Fines for illegal moose hunting

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Hefty Fines For Illegal Moose Hunting​

Dryden, ON, Canada / CKDR
Tim Davidson
Feb 3, 2023 | 1:46 PM



Over $50,000 in fines have been levied for illegal moose hunting in the Red Lake area.
An almost two year long investigation by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in $24,000 in fines against Geary’s Sportsman’s Lodge on Little Vermillion Lake.
Brett Geary has been has also been fined $10,000.
The Court heard that in October of 2019 a conservation officer stopped two American hunters travelling south of Red Lake on Highway #105 with a cow moose and a 21 month long joint investigation was started.
They were staying at the lodge and it determined the moose was shot from a boat and in the wrong Wildlife Management Unit.
Anthony Schmitt of Saint Cloud, Minnesota pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm from a boat, hunting big game with no licence and possessing illegally killed wildlife.
He received $8,500 in fines and a seven-year hunting licence suspension.
Gary Anderson of Saint Cloud, Minnesota pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm from a boat and possessing illegally killed wildlife.
He received $3,500 in fines and a three-year hunting suspension.
Paul Kruchten of Clearwater, Minnesota pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm from a boat and possessing illegally killed wildlife.
He received $2,000 in fines and a two-year hunting suspension.
Robert Hommerding of Saint Cloud, Minnesota pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm from a boat.
He was fined $1,000 and a two-year hunting suspension.
Ryan Scott of Red Lake, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm from a boat. He was fined $1,200.
In addition to the hunter fines, $12,550 in victim surcharge fines were levied against the six convicted individuals and the lodge.
The investigation found that that since 2017, hunters with guides from Geary’s Sportsman’s Lodge shot at numerous moose while in a boat.
 
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That is some very basic info (which is almost refreshing in today's news), but I would also appreciate hearing some more details so I can form my own idea of what happened. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing the article.
 
That is some very basic info (which is almost refreshing in today's news), but I would also appreciate hearing some more details so I can form my own idea of what happened. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing the article.
I agree!
 
Looks like a few guys were caught. I'd wonder just how many more Moose have been hunted without licenses.
 
Looks like a few guys were caught. I'd wonder just how many more Moose have been hunted without licenses.
It sounds like that lodge had illegal hunting going on for a bit.
 
Odd how some of them plead guilty to the same charges and the fines and license suspension duration is different.
I have doubts whether the suspension will stop them from hunting illegally some more! :E No: :mad:
 
I've represented my fair share of hunters from Alaska and Outside. I've represented hunters, guides, hired help, lodge owners, and pilots. While free legal advice is worth what you pay for it, I can give you some recommendations to avoid anything like this if you hunt in Alaska. Some of this is only applicable to Alaska but other bits of advice could be applicable elsewhere. Avoiding legal trouble may sound really easy but: 1) the law isn't always clear; 2) it isn't always clear where you are and hunting rules/limits can vary greatly from one river drainage to another; 3) having a guide encourage you to break the law can make matters very difficult, and 4) seeing a great animal, whether moose, bear, caribou, whatever, can likewise be extremely tempting. So, what can you do?

1. Read the hunting regulations. I know. Sounds really simple. Problem is Alaska's hunting regs are complicated. The book itself is 144 pages. This is the regs for this year: http://bit.ly/3X8frqy

2. If using a guide, you should check the references. You can check the guide's license status here: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/

3. You can check if a guide has a criminal history. For Alaska state offenses, you can check here: https://records.courts.alaska.gov/eaccess/home.page.2 Checking federal cases (Lacey Act, which I do a lot of) can be harder because you need a specific account to pay for access to federal records. You can inquire of your guide but if you know a lawyer with an account to access federal records, you could do a real quick search of the PACER database.

