From WY G&F Dept.:

PARTY HUNTING COSTS SHERIDAN MEN OVER $23,000 AND 42 YEARS OF HUNTING PRIVILEGES SHERIDAN

The collective actions of four overzealous Sheridan hunters who repeatedly shot into a large herd of elk Nov. 10, 2006, killing at least 10 animals and leaving the majority of the meat to waste, generated a collective sentence June 28 of more than $23,000 in fines and restitution and 42 years of forfeited hunting privileges.

The men - two sets of brothers - were also sentenced to 90 days in jail which was suspended and placed on one year unsupervised probation by Circuit Court Judge Robert Skar of Big Horn County, who presided over the case in the Fourth Judicial District, Sheridan County Circuit Court.

The case commenced on Nov. 10, 2006, when a concerned hunter, who was hunting that day near the Kerns Wildlife Habitat Management Area northwest of Sheridan, reported to Dayton Game Warden Alan Osterland hearing a long barrage of up to 90 rifle shots that day coming from the Kerns habitat area.

Osterland responded to the Kerns unit the next morning and visited hunting camps in the area. At the camp of Albert D. and Ivan L. Pierce and Michael L. and Aaron L. May, the officer was told the party had killed four elk and crippled a couple more the day before in the Broderick Bench area of the Kerns WHMA. The men said they had retrieved the boned meat from two elk, had left two more elk at the site and further said that a member of their party had returned with others to retrieve the other two elk that day.

Osterland began to suspect that the party may have been responsible for the shooting barrage. He and Game Warden Troy Achterhof returned to the camp near evening and were told the party had yet to return from retrieving the other two elk. The officers returned the next morning to find the men had returned with only 100 pounds of boned meat from the two elk, which Osterland said he felt was clearly spoiled.

The two officers went out to the Broderick Bench area on Nov. 12. They discovered nine cow elk carcasses, all shot, and another wounded cow elk with a shattered rear femur unable to move in the close vicinity. This elk, just barely alive, was put out of its misery by the officers. Members of the Pierce/May party had earlier stated they had been shooting at a cripple dragging its rear in that area. None of the nine carcasses had been gutted and three had been partially boned out.

“In my 18 years of wildlife law enforcement this was far and away the most sickening crime scene I’ve had to investigate,†said Osterland, who led the investigation and patrols the district where the crime occurred.

The officers performed necropsies on the elk carcasses and also collected DNA samples from the carcasses for laboratory analysis.

On Nov. 16, Osterland and Wildlife Investigator Scott Adell served search warrants on the residences of Aaron May and Albert Pierce. About 190 pounds of frozen elk meat was confiscated from Pierce’s residence.

The Game and Fish Forensics Laboratory later confirmed the confiscated meat matched some of the carcasses at the crime scene.

In their initial statements to Osterland, the defendants admitted to firing collectively 58 shots from their bolt-action rifles. The men said they first started shooting from 500 to 700 yards away from the herd numbering between 150 and 300 elk. An eyewitness spoken to during the course of the investigation confirmed seeing men shoot continuously at a large herd of panicking elk on the Broderick Bench at distances of up to 700 yards. He confirmed earlier reports as to the amount of shots fired, estimating that the hunters he saw fired approximately 90 shots.

“The case was the worst dearth of sportsmanship that I’d ever investigated,†Osterland said.

The May brothers - Michael, 21, and Aaron, 24 - and Ivan Pierce, 37, each pleaded guilty June 28 to one count each of wanton destruction of elk, waste of game meat and taking an overlimit of elk. They were each assessed $5,200 in fines and restitution, had their hunting privileges revoked for 10 years and were placed on one year unsupervised probation.

In the plea agreement between the Sheridan County Attorney’s Office and the three defendants and their attorneys, additional charges, including failure to retain evidence of sex and failure to tag, were dismissed.

Interviews required in the plea agreement also identified an 11th elk that was killed in the melee. The officers and county attorney’s office commended the men for their cooperation in the investigation.

