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Five Nonresident Hunters Sentenced in Culbertson-area Outfitting Case
Wednesday, January 20th 2010
GLASGOW, Mont. – Five out-of-state men tied to an illicit commercial hunting operation in the Culbertson and Froid areas of northeastern Montana have been convicted on multiple state wildlife charges.
Robert Nelsen, 60, of Bowling Green, KY, was charged with running an illegal outfitting business and related offenses for activities that took place in 2005 through 2007. State officials said the offenses largely occurred on privately owned lands enrolled in Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Block Management Program.
Nelsen pleaded guilty in the Montana 15th Judicial District Court to a felony count of outfitting without a license. He also was convicted on the following misdemeanor charges in Roosevelt County Justice Court:
• One count of wasting and abandoning a game bird;
• One count of discharging a firearm from a public roadway;
• Three counts of hunting game birds without permission;
• Three counts of accountability (for the conduct of clients);
• Three counts of acting as an outfitter without a license;
• and seven counts of killing and/or possessing more than the legal limit of game birds.
District Court Judge David Cybulski of Wolf Point and Justice of the Peace Bruce Waldhausen of Culbertson fined Nelsen a total of $5,555 and ordered him to pay $1,050 in restitution. In addition, Cybulski revoked Nelsen’s hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for five years, and Waldhausen revoked them for another three years.
Nelsen’s associates/clients included William McCarley of Auburn, KY, Perry Bond of Louisville, KY, Chris Riopelle of Denver, CO, and James Booth of Davie, FL. FWP Warden Ezra Schwalm initially investigated the case when he was stationed in Plentywood. Roosevelt County Attorney Ryan Rusche prosecuted the defendants.
McCarley was convicted on a misdemeanor count of violating Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission regulations for illegally shooting a hen pheasant. He was fined $135.
Bond was convicted on a misdemeanor count of hunting during a closed season for shooting a hen pheasant. He was fined $135 and ordered to pay $25 in restitution.
Riopelle and Booth each received deferred prosecutions with fines and restitution attached on two misdemeanor counts of retaining the services on an unlicensed outfitter. They each paid a $575 fine and $500 in restitution and for a period of one year were ordered to obey all laws; not apply or purchase any Montana hunting, fishing or trapping licenses, and not hire an outfitter in the state.
“Robert Nelsen was primarily conducting hunts on Block Management Areas (BMAs) in northeastern Montana as a way of supporting his unlawful outfitting business,” explained FWP Criminal Investigator Lennie Buhmann, who helped pursue the convictions.
The Block Management Program is a cooperative partnership between private landowners, FWP and the public. Formally established more than two decades ago, the program has become a model for many other government agencies trying to balance the complex issues of responsible wildlife management, public access, and the socioeconomic concerns of private property owners.
Contracted landowners receive hunter-impact payments from FWP for allowing public access. These payments are made for each hunter based on who signs up to use the property. Landowners also get help from hunters in controlling wildlife, which may be damaging crops and otherwise affecting productivity.
FWP benefits from the program because increased hunter access helps the agency manage wildlife populations. And the public gains because Block Management opens up more free places to hunt. In some cases, BMAs provide critical links to adjacent public lands that may be otherwise inaccessible.
“Unauthorized commercial ventures are not allowed on BMAs,” said Region 6 Warden Captain Mike Herman. In fact, FWP rules state that outfitting and commercial hunting activities on BMAs are not consistent with the intent of providing free public access to recreational opportunities on private lands.
That’s because these unauthorized activities on contacted properties cost the public in a number of ways: They diminish BMA program funds, they displace other hunters, and they disturb upland birds and big game animals, as well as reduce their numbers.
While Nelsen only conducted his illegally outfitted hunts over several-week periods each fall, use records show the parties hit the BMAs hard. Investigators say Nelsen and his illicit clients lodged 93 BMA access days in 2005, 122 access days in 2006, and 21 access days in 2007.
The 2007 numbers were lower because Nelsen came to Montana later and did not have as many clients booked as in the preceding two years. When he was apprehended, Nelsen had more than 30 pheasants over his limit.
“We’re seeing an increase in this type of commercial activity in the northeastern corner of the state,” Herman said. “For the sake of the everyday hunter and the program, we’re trying to control it. We don’t want Block Management Areas to become slip-in-and-slip out access points for an unlimited number of commercial ventures.”
