Oct 3, 2015 3 min read

MADISON, W.Va. – West Virginia wildlife officials are crediting social media for helping them crack the case of an albino deer killed out of season.

The deer was shot Sept. 27 in a yard along Route 17 in Boone County. Witnesses said several people were involved in the shooting and they drove a gray truck.

The West Virginia Natural Resources police posted the incident on its Facebook page with a request for help. The post was shared by thousands and viewed by many more and generated information that helped them solve the case.

Three were cited Thursday after they admitted killing the deer.

They were cited on charges of hunting without a license, during a closed season and shooting from a motor vehicle, among other offenses.

West Virginia regulators are proposing $92,300 in fines for environmental violations at two state fisheries.

A Department of Environmental Protection consent order spells out proposed fines against Division of Natural Resources fisheries in Pendleton and Pocahontas counties.

The order said the Pendleton fishery polluted Reeds Creek several times from 2011 to 2015. From January 2012 through July 2015, inspectors noted five major violations, 18 moderate ones and 21 minor ones there.

For example, the fishery released 15 to 650 times more fecal coliform than it was allowed in five monthly averages.

The Division of Natural Resources responded it removed sediments from a settling pond and made other improvements at the Pendleton fishery.

The order said the Pocahontas fishery operated without a permit from February 1999 to September 2014.

A company that lost its long-held contract to run Yosemite National Park’s hotels, shops and outdoor activities is suing the park system.

The Fresno Bee reported Delaware North demands to be paid for the rights to names and logos depicting famous park landmarks.

The concessionaire said it owns the names of the Ahwahnee Hotel, Curry Village and the “Go Climb a Rock” logo depicting the iconic Half Dome rock formation.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages from the National Park Service for a breach of contract.

In June, Yosemite awarded a 15-year contract to Aramark to run concessions.

Delaware North said the park service required it to buy the former concessionaire’s assets when it won the contract in 1993.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.

Ozzie the bald eagle, who became popular after his nest was live-streamed to millions of viewers, died.

The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife in North Fort Myers, Fla., said Ozzie died Tuesday night of complications from injuries. He was found in a backyard Sunday unable to fly. Veterinarians said he was covered with lacerations and had a broken toe in each foot.

The eagle was also badly injured in March, possibly by a car. During rehabilitation, his webcam got 200,000 hits a day. The News Press of Fort Myers reported Ozzie also was photographed fighting with another male eagle in September.

Ozzie and his mate, Harriet, received more than 20 million views via webcam during the last few nesting seasons thanks to a camera mounted above their nest in southwest Florida. Viewers mourned when one of two chicks died in the nest in 2013.