Albert Pierce, 48, did not participate in a plea agreement and pleaded no contest to one count each of wanton destruction of elk, waste of game meat, overlimit of elk and failure to tag a game animal. Judge Skar ordered him to pay $6,000 in restitution and $1,600 in fines and revoked his hunting privileges for 12 years. He also was placed on one year unsupervised probation and in addition was given a 90-day suspended jail sentence.

Deputy County and Prosecuting Attorney Christopher LaRosa said the difference in the two sentences stemmed from the fact that the three defendants who had reached agreement with the state of Wyoming and pleaded guilty, had by their actions and statements more fully accepted responsibility than had defendant Albert Pierce.

In the sentencing hearing, Albert Pierce argued that the state should have laws or regulations limiting the number of shots that can be taken when hunting and laws stating proper shooting distance. His attorney downplayed the severity of the offenses, contending the Game and Fish wants cow elk harvested to meet management goals.

“These were egregious violations,†LaRosa said. “The actions taken that day violated Wyoming Game and Fish regulations and also betrayed fundamental ethical responsibilities taught to the hunting public in hunter education classes.â€

The officers commended LaRosa for his diligent attention and many hours invested in the case. The prosecutor was prepared to take the case to trial. “I believe the sentences were just,†LaRosa said. “When you abuse the privilege, you should lose the privilege.â€

Adell said there are lessons to be learned from the case, which he considers to be a flagrant example of party hunting. “This case shows how important hunter education and positive role models are in hunting,†Adell said. “Ethics are such an important part of hunting. Ethics instill a respect for wildlife, fellow sportsmen and will also help keep you out of trouble.â€

He encourages anyone who does commit a violation to seek a quick resolution to the situation to minimize the state’s investment in investigation and prosecution and to gain the benefit accorded to those who fully cooperate with investigations.
(contact: Alan Osterland, Scott Adell or Warren Mischke (307) 672-7418, photos available on request)

This kind of SHIT makes me sick. My only problem is they will take away their hunting privileges for years. WEll if they did it once with out the proper tags and out of season they'll do it again. I wish the judge would stick them and every poacher in prison for years.
The good thing is they cought them this time.
Thanks for the report.
Steve

Sorry bastards! Like Steve said, these assholes should be put in prison for a while.

Steve,

Not to disagree with you that these idiots will repeat their slob behavior, but I think they were actually hunting legally -- i.e. licensed and during the season -- when this incident occurred. But as you say, once a slob, always a slob. -TONY

I don't think it's unreasonable to yank the hunting privileges of those sonsabitches and their ilk for life. Their total disregard for game is disgustingly apparent, and that kind of wanton waste does nothing but hurt hunters as a group. Anyone think this is an isolated incident for these guys? I don't. Sickening, really.

Mandatory jail time for scum like this.

All I can say is that their sentences were insufficient for the crimes. Only worse than the crime and punishment is the attitudes expressed by the criminals and their attorney:

quote:

In the sentencing hearing, Albert Pierce argued that the state should have laws or regulations limiting the number of shots that can be taken when hunting and laws stating proper shooting distance. His attorney downplayed the severity of the offenses, contending the Game and Fish wants cow elk harvested to meet management goals.

They got off easy, and shouldn't have. The sad thing is they are only a tip of an iceberg. It did not mention wether they were long time residents or recent immigrants, which are coming here in droves, especially Buffalo and Sheridan, and have no regard for laws or sportsmanship. And no common sense.

Kudu,
What I can't figure out is how they even found a herd of elk that large to shoot up. Geez, I thought the wolves had killed all the elk in WY by now. -TONY

Makes me sick, we have similar problems here with drive by shooting at antelope happens every week just shoot and drive off they are laying dead 100yds off the roads all over. Too many people that just don't care.

Tony

Give the wolves a few more years, once they wipe out the Moose and Elk in the North west part of the state, more will move over into the Bighorns. They are already in that country now!

