TENNESSEE MAN SENTENCED FOR LEAD ROLE IN NOV.  2006 BIGHORN SHEEP CRIME

Dubois, Wyo. – A Tennessee man who played the lead role in a November 2006 poaching of a 3/4 curl bighorn sheep ram near Dubois, was sentenced Dec. 7 for the crime after an investigation that involved three states, multiple state and federal wildlife officers and a concerned outdoor writer.

Roger E. McKean, 27, of Knoxville, Tenn. pleaded guilty to the following charges involving the bighorn ram: knowingly taking a bighorn sheep without a license and during a closed season, waste and abandonment of a bighorn sheep and taking a bighorn sheep from a vehicle.  

Ninth Circuit Court Judge Robert Denhardt fined McKean $5,200, ordered him to pay $10,000 restitution for the ram and revoked his hunting privileges for 79 years. McKean was also sentenced to serve in the Fremont County Detention Center for a minimum of 60 days. After that time he can be released from jail when he pays his fines and restitution.

The investigation into the bighorn sheep crime revealed McKean also illegally killed a mule deer doe. He pleaded guilty to taking a deer without a license, hunting deer during a closed season and taking a deer with aid of artificial light. Judge Denhardt fined McKean $250 for those violations, ordered him to pay $500 restitution and revoked his hunting privileges for an additional 12 years.

He was also assessed a total of $180 in court costs for the bighorn sheep and deer convictions. Charges of taking a deer from a vehicle and shooting from a public road against McKean were dismissed.

“I feel that Judge Denhardt drew a clear distinction between sportsmen and a poacher in this case with the penalty.  McKean had no respect for either the wildlife or lawful hunters,” said Lander Wildlife Investigator Scott Browning, who along with Dubois Game Warden Cole Thompson, led the investigation. “He did absolutely nothing right or legal in regards to Wyoming wildlife in the short time he was in our state.”

The investigation started as a result of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department requesting information about four bighorns illegally killed in the Whiskey Mountain area in November 2006. A tip was received that Kelly J. Grove of Dubois may have been involved in illegally killing a ram, and on Dec. 9, 2006 Thompson and Browning began the investigation. Interviews conducted with Grove and forensic evidence revealed Grove was an accessory to McKean killing the sheep Nov. 25, 2006, but McKean was in the Aspen/Snowmass, Colo. area.

Before McKean could be located in Colorado, he’d left for Tennessee, but he still provided evidence of the Wyoming wildlife crimes by leaving his truck at a local ranch. Colorado Division of Wildlife officers obtained a search warrant for the truck and collected blood, hair, a knife, bloody clothing and various rifle rounds and cartridges for forensic analysis by the Wyoming Game and Fish laboratory– but they did not locate the ram’s head.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Ryan Noel and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Wildlife Officer Joe Durnin, located and interviewed McKean in Knoxville, Tenn. McKean cooperated with the officers and provided a statement that the ram’s head was left on a ranch near Crowheart and he helped arrange for Wyoming officers to pick it up.

In the interview, McKean told the federal agent that he learned he could sell the head for $2,000 and needed the money. From the interviews and forensic analysis, officers learned about the deer violations and that McKean had also been involved in illegally killing two antelope on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

“As a result of McKean’s interview with the officers in Tennessee and interviews with Grove and other Dubois area contacts, the full story was mostly pieced together,” Browning said. “McKean and Grove were largely forthright once located.” 

From information garnered in the interviews, Grove and McKean encountered a band of bighorn sheep on Sheep Ridge south of Dubois on Nov. 25, 2006. McKean shot a 3/4 curl ram with Grove’s .243 rifle and then Grove shot it again to finish killing it. Interviews with both men determined McKean solely removed the head and hid it in nearby rocks and later Grove drove McKean back to the site to retrieve it.

The interviews also revealed David V. (Dusty) Rhoads, a Crowheart ranch hand, and an unidentified male helped McKean poach the mule deer doe on non-tribal deeded land near Crowheart on or about Nov. 20, 2006. Rhodes was charged with accessory to take deer in a closed season and forfeited $410 in bond. McKean said he used the deer for meat and consumed the entire animal. Colorado officers found blood in McKean’s truck which was later determined to be from the mule deer doe, but no meat was found at any location.

