DWR seeks help and offers rewards in effort to solve poaching incidents

It's that time of year when people are being asked to keep a wary eye out — poachers are among us.

A wave of poaching activity in the southeastern part of the state has wildlife officials asking for public support.

The Division of Wildlife Resources is offering rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the following:

• The poaching of two calf elk near Huntington's South Flat Road on or about Dec. 4.

• The shooting of a red-tailed hawk southwest of Orangeville in late October. The hawk is in rehabilitation but can never be returned to the wild.

• The poaching of a 3-by-3 buck deer at the Huntington Game Farm around Nov. 6.

• The poaching of a spike bull elk on Cedar Bench, south of Consumers Road near Price, around Nov. 20.

Poaching activity typically increases in the late fall and winter, when animals are most vulnerable. Big game animals move onto winter ranges, which are usually close to roads. Smaller animals and birds are more vulnerable because they are easier to see.

"You get people out shooting or hunting rabbits, and the temptation becomes too great. Several of the animals were shot with a .22 (caliber), which is disturbing to us," said Carl Gramlich, sergeant in law enforcement in the Southeastern Region of the DWR.

"A lot of deer and elk have been shot with a .22, which means in many cases that the person doing the shooting was just out plunking at rabbits or cans or something and decided to shoot at something else. It's a disturbing trend."

In the case of the hawk, he said, it was shot in the wing, which means it will likely never be able to fly again.

"And why anyone would shoot a hawk is beyond me. They're not a game animal. They do a lot of good. There's no reason to shoot a raptor," he added.

"In the case of the elk shot near Price, it was a simple case of wanton destruction. It was shot out of season with a high-powered rifle."

The two elk shot near Huntington could have been killed by a landowner in the area in retaliation for depredations. There have been reports of elk doing damage to farms in the area.

"All we ask for is just enough information to verify who's doing the shooting so we can bring them to justice. We don't even ask you to leave your name, just give us the information," Gramlich said.

"What we want to do is raise the level of awareness. This type of thing goes on all the time and we need people to be on the watch for suspicious activity . . . and then give us the information."

He asked that anyone with information on the cases in the Utah's southeastern region or any other poaching incidents, call the regional office in Price at 435-636-0260 or the DWR's Help Stop Poaching Hotline at 1-800-662-DEER (3337).

Informants may remain confidential or anonymous, but people are encouraged to provide enough detail to help officers verify their report and conduct an investigation.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com