POCATELLO — The Bureau of Land Management Pocatello Field Office is reminding the public that seasonal trail closures will go into effect Nov. 16 for motorized travel in the Pocatello, Bear Lake and Soda Springs areas.

“The purpose for many of the closures is to protect big game winter range,” said Chuck Patterson, outdoor recreation planner for the field office. “We also want to minimize erosion and other resource damage that occurs when vehicles are driven over wet and freezing roads.”

The Blackrock/Chinese Peak trail system is closed to motorized and mechanized (bicycle) travel from Nov. 16 – April 14. The Pocatello West Bench and Soda Hills areas are closed to motorized travel from Nov. 16 – May 15.

In the Soda Springs Hills, the upper gates at Ninety Percent Canyon, Idaho Ranch Canyon and Swenson Canyon close on Nov. 16, with a tentative opening date of May 15. The lower gates in those three canyons will close Jan. 5, with a tentative opening date of May 15. (The Idaho Canyon lower gate is county-controlled).

Cooley Canyon on the east side of Bear Lake will close starting Nov. 16, with a scheduled opening date of May 15. Goodenough Creek Campground and the trails system leading out of the campground/trailhead will close on Nov. 16, with a scheduled opening date of May 15.

Other trails and roads on public lands may have seasonal/winter closures, so please check with your local BLM office before visiting these areas. The BLM appreciates the public’s cooperation in these efforts. For more information on this closure or for general information, please contact the BLM in Pocatello at 208-478-6340.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A deer killed by a hunter in southern Montana tested positive for infection with a deadly wildlife disease that’s not been seen before in the state, officials said Wednesday.

Further testing is pending on the mule deer killed about 10 miles southeast of Bridger near the Wyoming border.

If confirmed, it would be the first time chronic wasting disease has been detected in Montana wildlife.

The contagious disease affecting deer, elk and moose is caused by infectious proteins that can lead to organ damage and eventual death. It’s present in numerous states, from New York to Wyoming, and officials had said it was only a matter of time before it showed up in Montana.

Officials are considering a special hunt in the area where the infected deer was shot to help determine whether and how far the disease might already have spread.

There’s no evidence it can harm humans. But out of caution, wildlife officials recommend that animals killed in areas with the disease be tested prior to consumption.

In other states, wildlife managers have taken dramatic preventative steps against chronic wasting disease, such as killing all deer and other susceptible animals in areas where infections were found, effectively creating a “wildlife desert” to prevent transmissions, said Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks spokesman Bob Gibson.

“That would be the most radical way to do it, if we needed to draw a line in the sand to keep (chronic wasting disease) from crossing it,” Gibson said. “That’s not even on our radar yet.”

The state on Tuesday had updated its response plan for chronic wasting disease with changes that are now open for public comment.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — If you want to get around most of Yellowstone National Park over the next several months, you’ll need a snowmobile or a snowcoach.

Most roads in the park as well as the west, south and east entrances closed Monday for the winter to regular motor vehicle traffic. On Dec. 15, the park will be open to snowmobiles and snowcoaches, which are vehicles with treads that carry multiple passengers.

The one park road that remains open through the winter runs from the park’s north entrance at Gardiner, Montana, through Mammoth Hot Springs, to the park’s northeast entrance and the communities of Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana.

The north road is open all year, weather permitting.

Areas of the park received over 12 inches of snow this past weekend.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say a North Carolina man hunting in central Idaho was killed when a tree fell on top of him as he was sleeping.

The Post Register reports that authorities with the Custer County Sheriff’s Office say 67-year-old Kenneth Lawrence Horton was hunting with family members in the Salmon-Challis National Forest when the dead tree fell, causing a chest injury on Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office dispatched ambulances and a search and rescue unit to his location nearly 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Challis. Air ambulance personnel reported Horton dead Wednesday afternoon, and he was taken to a funeral home in Challis.