4. There are a few biggies to specifically avoid in Alaska:
1) same day airborne hunting. This doesn't apply to commercial flights so if you catch an Alaska Air jet to Nome and then use ATVs go to a hunting camp, you're fine. But if you fly to Bethel and then get on a small plane to take you to remote wilderness, you cannot hunt until after 3:00 a.m. the next day. I've seen more than a few guides bend this rule when seeing a really good trophy and then lose their airplane.
2) baiting. You cannot bait for brown bears in this state. You can shoot a moose and hunt over the gut pile but you cannot bait. If your guide has put out bait for a brown bear, that's a big no-no.
3) using radios/communications/drones to scout for animals.
4) salvaging meat. In Alaska, you generally have to salvage ALL of the meat. Brown bears and wolves are an exception as are black bears in certain hunting units at certain times of the year. When I say 'ALL,' I mean all, even the neck and scrapings off ribs. I see self-guided hunters get trapped by this because they are a lot more likely to hunt off roads and then get caught. You cannot even take antlers/horns/hides out before the meat, although you can take them out with the last load of meat. If you waste enough meat, such as a back quarter of a moose, you can be charged with wanton waste. That carries a minimum of 7 days in jail. Even if you don't face jail time, if you violate the game laws, you are looking at thousands of dollars in fees as well as forfeiture of your equipment, including your rifle, any meat you got, any horns/antlers/hides, potentially vehicles used to transport you to the hunting site, whether ATV, truck, boat, or plane.
I did a 2 week misdemeanor trial because the government was seeking to forfeit 2 DeHavilland Beaver float planes, worth about $450K each. Alaska takes its fish and game laws VERY seriously. We even have a position in the department of law that is dedicated solely to prosecuting fish and wildlife violations. I was doing one F&G case and the F&G prosecutor told me he had greater flexibility to resolve cases as a line prosecutor than when handling F&G cases.

5. Know where you are when you're hunting. Read the game rules listed above and talk with your outfitter/hunter about what drainages you will be in. Get a GPS if you can to ensure you are where you think you are, especially for a DIY hunt.

6. If your guide encourages you to break the law, whether by same day airborne, or hunting before the season begins, refuse. If possible, record the guide on a cell phone urging you to violate the law. That won't make for the best hunting trip and you might wind up going back to Anchorage much sooner than anticipated. That, though, is a lot better than Alaska Troopers or FBI contacting you in 1-3 years asking if you were hunting with Bill Jones. If this happens and your hunt is ruined, you should get an attorney in Anchorage before you leave (I dont do a lot of civil litigation. I'd start with Brent Cole in Anchorage if this happened to me). You would have an excellent civil lawsuit against your guide and that suit would include not just what you paid for the hunt but also the loss of the hunting experience. Alaska juries would be far more sympathetic to you than you might expect. And you should also report such a guide to the troopers and the guide board.

Odds are low that this will happen to you. Most Alaska guides follow the rules because they understand why they are in place. But there are a few guides who break the rules and there are some people who get a trip of a lifetime to Alaska, do a DIY hunt and try to bend the corners a bit because of some circumstance or other. Don't do it. Just don't. It's not worth it. You think that a guided hunt for Alaska brown bear is expensive? Wait until you get charged with some crime and you have to pay: an attorney; fines and costs; loss of hunting privileges; restitution for the animal (no joke); forfeiture of your gear; and a ton of other expenses and time wastes. You might think that there is just nobody nearby and nobody will know. Your odds of getting caught are a lot more than you would think. One common way for cases to originate is for a guide to be caught red handed by a random trooper inspection. Trooper just flies into camp to check licenses and everything. I also see that some clients refuse to bend the law and notify troopers. In either case, when a guide/hunting operation comes under investigation, they frequently start investigating several years back. At that point, the kid who was just hired help because he wanted to be a guide suddenly remembers a whole bunch of stuff because he can avoid prosecution and if he works with the authorities, he might be able to still get his guide license. And if he remembers that you landed in camp on August 9 because season started August 10 and a really great brown bear wandered by the camp a couple hundred yards away and your guide said, "Lets go get it because its a great bear," even though its same day airborne and season hasn't started, well, you could very well be in a world of trouble when you thought this was way behind you. Not that I would have any reason to think of that example in particular.

It's sad that this happens but it does happen. And just as you need to prepare yourself for what to do in a variety of circumstances, you should prepare yourself if you discover your guide is not ethical in the middle of the hunt.
 
Good summary. I think your advice was worth a lot. #6 is especially important in the two states that I hunt the most. In Wyoming, the hunter is liable if he hires an unlicensed guide (I think the "guide' should be liable), in Idaho, the hunter usually receives the bulk of the penalty when hunting with an unethical guide and outfitter......the guide often gets a license suspension for 6 months.....but the next season doesn't begin for 9 months or so, meaning no punishment. So I would agree, check out the guide and outfitter carefully. Lastly, we do most of our duck hunting from boats, and discharge firearms from them routinely. Must watch for that in Canada, I guess.....(or maybe they mean "rifle" instead.) Good thread..........thanks.......................FWB
 
Some places you need actual skills and classes to be a guide, here in Ontario its not that hard, so anyone with $8 can be your guide if hunting in Ontario - be wary
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Alot to unpack in the above article, bit not enough legal detail to know all the facts.

Interesting that it was a US service that issued the citation. Not the MN DNR.

Moose hunting has been closed in MN proper since 2012, last I checked. That does not hold true for several of the Native Bands within the state.

