Column
Big Horn Sheep Killing: A Betrayal of Trust
The story of a 204-point ram, an undercover agent and what it all says about Montana's Fish Wildlife and Parks department.By Allen M. Jones, 8-31-09
James Reed, Blake Trangmoe and John Lewton with the record sheep.
I like to hunt, and I like to fish, and I like to do them in good conscience. This means, first and foremost, that I do my best to obey the rule of law, toe the line in the interests of, among other things, preserving the resource. As a hunter and fisherman, I want people to think well of me. I bristle at stereotypes, I wince at photos of 300 pound rednecks on ATVs proudly holding up forkhorns they shot under a jacklight. Aware of the public relations disaster that is too often the image of hunters viz the city folk, I dig it when the bad guys get their comeuppance.
I should be pleased, then, to see a few more ne’er-do-wells taken off the playing field in Montana.
Charges were recently filed in state district court against James Reed (Rexberg, Idaho), Blake Trangmoe (Glendive) and John Lewton (Whitehall). Lewton received the majority of the charges, including felony unlawful sale of a game animal, felony unlawful possession of a game animal, two misdemeanor counts of hunting without landowner permission, and a misdemeanor count of outfitting without a license.
Indeed, I should be pleased to see these guys caught. But…
Lewton and his buddies were arrested in an undercover sting operation during which an agent for Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks shot and killed a bighorn sheep that scored over 204 points, Boone and Crockett. A new state record. According to recently released court documents, the undercover agent approached Lewton saying he had a bighorn sheep tag for Hunting District 680 (Montana’s Missouri River Breaks). Lewton scouted from an airplane on the agent’s behalf, used walkie-talkies during the hunt (both potentially illegal activities for which he wasn’t charged), and then, with the agent in tow, crossed private ground without permission prior to showing the agent the animal. The accused watched while the agent shot the sheep.
According to court documents, the investigation began in 2005, and was seeded in the fact that Lewton was “with a number of bighorn sheep tag holders in Montana during the last 10 to 15 years when they were hunting for bighorn sheep.” His continued proximity presumably helped arouse suspicion that he was outfitting without a license. The agent, identified in court documents only as J. G., first approached Lewton on July 29, 2008. Lewton specifically told J. G. he could not charge for helping him as Lewton was not an outfitter. He went on to say that he would be scouting and flying the area for another hunter, and could do the same for J. G. for $1,000. By my reading of the court documents, these are the only monies Lewton received prior to the shooting of the sheep.
Again according to court documents, during the hunt the men passed through a small piece of private property conspicuously marked no trespassing. Lewton asked the agent if he minded trespassing and the agent responded that he did not.
The first day of the hunt, agent J. G., shot at the ram and purposefully missed. The next day, September 19, with radio guidance by Lewton and his two companions, J. G. shot at the ram and purposefully missed again. They pursued the ram further. The ram was then “chased with two others into a steep-sided coulee.” According to documents, “It was clear that J. G. must shoot the ram, which was now in close proximity to the hunters, or reveal his true identity.”
After the hunt (in October), Lewton bought the ram from the agent for $5,000.
The prosecution, by my read, hinges on two elements. The first and apparently least in question, that Lewton (and the investigating officer) crossed private ground to reach the animal. The second, that Lewton accepted $1,000 for scouting and flying the territory. It’s questionable, to my mind, if this last constitutes “outfitting,” but he apparently did accept payment. The crossing of private ground prior to taking an animal, however, is illegal, which in turn would seem to make the taking of the animal itself illegal, leading to the other charges (unlawful possession, etc.) Given that the agent J. G. agreed to cross the private ground, he participated in the crime.
The court documents do not address the tag itself, mentioning only that the undercover agent approached Lewton saying he had a tag for district 680. Given that the chances of legitimately drawing a tag are miniscule (typically under 2 percent), it seems likely that the agent was either given a tag outside the traditional channels (depriving a Montana hunter of his own tag) or was using a fraudulent tag.
I don’t know Lewton and his cohorts, nor am I privy to all the circumstances behind the sting. (Jim Kropp, Chief of Law Enforcement for the FWP, when approached for comment, didn’t feel, and quite appropriately so, that it would be in good conscience to discuss the matter pre-trial.) It may be that Lewton has a history of wrongdoing such that the FWP wanted to prosecute him by any means possible – the equivalent of sending Al Capone up on tax evasion. But even if there are extenuating circumstances, as a sportsman in Montana, I find myself offended. As a hunter and conservationist, and according to the information I have available, I must say that the greatest wrongdoing here wasn’t committed by the folks who are being charged.
Every year, a Montana “governor’s sheep permit” is sold at auction during a banquet held by the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep. The permit holder is given statewide access to Montana’s bighorns. The funds generated by these auctions are earmarked for species conservation and management. This tag, given the quality of Montana’s trophy sheep hunting, regularly goes for more than $200,000. These are monies that benefit the animals, not to mention the thousands of Montana hunters who annually apply by lottery for their own sheep tag, rolling the dice for a chance at one of these huge rams. The governor’s permit for this coming fall sold for $245,000. If this year’s permit holder kills a ram that exceeds 190 points he will no doubt consider himself lucky indeed. And a 200 point ram? Among avid sheephunters, this is the equivalent of a four minute mile, it’s like winning a big election, it’s like playing the slots in Vegas and seeing the machine come up sevens. The sirens go off, the balloons come down.
To remove the emotional element (I won’t talk about the hordes of local hunters who would have given a pinky toe for even a chance at this animal), and just by crass calculation, this sting operation cost the state of Montana, and by extension our population of bighorn sheep, tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. Given the money that goes into these auctioned permits, the sheep in any given area are typically scouted well before hand. The largest rams are usually known by nickname. Photos of the rams often circulate at FNAWS (Foundation for Northern American Wild Sheep), helping drive up the price of the governor’s tag at auction. If it was known that a new state record was in a given area, the tag would certainly be worth an additional . . . what, twenty-five thousand dollars? Fifty thousand? Perhaps more.
Not to diminish the crimes of Lewton and his buddies (if guilty, they should certainly be prosecuted), but by intentionally removing a significant amount of money from the state’s conservation coffers, I would argue that Montana’s FWP has stepped outside its own charter, has contradicted its own raison d’etre. They are an agency who “provides for the stewardship of the fish, wildlife, parks, and recreational resources of Montana.” By taking the largest ram from a population that has added millions of dollars to regional conservation based only on its reputation for large rams, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to assume they have damaged the state’s ability to manage its population of bighorn sheep. It’s hard to see how this falls under the aegis of “stewardship.” Any crimes committed or potentially committed by the guy from Whitehall would have to be serious indeed to warrant this kind of draconian enforcement.
Furthermore, I’ve always been vaguely uncomfortable with certain aspects of Montana’s undercover sting operations. On one side, there are those stings wherein game wardens place a dummy (often animatronic) game animal next to a road and then watch to see who pulls over and shoots it. It’s the equivalent of a speed trap, and nicely sifts the bad minnows from our pond. But too often the agents participate in the crime itself, as they did in this case. Soliciting potential criminals, creating a scenario such that the suspect is actively encouraged to commit a crime (allowing peer influence and cajoling to come into play, which surely rigs the board a bit), and then the undercover agent himself pulls the trigger, playing out the scenario to a believable (if, to my mind, immoral) end. I would use the word entrapment, but I’m not sure the courts would agree. Instead, I’ll just make the point that the issue is one of moral authority, and the lack of it. This might sound like a small point, but I consider it significant indeed. You have caught a criminal, but at what cost?
Consider: Implicit within this sheep scenario is the notion that the field agent is, himself, beyond the law. If I work for the Fish, Wildlife & Parks, I can apparently commit any fish and game crime I want so long as I’m doing it in order to position someone else for prosecution. I’ll commit a greater crime (taking an illegal ram) and then charge you for a lesser crime. No one should be above the law. No one should be beyond a certain kind of accountability.
But the most troublesome aspect of this scenario isn’t the financial loss, nor is it necessarily the specific wrongdoing committed by agent J. G., it’s the fact that a law enforcement agency ostensibly acting on my behalf has, to my mind, betrayed my trust. Members of law enforcement (whether FBI, state patrolmen, city cops, sheriffs, or game wardens), insofar as they are representatives of the people, insofar as they are acting not in their own interests but in ours (they are our agents), have an obligation toward a higher standard of behavior. Indeed, it’s a sacred duty. I need to know that the people who are acting with the authority of my republic are worthy of that authority. When a field agent illegally and without repercussion kills a noble animal of demonstrable value to the state, what does this say about him? What does it say about his agency?
Consider this opinion piece a call for an investigation. Either Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks needs to do some serious soul searching and rearranging of its law enforcement methods or the state Attorney General needs to do it for them. As a sportsman, as a Montana landowner and tax payer, as the public for whom these people work, I need to have my faith in Montana’s FWP restored.
Allen M. Jones is the author of, among other books, A Quiet Place of Violence: Hunting and Ethics in the Missouri River Breaks.
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This was a very well written Article.
I do know all three of these men and have hunted with them in the past and I know they are conscientious law-abiding sportsmen. I am not aware of any previous game violations. To correct you on a couple of points in your article, it is NOT illegal in Montana to spot game from an airplane as long as the game is not pursued the same day as airborne. Their flying was done pre-season, which was prior to Sept. 15th. The ram was taken on the 19th. Stating that this is illegal is misleading and slanderous to their reputation. As for the use of radios, this is not illegal either as long as they are not used for the pursuit of the game. As for the $1000. paid to Lewton, none went to him. It was for the pilot and the $1000 did not cover the pilot's bill. This is NOT constitute guiding as Lewton and Trangmoe and Reed all had considerably more expenses out of pocket at a loss to them.
