Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Poacher faces potential judgment of over $13 million for senseless act

A 20-year-old man suspected of killing nearly 18,000 young salmon at an Oregon fish hatchery faces serious poaching and vandalism charges.

A 20-year-old man suspected of killing nearly 18,000 young salmon at an Oregon fish hatchery was charged with burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief, and will be charged with poaching as well.

The suspect faces a huge financial penalty and possibly a lifetime fishing ban.

The chinook salmon died after a gallon of bleach was poured into one of the four rearing tanks at the hatchery, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Joshua Heckathorn was arrested after sheriff’s deputies discovered him behind a locked gate at the Gardiner, Reedsport and Winchester Bay Salmon Trout Enhancement Program hatchery in Reedsport.

Heckathorn admitted to trespassing on the property, entering a storage location and handling the chemical bottle on Monday night.

“The killing of these fish is a real blow to the STEP Program Volunteers, ODFW, fishermen, and the community as a whole,” Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division Sergeant Levi Harris said. “In my 25 years as a game warden, this is one of the most senseless acts I have seen.”

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division are collaborating efforts to address vandalism on the property and the significant poaching incident.

From the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Poaching charges will include Unlawful Taking Chinook Salmon for 17,890 fish, which raised the charge to a Class C felony. In addition, Heckathorn faces charges of Making a Toxic Substance Available to Wildlife, which is a Class A Misdemeanor; and Criminal Mischief 1st Degree (Damaging or destroying property of another in an amount exceeding $1,000). Additional penalties could include a lifetime angling license suspension and damage suits for unlawful killing of wildlife.

The maximum civil penalty in Oregon for illegal take of a single Chinook salmon is $750. Courts have the authority to multiply that amount by the number of fish taken, with a judgment in this case potentially raising the amount to over $13 million, according to Sergeant Harris. Although it is unlikely to elevate to that level, the case represents a significant loss to the STEP program…

The estimated 18,000 fish lost contribute to the lower Umpqua River fall Chinook fishery and would have joined approximately 60,000 other fall Chinook pre-smolts that will be fin clipped and released in June.

“You get attached to those fish,” said Deborah Yates, president of the STEP program. “When nature does something, it’s crushing. But it’s nature and it happens. But when someone comes in and does something like this, you can’t wrap your head around it. We have so many hours wrapped up in those fish, to have someone come in so cavalier, and kill them, it doesn’t make sense.”

Photo caption: Hatchery Manager Tim Hooper shovels the dead pre-smolts from the bottom of the rearing pond. The fish will be frozen for future evidence in the criminal case. Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Juveniles tip off the law, leads to jail, $6,750 in fines for poachers

White sturgeon in Scappoose Bay in Oregon is catch-and-release only, but three men thought they could get away with keeping five.

Unfortunately for these perpetrators, some much younger—and wiser—than them had an eye on them.

What the juvenile sportsmen witnessed were the men in a boat catching a white sturgeon and not releasing it. So, they contacted the poacher tip line of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and reported what they saw and where they saw it.

The tip led to wildlife troopers monitoring the area, a slough off the Columbia River north of Vancouver, and after two days of surveillance, trooper Scott Bernardi and senior trooper Justin Morgan approached the men at a dock where they had moored their boat.

At first, the three men denied catching any fish. But when the troopers pulled up two lines they saw tied to the dock, they found four live white sturgeon, ranging in size from 5 to 7 feet. The troopers discovered a fifth live white sturgeon when inspecting the boat.

The incident occurred in 2022 but ODFW just issued a press release Monday about the repercussions.

Julio Duran of Salem pleaded guilty to take/possession of a giant white sturgeon (a Class C Felony) and take/possession of four oversized sturgeons (Class A misdemeanors). He also pleaded guilty to fishing without a fishing license. He served 20 days in the Columbia County jail and owes $5,000 in restitution to ODFW and $500 to the Turn in Poachers TIP reward program. He was given 36 months probation and a three-year fishing ban. He also forfeited the fishing rods and equipment, presumably including the boat, used during the crime.

