03-19-2007, 09:10 PM
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) has raised the ante against poachers by increasing the rewards for citizens who report violators. A program called TIP for "Turn In Poachers," now awards preference points, and in some cases, free hunting licenses to people who provide information that helps catch poachers.
"Most hunters are law abiding citizens," said Ron Dobson, a veteran DOW game warden from Chaffee County, "and they don't want a few bad apples to spoil things for legitimate hunters."
In one case Dobson handled last year, a tipster was awarded one of the most sought after hunting opportunities in the nation - a license to hunt a Mountain Goat. "People wait a life-time trying to get one of these rare opportunities. It's only fair that when someone cheats, the person who turns them in should be rewarded," said Dobson.
Poachers are also finding out the hard way that lying on their license application, using rifles during archery season, trespassing, hunting after the season is over or any other hunting violation -- doesn't come cheap anymore.
Here are a couple of examples. Two brothers recently paid over $34,000 in fines for claiming to be Colorado residents when one of them really lived in Pennsylvania. In another case, a couple of poachers from the Colorado Springs area paid hefty fines when they trespassed on private property to shoot a deer after the hunting seasons were already over.
In both cases, the DOW's TIP Program rewarded the citizens who came forward to report the crimes.
"We would not have been able to solve these crimes without the information provided by citizens," said DOW Officer Albert Romero of Colorado Springs. Romero points out that wildlife in Colorado is the public property of the state and when criminals ignore hunting and fishing rules, they are, in effect, stealing from everyone else.
FALSEIFYING HUNTING LICENCE APPLICATIONS
Hunters pay less money to buy licenses in their home state than if they buy a license to hunt in another state. In Colorado, the fine for lying about residency on a hunting application is twice the cost of the original hunting license plus a 37 percent surcharge.
The following case demonstrates what can happen when an out-of-state hunter tries to save some money and claims to be a Colorado resident.
On September 5, 2006, the DOW received a tip that a hunter used a rifle to shoot a mountain goat in unit G-14, which is restricted to hunting with archery equipment. The tip came from an archery hunter who was upset about someone breaking the law.
DOW officers made their way to unit G-14, which is in a remote area in the rugged mountains west of Salida. While collecting evidence at the crime scene, they met a prospector who verified the original tip and said two hunters stopped to talk with him after they shot a goat that morning. One of the hunters was carrying a rifle and the other happened to mention that he was from Grand Junction.
The DOW only issued five licenses to hunt mountain goats in G-14 in 2006, but none of them were awarded to anyone from Grand Junction. The only Grand Junction hunters lucky enough to get 2006 goat licenses were assigned to other units. Two of those licenses went to Gerald Hirt, age 51, and William Hirt, age 57, who both lived at the same address. But, the Hirt brothers' permits were not in G-14, but an adjacent unit to the north.
When Dobson decided to call the Hirt brothers to see if they might have any information, he found out that Gerald Hirt had an out-of-state phone number and actually lived in Ducansville, Pennsylvania. As Dobson dug deeper, he discovered that Gerald Hirt was buying resident hunting licenses in both states. And, that there was a pattern going back several years where hunting licenses were issued to other out-of-state members of the Hirt family listing the same address in Grand Junction.
"The bottom line is that the tip from the archery hunter started the ball rolling," said Dobson. His willingness to come down off the mountain and report the problem right away gave DOW game wardens a quick start on solving the case.
At first the Hirts denied everything, but once confronted with the evidence, William Hirt admitted that he didn't see any goats in unit he was supposed to be hunting in, so he shot a goat in unit G-14 instead.
Mountain Goats are protected under the Samson Law, and because the information provided by the original tipster lead to a conviction involving a Samson violation, the tipster was rewarded with a free license and another chance to a hunt a mountain goat in an upcoming season.
On the other hand, the Hirt brothers finally got caught after many years of cheating the system. They had to pay $34,000 in fines, and, following a review by a hearing examiner, will likely lose their hunting and fishing privileges for a long time.
