https://kemmerergazette.com/ar...ng-in-lincoln-county

GREEN RIVER — On May 23, 2017 Billy A. Busbice Jr. of Olla, Louisiana appeared before Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Frank Zebre and pled guilty to charges of intentionally allowing an antlerless elk to go to waste and an additional charge of taking an elk without the proper license. Busbice stars on Wildgame Nation, a reality hunting show on the Outdoor Channel, and also owns an outdoor products company.

The case started on October 16, 2016 when Kemmerer Game Warden Chris Baird received a report from a group of hunters that had observed a possible wildlife violation on the Spring Creek Ranch, which is owned by Busbice, on La Barge Creek. “The hunters told me that on the morning of October 15th they observed a man hunting on the ranch,” Baird said. “Apparently, there was a younger man with the hunter who had a video camera and appeared to be filming the hunt. They watched the hunter shoot one elk, presumably a cow, and then shoot a bull. The first elk fell within around 60 yards of where the bull went down. They observed the hunter and the cameraman walk up to look at the bull and then leave the area.”

Warden Baird also was told that another man came and field dressed the bull and hauled it away with a backhoe. “The hunters told me the first elk, which was later determined to be a cow, still lay in the meadow after the man had taken the bull away with the backhoe,” Baird said.

Baird knew Busbice had a Commissioner’s elk license and that there had been a very large bull elk frequenting the ranch. On October 17th Baird met with Busbice before he flew to Louisiana. Baird’s summary of this encounter is that after a short interview, Busbice admitted to having accidently killed a calf elk while trying to harvest the large bull. Busbice stated that after the sun had gone down he had instructed the ranch manager and the cameraman to drag the calf elk into an irrigation ditch to conceal it. No attempt to field dress or preserve meat from the calf was made. Interviews of the cameraman and the ranch manager revealed similar stories and the men admitted to having concealed the calf in the ditch and disposing of the bull’s gut pile in the creek, in an attempt to hide any evidence of the poaching. Busbice admitted that he did not call Warden Baird because he was concerned about having recently been cited for previous wildlife violations. At this time Warden Baird seized both elk from Busbice and an unedited video of his hunt.

“Mr. Busbice told me they had been filming the elk hunt to feature on his reality TV hunting show,” Baird said. The video and audio recording shows that Mr. Busbice shot several times at a large bull in a herd of elk and missed several times. The video then shows Mr. Busbice shooting and hitting a calf, and the calf goes down.

“On his fourth shot, Busbice hits the bull in the left shoulder,” Baird said. It then falls to the ground. At the end of the video you can hear Busbice say, “We have to eliminate that part when I shot a cow.” He also is recorded saying, “Yeah, but we got to get rid of that cow.”

Judge Zebre sentenced Mr. Busbice to 180 days of jail suspended, providing that he lead a law abiding life during one and a half years of unsupervised probation; he was sentenced to pay the maximum fines for both violations and the maximum in restitution for the illegal take of both elk for a total of $23,000.00; and had all of his game and fish license privileges revoked for two years to include all of 2017 and 2018. Because Wyoming is part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, this loss of his license privileges applies in 45 states, including his home state of Louisiana.

“There are many take-home messages from this event,” Baird said. “We are extremely grateful to the sportsmen that reported these violations. The successful prosecution of this case likely would not have happened without them.”

The bull elk he was convicted of shooting illegally was a highly visible large bull elk. The bull roughly scored over 350 inches. Mr. Busbice was also cited earlier in 2016 of false oath for purchasing a resident general elk license as a nonresident and purchasing more than the authorized number of deer licenses and paid $1430.00 in fines for those violations.

He got off to easy.Should have spent some time in the slammer and lost hunt privileges for at least 5 years.

Yes he did.

Big $ behind him and his family the regular guy would have been dealt with differently.
I was in the outdoor filming biz for several years an today I will not even watch a single show. So much of this type of thing goes on in the industry a few decent guys exist in it but the majority see themselves as "above the game laws" an side step with ease. I personally reported a very well known couple for over the limit shooting of deer having their cameramen tag them all in the name of filming. What they would do is a kill a decent buck on film then keep hunting for a larger buck an if successful the camera operator tagged the smaller buck and rolled B tape to change the video later. In fear of losing their glamour couple their endorsers made a large payment to the game fund and also saw to it that the charges went to the cameramen.

No sense in sentencing someone then suspending it. That part I've never understood.
Even more so is if they can pay the big fines fairly easy. Such fines are supposed to put the violator in a financial fix.

George

Sounds like "the golden rule" to me

Dumb fuck

When money is involved people do some amazing things

He got off with a slap on the wrist. The guy is a a tool box of the first degree.


