If you want to take your chances at drawing an Arizona Mule Deer Tag, don’t wait too much longer. The deadline is June 8, 2010. You may purchase a license first or apply for one as part of the drawing. You cannot apply online for the draw.

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Cougar attacks dogs in Gimlet. Fish and Game officers relocate big cat after confrontation

 Idaho Department of Fish and Game

A two-year-old male cougar sits in the snow at its relocation site near the Little Wood River north of Carey on New Year’s Eve. Idaho Department of Fish and Game officers transferred the big cat to the remote area after it tangled with two dogs in the Gimlet neighborhood south of Ketchum.

Gimlet resident Lon Stickney was treated to the kind of surprise no pet owner would ever wish for when he stepped out of his home on New Year’s Eve to check on his two dogs.
Glancing around for the pair of 60- to 70-pound mixed-breed dogs, Stickney, a pilot for Sun Valley Heli-Ski, found them in the fight of their lives with a cougar. Stickney’s home is located near the Big Wood River’s forested corridor just north of the confluence with the East Fork.
Calmly retelling the story last Friday, Stickney said all he could see when he approached the confrontation was a tumbling ball of fur. Wanting to do something to save his dogs, he grabbed a large leaf rake and approached the melee.
“I poked at it and this cougar looked up,” he said. “He started walking towards me.”
Seeing the cougar’s approach, Stickney gathered up the two bleeding dogs and retreated to the house. Soon after, he and his wife, Gail Stickney, glanced out their living room window to see the cougar’s eyes fixated at them through the thin pane of glass. The cougar stepped away.
“It turned and went under my deck,” he said.
Stickney quickly decided he should call the authorities for help. He telephoned the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, which contacted Idaho Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Lee Garwood, a Hailey resident.
Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce
Within an hour, Garwood and Rob Morris, another Fish and Game conservation officer based in the Wood River Valley, arrived at the Stickneys’ home. Checking under the couple’s deck, the two officers saw the cougar staring back. After assessing the situation and consulting with Fish and Game officials in Jerome, Garwood and Morris proceeded to tranquilize the cornered animal.
The cougar was a young male—likely just 2 years old—and was probably searching for a home range of its own, Garwood speculates. He said there have been a number of cougar sightings in the lower East Fork area in the past month or so. The cougar they captured may be the same animal, he said.
Garwood said it may also be the same animal that attacked dogs twice over the summer in the Elkhorn and Triumph areas.
The big cat was likely pushed into the river corridor by recent snows that have forced its main prey base—elk and mule deer—out of their summer ranges, Garwood speculates.

Once the cougar was under control and placed in a transport box, Garwood and Morris drove the 80-pound predator over to the Little Wood River drainage north of Carey. After the tranquilizer had worn off enough to allow the cougar to safely move out on its own, the two officers released the cat.

Garwood said Stickney handled the situation well by bringing his dogs indoors and calling the authorities for help. He said people should never try to handle that kind of situation on their own.
“Let us handle it,” he said.

Garwood has several other winter-related wildlife tips for locals. First, he said he likes to hear from the public when they encounter wildlife such as moose, cougars, gray wolves and black bears. Hearing reports from the public can help Fish and Game officers develop a picture of which areas individual animals may be occupying.
Garwood also cautioned that recent snows have really begun to limit the available habitat for local deer and elk. He said people who run into wildlife while out recreating in the snow should reconsider their plans and find an alternative spot to play, in order to let the animals conserve their energy.
“The world has become a little smaller now because of the snowfall,” he said.
People should also be careful with their dogs, no matter how well behaved they think they are, Garwood said.

“The chase instinct kicks in,” he said.

Garwood said local pet owners should be aware that all of Blaine County is cougar country and should act accordingly. He said that when letting a dog outside, people should turn the porch light on and make sure the coast is clear.
“If you can supervise the animal, that’s best,” he said. “There’s always a miniscule chance that a cougar will be passing through.”
To this, Stickney can now surely attest.

“They’re around and they’re not afraid of anybody,” he said.

Except for a bit of soreness and the stitches to mend their torn sides, the Stickneys report that their two dogs—Daphne and Ruby—are doing fine.

MULE DEER RESTORATION COMMITTEE TO MEET IN ELKO

The newly formed Mule Deer Restoration Committee is set to hold its second meeting in Elko Thursday, April 15, beginning at noon in the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) office on 60 Youth Center Road. A teleconference phone will be set up at the 1100 Valley Road Headquarters location as well.

The Mule Deer Restoration Committee, a sub-committee created by Nevada Board of Wildlife Commission (NBWC) Chairman Gerald Lent with the purpose of helping to restore mule deer numbers in the state, is chaired by NBWC vice-chairman Scott Raine. Other members of the committee include Wilde Brough, Cory Lytle, Pat Laughlin and John Carpenter. Tony Wasley, NDOW game biologist, is assigned as staff to the committee.

Raine will hold a review of the Draft Charter for Committee Operations and then review a list of possible factors affecting mule deer populations that the committee will be considering. The review will be followed by a discussion of early Nevada history by local residents Cliff Gardner, Mike Laughlin and Wasley.

The meeting will wrap up with a review of committee assignments. The assignments have been divided among committee members and include liaisons for the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, Nevada Farm Bureau, and Wildlife Services. Committee members will also be tasked with research and findings regarding several possible factors involving mule deer numbers. These factors include energy development, shed horns, wild horses, pinyon juniper encroachment; ungulate competition; road crossings; predation; doe hunts; genetics, secondary effects of helicopters, and grazing.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) protects, restores and manages fish and wildlife, and promotes fishing, hunting, and boating safety. NDOW’s wildlife and habitat conservation efforts are primarily funded by sportsmen’s license and conservation fees and a federal surcharge on hunting and fishing gear. Support wildlife and habitat conservation in Nevada by purchasing a hunting, fishing, or combination license. For more information, visit www.ndow.org.

Click HERE

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The full fee is required up front and there is a non-refundable $27 non-resident application fee. Cost for a standard deer hunt is $270, and for a quality hunt – $355.

Click HERE to apply.

The application deadline is April 6. If you want you can apply for a preference point as your first choice and then apply for a hunt as your second choice. If you draw the hunt then you get no refund and lose your accumulated points for the hunt. If not then you pay $25 plus the application fee and keep your preference point. Or, if you like you can apply for up to five hunt choices, and if you don’t draw then you may keep (and pay) for a license and get a preference point that way. Cost for a non-resident is $329 plus or minus.

Keep applying and building up your bonus points. Maybe you will draw.

Good Luck