A guided hunt costs at least $15,000 with no guarantee of success. These men hunt truly for the love of hunting. As for the officer having to shoot the ram, that is pure crap. Both officers were armed and Lewton-Reed-Trangmoe only had video cameras. These men are honorable and non-threatening. To imply otherwise is slanderous. These men have integrity and have hunted with the very most elite and wealthy hunters and would not have been invited if they were law breaking criminals. When a hunter spends $300,000 for a hunt, he does not surround himself with a criminal element that would jeopardize his hunt.
-The road into this hunting area is posted "public road across private land" and the hunt itself took place on public land
-The flying was done before the season and a week before the ram was shot and the ram was then located by foot days after the flying.
- This ram didn't have to be shot. After the three misses the party had lost the rams, one of the undercover agents then spotted the rams THEMSELVES and chose to shoot the big ram out of a band of three rams including two smaller rams.
-the undercover officer had a tag issued extra for this operation
so an extra ram died out of Montana's population and was the tag legit?
Sounds pretty shaky to me and if no money was charged for the hunt how is it "illegal outfitting"?
all the Sinner's Saints
heads is tails, call me Lucifer
I'm in need of some restraint..."
- Sympathy for the Devil
Jagger/Richard
I don't know when their flying was done. You're right to point out that if it was done pre-season it wouldn't be illegal. I have made an appropriate change to the article.
Thanks!
Lewton is guilty for plenty so let's not start splitting hairs here. He's gulty so charge him.
That capitalists and constables have extended their efforts to contain their inherently immoral activities within societal bounds
to the constest should surprise nobody.
Well-written article, Allen, and it sure raises a lot of questions about the FWP and their questionable tactics. As far as that goes, they certainly do not help their image with their Ben Tre logic: "We have to destroy the village in order to save it."
You call them crooks
Do you know them? I think you have know idea what you are talking about , and you are to blind to see what is going on here they are covering there ass! they had 4 years to come up with we will shot a ram and charge them with possession of the ram! the flying and the radios are ways to confuse small minded people like you who believe every thing you reed.they would have charged them if there were something to charge them on they are trying to cover there ass with this statement .I know Lewton has the best reputation for helping sheep hunters and will have lots of respected people to back him up in this . this whole case comes down to jealousies . and this is the Fish and games side wait until you hear the truth.
Jeff
Become a Kman
You must be a anti hunter! Calling them Losers why would you of all people call them that ? Is it because the are Helping people out to get there Ram That is legal! at expense to them! I am not seeing the crime hear at least on these men's part I think they have a legal action against the state for deformation of Cartier.
This is gonna be interesting to see how it all comes out in the wash.
Remember so far as I've seen they've not been charged with any previous offenses for accepting money or anything else and this only accepted money for a service the officer ordered and that service was also not illegal. Some people just seriously like the hunt and helping others and helping the species in the process. Ask the MT biologists how much money Lewton has pumped into the sheep program by volunteering on these hunts and in turn providing big rams for the FWP to advertise for their auction tags.
Some people are not driven by greed. It says one of the men charged was from Idaho and obviously drove clear to the breaks for the hunt and nothing is said about him or the man from Glendive asking for or accepting any money. Does this sound like the actions of someone trying to do this for money? Not to me unless there is more we don't know. It just seems strange that four years investigation and a year since the hunt in question and all they seem to have are very borderline charges created by a crime committed by the officer at the moment because they had nothing else to charge them for.
Last fall I went sheep hunting in the breaks, I had a ewe tag. I shot my ewe, while hunting that day i saw a big ram and when I got home I told a friend with a ram tag where I saw it. He could not go the next day, however the following day he went to the same place and shot it. 2 months later we had coffee and talked about it...he bought the coffee. Am I guilty of guideing without a lic? This thing sucked from the get go.
If FW&P;can't do a better job than what they did with this little horseshit sting what the hell good are they? I have spent a lifetime supporting them through lic purchase and obeying the law.
Screwed up a time or 2 in 50 years and paid my dues. This is chickenshit and everybody involved needs to find another job. Our recovered game herds deserve it and so do those of us who have paid the bills these past 60 years. DO A BETTER JOB FW&P;!
The governor's Tag holder was in the immediate vicinity when this ram was killed. He was, in fact, actually making a move on that band when the agent shot the ram. He ended up "settling" for a `95 ram, but he was in position and knew the 204 ram was there. His party witnessed the kill.
John Lewton was asked by the agent to shoot the ram after all three of the misses. Lewton refused every time, saying there would be another chance and that he had to shoot it himself.
Lewton isn't a poacher - he's a sheep fanatic and his interest in these hunts is as a videographer.
The sheep tag for the agent came out of the 20 allocated ram tags for District 680. Some poor Montana hunter gave up their chance for a hunt of a lifetime so this entrapment could occur.
The motivation for this travesty was complaints from the area 680 guides and leasing landowners about Lewton taking hunters "for free".
FWP is now acting as an enforcer for the game pimps.
I'm not a hunter but from your reporting, that sounds right on. So Lewton might not be guilty of scouting with a plane because it wasn't done on the same day as the hunt, or might have been pre-season, and he's not guilty of possessing the game animal (or selling it, I guess) because he wouldn't have had it if the agent hadn't shot it, he didn't hunt without landowner permission (sounds like it would be hard to make that stick)--so that leaves guiding without a permit?
Would he have done any of the above (if he did) without prodding from the agent who made the 'sting'? If that's not entrapment, what is?
How about prosecuting the agent and the team behind him for an outrageous waste of taxpayer monies and killing a prize bighorn sheep? Can you imagine what would have happened if Lewton had pulled the trigger? How is it any less criminal for the agent to have done so? Knowing what the agent knew at the time of the shooting, and, as another commenter has pointed out, having a high-powered rifle to defend himself if necessary, how on earth could he have actually shot that animal (that it was his responsibility to protect)?
Grab the popcorn.
As Mr. Allen stated in the beginning of his article he bristles at the thought of 300lb ATV hunters etc... If these guys hunted on foot and extened that much effort why would they have done it illegaly. FW&P;should focus their officers on back country roads and at non-motorized gates during the hunting season to financially demolish illegal ATV hunters, poachers, and road hunters ...there is a great source of wildlife conservation funding.
As for outfitting without a license I know of no law that says you cannot charge for scouting, especially if you incur cost to help. Does this mean that if you take your buddy hunting in your truck and he pays for gas and food you are outfitting and breaking the law? When does it become outfitting when hunting with someone else?
You cannot break the law to catch a criminal. I know that this makes it harder on law enforcement but if the people “upholding” the law don’t follow the rules why should anyone else.
First, the ram was a part of the gene pool, a gene pool as good as any that exists. Second, it is Montana's people who own and control it, not government for government's sake. Third, entrapment will not pass the smell test in a court of peers if the defendants have fair to middling legal representation. At that time, all has been lost. The thing becomes a farce. Some BBC comedy. Mr. Bumbles meets Mr. Overnice.
I once drew a sheep tag. I had a friend go with me to scout. He hasn't quit since then. He became obsessed with sheep and hunting them. In his end of the world, he is the person who knows where they are, who lives there, and the scores of most of the mature rams. The guiding deal is limited by the BLM. So one guide service on public lands for two dozen sheep tags all in use in two one week periods. Government is not the friend. Government is not even user friendly. So if one were to draw a tag for that area, don't you expect the local ADD sheep fanatic would get some calls. Those guys are just wanting, hoping, that someone calls so they can go on another sheep hunt. For free. Just for the solution to their sheep jones.
I have added this because I know it exists. It might just be the reason for the whole process of government and their own ADD problems, their compulsive need to make an illegal guiding bust.
We might be looking at the place where extremes meet in wild sheep hunting, and both parties are wrong. Which provides for interesting law, law enforcement, and legislation.
The art of sheep hunting for trophy rams is the ability to judge their score on the hoof. It's more art than science and no one was better at judging sheep than John Lewton. That is why so many Governor's tag holders wanted him to film their hunts and judge the rams they were looking at.
The outfitters in District 680 are famous for calling 175 rams as 200 inchers. They are renouned for producing "ground shrinkage" disappointed hunters.
But what happens when you drink bad water and practice inbreeding for 100 years. I'm referring to the outfitters, not the sheep, of course!
Watch for political cover up on this one. Montana sportsmen should be outraged. Why did all of this just come out in the news media? It should have been publicized months ago.When BLM allowed aircraft to land inside of the Breaks we should have expected a lot of this shady stuff to happen. What about elk and deer hunting with aircraft there now? Where were the BLM cops in the meantime? Were they out on the public funded shooting range near Lewistown shooting weapons we paid for to??
All of this happens on our public lands......isn't that great? Fines must be doubled!! No hunting for a lifetime for all these culprits including the warden who should be fired!!Prosecute them all and the warden first. Is the warden still on the public tab? Why is he being paid while the investigation goes on? Will the warden plead temporary insanity??
These are not nice people, they are poachers and criminals. I am sure that they wouldn’t think twice about pulling the Ol’ 3 S’s on someone they suspected to be a law enforcement officer.
I read a similar story about a federal officer in Alaska in the same situation; she said there was no other option in her opinion at the time than to take down the animal or be killed herself.
Here is a link to here book.
http://www.amazon.com/Hunt-Justice-Story-Undercover-Wildlife/dp/1592288820
I’m sure the library has a free copy available.