Steve

f'in bastards!

nothing more can be said.

friar

This is where we hunters have to step up to the plate. This 'sentence' is waaay too light. This is also the ammo the anti's use against us. This is not the kind of punishment that would make others think twice.

quote:

Kudu,
What I can't figure out is how they even found a herd of elk that large to shoot up. Geez, I thought the wolves had killed all the elk in WY by now. -TONY

Tony, you and your pro-wolf buddies find it hard to believe that a 1000 wolves have any affect on the elk. All you have to do is read the WG&F reports, go to the NW part of the state, and herds like that are scarce except in the late season or late fall. November and December. And yes wolves do eat elk, they are not vegetarians as you and brent would like to believe, and they are having a negative effect on populations in some areas.. Not Sheridan, as there are less than 10 confirmed wolves in the Big Horns.

Areas where no wolves exist or are in small numbers, elk herds are doing fine,and expanding, such as the Big Horns and Snowys.But areas in the west and north west, herds are actually going backwards, so much that tags have been reduced or elimnated. Not only for elk but moose.

I know, I know, I don't know shit, so just read the WYG&F report on thier web site, You being a writer of fsih stories should be able to read a report done by, the experts, but then in your liberal mind they are liers and can not be trusted.

At the range I visit in Santa Clara County we often see wild hogs, deer, turkeys, coyotes, & cattle on the hillsides beyond the target berms. Earlier this year one nitwit shot a hog that was on the hillside with a .300 Win Mag he was sighting in for a hunt. He was arrested and no doubt lost his gun and hunting license on top of paying a hefty fine.

How about a big "thank you" to the concerned hunter that took the time to report suspicious activity that led to the investigation?

The real shame is that there aren't more "concerned hunters" out there. We live in a society that has come to accept driving 75 in a 55mph zone, where everyone knows someone that "cheats" on their taxes, and it seems as if another politician is in trouble daily. Fish and game laws are treated no differently, with some following the rules strictly, some completely ignoring all rules, and most somewhere in between. How many of you would report your neighbor for shooting an extra doe without a tag? Now what if your neighbor shot an extra trophy buck without a tag? Same basic violation - yup - but different outcomes I bet. The fact is that the best way to deter things like this happening again is to pick up the phone and report violations when they happen. If more people got caught, less people would think about doing it.

As for this crew from Wyoming - certainly a bunch of bad apples that will ruin things for many. But how many of you really think that they will stop shooting animals simply because they don't have a piece of paper that says "hunting license" on it?

Thanks again, Mr. Concerned Hunter, for taking the time to report this.

Sounds like a mean case of selfishness. The assination that started World War One was the killing of Arch Duke Ferdinand. That guy was a piece of work. He hunted with a Maxim machine gun. He would take upwards of 70 deer at a time. I don't think much of people who take animals like that -- like using a punt gun for waterfowl. I guess they will have some time to think it over. I read a book one time and one of the lines in it went along of the lines of when a man is allowed to kill without consequence, the motives supply themselves. The book involved people, but it covers a fair amount of ground.

Kudu,

Now whatever made you think I am "pro-wolf? Do you perhaps have me confused with someone else? Or maybe you think I'm "pro-wolf" because I don't go along with the all the 'sky is falling' nonsense that passes through here?

BTW, that is a very astute observation that wolves eat elk. It's also neat that you realize eating elk reduces their population. Did you have to read that somewhere or did you figure all that by yourself in your little conservative mind? -TONY

quote:

Now whatever made you think I am "pro-wolf? Do you perhaps have me confused with someone else? Or maybe you think I'm "pro-wolf" because I don't go along with the all the 'sky is falling' nonsense that passes through here

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Well Tony, unless I missed the mark I assumed you were being facetious about the wolves!?

We call it being a smart ass!
So you must think that unregulated predators, with an increasing population of 20% or better each year, is just a fairy tale? And chicken little is full of chicken shit?

I love those that can pass judgement as an armchair biologist, from far away. You haven't seen what was once a growing and well managed herd of elk be decimated, a shinning star to conservation, donations in the millions and equal man hours to bring a species back from the brink of extinction, all wiped out with one whim of a poorly thought out illegal reintrodcution of an eating machine.


Do me a favor and live in your glory, has been days, of writing drivel, and stay out of Wyoming. We don't need any more liberals here.

