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Four men Fined For WildliFe violationS PHOTO COURTESY OF COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE
olorado Parks and Wildlife recently unveiled details of a two-year investigation after the last of four individuals involved in the illegal take of a high-quality bull elk was sentenced in Garfield County Court. The bull was taken on private land not open to hunting in October 2014. After reaching a plea agreement Thad Bingham with his illegally taken elk. with the Garfield County District Attorney’s office in exchange for lesser penalties, 44-year-old Thad Bingham, of Fruita, who killed the elk, pleaded guilty to trespassing and illegal possession of wildlife. He paid more than $200 in court fines and was ordered to donate $5,000 to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Prior to his plea agreement, he faced more than $12,000 in fines for several charges. Bingham, along with Brian Scheer, 45, Barrett Rowles, 48, and Josh Fitzsimmons, 45, all from the Western Slope, participated in the illegal hunt after trespassing onto private land on the Roan Plateau, northwest of Rifle. Scheer was accused of trespassing by complicity. The four were initially charged with trespassing, illegal transportation of wildlife, failing to contact the landowner prior to entering private property to pursue wounded game and the illegal possession of a trophy-class 6x6 bull elk. In Colorado, illegally killing an elk with at least 6 points on one antler can yield up to an additional $10,000 in fines over the standard criminal penalties, known as the ‘Samson Law’ in Colorado. Bingham and Scheer are employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working at the Horsethief Canyon Native Fish Facility Ponds near Fruita. “Poachers come from all walks of life, but everyone is subject to the same rules and regulations,” says Area Wildlife Manager JT Romatzke, of Grand Junction. “Colorado Parks and Wildlife will prosecute anyone to the full extent in cases like this one.” All four men face up to a five-year suspension of their hunting and fishing privileges in Colorado and 43 other Wildlife Violator Compact states, pending a review by a CPW hearings officer. CPW learned of the violations after Bingham posted a photo of himself with the elk online. Wildlife officers learned of the photo a few weeks later, and upon further examination, they recognized landmarks in the background of the snapshot, confirming the bull was killed in an area well into private property and closed to hunting. CPW officers traveled to the site, where they recovered evidence of the crime, then executed a search warrant at Bingham’s home in Fruita and searched a federal fish hatchery in Grand Junction. During their search, they recovered additional evidence linking Bingham and his three accomplices to the illegal take of the bull, including the bull’s antlers, seized by CPW. “This was good work by all officers involved,” says Romatzke. “We cannot stress this enough: If you commit a wildlife crime, no matter who you are, we are going to do what we can to find you. Colorado game wardens know every rock, tree and canyon in the state and are constantly on the lookout for people that ignore our wildlife laws.” To anonymously report a wildlife violation, call Operation Game Thief at 877-2656648. Rewards are available for information that leads to a conviction.
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