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Information from: Post Register, http://www.postregister.com

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials have released a plan for a proposed wilderness area in a northern Idaho forest that includes banning snowmobiles.

Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest Supervisor Cheryl Probert decided to maintain a ban on snowmobiles in the Great Burn recommended wilderness area, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

The Great Burn is located along the Idaho-Montana border and spans over 391 square miles (1013 sq. kilometers). It has no roads.

Motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles will continue to be permitted to travel to Fish Lake on a limited basis as part of the decision reached Tuesday.

“I recognize that in affirming the decision to keep the (recommended wilderness areas) closed to motorized use, except for Fish Lake Trail in the summer, I am affecting a growing snow machine user group looking for rugged, backcountry riding,” Probert said. “My decision is rooted in the Forest Plan direction to protect wilderness character and future designation.”

Sandra Mitchell with the Idaho State Snowmobile Association disagrees with the plan. She argues that there is no reason for snowmobile to be banned in the Great Burn since there are no resource and conflict issues or wildlife concerns.

“It’s so disappointing,” she said. “It’s just not acceptable that the citizen owners of public land should be treated that way.”

Former supervisor Rick Brazell’s 2012 Travel Management Plan was challenged in lawsuits which claimed it was too restrictive or too lenient on motorized vehicles, possibly endangering important elk habitat.

A judge later ruled that the agency had failed to study how motorized vehicles would impact elk.

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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say they’re searching for a Utah man who is reported missing within the Grand Canyon National Park.

Park Service officials say 39-year-old Michael Legus, of Tooele, was reported missing by a friend.

Legus reportedly was last seen at Mather Point on the canyon’s South Rim shortly after noon Tuesday.

Grand Canyon rangers are searching the area and asking anyone who may have seen or talked to Legus to contact the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch.

CODY, Wyoming (AP) — A hunting guide and hunter are recovering in Wyoming hospitals after being attacked by a bear in the Washakie Wilderness.

The Cody Enterprise reports that John Sheets said he was field dressing an elk Thursday night on a late-season cow hunt with a female hunter when she was attacked by a grizzly bear.

Sheets said he rushed in, grabbed the bear by the neck and stabbed it with his hunting knife, which caused the bear to retaliate.

Sheets said the rest of the encounter is fuzzy, but he remembers the bear dragging the hunter down a hill. He said the bear came back up and chewed on his ear and broke his leg.

He says they were able to escape on their horses.

Sheets said the last he heard the hunter was in stable condition.

The Washakie Wilderness is located east and southeast of Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming. 

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — A memorial service is scheduled for a renowned Carbondale climber who took his own life after surviving an avalanche where his girlfriend died.

Hayden Michael Kennedy and his girlfriend, Inge Perkins, had been skiing on Imp Peak in southwestern Montana when they triggered an avalanche.

Perkins was left buried, and Kennedy hiked out for help after he could not find her.

The 27-year-old was found dead in his residence Oct. 8, a day before rescuers recovered Perkins’ body.

The Aspen Daily News reports the service for family members and close friends of Kennedy will be held Nov. 4 at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale.

A statement from his family says the tribute and service will be broadcast on YouTube an hour and a half after it ends.

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Information from: Aspen Daily News, http://www.aspendailynews.com

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — A memorial service is scheduled for a renowned Carbondale climber who took his own life after surviving an avalanche where his girlfriend died.

Hayden Michael Kennedy and his girlfriend, Inge Perkins, had been skiing on Imp Peak in southwestern Montana when they triggered an avalanche.

Perkins was left buried, and Kennedy hiked out for help after he could not find her.

The 27-year-old was found dead in his residence Oct. 8, a day before rescuers recovered Perkins’ body.

The Aspen Daily News reports the service for family members and close friends of Kennedy will be held Nov. 4 at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale.

A statement from his family says the tribute and service will be broadcast on YouTube an hour and a half after it ends.