I wonder why we even have Game Biologist...when we have so many people that don't live here know more about Idaho, Montana and Wyoming wolves then the people that are out studying them everday and watching our Moose population drop down to where it beyond recovery. The elk are following their footsteps. But for the people that live here with wolves in their back yard are just wondering if the Sky is falling.
It's not the Sky it's our game population.

Steve

Erict..right on.

I also wish more people would care enough to make the call.

MG

quote:

I wonder why we even have Game Biologist...when we have so many people that don't live here know more about Idaho, Montana and Wyoming wolves then the people that are out studying them everday and watching our Moose population drop down to where it beyond recovery.

Yeah, I wonder too, but only because there are SO MANY armchair experts right here on the internet that know everything without understanding anything.

Brent

Skyline,

Of course, I was being facetious given all the nonsense about every elk in WY getting eaten by wolves that has appeared here. That doesn't mean I'm "pro-wolf;" it merely means I'm not a big fan of exaggeration and rhetoric, something there is no shortage of around these parts.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out predators eat prey. Even Kudu figured that out, perhaps with a little help from reading all those reports. It's been that way for eons and will continue to be that way for eons to come.

I certainly agree with you about their numbers being kept in check. It's unfortunate WY played hardball all these months with it wolf management plan. That might already be happening. -TONY

quote:

I certainly agree with you about their numbers being kept in check. It's unfortunate WY played hardball all these months with it wolf management plan. That might already be happening. -TONY

Played hardball? Maybe they just stood up for some thing they believed in, states rights, maybe they (Wy) didn't want to just cave in to the liberal ideologys and be forced to accept some issue that was wrong and made no sense. Some thing for which you believe in, cave in, give up, don't stand up. Cower and retreat. That is not the way most people think in this state. Do you honestly believe the feds will ever allow a hunting season? Maybe, but I won't hold my breath. The feds might allow it, but the the pro-wolf folks like you will never give in, no compromise!!! The law suits will take another year or two, that makes a miniscule amount of control two to three years out. If any state jumps in and trys a hunting season it will be Wy. Look at the Bison hunts, you don't read about the hunt here in the news like you do Mt. Yet a hunt goes on each year with out
fan fair.

Wisc. Mn. and Mich. have had wolves for over 40 years and they are just beginning to loosen the federal strangle hold on those wolves. No hunt yet either.

I am yet to find any where in this forum a gloom and doom or total annihilation
of the elk. Just a genuine concern for the severe reduction in numbers and elk hunting and hunting opportunities, as we have known it for the last 25 years. Some thing, millions of hunters via hunting, conservation and wildlife organizations have donated to, worked for, and tried to protect. Just to see it destroyed, restricted, curtailed, almost eliminated in some areas, just because of the whim of a few limp wristed liberal do-gooders with a wet dream.

No good has, is going to, or is ever going to come from the reintrodcution of wolves in the life time of most of the people on this forum.

quote:

Yeah, I wonder too, but only because there are SO MANY armchair experts right here on the internet that know everything without understanding anything

Yeah, you and the zumbo look-a-like,Jack O'Conner wanna be!

Skyline,

Bingo!

Unfortunately, most of the discussions on the topic get ruined by dingalings who can't carry on a conversation without name calling, slinging insults or using profanity/vulgarity. My 11-yr. old granddaughter has more common sense than most of them.

That's why I normally steer clear of the controversial subjects. The reward is not worth the effort. -TONY

Yeah that's why you title a post "Slob Wyoming Hunters" lumped the whole state in that name calling, and insult. And then blame Wyoming for playing hardball? LOL! You make me laugh. Ever think the state was doing what the will of the majority wanted?

quote:

Originally posted by Skyline:
Tony.............the problem I see with the wolf issue is that most people tend to be way too far one way or the other. They either want them fully protected or annihilated. As with so many things the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

There sure seems to be a lot of hostility on this forum in some respects.

I don't think there is an absence of folks in the middle, but like the field of politics, you ain't allowed to stand in the middle so long as the extremists on either side exist. Middle of the road opinions are painted as the enemy by both extremes. Look at Kudu's outbursts as an example.

See? Now I'm a zumbo look-alike even though I have no idea what the guy looks like. And O'Connor wanna be even though I don't own a .270 or even a bolt gun.

