Aberdeen Weyerhauser Poaching

[Casey]

Has anyone with the Aberdeen pass noticed poaching? My dads buddy, my dad, and I have all found poached elk this year. 2 were found today with little meat taken. The one my dad found had a little bit of meat taken but most of the cow was still there. I found one that was killed between muzzle and rifle elk seasons and my dad found one during late buck. There’s no special cow tags in this unit and there’s no late elk in this unit.


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[BA Mongor]

Casey,

I've got to ask, how do you know they were poached. I find a lot of dead animals. I will say this though, I've seen a few individuals who were probably up to no good, but saw or found nothing, so maybe not.

I found (2) poached bulls in the Weyerhaeuser St.Helens pass area, right off of the 6700. Defiantly poached with the blackstrap and head removed and approximately 100 yards off of the road in clear cuts. With all of these permits in place, and no real enforcement up there, it's a free for all for any bad guys that buy a access permit.

The Rayonier permit has been ok, but there's definitely a few suspects who have the Weyerhaeuser CRW access permit. I've only found blood and tire tracks, but do have a few pics of rigs in there in the middle of the night. And this year while heading to my tree stand had 2-young guys in a Toyota scanning the couple clear cuts with their truck headlights. This is off of Mill Creek.

BA

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea how can you be sure this was poached?

[millerwheeler]

Ya know animal do die of other causes other than poaching

[Igottanewknee]

Ya know animal do die of other causes other than poaching

On the road? 

[Stein]

Can't be 100% for sure, but most dogs and cats don't pack knives to cut the hide neatly or take the head off.

[Onewhohikes]

I might be wrong but see nothing "neat" there

[Stein]

Look at the hide where the front quarter used to be.  I suppose a dog could chew the head off and pack it away instead of going for the rib meat or other quarter.  Again, nobody knows, but it looks suspect to me.

From my fairly limited experience, I usually look for what's missing and what was left to try to guess at what happened.

[Bullkllr]

Going out on a limb here and saying it's pretty unusual to find multiple mostly intact elk carcasses next to logging roads.

[Onewhohikes]

Multiple? Was there others found besides the ONE his dad found in the OP?

[fishngamereaper]

Multiple? Was there others found besides the ONE his dad found in the OP?

Did you read his post or skip to the pictures.

[redi]

My question is did you turn it in to enforcement and let them do an investigation and figure out whether it was poached  or not?

[Onewhohikes]

Multiple? Was there others found besides the ONE his dad found in the OP?

Did you read his post or skip to the pictures.

How many pictures do you see? a picture of one elk does not prove there were multiple.

[scooby]

I've got an Aberdeen permit this year, and didn't SEE anything shady, but I'm a pretty light sleeper and heard quite a few shots in the absolute middle of the night. Gunshot report in the 2am silence can travel a pretty long distance, but they were definitely closer than private land adjacent to where I was hunting most of the year.

[Casey]

There’s been about 5 elk in the last couple years that we have found right on the road or just off it in a cut. My dad didn’t take a picture of the one he found but it was processed by knife.  He said they took about half the elk and left the rest. The one he found was only a couple days old. My buddy is going to report it and see if they want to do an investigation. Now i know animals die from other causes but with all the elk we’ve found being “randomly” dead they’ve all been on a road or just off it in a cut and have all been around the same time of year. All have been processed with a knife. It’s pretty easy to examine and animal and tell a dog and a cat didn’t just take a front shoulder off like that. My dad and his buddy have been hunting for years and can tell between an animal being processed by a knife or eaten from other animals.


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[Casey]

Shoulder looks like it was deboned by a knife


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[Casey]

I've got an Aberdeen permit this year, and didn't SEE anything shady, but I'm a pretty light sleeper and heard quite a few shots in the absolute middle of the night. Gunshot report in the 2am silence can travel a pretty long distance, but they were definitely closer than private land adjacent to where I was hunting most of the year.

My dad and his buddys have hunted the unit for a long time and he’s had some people shine their camper at night and other guys that hunt a different season go out there and spook the elk into the timber before light. And before people start saying that’s a bunch of BS he’s had the guys tell him to his face that they are out there to scare the elk so the archery hunters don’t kill “their elk”. People would throw nails out on roads to keep people from driving down them. They would “target shoot” all day throughout the season. Most of that was before the permit. Haven’t had that since the permit but have noticed some poaching since the permit


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[WSU]

I've noticed all of the above.  I've seen gut piles at daylight that weren't there at dark the night before.  This year during muzzy we had people drive every spur and shoot at the end of each one.  Another group had someone drive every spur in the dark only to come peeling out just after daylight going about 50.  The locals poach and feel very protective of "their" elk and have no problem screwing up someone's hunt in hopes that the bulls survive until rifle.

[Onewhohikes]

So your saying its still going on even though it is now a permit area?

[Sitka_Blacktail]

The last big poaching incident in that area happened a few years back. Somebody got into a herd and knocked down like 5 or 6 cows.  There happened to be a witness to this who reported it to the State Patrol. They got there but the perps were gone. But they found the dead elk with a couple quarters missing and maybe some backstraps cut out and they began an investigation. It was a big deal locally. The witness had evidently given them enough information they tracked the perps down. Then all of a sudden, everything about the case went silent.

