Montana Wildlife Officials Searching For Serial Poachers
Montana game wardens are looking for a Seeley Lake, Montana, couple described by state wildlife officials as "serial poachers who are charged with 12 felony wildlife violations."
Dean and Renita Ruth live in a remote area of Montana's Blackfoot Valley east of Seeley Lake. They also face numerous misdemeanor charges in a case that could expand to involve charges against other people in Montana and elsewhere.
The charges against the Ruths involve more than 100 illegally killed "trophy-class" game animals--including moose, bears, mountain lions, elk, white-tailed deer and mule deer--over an 8- or 9-year period.
State game wardens went to the Ruths' home last Tuesday to arrest them, but the couple and their children were gone when the officers arrived, according to a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) official.
Dean and Renita Ruth each face five felony counts of possession of unlawfully taken wildlife. Each charge carries maximum penalties of fines up to $50,000, prison sentences of up to 5 years, loss of hunting privileges for 3 years to life, and thousands of dollars in restitution for the game animals.
They also each face a felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearms silencer, which carries penalties under Montana law of not less than 5 years, and up to 20 years in prison; and a fine of not less than $1,000, and up to $20,000. Possession of a silencer is also a felony violation of federal law.
The Ruths initially came under investigation by FWP more than a year ago on suspicion of helping nonresidents illegally obtain Montana resident hunting licenses.
In other Montana news, a state regulation prohibiting nontribal members from hunting on Indian reservations is constitutional because it's a rational method of preserving wildlife for hunting by American Indians, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled.
The restriction fulfills the state's obligation to recognize tribal hunting privileges established in law and treaties between the tribes and the federal government, the unanimous court ruled last Monday.
The decision rejected an appeal from Sandra White Shook, who was caught poaching a white-tailed buck on private property within the Flathead Reservation in November 1997. Shook isn't a tribal member and didn't own the land on which she was hunting.
She pleaded guilty and admitted she knew the area where she shot the animal was closed to nontribal hunters by the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. She then challenged the constitutionality of the restriction.
Montana game wardens are looking for a Seeley Lake, Montana, couple described by state wildlife officials as "serial poachers who are charged with 12 felony wildlife violations."
Dean and Renita Ruth live in a remote area of Montana's Blackfoot Valley east of Seeley Lake. They also face numerous misdemeanor charges in a case that could expand to involve charges against other people in Montana and elsewhere.
The charges against the Ruths involve more than 100 illegally killed "trophy-class" game animals--including moose, bears, mountain lions, elk, white-tailed deer and mule deer--over an 8- or 9-year period.
State game wardens went to the Ruths' home last Tuesday to arrest them, but the couple and their children were gone when the officers arrived, according to a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) official.
Dean and Renita Ruth each face five felony counts of possession of unlawfully taken wildlife. Each charge carries maximum penalties of fines up to $50,000, prison sentences of up to 5 years, loss of hunting privileges for 3 years to life, and thousands of dollars in restitution for the game animals.
They also each face a felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearms silencer, which carries penalties under Montana law of not less than 5 years, and up to 20 years in prison; and a fine of not less than $1,000, and up to $20,000. Possession of a silencer is also a felony violation of federal law.
The Ruths initially came under investigation by FWP more than a year ago on suspicion of helping nonresidents illegally obtain Montana resident hunting licenses.
In other Montana news, a state regulation prohibiting nontribal members from hunting on Indian reservations is constitutional because it's a rational method of preserving wildlife for hunting by American Indians, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled.
The restriction fulfills the state's obligation to recognize tribal hunting privileges established in law and treaties between the tribes and the federal government, the unanimous court ruled last Monday.
The decision rejected an appeal from Sandra White Shook, who was caught poaching a white-tailed buck on private property within the Flathead Reservation in November 1997. Shook isn't a tribal member and didn't own the land on which she was hunting.
She pleaded guilty and admitted she knew the area where she shot the animal was closed to nontribal hunters by the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. She then challenged the constitutionality of the restriction.