Rhoads, 50, was also cited by Wind River Indian Reservation wildlife officers for his role in helping McKean illegally kill the two antelope on the reservation.

McKean returned to Wyoming this summer to be charged and to enter an initial plea of not guilty but lost his court appointed counsel and failed to appear for his July 30 docket call in court for a scheduled Aug. 17 trial. The court issued an arrest warrant for him Aug. 1

With information that McKean had returned to Tennessee, Browning actively worked with Tennessee authorities, including officer Durnin to locate and arrest McKean, but without success.

In November, the Game and Fish pitched the story to Bob Hodge, the outdoor editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel. He was eager to help with locating McKean and printed an article about McKean’s fugitive status Nov. 11. The next morning McKean, who was working jogging horses at a racetrack in East St. Louis, Ill. expressed his desire to settle the charges. He told Browning that one reason he wanted to get this case resolved was so he could legally return to Wyoming to compete again as a saddle bronc rider at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

“The help and cooperation of so many concerned persons from the wildlife agencies in Colorado and Tennessee, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Knoxville outdoor editor contributed substantially to the successful outcome of this case,” Browning said.

On Nov. 28, McKean flew to Riverton at his own expense, and Browning met him at the airport, served him with his arrest warrant and took him to the Fremont County Detention Facility. He appeared in court the next day represented by attorney Sky Phifer. Judge Denhardt allowed him to post a small bond and be released on his own recognizance but he chose to stay in jail until Dec. 4. At a hearing Dec. 7, McKean expressed his desire to get the case resolved, although the prosecution and defense could not agree on plea agreement, so the judge solely decided the penalties.

“McKean’s cooperation with state and federal officers, in addition to eventually returning to the state to resolve the case, was taken into account and saved him from even stiffer penalties,” Browning said.  “He did the right thing by returning to Wyoming because the Fremont County Attorney’s Office and Wyoming law enforcement, with the help of Tennessee authorities would have eventually found him and extradited him back to Wyoming on the active arrest warrant.”

In addition to losing his hunting privileges in Wyoming, McKean is also prohibited from hunting in the 24 states that were members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact at the time of the violation – which includes Tennessee. 

The ram’s head will be used by the Game and Fish for educational purposes.

Grove, 22, was assessed $3,990 in fines and restitution and had his hunting privileges revoked for three years for being an accessory in the bighorn sheep crime, plus for wasting the meat from an elk and deer and falsely claiming to be a Wyoming resident to buy 2006 elk and deer licenses, in a plea agreement engineered by Deputy County Attorney Bob Bundy. He was also ordered to forfeit a .243 bolt action rifle used in the bighorn sheep crime. His elk and deer violations were discovered during the bighorn sheep investigation. 

Browning also specifically cites USFWS Special Agent Roy Brown, Colorado Division of Wildlife District Wildlife Manager Kevin Wright, Robert St. Clair, Fish and Game director for the Wind River Indian Reservation, and Dee Dee Hawk, Ian Abernathy and Kim Sargeant of the Game and Fish Laboratory for their key help in the case.  

Information is still being sought on the original four bighorns illegally killed in November 2006 in the Whiskey Mountain area southeast of Dubois. Anyone with information about those crimes or any other wildlife violation should call (877) WGFD-TIP. Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible for cash reward up to $5,000 if the information leads to a conviction. 

24th Annual Convention and Fundraiser Recap

Wyoming FNAWS held its 24th Annual Fundraiser on June 2 in Cody. A life member breakfast kicked off the festivities Saturday morning, followed by the General Membership Meeting.

After lunch, the afternoon agenda consisted of seminars and presentations, capped off with a wine and cheese tasting and games. That evening, everyone enjoyed a dinner of prime rib before the live auction took place.

The continuing success of our fundraisers is due to the support and generosity of our members and donors. Our thanks to everyone who stands behind our organization!

Our thanks also go to Scott Shreve for lending his photography talents.

Life member Tammy Scott and her sidekick participated in a demonstration during the “Let’s Count Sheep” seminar.

