16-year-old boy cited for shooting bull elk

A 16-year-old boy has been cited for shooting a bull elk inside Glacier National Park's southern boundary and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is still looking for the public's help on two separate elk-poaching cases near Hungry Horse Reservoir.

The park investigation was prompted by a tip from hunters who had been watching a bull elk in the Nyack Flats area along the Middle Fork Flathead River on Nov. 12.

"The two hunters were watching a bull elk in the vicinity of Nyack Creek when they heard a gunshot," a park press release states. "The individuals reported seeing the bull recoil, then take a few steps and collapse on the Boundary Trail inside the park."

The hunters, aware that the elk was likely within the park boundary, walked to the area where they thought the shot came from and encountered a 16-year-old boy within sight of the dead elk.

Rangers were contacted. Later in the morning the boy was interviewed and the scene was investigated with the help of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens.

The alleged poaching occurred where Nyack Creek enters the Middle Fork.

The park's southern boundary is defined by the high-water mark on the park's side of the river.

The elk was confiscated at the scene, and the meat was donated to a food bank.

Charges against the boy, a Flathead County resident, will be prosecuted by the state of Montana, said Amy Vanderbilt, Glacier's public affairs officer.

All hunting is prohibited in Glacier Park.

Separately, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Perry Brown is seeking tips on two other cases.

One involves two elk that were shot and left near Hungry Horse Dam around Oct. 21.

The other involves a bull elk that was found dead, with its antlers cut off, on Nov. 13 near Emery Creek on the east side of the reservoir.

Mark Foust, Glacier's chief ranger, urges anyone who witnesses illegal or suspicious hunting activity near the park to call park headquarters at 888-7800.

People with information on poaching incidents also can call the Flathead County Sheriff's Office at 758-5610, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks at 752-5501 or the state's anonymous tip line, 1-800-TIPMONT.