Not much later I heard from a friend who worked in the state patrol that the perps were tribal from a local tribe. My friend had another friend in the state patrol who was married to a lady who was also of the same tribe and she told them both that the perps weren't born tribal, but had ancestry and were "adopted"into the tribe so they could get health and other benefits. After it was found that they were tribal the state evidently dropped the case and it was up to the tribe to prosecute but they chose not to.  That was before the passes started and anyone could drive in there.

[Casey]

Most of it has slowed down but yes there is still things going on even though it is a permit area. I had multi elk and was in there a lot. I did notice there was game cams set on mainlines. Assuming it’s weyerhauser. Hopefully reporting this elk to weyerhauser they might have some pics of vehicles and maybe start keeping an eye out for this activity


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[WSU]

So your saying its still going on even though it is now a permit area?

Absolutely.

[Stein]

What's one more rule to break when you are breaking a half dozen or more already?

[dominknows]

Seems since the permit started there's been more shady things that happen out there and also seems odd when bigger racks survive all the legal hunting seasons but mysteriously never is to be seen again makes you wonder what goes on out there in the offseason..... guess maybe bigfoot gets them?!

[Casey]

My buddy was deer hunting and ran into a weyco security guy. They told him about it and showed him the pictures and reported it to wdfw.


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[Igottanewknee]

Seems since the permit started there's been more shady things that happen out there and also seems odd when bigger racks survive all the legal hunting seasons but mysteriously never is to be seen again makes you wonder what goes on out there in the offseason..... guess maybe bigfoot gets them?!

Most definitely bigfoot!

[Skyvalhunter]

Do the natives have access besides if they purchased a permit?

[Casey]

Do the natives have access besides if they purchased a permit?

I’m not to sure. I don’t think they do but I could be wrong since I keep up on what natives have access to.


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[millerwheeler]

Ya know animal do die of other causes other than poaching

On the road? 

DIDNT know you got a choice of where you die at I’ll make a note  on that for my future

[Lumpy Taters]

I don't hunt the Aberdeen area but I do have the permit for the ST Helens area.  I have seen all of the above with my own 2 eyes.  Trucks driving into area at night. Areas I know do not have any camps in them and well past dark.  Hearing gun shots well past dark and then finding gut piles the next day when I know I was the last one out of the area the night before.  I personally reported 4 different gate problems my self.  Locks missing and gates left open all night long.  Loggers locks used to open gates where no active logging is going on but it is a more convenient access point for them.  Keep a count and saw 7 trucks with no permit hanging just during rifle elk season.   Just last weekend was in the 550 unit and saw 2 guys fully decked out in hunting gear in a unit with no late season.   While the permits have slowed it down, the problems still happen and I cant tell you how many people I know with keys they shouldn't have. Yes some have been turned in but you will never stop it all.  Too many ways into and out of the woods to watch it all.

[Dark2Dark]

I don't hunt the Aberdeen area but I do have the permit for the ST Helens area.  I have seen all of the above with my own 2 eyes.  Trucks driving into area at night. Areas I know do not have any camps in them and well past dark.  Hearing gun shots well past dark and then finding gut piles the next day when I know I was the last one out of the area the night before.  I personally reported 4 different gate problems my self.  Locks missing and gates left open all night long.  Loggers locks used to open gates where no active logging is going on but it is a more convenient access point for them.  Keep a count and saw 7 trucks with no permit hanging just during rifle elk season.   Just last weekend was in the 550 unit and saw 2 guys fully decked out in hunting gear in a unit with no late season.   While the permits have slowed it down, the problems still happen and I cant tell you how many people I know with keys they shouldn't have. Yes some have been turned in but you will never stop it all.  Too many ways into and out of the woods to watch it all.

I have seen and heard of a lot of cougars in 550. They could have had guns, but I’m also in full hunting gear whenever I’m scouting, pulling cams, etc.

I called in a dead elk next to the road one time that I was sure was poached. The game warden informed me that the elk was found towards the tail of the season and he could back track to see where it looked like someone had simply lost the animal.

He had chopped the head/rack off to spare others the temptation. So, the headless elk I found with a bullet hole in it wasn’t as clear cut of a poaching case as it appeared.

[Skyvalhunter]

How do you call in a dead elk?

[headshot5]

How do you call in a dead elk?

Use your cell phone to call in the incident to the game warden I would imagine.

[Wanttohuntmore]

How do you call in a dead elk?

 

[BA Mongor]

Just because you see me with a rifle in a closed unit with no big game season doesn't mean I'm doing something shady. For me, it means I'm killing coyotes or cats.

I have a far larger problem with the hound guys up in cat areas running their dogs after "raccoon and coyotes" !!! I like hound hunting, but it sure is nice to find some unmolested cat tracks. I usually have to walk or use gated areas to get away from them.

[grundy53]

I rarely go into the woods unarmed. Sure as heck if I did I would see a coyote or a bobcat. Or I would have my one opportunity to kill a cougar.

