The most important news items from the week of August 25th.

Feds call 'timeout' on drones

Photo Credit: Vince LoPresti

The National Park Service has placed a temporary ban on the use of all unmanned aircrafts on lands administered by the agency. The interim policy went into effect Wednesday and will apply until an official ruling has been set. The interim ban prohibits the launching, landing and operation of unmanned aircrafts from National Park Service land. Read the full story here.

Washington: Ok to kill wolf pack

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Washington state officials okay the killing of a portion of a wolf pack in northeast Washington, but pro-wolf groups say the state has not exhausted nonlethal methods. This past weekend, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife sent hunters aboard a helicopter to take aim at the Huckleberry Pack, named for the nearby Huckleberry Mountains. The pack, which numbers up to 12 wolves, has reportedly killed 22 sheep pastured by Dave Dashiell of the town of Hunters, located about 50 miles northwest of Spokane. Read the full story here.

Mule deer group putting $1.3M to research project

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Mule deer numbers across the West have been declining for decades. As researchers struggle to understand exactly why, conservation groups are stepping up to help solve the mystery. The Muley Fanatic Foundation, a grassroots sportsmen’s and -women’s group based in southwest Wyoming, has pledged $1.3 million to help launch a five-year project to study the declining mule deer herd south of Rock Springs. Read the full story here.

Wasted meat leads to serious penalties

Photo Credit: Yukon News

An American big-game hunter and his Canadian outfitter has been charged and fined for wasting meat and hunting illegally in Yukon. The charges date back to 2011, when Wyoming resident Brian Tallerico hired outfitter Abe Dougan to guide a hunt in the Yukon. Over the next four days the hunters also killed a sheep, a moose and a grizzly bear. But when the men returned back to the Environment Yukon office to get the required export permits needed to take the trophies back to the U.S., they only presented about 211 pounds of moose meat. Read the full story here.