I hate to see a trophy ram go, but I feel better knowing that criminals were caught, and serious charges are filed that will hopefully stop future people from thinking about
illegal hunting in the state of Montana.
Nothing is perfect, and if the means to the end include a bit of smoke and mirrors than so be it. I can live with that. Not everything gets a storybook ending.
I only wished that penalties were stronger and poachers would lose hunting rights nationwide. Too many times these types simply go set up shop in another state.
Thank you FWP wardens, and congratulations for another bust.
I personally appreciate your hard work.
The only poacher I see in this story is the FWP warden who illegally killed what could have been my Record Book Ram. Oh, and for the part about the safety of the undercover agents. The undercover agents were the ones packing firearms. The innocent until proven guilty party were packing video cameras. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you make stupid comments in your unperfect world.
Take it from this Chouteau County resident...these guys will walk.
So, if Montana Parks and Wildlife can piss away a million bucks to prosecute a guiding misdemeanor, small time felony, whatever, they have lots of money.
In my state, Oregon, we have a big hatchery coho run in the ocean now coming into rivers. But we are not even close to recovering wild coho, and until that happens, commercial fishing is stopped, and sports fishing has to release, "unharmed", all wild, or non fin clipped coho. So with this pile of fish in the ocean, they open the ocean to a three fish limit. After 50 years of two fish limits. With all chinook and wild coho to be released "unharmed." How netting a fish, hauling it on deck, looking through the mesh while the fish loses scales by the thousands, struggling for air, to be determined "wild" and the hook removed and the fish tossed back into the ocean, is considered "unharmed" is news to me.
Further more, by increasing the limit by 50%, you also increase the chances of hooking a "wild" fish to be released. And that released fish has a very good chance of being caught again, and again, until the season closes or the fish dies. Hook and release mortality has been estimated at 30%. Hook the same fish three times and it is dead. And, you increase your chances of catching a chinook because you still have your worm in the water. The "salmon tag" is good for 10 salmon or steelhead. You can buy a "hatchery salmon steelhead tag", and put only hatchery fish on it. Before, it would take 5 days to fill a tag. Now it takes 3 before you need another tag to be able to catch the two fish plus the one left on the old tag you are allowed in a day. The issue is that with good fishermen and reasonable effort, the state sells 40% more tags. It IS A REVENUE DEAL----NOT CONSERVATION.
The stories are legion from this summer on the ocean, about people who caught 40 fish to find 12 keepers. and did it several times. That is not conservation, folks, that is revenue generation. Dead salmon are the most valuable salmon, especially if they are dead in a spawning stream. It is their dead body that provides the nutrients to get the next generation to the ocean. People don't shit in the creek. Eagles and bears and coyotes and raccoons do. And the salmon returns to the creek in scat. Or makes that tree grow up slope somewhere. But the state wants revenue, not conservation. They will be there selling the last tag to shoot whatever, catch whatever, if only to fund their pensions, their salaries, their being. We now have government, for government, by government, and the rest of your jobs are just tolerated because they produce income to wrest from you to fund their follies. Shooting the 205 ram because "he had to" is the biggest bullshit story ever. He shot a 205 ram, a feat many would love but will never have a chance to do. Hero game cop. The only one with a gun on the claim. The whole deal stinks, does not pass the smell test, and further undermines the authority of government. It proves their ineptness. Pshaw!!! as the old librarian used to say.
What form of ritual abuse were you subjected to to make you so subservient to FWP officials? Were you tied up as a child by someone in a game warden uniform and tickled to unconsciousness?
Sounds like you have a real fetish for ass kissing fish cops.
Great read, Allen.
So the undercover agent's name is Justin Gibson?? It would be nice if his picture got posted here or on the Bowsite- Montana Forum - Rumor has it - blog.
The undercover agent will probably get a promotion and a retirement pention at the end of his career just like that dope in Ennis that shot and killed the grizzly because he mistook it for a black bear. IT WAS IN A BEAR TRAP FOR GOD'S SAKE!!! Lots more stories of this moron. Stupidity runs rampant in some government jobs I guess. Killing that ram the way they did is like tearing up a winning lottery ticket when you are eating out of a dumpster. There would have been huge benefits if ANYONE would have taken it legally, not just the Governor's tag holder. Disgusting shame.
Did he go thru the drawing or was a tag pullrd for him. If a tag was pulled, then FWP is engaging in fraud and the Attorney General needs to bring that rogue agency to heel.
Was he instructed to kill a giant ram in this operation to hang in the FWP headquarters?
This whole debacle really stinks.
Call the Attorney General and demand an investigation of FWP's actions.
You see, those leasing landowners and outfitters think they own the Bighorns in District 680. If they had their way, everyone who drew the precious 690 tag would be required to use their services. They also think they own the elk in that public land loaded area.
So based on rumor, innuendo, jealousy, and a desire to commercialize the rams in 680, the good ol' boy game warden goes to Headquarters asks that a tag be pulled for FWP undercover warden Justin Gibson to try to gather evidence of John Lewton's supposed illegal outfitting operation.
Because the tags drawn in that district are public record and available to copy by hand at FWP headquarters - a little favor that FWP does to grease the business of the local outfitters - the investigation had to issue only 19 tags to the sheep hunters who put in for a once in a lifetime chance to draw such a tag.
If this is how it came down, it was a clear case of fraud against the drawing process at FWP. If FWP issued an extra tag, they violated their quota limits. Either way, they screwed the hunters who pay their salaries.
All of the "crimes" were the total responsibility of decoy hunter Gibson. The trespassing, the killing of the potential State record sheep, and the sale of that sheep were all initiated by warden Gibson. Hell, he even tried to get Lewton to shoot the ram for him after he missed three times, which was illegal to even ask.
Lewton has done more to promote sheep hunting for the State of Montana than anyone else. And he did it for free just because he loves sheep hunting. His videos have resulted in Montana's Governor's tag fetching the highest bids in the nation.
Ironically, the sting operation shot the record ram right out from under the Governor's tag holder, who was in the immediate area.
How much more would Montana have been able to get at future auctions if the Governor's tag holder had taken a 204 ram instead of the great 195 ram he ended up settling for?
Instead of having a reputation for offering high paying Governor's tag bidders a chance at record rams, Montana now offers them a chance to be in on another CHICKENSHIT sting operation so that the local inbred outiftters and game wardens can make sure they are getting their "pound of flesh" out of the dudes.
The Montana Attorney General needs to initiate a complete investigation into this abortion of an operation and the relationship between FWP and the outfitting industry in Montana.
This is hardly the first time that federal agents have killed big game animals in order to "save" them. See the book "A Hunt for Justice: The True Story of a Woman Undercover Wildlife Agent" by Lucinda Delany Schroeder. While somewhat self-aggrandizing, this is an interesting read about a sting in Alaska in 1992.
Yours--M. Egan
Maybe Jack and I are the only ones who actually have a knowledge of criminal justice. I'll admit I never obtained my degree in the subject but I know enough to know that whoever the dipsh!!! was who posted the agent's name (if it is his true name) has probably insured that legal staff will now subpoena this entire site's blog and each and everyone's real e-mail address will be checked out. Way to go.
Follow the money guys...follow the money. Where is the money coming from in this whole scenario? It's not going to the accused; there are dozens of hunters who will testify that every hunt Lewton accompanied did NOT pay him a dime (read the other blogs around this story, if you missed the 15 times this it's been pointed out in this thread). Every charge on the list comes down to 2 things: Outfitting without a license, and the highly questionable and easily defeatable "Trespassing" claim.
1. Outfitting without a license (Misdemeanor). The $1,000 that was paid for the pilot is the only money that has been documented changing hands...and Lewton can easily show that money was not paid to him. Charge gone.
2. Hunting without landowner permission (misdemeanor): looks like this is going to come down to heresay...maps of the area clearly show (and as posted above and on other blog discussions on the issue) that the access to the PUBLIC land they were hunting is a public road through private land. Lewton has as much right to use that access as anyone else. The only "evidence" that they crossed private property will be the FWP's testimony that Lewton "asked him if he minded Trespassing". Any 2nd year law student would have a field day using the agent's questionable judgement to discredit his reliability. I can't see this charge sticking either.
If those 2 charges are gone, this was not an illegally taken trophy and the 2 felony charges against Lewton are irrelevant.
This whole scenario is a no-win situation, and looks like the result of a political fiasco caused by the envious outfitters in the area who's undies get in a twist by a guy doing this for "Free" and taking money out of their pocket. If you don't think these outfitters and Landowners have some influence on the decisions of the FWP, you're dreaming. I think Monty's the only one involved in this discussion who's got the scenario right.
Your infatuation with law enforcement has resulted in you being blind as to who really committed the criminal acts in this case. FWP, using the authority of the State, attempted to "set up" three sheep fanatics because they DON'T charge to help hunters find trophy rams.
FWP has got a full blown P.R. disaster started here. You can't buy this kind of bad press.
FWP shown that it is operating for the benefit of the outfitting industry, at least some of them, in Montana. A full investigation of the FWP by the Attorney General is warranted in this case.
It looks like we might see if this is in fact true.
I don't think the law will agree.
It is real hard to be an outfitter in any sheep area of Montana as demand is so low and perhaps their are only 2-3 hunters a year at hire a outfitter in the breaks. Then the ram swins the river and goes into an area you are not permitted in. There are 6-7 legally licensed outfitters in this area.
Who's airplane was used here?Who was the pilot? Did they use the BLM airstrips in 680 where BLM closed most of the roads and side roads to the hunter? BLM created a situation down there that was inviting to illegal operations with planes and spotting game.All of this evidence should be interesting at the trial.When and where is the trial?
