Moses Lake men busted for Grizzly

[bearhunter59]

2 Moses Lake men fined for illegal bear kill
By Associated Press
KING5
updated 9:24 a.m. PT, Thurs., Jan. 14, 2010
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say two Moses Lake, Wash., men have been fined $3,000 each, ordered to pay nearly $15,000 in damages and put on probation for the killing of a grizzly bear in 2007. On Monday, 26-year-old Brandon D. Rodeback and 30-year-old Kurtis L. Cox pleaded guilty to charges of transporting the animal. Bears are listed as a threatened species, and transporting the animal protected by federal, state or tribal law is a crime. Both men's hunting licenses have been suspended for two years as well, and they need to pass a hunter's safety course before obtaining a license again. Federal prosecutors say Rodeback and Cox were hunting near Ione, in Pend Oreille County, on October of 2007 when they encountered a bear and shot it. The men skinned the animal, and took it back to Moses Lake.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34861972/

[NWBREW]

Yeah, I think this is the same as was posted earlier on  here. If I remember right the two men showed it off in Ione and Metaline first. Someone in town told them it was a grizz and not a black bear (they thought they shot a big black bear).  They left after hearing that and when they got home (Moses Lake) they buried it. The right thing to do would have been to contact Fish and Game while they were still in Ione. Not sure if it would have made much of a difference with the  penalty they recieved.  From what I understand they were good people not intending to do anything illegal.......untill they tried to cover it up.

[MikeWalking]

Federal prosecutors say Rodeback and Cox were hunting near Ione, in Pend Oreille County, on October of 2007 when they encountered a bear and shot it. The men skinned the animal, and took it back to Moses Lake.

Wow so was I, Road 22, 2200 ?? Was up there for week, only saw one WT, the one I almost hit...found a little run down cabin..the Blue Sky-Star

[elk311]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/doj_news_13jan10.pdf

more information

[bearpaw]

We have confirmed grizzly bear sightings from Deer Park (near Spokane) all the way north to the canadian border. I strongly suggest that anyone planning to carry a bear tag in their pocket in NE WA should take the MT Bear I.D. Test.

http://fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/bearID/

No doubt these guys screwed up big time by trying to hide the bear after they were told it was a grizzly. But if I was them, I would have used the fact that WA does not offer a good bear identification test in their defense. I feel that it is irresponsible of the state to not provide a bear test to unsuspecting hunters. I know a ton of hunters who buy bear tags and would never pass the test the fiirst time. I have seen lots of guys fail the test the first time or two. That tells me those same guys could easily shoot a grizzly by accident in the excitement of spotting a bear in the woods.

How many deer hunters from western Washington buy a bear tag (just in case) and go to eastern WA deer hunting. How many of those guys do you think have even considered that they could see a grizzly.

[bearpaw]

The first time I took the test several years ago, I did not get 100%, that scared me, it meant that in the wrong situation I could make a mistake. I took it again so I got 100%. I take it every year as a reminder and I have my guides take it until they get 100% too.

I belive it should be mandatory to pass the test before you can buy a bear tag, just like in Montana. This would protect you as much as the bears....

[MikeWalking]

Thanks for the Link, good stuff. Went straight to the test. 80%. The last one was a total guess. I called two others Griz that weren't. Somebody got some great pics.