2 USO guides are indicted 4 illegal hunt tactics

[spectr17]

9/29/02

Arizona Republic

2 guides are indicted for illegal hunt tactics

PHOENIX --- Two professional big-game guides who reportedly used an aircraft to lead elk hunts near Payson were indicted by a federal grand jury after they booked an undercover agent as one of their clients, according to U.S. District Court records.

The five counts, unsealed Wednesday, accuse George Taulman, David C. Holton III and United States Outfitters Inc. of using a Cessna aircraft piloted by Taulman to illegally locate bull elk for customers in 1998."

 

[waksupi]

Slip and Slide Outfitters, at Gardner, Montansa were also found guilty of MANY violations, and the state still didn't pull thier license. So much for turning in poachers and assholes in Montana.

 

[Oregon Archer]

Well i hope all those poor schmucks who shell out money to Taulman and USO wake up and see his service for what it is. His company operates in alot of western states. I hope that the Arizona DFW notifies all states in which he operates about his actions and that a review of his licenses be done in these other states. Sorry sacks like that give all hunters a bad reputation which we dont need. Also all these "pro" hunters that use his service and plug him on their videos need to find a different guide service. Hurt him in the wallet where it counts.

 

[Freedom]

I was gonna say, I've seen USO on several "pro" hunts. I believe Primos was the one I saw them on last. Damn poachers, should be hung like horse thieves back in the day. A big tall tree and short little rope....

 

[coueshunter]

This is no surprise to many. What really pisses people here in AZ off about him is what he has done to open up out of state opportunities that may be unfair to residents here. He is the driving force behind the lawsuit now regarding quota's on non-resident tags. Just wait everyone, if the lawsuit is successful, non-residents will have no problem applying and increasing their odds of getting a tag, but I will almost guarantee that the tag prices will quadruple so that the state can balance the residents rage with having their bonus points diluted in value. I am not saying anything wrong with non-residents hunting here, what I think this idiot did is make a pretty decent lower cost high quality non-resident state draw into a free for all that the state will now have to implement very high fees to keep their residents happy..............

 

[waksupi]

What I found is hard to deal with on punishing creeps like this is the way the state boards are set up. They are made up of outfitters, and it's definitely a good ol' boy network. do you think they will pull the license of one of thier own? Fat chance. The best way to clean up the business, is for some hunters with no ties to the outfitters to be in charge of policing thier actions.

There are some very good outfitters out there, and they allow thierselves to be painted by the wide brush by allowing thier state boards to only be a fee collecting agency.

 

[MNHNTR]

Is there a forum on this site for rating and discussing outfitters and guides?

 

[G-Man]

From Taos News

Saturday, October 5, 2002

Taos hunting outfitter charged with aerial spotting


By The Taos News staff

Oct. 5
George Taulman, owner of United States Outfitters of Taos, has been indicted on federal charges he used an aircraft to spot herds of elk from the air and then relayed the information to his clients who were hunting on the ground.

The act of spotting game animals from the air is illegal. Taulman now faces three felony charges of violating the Lacey Act. Each charge reportedly carries maximum sentences of five years in prison and fines totalling $250,000 for an individual and half a million dollars for a corporation.

He also faces two misdemeanor charges of violating the federal Airborn Hunting Act, which states that it is illegal to assist hunters on the ground from information gathered by an aircraft, along with shooting or harassing animals from the air.

Taulman's Cessna 182 airplane is in the process of being confiscated by the U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona.

The outfitter apparently was caught in a sting operation called "Operation Navajo Buck" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Department of Game and Fish which took place in 1998 and 1999.

You can further read about "Operation Navajo" at

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/azpress/2002-072.pdf

 

[Oregon Archer]

glad to see that hes been caught in more than just Arizona.

or is this about the same charges being filed against him in Arizona?

 

[Lazy_K_Ranch]

Well hopefully the G&F will start investigateing guiding services more. I myself is even going into guiding hunts on my ranch in Wyoming. There has been many guiding services that have been caught doing some kind of illegal hunting, dont let that encourage you to think diffrent about guided hunts. There are still a lot of good down home guiding services out there that treat you and the animals with the upmost respect. But for the ones that get caught, i believe strictor penalties should be enforced , b/c when these crimes go unnoticed the guiding companies are stilling animals from the public.

later, LKR