The only thing you will find interesting is the underhandedness of the FWP. Nobody is in trouble for flying so you can stop worrying about that. What needs to be done is make all sheep outfitting illegal in that area. Problem solved.
The other crime was committed by the FWP officer to implicate the accused and make the felony charge.
First year students are taught two simple phrases that are being neglected here...“actus reus” and a “mens rea"...
If there was not a bad action taken (actus reus) and no "intent act" to commit a crime then there is no case here...if no case, then no provable act...remember the burden of proof is on the "State" to prove...
My understanding of the facts is pretty limited...something that does not separate me from anyother person on this thread of opinions...
Lastly, I am a crazy who enjoys taking others out, and have helped others get elk before, and I have taken NO money for doing so...In fact this year, I am taking several people out, and I wont (probably) even bring my bow along...I just love getting out and getting away...I have been told by FWP that if they even buy me a dinner, then I am taking money for guiding...that is insanity, but it is what they say, and I will not even let FRIENDS buy me dinner while out, as I do NOT want to be labeled a criminal for having dinner with friends...seems a little but arbitrary and capricious at best...
not sure if your comments are towards me or not...
"By Jack, 9-03-09
It's difficult for me to understand how some readers are trying to support the poachers and all the illegal tactics used to locate the ram.We should be supporting the laws be followed. I wonder how many other Montana trophies were shipped out of Montana in the past and violated the Lacy Act a federal law.Entrapment doesn't seem to enter this case at all. The poachers were caught and one is a taxidermist. When will the trial start and all evidence presented in a court trial?"
Perhaps you would like to detail the illegal acts for us?
Perhaps you would like to detail how the Lacy Act even comes into play here...
Here are the only facts I know of...
Flying to locate game- A person (undercover agent) paid for a guy to fly over land looking for a sheep...this is not illegal...Had they hunted within 24 hours of doing the flyover, then it would have been illegal...but the facts are not in dispute, it was NOT within 24 hours...
Tresspass- Did they illegally cross private land? There is a lot of doubt and confusion on teh forums as to whether they actually crossed private land illegally...in fact one of the threads says the road they used was crossing private land but was a public access road...
Illegal possession of game animal- Supposedly the felony they are going after is "for possessing and illegally taken animal" Here is where the Lacey act might apply, however, there is that nasty little fact the person shooting the animal had a "legally obtained" tag, or portrayed that their tag was illegally obtained...
If there is found to be a pattern of illegal activity with "guiding" these former governors winners then it is going to give the whole fat cat bidding process a bad name. Thus, how far the G&F;wanted to pry was probably tempered by this knowledge...even though showing past patterns of abuse could definitely help G&F;in this case.
Thus, whomever the defending lawyer is will probably get his best leverage from pushing disclosure of ALL G&F;interviews of these hunters. Imminities could have been given for info...but the question is how much does the system want to show by obtaining info that needs to allow for immunity? If the defense is willing to push the political angle they might find out any past hesitancies by G&F;to do their job in this case. Plea bargins and dropped charges then have more posibility.
On the other hand, the state, I'm sure, had a lot of pressure from the outfitter association to go after "scab outfitters". Where I patrolled out of, the SE corner of Yellowstone, there was so much of this pressure the Wyoming governor apppointed and hired two deputies, badges, guns and all, to keep on top of all the complaints of this "illegal" activity by the states outfitters.
What these three MT. private "hunters" were doing to "assist" trophy ram hunters would have been on par with demands for charges by licensed outfitters in Wyoming.
But even with all these outfitter complaints, what info tips and assistance outfitters give the governors hired guns is mostly limited to basic illegal economic "payments" to unlicensed "outfitters".
What J. Achenson Jr. gave as his explaination of outfitter license requirements is what is always given on the surface. Below the water is what all of them know is a lot more .... what most all outfitters do to make it financially...and a lot of this stuff is illegal or at best unethical. For outfitters to give the state all of what they know happened behind the scenes on this case then means all of they themselves have to be scrutinized.
Do you think the G&F;asked the "respected sheep world" and "proud family", A. Jr., as Monty says he is, what all this meant to have three guys assisting this hunter get his ram? Are they going to be told that as soon as that plane spotted the big ram the hunt started...that assumed ram ownership by this group meant there was someone immediately keeping tabs on this ram and keeping others away? That there was a lot of two way traffic from the beginning? That this ram was probably herded to the hunter without him even knowing it...that probably illegal Brown-Brown (mineral salt and molasses) had been placed by these individuals in places so THEY could keep track of this sheep, but also make it harder for others to spot this ram ....long before this plane flew?
You see there is an inside world out there with outfitters and it is club inclusive. Thus, even though a sheep outfitter like Jr. knows every move by everyone of these guys he won't say it. To do so in too many cases gives away the way sheep outfitters operate.
And by Jr. noting that even with all the work the outfitter put into getting that ram into position for the shot 'he still swims the river to protected ground" means only one thing...the outfitter will do about everything but pull the trigger, if possible. I guarentee if the ram is big enough, the ram that swam the river doesn't just get a free pass. The boys are over on the other side trying to herd him back.
What else do "honest outfitters" do but won't describe on these pages? In my country most guides were not paid employees. The outfitter tried to figure ever way possible to classify them as independent contractors . This means there is no insurance and compensation to pay out. Tell a local he can hunt for himself out of their camp if he guides the camps hunters for two weeks....or give compensation in the form of horses, tack etc.
In print it may be so sad song to say what all licensed outfitters have to go through, but on the ground the word of the day in outfitter camps is CHEAP!!
Don't think most every outfitter out there knows how a guy from Rexburg got compensated...but for them to tell G&F;means they themselves gets looked into.
Do you think any sheep outfitter is going to tip off the G&F;about whether the scab obtained a spike camp permit? No, because they themselves don't...or if they do they get one in another locality than the area intended to be hunted. Why? Because spike camps are real close to where the outfitter hunts for that big sheep. To give the true location gives away to other outfitters, or worse yet private sheep hunters, to where the sheep are.
And when it is said there are only 2-3 guided sheep hunts per year in Montana tells me there are a lot of hunts out there in Montana designed to not pay the FS or BLM that 3 per cent. In my area alone just one outfitter had 2-4 sheep hunts booked per fall...year after year.
And finally what about our taxidermist? He also knows all the games by all the "legit" outfitters...the ones out there supposedly wanting to nail him. But taxidermists, especialy on the high end of things, are very dependent on referrals to these fat cats. Rock the boat too much and the heads stop coming in. So you see it is a lot like the Mafia, your son may get murdered but you are not going to tell the law dogs who did it.
I perdict there will be a lot of questions left unanswered in this case. The status quo will be put back to order and all will be well with little real damage to anyone.....unless there is a wild card thrown in. Who knows...there might be someone out there spill the beans on the whole game...then everybody gets really bruised.
To start one, how many of you outfitters and guides put down on your applications you have a past game violation on your records? What if you are going to some foreign country...like lets say Mongolia? Are you going to say you got caught poaching? Or just continue paying the bribes?
The problem for a lt of us, is the heavy handed approach taken by FWP...I have a tremendous amount of friends that are FWP...it is something I have chatted with them about...
For some of them, there is a switch that turns on, that they believe all hunters are guilty, and it is their job to find out what the hunter is guilty of...
It is sad...I have very little vacation time because of work, and truly enjoy the woods, and my time in them...I love taking other people, and helping teach them about elk hunting, and what to and not to do...
However, I am appalled to be treated as a criminal for doing so...I got to extreme lengths to ensure that I do NOTHING wrong...Yet there are certain FWP that get over zealous assuming that the majority or even a large minority are criminals wanting to get one over on the law...
To me, that is the core issue here...There is a mindset that people (and I know NOTHING about this Leyton guy) are always trying to get away with something, or that most or a lot of hunters dont help with good motives...I cant speak for Leyton or others, all i can speak to is myself...
I pay for all my horses & hay
I pay for my gas to and from the hunting area
I pay for all food while in camp
I am the one not at work (where I get paid)
...and yet if a buddy buys me a coke while we are headed back into camp from taking an animal in to the processor, I am guilty of guiding?
doesnt that seem ridiculous? It does to me, and I have had several friends tell me I am an idiot for refusing to let them buy me a coke...Several times I have had to hide money in their bag just so I knew I did not take ANY money from them...
I get there are bad apples out there...it is part of life, but the majority of us are not them apples...my plea is to not assume I am before you know...
which is the same plea most are reacting to on here about Leyton...the evidence leaked or shared has some serious gaps in it, and we can only address that which we have visibility to...
I agree a LOT of game wardens and rangers (in my case Yellowstone) would do well in Hitlers SS Troops world. The reason a lot of them are like this is they do not have a feel for what is happening out there...in otherwords are not savvy to the world of hunting. Thus they intimidate because they are scared.
The outfitters in my Thorofare area used this common knowledge of law enforcement personnel ineptness to their advantage a lot of times. If a group of private elk hunters came into Thorofare the outfitter would get word to the front country of scab outfitters in their midst. Then within a couple days one could count on first the Game and Fish, then the Forest Service, then the Park Service, then the FWS agent and finally the governors anti scab bounty hunters ...all coming into the privates camp over a period of 3-4 days and interrogating this group.
It worked, the private guys just wanted some time in the back country with their stock and buddies but they would tell me they were never coming back because of all the harassment by law enforcement. Most hunters didn't even know what the intent of the interrogation was (to figure out illegal outfitters the law dogs would split hunters up, get addresses and try to find discrepencies in their stories of their hunt).
