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Poaching: Southern Idaho wildlife suffers illegal losses. Area officers say this year one of busiest for violations.
11/16/01.
By Kelton Hatch - Idaho State Journal Outdoors Editor
POCATELLO — Freezers are full of confiscated meat, storage areas are overflowing with antlers, gun cabinets are stuffed with rifles, pistols and shotguns, and desks are covered with Department of Fish and Game citation and poaching reports for the 2001 hunting season.
"It seems to me this is one of the busiest years we have had, especially with the violations for unlawful taking of elk, and I really don't have a reason," says Tom Lucia, Fish and Game regional conservation officer.
For the month of October, during the busiest part of hunting season, the region's conservation officers wrote 81 citations for fish-game violations, with the biggest percentage being wanton waste of game animals and for illegal taking of deer, elk and moose out of season.
Along with the citations, 30 open cases are being investigated. Twenty-four written warnings were issued, with dozens of trespassing and other cases being investigated.
September was a bit lighter for Fish and Game violations during the archery hunts and a few rifle hunts, with only 24 citations, seven investigated and unsolved cases, and 29 written warnings.
For the month of November, totals are still out, but presently there are more than 30 reports of citations and warnings to cross Lucia's desk from officers in the field.
Most of the elk poaching cases this season occurred near the Soda Springs and Montpelier areas, with deer poaching evenly distributed throughout the region.
"That's a significant number of violations," says Lucia. "Most of the citations range from wanton waste
to hunting during closed season.
"We are at the point right now that we can't keep up with the number of calls we are getting," he continued. "We are just overwhelmed with violations. The guys have been incredibly busy this fall and have been running from call to call. We have to prioritize the violations because we have so many and some we don't get to as fast as we would like."
Lucia attributes the large number of violations to the drought, the number of animals in the region, and to witnesses who are reporting the violations.
"We still maintain a fairly high elk population available to the public to hunt," he says. "With the drought many of the animals are in close proximity to irrigated crops and are possibly out in the open more, away from heavy cover.
"Poachers are opportunistic and when they encounter an animal ,they take it," he continued. "Many of them may go out in the morning hunting, not planning on poaching an animal, but then the opportunity arises and they can't resist it.
"We are also getting more people who are fed up with poaching turning in people. It's not necessarily hunters, either. There are more people biking and hiking in the area, but they are still concerned about wildlife. There are just more eyes and ears out there."
Lucia is not only concerned with the number of game violations in the region, but also with the message it is sending out to the anti-hunters in the state and country and the way non-hunters view the hunting population.
"Hunting throughout the nation is coming under attack," Lucia says. "Poaching and other game violations give anti-hunters the ammunition they need for successful anti-hunting legislation. It also reflects negatively on all hunters.
"Idahoans may feel isolated from anti-hunting legislation, but we have had some legislation in the past that has tried to limit our hunting opportunities in the state," he continued.
"The number one thing hunters can do to stop poaching is make it socially unacceptable to be a poacher among their friends and families. That's the only way were going to stop it.
"We will never have enough officers to cover all the county we have and watch everyone."
Penalties for breaking the game laws
This is a list of the basic guidelines given to judges when passing sentence on people convicted of a Fish and Game violation.
Minimum fines
Outlines minimum fines for violations involving the illegal take, illegal possession or illegal waste of the following animals, birds or fish. They are:
- Bighorn sheep, mountain goat or moose, $500.
- Elk, $300.
- All other big game animals, wild turkey, swan or sturgeon, $200.
- Chinook salmon, wild steelhead and bull trout, $100.
- Any other game bird, game fish or fur bearer, $25.
License Revocations
Any person who pleads guilty, is convicted or is found guilty of violating any provisions of the Fish and Game code or who otherwise fails to comply with the requirements of any citation may, in addition to any other penalty assessed by the court, have his hunting, fishing or trapping privileges revoked by the court for up to three years. The revocation shall consist of cancellation of the existing license and/or denial of the privilege of purchasing an applicable license.
Revocations for people pleading guilty, convicted or found guilty of committing multiple of-PContinued from C1 fenses may run consecutively.
Certain violations carry a mandatory license revocation of not less than one nor more than three years:
- Closed-season violations for upland game birds, waterfowl, big game, steelhead, salmon or sturgeon.
- Exceeding the bag limit for upland game bids, waterfowl and/or big game.
- Taking fish with drugs, chemicals, explosives, shocking, nets, spears, snag hooks, etc.