Someday, Kudu is going to run into a real bunnyhugger, and it is going to give him a heart attack

Brent

If spending a considerable amount of time 60 to 70 days a year, trapping, running cats, elk hunting, deer hunting, or just hiking or riding,versus a guy from iowa that does a weeks vacation or hunting trip, or people who don't even live here and are effected at 0, in areas where elk used to be abundant, and seeing few if any,when you do see some elk, calves are nonexistent, and virtually no moose when it was quite common to see several a day, as experience, I think I can base my oppinion on those experiences. An opportunity of having a game warden and two biologists as close friends and listening to there oppinions might carry a little consideration as some experience, but I am sure thier oppinion is biased, more so than that trip from the east for a week or anarticle in some magazine read by a guy in arizona I don't need to beat my drum.

With 1000 wolves in a state like Wy. congregated into the western 25% of the state, and you don't think they are, or will have a negative effect on elk? And are reducing opportunities and numbers, if you think they are not, then I think your full of shit!

quote:

Brent the problem with people and their very strong opinions and beliefs is that in most cases they do not have any real life experience by which they formed those strong opinions and beliefs. They are simply repeating what they have been told or read from sources they view as credible.

And where does brent or the outdoor writer garnish all of their experiences? A magazine, a friend of a friend of a cousins friend? A news paper, or just a personal belief and political stance?

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I guess for some it is hard to find humor sometimes when it is YOUR hunting area that is getting leveled by those magnificant predators.....yes I have had it happen where I hunt, moose , elk, caribou populations plummet due to wolf predation........and I do think they are magnificent predators.

My oppinion, nothing magnificent about an animal that kills for the joy of killing as has been documented. Kills more than it can eat and just kills again because they can. They are a killing eating machine. The early settlers had the right idea, but we know have to live with them and don't need some one from another state telling me how we should live here and what we should accept and go along with..

quote:

Originally posted by Skyline:
"Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it had better be a learned one." A quote I am fond of.

Who said it?

quote:

By the way Brent 'bunnyhugger' is no longer a politically correct term........they are now 'green' people.

Says who? "Green" means different things depending on who is talking. A LOT of different things.

Besides, EVERYONE I know thinks they are totally politically incorrect! It would be politically incorrect to say otherwise regardless of which side of the fence you stand on. Sort of like offering up "common sense" (which is neither).

Brent

quote:

Originally posted by kudu56:
An opportunity of having a game warden and two biologists as close friends and listening to there oppinions might carry a little consideration as some experience With 1000 wolves in a state like Wy. congregated into the western 25% of the state, and you don't think they are, or will have a negative effect on elk? And are reducing opportunities and numbers, if you think they are not, then I think your full of shit!

So classic as no one here, least of all myself, said they would have no effect on elk populations. Indeed that's just the point, but ol' Kudu does not disappoint.

And oh yeah we both have a pair of wildlife biologists for friends in WY don't we?

quote:

And where does brent or the outdoor writer garnish all of their experiences?

Out in the real world where you so rarely go and never can comprehend. But of course, you would never allow yourself to admit that.

quote:

My oppinion, nothing magnificent about an animal that kills for the joy of killing as has been documented. Kills more than it can eat and just kills again because they can. They are a killing eating machine.

Sounds almost human to me.

quote:

now have to live with them and don't need some one from another state telling me how we should live here and what we should accept and go along with..

It COULD happen to a nicer guy - but it didn't. Too bad Kudu.

Brent

quote:

Out in the real world where you so rarely go and never can comprehend. But of course, you would never allow yourself to admit that.

quote:

MN, WI, IL, MI, KS, GA, AZ, IA

Looks like you couldn't keep a job so you had to move and garnish all that "worldly experience" That or they ran you and your flintlocks out!

No good will, or has come from your warm and fuzzy, feely touchy, wolves! I expect your buddy IV to show up shortly. How was your one week sabatical, fact finding, trip to our fine state? You should be about ready to garner your masters in wildlife biology! And go back and spell bound your students with that well founded knowledge!