Since the law dogs couldn't get the group on scabbing (which they weren't) they then zeroed in on any violation possible...food not hung high enough, fire not completely out etc.
I never supported howdy doddy for the whinning of outfitters and I'd try to help out the private hunters deal with the law boys and the outfitters (outfit camps would drag carcasses in behind private camp sites and run private stock off at night). But in the end the privates wouldn't come back. Why should they?
If one knows what is going on you don't have to act this way. I caught a lot of poachers in my day but still went by my first head of law enforcements boss who said, " use the least amount of law enforcement needed to change a behavioral pattern". With seasoned poachers the hammer had to come down sometimes. Other times if the guys were young or ignorant and I thought there was a chance they would change I gave lower levels of citations or just cited one instead of the rest of them.
This is what I did 30 years ago, Monty, for one of your sheep hunting Atcheson family and a friend who poached an elk in the NW corner of the Park during the late hunt. They were well in the Park and were waiting till dark to snowmobile the elk out. They couldn't take the cold, however, and thus a faint whiff of smoke gave them away. The snow was soft and I skied down behind them without making a sound. Could have thrown the book but a simple poaching sufficed ...for then. I always wondered how it affected them. Should I have cited for more? Can anyone ....or Jack tell me?
Unfortunately whatever scenario shakes out will not bring the 44 Magnum Ram back to life. FWP has created a public relations nightmare and I’m not sure they have any idea of the monster this has become! This case has gone way beyond the borders of Montana. Once the 44 Magnum Ram email made the rounds, almost a year ago, most of the hunters in North America had either seen or heard about it if they knew a sheep hunter. The bighorn sheep hunting community is a rather small well connected group of which many know of John Lewton, have hunted with him or have seen one of his sheep hunting videos. I guarantee that every Fish & Game Dept that has a bighorn sheep resource is watching this closely and making sure they have the checks and balances in place that would never allow this to happen. I have to believe Eastman’s Journal, Huntin Fool, FNAWS (Wild Sheep Foundation), etc. are all waiting to hear something from FWP so they can report what occurred to their readers/ members. Telling the public almost a year later that they are waiting until the trial is over is the wrong answer.
Here’s some more info…
· The ram was tight taped at 204 and change B&C;green, which is within 7/8” of the current MT state record taken by Jim Weatherly in 1993
· Assuming a dry score of 204 0/8 would rank the ram as # 6 in the Boone & Crockett book taken All Time anywhere, including Canada and the United States. (This is based on the 2005 Boone & Crockett Record Book since the next book to be released will be after 2010)
· The World Record is 208 3/8 B&C;taken by Guinn Crousen from Luscar Mountain, Alberta, Canada in 2000. The 44 Magnum Ram, as a 7 ½ to 8 1/2 year old, was within 4 1/2” of the World Record, or ~ 2 2/8” per horn or ~ ½” per circumference measurement! That doesn’t even take horn length into consideration!
· In 1998 and 1999 Sherwin Scott spent $1.1 million for the auction tags to hunt bighorn in Alberta, Canada. He hunted 17 days in 1998 and chose not to shoot a ram and in 1999 he took a ram that scored “in the neighborhood of 205”, which is called the “Million Dollar” Ram on the internet…
· Last year 3 rams over 200” (including the 44 Magnum Ram) came out of the Missouri River Breaks areas HD 482 and HD 680
· In the 2008 MT draw statistics there were 2289 applications (1824 resident/ 465 non-res) for the 15 ram tags in HD482 (south side of the river) and 5019 applications (2512 resident/ 2507 non-res) for the 20 ram tags in HD680 (north side of the river). These rams are known to cross the river so both areas are relevant to show hunter demand. That’s a total of 7308 applications for the 35 tags in these 2 units!
Here’s what I think FWP has to do for damage control:
· Admit they were wrong, that the agent made a horrible judgment error in the field, and show that the system has been changed so this can never happen again. No one likes to see anyone lose their job so maybe re-assignment for those involved to departments that have nothing to do with big game hunting may be appropriate. Did they really have a kid in his late 20’s in the field as an undercover agent without explicit orders that you do not shoot a ram under any circumstance?
· Let the public know how much was spent on this entire case as well as who authorized the sheep tag to be issued. Was this tag one of the 20 tags to be issued in the public draw or was it a mysterious 21st tag?
· If the sheep tag was one of the 20 tags allocated for the public draw, the next person on the alternate list for HD680 for the 2008 hunt should be given a tag for that unit assuming that MT biologists say the herd can support the possible taking of one more ram from that area next year.
My opinion is that when the dust settles the felony charges will be dropped since they would have never occurred had the FWP undercover agent not shot the ram. Also, a legally taken ram with plugged horns may be sold to whomever the hunter wishes to sell it to. The FWP undercover agent told Lewton he was going to sell it on Ebay, which is a felony by FWP’s own definition of illegal possession and sale of a game animal if in fact the horns were not plugged. Did you also know that the restitution for illegally killing a bighorn sheep is $30,000 as stated in the Montana FWP Hunting Regulations? The alleged misdemeanors of outfitting w/o a license and hunting w/o landowner permission are the only possible charges that FWP can pursue. Neither of which justifies the killing of any ram.
There is no question that had pictures of this ram been circulated prior to the auction that the tag would have sold for more than $300K. But I feel worse for the average hunter that applied for this tag ($130 resident/ $755 non-resident) and had the same opportunity of taking a world-class ram as someone that could afford $300K and FWP took that away from them! I also applied for this tag and am extremely disappointed.
I spoke to a sheep hunting friend of mine last night and he suggested that I should wait to put anything on this blog because more info may come out at trial. I said that’s the whole problem here! When it all comes down and the trial is over, if John Lewton is convicted of ANYTHING there is no way this could justify the killing of such a magnificent animal!
What do you say? What is the family story told all these years? Please tell me it was an experience that allowed for improvement of family character. I am hoping so because I'd like to believe some folks do not adjust thinking...but alas, I'd say over 90% of the poachers I ever caught and convicted changed the story for friends and family. Then they got real bitter towards me as the one who did them injustice.
Wildlife, hunting and game violations has so many emotions and identity of person attached...as witnessed on this whole thread. I guess I am just showing still another side of it. I never fit the law buddy bonding thing and and I never went "native". Thus, my views probably don't mesh with most others on "either side". Such as it is.
I think you should send that to every newspaper in Montana and have it put in the Opinion Section so that sportsman/sportswomen can see the TRUE side of what happened in this case before it goes to trial.
I can tell from your note, that you are welcome at my campfire anytime!!!
Dont know who Jack is that you are referring to, assume there is an inside thing I dont know...which I am fine with not knowing...
I will post pics in bowsite or huntingnet.com from my upcoming hunt...leaving tomorrow morning...
Mtdream (who gets to live the Montana Dream)
You inputs into this thread are some of the finest citizen reporting I've seen in 15 years of blogging. I believe that it's this kind of input that is making the dead tree media obsolete. Kevin, your recommendations on damage control are spot on. Bob, thanks for your insight into the seamy underside of "legal" outfitting, or as I call it, Game Pimping.
I remember being in the Bozeman FWP headquarters years ago when an Atcheson brought in a Bighorn ram that he had picked up, I think it was from the Pintlers. It was a very high book ram - over <a >200 for sure</a>. He brought it in to give to the FWP - I assume this must have been back when possession of a pickup skull was legal because there was lots of glad handing with the FWP boys - and I was later told that his name was in the Boone and Crockett next to it as "picked up by".
I'm not implying that the ram was poached by him, but after reading Bob's narrative, I now can't help but wonder.
Some guys will do anything to get their name in the book.
If that's the case and you are not the "other Jack" contributing to this thread then I guess it's a case of mistaken identity and jumping to conclusions without all the facts just like many have done in this case in condemning the three accused. Everyone makes mistakes and I feel the FWP seriously thought they were going to bust an illegal guiding operation that went back years but after the "sting" found that it was all baseless. That is evident in them stating they had a "four year investigation" yet the only charges filed were from the events of this one "hunt" and even then the only crime MAYBE perpetrated by the accused is the questionable tresspassing. The rest of the charges stem from the shooting of the ram to implicate the accused. I find the biggest travesty, aside from killing the ram, is the way this was all played out through the press and the way they smeared these guys for only marginal charges and with no apparent criminal intent by the accused.
I was trying to be vague on purpose out of respect.
I had no idea who the Atchenson's were when I caught one and friend in Daly Creek with the elk. The game wardens patrolling this hunt then looked at the citation I brought back to the road and said the person on the citation was the son of the sheep outfitter from Butte or was it Anaconda?. Same name they said.... I took the ...(or was it your brother if you have one?)....picture with the elk (think it was a five point) for my case incident report. I still have a copy of it...as well as my case incidents for my poaching cases. The Park also keeps this info on file. It also is recorded in the stations backcountry log book. Do you want me to dig it out of the attic? By the tenor of your response it leads me to believe you want me to show my cards. Do you think I am bluffing with this info?.... Call me on it and then if I have it I post it for you to see....
But the intent of me not looking is not for any of these options.
I do wonder, however, why you can remember every facet of the guy who brought the sheep head in but don't know if you remember if it was you in the Park. Two possibilities, Trying to set, what you allude to for the public as, a trap? Or do you want to see what info I have...kinda like Bill Clinton did with waiting to see if the dress really was stained...before you then can claim injustice?
I guess I am getting older and you must be to. I know there actually are certain advantages to being over 60.
