Wildlife blog

Springtime magic

Details: Published: Monday, May 20, 2019, 2:46 pm

One of my highlights every spring is the chance I get to count sharp-tailed grouse on a remote grouse gathering area — called a lek — in northern Utah.

Western Native Trout Challenge

Details: Published: Thursday, May 16, 2019, 2:24 pm

It can be said that the "lure of the West" is native trout. They are the embodiment of the Western character — its eternal struggle and triumph of adaptation to a life of water in a dry land.

Walleye on the dinner plate

Details: Published: Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 7:31 pm

Spring means all kinds of walleye activity around these parts, and we're pretty excited about it. Our aquatic biologists are currently in the middle of spawning operations out at Willard Bay, preparing to grow millions of sterile walleye to plant into waters throughout the state.

A rare sighting of the elusive Gila monster

Details: Published: Thursday, March 28, 2019, 1:20 pm

I heard my husband yell, "Look at that!" I turned and looked toward where he was pointing and saw a 2-foot, yellow-and-black reptile slowly crawling across the ground to the right of me. I gasped at how large it was — and because I'd never seen one and had no idea what it was.

Utah's Serengeti

Details: Published: Friday, February 1, 2019, 7:24 pm

It may be a long way from Africa, but Utah has its own little Serengeti where herds of deer and elk roam. As a wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) I've flown over a hundred wildlife surveys during the last quarter century. It was on one of those long days of flying in a helicopter counting elk that I began to realize how amazing this area really was.

Becoming a hunter

Details: Published: Monday, January 28, 2019, 6:49 pm

There I was, stomping through a field in the middle of Montana, shooting at pheasants. My first hunt was happening — and it was with a group of skilled hunters and professional guides. I felt confident, and surprisingly excited, about shouldering a shotgun and pulling the trigger.

Living life to the fullest

Details: Published: Thursday, January 10, 2019, 4:38 pm

How do you begin to write a story about one of the greatest hunters and hunting writers of the last several decades? Well, I won't pretend that I have any ability to tell an eloquent story, especially through writing, but I will describe a person and an experience that has given me fond memories and taught me lessons I hope to carry on.

Rabbits over reindeer on Christmas Eve

Details: Published: Wednesday, January 2, 2019, 4:14 pm

I do not consider myself to be a traditional hunter. I'm still the only one in my family to ever hunt, and I learned to shoot a gun in my first job out of undergrad as a wildlife technician.

Lessons learned

Details: Published: Friday, December 28, 2018, 3:04 pm

It's a photo of a skinny kid. He's soaked, cold, straining to heft a game carrier filled with ducks his dad took that day. And straining to smile and hold back a tear.

Two of Utah's best shooting centers

Details: Published: Wednesday, December 26, 2018, 3:09 pm

The first time I visited the Cache Valley Public Shooting Range, I was just expecting to do some recreational shooting and relieve some of the stress. It was 1996, and I was a busy college student that had moved my young family to Logan so that I could pursue a fisheries and wildlife degree at Utah State University.