How is it, that a post about celebrating a victory for the good guys gets turned into wolf madness AGAIN???

MG

Thanks for the insight there tonymandildo.com.

Actually the kerns hasn't been hit by wolves yet. They've proven that wolves have been in this portion of the big horns,but none have stayed.Too urban and when they do show up to stay,they'll be eating livestock.

As for this incident.It happens from time to time. You have the GandF hazing elk back onto private property in this area with regularity. So when you do see elk on public land, people open up. They were in the wrong. It won't have an ounce of effect on the elk population. They can't get a good elk harvest in 38,37 or 36. Because of all of the private land owner douche bags that would rather cry about elk depredation,then actually take care of the problem and let the public kill elk on their property..

In years past I've watched G And F stand by and watch barrage firing on elk within the kerns,with the same end effect as the before mentioned article,minus the fines and probation.If I was these guys I'd have made them prove that we were the only ones firing. Theres an old cabin with little left of it in the kerns. Azzholes use it like a bunker and fire out of it. If there were 100 plus elk in the tent city area of the kerns. You can bet these 4 dickweeds weren't the only ones firing. They just got caught.

Hey Sledder, or RMK, or what ever it is you call yourself. Where you been man? They finally let you out of prison?

MG

Speaking of prison madgoat. Weren't you saying you really missed the sex and bunkbeds in there.

quote:

Posted 03 July 2007 23:32 Hide Post
Hey Sledder, or RMK, or what ever it is you call yourself. Where you been man? They finally let you out of prison?

Ever enter your feeble mind that he is gainfully employed and has a real job, and probably a life.
He is right on track with his statement about the reaction by some elk (inexperienced) hunters ( I find it hard to call them hunters) when large numbers of elk are caught/found out in the open by maniacs, armed with long range rifles.


Now if there is no over population of wolves, and no negative affect on elk populations by the over population, and elk numbers were not being drastically reduced by wolves, why would the feds agree to such a plan??? Could it be the fact that there are three times the number of wolves in the wild that was agreed upon!

Feds move on Wyo wolf plan
By BEN NEARY
Associated Press writer Wednesday, July 04, 2007



CHEYENNE -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to make it easier to kill wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains to protect other wildlife and domesticated animals.

Terry Cleveland, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, calls the federal proposal a meaningful step that will help the state protect its elk herds.

But Jenny Harbine, an environmental lawyer in Montana who tracks wolf issues, says the proposed rule could result in the slaughter of hundreds of wolves by aerial gunning and other means.

Sharon Rose, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Denver, said Tuesday that the agency intends to publish in the Federal Register this week proposed changes to the rule limiting how wolves can be killed in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

The Fish and Wildlife Service plans public hearings in all three states this month on the proposal. In Wyoming, the agency also plans a public hearing on that state's recently submitted wolf management plan.

While the federal government has already approved wolf management plans from Montana and Idaho, action to remove wolves from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act in all three states has been delayed by the lack of an approved Wyoming management plan. Wyoming officials announced in May that the federal government had accepted a state plan, and federal officials say wolves could be turned over to state management as soon as early next year.

Federal officials late last year estimated the wolf population in the three states at 1,300, almost three times the goal the federal government set for re-establishing the animals when it began reintroducing them in the 1990s.

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Ever enter your feeble mind that he is gainfully employed and has a real job, and probably a life.

You mean RMK? Nope, never crossed my mind that he was a productive member of society.

quote:

He is right on track with his statement about the reaction by some elk (inexperienced) hunters ( I find it hard to call them hunters) when large numbers of elk are caught/found out in the open by maniacs, armed with long range rifles.

You can take a generally decent person, put an elk in front of him during season and make him into the biggest crook in the world. Experienced hunters or not, this type of behavior is totally inexcusable.

MG

quote:

You mean RMK? Nope, never crossed my mind that he was a productive member of society.


:

Yeah and then some, he does more before 8:00 a.m. than most do all day! Not a government slug, not a well fare case!

Might I suggest that the title is "misleading"?

The Title "Slob Wyoming hunters" should read
"slob hunters in wyoming".

Look at both and think which one tells the story better?

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