Both young guys that day were crying and cold. That is the picture from my camera I have, though I don't know if the tears can be seen. Both admitted to shooting this animal in the Park and one said it was a wait till dark to go back and get the snowmobile. It was because of this immediate confession I didn't throw the book.
The game wardens said I should have, seeings who it was. They, I remember, were pretty impressed I caught a "professional". My way of thinking at the time said these guys were at an age that was impressionable. Hammer them and it could just make them bitter.
It was worth the chance to actually see if behavior could be changed. I had to temper this with knowing the outfitting infrastructure they supposedly came from meant there was also a chance they were seasoned beyond their years.
At that time of my career I thought tears very much showed remorse. Come to know, all but one of my poachers cried..and the one who didn't was an outfitter I caught twice...once for poaching an elk and then a few years later, for poaching a Mt. Lion. He was a clinical pathological liar, I'd say.
The crying in most cases, I finally figured out was the result of all their energy being exhausted in a very stressful "interview" with me. Most all had an alibi but when it got down to the nitti gritty and the hours wore on in the interigation.... and proof of reasoning didn't match ..... it would fall apart for them.
There was no alibi in the particular late hunt Gallatin case we are talking of. That is why I didn't start confiscating guns etc.
I can't remember for sure but I think I wrote that illegal hunting citation with the lead end of my 44 cartridge. It was so cold my govt. pen wouldn't work.
My question to myself in the earlier post was did my "leniency" have good effect? It needed a response for both. My "seasoning" through the years made for knowing in retrospect I sometimes was too lenient...but then again I'd rather be "taken, than get cynical in life.
You might wonder, why don't I go upstairs and then see the name ... then show in bold letters for all out there in this post? And if it wasn't then I can still save face by writing in a way to sidetrack....or not respond at all.
I don't know for sure but I think it has to do with life being too short for leading on a person too far so it exposes them too much. as long as they ...and I know...so life is objective for those involved. We need it, I believe, for the future of all to be better attained. Too many illusionary beliefs...and either those idolizing can't live up to false standards or the one doing the illusion starts beliving it themselves.
I did so much of the "play it dumb at first" to get so many confessions later. My supervisor once told a class I was like a dumb fox when it came to questioning those in the outfitting business. it worked only because those guys were arrogant and thought of rangers as "ninety day wonders". I say, bring up the past so all of us objectively remembers their history, but then leave it to them (us) to deal with to be a better person.
If you are not outfitting anymore then it is no different in impact to wildlife than all the other outfitters I patrolled on and then left the field.
That day in the Gallatin in the Park I saw as private individuals. The game wardens saw it as outfitters. It would have been a boost to my career public relations wise to hype this incident as the game wardens protrayed this to be. (In fact even though I was known for my poacher catching there were a lot of cases I cited for "loaded firearm" when it could have been just as easily a locked in case as poaching). I always looked at intent as number one. For someone to be "fat, dumb and happy as some were didn't warrant another notch on my 44.
Jack, I appreciate you responding. Know you can either come out and firmly with all conviction, say it was not you or anyone from your family, say it was you or someone in your family...or not say anything at all. Any of those possibilities is ok with me. I don't know, in this case maybe the kids shouldn't know.
I am a little concerned with your response, however, as stated before. It is logical and predictable, I guess. I just ask that you don't respond by saying, "It depends on what the definition of "is"
is?" ...if it was you.
I never have been to the Butte FWP office - didn't even know that an office was in Butte. I surely didn't see you at the Butte office.
It was you that brought that Bighorn Ram pick up head into the Bozeman FWP office on 19th St. that afternoon to get plugged.
I remember it because it was the biggest sheep head I had ever seen at that time.
I stand by my story. I have no reason to lie about this matter.
Bob,
First, my father was never a sheep outfitter, I was a sheep outfitter and I have no children.
Second, it was not me that you took a photo of in the Gallatin and I have never had any fish and game violation anywhere!
Chuck,
The pick up ram you mention was found in 1992. It has hung in the Bozeman F & G office since. Why would I be plugging a ram that belongs to the State of Montana? I did outfit hunters for sheep in region 2,3 and 5 and all the hunters that took rams would have their rams plugged. Some of the rams were dandy's and you may have seen one of those rams.
I beleive in fair chase hunting, I beleive in ethical hunting, I beleive in following the game laws.
A point to be made here is doesn't it suck when YOU'RE the one being accused of stuff?
I does suck, I am going hunting and get away from this machine.
In the mean time some thoughts for perusal. It appears to me Jack is either a man of few words or rather the things he chooses to address are incomplete in a deflective sort of way. What does Jacks lack of kids have to do with the question I had of him or his BROTHER...if he has one.
Dad not an outfitter of sheep? Guess Jack just took it up on his own. A more persuasive response would have been that his dad does not hunt sheep. (The game wardens I talk of also told me they were trying to catch "these" Anaconda (Butte) guys (as identified on my citation) for sheep stuff. That is why they were so high fiving and wanted me to do more in my case on Daly). Are they the same guys? Maybe we will find out.
I know a number of elk outfitters who are opportunistic guides of sheep hunters. They just don't call themselves outfitters of sheep. Thus they get away from paying that commission to the feds. I suppose I could look all this up on the internet (outfitters names and family association etc.), but sometimes it is better to approach with a open mind. Did Jacks dad hunt sheep? Or is Jack, just mighty proud of the sheep he acquired for his hunters, independent of what he wants to show his dad....if he was also an outfitter?
Third, the declaration he and the biologist finding the sheep skull together means both names ought to be on that plaque. Why wasn't it?
More,...but when I get back I will go into what a hypothetical case, as the information now given presents itself, would illicit from me if I was in the "field". And I wish Jack hadn't been, what appears to be, so deflective. But then again, maybe, just maybe, he is a bit segmented in his mind...as well as a Lois La'mour man of few words.
several of my friends in the Region 3 offices are probably friends or acquaintances...Fred King, Harry Whitney etc.
good people, always enjoy my time with them!!!
look forward to someday sharing a cup of coffee with you, who knows, maybe someday while in camp...
37-47-101. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Accompany" means to go with or be together with a participant as an escort, companion, or other service provider, with an actual physical presence in the area where the activity is being conducted and within sight or sound of the participant at some time during the furnishing of service.
(2) "Base of operations" means the primary physical location where an outfitter receives mail and telephone calls, conducts regular daily business, and bases livestock, equipment, and staff during the hunting season.
(3) "Board" means the board of outfitters provided for in 2-15-1773.
(4) "Camp" means each individual facility or group of facilities that an outfitter uses to lodge a client for a client's trip or uses to lodge a client in the operating area designated in the outfitter's operations plan, including a motel, campground, bed and breakfast, lodge, tent camp, cabin, camper, trailer, or house.
(5) "Consideration" means something of value given or done in exchange for something of value given or done by another.
(6) "Department" means the department of labor and industry provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 17.
(7) "Guide" means a person who is employed by or who has contracted independently with a licensed outfitter and who accompanies a participant during outdoor recreational activities that are directly related to activities for which the outfitter is licensed.
(8) "License year" means the period indicated on the face of the license for which the license is valid.
(9) "Net client hunter use" or "NCHU" means the most actual clients served by an outfitter in any NCHU license category in any license year, as documented by verifiable client logs or other documents maintained by the board pursuant to 37-47-201.
(10) "Nonresident" means a person other than a resident.
(11) "Outfitter" means any person, except a person providing services on real property that the person owns for the primary pursuit of bona fide agricultural interests, who for consideration provides any saddle or pack animal; facilities; camping equipment; vehicle, watercraft, or other conveyance; or personal service for any person to hunt, trap, capture, take, kill, or pursue any game, including fish, and who accompanies that person, either part or all of the way, on an expedition for any of these purposes or supervises a licensed guide or professional guide in accompanying that person.
(12) "Participant" means a person using the services offered by a licensed outfitter.
(13) "Professional guide" means a guide who meets experience, training, and testing qualifications for designation as a professional guide, as set by board rule.
(14) "Resident" means a person who qualifies for a resident Montana hunting or fishing license under 87-2-102.
History: Ap. p. Sec. 1, Ch. 221, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 37, Ch. 511, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 9, L. 1977; Sec. 26-908, R.C.M. 1947; Ap. p. Sec. 69, Ch. 173, L. 1917; re-en. Sec. 3748, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 3748, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 173, L. 1949; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 184, L. 1951; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 223, L. 1955; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 541, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 16, Ch. 9, L. 1977; Sec. 26-904, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 26-904(1), 26-908; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 170, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 545, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 410, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 528, L. 1987; Sec. , MCA 1985; redes. by Sec. 11, Ch. 528, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 565, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 38, Ch. 16, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 328, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 543, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 142, Ch. 483, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 97, Ch. 467, L. 2005.
87-3-116. Outfitting without license -- penalties -- disposition of fines. (1) A person commits the offense of outfitting without a license if the person purposely or knowingly engages in outfitting while not licensed pursuant to Title 37, chapter 47, or purposely or knowingly violates a licensing rule adopted under Title 37, chapter 47. A violation of this subsection is punishable by a fine of not less than $200 or more than $1,000, imprisonment in the county jail for up to 1 year, or both.
(2) A person or entity that represents to any other person, any entity, or the public that the person or entity is an outfitter and who commits the offense of outfitting without a license, as provided in subsection (1), for any portion of 5 or more days for consideration within 1 calendar year for any person or for consideration valued in excess of $5,000 is punishable by a fine of not more than $50,000, imprisonment in the state prison for up to 5 years, or both.