TRESSPASSING AND HUNTING OUT OF SEASON
In an unrelated case, DOW officers investigated a poaching incident after receiving a tip that a buck deer was shot and killed south of Highway 24 in El Paso County during a time where there were no open hunting seasons in that area.
Through the course of their investigation, DOW officers determined two men entered private property without permission and killed a mule deer buck with a small caliber rifle. "This is a case of complete disregard for the landowner's property rights and Colorado wildlife law's," said Romero.
Shawn J. Smith, 38, of Colorado Springs and John T. Durham, 20, of Ramah, were issued citations. Smith and Durham were both charged with hunting outside an established season, illegal possession of wildlife, and trespass. Both men plead guilty in El Paso County Court, and each paid $1,907 in fines.
Smith and Durham were also assessed 50 points against their hunting and fishing privileges. An administrative hearing process will determine if Smith's and Durham's hunting and fishing privileges will be suspended and for what length of time.
"Without information received from concerned citizens, this case would have been extremely difficult to solve," said Romero. "Hopefully poachers will get the message that somebody is always watching."
These are only two examples out of dozens of cases solved each year because law-abiding citizens came forward to report hunting or fishing crimes.
Sportsmen, landowners, or citizens who observe or suspect poaching activity can anonymously contact the local DOW office or call Colorado's Operation Game Thief at 1-877-COLO-OGT (1-877-265-6648). Callers do not have to reveal their names or testify in court. Depending on the crime, rewards of up to $500 are offered for information that leads to an arrest or a citation being issued.
Tipsters are also eligible to receive preference points, and in some cases, hunting license if the case involves a Samson law violation. To be eligible for preference points or a free hunting license under the TIP program, the person must be willing to testify.
THE SAMSON LAW
The Samson law was passed by the Colorado legislature on April 22, 1998. Samson was a majestic bull elk that got its name from Estes Park locals who were accustom to seeing him around town.
When people found out that the poacher who killed Samson was only fined a few hundred dollars, there was a public outcry to raise the penalties for illegally killing wildlife.
The Samson law now adds mandatory surcharges for killing trophy game animals in addition to the normal fines for poaching. The added amounts range from $4,000 for a trophy sized antelope up to $25,000 for a bighorn sheep.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
"Most hunters are law abiding citizens," said Ron Dobson, a veteran DOW game warden from Chaffee County, "and they don't want a few bad apples to spoil things for legitimate hunters."
In one case Dobson handled last year, a tipster was awarded one of the most sought after hunting opportunities in the nation - a license to hunt a Mountain Goat. "People wait a life-time trying to get one of these rare opportunities. It's only fair that when someone cheats, the person who turns them in should be rewarded," said Dobson.
Poachers are also finding out the hard way that lying on their license application, using rifles during archery season, trespassing, hunting after the season is over or any other hunting violation -- doesn't come cheap anymore.
Here are a couple of examples. Two brothers recently paid over $34,000 in fines for claiming to be Colorado residents when one of them really lived in Pennsylvania. In another case, a couple of poachers from the Colorado Springs area paid hefty fines when they trespassed on private property to shoot a deer after the hunting seasons were already over.
In both cases, the DOW's TIP Program rewarded the citizens who came forward to report the crimes.
"We would not have been able to solve these crimes without the information provided by citizens," said DOW Officer Albert Romero of Colorado Springs. Romero points out that wildlife in Colorado is the public property of the state and when criminals ignore hunting and fishing rules, they are, in effect, stealing from everyone else.
FALSEIFYING HUNTING LICENCE APPLICATIONS
Hunters pay less money to buy licenses in their home state than if they buy a license to hunt in another state. In Colorado, the fine for lying about residency on a hunting application is twice the cost of the original hunting license plus a 37 percent surcharge.
The following case demonstrates what can happen when an out-of-state hunter tries to save some money and claims to be a Colorado resident.
On September 5, 2006, the DOW received a tip that a hunter used a rifle to shoot a mountain goat in unit G-14, which is restricted to hunting with archery equipment. The tip came from an archery hunter who was upset about someone breaking the law.
