Outdoors notebook: Tamarack adds tavern; Idaho mustangs found shot; elk stuck in objects
Tamarack Resort announced Wednesday that it will add a new taphouse as part of the Village at the base of the resort.
In a news release, officials with the Donnelly-area resort said the Seven Devils Taphouse will be a 5,000-square-foot space that includes a bar, self-pour beer wall and “mountain casual” dining for up to 200 people.
The taphouse is slated to open in December and will “anchor” the Village area, which includes housing, shopping and dining options, as well as lift access.
Tamarack officials said the taphouse’s name is a nod to the former Seven Devils Pub, which was the resort’s first bar. It opened in 2004 and closed in 2020. The Seven Devils name refers to the mountain range northwest of the resort.
The taproom is the latest in a series of improvements at Tamarack, which came under new ownership in 2018. According to the news release, Tamarack is restoring its former 18-hole golf course, adding a marina in Lake Cascade and working with the U.S. Forest Service to expand the resort by 3,000 acres, doubling its current terrain.
Bureau of Land Management looking for person who shot mustangs
The Bureau of Land Management is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for shooting and killing two wild horses in the Spur Canyon area near Challis.
According to a news release, BLM officials believe the animals were killed around Nov. 14. Just days earlier, the agency announced it would set out food and water traps in the area to gather members of the Challis mustang herd, which inhabit the 168,000-acre Challis Herd Management Area. A news release about the gathering effort said there were an estimated 224 horses in the area.
The Wild Horse and Burro Act, a 1971 law that put the BLM in charge of managing the feral species, makes it illegal for anyone to kill a mustang unless they’re acting on behalf of the Department of Interior.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call BLM Law Enforcement at (208) 524-7590.
Elk caught on household items around Wood River Valley
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is urging residents of the Wood River Valley to “wildlife-proof” their homes after four elk were caught in household items or trapped in basement window wells in Blaine County in the span of two days.
In a news release, Fish and Game officials said they responded to a call on Jan. 7 of a cow elk with “some type of disk around its neck.” As conservation officers tried to approach the elk, it fled into a herd, making it impossible for officers to anesthetize the animal and remove the object. Fish and Game said it will continue to monitor the elk.
Later the same day, Fish and Game received calls about two bull elk with objects entwined in their antlers. One had baling twine wrapped around his antlers, and officers determined the object was not a threat to the animal and would be shed when it drops its antlers around March. The second bull elk had a horse halter and lead rope entangled in his antlers and around his neck. Wildlife biologists tranquilized the animal and removed the objects.
The final incident involved a cow elk that fell into the basement window well of a home in Hailey. The homeowner, along with three Fish and Game conservation officers, teamed up to help her escape from the window well.
“These entanglement calls are a reminder to all Valley residents to make sure that they wildlife-proof their homes and barns so that wildlife doesn’t get tangled in household or livestock equipment,” said Senior Conservation Officer Brandyn Hurd in the news release. Hurd also advised homeowners to cover window wells in the winter, when deer and elk are common in the Wood River Valley.
It’s not the first time wildlife have had similar issues in the area. Last year, bull elk were found with hammocks and wooden rope swings tangled in their antlers. In 2017, Fish and Game dealt with two incidents of animals falling through window wells and into basements. A cow elk who fell into a basement was able to leave on her own, while Fish and Game had to anesthetize and transport a moose that fell into one family’s basement.
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
