{"id":801013,"date":"2019-11-04T16:36:06","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T23:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=374010"},"modified":"2019-11-04T16:36:06","modified_gmt":"2019-11-04T23:36:06","slug":"wildlife-officials-say-hunting-violations-even-accidental-can-be-costly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/wildlife-officials-say-hunting-violations-even-accidental-can-be-costly\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife officials say hunting violations, even accidental, can be costly"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FRISCO \u2014 The big game hunting season is upon us in Colorado, and some already have taken the opportunity to trek onto the area\u2019s recreational lands with hopes of snagging a moose or bear.<\/p>\n

Others have their eyes on hunting deer or elk in the final few weeks of the season or are gearing up for another of the state\u2019s small game or waterfowl seasons. But regardless of each hunters\u2019 proclivities, law enforcement agents with Colorado Parks and Wildlife are around to ensure the proper monitoring and managing of wildlife, and to protect one of the state\u2019s most important natural resources.<\/p>\n

While most hunters are ethical sportsmen and women seeking the thrill and challenge of hunting for their own food, there are often bad actors in the field. And violations of the state\u2019s hunting laws, whether on purpose or accident, can have serious consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the people that participate in our activities \u2014 hunting, fishing and even going to state parks \u2014 are absolutely trying to do the right thing all the time,\u201d said Dean Riggs, northwest deputy regional manager with Parks and Wildlife. \u201cBut there are two major categories of people who often violate our rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the guy that makes the mistake and probably just doesn\u2019t understand the violations. They come from out of state, where things are done differently, and they\u2019re probably not doing it willfully. Then there\u2019s the other end of the spectrum, where I would use the word \u2018poacher\u2019 \u2014 the guy who knowingly and willingly, in spite of the law, goes out and violates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riggs said the number of violations in any given year is extremely variable, jumping up and down from year to year with seemingly no real driving factor. Violations do tend to be consistent with regard to location and the type of \u201cwildlife interest\u201d in the area. Riggs noted that he came from the Pueblo region, where fishing violations were abundant in contrast to his more recent role on the Western Slope, where big game violations are much more common.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most common violations are safety issues, Riggs said, including hunters who fail to wear the required 500 inches of daylight fluorescent orange or pink clothing, carry a loaded firearm in their vehicle, go onto private land without permission to retrieve a harvested animal, and shoot too close to the road, among others.<\/p>\n

And while these might seem like relatively innocuous infractions compared to something like poaching, the repercussions can be considerable \u2014 particularly because once a law has been broken, violations tend to snowball.<\/p>\n

Riggs gave the example of a hunter who gets over excited and decides to shoot a six-point bull elk but doesn\u2019t get far enough from the road before firing. For the initial violation, shooting from the road, the hunter could be fined $100 in addition to surcharges in the amounts of $37 and $7.50.<\/p>\n

Because the animal was killed illegally, the hunter is now also liable for a $1,000 illegal possession fine in addition to more surcharges. Finally, because the bull elk is considered a trophy animal under Samson\u2019s Law \u2014 which prescribes fines for animals killed illegally based on horn or antler measurements \u2014 the hunter could be hit with an additional $10,000 fine.<\/p>\n

In addition to large fines, violations also can result in the suspension of a hunting license based on a 20-point system, similar to a driver\u2019s license. In the aforementioned example, Riggs said the shooting from the road violation would result in a five-point loss, and the illegal possession violation would result in a 15-point loss, enough to take someone\u2019s license away.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can easily have four or five violations stemming from one mistake,\u201d Riggs said. \u201cAll of a sudden, you start to add everything up, and you\u2019re looking at almost $12,000 in fines. But you could also be suspended in our state, and almost every other state in the union, from legally hunting and fishing. What I\u2019ve found is that fines are one thing for people with a certain level of income, but when you start talking about suspending a serious hunter\u2019s license, that really gets their attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado is one of 45 states in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, meaning a license suspension or revocation here carries with you almost anywhere in the United States. Riggs noted that suspensions typically last between one and five years and that repeat or particularly egregious offenders could receive a lifetime ban.<\/p>\n

The problem of poaching<\/strong><\/p>\n

Certainly not all hunting violations are accidental, and Riggs said Parks and Wildlife deals with a small amount of willful offenders every year. Wildlife officials estimate poaching might be more widespread than most realize, with some national studies indicating that poachers kill almost as many animals as legitimate hunters do during legal seasons.<\/p>\n

In Colorado, the most common forms of poaching include the
\nillegal hunting of bears for their gallbladders \u2014 Riggs noted they sell
\noverseas to Asia for a high cost \u2014 and poachers killing elk and deer, taking
\ntheir heads and antlers, and leaving the rest of the carcass.<\/p>\n

Riggs said in those cases, the penalties will be much more
\nsevere, typically including felony charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople kill all sorts of critters because of the nature of the beast and the fact that they\u2019re going to somehow gain monetarily from those species,\u201d Riggs said. \u201cUsually, that\u2019s the extreme end of the poaching industry. \u2026 But I\u2019d also put some of those violators in the category of addicts. As they violate the law and don\u2019t get caught, they feel emboldened to continue. Those are the real extreme people. Luckily in our business, it\u2019s like a 1% scenario, and we don\u2019t deal with it on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many hunting violations are simply mistakes, Riggs urged hunters to take another look at Parks and Wildlife\u2019s hunting brochures, which keep hunters up to date with new rules and regulations each year. Riggs also noted that any hunter with questions should reach out to a representative with Parks and Wildlife before heading into the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we want everyone to have a good time, enjoy our outdoors and our great recreational opportunities,\u201d Riggs said. \u201cLaw enforcement is a part of wildlife management. It\u2019s a necessary evil. We\u2019re really trying to protect you and make sure our natural resources are taken care of into the future. But it all starts with the individual hunter educating themselves and making sure they know why we manage, how we manage.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FRISCO \u2014 The big game hunting season is upon us in Colorado, and some already have taken the opportunity to trek onto the area\u2019s recreational lands with hopes of snagging a moose or bear. Others have their eyes on hunting deer or elk in the final few weeks of the season or are gearing up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-801013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-28 01:13:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801013\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}