Nov. 3 Game and Fish news

For Immediate Release:

 

 

Game and Fish Commission Meeting in Buffalo Nov. 13 .................................................................... . 1

Game and Fish Hunting Surveys Now Underway................................................................................... . 2

Poacher to Pay $30,240 in Fines................................................................................................................. . 3

Aquatic Invasive Species Boat Inspections Protect Wyoming Waters................................................ . 4

Game and Fish Calendar................................................................................................................................ 5

Ask Game and Fish......................................................................................................................................... 5

 

 

GAME AND FISH COMMISSION MEETING IN BUFFALO NOV. 13

 

CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will meet next on November 13 in Buffalo. The Commission may take action on several items including Wyoming’s Wolf Management Plan and Addendum, a revision to the hunter education policy, late migratory game bird seasons, and project funding requests from the Platte Valley Habitat Partnership Fund.

In addition, the Commission will receive updates on the potential television show about Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel, management of Keyhole Reservoir, the recently completed Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt and the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

The meeting will take place at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 18 Fairgrounds Road.

The State of Wyoming supports the Americans with Disabilities Act. Anyone needing auxiliary aids should contact the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at (307)777-4501. Every effort will be made for reasonable accommodations.

A complete agenda can be found online at: wgfd.wyo.gov.

(Contact: WGFD (307) 777-4501)

-WGFD-

 

 

 

GAME AND FISH HUNTING SURVEYS NOW UNDERWAY

CHEYENNE – Many big game seasons are still open in much of Wyoming and others are winding down. The regular hunting seasons are accompanied by the harvest survey “season” for the Game and Fish Department.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department contracts a company named Tetra Tech to conduct the large surveys for antelope, deer, and elk. In the past week some 37,000 emails 43,000 postcards were sent to resident and nonresident hunters asking them to complete their harvest survey online. This is the first year that email addresses have been collected during the license purchasing process. This type of delivery will save the Department tens of thousands of dollars in production and postage.

Hunters who receive an email will be able to simply click on the link in the message and it will take them directly to their own survey for that species. Hunters who receive a green postcard will find their personal survey password and the internet address of the survey (www.wyhunter.org). Hunters who do not responded via internet will be mailed the hard-copy survey in a few weeks. The mailing schedule is staggered to send and receive surveys at different times to facilitate processing.

Gail Sheridan, harvest survey coordinator for the Game and Fish says the online survey is the most efficient way for a hunter with internet access to respond.

“The internet survey is more efficient, it saves Game and Fish about $3 per response in postage and processing over the mail in survey and it ensures greater accuracy,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan stressed that it is important for all hunters to respond to the survey even if they didn’t harvest an animal as hunter effort is an important part of the annual reports. It is also important for hunters who were checked in the field or at a check station to respond.

“The survey only takes five to 10 minutes to complete,” Sheridan said. “Hunters deserve a big thank you for completing these surveys in a timely manner.”

Not all hunters are surveyed, but depending on the species and hunt area, at least 60 percent of hunters will receive survey cards.

“Survey recipients are randomly selected,” Sheridan said. “Even though hunters may be members of a hunting party, there is no guarantee all members of the party will receive a survey.”

Sheridan said if not enough hunters respond to the initial mailing, follow up phone calls are made and surveys are sent until enough are received to obtaining statistically valid estimates of hunter effort and harvest.

The information provided is integral to management objectives for the various herd units. Sheridan said that some seasons are still open, but stressed that if hunters are done hunting they can complete their survey right away.

“For hunters who still have some hunting to do, we would appreciate the survey as soon as they finish hunting,” Sheridan said.

(Contact: Gail Sheridan (307) 777 4567)

-WGFD-

 

 

POACHER TO PAY $30,240 IN FINES

LARAMIE — A tip to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Stop Poaching Hotline helped wildlife investigators apprehend a Chugwater man on multiple counts of taking big game animals without licenses.

Cheyenne Game Warden David Ellsworth said the tip lead investigators to a social media site where 47-year-old John Clark had posted photos of the animals he shot, including a photo of a buck antelope that he said was his “first antelope with a bow.”

Further investigation revealed Clark, who lived in Rock River at the time, never purchased a hunting license for at least six big game animals that he killed between 2010 and 2013. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Clark’s residence that lead to the discovery of antlers and horns from the poached animals. They also discovered a pelt from a swift fox and talons from great horned owls and golden eagles.

During the investigation, Clark admitted to shooting a mule deer buck each year from 2010 to 2013, all without a license. When presented with the social media photograph of his “first antelope with a bow,” he admitted that he had also shot that buck without a license in 2012. He then confessed to taking an additional buck antelope in 2010 and another in 2012.

Clark was charged with four counts of taking mule deer without a license; two counts of taking antelope without a license; illegal possession of elk meat; and two counts of illegal possession of mule deer meat. He was also issued warnings for illegal possession of raptor parts, and for theft/removal of a Game and Fish Department “road closed” sign. The Game and Fish Department did not take action on charges of trapping without a license, illegal take of a swift fox, or an over limit of trout that was also discovered during the investigation.

Albany Circuit Court Judge Honorable Robert A. Castor ordered Clark to pay $30,240 in fines and suspended his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for 36 years. Four charges of illegal game possession were dismissed by the prosecution.

