Aberdeen Weyerhauser Poaching

[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.