Outdoor News Daily

If you enjoy gathering antlers that deer, elk and moose shed in the winter, one of your favorite times of the year is almost here.

But before you head outdoors to gather antlers, you need to head to this Web page first: wildlife.utah.gov/shedantler.

At the page, you’ll find a free shed antler-gathering course. You must complete the course—and print a course completion certificate—before you gather shed antlers in Utah.

“Make sure you carry your certificate with you,” says Mike Fowlks, Law Enforcement Section chief for the Division of Wildlife Resources.
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Montana’s 54 state parks reported a record number of visits—2 million—last year.

“Eighty-three percent of those visits were by Montanans,” said Chas Van Genderen, State Parks Administrator. “Overall visit numbers have grown five of the past six years. Only 2008, with its high gas prices, showed a slight decrease.”

Thirteen parks hosted more visits than ever before—including Makoshika with its unique badlands scenery, Flathead Lake’s Wild Horse Island, and Tongue River Reservoir in the southeastern corner of the state.

Van Genderen said water-based parks were most popular, with more than a million visits–a 15 percent increase over 2008. Parks along Flathead Lake and Spring Meadow Lake State Park near Helena were among the water-based parks with record-breaking seasons.
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Despite a tough economy and an increase in the park entrance fees, South Dakota State Parks experienced their busiest year on record. Across the state, visitation was up 7 percent from 2008 and camping numbers were up 10 percent.

Many state recreation areas along the Missouri River and adjacent to reservoirs in western South Dakota have been impacted by the recovering water levels. “The state’s Missouri River and western campgrounds saw the greatest gains, largely due to optimum reservoir levels and good fishing,” said state park director Doug Hofer. “The parks on Lakes Oahe, Sharpe and Francis Case have been filling to capacity, boosting their camping usage 20 percent from 2008.”
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The recent cold snap has begun to freeze up larger portions of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, which should result in higher concentrations of bald eagles in areas of open water, and should make for good eagle viewing during upcoming bald eagle watching events.

Sauk City and Prairie du Sac on the Wisconsin River will hold the 23nd annual Bald Eagle Watching Days on Jan. 15-16. Along the Mississippi River, Cassville will hold its 17th annual Bald Eagle Days on Jan. 30-31.

Each winter, hundreds of bald eagles congregate along areas of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers where they feed on fish in the open water below dams. Wildlife officials say this is the largest concentration of wintering bald eagles in the lower 48 states, offering some of the best eagle viewing in the nation.
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