Conservation News

In Texas, a state known for its lack of public lands, the tide may be turning. Though only four percent of land in the state is publicly owned (and of that, only 1 million acres are open to hunting), those numbers are set to grow substantially in coming years. That’s thanks to a 2023 voter-approved...

In the battle over public land access, the sides often seem to have heroic DIY hunters on one side vs villainous landowners scheming to keep us out on the other. But it’s hardly ever that simple. Take, for example, David Faubion, a Wyoming-based big game hunter who has been chartering a helicopter...

Western states have a mule deer problem. Deer populations are down across the board, leaving fish and game commissions grasping for means to mitigate the declines. Often, the only lever immediately within reach is a control on hunting pressure, which commissioners are reluctant to touch, as it...

Earlier this month, the U.S. House Committee of Natural Resources held a hearing on sea lion management on the Columbia River. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Columbia River salmon and steelhead face a serious threat from sea lions that have learned to consume these...

I must admit, as a kid raised on the East Coast who now lives in Texas, the idea that you could harvest your own Christmas tree on public land is a foreign, wonderful concept. But it makes sense. We harvest meat and mushrooms and trout from our public land–why not Christmas trees? If you’re...

Editor's Note: This article has been updated since its original publication. As hunters and anglers, endangered species aren’t typically on our minds. Few of the species we target are under protection from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), with wolves in the Lower 48 being a notable—and contentious...

A social media influencer with a history of unscrupulous wildlife-related behavior is under new scrutiny for falsifying her residency to hunt big game in the Cowboy State. The woman, Samantha Strable, gained notoriety earlier this year for grabbing a baby wombat off the side of the road in Australia...

The Bureau of Land Management has a new potential leader: former New Mexico congressman, Steve Pearce. Earlier this month, President Trump appointed Pearce to be the agency director, a role in which he will be responsible for managing the BLM’s 245 million surface acres, and 700-million-acre...

From a deer stand on his farm in Ellendale, North Dakota, 81-year-old Gary Krapu told a story. In 1978, the now-retired waterfowl biologist took the witness stand as the lone expert for the Department of the Interior in a series of lawsuits opposing a critical habitat designation on the Platte River...

The huntable acreage enrolled in public-private access agreements continues to slip in some western states, new numbers show. As hunters see increased crowding on public lands, they’re turning to alternative avenues for access, including private rangeland and agricultural lands enrolled in state...

A Golden State man was recently sentenced after being busted for lying about where he killed an unusual buck with wonky drop tines. According to a California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) post, game wardens were routinely monitoring a taxidermy shop in Madera County in 2023 when they...

The first known death from the tick-borne meat allergy Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS) has been reported this month in New Jersey. In September 2024, a 47-year-old airline pilot returned home after an afternoon barbecue, and despite feeling well enough to mow the lawn and read a newspaper, he began to...