Poaching in Montana

[Big Sky Guy]

Multi-year McCone County Illegal Hunting Case Results In Over 100 Seized Animals, Thousands Of Dollars In Fines, Decades Of Lost Privileges | Montana FWP

VIDA- Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game wardens recently completed a multi-year investigation into the illegal killing of deer, antelope, and upland game birds in McCone County, resulting in over 100 seized animals, thousands of dollars in fines, and decades of lost privileges.

fwp.mt.gov

So for a non resident it’s cheaper to poach than follow the law??

For a resident it’s still cheaper than non residents following the law.

$36,785/100 animals = $368/animal

$36,785/13 individuals = $2,829. $2,829/10years = $283/year

What am I missing? Does that even cover the salary and gas of the hard working wardens that investigated this case for what appears to be 2 years?

We owe our wardens, wildlife and upstanding hunters and non-hunting citizens better than this.

Reading this after the article about issues with poaching in 380 and the discussion about the tag reduction on the other thread really has me scratching my head.

 

[noharleyyet]

Pretty lenient math...

 

[Mallardsx2]

Its simply not enough.

 

[sclancy27]

Compare this to the WY case where the dude is spending 3 months in jail....

 

[300stw]

5000.00 for a deer hunt. times 89 convictions, 445,000.00 minimum in fines,,, taking hunting privliges away. dont stop dishonest people,,
justice system dont understand the value of wildlife to sportsmen ,,,

 

[Hem]

I googled this but apparantly a recent announcement.
I believe poaching and clueless out of staters killing bulls in 380 has prompted this change.
Just great...im never going to hunt behind my house.
Note: probably wont affect land owner preference.

 

[Song Dog 2224]

I googled this but apparantly a recent announcement.
I believe poaching and clueless out of staters killing bulls in 380 has prompted this change.
Just great...im never going to hunt behind my house.
Note: probably wont affect land owner preference.View attachment 420880

They do this for 380 but just keep piling on licenses in a herd with better trophy potential that has been decimated for quality and age class over the last 15-20 years. I don’t get why they hate R7 so much for all species. It has to be hatred with the way they treat deer, elk, and antelope there.

 

[jimh406]

I feel like we need special poacher officers. In my area, I've heard that animals are traded for other items like work, tools, trucks, etc. Supposedly, the FWP know it's happening but are understaffed to catch them. They do come investigate, but of course, that's usually too late.

My thought is the poacher officers would be made up of people who don't mind traveling to the hotspots. Of course, Montana is huge, so it wouldn't make sense to have a group for every part of the state. I don't know how much it would cost. We could always make the NRs pick up the cost. Joking... but barely.

I can't say that poaching is the only reason why there are far less Elk/deer, but there are a lot less in my area.

 

[Pagosa]

I think posting signs in limited districts would solve some of the unintentional cases. Ive never been in 380, but districts like 700-705 they could post up signs at the major intersections like Hwy 212/59, Tongue River road, Pumpkin Creek, Otter Creek, etc and say hunting branched bulls in this area with a district map requires a special permit would solve some of the problem of people not reading the regs. Colorado does for 66,67, and 76

 

[Big Sky Guy]

I think posting signs in limited districts would solve some of the unintentional cases. Ive never been in 380, but districts like 700-705 they could post up signs at the major intersections like Hwy 212/59, Tongue River road, Pumpkin Creek, Otter Creek, etc and say hunting branched bulls in this area with a district map requires a special permit would solve some of the problem of people not reading the regs. Colorado does for 66,67, and 76

Maybe 10 years ago I'd agree with you.

In the age of OnX, GoHunt, Huntin' Fool and a hundred other apps and YouTube content there is ZERO reason to not know where your tag is valid and for what species.

Regardless, unintentional poaching and those that self-report are a different story than what this article is showcasing.

 

[Straight Arrow]

.... unintentional poaching and those that self-report are a different story than what this article is showcasing.

Yep, the article describes poachers who don't even read the regulations, let alone choose to violate regs. I doubt they would worry about property boundaries either ... but it seems they did their poaching on the Nelson property.

The HD 380 issue is an entirely different story.

 

[Hem]

They do this for 380 but just keep piling on licenses in a herd with better trophy potential that has been decimated for quality and age class over the last 15-20 years. I don’t get why they hate R7 so much for all species. It has to be hatred with the way they treat deer, elk, and antelope there.

Your guess is as good as mine.
Latest slap in the face...lady shot a 320 bull last week in Elkhorns, took it to the taxi and asked why the horns were brown. Did I add, first time applying?
Classic.
Yeah, whatever.

 

[DFS]

They do this for 380 but just keep piling on licenses in a herd with better trophy potential that has been decimated for quality and age class over the last 15-20 years. I don’t get why they hate R7 so much for all species. It has to be hatred with the way they treat deer, elk, and antelope there.

It blows my mind as well especially after going to the last season setting meeting where I felt good tags wouldn’t be increased. I believe it to be private land, outfitter, and nonresident landowner interests maybe even revenue for fwp which I always found hard to believe. That is also where the big money comes from on the politics side of things. Doesn’t make much sense to me either but you would be hard pressed to find many locals that will say things look great. Follow the money and find the answers.

I turned in a poached bull this year I will be very surprised if anything comes from it to make this post relevant. When you don’t take care of the accessible wildlife you will continue to see more poaching with how the influencers shifted the hunting culture and shifted where people hunt.

 

[Nunjagottam]

I think posting signs in limited districts would solve some of the unintentional cases. Ive never been in 380, but districts like 700-705 they could post up signs at the major intersections like Hwy 212/59, Tongue River road, Pumpkin Creek, Otter Creek, etc and say hunting branched bulls in this area with a district map requires a special permit would solve some of the problem of people not reading the regs. Colorado does for 66,67, and 76

Could swear growing up there were signs to that effect posted on Indian Creek and Crow Creek. Maybe im miss remembering?

 

[JT88]

If they can't read the regs, how can they read a sign?