Brett French | bfrench@billingsgazette.com
A fishing line extending out the window of an SUV into Packers Lake was just the beginning of an unusual encounter by a Wyoming Game and Fish warden in March 2024.
A man and woman were asleep in the back of the vehicle, according to the account, one of several published by the agency highlighting the unusual work of its wardens. When awoken by the warden, the man admitted to fishing without a license and claimed to have no identification.
After providing his name and date of birth, the individual said he needed to use a nearby bathroom, but that was just an excuse to flee on foot. The name and birthdate turned out to be false, and a van parked next to the SUV had been reported stolen the previous day.
“After several hours, the suspect was located and arrested in Lyman, Nebraska,” the annual report noted. “He was rushed to the emergency room after arresting officers learned that he had ingested over three grams of methamphetamine before he was caught.”
Busier than 2023
Altogether, the Wyoming game wardens documented 3,102 wildlife, fishing, watercraft and aquatic invasive species violations in 2024, up slightly from 2,906 in 2023, according to Wyoming Game and Fish.
“Due to the reduced numbers of hunters in the field and lower harvest success in much of the state, several wardens reported encountering fewer violations in their hunting season patrols,” the report noted.
The agency also remains short-staffed, with several districts still lacking a warden despite recent hires.
“Based on current trends, it may take several years before the Department is fully staffed within the law enforcement ranks,” WGFD wrote.
In 2024, Wyoming was also dealing with the aftereffects of wildfires that burned more than 460,000 acres in the Sheridan Region, as well as large fires in the Jackson and Lander areas.
“The fires closed a great deal of the available hunting access, and game wardens in these areas spent much of their time offering logistical support to firefighting crews,” the report said.
“In addition, many of Wyoming’s big game herds, particularly deer and antelope, continue to recover from the severe winter of 2022-23 and license issuance remained conservative, leading to fewer hunters in the field.”
Wyoming fish tales
When it comes to fishing, the Packers Lake incident may have been the most bizarre, but there were several other incidents that made the annual report.
In October, four anglers fishing below Boysen Reservoir were cited after two Riverton game wardens determined they had 23 rainbow trout in possession, all but one of which was over 16 inches. Regulations on that stretch of the Wind River limit anglers to only one fish over 16 inches and a limit of three trout.
Although that’s a lot of big fish, three California anglers were fined in November for having 18 brown trout more than 16 inches in length. The fish were pulled from the North Platte River near Saratoga, Wyoming, cleaned, vacuum-sealed and stored in a resident’s freezer. In all, 33 trout had been kept.
When confronted on the river, “The anglers claimed they did not have any fish other than what was on a stringer at the time, until confronted with the fact that the game warden had already seen their stored fish in the freezer.”
At Bailey Lake over the 2024 Labor Day weekend, two anglers were cited for fishing without a license after the warden found a group of four men sitting near the lake in chairs, about 75 yards from an abandoned fishing rod.
“They all claimed to have not been fishing, and that a different group had left a pole there,” the report noted. “One individual made some comments leading the wardens to believe this group had been doing this annually for years and they finally got caught.”
Age doesn’t provide wisdom
Among the many sad hunting violations the wardens reported was one that occurred in November near the Muddy Creek elk feedground in southwestern Wyoming. There, the warden found two elderly hunters had killed seven elk in 12 hours. Four of the elk were killed on private land without permission.
“One of the hunters had mistakenly shot three additional elk, including a spike and a five-point bull,” the report said. “The season was only open for antlerless elk at the time.”
When questioned, one of the men said he didn’t follow up on his shots to find elk that later died because he assumed they would instantly collapse if his bullet had struck them.
Highlighted as a more notable case, however, was an investigation that began in 2020 and led to the Wyoming suspect being fined $20,000 and ordered to forfeit several mounts, two rifles, a compound bow and cellphone. He also received a lifetime ban from hunting big game.
The individual faced 90 charges after it was learned he had shot trophy mule deer and pronghorn bucks, as well as a bull elk without proper licenses.
“Additional evidence revealed the suspect was applying for resident Wyoming licenses while also enjoying resident goose hunting and salmon fishing opportunities in Washington State,” the WGFD report said. “The suspect had also been applying for extra licenses using two different profiles related to his juvenile son. The suspect had invited friends to hunt with him without licenses of their own.”
In addition to these law enforcement activities, game wardens also “gather information on wildlife populations, investigate and mitigate damage caused by wildlife, respond to reports of sick or injured wildlife and educate the public about wildlife management issues.”
