SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — For the first time since 1989, there’s been a confirmed sighting of a great gray owl in Utah.

Bird watchers first saw a pair of great gray owls on Feb. 9 in Morgan County.

A Salt Lake City Tribune (http://bit.ly/2lalDj1) photographer snapped a picture of a great gray owl in a tree Saturday in the Morgan County town of Mountain Green.

The avian conservation coordinator for Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says there was a reported sighting of a great gray owl in 1999, but not enough documentation to confirm it.

The bird’s habitat typically stretches from the Teton Range in Idaho and Wyoming across the Canadian Rockies.

Heavy snowfall this winter likely pushed the great gray owl farther south to find food.

The owls eat small rodents.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Researchers in Yellowstone National Park are getting a better understanding of secretive cougars through DNA analysis of scat and hair, along with photographs and specially equipped GPS collars.

Dan Stahler, manager of the Cougar Project, tells The Billings Gazette (https://goo.gl/SHvO4I ) the work builds on a study by biologist Toni Ruth between 1998 and 2005 that documented changes in cougar populations following the reintroduction of wolves.

The latest study shows that a fairly stable population of cougars roams the rugged region between the Lamar Valley and Gardiner known as the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Although elk numbers before wolf reintroduction in 1995 hit about 19,000, they have since plummeted to what has become a new normal of about 4,800. Stahler says that surprisingly, although their main prey source has been depleted, cougar numbers seem to have stayed about the same.

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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Researchers in Yellowstone National Park are getting a better understanding of secretive cougars through DNA analysis of scat and hair, along with photographs and specially equipped GPS collars.

Dan Stahler, manager of the Cougar Project, tells The Billings Gazette (https://goo.gl/SHvO4I ) the work builds on a study by biologist Toni Ruth between 1998 and 2005 that documented changes in cougar populations following the reintroduction of wolves.

The latest study shows that a fairly stable population of cougars roams the rugged region between the Lamar Valley and Gardiner known as the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Although elk numbers before wolf reintroduction in 1995 hit about 19,000, they have since plummeted to what has become a new normal of about 4,800. Stahler says that surprisingly, although their main prey source has been depleted, cougar numbers seem to have stayed about the same.

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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com

MERIDIAN, Idaho (AP) — A pet squirrel named Joey prevented a burglary attempt in Idaho last week by scratching the teen suspect when he tried to break into a gun safe, police said.

The unidentified teenager told officers that the squirrel’s attack “scared him, obviously, because he wasn’t expecting to have, you know, a squirrel come flying out of nowhere at him,” said Officer Ashley Turner of the police department in Meridian, a Boise suburb. “So basically he said he took what he could and left as fast as he could.”

The squirrel’s owner, Adam Pearl, said Joey has lived in his house for about six months after he was found in a flower garden by a friend’s daughter when he was about a week old.

He said Joey’s eyes were still closed, and they set an alarm to feed him every two hours.

“His temperament is kind of like a cat,” Pearl said. “When he wants attention, he’ll run up to you and climb up your leg.”

Joey eats nuts and greens, and spinach is his favorite. He buries some of the nuts in houseplants inside Pearl’s house and uses a litterbox.

“He trained himself,” Pearl said.

Joey’s reward for his vigilance were Whoppers, the squirrel’s favorite candy.

Pearl had planned to release Joey into his backyard in the spring.

“But now, I don’t know,” he said. “I’m kind of torn.”

MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has died after falling about 1,400 feet while skiing in Grand Teton National Park.

The National Park Service says John “Jack” Fields Jr. of Jackson fell Wednesday morning down a narrow, steep gully on the South Teton Mountain.

Rangers recovered the body about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The Park Service says Fields was skiing with three others down the mountain they had summited earlier in the day.

On the way down, the other skiers saw Fields fall and slide out of sight.

The other skiers eventually made it down the mountain via a different route.

JEROME (AP) — Flooding caused a 50-foot by 100-yard section of the rim of Snake River Canyon to collapse near Jerome, Idaho, in south-central Idaho on Thursday, weakening a portion of the canyon wall.

