Thursday, October 8, 2026

The Cibola National Forest is preparing an environmental impact statement on Roca Honda Resources' plan for an underground uranium mine on the Mount Taylor Ranger District, on National Forest, BLM, state and private land, and is taking scoping comments through October 14. The Forest Service expects the mine would need a project-specific amendment to the forest's land management plan. EPA Region 6 and BLM's Rio Puerco Field Office are cooperating agencies. Instructions for commenting are in the Federal Register notice, under project number 301824.

The last evacuation order on the Bouquet Fire has been cut back to the burned area itself. Zone LAC-E030-A now covers only the fire footprint, the Angeles National Forest says, and residents in Bouquet Canyon are not affected. Every other order and warning was lifted earlier in the week.

The fire is 83 percent contained at 1,048 acres, according to the federal incident report filed Wednesday evening, up from 74 percent in the forest's morning update. There are 131 people still assigned, and the estimated cost is $2.7 million.

Crews are walking the interior looking for leftover heat that could threaten the line if the hot, dry weather holds, slow work on steep, hard-to-reach ground. Expect fire crews and equipment along Bouquet Canyon Road, which reopened Wednesday, including engines parked on the shoulders.

For riders, nothing has changed: the Drinkwater and Rowher Flat OHV areas are still closed for high fire danger and suppression work, as are forest roads 6N18 (Saugus del Sur) and 6N19 (Quarry Road).

The Dome Fire has stayed within its footprint, the incident's InciWeb page says, and holds at 6,815 acres and 47 percent contained with 916 people assigned. Tree-felling crews are taking down standing dead trees in the 2017 Empire Fire burn, where they are a constant hazard to crews below, and firefighters are building hand line directly on the fire's eastern edge. The mule string has hauled 106 loads, 12,237 pounds of cargo, in just over a week. Warm, dry weather holds through today. Closures are unchanged: Glacier Point Road and the trails in the fire footprint, including Ostrander, Mono Meadow and Buena Vista, are closed; Chilnualna Falls, Alder Creek, Four Mile and Panorama trails are open.

Texas hunters should see good harvest numbers and a fair shot at quality bucks this season, Texas Parks and Wildlife says. After three straight years of above-average fawn survival, the state's white-tailed deer population is estimated at 5.64 million.

Late-spring and early-summer rain rescued habitat across most of the state. The department expects slightly above-average antler quality in most regions, with the Cross Timbers, Edwards Plateau, Eastern Rolling Plains and parts of the Post Oak Savannah and Blackland Prairie doing best. Pockets of South Texas and the Pineywoods missed the spring rain and should expect average antlers. The Edwards Plateau has the most deer, about 1.97 million, with the highest density around Llano and Mason counties, where the department says doe harvest is especially important. For mature bucks, South Texas and the Western Rolling Plains typically produce the largest.

The new concern is New World screwworm, a parasite confirmed in Texas earlier this year that hit the state's white-tailed deer hard in the early 1900s. The department asks hunters to watch for signs of infestation on trail cameras and in the field, to inspect harvested deer, and to report anything suspicious to their local TPWD biologist promptly. Its screwworm page explains what to look for.

Chronic wasting disease rules also apply: check the season dates, bag limits and carcass disposal rules for your county in the Outdoor Annual app before you go.

Two residents of the Sunset Heights subdivision in Salmon, Idaho, were injured early October 2 when a juvenile black bear tried to get in their back door around 3:30 a.m., Idaho Fish and Game said. They tackled and wrestled the bear. One was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

The sow was shot by a neighbor shortly after the attack, and both juveniles were trapped the next morning and euthanized. Fish and Game had been told the day before that a sow with cubs was killing chickens there and had set traps on the neighboring property. Investigators found the bears had been feeding for several days on a large pile of unsecured household garbage outside the home.

The department's warning applies well beyond Salmon. Drought and poor natural food are driving bears closer to people as they fatten for winter, and it lists garbage, leftovers, pet food and uncleaned barbecues and smokers left outside as attractants. Food-conditioned bears quickly lose their wariness. Report bears around homes early to the local Fish and Game office, so staff can work with residents to deter them before they become food-conditioned.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has released a draft Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan, the first in the state's history, and is taking written comments through November 1. Bobcat hunting and trapping have been illegal in California since 2020 except under limited circumstances such as a depredation permit, and that law requires a plan like this before a season can even be considered.

Five years of study found bobcats throughout the state with a stable population of more than 62,000, similar to the department's estimates from 1977 and 1981. The 133-page draft lists vehicle strikes and disease, especially mange, as the leading known causes of death.

Only the Fish and Game Commission can reinstate a season; the plan is meant to give it current science and possible management options. Comments go to [email protected] with "California Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan" in the subject line, or by mail to CDFW Wildlife Branch, Attn: Rachel Roberts, P.O. Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94244-2090.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has released an initial draft of its next Turkey Management Plan and is taking public comment through November 20 through an online comment tool. After that, staff will revise the plan and take it to the Natural Resources Board for final approval.

Open houses run 5:30 to 8 p.m., with a presentation at 6: Monday, October 12, at the DNR Service Center in La Crosse; Tuesday, October 13, at the Lincoln County Service Center in Merrill; and Wednesday, October 14, at the DNR/USDA office in Appleton. A virtual session is Thursday, October 15. Staff will explain what has changed since the last round of public input.

The Interior Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service are taking nominations through October 22 for the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation and Access Council, a federal advisory body that recommends policy to the Interior and Agriculture secretaries on habitat, hunting and shooting access on public land, and ranges. Among its duties is reviewing public land that is currently unreachable for hunting and recommending ways to open it. Anyone who applied under the April 21 call does not need to reapply. Submission instructions are in the Federal Register notice.

Buck Commander is back for its 17th season on Outdoor Channel, Sundays at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, Outdoor Sportsman Group said October 7. The cast is unchanged: Willie Robertson, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Tyler Farr, former major leaguers Adam LaRoche, Ryan Langerhans and Tombo Marin, and Surge Outdoors CEO Ryan Busbice.

The season moves from invasive iguanas and pythons in Florida with former heavyweight boxer King Pedford, to Louisiana swamp whitetails, Luke Bryan's family elk hunt in New Mexico, early-season Nebraska bucks and Mississippi River bottom deer in Arkansas, before heading to South Texas.

If you do not get Outdoor Channel, the free preview on DISH, Sling and several cable systems runs through October 31.