By Dave Hurteau

A dozen or more bowhunters who flung arrows at a panicked herd of elk cornered in a rancher’s pasture in Skagit County, Washington, on Saturday apparently did nothing illegal. They did, however, manage to kill 7 animals, cause an emergency closure of the area’s archery elk season, and make us all look really bad.

By Dave Hurteau

From UpNorthLive.com:
Green Bay, Wisconsin man who killed a wolf in Upper Michigan and was caught hunting without a license was sentenced Monday in Iron County Circuit Court.

Stephen Popp Jr. was sentenced to 20 days community service and ordered to pay more than $2,500 in fines.  He is also on six months probation and is banned from hunting for two years.

By Dave Hurteau

From the Miami Herald:
On Jan. 1, a new four-month ban on grouper fishing goes into effect to protect the species during its primary spawning season. Fishery managers and ocean conservancy groups say several types of grouper have been overfished for decades and need protection.

By Chad Love

Well, Christmas has come and gone once again. The relatives have all gone back to wherever it is relatives come from, the food has all been consumed, the boxes and wrapping paper are on the curb waiting for the trash truck and it's now time to sit back, spread your newly-acquired booty on the floor in front of you and check off what you wanted versus what you actually got.
 
Here's what I wanted:
 
1. The "Tarpon" DVD
I first read about it over on the Flytalk blog. Prior to that I had frankly never heard of it, but the director, Guy de la Valdene, is a wonderful bird-hunting writer and of course Jim Harrison, Tom McGuane and Richard Brautigan are legends. Since then I've viewed the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dSXWIc_Ug4 approximately 1,347 times. It's absolutely enthralling. I can only imagine what the entire DVD is like. Guess I'll have to, since no one got it for me...