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Show 1 IgfdI teteot Hl3s raorM,68 r J Almost 200 bobcat hides, valued as high as $50,000 have been seized in recent weeks by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources law enforcement en-forcement personnal. Following months of Investigation In-vestigation and planning, and with cooperation from wildlife wild-life agents from the federal government and four adjoining adjoin-ing states, six arrests were made and the hides seized. Dall Winn, DWR Regional Region-al law enforcement officer said, 'This is the largest case in terms of monetary value ever made In the state of Utah. With a lot of work, by a lot of concerned professionals, pro-fessionals, we were finally able to make a good dent in what we think is a sizable siz-able ring of illegal fur dealing.' deal-ing.' The value of the furs is part of the motivation for the illegal activity. Average Aver-age fur prices for bobcats in the Seattle fur markets are about $250 with large, prime hides selling for as much as $400 or more. Interstate operation of these commercial type poaching rings can be highly profitable. However, any time illegally taken wildlife is carried across state lines it is a violation of the La-cey La-cey Act and that brings the Federal agents into the case. Good information passed on to us in these cases from concerned citizens was very helpful and valuable. Without With-out that assistance, the Division Di-vision would not and will not be able to stay ahead of those who still think it is permissible to violate wildlife laws. Arrested in the recent cases were Kent Ward and Kerry Otte, Smithfield; Jerome Jer-ome Fickas, Logan; and Martin Ross, of Idaho. Fur dealers involved were Ste-elt Ste-elt and Steele Fur Co. of Utah County, and James and Jonathon Massey, of Arizona. The future of the bobcat in Utah and surrounding states may well depend on effective law enforcement programs, but may just as well depend on gaining a better bet-ter understanding of the bobcat's bob-cat's needs and habitat requirements. re-quirements. . At present the bobcat is very delicate balance. Knowledge is the key to wise and effective wildlife management. man-agement. classified as anongame animal ani-mal in Utah. As such, it will benefit from the newly instituted in-stituted 'Nongame.tax check off program' available for the first time this year on the Utah income tax form. Like all other animals in the wild, bobcats are part of the natural ecosystem. ecosys-tem. They play a role In maintaining what is often a |