Game Warden Stories: Funny Money, Poacher Fined, Roadway Hunting

Conservation officers face a myriad of incidents while on patrol — from the serious to the absurd.

Here are some of their stories.

Poacher Pleads Guilty to Illegally Taking, Bull Elk, Mountain Lion

A Wyoming man was fined $5,000 and had his hunting and fishing privileges revokes for two years after pleading guilty to illegally taking a bull elk in 2017 and a mountain lion (with illegal caliber firearm) in 2018.

In the case of the elk poaching, the man was accused of killing a large bull elk in an area for which he did not have the proper license. He had reportedly even entered the elk’s antlers in a big bull contest. Investigators found the antlers matching a large bull that had been photographed multiple times on Aspen Mountain, in Elk Hunt Area 30. The main’s license was for Area 93.

Click here to read entire news release

When It’s the Wrong Time to Take a Shot

A New York state trooper was traveling behind a pickup truck on the morning of May 3 when the truck stopped in the middle of the road and the man inside the vehicle pointed a gun out of the window and fired two shots of a turkey just off the road. He missed but will face charges of firing a gun from a roadway, hunting from a roadway, and hunting from a vehicle.

Read more from New York ECOs

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A Case of Funny Money

Texas Wardens noticed someone fishing on Richland Chambers Reservoir after dark with no lights on his boat. The subject was found to have several water safety, fishing, and narcotics violations, including no lights and no boat registration, no fishing license, using game fish for bait, leaving game fish to die, undersized crappie, and possession of methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana. The subject was arrested and taken to the Navarro County Jail. A few days later, one of the wardens got a call from the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office informing them the subject’s wife was just arrested for trying to bond her husband out using $900 in counterfeit bills! — From Texas Game Warden Field Notes

Poachers Caught With Teamwork

Virginia officers were conducting surveillance at Gullion Fork Ponds, which are designated stocked trout waters in Wythe County, when they saw two people catch a limit of trout, then fillet all 12 trout in the parking lot, throwing the waste on the ground. Another person drove up and began speaking with the two anglers and talked about going elsewhere to continue fishing. They packed up and left, leaving behind a mess of fish parts and other trash. The officer contacted another officer in a neighboring district, who later found the vehicle and the two anglers fishing at the South Fork of the Holston River in Smyth County. The fillets were found in the vehicle. They face charges of fishing after daily limit was reached and litter.

Read more from Virginia game wardens