Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are seeking information on a dead cougar found approximately 4 miles north of Iron Mountain in Dickinson County. The male cougar was discovered by conservation officers around 11 a.m. today, Feb. 1, near the intersection of Johnson Road and County Road 607 in Breitung Township.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call 1st Lt. Pete Wright at the Marquette Customer Service Center at 906-228-6561, ext. 3028 during normal business hours, or the 24-hour DNR Report All Poaching (RAP) Line at 800-292-7800.

Information may be left anonymously.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are seeking information on an elk poaching in southwest Otsego County. On Nov. 16, a large bull elk carcass was found west of Lewiston, between Shupac Lake Road and Big Creek Road.

“Anyone who has information that may assist us in finding the person or persons responsible for this poaching is asked to contact the DNR,” said Lt. Jim Gorno. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is offering a Report All Poaching (RAP) reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual who shot a gray wolf in Houghton County Saturday.

The shooting took place along M-26, one half-mile south of Twin Lakes.

DNR conservation officers said the shooter’s vehicle would have been parked along the west shoulder of M-26, heading southwest. The shooting took place sometime between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. EST.

“The subject shot from the vehicle and struck the wolf as it was standing on the snowmobile trail (Trail No. 3) to the west of the highway,” said Sgt. Grant Emery of the DNR’s Baraga Field Office. Read more

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