By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Lake trout thrived in Lake Michigan before sea lampreys decimated the species in the 1950s. Since then, the lake’s lakers have shown no evidence of reproducing naturally--until now. "This is like finding a needle in a haystack," Jim Dexter of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, told the Associated Press. “This is definitely good news,” he added, but noted that a comeback for the species is a long way off yet. 

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

From Kentucky's News-Democrat & Leader:
Young hunters in the Bluegrass State are the most recent to benefit from the Families Afield program after the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission passed two measures to open doors for young hunters.
The first measure establishes a one-year, non-renewable exemption from hunter education classes when the novice hunter is accompanied by an adult mentor. The mentor must be a licensed hunter at least 18 years old. The second measure raises the age at which young hunters must take a hunter education course prior to hunting from 10 to 12 years old.
Families Afield legislation is creating new opportunities for young hunters in several states, including Michigan and Ohio, where more than 27,000 apprentice licenses have been sold. Part of the mission is to let parents--as opposed to states--decide when a youngster is old enough to hunt.
Do you think this is a good idea? How old were you when you started hunting? Do you think you could have safely started earlier? At what age will your kids be old enough to hunt?

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

From an Associated Press article in the Helena Independent Record:
The head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says his agency will start removing federal protections from gray wolves in Montana and Idaho by January, regardless of whether Wyoming has submitted an acceptable plan to manage its own wolves by then.

Wyoming's plan is tied up in lawsuits, and Fish and Wildlife Director Dale Hall said Tuesday his agency is moving ahead with Idaho and Montana, where management plans are already in place.
Defenders of Wildlife, which advocates on behalf of wolves, vowed to fight the move, saying delisting by state is illegal.

Last week, we posted a story reporting that the USFWS had suggested a compromise solution to their standoff with Wyoming, which that state (so far at least) has not accepted. So should the feds move forward without them?

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Speaking of hunting accidents, according to this Huffington Post blog entry, Vice President Dick Cheney does in fact (or at least did in fact) have a dead deer on his lawn—which leaves the door wide open to all sorts of speculation. Feel free to offer your own below.