An Important Message from:
David E. Dudick, Chief Executive Officer

Over the course of the past 48 hours, Plano Synergy became aware of a situation which required swift and decisive action.
Today, Bill Busbice and Plano Synergy mutually agreed to end their association. Bill Busbice and his partners sold their outdoor brands to Plano Synergy in 2013. Since then, Bill has been providing services under contract to Plano Synergy, principally as a host of the Wildgame Nation television program, until today when that relationship was severed. Plano Synergy will also be cancelling the Wildgame Nation TV show.
Plano Synergy has a culture that is grounded in integrity and great respect for the outdoors. This comes with the expectation that we will always do the right thing. Our decisions will always reflect our commitments to our customers and consumers. We have a deep respect for the law, tradition and the ethical practices of our sports. We take pride in serving our industry and promote the fair and lawful practices of game hunting. Every day we strive to be a company that is trustworthy, respectful and fair with our consumers, employees, customers and business partners.
We thank you for your trust.
Sincerely,

That ought to hit Busbice in the pocket pretty hard.

P.O.S.

The guy has a net worth of $100 million I hardly think $23,000 made him worry what his wife would say about the fine. TV show being dropped will hurt his son Matt's ego more than anything. Arrogant S.O.B. family, father and sons an that comes from someone whom actually knows them. I predict several hunting trips to Canada and Africa during the next two years....er,Billy boy are you not suppose to refrain from travel abroad while under probation?????

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:
He got off to easy.Should have spent some time in the slammer and lost hunt privileges for at least 5 years.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
Yes he did.

I agree wholly! It is guys like him who give the antis ammo to loop all of us into a bunch of criminals when idiots like this are rare in the hunting fields of the world. 99% of hunters abide by the state sanctioned game laws, which are there to assure the continued existence of healthy populations of game animals. In this case I have to agree with the antis opinion of this guy , but they make the mistake of calling this criminal a “HUNTER” and he is nothing but a poacher. They simply ignore the fact that the game laws are there to assure the continued viability of wildlife by only taking legal quotas so there is no over harvesting of any species.

.......................................................................

Considering that he is a repeat offender with a prior conviction earlier last year, he should have gotten jail time.

Also bear in mind this turd was THE HEAD OF La. Fish&Game at one time. Money turns some people into real ass wipes but this guy was an ass wipe most of his life.

quote:

Originally posted by 2th doc:
The guy has a net worth of $100 million I hardly think $23,000 made him worry what his wife would say about the fine. TV show being dropped will hurt his son Matt's ego more than anything. Arrogant S.O.B. family, father and sons an that comes from someone whom actually knows them. I predict several hunting trips to Canada and Africa during the next two years....er,Billy boy are you not suppose to refrain from travel abroad while under probation?????

Canadians won't generally let you in for something like that.

I have several uncles in Wyoming in the oil and gas business, two of them are self-made millionares. My uncles hunt Canada all the time, but my cousin can't go. He's had too many DWI/DUI's and a got in a couple fights where he ended up in jail. Normal college kid stuff.

I think one time he paid some kind of huge fine to go, not sure $10,000? But he has a lot of BS with the Canadian border patrol and they told him that one time was his last.

Since his place in Olla is high fenced, it would not suprise me if he hunts anyway and not to worry about it.

One less crappy show on the outdoor channel.

Just a slap on the wrist - Unsupervised Probation. He should have received Supervised and see what happens to everyone else who breaks the law.

quote:

Originally posted by 2th doc:
The guy has a net worth of $100 million I hardly think $23,000 made him worry what his wife would say about the fine. TV show being dropped will hurt his son Matt's ego more than anything. Arrogant S.O.B. family, father and sons an that comes from someone whom actually knows them. I predict several hunting trips to Canada and Africa during the next two years....er,Billy boy are you not suppose to refrain from travel abroad while under probation?????

From whence did that wealth come if I might ask?

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:

quote:

Originally posted by 2th doc:
The guy has a net worth of $100 million I hardly think $23,000 made him worry what his wife would say about the fine. TV show being dropped will hurt his son Matt's ego more than anything. Arrogant S.O.B. family, father and sons an that comes from someone whom actually knows them. I predict several hunting trips to Canada and Africa during the next two years....er,Billy boy are you not suppose to refrain from travel abroad while under probation?????

From whence did that wealth come if I might ask?

