POCATELLO — Conservation officers had to remove a mountain lion from a tree on Idaho State University’s campus on Friday.

The mountain lion, which was spotted in a tree off Red Hill Trail, was reported to ISU Public Safety at approximately 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Public Safety, Pocatello police and conservation officers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game arrived on scene and secured a perimeter so the mountain lion could be tranquilized.

After the lion was captured unharmed, Fish and Game personnel removed the animal from the area to be relocated outside of town.

Nobody was injured during the incident.

According to ISU officials, there are sporadic mountain lion sightings on the Pocatello campus once every few years, usually in the area of Red Hill Trail, and sightings like the one on Friday are not unusual for the area. 

SODA SPRINGS — A Soda Springs man has been sentenced for illegally killing and wasting a trophy bull elk in September.

In a plea agreement with the Caribou County prosecutor’s office in March, Bart Rhead pleaded guilty to two elk poaching charges and various trapping violations.

As a result, Rhead was given a 90-day jail sentence, with 60 days suspended, and 120 hours of community service in lieu of time served.

Read was also sentenced to pay $12,650 in reimbursement to the state and received a lifetime hunting and trapping revocation. He also had to forfeit his hunting rifle.

In accordance with the plea agreement, Rhead also admitted that the three bull elk mounted in his home, as well as one mule deer buck, were all taken during closed hunting seasons. According to Fish and Game, Rhead was issued written warnings for possession of those animals and has relinquished possession of the mounts.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, conservation officers in Soda Springs received a call last September from a sportsman who heard a gunshot and saw a large bull elk go over a ridge.

A conservation officer later watched Rhead use a bulldozer to move the dead trophy elk to a location near his property. There, Fish and Game said Rhead removed the antlers, ivory teeth and hide, and then left the rest of the carcass to waste.

Several days later, a search warrant was served on Rhead’s property and the elk antlers were recovered. The elk’s carcass was found on the property wrapped in a tarp and pushed off the side of a hill.

Fish and Game said the antlers scored 363 points using the Boone and Crockett points system, meaning the poached elk was listed as trophy status.

While serving the search warrant, officers also found a wildlife feed station that had an overhead street-style light, mineral tubs, a water trough and large amounts of alfalfa cubes. Fish and Game said the use of lights or bait is prohibited in hunting big game in Idaho.

Authorities said that additional evidence was revealed that Rhead had previously taken a bull elk with a rifle during archery-only hunts.

Fish and Game said that anybody with information on a wildlife violation should contact Citizens Against Poaching at 1-800-632-5999. Callers can remain anonymous and be eligible for rewards if the information leads to arrests.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming (AP) — The world’s largest active geyser has erupted four times in the last seven weeks, a spate of activity that has geophysicists excited about the Yellowstone National Park water feature.

The Steamboat Geyser, which can shoot water up to 300 feet high, erupted last Friday and continued to spew water into Monday.

Steamboat has gone dormant for as long as nine years and its first eruption since 2014 occurred in mid-March, followed by two other eruptions in April.

Geophysicist Bob Smith tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide that there is no consensus for what’s behind the geyser’s unusual activity.

Scientists last Saturday deployed 28 seismographs around the geyser to gather data in hopes of catching it erupting again to learn more about Steamboat.

I try not to whack out about other writers. But one thing that I can’t help myself on is when some writer who doesn’t know beans about bear hunting goes on a guided hunt and the guide does all the scouting, baiting and setting up the blind and then writes the article like he’s a bear whisperer.

If you aren’t doing the baiting, then most likely you don’t have a clue. If you’re baiting and doing it right, then it’s like you’re the setter on a volleyball team. You’re calling the plays, who’s going to slam it and so forth. After you learn the tricks, you’ll be in control.

Here’s why I say all of this — to properly bait, you need to scout first and determine where to set up your bait. Most likely you’re going to bait in an area where you saw a big bear or where you’re seeing a lot of signs. But you don’t just want to have one bear hitting your bait. You want to draw in bears from other drainages. I’m exaggerating a little but nearly every dark canyon in Idaho has a bear. You don’t want just one bear hitting your bait. You want four to six.

It’d be nice to be able to set your bait out in the open so you can see them coming and get a good shot. It doesn’t work that way, though. You want it in the open enough to get a clear shot but it needs to be close to the brush so they feel comfortable coming in. In fact, my bait has woods on three sides and is back in a lane.

