Protect habitat, elk expert pleads

A top Canadian biologist urged hunters and others to step up efforts to protect wildlife habitat, saying development pressures are putting such land at greater risk than ever before.

“We’re reaching the point where decisions have to be made or the best places will fall,” keynote speaker Shane Mahoney said last weekend at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s annual convention in Reno.

Mahoney praised the 150,000-member Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation based in Missoula for its efforts on behalf of habitat protection.

But much more must be done, Mahoney said.

Associated Press

BIRDWATCHING

Bird seed banned for weed control

Idaho’s Department of Agriculture has ordered two dozen companies to stop selling bird seed and other animal feeds that contain noxious weed seeds.

Banned plants found in recent tests included buffalobur, jointed goatgrass, field bindweed, Johnsongrass, Canada thistle and Hoary crest, six of the 36 plants of the state’s list of noxious weeds.

The state did not release a list of companies affected by the stop-sale orders when it announced them last week.

The Lewiston Tribune reported Idaho companies receiving the stop-sale orders included Black Cat Pellet Mill of Gooding and Wendell and Zamzow’s of Nampa. Other companies were outside Idaho.

Retail stores that stock seeds and feed from the companies whose products had noxious weed seeds have been warned to remove the products from their shelves.

The state has spent millions to combat some three dozen types of noxious weeds — alien plants that choke out native vegetation and wildlife.

Associated Press

FISHING

Montanan catches record perch

A Kalispell angler broke Montana’s nearly 18-year-old perch record with a 2.39-pound catch on Stillwater Lake near Kalispell.

Josh Emmert, 27, caught the fish Feb. 19 while participating in the Scoreboard Pub’s third annual Perch Pounder Fishing Derby.

Montana officials documented the catch, which was 14 3/8 inches long and 12 3/16 inches around.

Associated Press