(3) (a) In addition to the penalties set out in subsection (1), a person who is convicted of violating subsection (1) loses all hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits and shall forfeit all hunting, fishing, and trapping license privileges in this state for a period set by the court.
(b) In addition to the penalties provided in subsection (2), a person who is convicted of violating subsection (2) loses all hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits and shall forfeit all hunting, fishing, and trapping license privileges in this state for a minimum of 5 years.
(c) The department shall notify the person of any loss of privileges as imposed by the court, and the person shall surrender all licenses and permits, as ordered by the court, within 10 days of notification.
(d) A sentencing court that imposes a period of license revocation pursuant to subsection (3)(a) or (3)(b) shall consider and may impose any of the following conditions during the period of revocation:
(i) prohibiting the offender from participating in any hunting, fishing, or trapping endeavor as a hunter, angler, trapper, scout, guide, observer, or assistant;
(ii) prohibiting the offender from brokering or participating in any lease of property for hunting, fishing, or trapping, either personally or through an agent or representative;
(iii) prohibiting the offender from participating in any seminar or show that is designed to promote hunting, fishing, or trapping;
(iv) prohibiting the offender from purchasing or possessing any hunting, fishing, or trapping permits; and
(v) any other reasonable condition or restriction that is related to the crime committed or that is considered necessary for the rehabilitation of the offender or for the protection of the citizens or wildlife of this state.
(4) A person convicted of outfitting without a license shall reimburse the full amount of any fees received to the person to whom illegal outfitting services were provided.
(5) As used in this section, "consideration" is defined as remuneration given in exchange for outfitting services supplied predicated on a business relationship between parties. This does not include reimbursement for shared trip expenses.
(6) (a) As used in this section, "outfitting" means providing hunting or fishing services for consideration, including any saddle or pack animal, facilities, camping equipment, personal service, or vehicle, watercraft, or other conveyance for any person to hunt, fish, trap, capture, take, kill, or pursue any game, including fish. The term includes accompanying that person, either part or all of the way, on an expedition for any of these purposes or supervision of a licensed guide or professional guide in accompanying that person.
(b) The term does not include the provision of the services listed in subsection (6)(a) by a person on real property that the person owns for the primary pursuit of bona fide agricultural interests.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 445, L. 2007.
Montana also has a Statute MCA 37-47-101 on outfitting laws found in my research.Bighorn sheep are a real treasure and privilege species to hunt and a limited resource.We can ill afford to have trophies taken illegally if that is the case here.The second sheep taken in the same area by some of the same players should be closely scutinized by MDFWP. The more I read about this the more I become interested for a feature article in a national hunting magazine.I will continue to follow this case closely and perhaps talk with federal personnel responsible for federal laws in the same area.
The second ram photo you speak of was from a sheep taken this year and the second live photo is taken through a spotting scope. The ram was found on foot by glassing and not even ATVs were used. Hunter orange makes for horrible photos and the hunt was filmed including the kill shot with the hunter wearing his hunter orange. Don't jump to conclusions unless you know the facts.
Laird,
I find it VERY hard to believe your a journalist for a national hunting magazine...if so, please inform us of the magazine (s)
Surely you would like to promote the magazine, and the articles...shoot us some links...
Laird you of all people, if you are indeed a outdoor writer, ought to understand Lewton's position in this. Your passion must be hunting and you write about it. Do you ever write about other hunter's hunts? John Lewton's passion is filming hunts. Not guiding, outfitting or anything illegal. If any of you want proof check out his sheep videos Bighorn Rams I,II,III, Great Rams of Asia, or Double Slam. They are the finest hunting videos let alone sheep hunting videos I've ever seen. Call Outdoor Visions, they are a national hunting video distributor and ask them what their best selling sheep tape of all time is? Great Rams of Asia by John Lewton. Cabelas sells them also or at least used too. I've personally had to buy more than one set of these as I get them and loan them out and seem to never get them back! They show Lewton's respect for sheep and his videoing ability is second to none. I challenge any of you calling these men poachers and criminals to watch Bighorn Rams II or Great Rams of Asia and see if you don't change your veiw of Lewton. He has filmed hunts all over the world but how ironic when he films hunts in his home state of Montana he's a criminal for doing so.
The sheep this year the hunter and Lewton walked in 10 miles glassing as they went, spotted the ram, shot the ram and packed it out all in one day in 97 degree heat. Maybe that's why the hunter's not smiling!
If your a journalist, your accusatory, and slanted journalistic view clearly would make me question whether you are a "National Hunting Magazine" writer...
Based upon your clear slant, and obvious mistakes in the path to "research" shows some significant selective logic and application of research, which would make me think, that if you are a journalist, your probably a political journalist...more than likely a Blogger for some great news media outlet like MSNBC...
As a side note to others, a very good friend of mine was hunting in the same area with Lewton and White (the guys hunting this year) and they had NOTHING but nice things to say about Lewton and the time they spent with them...I am sure this whole topic came up, as My friend is NOT someone to shy from joking about or addressing the issue...Rumor has it this new Ram is a MONSTER as well...I have pics cant post them here though...
I want to inform the hunting public of the correct measurements on this so called 205 ram taken by Mr. White with John Lewton's assistance. These are the measurement off the Harvest Form in Montana.
Right 43 1/8 16 2/8 15 7/8 14 4/8 11 4/8
Left 43 1/8 16 1/8 15 6/8 14 5/8 10 7/8
less deductions 200 6/8 official green score.
I question why the hunters and helpers have embellished the score on this ram?
In reference to the 10 miles, if they came in from the river as was suggested, it might be 3 miles at most as the crow flies. Verified by looking at the map and the area they said was the kill site. They must have been walking in circles to rack 10 miles.
I'm sure SOME Fwp employees know how to score and score acurately, many do not. So snuggle with Nancy but it's a great ram all the same. And Nancy, you sound like you've been snuggling with some outfitters or something?
Are you carrying a rifle or bow when you pursue these wily ewes, or are you wearing hip boots and velcro gloves!
"Honest warden, I was just trying to push her thru the barb wire fence!"
The fact that FWP allows ewes to be harvested from that premier trophy district rather than used for an ongoing state and region wide transplant program is a part of FWP's management program I strongly disagree with.
If you're an outdoor writer, I'm the Pope.
Go back to your desk at PETA, troll!
If I had to make a life or death decision to choose between a Bighorn measurement taken by John Luten or camp cook Nancy's favorite warden, I'll trust Luten every time.
Nobody said meat hunting is inferior. Anybody that hunts and hunts legally should be on the same page and stick together. We have enough problems with anti-hunters without fighting amongst ourselves. And I think that's the whole disappointing thing here. The outfitters are pointing fingers at Lewton, people are pointing at the outfitters and everyone is pointing at the FWP. The whole mess just didn't need to happen. And that ram would be proudly in the record books along with these other great Montana Rams and on display in a very happy hunters home instead of being the center of controversy and just evidence.
Had sheep steak this evening:
Roll your steaks in spiced floor (any game will work) in fact no one here will ever eat 3 y.o. sheep I'm sure. Anyway, after you have flipped them pour a broth of equal parts single malt, butter, cream and a pinch of tyme you have heated on the side, onto the steaks be careful your pan isn't too hot. We had ours with chard, spiced potatoes, and stewed tomatoes. We are into our second bottle of Malbec and the hot tube is about right...see ya.
How about replanting a herd back into the Elkhorns, where some goat farmer released feral goats and diseased the last successful herd.
How about the Crazies? Little Snowies?
Until we get the right to put out medicated licks, there will be sheep die offs and there will be a need for replantation. That herdwould be better utilized for transplant stock due to the relative ease of capture in that district.
And yes, Monty, mature bighorn rams take off at the first hint of danger, but unlike elk or mulies, they almost never stop to see what the danger was. They behave more like whitetail bucks out of the rut.
I just reread your comment about "taking" the ewes.
I assume you are using that word in the biblical sense.
Bye!
I think you better go take your meds, you're getting a little wound up. Lots of people jump at the opportunity to go on any limited draw hunt as they have either only gotten to go once as it's once in a lifetime tag or they've never drawn a tag themselves. Lots of people accompany hunters on hunts for sheep, goats, moose, and even bison, etc. because they want to enjoy the hunt and a species they might never get to hunt themselves or once if they're extremely lucky. Are you seriously going to tell me anyone on here hasn't accompanied someone on a hunt or even fishing when you yourself didn't hold a tag for that species just so you could go and enjoy it or help out? I know I have and I can't think of any hunters who haven't. This is the same thing these men are accused of only they were unfortunate the hunter who asked them to go help was a FWP agent. Could have been any of us.
The breaks might only be 3 miles wide in spots but how long? I'd say 100 miles or close to it and there are canyons that meander off the river for miles. And that's all beside the point. Can't anybody just be happy for and give credit to a nice ram?! And on another note, how many on this thread watch hunting shows or videos? Now how many of those are filming their own hunts? So are you telling me all those camera men are illegal outfitters and poachers? Holy Cow! We've uncovered a worldwide criminal ring of illegal outfitting! Oh that's rediculous you say? My point exactly.
My comments are this……Accurate scoring of trophy rams is in the hands of the person doing the measuring. Most hunters are familiar with Boone and Crockett scoring and this has been the standard way of measurement for many years. It would seem to me that we have a pretty wide spread of difference between Mr. John Lewton’s score of 205 and the measurements off the Montana Game Department Harvest Form of 200 6/8. I suggest that this alleged 205 ram has been given this number so the claim can be made that it was a new state record ram. Mr. White and Mr. Lewton say it is 1/8 more than the Mr. Jim Weatherly ram that scored 204 7/8 Official B&C;, after the 60 day drying period. Is it possible the White ram will not shrink, even 1/8 of an inch? I’m willing to make a friendly wager that at the end of the day the B&C;judging panel will score this ram at less than 200 B&C;official points. Any takers?
