Game wardens seek help with pair of elk poaching cases

Submitted

PANACA – Game Wardens from the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) are seeking the public’s help to solve two separate poaching cases that occurred near the Nevada/Utah border.

The first ongoing investigation involves a bull elk that was shot and killed in Lincoln County on Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30 – Sept 1). The elk was discovered with its head removed in an area known as Uvada, approximately 1.5 miles from the Utah border along the railroad tracks in Hunt Unit 242. The animal was left to waste with no other part of the animal removed.

Game wardens believe the animal was shot on the night of Aug. 30 using a spotlight and suspect it may have been poached by someone living in Utah. While there were no open elk hunts in the area, there was an open archery bull elk hunt less than two miles away in Utah. This area of Nevada has been a problem location in the past during the Utah hunts.

In the second case, a bull elk was shot and left to waste between the night of Dec. 5 and the morning of Dec. 6 in the area of Reed Cabin Summit in Unit 231 in Lincoln County, about 0.75 miles from the Utah Border.

Injuries on the elk lead investigators to believe this was not a wounding loss and the bull died where it was shot about 30 yards off the Reed Cabin Road. Game wardens also believe the antlers were removed from the animal between the evening of Dec. 6 and the morning of Dec. 7.

The animal was killed the day after the close of the 231 Resident Antlered Elk Hunt and on the first day of the 231 Resident Antlerless (cow) Elk Hunt. There was also a rifle cow elk hunt, and an archery bull elk hunt open for the Indian Peaks hunt unit in Utah during the same time frame. 

“These crimes should upset everyone. It’s a waste of Nevada’s wildlife,” said John Anderson, Game Warden Lieutenant for NDOW. “Let’s be very clear, these were not legitimate hunters. In both cases these people blatantly stole a mature bull elk from the people of Nevada and then left it to waste.” 

Anderson added that illegally killing a big game animal without a valid tag is a Class E felony. “Unfortunately, we have very few leads and we need the public’s help if we’re going to catch these criminals.”

Game wardens are hoping someone might have seen or heard something that might help with the case. “Our hope is that someone will come forward with information that will help us solve this crime,” he said.

To report wildlife crime, sportsmen and members of the public can call the OGT hotline at (800) 992-3030 or use the new NDOW Tip app. The NDOW Tip app provides citizens the ability to submit anonymous tips, photos or video to the Nevada Department of Wildlife via text messaging. NDOW Tip is available for download for free via the Google Play Store, iTunes App Store, or by visiting the agency’s website at www.ndow.org.