Elk hunter, companion cited over illegal killing of bull elk inside Fossil Butte National Monument

Fossil Butte National Monument News Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Nov. 13, 2014

CONTACT: Marcia Fagnant, 307-877-4455, ext. 24, marcia_fagnant@nps.gov

 

 

Elk hunter, companion cited over illegal killing of bull elk inside Fossil Butte National Monument

 

 KEMMERER, WY — Two Wyoming men have been cited in connection with the poaching of a bull elk last week inside Fossil Butte National Monument in southwestern Wyoming. The 4-by-3 point male was shot and killed inside the monument, which under federal law is off-limits to all hunting. In addition, the Wyoming state hunting season for bull elk had closed Oct. 24, more than two weeks before the incident.

 

          The Nov. 6 shooting occurred in the Middle Canyon area on the east side of the monument, hundreds of yards inside the park periphery. Owing to its close proximity to legal hunting zones outside the monument, its entire 22-mile boundary is fenced, with “No Hunting” signs posted clearly at frequent intervals along the wire perimeter. Signs also identify it as national park land. Yellow “No Hunting” signs and prominent National Park Service (NPS) markers are posted at the park’s only entry points, where the north-south road enters and exits the park. Hunters can and do use the road to travel to legal hunting grounds outside Fossil Butte. 

          Cited for investigation of illegal use of a firearm in a national park and taking of wildlife in a national park was William Cruise, 51, of Kemmerer. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department also issued citations for hunting bull elk out of season and for not properly tagging the kill. Cited for investigation of disturbing and harassing wildlife was Jason Moss, 36, of Opal, WY. 

          The three federal violations require appearance by the two men in U.S. District Court in Green River, WY. A federal investigation continues.

          An NPS law enforcement ranger on patrol had encountered Cruise along the main road inside the monument the afternoon of Nov. 6, about two hours before the elk was shot. Park Ranger Kayla Powell provided him with a hunting brochure and park map, on which she noted for him his location inside Fossil Butte. She also advised him verbally that hunting is banned in the monument. Later on patrol, Powell responded to the sound of the gunshot and summoned a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ranger for a joint response. 

           The citations were issued the next day after the men returned to the monument to help NPS and state game authorities locate and remove the dead elk. The hunter had partly field-dressed it Nov. 6 before darkness fell, preventing immediate removal. Neil Hymas, Wyoming Game and Fish’s game warden in nearby Cokeville, WY, said meat salvaged from the carcass was distributed to needy families in the area.

           The Nov. 6 incident was the second case this fall of illegal discharge of a firearm inside the monument. On Oct. 10, a local resident saw a man shoot a rifle at a mule deer and reported it to park authorities. Contacted later, the shooter admitted his action and said he mistakenly thought he was on BLM land outside the park. A search found no dead or wounded animal. The man was ticketed and fined for violating the federal ban on use of firearms in a national park. 

          Nationally, hunting inside any of the 401 units of the national park system is not authorized unless specifically allowed in federal “enabling legislation” that created the park or monument. No such authorization was included when Fossil Butte National Monument was established in 1972. By contrast, the law that created nearby Grand Teton National Park does allow the park to conduct an annual elk hunt, but only in limited locations and times under special rules. 

          The elk that was illegally shot was a member of the West Green River herd, which numbers more than 4,000 animals and inhabits vast public lands around Fossil Butte. Those lands include 1.4 million BLM acres and the Kemmerer District of Bridger-Teton National Forest. During the fall hunting season, a fraction of the herd — about 400-500 elk, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department— ranges within the monument’s 8,198 acres. Hunters can and do legally hunt elk and other game on public lands outside Fossil Butte.

           “Principles of ethical hunting are important to our southwestern Wyoming neighbors and to all in a state whose wildlife are such an important natural and public resource,” said Fossil Butte Superintendent Nancy Skinner. “We at the Park Service also appreciate and thank our interagency Wyoming partners who helped handle this matter: The Green River District of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the Kemmerer field office of the Bureau of Land Management, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.” 

          Cokeville Game Warden Neil Hymas said,"I want to give Nancy and Kayla and the park credit for this. I have half the county to cover during elk season, and Fossil Butte hires a law enforcement ranger to help during hunting season. Her position there prevents by far the majority of hunting violations that can occur around the park. They are a great, great help to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.”

 

— NPS —

 

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