NEW: Six may face charges of killing elk during closed season
Six Tampico area residents may face charges after state Fish and Wildlife Department enforcement officers determined they poached a trophy bull elk early Saturday, out of season and aided by their headlights.
Responding to an anonymous tip to a Washington State Patrol dispatcher, wildlife officers determined the group killed a large elk -- a 6-by-7-point bull -- near the South Fork of the Ahtanum, west of the Tampico store.
The officers seized the elk, the vehicle used to spotlight the animal and the gun used to kill it, officials said. The seizures could become permanent, based on state Fish and Wildlife seizure statutes.
In addition to the seizures, any or all of the six individuals involved could be charged with the taking or possession of elk during a closed season, and with hunting big game with an artificial light. Both charges are gross misdemeanors, and both have a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. They could also be fined $6,000, the value the state places on a trophy elk.
Enforcement Capt. Rich Mann said that recommendations for charges would be filed with the prosecutor's office upon completion of the investigation.
While there are some advanced hunter education hunts still active in the Tampico area, those hunts are only legal during the day. Tribal members can hunt in their traditional hunting areas during periods that would be out of season for nontribal members, "but typically they don't hunt at night," Mann said.
The hunters involved are nontribal members.
Sgt. Morgan Grant, who is overseeing the investigation, praised the witness who made the anonymous call.
"The person that made that call is the reason we were able to investigate and be successful in the investigation," Grant said. "As much as we'd like to say we're darn good game wardens, a high percentage of the cases we make is because people step forward and provide us the information that we can follow up on.
"And protecting that resource is a responsibility of everybody."
-- Scott Sandsberry
This really pisses me off!