- Unlawful license/tag/permit use — purchase, possession, transfer, use of another's.
- Trespass in violation of warning signs.
- Failure to depart private property after notification.
- Unlawful release of fish.
A mandatory revocation of not less than one year is required for each big game animal taken in excess of the bag limit or during closed season.
Civil Penalties:
Outlined civil penalties for the illegal killing, illegal possession or illegal waste include:
- Civil penalty of up to $10,000 for unlawful release of fish.
- $1,500 per animal for caribou, bighorn sheep, mountain goat or moose.
- $750 per animal for elk.
- $400 per animal for deer, antelope, bear or mountain lion.
- $250 per wild turkey, whistling swan, sturgeon, chinook salmon (anadromous) or wild steelhead.
- $150 per fish for bull trout.
- $50 per game bird, game fish or fur bearer for wildlife not included above.
Enhanced civil penalties are prescribed for "trophy big game animals" as defined in 36-202(h) taken, possessed or wasted in the commission of a flagrant violation (see page 5).
These are:
- $2,000 for any mule deer buck scoring more than 150 Boone and Crockett points.
- $2,000 for any white-tailed deer buck scoring more than 130 Boone and Crockett points.
- $2,000 for any buck pronghorn antelope with at least one horn exceeding 14 inches.
- $5,000 for any bull elk scoring more than 300 Boone and Crockett points.
- $10,000 for any ram bighorn sheep.
- $10,000 for any bull moose.
- $10,000 for any male or female mountain goat.
- $10,000 for any male or female caribou.
In all civil penalties, if an animal of the same category is illegally killed, possessed or wasted within a 12-month period, the civil penalty is doubled with each successive animal (e.g., $1,500 civil penalty for the second elk and $3,000 civil penalty for the third elk. In the case of a trophy bull elk, $5,000 for the first, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for the third.)
Flagrant Violations:
- Taking a big game animal after sunset by spotlighting, with the use of artificial light or with a night vision enhancement device.
- Unlawfully taking two or more big game animals within a 12-month period.
- Taking a big game animal with a rim fire or center fire cartridge firearm during an archery or muzzleloader-only hunt.
- Hunting, fishing, trapping or purchasing a license when license privileges have been revoked pursuant to section 36-1402 or section 36-1501 Idaho Code.
- Taking any big game animal during a closed season when there is no established take season open anywhere in the state for that species of big game.
Processing Fees
Processing fees for illegal killing, illegal possession (non-tagging violations) or illegal waste include:
- $175 per animal for moose or elk.
- $75 per animal for bighorn sheep, caribou, mountain goat or black bear.
- $50 per animal for deer or pronghorn antelope.
The Journal asked hunters what should be done to stop poaching and fish and game violations in the region.
Mayo Haskett, Pocatello — "The problem isn't the guy who shoots a 3x2 buck in a two-point area, but the guy that shoots a moose and cuts the head or antlers off. They know what they are doing is wrong."
Craig Cox, formerly of Pocatello — "I think there are enough fines and penalties in place right know. They just need more people out catching them."
Jack Buffat, Pocatello — "I think we should have more Idaho Fish and Game employees in the field. The fines are in place already."
=============================================
Rash of poaching has conservation officers scrambling.
By the Associated Press
BEAR LAKE, Idaho - Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officers have issued more than 200 poaching and other hunting-related citations this fall, and the violations are continuing to stack up.
Dozens of elk, deer, moose and even domestic cattle have been killed and left to rot. Party hunting and irresponsible, opportunistic hunters are being blamed.
"We are at the point right now that we can't keep up with the number of calls we are getting," said Tom Lucia, Fish and Game's regional conservation officer in Pocatello. "We are just overwhelmed with violations."
Lucia said drought, a healthy elk population and more people concerned about wildlife and willing to report violations could be responsible.
"With the drought many of the animals are in close proximity to irrigated crops and are possibly out in the open more, away from heavy cover," he said. "We are also getting more people who are fed up with poaching turning in people. It's not necessarily hunters, either."
Officers recently investigated a case involving 15 elk killed by a group of hunters with only 11 elk tags.
"One of the problems we run into is an elk slaughter with party hunting," said Marc Arms, a Fish and Game conservation officer in the Grace area. "An elk doesn't always fall down on the first shot because they are such a big animal. When you shoot into a group of elk they herd up tighter and people keep shooting and shooting and as they begin to move animals keep dropping off."
