire out.”
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The U.S. Federal District Court in Missoula, Montana, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, July 18, 2008, that immediately reinstated the Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. That area includes all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon and parts of north-central Utah. This injunction will remain in place until final resolution of this case occurs.

The Endangered Species Act provisions reinstated by the court are the same ones in effect before wolves were delisted on March 28, 2008. Any and all wolf take permits issued by the States under State authorities while wolves were delisted are null and void as of 4:04 p.m. on Friday, July 18, 2008. In the meantime, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are evaluating legal options regarding the Court’s order and the ongoing litigation over the Service’s delisting of the northern Rocky Mountain wolf population. The Service believes gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains have recovered and no longer need the protections of the Endangered Species Act.
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