Connect with us

Utah

After bear euthanized, several campgrounds reopen in North Utah

Published

on

After bear euthanized, several campgrounds reopen in North Utah


SALT LAKE CITY — The Division of Wildlife Resources euthanized an aggressive bear last weekend, and says this is a good reminder for those using the outdoors to keep food put away and camp areas clean.

Officials say there are always bears in the mountains of Utah, even if you’re not seeing them and the best way to keep yourself and the bears safe is to not give them a reason to get close to you.

At the Handshake campground in American Fork Canyon, Jodi Smith and her extended family are enjoying a fun week together.

“We gather our extended family every year up American Fork Canyon,” Smith tells KSL TV.

Advertisement

They arrived over the weekend but almost had to cancel. Granite Flats was one of several campgrounds the Division of Wildlife Resources had closed due to bear danger.

They say the bear they euthanized had been making the rounds at several campsites and showed no fear of humans. In addition, they say the bear had become aggressive at least once.

“It had just created a dangerous situation, that obviously wouldn’t have been solved by just relocating the bear,” says Faith Heaton Jolley with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “Our policy did require that the bear had to be euthanized.”

She says euthanizing an animal is always the worst-case scenario and she hopes campers are strict about cleaning up the areas they use and about keeping food locked up.

For Smith and her family, they make cleaning up a game. Each night they give tickets to the younger kids for helping to make sure there are no scraps of food left anywhere. Smith says It’s a fun way to involve the kids and ensure the campsite is safe.

Advertisement

“We never leave coolers or bins full of food, those are always in trailers, never in tents,” says Smith. “And we just don’t leave snacks around.”

Smith came to this site every year as a child and now brings her kids and grandkids. Her siblings do the same. They expected to have roughly 60 people at the site for dinner on Sunday.

As a family, they want to keep the tradition going for years to come and are willing to put in the work to keep it going. Their family rule at the end of each day?

“Leave no trace.”

The Division of Wildlife Resources says you can find all kinds of safety tips when it comes to bears in the wilderness at wildawareutah.org.

Advertisement



Source link

Utah

Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival

Published

on

Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival


Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.

Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival

Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:

Photo Credit: Nina Dobrev Instagram

The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.

The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.

Advertisement

Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea





Source link

Continue Reading

Utah

State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.

Published

on

State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.


The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.

In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.

The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.

Advertisement

(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.

Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.

“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.

Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.

Advertisement

Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.

Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.

During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.

Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Utah

Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia

Published

on

Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia


Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.

Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.

The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.

MORE | Missing Children

Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.

Advertisement

Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.

“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”

She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.

“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”

The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.

Advertisement

“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.

However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.

“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”

If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.

“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”

Advertisement

As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.

_____



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending