Hunter facing charges after death of beloved elk named Bullwinkle

[chester]

I have a hard time believing that the call was made with no knowledge that hunting branch bulls was illegal in the unit. If you have to ask that's usually a sign it's not a good idea. The fact that the elk sat there while two phone calls were made should have set off some red flags. I've said this before but this should be a career ender for the two at Wdfw and TR if what you say is correct.


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[Curly]

I can't remember the answer to this one:  If Morgan Grant said it was okay for TR to shoot a branch bull in 334, why would wdfw investigate and recommend the county prosecute? Or did they not recommend prosecution?   

Seems like the county would be wasting time and money by prosecution if the state official did in fact give the go ahead (even though he may not have technically had the authority).

If you can find any evidence that WDFW recommended prosecution I would love to see it. That would be news to me.

Well, normally (as I understand it anyway), wdfw investigates, complies evidence, and then recommends the county prosecute the case if the evidence is good.  If the evidence is lacking, I would think they would not want to go thru with prosecution.

That is why it is hard to believe that Grant was specifically asked if a branched bull could be taken in 334 with that tag. If he was specifically asked that and gave the ok, then why would wdfw cite the guy and why would the county waste the time and money in prosecution?

I suppose it is possible that because the bull was named and a big celebrity that there is so much anger over the taking of the big tame bull that the county is under a lot of public pressure to do something.  But that said, I just can't see them wanting to waste the time and money unless the supposed permission is questionable. I would assume in the report that wdfw would have handed to the county would be testimony from Grant telling what was asked of him and what he told them.  If he said go ahead and shoot bullwinkle in 334 then why wouldn't the case be dropped?

[idahohuntr]

I'm betting 90% on here like myself have never been cited for a game violation?  We all know how few wardens are out there. I can't help but wonder how many times this guy cheated us out of opportunities before and after he got cauht? Yet he leads the witchhunt on a bull that the game department said was ok?

Glass houses?

You are right...Reichert is yet again the focus of a criminal investigation for poaching a bull elk.  2nd time in the span of 8 years...makes you wonder how much poaching he really does?  We all know you don't get caught your first time...especially given how few wardens there are.  It's not at all reasonable to suggest a minor infraction 25 years ago is comparable to a guy who is repeatedly the subject of criminal investigations for poaching trophy bull elk.  Your attempts to discredit others with matters irrelevant to Reicherts criminal charges are pathetic...perhaps you could answer the questions posed to you instead of playing your games.

[Reidus]

How many people were involved with this hunt? How many were locals?

[JDHasty]

I feel bad and want to clear something up here (he may want to clean that up on his record). I did accuse JDHasty of illegally using lead shot. Turns out that may not be the truth. If one does a criminal search that is what shows up on him. But the court docket shows is it pheasant kills and not reporting  A criminal violation as well. . One could call it poaching bird's?  I do know one thing if I had been accused of that and it wasn't true I would want my day in court. He didn't , as he went bail forfeiture.

I'm betting 90% on here like myself have never been cited for a game violation?  We all know how few wardens are out there. I can't help but wonder how many times this guy cheated us out of opportunities before and after he got cauht? Yet he leads the witchhunt on a bull that the game department said was ok?

Glass houses?

One pheasant, improperly marked on a punch card.  I killed a bird that a friend picked up and added to his bag after he had hit and wounded it a couple times and it was flying off the release site.

The Court docket is available for fifty-cents and ten minutes time.  You could have done that if you were interested in anything resembling the truth and not just libeling someone.

The reason that lead shot thing "pops" is because it is highlighted and emphasized that this was NOT what I had been charged with and any "due diligence" what so ever on your part would have made that apparent.  Somewhere along the line a clerk miss-typed a digit when transcribing the citation and that is where the confusion arose.  Nothing else  in the Court docket is in all caps or has asterisks added to draw attention to it.     