Jose Plascencia of Dayton pleaded guilty to fishing without a fishing license and must serve either 10 days on a Columbia County work crew or 80 hours of community service. He received 24 months of bench probation, and must pay $750 in restitution. His fishing privileges were suspended for three years.

Axel Guell of St. Helens pleaded guilty to angling without a fishing license and must pay $500 in restitution. He is to serve 24 months of bench probation and is prohibited from fishing for three years.

“This poacher [Duran] spent 20 days in jail over the holidays in hopes of changing his behavior [sic],” Morgan said. “Luckily, the quick-thinking juvenile sportsmen were able to report what they witnessed to the Oregon State Police, through the TIP line, and we were able to apprehend this individual and release the large sturgeon back into the bay.”

The juveniles were awarded $500 each for reporting the poachers.

Fortunately, the other four sturgeon were also released alive back into the bay.

“White sturgeon fisheries in the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers can currently generate between 30,000 – 40,000 angler trips annually, which contribute millions in economic benefits,” the ODFW stated. “In recent years, lower populations of the slow-growing fish preclude taking one home for a meal. But anglers can still catch and release the massive fish, which provides the thrill of the experience.”

Generic images of white sturgeon courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Man shoots bear; a day later, the same bear attacks the man

An Oregon man who shot a bear that had been harassing his chickens had the tables turned on him when the injured bear attacked him.

Craig Lankford of La Grande shot the bear Tuesday evening, and when he went searching for it Wednesday morning, he encountered it near his property and shot it again. Shortly after that, the bear attacked Lankford.

Responding to a 911 call around 7:37 a.m., medical services and Sheriff Deputies arrived on the scene at the same time. Roads were closed as was the adjoining Mount Emily Recreation Area due to the danger of the injured bear.

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The Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife arrived a short time later and made a search plan to find the bear, which they did at 10:44 a.m. The bear was shot and killed. A necropsy proved it was the same bear involved in the attack.

Lankford was treated at an area hospital. He suffered injuries to his arms and head but is expected to recover.

“We are grateful Mr. Lankford survived this encounter and wish him a smooth and speedy recovery,” ODFW Watershed Manager Jeff Yanke said.

From the ODFW:

Wounded bears can be dangerous. ODFW is aware of at least three incidents when wounded bears attacked hunters who had shot but not killed them. None were fatal.

Bear attacks are rare but tend to occur when bears are wounded, when they are being fed by people and lose their natural wariness, or when they are surprised by people or their dogs. Oregon has not documented any fatal bear attacks.

Oregon is home to an estimated 25,000-30,000 bears. Everyone recreating outdoors or living in bear country is encouraged to take simple steps to reduce the risk of bear encounters and conflict. More information is available at https://myodfw.com/articles/help-keep-bears-wild.

Generic photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

Mother and son who killed two bear cubs pay for crimes; is it enough?

Mother and son poachers committed the crime while trespassing on private property. Now they must pay restitution for their senseless acts.

Mother and son poachers who killed two bear cubs while trespassing on private property in Oregon last October must pay $15,000 in damages.

Gail Faye Freer, 52, and her son Corey Douglas Loving II, 29, also lost their hunting privileges for three years and will be on bench probation for 60 months, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday.

“There is no excuse for taking two 8-month-old bear cubs, plus the meat was not taken care of and went to waste,” ODFW District Wildlife Biologist Jason Kirchner said. “This is a loss to Oregonians and to those who respect, value, enjoy, and manage our state’s wildlife resources.”

On or about Oct. 9, 2022, Loving and Freer were trespassing on private land when they spotted a bear cub. Freer encouraged Loving to shoot it, and he did.

They returned to the scene later to ensure the cub had died. But they spotted a cub foraging in the same place. Loving shot it, thinking it was the same bear, but it turned out to be a second cub, which they discovered when they approached the bushes.

An anonymous call to the Turn in Poachers (TIP) Line days later led Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers to the carcasses. The mother bear was never found.