The ram taken by the FWP officer in 2008 (the 44 Magnum Ram) of which there is so much controversy over and Mr. Lewton was a part of, was also alleged to be some kind of record ram. Eventually we will all learn this was also an inaccurate claim. The largest ram taken in Montana in 2008 was by Ms. Toni Sannon, scoring 204 2/8. And, the runner up ram was taken by Ms. Deb Perry, scoring 202 7/8. Both scores are after the 60 day drying period and are official and were taken in the Missouri Breaks.
I would suggest we will see another inaccurate claim by Mr. Lewton and parties of another record ram yet this year as he is likely helping another hunter. The hunter’s last name is "Trangmoe" (any relation to Blake Trangmoe?) in Unit 680 in the Missouri Breaks. Perhaps his ram will be inaccurately claimed to be a 205 1/8.
My point is, there are those out there that make inaccurate claims and placement of record status on these great trophy rams and until they have been officially measured they need not be embellished. Record claims should be deserved and awarded to the actual record rams. I also believe that all bighorn rams taken legally and by Fair Chase Standards are trophy rams in the eyes of the beholder.
Stay tuned for my disappointment of using aircraft for spotting big game.
You'll have to come up with a better recipe than that.
Keep on cookin'!
In this case, the outfitters of the 680 area conspired with local wardens to eliminate what they perceived was their "competition", even though that individual was not taking any money for his services.
FWP has been reduced to muscle for the game pimps.
You were not present when Mr. White's Ram was green measured. I know you were not. You need to be quiet. You are making statements as facts, you do not know the facts. You tell us to wait for the official score, it is you that should stop talking and wait.
Let's face it girl - the big outfitters in 680 once again got shown up by an "amateur non-professional", and the best is yet to come.
Despite leasing half of Choteau county and a motorized entourage of Royal safari proportions, the "FAT CAT" bwana big money tag holder settled for a ram in the 188 range. Seems he had bigger fish to fry in another state.
Imagine that -350 K+ spent for a second rate trophy.
If you are referring to the Governor Tag holder, (Jim Liautaud, aka Jimmy Johns, know as JJ the Sandwich Man) assisted by Jon Barker of Idaho, yes he did spend $245,000 for his permit. With his scouting, flying, outfitting, flying, guiding, flying, more flying and land lease expenses it certainly could have reached 350K+. I only know of one land lease (Mr. Bill Brown) that he had. There could be other land leases. If you have factual information of the leases maybe they should be brought public. As for the score on his ram, I heard according to the land owner, that his ram was in the 197 range. I certainly question the accuracy of this report from this land owner. As for being the Fat Cat, I agree on the Fat part.
With the tag held by Mr. Trangmoe, assisted by John Lewton, it could be the next 205 1/8. But there are two additional non-residents that are yet to hunt, as well as the lady hunter that is hunting now. She could get as nice a ram as last year's lady hunters officially measuring over 200. And, further, the Super Tag hunter and other residents are yet to fill their tags. If you have more facts to provide, I would be interested in hearing them.
Stay tuned for my disappointment of using aircraft (flying) for spotting big game.
I know more, but this thread is about the abortion of a sting operation thar FWP tried on behalf of the outfitters operating in Chouteau county.
What really ticks off the outfitters is that John Lewton, because he refuses to reduce himself to "outfitting", has the freedom to go to any district, State, or Country that he needs to to become a true sheep expert.
He doesn't just know the Breaks. He knows the Pintlers, Plains, Cadimin, Hell's Canyon, Rock Creek, the Cassiers, and Central Asia - anywhere that big rams hide, Lewton has been..
These outfitters can't even master the easy ground of Chouteau county. They know Lewton is out of their league, so they "conspired" to frame him.
You do know that when that decoy warden missed that ram three times that he begged Lewton to shoot it for him, but Lewton refused and tried to calm him down and encouraged him to try again.
Every outfitter I've ever met would have taken the shot for him.
Outfitters are the scourge of hunting in the west. They are the new "market hunters".
The assistant State Attorney general requested the order.
You can assume anything you like, including the position.
http://www.mt.blm.gov/nepalogs/um/doc33.pdf
You need to go take your meds again, your still confusing things. The Alberta violations your speaking of are from a ram found in a park that was found with it's head and cape removed. It was unearthed by a grizzly bear. The authorities are checking it's DNA against rams killed in Alberta recently. They have a primary suspect they're focusing on and it has nothing to do with this case or any of the three accused in this case. Once again if you are the "writer" you claim to be, which we all highly doubt, you would do a little investigating and figure this stuff out on your own by checking facts instead of spreading rumors and looking like a fool.
your latest response is quite comical...
Pot (laird) meet Kettle (Nancy)
Your journalism skills if representative of your posting skills, are probably best suited for a Michael Moore Movie...(which is an offense to things called movies)
You have jumped to more conclusions and innuendo than most in here...perhaps you are part of a national writing thing, but it is probably used to jumping to conclusions, so lets start a poll...which magazine?
[ ] PMSNBC Journal?
[ ] Daily KOS?
[ ] Media Matters Daily?
[ ] Huffington Post?
again, hope your not a journalist...if so, I am VERY confident I will NEVER buy a magazine that you write for...Your giddy with excitement even prior to the trial, and excited to fly off to conclusionville...
.......Hi Nancy 'Thumbs up' on your great comments!......
Dont like people calling your bluff? Too used to dealing with mindless automatons who cant see through your BS?
You have insulted hunters...
You insulted Trophy Hunters...
You have demonstrated complete ignorance of Montana, and most states game laws re: spotting animals with aircraft...
You threw everyone in here who disagrees with you under the bus of illegal hunters guides etc.
You have jumped on the side of guilty without even a base level of understanding...
Those are NOT a recipe for a successful "national hunting magazine writer" who only writes from a "pro hunter" perspective...
A few important points:
1) The warden did not poach this sheep since he held a valid tag produced by FWP specifically for this investigation.
2) Tax payers in MT did not pay $0.01 towards this investigation since FWP's budget is entirely funded by license sales and other FWP generated revenue.
3) State and Federal law enforcement agents have been using this same technique for decades and it has held up in court nicely.
4) It is not an accident that this large ram and other even bigger rams are alive in Montana today. FWP has diligently protected these animals, allowing rams to grow this large. Bighorn sheep are particularly popular amongst poachers and illegal outfitters due to their trophy value and FWP's active investigation and prosecution of these criminals is important work to preserve Bighorn sheep for sportsmen as well as the for the species' sake.
5) The bear incident mentioned by some posters happened decades ago and the current FWP officers in the Ennis area were in no way involved. Our current game warden in Ennis is an absolutely top notch individual and law enforcement officer.
There was a great article in the Bozeman paper on this and it really states a lot more facts than you have in here. The FWP have been tyring to get this guy for years and there is great reason for this. We lost a great Ram in the sting, however....how many countless other animals have been saved? Also, it was never mentioned that the FWP officer missed intentionally 4 times to save the Ram but had to kill it to protect himself as they were getting suspicious. THANK YOU FWP for putting your well being on the line to save hunting for all of us!
Mt Dream,Monty and Chuck can we meet for coffee during the trial?.......................... Yes,it's ok if you buy!
I drink a lot of coffee, ok? You pick the place?
How were any more sheep saved when they are not even questioning if any of the sheep Lewton has been involved with were not taken with legal tags? They were all legitimate tag holders and all would probably have taken a sheep regardless. Yes the officer missed the ram three times ASKING LEWTON TO SHOOT IT FOR HIM EVERY TIME HE MISSED WHICH LEWTON REFUSED! The time he did hit it he didn't have to shoot it, he and the other agent along were the ones that found the rams after they had been lost because of the misses and chose to shoot the largest ram out of the band. The "Great article in the Bozeman paper" you speak of was just the FWP's side of the story to smear these guys and before the accused could respond the state placed a gag order on the case. Allen Jones wrote this story from a non biased opinion unlike the FWPs distorted version of the story. Also what was the agent protecting himself from by shooting the sheep? Having his picture taken? The three accused only had cameras and the agent had a gun and a backup agent with him. So I guess your thanking the FWP for taking a misdemeanor ticket for maybe trespassing and turning it into a felony by shooting one of the largest rams ever taken? There are no other charges from them "investigating this guy for years". None. And not one of the accused has any prior violations, so not even any history of wrongdoing. Just a history of helping guys on their hunts for no money. And as far as the illegal guiding, do you honestly believe anyone would put their freedom, hunting privaleges, carrers, etc for $1000? That's the amount paid by the agent to Lewton to give to the pilot. So if the agent gave Lewton $1000 to give to the pilot which it says he did, these guys must be making a hell of a living off of their illegal guiding profits huh? That ads up to $0 divided three ways. $0 for a hunt that goes for $15,000 plus. Get real.
I think the point Mysheeptag was making is that this sheep case is another "inexcusible action resulting in a loss for all citizens of Montana" but this time it was committed by the FWP.
Thanks for clearing that up for me!
Now fine fellows, give me another spanking!
Both sides of a case, do everything in their power to ensure ONLY the evidence they want is seen and submitted...Rarely is all evidence known, and heard...You know similar to placing a gag order on the case so the public doesnt learn more about this case, and how rotten it sounds...