The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

As a guy who spends almost all of his free time when not working my day in the propagation of wildlife and habitat improvement for their benefit I ask the question, why are our natural resources valued so low when it comes to punishing violators?

I just read an article about a guy who after a two-year investigation was finally charged. So, what did this guy do? He utilized a bait station that was illegal, he shot a trophy deer with a rifle during the archery season and shot several other deer using deer tags he bought for people that do not actually hunt.

He poked a hole in the deer with a bolt used in a crossbow and stuck an arrow broadhead through the bullet hole to disguise the entry point. It took two years and lots of Conservation time with tons of hours expended and he was finally sentenced a short while back.

The violator had his hunting, fishing and trapping license suspended for three years and paid a whopping fine of about $600. He shot the deer out of season, baited it illegally, used other people’s licenses to harvest other bucks in different years seasons as well.

Enter the Scott Rall penalty recommendations. He should have had his license suspended for life. This would also suspend those privileges in the dozen or more states that have reciprocity. The fine should have been about $5,000. His name should be plastered all over every hunting and outdoor social media page and been shamed into moving into hiding.

You might find my recommendations a little harsh. But why? Game and fish all have a value placed on them for purposes of restitution. Why are these values so low? I would like to make a distinction here. The guy or gal who ends up at the boat landing in the dark that has two walleyes over their limit by accident because counting a live well full of fish in the dark is not all that easy, should still get a fine but not have the book thrown at them. Violations considered minor like not having signed your duck stamp before attaching it to your duck license does not impact game populations or motivate others to commit the same offense. Grievous offenses on the other hand should carry a grievous fine and suspension.

The boat that has 60 walleyes over their limit did not get there by accident.  There are a percentage of the violations that are uncovered where the person receiving the citation really did not understand what was required. My dad gave up hunting in 2000 because he was worried, he could not decipher the regulation book accurately enough to stay out of trouble.  He would have been about 65 at the time.

In situations where the violation is so blatant that no reasonable person could conclude it was an accident requires stern responses. Along with placing much higher value on our natural resources we also need to slam the hammer on those who trespass. I never enter private land without rock solid permission and in almost all cases that permission is in writing.

I once had a pick-up truck drive 40 mph through my 80-acre wildlife property to chase a big deer out of it so his other poacher friends could get a gun sight on it to shoot it once it crossed the road. As hard as I tried, we never caught the guy. If they had been caught, with proper posting on my property the fine for trespassing at the time could have been as high as $300.

If someone is an un-ethical hunter and trespasses 30 times over 10 years and gets caught only once that would amount to about $10 per year to access private property. Any person who sees the rules as not applying to them would consider this the best deal in town. The current fines and penalties are not a deterrent to this kind of despicable activity.

I would add this note for landowners who routinely get asked for permission to hunt on their land, don’t punish all hunters for the acts of the very few. Too often one bad actor gets hunting permission for everyone cut off completely.  This is sad and lumps all hunters into the same boat.

For violations that cannot be deemed an accident the fines and restitutions should be much higher. They could be $10,000 per case as far I am concerned because I will never act in a manner that would subject me to them. Ethical hunters also need to help police the bad actors by making the call to the proper authorities when you see someone soiling the good name of ethical sportsmen. We all have a responsibility to do the right thing. Are you doing the right thing or just looking the other way when you see others breaking the law? The turn in poacher number is 1-800-652-9093. Please put this number in your phone and use it when it’s called for.

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.