Stop Poaching campaign coordinator Yvonne Shaw said the act shows a blatant disregard for wildlife laws.

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“This was a combination of trespassing, poaching and leaving an animal to waste,” Shaw said. “This demonstrates an attitude of lawlessness while they deprive others of the experience of encountering or hunting these animals during a legal season.”

On Jan 1, 2018, Oregon state legislators doubled, tripled and even quintupled poaching penalties for more than a dozen wildlife species, according to The Oregonian. For unlawfully killing a bear, the penalty is $7,500.

The question is, is it enough?

Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Excited angler releases possible record bull trout; is ‘bummed’ he did

An Oregon angler was too excited to think that his massive bull trout could be a record so he let it go. Now he wishes he hadn’t done so.

While casting toward a group of small, surfacing kokanee, Oregon fisherman Ryan Mejaski hooked into something so big that his reel began screaming, forcing he and his fishing partner to give chase in their boat lest the huge fish take all the line off his reel.

Clearly, this wasn’t a kokanee.

Mejaski and Joe Wilhite were fishing on the Deschutes arm of Lake Billy Chinook on April 8 when the memorable battle with a massive bull trout unfolded.

Mejaski’s medium-lightweight rod was bent in half and nearly snapped, he told the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He spent at least 10 minutes fighting the fish before getting it to the boat where it was netted.

The anglers measured and weighed the bull trout. It was 33.5 inches long with a 26-inch girth, and it maxed out Wilhite’s net scale that goes to 25 pounds.

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Mejaski told ODFW that the fish was probably bigger, perhaps as much as 30 pounds. After taking some photos, they quickly released the fish and watched it swim away. Then, they began talking about how that fish could have been a state record, or even be close to a world record.

“I’m a little bummed out we didn’t keep it so we could get the official record, but it was the right thing to do at the time,” Mejaski told ODFW. “We really didn’t think about keeping it, we were so excited.”

The current Oregon record for a bull trout is 23 pounds, 2 ounces, caught in 1989 from Lake Billy Chinook. The world record is 32 pounds caught in 1949 from Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho.

“Every fisherman that we saw and showed photos of the fish said that they have never seen a bull trout that big,” Mejaski told ODFW. “People were happy about us letting it go, but it would be really cool to have a record fish.”

Deschutes District Fish Biologist Jerry George told Mejaski the fish might have been a state record and could have been 15 years old. He told ODFW “the fact that Ryan released the fish to spawn again, to be caught again is awesome.”

Still, Mejaski said he wishes he had kept the fish. He said he’ll probably pay to get a replica mount of the fish.

“But looking at it on my wall every day might be too painful,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Man turns himself in for wildlife crimes prompted by ‘elk fever’

The sight of an elk herd numbering about 30 animals was apparently too much to resist for a man who repeatedly shot into the herd.

The sight of an elk herd numbering about 30 animals was apparently too much to resist for a 66-year-old man who repeatedly shot into the herd as if it were his own shooting gallery, and later blamed “elk fever” for his illegal actions near Nehalem, Oregon.

Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers cited the unidentified man for shooting from a road, unlawful take/possession of antlerless elk, and unlawful take/possession of bull elk. The troopers seized a .308 rifle for evidence, along with the elk the man had tagged and processed, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The man had permission to hunt on private property. He legally killed a cow elk, field-dressed the animal and left the area, the landowner told officials.

“The guy came out and stopped at the road, and started shooting,” the landowner said. “I told another hunter, who said the guy shouldn’t have left. He should have called state police and turned himself in.”

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Instead, the landowner called the man and encouraged him to return to the field, call OSP and turn himself in for poaching, which is what the man did. Had he not, the landowner presumably would have done so.

The subject expressed remorse after the event and blamed “elk fever.”

Once OSP F&W Troopers reached the scene, they found three wounded elk wandering with the herd of about 30 animals. A trooper put down a mortally wounded cow elk, and the following day, troopers put down a mortally wounded bull. A wounded cow elk ran into the Nehalem River and presumably drowned.

