The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is making it easier for citizens to report fish and game violations through the convenience of text messaging.

The Report All Poaching (RAP) hotline (800-292-7800) now accepts text messages in addition to telephone calls. Text messages may include photos. The RAP hotline is a toll-free, 24-hour, seven-days-a-week number that enables citizens to report violations of fish and game laws, as well as other natural resource-related laws. It is operated by DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. The DNR also offers a web-based reporting form. Read more

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are seeking information on a wolf poaching incident in Stambaugh Township, Iron County, located approximately 10 miles southwest of Iron River.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Jan. 22, a passerby spotted a dead female wolf, weighing approximately 70 pounds, lying several feet off the side of East Brule Lake Road. The passerby contacted local conservation officers, who immediately responded to the scene. Read more

A mid-morning tip Oct. 31 led Michigan conservation officers to two men in possession of poached waterfowl and a Sandhill Crane in Oakland County’s Addison Township.

Oakland County Central Dispatch received a tip from a caller reporting unknown individuals shooting at Sandhill Cranes – a federally protected bird – near a private pond. At 9:50 a.m., a responding deputy from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department notified the Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division and requested assistance.

Conservation Officers Bradley Silorey of Macomb County and Jacob Griffin of Oakland County immediately responded, arriving at the scene shortly before 10:45 a.m. and within minutes of each other.

“After arriving, the officers found two men who had been waterfowl hunting near a private pond,” said District 9 Acting Lt. Dan Bigger. “The men had 13 ducks already in their possession. Two more ducks were located while walking to the area where the subjects had been hunting.” Read more

mature buck standing in a fieldConservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources urge deer hunters to engage in an ethical hunt: Buy a license before going out and don’t loan kill tags.

Every deer hunting season, DNR conservation officers encounter individuals engaged in unethical hunting practices. These officers tackle many cases of individuals buying hunting licenses after harvesting deer or loaning kill tags to friends or relatives.

“Each year, we see cases of individuals waiting to buy licenses until after they have shot a deer,” said Dean Molnar, assistant chief of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. “We remind all hunters that you must buy your license before you go out to hunt and have it in your possession when afield. Buying a license is not only the ethical and responsible thing to do, it is the law. Harvesting a deer without a license is poaching.”

Deer poaching in Michigan carries a restitution payment of $1,000 per deer, a $200 to $1,000 fine and jail time up to 90 days. In addition, a violator’s hunting privileges are suspended for three years. Under the new law that took effect in 2014, antlered deer are assessed an additional $1,000 in restitution plus the standard $1,000 for illegally killing any deer. In addition, deer with eight points but not more than 10 are $500 a point, while deer with 11 points or more are assessed a penalty of $750 per point. Read more

Fort Dodge, Iowa – A nine month investigation into deer and turkey poaching in Webster County, Iowa, was closed on Oct. 7, when Kyle Alstott, 23, of Fort Dodge, the last of the 10 individuals facing charges from Iowa and Nebraska, pleaded guilty.

In November 2015, Iowa State Conservation Officer Matt Bruner came across a website run by Alstott with photos and videos of deer, deer hunts, fishing and other outdoor activities.

Alstott and Roman Thompson, 22, from Omaha, Neb., are co-owners of ATM Outdoors, an outdoors /hunting filming company based in Fort Dodge. They produce photos, videos and deer stories for their website which is where Officer Bruner began his investigation.

Bruner recognized Kyle Alstott and Michael Alstott, 44, of Fort Dodge, from photos on the website as individuals that he charged for hunting over bait in 2011. He began comparing the deer and stories on the website to licenses the different individuals featured had purchased in various states.

The information didn’t line up. Read more