Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are asking for the public’s help in obtaining information about 18 deer that were killed in the city of Norton Shores, Muskegon County, between October 2014 and September 2015.

The Norton Shores Police Department and the DNR have received the following reports:

• A resident in the area of Treeline Drive found one dead deer Oct. 26, 2014, and two dead deer May 14, 2015.
• On Aug. 31, 2015, a resident on Easthill Drive reported finding a dead deer in the yard, and a total of 11 dead deer since February 2014.
• On Sept. 13, 2015, the Easthill Drive resident found two more dead deer.
• A resident on Hilltop Drive also reported finding two dead deer since last year.

The deer were shot with a small-caliber rifle. Most of the deer were killed outside of the state’s deer hunting seasons.

Anyone with information about any of these incidents is encouraged to call the DNR’s Report All Poaching (RAP) Line at 1-800-292-7800. Information may be left anonymously. Tips also can be sent to the DNR via the online reporting form available on the DNR website www.michigan.gov/conservationofficers.

MISSOULA, Mont. – Poaching, the illegal killing of game animals and other wildlife, is a serious problem and a crime. The targeting of trophy, big game animals is a growing concern. Protecting, conserving and regulating wildlife is becoming increasingly challenging, especially with the value of trophy animals on the rise and advancements in technology which give poachers an advantage over wildlife resources and enforcement actions. However, a new research program looks to examine the possibility of higher fines as a deterrent to poaching in an effort to curb wildlife crime and more severely punish those who steal valuable conservation resources. Read more

DENVER- Convicted poacher and former outfitter Dennis Eugene Rodebaugh, 73, of Meeker, Colorado, learned on Tuesday that his appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has failed, affirming the 41-month prison sentence and fines the former outfitter received in early 2013 for illegally baiting deer and elk with salt.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigators, between 2002 and 2007, Rodebaugh and an associate used large quantities of salt to attract elk and mule deer to an area in the White River National Forest where he had installed tree stands, enabling their clients to easily kill the animals.

In September 2012, a jury in Denver found Rodebaugh guilty of six felony violations of the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits the transportation of illegally taken wildlife across state lines, applicable because most of his clients came from out of state. Read more

At 9 a.m. Nov. 18, conservation officer Richard Cardenas received a complaint that had been phoned in to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Report All Poaching Line about a deer that had been shot.

The caller said she was awakened by a loud thud against her house at approximately 3 a.m. When she went outside to investigate, she discovered a deer lying near her house between a woodshed and the back porch. She then witnessed her neighbor come into her yard, claim the deer and drag it by the antlers to his property.

After speaking to the witness, Cardenas went to the suspect’s residence next door, where he contacted the suspect and observed a bait pile in the backyard, with spotlights from the house pointed toward it.

Cardenas questioned the suspect about the deer in the back of his pickup truck, including about what time of day he shot the deer. The suspect first told Cardenas that he shot the deer at 6 a.m. After further questioning, the suspect changed his answer to say he didn’t know what the time was when he shot the deer. Read more

DENVER–Assistant hunting outfitter and guide Nicholaus Rodgers, was sentenced to 6 months home confinement, a $5,000 fine, 50 hours of community service and 3 years’ probation for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife protection law. During his probation he is prohibited from hunting or fishing. Rodgers, worked as an assistant hunting guide for Loncarich Guides and Outfitters. The conspiracy involved felony interstate transportation and sale of unlawfully taken wildlife, and felony creation of false records concerning wildlife that was sold in interstate commerce. The sentence was the result of a joint investigation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Read more