DOW officers made their way to unit G-14, which is in a remote area in the rugged mountains west of Salida. While collecting evidence at the crime scene, they met a prospector who verified the original tip and said two hunters stopped to talk with him after they shot a goat that morning. One of the hunters was carrying a rifle and the other happened to mention that he was from Grand Junction.
The DOW only issued five licenses to hunt mountain goats in G-14 in 2006, but none of them were awarded to anyone from Grand Junction. The only Grand Junction hunters lucky enough to get 2006 goat licenses were assigned to other units. Two of those licenses went to Gerald Hirt, age 51, and William Hirt, age 57, who both lived at the same address. But, the Hirt brothers' permits were not in G-14, but an adjacent unit to the north.
When Dobson decided to call the Hirt brothers to see if they might have any information, he found out that Gerald Hirt had an out-of-state phone number and actually lived in Ducansville, Pennsylvania. As Dobson dug deeper, he discovered that Gerald Hirt was buying resident hunting licenses in both states. And, that there was a pattern going back several years where hunting licenses were issued to other out-of-state members of the Hirt family listing the same address in Grand Junction.
"The bottom line is that the tip from the archery hunter started the ball rolling," said Dobson. His willingness to come down off the mountain and report the problem right away gave DOW game wardens a quick start on solving the case.
At first the Hirts denied everything, but once confronted with the evidence, William Hirt admitted that he didn't see any goats in unit he was supposed to be hunting in, so he shot a goat in unit G-14 instead.
Mountain Goats are protected under the Samson Law, and because the information provided by the original tipster lead to a conviction involving a Samson violation, the tipster was rewarded with a free license and another chance to a hunt a mountain goat in an upcoming season.
On the other hand, the Hirt brothers finally got caught after many years of cheating the system. They had to pay $34,000 in fines, and, following a review by a hearing examiner, will likely lose their hunting and fishing privileges for a long time.
TRESSPASSING AND HUNTING OUT OF SEASON
In an unrelated case, DOW officers investigated a poaching incident after receiving a tip that a buck deer was shot and killed south of Highway 24 in El Paso County during a time where there were no open hunting seasons in that area.
Through the course of their investigation, DOW officers determined two men entered private property without permission and killed a mule deer buck with a small caliber rifle. "This is a case of complete disregard for the landowner's property rights and Colorado wildlife law's," said Romero.
Shawn J. Smith, 38, of Colorado Springs and John T. Durham, 20, of Ramah, were issued citations. Smith and Durham were both charged with hunting outside an established season, illegal possession of wildlife, and trespass. Both men plead guilty in El Paso County Court, and each paid $1,907 in fines.
Smith and Durham were also assessed 50 points against their hunting and fishing privileges. An administrative hearing process will determine if Smith's and Durham's hunting and fishing privileges will be suspended and for what length of time.
"Without information received from concerned citizens, this case would have been extremely difficult to solve," said Romero. "Hopefully poachers will get the message that somebody is always watching."
These are only two examples out of dozens of cases solved each year because law-abiding citizens came forward to report hunting or fishing crimes.
Sportsmen, landowners, or citizens who observe or suspect poaching activity can anonymously contact the local DOW office or call Colorado's Operation Game Thief at 1-877-COLO-OGT (1-877-265-6648). Callers do not have to reveal their names or testify in court. Depending on the crime, rewards of up to $500 are offered for information that leads to an arrest or a citation being issued.
Tipsters are also eligible to receive preference points, and in some cases, hunting license if the case involves a Samson law violation. To be eligible for preference points or a free hunting license under the TIP program, the person must be willing to testify.
THE SAMSON LAW
The Samson law was passed by the Colorado legislature on April 22, 1998. Samson was a majestic bull elk that got its name from Estes Park locals who were accustom to seeing him around town.
When people found out that the poacher who killed Samson was only fined a few hundred dollars, there was a public outcry to raise the penalties for illegally killing wildlife.
The Samson law now adds mandatory surcharges for killing trophy game animals in addition to the normal fines for poaching. The added amounts range from $4,000 for a trophy sized antelope up to $25,000 for a bighorn sheep.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.