Here is the "money quote" cut and pasted from that document (emphasis in the original):

*****CORRECT CHARGE IS FAIL TO PROPERLY RECORED PHEASANT KILL ON RECORD CARD**************

I believe that this case may have been one of the examples that DFW used shortly thereafter when the RCW covering "Party Hunting" was amended to exclude upland game. 

That is all I have to say for a while. 

[Ridgeratt]

This was in the Spokesman Review yesterday



But trophy hunting has a way of stalking the ragged edge of poaching when hunters get greedy.

In 2007, Reichert bought Washington’s first East Side Governor’s Tag and killed a trophy elk in the Umatilla National Forest. However, he was later indicted for hiring a helicopter service to spot elk for the hunt, which is unlawful in Washington and most other states. He was also charged with lying to wildlife authorities about the guiding services he hired.

Reichert’s sentence included a $5,000 fine and a two-year ban from entering a national forest.

The pretrial hearing in his current “Bullwinkle” case originally set for May 31 in Lower Kittitas District Court was postponed until June 21. It’s possible that Reichert could be using his attorneys to postpone the hearing as long as it takes for him to fill his two current trophy tags purchased in March at the tag auctions facilitated this winter by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

A lot is at stake. Reichert bid $85,000 for the Pennsylvania tag and $75,000 for the Washington tag.

If he goes to court and is found guilty before those hunts, Reichert could lose his hunting privileges before those seasons start.

Either way, his auction bids will be used by RMEF and the state of Washington for wildlife conservation. Some people are okay with this system. Others aren’t so sure.

Bottom line: A wealthy man can buy just about anything he wants, but he should still have to earn our respect.

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http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/jun/08/landers-judge-wealthy-hunters-by-what-they-give-no/









 



 

[danderson]

  Are the folks that have first hand knowledge of the events that took place that morning the bull was shot stating that only 2 phone calls were made just curious

[NOCK NOCK]

 A little song for you today....in my best singing voice;

"Ohh I wish I was a auction/raffle tag holder
That is all I truly want to be
Cause if I was a auction/raffle tag holder
Everyone would be so jealous of me

Oh I'm glad I'm not a auction/raffle tag holder
That is what I'd never want to be
Cause if I were a auction/raffle tag holder
There would soon be nothing left to hunt for me"

[Dan-o]

That was the most valuable post in the last 47 pages of this thread.

[Woodchuck]

Is witch hunting even legal in GMU 334?

[M_ray]

There really is no other explanation for it than extreme jealousy.

Are you the judge and jury about that, or just the judge?

Nope, just pointing out the odvioise. I understand you folks from King County see things differently.

We point out the obvious too, The bull was shot in a closed unit! 

[2MANY]

I wanna shoot monster bulls and not have to lace up my boots.

[Rainier10]

Is witch hunting even legal in GMU 334?

Depends on what side of the canal you are on. JK

[NOCK NOCK]

Kiti, I believe you were the one who's post was nuked that was comparing a members failure to purchase a new license for the new year ticket to the Bullwinkle killing, suggesting they were both mistakes.

Forgive me if I missed them, but searched through many pages and did not find a direct answer to several questions that have been asked of you. You have stated you are here to clear things up, sooooo please give me some insight on these basic questions.

1. Was TR's shooting this particular bull a mistake, or was it all legit per the WDFW phone calls?

2. I know you have stated "2 calls were made", were there only 2,or more?

3. Were these calls all out going from TR's group, or did a WDFW employee call back?

4. Were any of these calls recorded?

5. Was the bull killed the same day the calls were made?

6. Was the bull tagged at the kill site, or at the processing site? 

7. What unit was listed as the place of kill on the hunters report?

8. You and a couple others are very defensive of this situation. Are you defending TR, or just trying to CYA?


I believe that a simple yes or no, or a couple words can answer all of these, and will help you clear things up (which is why you are here correct) for a lot of folks on here.
Thank you for your time.

[NOCK NOCK]

That was the most valuable post in the last 47 pages of this thread.

Your singing the song now huh?