Local resident Jerry Callen said he’s seen rocks slide from the canyon wall before, but never that large of a piece.

“I lost some canyon-front property and a whole bunch of rock chucks,” he said Monday.

The damage to the canyon wall created a fresh fracture in the rock behind it. The large crevice now runs along the rim. Jerome County Commissioner Roger Morley said the crevice should be considered a safety risk.

The damage to the canyon was part of widespread flooding that is continuing to affect communities in southern and eastern Idaho as warm weather melts significant snowpack in lower elevations.

More than a third of Idaho’s 44 counties have declared disaster areas, including Bingham and Caribou. Temperatures cooled on Friday and through the weekend, offering some respite from the runoff, but many communities are already dealing with significant flooding and ice jams.

National Weather Service officials say the freeze-thaw pattern will continue through midweek, meaning flood risks still remain.

“As the weather turns cooler and drier, you may think it’s OK to not worry about flooding. That’s really not the case. While, yes, we will see some slow down as temperatures are cooler…there is still some water flowing and some flood waters have nowhere to go at the moment,” according to a statement on the National Weather Service’s website.

Bear Lake County officials have also considered signing a disaster declaration because of some flooded basements and fields.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for Cassia, Bannock, Power, Bingham, Oneida and Franklin counties until noon on Tuesday because of flooding that was either occurring or imminent. The Portneuf River in Pocatello was also above flood stage at 8.8 feet as of Monday.

In Southeast Idaho, a flood advisory is also in effect for Jefferson County, southern Butte County, northwestern Bonneville County and western Madison County.

MISSOULA, Montana (AP) — A man charged with persuading investors to give him more than $24,000 to produce a cowboy documentary he claimed would be narrated by Clint Eastwood has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, with nine years suspended.

The Missoulian reported Tuesday that Matthew McClintock was sentenced last week.

He previously pleaded guilty to not being registered to sell securities and offering to sell an unregistered security. Four other felonies were dropped as part of a plea deal.

Investigators say McClintock scammed investors into giving him money for the documentary, which he said would be aired by PBS. Instead, he is accused of spending the money on himself and to make interest payments to other investors.

Seventy-year-old McClintock has also been ordered to pay back the money he stole.

MCCALL, Idaho (AP) — Crews have rescued an Idaho snowmobiler who was buried in an avalanche near the western Idaho town of McCall.

Montana-based air rescue team Two Bear Air said Sunday that the man had parked on top of the ridge with other snowmobilers when the cornice, an overhanging edge of snow, broke away and swept the man down the slope.

He was buried but managed to clear snow around his body. Two others had gone down the mountain to help dig him out.

Other snowmobilers called for help. The Valley County Sheriff’s Office sent a Life Flight helicopter. That air crew was unable to land on the mountainous terrain so they called Two Bear Air Rescue to assist.

KHQ reports that the snowmobiler was hoisted out by helicopter and flown to McCall Airport where he was transferred to the Life Flight helicopter.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho lawmaker wants to ensure that sled dog racing remains legal in the Gem State even though almost all other forms of dog racing are banned.

Republican Rep. Heather Scott, of Blanchard, said Friday that her proposal would clarify state law that both sled dog racing and sled dog training are exempt from Idaho’s dog racing prohibition.

According to the proposal, sled dog racing would mean a timed competition of teams of sled dogs that pull a sled with a musher.

The House State Affairs Committee agreed to introduce the bill Friday. It must now clear a full legislative hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — An avalanche in the mountains of northern Utah has closed U.S. Highway 89 in Logan Canyon near Beaver Mountain about 3 miles south of the Idaho line.

State transportation officials say the avalanche blocked the highway Wednesday just west of the Beaver Mountain turn-off at State Road 243.

No injuries have been reported. State officials say they say they don’t how long it will take to reopen the road.

The Utah DOT says alternative routes for travelers east of the avalanche include SR-30 to SR-16 to Wyoming Highway 89 to U.S. Interstate 84 in Evanston, Wyoming.

Another possible detour is U.S. 89 north to Idaho Highway 36 at Ovid, Idaho, which will direct travelers back into the Cache Valley at Preston, Idaho.