YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A 57-year-old hiker was killed Wednesday morning in Yellowstone National Park when he and his wife encountered a sow grizzly bear with cubs. Torrence, California native Brian Matayoshi and his wife Marylin were hiking along the Wapiti Lake Trail, which is a 32-mile round trip hike that starts at the Upper Falls trail head just south of Canyon Village and spans east to Wapiti Lake. According to NBCMontana.com, the couple were a mile and half away from the trailhead, hiking west towards their vehicle mid-morning when they arrived at an open meadow after traveling through a forested area. Matayoshi spotted the bear and her cubs 100 yards away and immediately started to back track away from the bear. When the couple turned around to look, they saw the horrifying site of the sow running down the trail after them. The couple immediately started running, but the bear caught Brian, savaging the hiker with multiple bite and claw wounds. The bear then turned her attention to Marylin who was now laying down near her fallen husband. The bear chomped down on her day pack, lifting her up, before slamming her back to the ground. As Marylin lay still, the grizzly sow eventually left, leaving Marylin frantically calling 911 and screaming out to other hikers. When park rangers arrived, Brian Matayoshi was pronounced dead at the scene. The attack occurred just south of Canyon Village along the Wapiti Lake Trail. “It is extremely unfortunate that this couple’s trip into the Yellowstone backcountry has ended in tragedy,” said Dan Wenk, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. “Our heart goes out to the family and friends of the victim as they work to cope with their loss.”

    Sportsmen’s Organizations Defend the Scientific Delisting of the Western Great Lakes Wolf Populations April 29, 2013 Washington, D.C. – Hunters and advocates for sustainable wildlife management are joining together to fight a legal challenge to the delisting of wolves of the Western Great Lakes.  The large collaboration is a unique endeavor for national and regional organizations who recognize wolves as recovered in the Midwestern United States and who strive to make certain that management of the predator species remains with state wildlife authorities. The national hunter-conservationist organizations include the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), Safari Club International (SCI), and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF); the regional sportsmen’s organizations include the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Upper Peninsula Bear Houndsmen Association, Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, and the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association.  Collectively these organizations speak for those who hunt wolves, deer, moose, elk, and other game species and who seek to make sure that hunting remains part of sustainable management and conservation strategies for all wildlife. The group, collectively named “Hunter Conservation Coalition” seeks to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Born Free USA, Help Our Wolves Live, and Friends of Animals and their Environment in federal court in the District of Columbia.   Wolves in the Western Great Lakes region, which consists of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and parts of bordering states, were removed from Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection in January of 2012 after exceeding population recovery goals.  If successful, the lawsuit would return wolves in the region to federal protection under the ESA, a move that would again prohibit state wildlife agencies from managing them. Quotes from National Hunter-Conservationist Organizations: “America’s hunting heritage is under attack from extreme organizations that seek to eliminate hunting by limiting opportunity and access for all Americans. Their efforts to oppose the removal of wolves from the Endangered Species List contradict sound science, which has determined that the wolf population is able to thrive under state wildlife management.” -- Chris W. Cox, Executive Director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Numbering more than 4,000 strong, the gray wolf is fully recovered in the Great Lakes region and it is of paramount importance that everyone recognizes that states, not the federal government, are best qualified to manage the species. This lawsuit, like so many previous frivolous filings, will frustrate science-based management and cause conservation damage into the future. There is no credible science that supports claims that state management threatens to push populations to the brink of extinction. Wolf researchers and experts like Dr. David Mech, founder of the International Wolf Center, already stated that regulated hunting by states will not negatively affect the states' wolf populations. In fact there is very recent credible evidence in both Idaho and Montana that regulated hunting and trapping of gray wolves is not harming the overall wolf population as both states have the autonomy to manage their wolf populations and they are using best science practices." --David Allen, RMEF president & CEO    “Many of our organizations are seasoned participants in litigation that challenges scientifically based wildlife management.  SCI and several members of our coalition have gone to court many times to defend against similar attacks by animal rights’ advocates. The anti-hunting organizations use litigation to drive their agendas, sidelining science and ignoring those who have a direct stake in the management of the species.  They have attempted to undermine the delisting of Western Great Lakes wolf populations, as they have with the delisting of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming’s wolves. We hope the court sees through this feeble attempt to halt the management successes of the Western Great Lakes.”  -- John Whipple, President, SCI. “Wolf populations in the Western Great Lakes region have far exceeded all recovery goals set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Despite repeatedly fighting this issue in court, anti-hunting organizations are once again attempting to manipulate the ESA through the court system to overturn the delisting.  Not only does this threaten the future of scientific wildlife management and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, it flies in the face of the intent of the ESA in the first place.  If allowed to intervene, USSAF and the members of the Hunter Conservation Coalition will ensure sportsmen’s voices are heard in the case.”  -- Bud Pidgeon, USSAF President and CEO.

A man who became separated from his friends in dense forest during a squirrel hunting trip in western Tennessee says he ate worms and drank muddy water to survive five days in the wild before he was found. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A man who became separated from his friends in dense forest during a squirrel hunting trip in western Tennessee says he ate worms and drank muddy water to survive five days in the wild before he was found. Bill Lawrence said he gathered rainwater in his hunting vest and tried to stay calm throughout his ordeal. Authorities say they conducted the longest search in decades in the 13,000-acre Meeman Shelby Forest State Park before the man was discovered Sunday. Lawrence lost sight of his two hunting buddies on Aug. 31 while chasing a squirrel and became alarmed when his shots were the only ones he could hear, The Commercial Appeal reported (http://bit.ly/pakvdz). "This is when I got turned around,'' said Lawrence, a corrections officer, adding he tried in vain to find his friends or their truck. At the time he became separated, Lawrence was clad in camouflage pants and jacket, a hat and snake boots. His friends reporting him as missing. Searchers used trained dogs, horses, all-terrain vehicles, boats, police vehicles and helicopters as they scoured the thick woods. Meanwhile, Lawrence kept walking, searching for food and water. "I was drinking muddy water ... eating worms. Yeah, I'd seen that on TV. I ate worms.'' Lawrence said he had a shotgun, 15 shells, 2 bottles of water, a flashlight, a can of bug spray, a squirrel call and a can of dipping tobacco. But he did not have a cell phone to summon help. He shot his gun whenever he thought he heard someone, but his shotgun shells ran out on Saturday. "Everything was against him from the very beginning,'' Park Manager Steve Smith said, noting the helicopter spotters had difficulty peering into the dense forest canopy and searchers were hampered by extreme heat. Messages left by The Associated Press at the park office for Smith were not immediately returned. A telephone listing for Lawrence couldn't be located. Lawrence eventually reached a road on Sunday. It was about three miles from where he started out, but Lawrence estimated that he had covered about 35 miles by then. Lawrence said he collapsed and was found by some passers-by. "Man I was happy,'' he said. "I laid down in that road and just sat there. ... By then I was just wore out.'' Authorities said Lawrence suffered from dehydration and severe insect bites. He was taking antibiotics because of the things he ate in the forest.

THANK YOU Veterans by Mia Anstine I woke up this morning and contemplated a new blog post. As I sat here, sipping my coffee, I remembered why I started writing my blog, and who I started writing for. I began my blog to share stories. I shared those stories with my grandpa. As I wrote, I was talking to him. I [...] Read more of this post