BearHunter
01-14-2005, 11:27 AM
Groups offer reward for mule deer poacher
By GREG LEMON Staff Reporter
The Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association and local outfitters are offering rewards for the recent mule deer poachings near Darby.
"The guys that are shooting these deer, they're not doing anything with them. They're shooting them and leaving them," said Steve Wilson, chairman of the big game committee with the Fish and Wildlife Association.
The association voted Monday to offer a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and capture of the poachers.
Local outfitters have also united to offer a $500 reward.
"The outfitters are the number one eyes and ears in the field for the fish and game," said Scott Boulanger, owner of Circle KBL Outfitters in Darby. "If you're a poacher we're out to get ya and we'll get ya sooner or later."
Wildlife is an outfitter's livelihood, said Boulanger, and that livelihood is threatened when a poacher decides to step outside the law.
"Sooner or later they'll screw up and we'll catch them," he said. "We're just not going to tolerate it."
In mid-November, FWP warden J.D. Douglas began receiving calls about mule deer bucks being shot and left in hunting district 270 south and east of Darby. In all, six bucks have turned up, but no leads on who the poacher is.
Mule deer have been of special interest to the Fish and Wildlife Association over the past several years.
In the late 1990s, when buck mule deer numbers were dropping in the Bitterroot Valley and there were few mature bucks, the association asked hunters to quit shooting mule deer, said Dale Burk, former Fish and Wildlife Association president.
Nearly 3,000 Montana hunters signed an oath to not shoot mule deer, he said.
"Those were hunters that literally, in the name of improving our mule deer numbers, limited themselves from hunting (mule deer) during those years," said Burk.
The association then worked with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to implement restricted seasons on mule deer in the Bitterroot Valley. Restricted hunting has been in place for six years, he said.
"That's why the numbers came back," said Burk.
In 2004, FWP gave out 75 buck tags for hunting district 270. Ten years ago it was uncommon to see a four point in the district, said Burk. It isn't anymore.
Boulanger suspects the poacher is someone disgruntled with the restricted hunting, and Burk agrees.
"This is a criminal act that has no relationship to hunting," said Burk.
But despite efforts by FWP wardens, no leads have turned up in the case, said Douglas.
Game wardens get convictions on about 50 percent of the poaching cases they get information on, estimated Jeff Darrah, warden captain for the FWP in Missoula.
"Generally if we have good information and it is a clear-cut violation of law, we do very well investigating a case and coming to some sort of resolution of law," he said.
It's frustrating, he said, to have a criminal act, like the mule deer poaching, and not have any leads. But Darrah is confident something will turn up.
"It's an open case and remains open until you get that info that allows you to get on the trail so to speak," he said.
The most valuable resource to poaching cases is concerned citizens, said Darrah. These are people who have information about illegal activity and for the benefit of hunters, sportsmen and society has a whole, decide to tell law enforcement what they know.
"They walk in and say 'Look you need to know what's going on,'" said Darrah. "A lot of times we knew it was going on, we just didn't know who to look for."
He encourages people who have information, even if they think it isn't important, to share it with an FWP warden.
"Any info that anybody has, it's always considered viable because it just might be the piece we need," he said. "I'm not going to turn anybody away from coming to me and saying 'hey this might be helpful.'"
The two challenges law enforcement commonly face in gleaning information from citizens is that they often don't want to get involved or they think the information they have isn't important. But what may seem insignificant could be the triggering piece of information to an investigation - even if it's old information, he said.
"There's lots of ways for a bad guy to get caught," said Darrah. "Just because we don't make the case right away, our statute of limitations on most game violations is three years."
The rewards offered by the outfitters and the Fish and Wildlife Association are in addition to the standard $1,000 reward offered by Montana.
If anyone has information about the poaching, contact 1-800 TIP-Mont or J.D Douglas at 821-9906.
By GREG LEMON Staff Reporter
The Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association and local outfitters are offering rewards for the recent mule deer poachings near Darby.
"The guys that are shooting these deer, they're not doing anything with them. They're shooting them and leaving them," said Steve Wilson, chairman of the big game committee with the Fish and Wildlife Association.
The association voted Monday to offer a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and capture of the poachers.
Local outfitters have also united to offer a $500 reward.
"The outfitters are the number one eyes and ears in the field for the fish and game," said Scott Boulanger, owner of Circle KBL Outfitters in Darby. "If you're a poacher we're out to get ya and we'll get ya sooner or later."
Wildlife is an outfitter's livelihood, said Boulanger, and that livelihood is threatened when a poacher decides to step outside the law.
"Sooner or later they'll screw up and we'll catch them," he said. "We're just not going to tolerate it."
In mid-November, FWP warden J.D. Douglas began receiving calls about mule deer bucks being shot and left in hunting district 270 south and east of Darby. In all, six bucks have turned up, but no leads on who the poacher is.
Mule deer have been of special interest to the Fish and Wildlife Association over the past several years.
In the late 1990s, when buck mule deer numbers were dropping in the Bitterroot Valley and there were few mature bucks, the association asked hunters to quit shooting mule deer, said Dale Burk, former Fish and Wildlife Association president.
Nearly 3,000 Montana hunters signed an oath to not shoot mule deer, he said.
"Those were hunters that literally, in the name of improving our mule deer numbers, limited themselves from hunting (mule deer) during those years," said Burk.
The association then worked with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to implement restricted seasons on mule deer in the Bitterroot Valley. Restricted hunting has been in place for six years, he said.
"That's why the numbers came back," said Burk.
In 2004, FWP gave out 75 buck tags for hunting district 270. Ten years ago it was uncommon to see a four point in the district, said Burk. It isn't anymore.
Boulanger suspects the poacher is someone disgruntled with the restricted hunting, and Burk agrees.
"This is a criminal act that has no relationship to hunting," said Burk.
But despite efforts by FWP wardens, no leads have turned up in the case, said Douglas.
Game wardens get convictions on about 50 percent of the poaching cases they get information on, estimated Jeff Darrah, warden captain for the FWP in Missoula.
"Generally if we have good information and it is a clear-cut violation of law, we do very well investigating a case and coming to some sort of resolution of law," he said.
It's frustrating, he said, to have a criminal act, like the mule deer poaching, and not have any leads. But Darrah is confident something will turn up.
"It's an open case and remains open until you get that info that allows you to get on the trail so to speak," he said.
The most valuable resource to poaching cases is concerned citizens, said Darrah. These are people who have information about illegal activity and for the benefit of hunters, sportsmen and society has a whole, decide to tell law enforcement what they know.
"They walk in and say 'Look you need to know what's going on,'" said Darrah. "A lot of times we knew it was going on, we just didn't know who to look for."
He encourages people who have information, even if they think it isn't important, to share it with an FWP warden.
"Any info that anybody has, it's always considered viable because it just might be the piece we need," he said. "I'm not going to turn anybody away from coming to me and saying 'hey this might be helpful.'"
The two challenges law enforcement commonly face in gleaning information from citizens is that they often don't want to get involved or they think the information they have isn't important. But what may seem insignificant could be the triggering piece of information to an investigation - even if it's old information, he said.
"There's lots of ways for a bad guy to get caught," said Darrah. "Just because we don't make the case right away, our statute of limitations on most game violations is three years."
The rewards offered by the outfitters and the Fish and Wildlife Association are in addition to the standard $1,000 reward offered by Montana.
If anyone has information about the poaching, contact 1-800 TIP-Mont or J.D Douglas at 821-9906.