Bill Busbice net worth: Bill Busbice is an American reality television star, entrepreneur and hunting enthusiast who has a net worth of $100 million. Bill Busbice is the patriarch of a family that is set to appear in the upcoming A&E reality television series "Country Buck$", which premiers on November 19, 2014. Busbice earned his initial fortune in the oil business. He sold his first company for a small fortune and used the proceeds to launch a trucking business. He also co-founded Wildgame Innovations, which sells a variety of products geared towards avid deer hunters. The company specializes in DVDs, apparel, trail cameras, feeders, rangefinders, food plots and much much more. Thanks to the success of Wildgame, the Busbice family was able to acquire several other hunting companies, most notably Barnett Crossbows and Flextone Game Calls. The Busbice family also has been able to acquire a timber company which included a 55,000 acre property in Northern Louisiana. The family subsequently built a luxury hunting lodge on the property which caters to fellow wealthy hunting enthusiasts. Bill and his wife Beth have been married for 36 years and they have two sons together, Matt and Ryan. The family's first foray into the reality television world came with a show called "Wildgame Nation" on the Outdoor Channel. In May 2014, Bill Busbice sued a production company for $10.9 million after an investment in several documentaries went south. That case is still pending. In January 2013, Bill was sued by a hunter who was arrested after killing a deer on his property without permission.

Busbice is a POS and has been for a long time! It looks like his boys are following in their Dad's footsteps too!

Not that I disagree with what has been said about Busbice but how was he a pos before all of this?

Obviously to poach and hide game in 2016 you have to previously be an outlaw. Most decisions like this are from total lack of respect and character. However, do we hate the guy because he's weathly? Or did we have ru-ins with him in the past were he showed his ass?

Just asking

And seriously, 23k and no jail time for a repeat offender, what a joke!

Perry

quote:

Originally posted by perry:
Not that I disagree with what has been said about Busbice but how was he a pos before all of this?

Obviously to poach and hide game in 2016 you have to previously be an outlaw. Most decisions like this are from total lack of respect and character. However, do we hate the guy because he's weathly? Or did we have ru-ins with him in the past were he showed his ass?

Just asking

And seriously, 23k and no jail time for a repeat offender, what a joke!

Perry

Below is the poop from the G&F Green River Regional Office on this POS. He also illegally applied for an elk tag as a resident when he was a resident of LA and also bought more deer tags than legal. He got caught on those violations and should have lost his license privileges for a number of years and never even lost it for one. Years ago he was also a big shot on the LA Game commission and was known as a real asshole and that is backed up by his neighbors in both states where he has ranches. Here is the news article:

GREEN RIVER - On May 23, 2017 Billy A. Busbice Jr. of Olla, Louisiana appeared before Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Frank Zebre and pled guilty to charges of intentionally allowing an antlerless elk to go to waste and an additional charge of taking an elk without the proper license. Busbice stars on Wildgame Nation, a reality hunting show on the Outdoor Channel, and also owns an outdoor products company.

The case started on October 16, 2016 when Kemmerer Game Warden Chris Baird received a report from a group of hunters that had observed a possible wildlife violation on the Spring Creek Ranch, which is owned by Busbice, on La Barge Creek. “The hunters told me that on the morning of October 15th they observed a man hunting on the ranch,” Baird said. “Apparently, there was a younger man with the hunter who had a video camera and appeared to be filming the hunt. They watched the hunter shoot one elk, presumably a cow, and then shoot a bull. The first elk fell within around 60 yards of where the bull went down. They observed the hunter and the cameraman walk up to look at the bull and then leave the area.”

Warden Baird also was told that another man came and field dressed the bull and hauled it away with a backhoe. “The hunters told me the first elk, which was later determined to be a bull calf, still lay in the meadow after the man had taken the bull away with the backhoe,” Baird said.

Baird knew Busbice had a Commissioner’s elk license and that there had been a very large bull elk frequenting the ranch. On October 17th Baird met with Busbice before he flew to Louisiana. Baird’s summary of this encounter is that after a short interview, Busbice admitted to having accidently killed a calf elk while trying to harvest the large bull. Busbice stated that after the sun had gone down he had instructed the ranch manager and the cameraman to drag the calf elk into an irrigation ditch to conceal it. No attempt to field dress or preserve meat from the calf was made. Interviews of the cameraman and the ranch manager revealed similar stories and the men admitted to having concealed the calf in the ditch and disposing of the bull’s gut pile in the creek. Busbice admitted that he did not call Warden Baird because he was concerned about having recently been cited for previous wildlife violations. At this time Warden Baird seized both elk from Busbice and an unedited video of his hunt.

“Mr. Busbice told me they had been filming the elk hunt to feature on his reality TV hunting show,” Baird said. The video and audio recording shows that Mr. Busbice shot several times at a large bull in a herd of elk and missed several times. The video then shows Mr. Busbice shooting and hitting a calf, and the calf goes down.