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Information from: Aspen Daily News, http://www.aspendailynews.com

POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — As the sun peeked over the horizon just high enough to tickle the top of Heart Mountain, Frank Fagan spotted some mule deer just 200 yards up the next hill.

At his side, his daughter Shelby started to follow her father’s advice as he walked her through the steps to load her rifle, line up, switch off the safety and look for the perfect shot — just like they practiced. Shelby, 12, was after her first deer. But this was far from her first hunt. At three months, her mother, Bre, brought her on an elk hunt.

“She went back to the truck to breast feed after tagging her elk,” Frank said.

Shelby and her 10-year-old sister Danika have been on just about every hunt since. It’s a family activity, Frank said.

Shelby hesitated. Two fawns were hanging close and she wasn’t confident with the shot. Her father was supportive and calming.

“If it doesn’t feel right, there’ll be other deer,” Frank said.

If Shelby was nervous it didn’t show. Other than having cold fingers and being a little tired, she was excited to finally get a deer in her scope and try out the .243 shells her father hand-loaded for her hunt. She considered the day a practice session for more exciting hunts later this year.

“Next week, I get to hunt for a buck in Sunlight and then I have an elk tag for next month,” she said. Shelby hopes to have a mount, like her mom and dad, hanging from the living room wall soon.

The doe and two fawns got a pass. Frank took a quick look to the west and quickly signaled his daughter to head his way. She grabbed her rifle and the two slid on their rears down the hill to the draw below. High winds covered the noise. Crouching down, they snuck to the next ridge, 150 yards from a small herd. The deer continued to feed.

Concealed by the ridge, Shelby lined up her shot. Earlier in the year, she placed second in the state at the 4-H air rifle competition — and she practiced by shooting milk jugs before the season started. She was steady and confident.

She fired and the doe fell. With a dozen years of experience on family hunts, the 12-year-old had just taken her first deer. Frank gathered up his daughter and hugged her tight. And then they went to work, dressing and transporting the deer home to hang before breakfast.

Despite living in an agricultural area, Shelby said only a few of her friends at Powell Middle School get the opportunity to hunt.

“I’m pretty lucky,” she said.

Danika will start training to hunt next year. Frank is planning to attend hunter’s education with his youngest daughter, like he did with Shelby, and then mentor her on a hunt next season.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department sold 14,770 resident licenses to females last year as well as 8,790 resident youth hunting licenses. Since 2008, the number of licenses sold to resident female hunters has gone up about 32 percent (one-day licenses do not specify gender so the number of female hunters is actually higher). The Game and Fish has several programs in the works to attract women and children into the outdoor sports, said Rebekah Fitzgerald, communications and outreach supervisor for the Game and Fish.

For women 18 and older, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sponsors Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshops. The workshops give women a chance to learn the basics of canoeing, archery, fly-tying, shooting skills, backpacking, outdoor photography and more, regardless of skill level. The 2018 date will be finalized by the start of the year and will likely be in August.

“As women get interested in outdoor sports, they’ll bring their kids along,” Fitzgerald said.

The department also hired a new Hunter and Angler Participation Coordinator to try to reach families. Kathryn Boswell has already made an impact, according to Fitzgerald. One program — a three-day shooting and hunting seminar for women and their children — ends Saturday with a pheasant hunt.

Boswell will also bring back the Outdoor Expo, a three-day affair aimed at families. Scheduled for May 17-19 in Casper, the first two days will be geared toward educating children on conservation and activities including hunting and fishing. On the final day, the entire family will come together to enjoy shooting and fishing activities.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to connect the dots and the interest will continue through fall,” Fitzgerald said.

After Shelby’s shot found its mark on Sunday, Frank Fagan gathered his daughter in his arms and squeezed her tight.

“I love you, Pumpkin,” he said and kissed her forehead.

For Fagan it’s about more than gender. It’s about family. And he and Bre are exploding with pride that their children love the outdoor sports.