It’s best to put your bait in a 55-gallon barrel and strap it to a tree. Cut a hole 2/3 of the way up the barrel about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Don’t make it so small that they cut up their arms digging out the bait. That way the bait is protected against wolves, ravens and so forth, as well as the rain. Plus, you don’t want them filling up too fast and leaving. Make them work at it.

So, let’s ask the age-old question. What is the best bait? Really the real question is, what can you get large quantities of. When the bears start hitting your bait hard, they may clean out a barrel every three days. So while they may prefer filet mignons, you can’t afford 300 pounds of filet mignons every three days. Make sense?

Bears will eat about anything when hungry but they definitely have preferences. One time I laid out in a row a bushel of peaches, cantaloupes, cereal, meat and so on. Given a choice they will pick what they like best.

I’ve hauled literally tens of thousands of pounds of meat up in the mountains but meat is not the No. 1 choice. After a long winter of fasting, their stomachs are a little queasy. They’ll eat it. It’s just that it’s not the best choice. Plus, if its a big chunk they’ll grab it and run off in the brush to eat.

I used to work at a place that made 55,000 pounds per day of chicken nuggets. They’re great. They’re small so bears have to spend a while scooping them out so they can’t come in and fill up and leave real fast.

I had a buddy who owned a store and he could get all the expired dog food. That worked great because just like on the chicken nuggets, they had to spend a good amount of time scooping them out of the barrel. Plus, he’d pour old cooking grease over the dog food.

Then you need a scent to help the bears find your bait. You hear about all kinds of scents. Anise oil, Kool-Aid with various other items mixed in and the list goes on. Then if you want some commercially made scents, Tink’s makes a line of products. Donut-scented aerosols, honey maple bacon-scented incense sticks, berry-flavored incense sticks and so on.

And lastly, what do you do with your bear meat? I like to make sausage out of mine. If you’re going to get serious, buy a decent grinder. A small one will plug up and drive you nuts. I use a Weston grinder and just got their 7-pound upright stuffer. If the fishing and hunting will slow down for a minute, I’m going to make a few batches of sausage. But a buddy just called and wants to go crappie fishing tomorrow. Then I have to go up baiting on Thursday, then mushroom hunting and turkey hunting. May be a minute on the sausage.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.

BOISE (AP) — The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Thursday approved a limited hunting season for grizzly bears in eastern Idaho just a year after the animals were removed from the Endangered Species List.

Under the plan, the Department of Fish and Game will hold a random drawing to award one Idaho hunter a grizzly tag for a hunting season running from Sept. 1 to Nov. 15.

Neither baiting nor hound-hunting are allowed, and if successful, the hunter won’t be allowed to reapply for future tags.

Grizzlies in the Yellowstone National Park region were on the Endangered Species Act list until 2017, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed federal protections.

That cleared the way for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to allow limited hunting when the population has more than 600 bears. Last year’s population estimate for the region was 718 bears.

Wyoming is also planning a limited trophy hunt this fall.

Idaho officials are warning would-be hunters that the grizzly hunt could still be canceled because of a pending federal lawsuit.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is locked in a court battle with conservationists and American Indian tribes over the lifting of protections for a group of grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Attorney Andrea Santarsiere with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Idaho bowed to the wishes of trophy hunters in approving a hunt.

“This is a sad day for the many state residents who value our native wildlife and the critical role it plays in keeping wild lands in balance,” Santarsiere said in a prepared statement.

IDAHO FALLS — Running around Community Park in Idaho Falls, tail wagging almost as quickly as his feet gallop across the field, Dexter has his nose to the ground as he searches for scent.

He’s a black blur across the green grass, circling around until his sharp nose finds the shotgun casings thrown in the grass by his handler Officer Tim Klucken. Once he’s located the casings, he quickly sits, quivering with excitement.

Klucken hurls a black rubber KONG dog toy toward Dexter, his reward, and he bolts off after it — still a ball of energy after his rapid run. Dexter is a 3-year-old Lab, making him a perfect fit for his line of work.

“You have to have a dog that has that high play drive and high prey drive,” Klucken said. “Once they have that, you can teach them to do anything. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his toy.”

Dexter is the Idaho Department of Fish and Game dog for the Upper Snake Region. He joined the department in 2016 as part of its effort to incorporate canines into its enforcement efforts. Dexter is trained in detecting various wildlife, humans, gun oil and gunpowder. But he’s not trained in defense or to attack people, said James Brower, Fish and Game spokesman.