11/16/01.
By Kelton Hatch - Idaho State Journal Outdoors Editor
POCATELLO — Freezers are full of confiscated meat, storage areas are overflowing with antlers, gun cabinets are stuffed with rifles, pistols and shotguns, and desks are covered with Department of Fish and Game citation and poaching reports for the 2001 hunting season.
"It seems to me this is one of the busiest years we have had, especially with the violations for unlawful taking of elk, and I really don't have a reason," says Tom Lucia, Fish and Game regional conservation officer.
For the month of October, during the busiest part of hunting season, the region's conservation officers wrote 81 citations for fish-game violations, with the biggest percentage being wanton waste of game animals and for illegal taking of deer, elk and moose out of season.
Along with the citations, 30 open cases are being investigated. Twenty-four written warnings were issued, with dozens of trespassing and other cases being investigated.
September was a bit lighter for Fish and Game violations during the archery hunts and a few rifle hunts, with only 24 citations, seven investigated and unsolved cases, and 29 written warnings.
For the month of November, totals are still out, but presently there are more than 30 reports of citations and warnings to cross Lucia's desk from officers in the field.
Most of the elk poaching cases this season occurred near the Soda Springs and Montpelier areas, with deer poaching evenly distributed throughout the region.
"That's a significant number of violations," says Lucia. "Most of the citations range from wanton waste
to hunting during closed season.
"We are at the point right now that we can't keep up with the number of calls we are getting," he continued. "We are just overwhelmed with violations. The guys have been incredibly busy this fall and have been running from call to call. We have to prioritize the violations because we have so many and some we don't get to as fast as we would like."
Lucia attributes the large number of violations to the drought, the number of animals in the region, and to witnesses who are reporting the violations.
"We still maintain a fairly high elk population available to the public to hunt," he says. "With the drought many of the animals are in close proximity to irrigated crops and are possibly out in the open more, away from heavy cover.
"Poachers are opportunistic and when they encounter an animal ,they take it," he continued. "Many of them may go out in the morning hunting, not planning on poaching an animal, but then the opportunity arises and they can't resist it.
"We are also getting more people who are fed up with poaching turning in people. It's not necessarily hunters, either. There are more people biking and hiking in the area, but they are still concerned about wildlife. There are just more eyes and ears out there."
Lucia is not only concerned with the number of game violations in the region, but also with the message it is sending out to the anti-hunters in the state and country and the way non-hunters view the hunting population.
"Hunting throughout the nation is coming under attack," Lucia says. "Poaching and other game violations give anti-hunters the ammunition they need for successful anti-hunting legislation. It also reflects negatively on all hunters.
"Idahoans may feel isolated from anti-hunting legislation, but we have had some legislation in the past that has tried to limit our hunting opportunities in the state," he continued.
"The number one thing hunters can do to stop poaching is make it socially unacceptable to be a poacher among their friends and families. That's the only way were going to stop it.
"We will never have enough officers to cover all the county we have and watch everyone."
Penalties for breaking the game laws
This is a list of the basic guidelines given to judges when passing sentence on people convicted of a Fish and Game violation.
Minimum fines
Outlines minimum fines for violations involving the illegal take, illegal possession or illegal waste of the following animals, birds or fish. They are:
- Bighorn sheep, mountain goat or moose, $500.
- Elk, $300.
- All other big game animals, wild turkey, swan or sturgeon, $200.
- Chinook salmon, wild steelhead and bull trout, $100.
- Any other game bird, game fish or fur bearer, $25.
License Revocations
Any person who pleads guilty, is convicted or is found guilty of violating any provisions of the Fish and Game code or who otherwise fails to comply with the requirements of any citation may, in addition to any other penalty assessed by the court, have his hunting, fishing or trapping privileges revoked by the court for up to three years. The revocation shall consist of cancellation of the existing license and/or denial of the privilege of purchasing an applicable license.
Revocations for people pleading guilty, convicted or found guilty of committing multiple of-PContinued from C1 fenses may run consecutively.
Certain violations carry a mandatory license revocation of not less than one nor more than three years:
- Closed-season violations for upland game birds, waterfowl, big game, steelhead, salmon or sturgeon.
- Exceeding the bag limit for upland game bids, waterfowl and/or big game.
- Taking fish with drugs, chemicals, explosives, shocking, nets, spears, snag hooks, etc.
