Who shot at the elk decoy?
Game & Fish issues citations
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
October 30, 2006
On October 1st, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department from the Jackson/Pinedale Region set up an elk decoy in the Upper Green to see if any hunters would take an illegal shot at it, knowing it was out of season.
Game & Fish law enforcement officers placed the decoy in a drainage north of Pinedale in an area which has had a number of hunting violations. They have found the use of elk decoys to be an effective method of catching violators in problem areas. They set up a young bull elk decoy in a Hunt Area that didn’t open for antlered elk until October 15th.
In the course of that one Sunday, they counted 62 vehicles on the road passing by the decoy. Of those, 29 observed the decoy. Of those 29, 9 hunters took a shot at the decoy elk. The Game & Fish issued a total of 19 citations for a variety of related offenses: Shooting from a Roadway, Taking Elk from a Vehicle, Taking Elk during a Closed Season, Taking Elk without a License and Transfer of License.
These are all misdemeanor violations, said the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, with fines ranging from $210 to $780 per infraction. Violators can pay their fines through the mail or show up on their court date and go through the court process. None of these hunters will likely loose their hunting priviledges due to these violations, Game & Fish said.
So, who were these people who shot the elk decoy? Locals? Young kids who didn’t know any better? Out-of-staters? We take our wildlife and hunting privileges very seriously here in Wyoming, so we decided to dig deeper and find out who these people were. Below is what we found out. The names have been left off to protect their identities (although it is public information). Some of these people had more than one type of violation and received multiple citations, so are listed under more than one category.
Hunting Big Game Out of Season (Fine $410)
30-year-old man from Casper, Wyoming
69-year-old man from Dubois, Wyoming
30-year-old man from Riverton, Wyoming
33-year-old man from Casper, Wyoming
29-year-old man from Syracuse, Utah
58-year-old man from Casper, Wyoming
74-year-old man from Dubois, Wyoming
Shooting From Public Roadway (Fine $210)
30-year-old man from Casper, Wyoming
29-year-old man from Syracuse, Utah
69-year-old man from Dubois, Wyoming
33-year-old man from Casper, Wyoming
47-year-old man from Shawano, Wisconsin
Taking Elk Without a License (Fine $780)
25-year-old man from Holland, Michigan
26-year-old man from Gresham, Wisconsin
47-year-old man from Shawano, Wisconsin
Taking Big Game/Trophy Game with Vehicle (Fine $410)
25-year-old man from Holland, Michigan
26-year-old man from Gresham, Wisconsin
Transfer License/Stamp/Tag/Coupon (Fine $410)
80-year-old man from Dubois, Wyoming
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