Help sought solving wildlife crimes

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens are asking for help with about a dozen unsolved poaching cases in the Flathead area.

“We’re just kind of at a dead end, we’re at fourth down and we’re throwing the Hail Mary,” Warden Captain Lee Anderson said.

The number of unsolved cases is not necessarily unusual, Anderson said.

“Unfortunately, it’s a fairly common slice of what unethical hunters will do out there,” he said. “I won’t even call them hunters. Unethical individuals.”

The department is asking for tips from the public on the following cases:

n A whitetail buck was shot and killed at 1515 Rogers Lake Road. On the afternoon of Nov. 20, neighborhood residents saw a red Chevrolet Avalanche stop, with an occupant shooting between two houses.

n Two cow elk were shot and left to waste during the first week of the general hunting season near forest Road 2933, just off of Star Meadow Road.

n A whitetail doe was shot and left at the intersection of Lodgepole Road and Twin Bridges Road at about 2:30 a.m.

n A large buck was shot and left, with its head removed, about a half mile up Star Meadow Road. It was most likely shot at night before the hunting season opened.

n On the morning of Nov. 26, a small whitetail buck was shot and left to waste near the intersection of Fourth Avenue West North and Cedar Flats Road north of Columbia Falls.

n Since October, at least four whitetail deer have been shot at night in the Lower Valley Road and Wagner Lane area. One suspect vehicle is a white full-size pickup with custom exhaust.

n A whitetail buck was shot in the vicinity of Caroline Road and Collier Lane just southeast of Kalispell. The suspects fled on foot and never returned for the deer. Witnesses observed two people, possibly teenagers, who may live in the area.

n Three whitetail bucks with their heads removed were found Dec. 22 off Lodgepole Road.

n More than two dozen gates were vandalized on Plum Creek property west of Kalispell during the hunting season. The areas included Indian Creek, Richards Peak, Whitney Creek and Meadow Creek.

Anderson said the Lodgepole Road and Twin Bridges area west of Whitefish has been an area where there have been considerable game violations. “It’s been a real common area for people to spotlight” for wildlife after dark, he said.

Wardens recently caught one group of men in a truck who shot a buck after dark, using spotlights.

But Anderson those types of cases are difficult to detect because they aren’t like crimes in urban areas, where there are likely to be plenty of witnesses.

“This stuff is just out in the middle of nowhere, random, so it makes it hard,” Anderson said.

There have been plenty of violators who have been caught, however, and it’s usually with help from the public.

Anderson said several rewards have been distributed this year through the department’s TIPMONT program. But it’s far more common, he said, for people to report violations without any expectation of a reward.

Anyone with information regarding the unsolved cases are asked to call 1-800-TIPMONT or contact the department’s regional headquarters at 752-5501. Callers can remain anonymous.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com