- Unlawful license/tag/permit use — purchase, possession, transfer, use of another's.
- Trespass in violation of warning signs.
- Failure to depart private property after notification.
- Unlawful release of fish.
A mandatory revocation of not less than one year is required for each big game animal taken in excess of the bag limit or during closed season.
Civil Penalties:
Outlined civil penalties for the illegal killing, illegal possession or illegal waste include:
- Civil penalty of up to $10,000 for unlawful release of fish.
- $1,500 per animal for caribou, bighorn sheep, mountain goat or moose.
- $750 per animal for elk.
- $400 per animal for deer, antelope, bear or mountain lion.
- $250 per wild turkey, whistling swan, sturgeon, chinook salmon (anadromous) or wild steelhead.
- $150 per fish for bull trout.
- $50 per game bird, game fish or fur bearer for wildlife not included above.
Enhanced civil penalties are prescribed for "trophy big game animals" as defined in 36-202(h) taken, possessed or wasted in the commission of a flagrant violation (see page 5).
These are:
- $2,000 for any mule deer buck scoring more than 150 Boone and Crockett points.
- $2,000 for any white-tailed deer buck scoring more than 130 Boone and Crockett points.
- $2,000 for any buck pronghorn antelope with at least one horn exceeding 14 inches.
- $5,000 for any bull elk scoring more than 300 Boone and Crockett points.
- $10,000 for any ram bighorn sheep.
- $10,000 for any bull moose.
- $10,000 for any male or female mountain goat.
- $10,000 for any male or female caribou.
In all civil penalties, if an animal of the same category is illegally killed, possessed or wasted within a 12-month period, the civil penalty is doubled with each successive animal (e.g., $1,500 civil penalty for the second elk and $3,000 civil penalty for the third elk. In the case of a trophy bull elk, $5,000 for the first, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for the third.)
Flagrant Violations:
- Taking a big game animal after sunset by spotlighting, with the use of artificial light or with a night vision enhancement device.
- Unlawfully taking two or more big game animals within a 12-month period.
- Taking a big game animal with a rim fire or center fire cartridge firearm during an archery or muzzleloader-only hunt.
- Hunting, fishing, trapping or purchasing a license when license privileges have been revoked pursuant to section 36-1402 or section 36-1501 Idaho Code.
- Taking any big game animal during a closed season when there is no established take season open anywhere in the state for that species of big game.
Processing Fees
Processing fees for illegal killing, illegal possession (non-tagging violations) or illegal waste include:
- $175 per animal for moose or elk.
- $75 per animal for bighorn sheep, caribou, mountain goat or black bear.
- $50 per animal for deer or pronghorn antelope.
The Journal asked hunters what should be done to stop poaching and fish and game violations in the region.
Mayo Haskett, Pocatello — "The problem isn't the guy who shoots a 3x2 buck in a two-point area, but the guy that shoots a moose and cuts the head or antlers off. They know what they are doing is wrong."
Craig Cox, formerly of Pocatello — "I think there are enough fines and penalties in place right know. They just need more people out catching them."
Jack Buffat, Pocatello — "I think we should have more Idaho Fish and Game employees in the field. The fines are in place already."
=============================================
Rash of poaching has conservation officers scrambling.
By the Associated Press
BEAR LAKE, Idaho - Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officers have issued more than 200 poaching and other hunting-related citations this fall, and the violations are continuing to stack up.
Dozens of elk, deer, moose and even domestic cattle have been killed and left to rot. Party hunting and irresponsible, opportunistic hunters are being blamed.
"We are at the point right now that we can't keep up with the number of calls we are getting," said Tom Lucia, Fish and Game's regional conservation officer in Pocatello. "We are just overwhelmed with violations."
Lucia said drought, a healthy elk population and more people concerned about wildlife and willing to report violations could be responsible.
"With the drought many of the animals are in close proximity to irrigated crops and are possibly out in the open more, away from heavy cover," he said. "We are also getting more people who are fed up with poaching turning in people. It's not necessarily hunters, either."
Officers recently investigated a case involving 15 elk killed by a group of hunters with only 11 elk tags.
"One of the problems we run into is an elk slaughter with party hunting," said Marc Arms, a Fish and Game conservation officer in the Grace area. "An elk doesn't always fall down on the first shot because they are such a big animal. When you shoot into a group of elk they herd up tighter and people keep shooting and shooting and as they begin to move animals keep dropping off."