Kevin Hurley received a helping hand from a young guest during a raffle drawing at the Life Member Breakfast

Radio Collar Data Retrieved from Devil’s Canyon Bighorns

WGFD Greybull wildlife biologist Tom Easterly led the effort in early October 2007 to retrieve GPS radio collars from study animals in the Devil’s Canyon study area. Programmed at the factory to drop off on a certain date, not all drop-off mechanisms functioned properly, but Tom and his crew have been able to retrieve at least 27 of the 33 collars that were still out in late September 2007.

Efforts continue to gather some of the remaining collars, but conventional VHF signals have failed in some of the collars, complicating their retrieval. The next step is to download all the relocation data from each collar, then plot those data in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to generate maps showing habitat use and selection, and seasonal and daily movements.

Tom will be analyzing this telemetry data in the coming year, with a final report scheduled by the end of calendar year 2008.

Bugs Released to Wreak Havoc on Canada Thistle
By
Ryan Amundson, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

In July of 2002, the lightning-caused Reese Fire burned over 18,000 acres west of Wheatland, Wyoming. Many of the peaks inhabited by bighorn sheep were burned, including Reese Mountain, Collins Peak, Split Rock, and Pine Mountain.

The fire was considered “long overdue” by area Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel, as conifers had encroached and dominated many of the mountain’s aspen stands and rocky outcroppings preferred by bighorns.

Five years later, the fire has been largely considered to have been a great benefit to area wildlife. However, the fire did create an environment conducive for the invasion of Canada thistle in places. This is common, especially following summer wildfires of high intensity and severity. Post-fire, thistle invaded areas on the mountains where snows deposit (leeward sides of ridges), in aspen stands, wet springs and seeps, and small mountain meadows.

Elk browsing on regenerating aspens has also been a concern in the 5 years post-fire, but appears the aspens might be finally getting ahead of them a little bit. Competition with Canada thistle for available moisture and nutrients has also set back aspen stands.

To reduce this competition with thistles, bugs were called upon to help out. A stem-boring weevil, Ceutorynchus litura, has been proven to be effective in reducing Canada thistle infestations. The bug has a simple job….bore into the stem of an actively growing plant, stressing and weakening the plant, and ultimately cause the stem of the plant to lodge and fall over prior to the development of a viable seedhead. When successful, a thistle stand can be effectively controlled. The insects have been tested in numerous sites throughout North America, to make sure that they will not attack non-targeted plants, and they’ve passed the test with flying colors. The use of insects, or bio-control methods, has been slowly gaining in popularity and use throughout the United States.   

In September of 2007, Martin Hicks (WGFD Wildlife Biologist) and Ryan Amundson (WGFD Habitat Extension Biologist) hiked up Split Rock with 3,000 bugs in their backpacks, and released them in thistle patches on the mountain. Thirty releases (100 insects per release) were completed.

“We hope the bugs go to work right away, and bore into host plants and get ready for the on-set of winter,” stated Hicks. “Use of herbicides to control Canada thistle in this area is unrealistic due to the remoteness of the sites, and sensitivity of aspen re-sprouts to most herbicides. The use of bio-control was our most viable option here.” 

Local WGFD personnel will monitor the effectiveness of the insects over the next several years. Hopefully thistle stands will diminish over time, and aspens will be able to out-compete the stressed thistle plants. Aspens and their associated plant communities are very diverse and play a crucial role in meeting the habitat requirements of many wildlife species, including mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, blue grouse, neo-tropical migrant birds, and many other species of Wyoming’s wildlife.

The Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition (WGBGLC) footed the bill for the project, at a total of $3,000. Representatives from Wyoming FNAWS and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department play a key role in setting priorities for the use of these funds, reviewing annual project applications, and monitoring the effectiveness of projects. To learn more about the WGBGLC, go to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s web site at gf.state.wy.us and look under “What’s New”….Governor’s Big Game Licenses.

Editor’s Note:  The 42 bighorn sheep trapped in northwestern Montana and transplanted to Hay Canyon in January 2007 utilize the Split Rock area extensively. As of 09/19/07, all 30 of the radio-collared bighorn sheep released are still alive and doing well in their new home.

The invasive nature of Canada thistle is apparent in this aspen stand

Ceutorynchus litura - the bugs with an important job to do

Photos courtesy of Ryan Amundson