“So a lot of times at check stations where hunters and fishermen are required to stop and show any game they have,” Klucken said, “he’ll tell whether they’re being truthful.”

He’s one of the department’s three dogs scattered across the state. Pepper, a black Lab, kicked-off the effort as part of a pilot program in 2011 as the department’s first dog, working in the Magic Valley Region, Brower said.

Adding Pepper to the force was extremely successful. One of the first cases Pepper worked was to find a missing 2-year-old boy near the Nevada border in 2012. Pepper was able to track the boy nearly a mile and probably saved his life, Klucken said.

Due to the overwhelming success of the pilot program, Dexter and Hudson, a golden Lab, were added to the canine unit in 2016.

The dogs help find evidence that officers couldn’t have on their own, Klucken said. He recalled one case where Dexter was able to find nine shotgun casings for someone who was hunting illegally. Since Dexter was able to find the casings, the officers were able to collect the needed evidence. 

Klucken and Dexter often come to Community Park, with its open fields, to train. With all the extra training and care surrounding Dexter, being a canine handler means a lot of work, Klucken said.

“It just requires a lot of time and it changes how I work,” Klucken said, “I used to have a four-wheeler in my vehicle and be ready to run up a hill anytime. But with him I can’t necessarily just leave him in the truck depending on the weather.”

Back in the park, Dexter is following the trail of Klucken’s partner, practicing his human scent-tracking abilities. Dexter runs along the perimeter of a baseball field fence, Klucken jogging behind him, following the scent.

Dexter’s canine nose has the ability to pick up not only the human smell, but disturbances in the ground where people have stepped, creating a full scent picture that he can follow.

Soon enough, Dexter finds the scent and sits down — this time getting a rolled up towel for his reward. Each type of collar, leash and toy signify a different type of task for Dexter. He knows that a towel means tracking humans, a KONG means finding gun oil and powder and a blue nylon toy means finding fish and game.

As dogs get older, the better they become, Klucken said. He’s already noticed a difference with Dexter and is looking forward to a long career with him. Labradors have an average life expectancy of 10 to 12 years, but their working years usually depend on the dog.

I have never been a serious handgun hunter, although I have always carried a handgun when I go hunting or just wandering around the backcountry.Most of the people I hunted with when I was younger, and who mentored me, carried handguns while hunting and…

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Visitors at a Utah state park have been dislodging dinosaur tracks imprinted in sandstone and throwing the pieces into a nearby lake, officials said.

The site lined with hundreds of the prehistoric raptor tracks has been heavily damaged in the past six months, Red Fleet State Park Manager Josh Hansen said.

Hansen recently caught a juvenile who was throwing slabs of stone into the reservoir, he told the Salt Lake Tribune. He heard two thumps into the water before docking his boat. Then he saw the person holding two toe imprints from a partial dinosaur track.

“I saved that one,” Hansen said. “He had already thrown multiple (tracks in the water).”

Many tracks are noticeable walking through the landscape, but others are not. Utah Division of State Parks spokesman Devan Chavez said his conservative estimate is that at least 10 of the larger, more visible footprints, which range from 3 to 17 inches, disappeared in the past six months.

“It’s become quite a big problem,” Chavez said. “They’re just looking to throw rocks off the side. What they don’t realize is these rocks they’re picking up, they’re covered in dinosaur tracks.”

Some of the slabs sink to the bottom of Red Fleet Reservoir, some shatter upon hitting the surface and others dissolve entirely.

“Some of them are likely lost forever,” Chavez said.

The park is considering sending a diving team to recover what it can from the lake bed. For now, it’s putting up more signs asking tourists not to touch the sandstone.

“You’d think common sense would provide guidance, but it’s not coming across in people’s mind,” said Hansen, who’s been the park’s manager since March. He’s responded to two cases in the past two weeks.

This dry and dusty desert area was once a bog filled with mud and moss. Paleontologists believe the dilophosaurus, part of the raptor family, ambushed other dinosaurs while they were resting or drinking from the swamp.

Though their three-toed footprints are not fossils, they’re treated as such under Utah code. Anyone who destroys one could be charged with a felony, though no charges have been filed recently.

Three teens were tried in juvenile court for destruction of a paleontological site at Red Fleet State Park in 2001.

“We’re going to be cracking down on it a lot more,” Chavez said.