“On his fourth shot, Busbice hits the bull in the left shoulder,” Baird said. It then falls to the ground. At the end of the video you can hear Busbice say, “We have to eliminate that part when I shot a cow.” He also is recorded saying, “Yeah, but we got to get rid of that cow.”

Judge Zebre sentenced Mr. Busbice to 180 days of jail suspended, providing that he lead a law abiding life during one and a half years of unsupervised probation; he was sentenced to pay the maximum fines for both violations and the maximum in restitution for the illegal take of both elk for a total of $23,000.00; and had all of his game and fish license privileges revoked for two years to include all of 2017 and 2018. Because Wyoming is part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, this loss of his license privileges applies in 45 states, including his home state of Louisiana.

“There are many take-home messages from this event,” Baird said. “We are extremely grateful to the sportsmen that reported these violations. The successful prosecution of this case likely would not have happened without them.”

The bull elk he was convicted of shooting illegally was a highly visible large bull elk. The bull roughly scored over 350 inches. Mr. Busbice was also cited earlier in 2016 of false oath for purchasing a resident general elk license as a nonresident and purchasing more than the authorized number of deer licenses and paid $1430.00 in fines for those violations.

Anyone with information on a wildlife violation may call the Stop Poaching Hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847). Tips may be reported online at wgfd.wyo.gov, or by calling the Green River Game and Fish Office at-1-307-875-3223. Poaching information may also be texted; text keyword WGFD a message toTIP411 (847-411).Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward if the information leads to a conviction.

()

I was told that when Bill Busbice fenced off his place in Louisiana that he fenced out other people that had property inside that fence. If true, that would make him a POS in my book.

His place in life brings up an interesting thought for discussion.
With a net worth of 100 million he doesn't "need" to have a top rated show. So his motivating factor for illegally shooting the elk was not economics. Not that the need for economic security makes it any better but he shot those elk for pride, bragging rights.
Jail time and community service is where you get his attention. The judge failed in this one.

Perry

I agree with jail time. A fine is a joke for someone in his position and "community service" could probably be bought off with a donation to a park or youth center.

Or we could index fines to one's income like they do in Finland. The CEO of Nokia once got a simple speeding ticket that cost him about $250,000

Spending some "quality time" with Bubba the Love Machine as a cell mate would certainly get his attention.

Who is he? I have never heard of him. That picture of that cow elk is to my mind worse than any trophy pic.

quote:

That picture of that cow elk is to my mind worse than any trophy pic.

Indeed. It is a shameful, needless waste. A whole lot of people would have appreciated all of that meat.

In case any AR members have searched Bill Busbice's name recently on the internet he has issued an "apology". He stated, "I shot a cow elk by mistake". However he failed to mention, as he admitted in a Wyoming court, he instructed his videographer to dump the cow elk in a ditch after he shot it. Was that also a mistake? He also did not mention that after shooting the cow elk he continued to hunt the bull elk. Was that also a mistake? He also failed to mention that in 2016 he was convicted for false swearing of residency in order to obtain a resident Wyoming elk tag in 2015. That fine cost him approximately $1430.
Sadly, the 45 state Wildlife Violator Compact agreement only kicks in if the offender does not show up in court and does not pay the fine. A $23,000 fine is no detriment to this guy and will not keep him from hunting in 44 other states during the 1 - 2 years he is prohibited from hunting in Wyoming.
Glad to hear The Outdoor Channel abruptly cancelled his TV show Wildgame Nation. Ironically the August issue of Petersen's Hunting magazine just came out. Right smack dab in the middle on pages 36 and 37 is a two page ad for Bill Busbice's TV show Wildgame Nation. You can see his picture along with his sons Matt and Ryan.

It is my understanding of the WVC that if you loose your hunting rights in one state they are also lost in the other 44 member states for the duration as well. There is no mention of absolution with paid fines.

I found this..not sure if it's accurate, but it seems he did lose his hunting privileges

quote:

According to the Star Tribune, Busbice appeared before Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Frank Zebre, who sentenced him to one and a half years of unsupervised probation and ordered Busbice to pay $23,000 in fines and restitution AND will lose his hunting and fishing privileges across 45 states until 2019.

Sponsors are jumping ship! I might buy something Outdoor Edge just cause'

quote:

“Since our founding, nearly three decades ago, Outdoor Edge has been a strong advocate of ethical and legal hunting and fishing,” said Bloch. “We do not condone or support any deviation from these founding beliefs, and for this reason, we have decided to end all sponsorships related to Bill Busbice.”

