BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The long-billed curlew bird population is declining in southwestern Idaho because of poachers, researchers said.

One of the birds was poached in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area southwest of Boise on June 1, Boise State University researchers said.

Of the 16 birds fitted with transmitters, it’s the seventh that has been killed by suspected poachers since 2013, the Idaho Statesman reported.

None of the 50 birds fitted with transmitters located in other parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have been poached, according to researchers.

Curlews are migratory birds that reside in the Mountain West from March to June and spend their winters along the coasts of California and Mexico.

In southwest Idaho, their numbers are on a steep decline, with as much as a 90 percent decrease in some areas.

One of the main reasons for the decline is humans, researchers found.

“The proportions are alarming,” said Jay Carlisle, associate research professor at Boise State University and research director of the Intermountain Bird Observatory.

Carlisle and his group focus their research on understanding the reproductive success of the curlews in different habitats as well as studying migratory patterns using lightweight satellite transmitters.

The curlew poached earlier this month was found by two of Carlisle’s researchers, Stephanie Coates and Joni Clapsadle. The female bird had been shot through the wing and body, indicating that she was sitting on the ground when killed, close to her nest.

“This female was simply shot because she was there,” a release from the Intermountain Bird Observatory said.

Recently, the birds appear to have been killed for no other reason than target practice — or worse, for no reason at all, Carlisle said.

The curlew is neither an endangered nor threatened species, but it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Killing a curlew is a federal crime — a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $15,000 fine and six months in jail.

Public outreach is the key to saving the species, Carlisle said. He stresses the importance of informing land managers and the community at large.

“In a decade, we may have a place named the Long-Billed Curlew Habitat Area of Critical Environmental Concern that doesn’t have curlews anymore,” he said. “How sad would that be?”

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Researchers say long-billed curlews are declining in southwestern Idaho due to poachers.

The Idaho Statesman reports researchers at Boise State University say a curlew was poached in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area southwest of Boise on June 1.

It was the seventh of the 16 birds fitted with transmitters that have been killed by suspected poachers since 2013.

Researchers say none of the 50 birds fitted with transmitters located in other parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have been poached.

Curlews are migratory birds that reside in the Mountain West from March to June and spend their winters along the coasts of California and Mexico.

In southwest Idaho, their numbers on a steep decline, with as much as a 90 percent decrease in some areas.

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Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A 30-year-old professional skier severely injured last March in fall down a northwest Wyoming mountain has died.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that family members say Bryce Newcomb died Friday at a long-term care facility in Boise, Idaho, after his feeding and water tubes were removed.

Authorities say they believe Newcomb hadn’t yet buckled his helmet to ski Cody Peak on March 27 when a cornice gave way and he fell nearly 1,000 feet.

Newcomb remained in a critical state with a severe head injury during the nearly three months he spent in hospitals.

Newcomb grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho, and had been a Jackson resident for the last few years, doing promotional work for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

A GoFundMe site said a memorial service is tentatively planned for next week in Ketchum, Idaho.

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Information from: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The mystery is over: Wildlife officials have confirmed that an unusual-looking animal shot in central Montana was a gray wolf.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials initially weren’t certain what the creature was when a rancher shot it in May. They noted the legs, front claws and canine teeth were shorter and its ears were bigger than normally seen on wolves.

The agency said Monday that an inspection of the animal at its laboratory revealed it to be a relatively normal-looking wolf. DNA tests confirmed that it was a gray wolf.

Officials say the wolf was a 2- or 3-year-old female with unique physical features.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service geneticist Mary Curtis says it’s not unusual for there to be physical variations of animals within a species.

CASCADE (AP) — Authorities say a North Las Vegas man died during a rafting incident in the central Idaho wilderness.

KTVB-TV reported Tuesday that the Valley County sheriff’s office says 53-year-old David Glenn died Saturday afternoon in an incident on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

The sheriff’s office says Glenn and his son were in a raft that overturned in rapids. Glenn floated through another rapid before he was pulled out of the water.

An unsuccessful CPR attempt was performed on Glenn.

Authorities say Glenn was wearing a life jacket, but it was loose, causing him to ride low in the water.

The Valley County coroner’s office will determine Glenn’s exact cause of death.

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Information from: KTVB-TV, http://www.ktvb.com/

BILLINGS, Montana (AP) — Yellowstone National Park administrators are telling visitors to honk their horn and drive away if a bear approaches and touches their vehicle after two cases of bears approaching cars.

Park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin said Tuesday that a grizzly bear near Yellowstone Lake came up to a car and started playing with its antenna in late May.

Also in May, Warthin says, a black bear previously fed by people in the Mammoth Hot Springs area approached a vehicle, put its paws on a door and looked into the vehicle’s windows.

Bears that get accustomed to people and view humans as a food source can become a public safety threat and are sometimes killed as a precaution.

Warthin says honking a car horn helps discourage such behavior.

MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) — Two people are dead after a glider crash in Grand Teton National Park.

The park said the wreckage was found Saturday after the two people on board failed to return from a flight from Driggs, Idaho.

The glider’s pilot has been identified as 65-year-old Kristine Ciesinksi of Victor, Idaho. Authorities are not releasing the name of the passenger until family has been notified.

Ciesinski was an opera singer and voice teacher who, according to the biography on her website, worked as a glider instructor and pilot, taking passengers on scenic flights over the Grand Teton Mountains.

Park officials say the glider was found between the Middle and South Teton at approximately 10,800 feet.

The National Park Service is investigating the crash.

MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) — Two people are dead after a glider crash in Grand Teton National Park.

The park said the wreckage was found Saturday after the two people on board failed to return from a flight from Driggs, Idaho.

The glider’s pilot has been identified as 65-year-old Kristine Ciesinksi of Victor, Idaho. Authorities are not releasing the name of the passenger until family has been notified.

Ciesinski was an opera singer and voice teacher who, according to the biography on her website, worked as a glider instructor and pilot, taking passengers on scenic flights over the Grand Teton Mountains.

Park officials say the glider was found between the Middle and South Teton at approximately 10,800 feet.

The National Park Service is investigating the crash.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — A record number of people visited Yellowstone National Park in May.

The National Park Service said Friday the park got almost 447,000 visits in May, up 6 percent compared with May last year.

Year-to-date visitation is down slightly from the almost 600,000 people who had been to Yellowstone by this point in 2016. Even so, almost 571,000 people have been to Yellowstone in 2018, making for a busy year so far.

Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Yosemite are among the busiest national parks in the western U.S. Each park gets roughly 4 million to 6 million visits a year.

Yellowstone’s peak season is May through September. Relatively few people visit during winter, when most of Yellowstone is accessible only by snowcoach and snowmobile.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — State and federal wildlife officials are investigating the shooting death of a male grizzly bear in northwestern Montana.

The young adult bear was found dead on a forest road north of Libby near the Idaho border in the Kootenai National Forest.

Investigators believe the animal was killed on the evening of May 20.

Grizzly bears in northwestern Montana are protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the Barron/Bristow Creek area to call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 406-329-3000 or the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks at 1-800-TIP-MONT

A reward of up to $2,000 is being offered for any information leading to a conviction.