While wolves are crucial predators in the Yellowstone food web, the story of a wolf-driven “trophic cascade” promoted in a popular online video is far from the complex reality of the park’s ecosystem.
Michigan has a small herd of elk (only around 1,000 animals), but it is a resilient one. Every year countless hunters in the Great Lakes State apply for a limited number of permits to hunt one.
Only a few are successful in getting one. Eight-year-old Braeleigh Miller was one of them.
This is the 18th year Pennsylvania has had an elk season, but the first with a specific archery season (Sept. 14-28). Previously, the general season lasted six days and any weapon could be used.
I have been hunting in Pennsylvania since 1983, and this year I bought a big game license online in July and filled out an application for the new archery elk season lottery drawing for $11.90. Then I kind of forgot about it.
On Aug. 17, I was traveling to Florida for a family reunion. After flying into Atlanta, I turned my phone on to find a bunch of messages from an 814 area code. After listening to the messages, though, I realized it was the elk lottery drawing day in Benezette during the annual Elk Extravaganza, and I had been selected for one of the coveted bull elk tags, one of only five available for the new archery season in Zone 10. Let’s just say I was slightly distracted at the family reunion and I couldn’t wait to get back home and start making plans.
I only had four weeks to plan the hunting opportunity of a lifetime. My first task was selecting an outfitter. My good friend Kevin Tone and I drove to Pennsylvania to interview two potential outfitters. It turned out to be an easy decision. Trophy Rack Lodge with owner/guide Larry Guenot was our choice.