Tag Archives: poaching

Dead grizzly reported in North Fork

News, ,

Sounds like someone killed a grizzly bear somewhere up the Moran Creek drainage off Hay creek Road . . .

Montana Game Wardens and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agents are seeking information on a grizzly bear that was shot and killed recently.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks received an initial report from a hunter on Nov. 12 that the dead bear was in the Hay/Moran Creek area in the North Fork of the Flathead Drainage.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for killing this grizzly bear. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the USFWS at 406-761-2286; or 1-800-TIPMONT. Callers may remain anonymous.

Read more . . .

Larry Wilson: North Fork patrols will stop poachers

Commentary,

Larry talks about the start of hunting season and puts poachers on notice . . .

Hunters should be satisfied if not downright ecstatic. The first day of the general hunting season, we had nearly an inch of fresh snow on the ground. The usually wrong weather bureau predicts more of the same for the next several days. We shall see.

I didn’t go out hunting the first day, but I did keep a good watch out my front windows in case a careless whitetail buck wandered in. My watching was supported by my chocolate lab, Buddy, who has finally learned to not bark at deer or elk. No easy deer the first day, but we still have several weeks.

Continue reading . . .

Poaching still a problem in Northwest Montana

News,

This a head-scratcher. There’s a problem in this corner of the state with “thrill kills” — of deer, mostly . . .

The statewide hotline for reporting poaching incidents is already on pace to surpass last year’s call total, reflecting a possible changing attitude among Montanans that is more disapproving of “thrill kills” and other illegal shootings of wildlife.

Yet the problem persists, particularly in Northwest Montana. Local wildlife enforcement officers have seen more poaching cases than usual for this time of year. More than eight deer have been found shot dead in the last few months, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 officials.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: Talking bucks, poachers and larch

Commentary, , , , ,

Larry puts his feet up and talks about this October on the North Fork . . .

Nearly everyone has already reported a slow start to the general hunting season, and that has been the case among North Fork residents, too.

Neighbor Lynn Ogle shot a nice white-tailed buck this week, and since I was with him, I don’t really feel skunked. That is the only legal kill I’m aware of.

Two white-tailed bucks were illegally killed on Trail Creek on private property. A license plate number was written down by another hunter and, if correct, the shooter may be arrested.

Continue reading . . .

U.S. FWS investigating wolf poaching in Flathead Forest; reward offered

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the recent shooting of two wolves on the Flathead National Forest.

The carcasses were found on the same day, Nov. 6, in different locations on the forest.

One was found along Coal Creek Road in the North Fork Flathead drainage and the other in the Miller Creek area west of Olney.

Read the full article . . .

The Missoulian also posted an article on this incident.

North Fork wolf hunt quotas draw debate

Environmental Issues, News,

This week’s Hungry Horse News provides some good background concerning wolf hunt quotas on the North Fork . . .

The recent poaching of three wolves up the North Fork didn’t count toward the hunting quota, but it has raised concerns from a conservation group about the way wolves are being managed.

The wolf quota for the North Fork was two wolves — a comparatively low number. Hunters have now shot two wolves in the North Fork, the last one on Monday in the headwaters of the Big Creek drainage. With three poachings added to that, five animals have been killed. The season for wolves in that subdistrict is now closed.

Read the entire article . . .

Trophy seekers fuel poaching increase

News, , , ,

Today’s Missoulian has an article on the increased number of poachers this year who seem to be killing game just to get a little ego boost . . .

The poacher who pulled the trigger on Maximus — one of Montana’s greatest grizzlies — left the big bear to waste.

So did the poacher who shot two wolves up near Glacier National Park. And the poacher who killed the big bull elk north of Columbia Falls. And the poacher who dropped the trophy bull moose down along the Jefferson.

Read the entire article . . .

North Fork wolf hunt closed after kill at Big Creek

Environmental Issues, News

The Missoulian, in the person of Michael Jamison (of course), has more detail on the closure of this season’s wolf hunt on the North Fork . . .

When a hunter pulled the trigger Monday morning with a wolf in his crosshairs, the bullet killed the big-game season on canis lupus for the region west of Glacier National Park.

That area came with a quota of just two wolves, which now has been met. In addition, three more wolves in that area are known to have been killed by poachers in recent weeks.

Read the entire article . . .

Poaching doesn’t impact Montana’s wolf hunt quota

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Today’s online edition of the Missoulian has an article explaining why the recent wolf poaching incidents on the North Fork did not affect the local wolf hunt quota . . .

When a Columbia Falls man pleaded guilty last week to poaching two wolves just outside Glacier National Park, many thought the area’s wolf-hunting quota would be adjusted accordingly.

They were wrong.

“Looking at Idaho might have been somewhat constructive,” said Louisa Wilcox of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They had a poaching incident there, and they cut the quota in response.”

But state wildlife officials say Montana and Idaho came at their quota counts in different ways, and in Montana those poached wolves already were considered dead, long before they were killed.

Read the entire article . . .

Columbia Falls man fined for poaching wolves in North Fork

News, , ,

This article from today’s Hungry Horse News offers a little more information about the October 9th wolf poaching incident near Whale Creek . . .

A Columbia Falls man has pleaded guilty to poaching two wolves near Whale Creek up the North Fork.

Randy Houk, whose age wasn’t released, paid fines totaling $1,135.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information on the shooting death of a wolf found Oct. 25 in the Red Meadow drainage of the North Fork Flathead.

Read the entire article . . .