The location is close (on?) Red Lake, yet I see alot of St Cloud address. If I'm reading that right, everyone is happy to pay the fine vs go to court... Interesting.
 
Interesting. Hire a guide because you don't know the area, country, laws. Guide breaks the law, and you are responsible. :unsure: I can understand doing something that is flat out illegal (common sense), shooting with artificial light, shooting after hours, no license, from a boat (legal in Alaska from what I've seen on TV) etc. I know someone will say ignorance is not an excuse, which is true. But don't you also hire a guide (who should know the law) to keep you out of trouble? Really phucked up, especially if the hunter(s) broke the law not knowing.
 
For Alaska what @Namagiqa said. The amount of meat remaining (not packed out or used) cannot fill the palm of your hand, that's how serious Alaska F&G is. And yes, our regulations are insanely over complex.
 
Alot to unpack in the above article, bit not enough legal detail to know all the facts.

Interesting that it was a US service that issued the citation. Not the MN DNR.

Moose hunting has been closed in MN proper since 2012, last I checked. That does not hold true for several of the Native Bands within the state.

The location is close (on?) Red Lake, yet I see alot of St Cloud address. If I'm reading that right, everyone is happy to pay the fine vs go to court... Interesting.
it was probably prosecuted under the Lacey act. Illegal wildlife transported across state lines or international borders.
 
Looks like your right, Red Lake ON, Canada is the location of the Lodge, with transportation done over the border into MN, USA. I read it at first it was Red Lake, MN was location of the hunting.
 
I REALLY enjoyed the information provided by @Namagiqa above. Only one question came to me. I have seen a couple of baited brown bear hunt offered for sale on another forum. It was said that baiting was a allowed in a couple of areas. The one he was in had a 2 bear limit. Being sold that openly I'd suggest that perhaps that regulation was changed in 1 or more units. If you were doing that hunt it would certainly pay to double check.
Bruce

 
I REALLY enjoyed the information provided by @Namagiqa above. Only one question came to me. I have seen a couple of baited brown bear hunt offered for sale on another forum. It was said that baiting was a allowed in a couple of areas. The one he was in had a 2 bear limit. Being sold that openly I'd suggest that perhaps that regulation was changed in 1 or more units. If you were doing that hunt it would certainly pay to double check.
Bruce

I would certainly check the regulations. As I said and others have echoed, Alaska game laws are extremely complex because Alaska is so damn big. Hunting in SE Alaska on Prince of Wales Island is a far different hunt than hunting in SW Alaska or northern interior. Game limits, methods of taking, seasons, and even animals available can all vary widely. Caribou, for example, can be hunted same day airborne in at least 1 game management unit. In some units, you can hunt caribou crossing streams/rivers and in others you cannot.

So, I'd check which game management units those hunts are in and make sure there's no issues. I imagine if they're advertising those hunts then they're legal but you never know.
 
I've hunted that area of Ontario for Moose but not with that outfitter; 14 day Moose hunt on leased "crown land" so the outfitter had use of the lake for years and it required a float plane to access.... or so we were told!

We were dropped off 2 days before the non resident moose season opened so I got a black bear tag also and luck would have it I get a bear coming in the first day, so I show up the next morning bright and early and find a boat tied up to the tree marking my bear bait location!

Turns out there is a logging road that pulls up to the back of this "private lake" and some of the locals had packed in a supply of goods to further their poaching abilities.

Told the outfitter and we were assured the game wardens had been called and the issue would be taken care of - 10 days later and no game wardens.

On the way out we were stopped by game wardens and questioned for over an hour before being allowed leave, so I asked if they caught the poachers that hunted all over our private lake for the last 2 weeks...... "What poachers, we didn't hear anything"

Point being - From having hunted the area before and dealt with the game wardens, it sounds like they caught what they were looking for.... a bunch of non resident hunters to hammer with big fines and a local business to hit with more of the same.
 
I had a run in with a Canadian game warden on a crane/goose hunt. I had limited out and was lying behind the other hunters filming, some cranes came in and they dropped a couple but didn’t retrieve them right away. A bout 20 minutes later the lady hunting with us went to pick up her birds without her gun and one of the cranes got up running, she ran back got her gun finished the bird off and returned to the spread. About 10 minutes later the game warden showed up with an attitude. He threatened all kinds of tickets for the 3 people he saw hunting for not timely finishing off that bird. He didn’t see me shooting and just asked me if I got good video. On the video I can see him watching us with a spotting scope. The people I was hunting with were all USFWS waterfowl biologists and I think that may have helped them not get a ticket.
 

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