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Show | | | The Salt Lake Tribune OUTDOORS Tuesday,January 16, 2001 bel Phones Help Officers Get Jump on Poachers BY SKIP KNOWLES eae 895 tips for six warnings and 48 busts, The numberof calls has sta- —— Biscachye:cer ines bilized since, with $38 last year, but Utah hunters are using cell the quality of information is high- to reach out and bust &, resulting in 62 busts and 12 lomeone, and state wildlife enpreementofficers are loving the ligher conviction rates. Richard Archuleta of Kearns iad applied for a special trophy ~ yall permit for years in the Utah it he hunts, with no luck. Each he would go out andsee big and neverhave the permit to warnings in’99.and 80 busts with 15 Warnings in 2000. “We are getting more long,involved tips that lead to complex investigations and good arrests, too,” Fowlks said. In a few instances, poachers have hurriedly called the hotline and acting as though they were witnesses after spike-onlytag like the rest of junters. This year a massive six-point jull elk appeared in a herd ofcows, observed. Two poachers killed a mule deer buck with a 29-inch wide rack out of season in Weber Canyonlast year, and hung it ina tree, A neighbor confronted them and called the hotline. The poachers also called the hotline to report they had witnessed someonekilling a big buck deer. Officers found evidence attheir house, and they were arrested and charged with felony wanton destruction of wildlife, then slapped one, instead buying the rou- kind that makes a lifelong junter short ofbreath, He watched t with admiration. Rifle shots koomed out from the woods, and he regal bull staggered gut shot, vas hit again in the shoulder, and ell wounded. Archuleta was outaged — the special season for the ew hunters with special bull tags vas not open, and he knewit. He ised a cellular phoneto call the vaching hotline, then pulled his ruck in front of the vehicle to nake sure he gotthe license plate. the poachers left the wounded anlying in the woods. “Tt was disappointing,” he said. never thoughtI'd haveto do that, nit to see a person waste an animal that,to let it lay there and die, was more cruel than anything Prior to about 1995, hunters yould wait until the weekend was er before phoning tip on crimactivity. The trail was cold by ie. time officers could arrive. low with cell phdnes, we have ple standing there observing he activity as officers“arrive on he scene,” said Mike Fowlks, a ergeant with Utah wildlife enprcement, Increased awareness of he poaching hotline has helped as. vell. In 1996,the hotline received 61 calls, leading to 118 investiga- ions, resulting in one warning and 2 busts. By ’98, officers received knowing their illegal activity was with the $8,000 extra fine that comes with poaching trophy-sized gameanimals. Poachers are well aware of the hotline’s reach. A pair of miscreants shot a doe from a vehicle and left it to rot in Utah County last year. A hunter with a cell phone reported them. “As officers arrived,they called the hotline-to ask whyour officers were banging on their door,” Fowlkssaid. i The central and northern regions make upthe bulk ofthe activity. When cell phones became prevalent aboutfive years ago, the numberof hottips spiked, particularly in the spike-bull-only elk hunting units. In these, people lacking self-control as well as deliberate, scheming poachers shoot huge trophybull elk illegally — a privilege hunters are supposed to earn with a once-in-a-lifetime tag issued through a draw. This is what happened to Archuleta. many bulls were killed illegally that anesbee [opener] andit made me think we need to change someone about the way we hunt spike oOiat most prevalent big game species—lead in the number tip or ‘tips called in. Hunters in particularly no longer see poaching as stealing and unfortunate, but stealing from them perso! — as people cheating them of an opportunity. The vast majority ofpoaching hotline calls are from sportsmen. “People were always offended by poaching, but they’re becoming more and more offended,” Fowlks said. Utah’s Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife has added teeth to that nasty fine by offering a $1,000 additional reward for information leading to arrests for poaching of trophy animals. And hunterslike SONY SHOWS Displays Sg resentation Systems Information 18th, 2001 Digital Cinema tra ini Sheraton Ball Room City Center Hotel 150 W. 500S. Exhibits & Trade Shows 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mobile Presentation: R.S.V.P. 486-5757 Archuleta are bringingtheheat. “It was cooljustto be ableto see a mature bull,” he said. “ I saw three that morning. 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