There's difference between an honest mistake and an obvious attempt at illegal activity and then trying to cover it up...these hunting shows..and I use that term loosely for many of them, must be held to the highest ethical standard.

There is currently no data base among the 45 states in the Wildlife Violator Compact agreement wherein at the time of application for a hunting license or tag the state can immediately verify if the applicant has been convicted in another state and lost his ability to hunt in a member state.

quote:

State Process
Each Compact state enters violator suspensions into the Compact database. This database can be accessed by each participating state. Reports may be generated to show suspended violators by violator state or by suspending agency state. Once Oregon pulls the names from the database, they follow the following steps

Another uninformed poster. Not bad for one day.

Plano-Synergy got rid of him too.

larrys - not according to Lewis Rather of International Wildlife Crimestoppers. It's the association of wildlife enforcement officers and agencies including members of the 45 state Wildlife Violator Compact.

who has a current list of states NOT in the WVC?

I found this on the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact website.


Member States

The current (45) IWVC member states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.[1]


Non-Member States

These (5) states are, as of August 2015, not members of the IWVC: Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and New Jersey. None of the references available indicate it is, so presumably the District of Columbia is also not a member.[2]

quote:

Originally posted by Stan Montoya:
larrys - not according to Lewis Rather of International Wildlife Crimestoppers. It's the association of wildlife enforcement officers and agencies including members of the 45 state Wildlife Violator Compact.

Baloney! There is definitely a database that all the states in the Compact have available to them or the Compact wouldn't be worth a shit if it was just guesswork! Here is a section regarding the Compact right out of the OR G&F Website:

State Process
Each Compact state enters violator suspensions into the Compact database. This database can be accessed by each participating state. Reports may be generated to show suspended violators by violator state or by suspending agency state. Once Oregon pulls the names from the database, they follow the following steps:

The department sends via certified mail to each violator a NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUSPEND HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES, TAGS AND PERMITS. When mailed, the department must fill out the “certificate of service” on each notice. The certificate documents the “service date” and starts the 14-day timeframe during which the violator can request a hearing.
When the 14-day period ends, the department verifies whether the violator has requested a hearing.
If the violator does not request a hearing, the department prepares a Final Order based on the agency’s file. If the Director issues a Final Order as proposed by staff, the department mails a copy to the violator via certified mail and implements the order.
If the violator requests a hearing within the 14-day period, the request is reviewed and either denied or the case is referred to the Office of Administrative hearings using the Office’s referral form. The written request must stipulate the facts that the violator wants the Administrative Law Judge to consider. Contested case hearings are for the purpose of making sure that the department has the basic facts and law right: is this the same person who the suspending state says was convicted there of a wildlife violation? Do we understand the law correctly? Unless an issue such as that is raised, the request for a hearing will be denied. If a hearing is granted, the department proceeds with the following steps:

An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) assigned by the Office holds a prehearing conference with the department’s Assistant Attorney General and the person (or the person’s counsel) to schedule a hearing and identify issues to be addressed at the hearing.

The ALJ holds a contested case hearing during which any and all issues relating to the proposed suspension will be discussed. The ALJ then issues a Proposed Order recommending findings of fact and conclusions of law on the case.

The Office of Administrative Hearings distributes the ALJ’s Proposed Order to the person and to the Assistant Attorney General and gives all parties 14 days in which to file written exceptions to the Proposed Order.

Once any exceptions are received, the Director considers the exceptions and either accepts the proposed order as written or makes changes and issues the Final Order.

When the Director issues the Final Order, the department mails a copy to the violator via certified mail and implements the order.

quote:

There is currently no data base among the 45 states in the Wildlife Violator Compact agreement wherein at the time of application for a hunting license or tag the state can immediately verify if the applicant has been convicted in another state and lost his ability to hunt in a member state.

Okay everyone, take a deep breath and reread what he actually said. As in Reading Comprehension 101, pay particular attention to ALL words in a sentence, especially ones like IMMEDIATELY.

Now, I don't want to speak for Stan, but I believe what he is saying is that when Joe Poacher tries to buy a hunting license in any of the Compact states, it doesn't IMMEDIATELY access that database and reject his effort to purchase a license. The Oregon process seems to verify that is the case. IOW, each state must manually access the database and then match names against names and go thru the long, drawn out process explained.

Its application is quite unlike the database used by licensed firearms retailers where a simple phone call gives IMMEDIATE feedback on a specific gun buyer.

Now, as you were sniping and insulting one another like a bunch of 4th graders.

Tony,
Thank you for trying to explain this to the plethora of AR members who constantly exhibit their lack of Reading Comprehension 101 skills. A few will grasp what you explained, most will not.