Trophy elk Montana
December 11th, 2005 by Administrator
Montana may redefine trophy elk HELENA, Mont. — Montana might borrow a page from the hunters’ bible to help determine whether illegally killed bull elk are trophies, allowing the state to demand $8,000 in compensation for a dead animal.
State wildlife commissioners Thursday heard a proposal to strengthen enforcement against poachers by broadening the definition of a trophy elk. The new definition would include a standard from the record book of the Boone and Crockett Club, the Theodore Roosevelt organization that compiles information about all sorts of trophy animals.
The idea will be put out for public comment, commissioners said. Then they will decide whether to adopt the change.
Presently Montana defines a trophy elk as one with at least six tines on one antler, plus antler length of at least 43 inches and width of at least 36 inches. All three criteria must be met to classify the animal as a trophy worth restitution eight times that for other elk.
Under the proposal outlined Thursday by Jim Kropp, law enforcement chief for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, an animal would be a trophy if it either met those standards, or had a Boone and Crockett score of 320 before the antlers dried. An elk with that score would not necessarily meet all three requirements now in state regulations.
Kropp addressed commissioners after placing in front of them antlers from two large Montana elk killed illegally in 2004. Neither could be classified as a trophy because the antler width fell short of 36 inches. Put to the Boone and Crockett test, however, they would be trophies. In 2002, the wildlife agency began using Boone and Crockett records as a way to determine trophy deer.
“People are coming here and poaching some of our biggest and best game animals,” Kropp said. “We need to get the message out that we’re not going to tolerate this.”
Restitution for killing a non-trophy elk is $1,000.
Paying restitution to the state is one of several conditions that may be placed on poachers. Typically they are stripped of hunting privileges, as well. Courts may impose fines.
An observer at the commission meeting, Lee Carlbom of Augusta, questioned the need to distinguish between a trophy elk and others when requiring restitution.
“Does it cost the state anymore to raise that bull (elk)…?” Carlbom asked.
“If they poach — they shoot it illegally — give them a ticket.”
The 1999 Montana Legislature passed a law requiring greater compensation for trophies, Kropp said.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation said in a statement that it supports a broader definition of a trophy if that aids enforcement and herd management. Montana has about 138,000 elk, the country’s second-largest population after Colorado, the foundation said.
Unlawful hunting includes killing animals outside of the hunting season, shining spotlights on wildlife to zero in on them before the shoot and using rifles during archery season.
There is black market for big antlers and “people will do whatever it takes to get them,” Kropp said in an interview.
Montana collects about $100,000 a year in restitution for big-game violations, he said. Fish, Wildlife and Parks gets 60 percent of the money and uses it for hunter education and law enforcement. The rest goes into the state treasury.
Restitution for a variety of Montana’s trophy animals has been established. Amounts include $2,000 for a pronghorn, $6,000 for a moose and $30,000 for a bighorn sheep.
By SUSAN GALLAGHER
Associated Press writer