Fortunately, the elk meat was not wasted. Two elk went to the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde and one elk went to the Tillamook County Jail.

Generic elk photos courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Deer poacher charged in ‘crime of opportunity’ using headlights

A 21-year-old has been charged with several crimes involving the illegal shooting of three black-tailed deer bucks near Coos Bay, Ore.

A 21-year-old in Oregon has been charged with shooting three black-tailed deer bucks out of season near Coos Bay, hunting with the aid of artificial light and wasting the meat.

After a lengthy investigation, Oregon State Troopers developed a suspect, interviewed him on Dec. 5 and ultimately charged Macen M. West of North Bend with the crimes, the Oregon State Police announced.

Authorities are asking for restitution of $3,000, a three-year minimum suspension of West’s hunting rights, and the forfeiture of his Savage 93r 17 rifle, which retails new for $380.

West faces three counts of taking game in a closed season, three counts of waste of a game mammal for poaching three black-tailed bucks and leaving them to waste, and hunting with the aid of artificial light. The crimes occurred on the weekend of March 19, 2021.

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“It was a crime of opportunity,” Sergeant Levi Harris said in an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife press release. “We believe the shooter drove around a corner, saw the deer in the headlights and made a poor, shocking, impromptu decision to hop out and shoot those deer.”

From the ODFW:

The deer, likely transfixed by the light, would have been easy targets. He would have had time to aim and drop each deer individually. In a normal hunting situation, a single shot at one deer would have startled others into flight. Black-tailed deer hunting season was closed at the time.

All three deer were shot in the head, from relatively close range, according to Sergeant Harris. Because the deer were found so close together, investigators believed early on that the poacher had used a spotlight or vehicle headlights to blind the deer.

There were no footprints or tire tracks leading to the site according to Joseph Metzler of Coos Bay, who discovered the scene the morning of Monday, March 23. That morning, traveling on his ATV, Metzler noticed crows congregating in the area. As he rounded a bend in the road, he came upon the deer carcasses directly in front of him, on the hillside.

“As soon as I came around the corner, there they were, and if it had been dark, they would have been standing right in front of my headlights on the hillside,” he said.

Metzler was pleased that OSP was able to pursue the case and ultimately solve it.

“It goes to show you that if you turn in poachers, it might be a while, but they can find them,” he said.

Photos courtesy of ODFW.

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Law enforcement looking for freeway poachers of two elk

A reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest or citation in the case of a bull and cow elk being poached from I-5.

Two elk—one a bull, the other a cow–were believed to have been shot from a vehicle on a freeway near Glendale, Oregon, and law enforcement has posted a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest or citation.

Numerous drivers on Interstate 5 contacted authorities on the morning of Oct. 26 to report seeing elk carcasses within 100 yards of I-5, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

When troopers arrived at the scene, they discovered the bull was left entirely to waste while poachers processed and removed meat from the cow, which would have taken considerable time by lantern or flashlight. Troopers managed to salvage the meat from the bull and donate it to charity.

“There is no excuse for this disgusting behavior,” said Brian Wolfer, ODFW Wildlife Division Deputy Administrator. “For many people it is a thrill just to see an elk and these people not only poached two elk but wasted one. It is also illegal and dangerous to shoot from a public road, let alone a highway. I hope someone out there can help bring them to justice.”

Law enforcement officials are looking for a person seen earlier in the day on Oct. 25 driving a silver-colored midsized pickup truck slowly in the southbound land and the person of interest had a rifle.

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“It is believed the subject(s) used a flashlight in the field between 7:00 p.m. October 25 and 7:00 a.m. October 26,” the Oregon State Police stated.

The elk were part of a herd of about 80, according to Central Oregon Daily News.

“When people poach, they steal natural resources from all of us,” said Yvonne Shaw, Stop Poaching Campaign coordinator for ODFW. “Oregonians value our wildlife, both for viewing and for legal hunting.”

Photos courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State Police.