Ellsworth thanked the Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Forensics Laboratory for their help in identifying the species and gender of the game meat found in Clark’s possession during the investigation and the Albany County Attorney’s Office for their work on the case.

Ellsworth said this case demonstrates the importance of poaching reports from the public. “This whole investigation got started with a Stop Poaching tip. It stresses how important it is for members of the public to contact us if they have any information about possible poaching crimes,” he said.

Anyone with information on a wildlife crime can call the Stop Poaching Tip Line at 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847). Tips may also be reported online at http://wgfd.wyo.gov, or by text at TIP411. Informants can choose to remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward for information leading to an arrest.

(Contact: Robin Kepple 307-777-4523)

-WGFD-

 

 

AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES BOAT INSPECTIONS PROTECT WYOMING WATERS

 

LARAMIE – Wyoming Game and Fish Department employees inspected more than 40,000 watercraft in 2014 for aquatic invasive species (AIS). Aquatic invasive species include, including quagga and zebra mussels. Of the inspections, nearly 2,000 watercraft were considered high risk and Game and Fish personnel did 860 decontaminations to eliminate any AIS being transported on watercraft into Wyoming.

This was Wyoming’s fifth boating season following passage of Aquatic Invasive Species legislation in 2010. It was the first year the Game and Fish Department teamed with non-profits to thank boaters who had their watercraft inspected by entering them in a raffle for prizes including a pontoon boat.

“We really appreciate boaters taking the time to help keep Wyoming’s waters clear of invasive species. The raffle was a means to say thanks for taking the time to help with this effort from Game and Fish and our partners,” said Beth Bear the AIS program coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “Boaters are very cooperative and overall, things went smoothly and even during the busy holiday boating weekends, delays were minimal. We saw that more of the boaters who are arriving at inspection stations have followed the ‘Drain, Clean and Dry’ process which greatly reduces the time needed for inspection.”

The Wyoming Boater Appreciation Raffle provided boaters who went through an inspection a card with a unique identifying number allowing boaters to go to the Game and Fish website, fill out a short survey and submit their entry. All prizes were completely funded by raffle sponsors, including the Nature Conservancy of Wyoming, Two Dogs Guide Service, Vortex Optics and Bass Pro Shops. The last day to enter the raffle is November 26 and winners will be selected on December 1.

Check stations are open April through September at various ports of entry in the state. In addition, Game and Fish conducted inspections at 23 waters as well as at regional offices. Private locations also conducted inspections in 2014, primarily in early spring and fall when Game and Fish check stations are not open.

Of the watercraft inspected, more than 60 percent involved watercraft registered in states other than Wyoming. Beth Bear said the majority were standard inspections but there were a greater number of high risk inspections and decontaminations than in previous years. “There were also 11 watercraft where we found invasive mussels,” Bear said.

Ports of entry and rest areas with the most inspections were I-80 at Evanston with 7,993 inspections; I-25 near Cheyenne with 4,797 inspections; Alpine Port of Entry, (2,571); Thayne Rest Area (1,610); and Laramie Port of Entry, (1,603). Waters where most inspections were conducted include Glendo Reservoir (4,234), Flaming Gorge (4,151) and Keyhole Reservoir (755).

Numerous inspections were conducted of watercraft that were last used on a water with zebra or quagga mussels and the majority of those had been at that infested water within the last month. Recent findings of quagga mussels in Lake Powell and evidence of mussels in Angostura Reservoir, SD (just 50 miles east of the Wyoming border) highlight the increased threat of mussels to Wyoming waters. “It is more important than ever that the state continue our aquatic invasive species prevention efforts, that boaters continue to get mandatory inspections when entering Wyoming from out of state, and that all boaters remember to drain, clean, and dry every time they boat.” Bear said.  

Game and Fish watercraft check stations are now closed for the season. The mandatory inspection requirement for all watercraft entering Wyoming waters from out of state is in effect from April through November each year. At all other times, an inspection is required if a watercraft has been on a water positive for zebra/quagga mussels. Boaters are encouraged to follow the “Drain, Clean, and Dry” protocol each and every time they launch, even when an inspection station is not present at the water. Information on inspection locations including Game and Fish offices and private locations can be found at: wgfd.wyo.gov/AIS.  

(Contact: Beth Bear (307) 745-4046)

-WGFD-

 

 

 

 

Game and Fish Calendar

Nov. 3 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Torrington, Platte County Bank, 6 p.m.                                        

Nov. 4 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Cheyenne, WGFD Headquarters, 6 p.m.

Nov. 4 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Green River WGFD office, 6 p.m.

Nov. 5 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Wheatland, Platte County Library 6 p.m.                                                                  Nov. 6 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Laramie WGFD office, 6 p.m.                                                            

Nov. 11 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Jackson WGFD office, 6 p.m.

Nov. 12 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Cody, Bighorn Federal Bank, 6 p.m.                                              Nov. 13 – Game and Fish Commission Meeting, Buffalo, Johnson County Fairgrounds

Nov. 13 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Lovell Fire Hall, 6 p.m.                                                                    Nov. 15 – Youth pheasant hunts at Sand Mesa and Yellowtail Wildlife habitat management areas

Nov. 18 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Thayne Town Hall, 6 p.m.

Nov. 18 – Public meeting on Game and Fish bird farms, Pinedale WGFD office, 6 p.m.

Nov. 24 – Deadline to submit entries for Wyoming Wildlife Photo Contest

 

 

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