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[Lumpy Taters]

While agree there is legitimate reasons to be in the woods with guns even after the general hunting seasons end.  For example Cougar season lasts well into the next year.  I too have seen animals that the WDFW has removed antlers and such because they don't want someone else taking them or dissecting a carcass to look for evidence.  But I have never seen them take both back straps and nothing else off a cow or doe.  The area the OP was talking about is closed at night.  The area I was talking about did not have any late seasons after riffle deer.   Yes I know there is some special permits out there. But when you approach someone sitting somewhere and they take off in hurry like you are the boogey man it only adds to the suspicion.  Most people out enjoying the scenery will wave say hello or BS your ear off for an hour.  Not take off the they were shot at. 

[Igottanewknee]

While agree there is legitimate reasons to be in the woods with guns even after the general hunting seasons end.  For example Cougar season lasts well into the next year.  I too have seen animals that the WDFW has removed antlers and such because they don't want someone else taking them or dissecting a carcass to look for evidence.  But I have never seen them take both back straps and nothing else off a cow or doe.  The area the OP was talking about is closed at night.  The area I was talking about did not have any late seasons after riffle deer.   Yes I know there is some special permits out there. But when you approach someone sitting somewhere and they take off in hurry like you are the boogey man it only adds to the suspicion.  Most people out enjoying the scenery will wave say hello or BS your ear off for an hour.  Not take off the they were shot at.

I never BS longer than 10 minutes, and only hide from the boogeyman when I'm mushroom hunting. Must keep my spots under the radar. 
I will say I've seen back straps and hind quarters removed from does over the years at Vail. Game wardens would take your name and contact information and never be heard from.

[Casey]

2 more dead elk. One shot with no meat taken. This bull was found today. Second elk was found a couple weeks ago. Quarters were taken and head was taken. Also they tried covering the elk with brush to hide it.







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[Bullkllr]

Sickening.

You would think with limited access points enforcement would be easier if they even cared to try, which it appears they don't. 

Make sure you report and keep reporting to Weyco and WDFW.

[actionshooter]

Inside the Weyco gates? I would be surprised if it were someone with a pass, but then again 

[Casey]

Inside the Weyco gates? I would be surprised if it were someone with a pass, but then again 

Yes it is inside the weyco gates. I find poached elk every year behind the gates. Always right off the mainline where a rifle can easily dump it and drive off.


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[Norman89]

Sickening.

You would think with limited access points enforcement would be easier if they even cared to try, which it appears they don't. 

Make sure you report and keep reporting to Weyco and WDFW.

Not to try to take this a political direction, but in my mind law enforcement of all kinds are leaving this state in drives to try to save themselves and I can't blame them. I have noticed a nasty lack of enforcement in the woods all around me the last year or so, my local warden and one Hancock guard the only ones I have seen. I reported what I think was a poached elk I found while running my trap line in February I found on the side of the road to my local warden and he already knew about it which surprised me since I check traps at dark usually so he caught wind of it with 24 hrs of it happening. I also carry a weapon year round while checking my cameras, running traps, scouting, mushroom picking. My truck is never hidden and I stop to talk with anyone I see but if I'm off the path and someone comes by I don't know I hit the dirt. Had enough traps stolen and messed with I don't attract any attention unless I'm in my truck. I think with our current climate the poaching will get worse but not as seen here, more find a gut pile and that's it. People willing to bend and break rules to put food on the table, especially seeing that much more violent and severe crimes go unpunished across the country. I have also noticed a uptick in garbage dumping, wreck less camp fires, and gates being vandalized and broke into

[Bullkllr]

 :yeah:And it's even sadder and more maddening when it's happening in 'pay to access areas'

[highcountry_hunter]

Sickening.

You would think with limited access points enforcement would be easier if they even cared to try, which it appears they don't. 

Make sure you report and keep reporting to Weyco and WDFW.

Not sure how the game wardens are on the Westside but in NE washington that’s the last thing you want to do. I’m not sure what it is about the wardens in this area but they are all grade A pricks. 3 of my close personal friends have called in poached animals and had to go through rigorous investigations to defend themselves. Yes, the reporter of poaching had to defend himself from our fine WDFW agents accusing them of being the poacher. In fact one of my good buddy’s dad’s even had is rifle confiscated for over a year after reporting a poached moose along a forest service road and then leading the wardens to the carcass.

[pianoman9701]

Sickening.

You would think with limited access points enforcement would be easier if they even cared to try, which it appears they don't. 

Make sure you report and keep reporting to Weyco and WDFW.

Not sure how the game wardens are on the Westside but in NE washington that’s the last thing you want to do. I’m not sure what it is about the wardens in this area but they are all grade A pricks. 3 of my close personal friends have called in poached animals and had to go through rigorous investigations to defend themselves. Yes, the reporter of poaching had to defend himself from our fine WDFW agents accusing them of being the poacher. In fact one of my good buddy’s dad’s even had is rifle confiscated for over a year after reporting a poached moose along a forest service road and then leading the wardens to the carcass.

I know that WDFW on Weyerhauser lands patrol and check for permits, etc. I've never heard of someone reporting a poaching being harassed.