Wednesday, January 20th 2010
GLASGOW, Mont. – Five out-of-state men tied to an illicit commercial hunting operation in the Culbertson and Froid areas of northeastern Montana have been convicted on multiple state wildlife charges.
Robert Nelsen, 60, of Bowling Green, KY, was charged with running an illegal outfitting business and related offenses for activities that took place in 2005 through 2007. State officials said the offenses largely occurred on privately owned lands enrolled in Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Block Management Program.
Nelsen pleaded guilty in the Montana 15th Judicial District Court to a felony count of outfitting without a license. He also was convicted on the following misdemeanor charges in Roosevelt County Justice Court:
• One count of wasting and abandoning a game bird;
• One count of discharging a firearm from a public roadway;
• Three counts of hunting game birds without permission;
• Three counts of accountability (for the conduct of clients);
• Three counts of acting as an outfitter without a license;
• and seven counts of killing and/or possessing more than the legal limit of game birds.
District Court Judge David Cybulski of Wolf Point and Justice of the Peace Bruce Waldhausen of Culbertson fined Nelsen a total of $5,555 and ordered him to pay $1,050 in restitution. In addition, Cybulski revoked Nelsen’s hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for five years, and Waldhausen revoked them for another three years.
Nelsen’s associates/clients included William McCarley of Auburn, KY, Perry Bond of Louisville, KY, Chris Riopelle of Denver, CO, and James Booth of Davie, FL. FWP Warden Ezra Schwalm initially investigated the case when he was stationed in Plentywood. Roosevelt County Attorney Ryan Rusche prosecuted the defendants.
McCarley was convicted on a misdemeanor count of violating Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission regulations for illegally shooting a hen pheasant. He was fined $135.
Bond was convicted on a misdemeanor count of hunting during a closed season for shooting a hen pheasant. He was fined $135 and ordered to pay $25 in restitution.
Riopelle and Booth each received deferred prosecutions with fines and restitution attached on two misdemeanor counts of retaining the services on an unlicensed outfitter. They each paid a $575 fine and $500 in restitution and for a period of one year were ordered to obey all laws; not apply or purchase any Montana hunting, fishing or trapping licenses, and not hire an outfitter in the state.
“Robert Nelsen was primarily conducting hunts on Block Management Areas (BMAs) in northeastern Montana as a way of supporting his unlawful outfitting business,” explained FWP Criminal Investigator Lennie Buhmann, who helped pursue the convictions.
The Block Management Program is a cooperative partnership between private landowners, FWP and the public. Formally established more than two decades ago, the program has become a model for many other government agencies trying to balance the complex issues of responsible wildlife management, public access, and the socioeconomic concerns of private property owners.
Contracted landowners receive hunter-impact payments from FWP for allowing public access. These payments are made for each hunter based on who signs up to use the property. Landowners also get help from hunters in controlling wildlife, which may be damaging crops and otherwise affecting productivity.
FWP benefits from the program because increased hunter access helps the agency manage wildlife populations. And the public gains because Block Management opens up more free places to hunt. In some cases, BMAs provide critical links to adjacent public lands that may be otherwise inaccessible.
“Unauthorized commercial ventures are not allowed on BMAs,” said Region 6 Warden Captain Mike Herman. In fact, FWP rules state that outfitting and commercial hunting activities on BMAs are not consistent with the intent of providing free public access to recreational opportunities on private lands.
That’s because these unauthorized activities on contacted properties cost the public in a number of ways: They diminish BMA program funds, they displace other hunters, and they disturb upland birds and big game animals, as well as reduce their numbers.
While Nelsen only conducted his illegally outfitted hunts over several-week periods each fall, use records show the parties hit the BMAs hard. Investigators say Nelsen and his illicit clients lodged 93 BMA access days in 2005, 122 access days in 2006, and 21 access days in 2007.
The 2007 numbers were lower because Nelsen came to Montana later and did not have as many clients booked as in the preceding two years. When he was apprehended, Nelsen had more than 30 pheasants over his limit.
“We’re seeing an increase in this type of commercial activity in the northeastern corner of the state,” Herman said. “For the sake of the everyday hunter and the program, we’re trying to control it. We don’t want Block Management Areas to become slip-in-and-slip out access points for an unlimited number of commercial ventures.”
