Michigan Game Wardens: Poaching Investigations and Wildlife Protection

Waterfowl Hunting Regulations and Enforcement

• 🎯 Shiawassee River State Game Area enforces a 25 shot shell limit per hunter to promote quality hunts and prevent sky-busting.
• ⚠️ Officers patrol for violations including use of lead shot, baiting, hunting after hours, and exceeding bag limits.
• 🎣 In District Four, officers monitor the Manistee River and its tributaries, which are closed to fishing during certain seasons, to prevent illegal fishing activities.
• 👮‍♂️ Conservation Officer Quincy Gowenlock checks hunters for licenses, plugs, and adherence to shell limits, also inspecting boats for safety equipment and hidden game.

Interstate Wildlife Transport and Disease Prevention

• 🚗 Michigan conservation officers patrol the southwestern border to monitor vehicles bringing deer from states with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
• 🚫 Transporting intact deer carcasses from CWD-positive states into Michigan is illegal; only de-boned meat, hides, or mounts are permitted.
• 🦌 Two hunters from Kansas were ticketed and their deer confiscated for illegally importing whole carcasses, as Kansas is a CWD-positive state.
• 🔬 Confiscated deer are sent to a lab for testing for CWD and Bovine Tuberculosis.

Shed Hunting and Trespassing in Montana

• 🦌 In Montana, wardens patrol wildlife management areas during off-season to protect wintering herds from trespassers seeking shed antlers.
• 📸 Sergeant Dave Holland uses trail cameras to identify individuals trespassing on game ranges, particularly those illegally collecting shed antlers.
• 💰 Shed antlers have significant commercial value, with prices ranging from $10-$14 per pound, driving some individuals to trespass.
• 🚨 Wardens apprehended a suspect for driving an unregistered OHV and having a suspended driver's license, in addition to previous fish and game violations.

Canine Units and Specialized Patrols

• 🐕 Warden Paul Luipke utilizes his canine partner, Oola, a Dutch Shepherd, for wildlife detection, including locating spent shell casings.
• 🎯 Oola's training involves identifying specific wildlife odors and indicating on them, a skill tested in real-world scenarios like finding shell casings at a crime scene.
• 🚗 In areas with frequent road hunting violations, wardens use robotic deer decoys to catch illegal shooters who take shots from vehicles.
• ⚖️ A hunter was ticketed for shooting from a vehicle and hunting without landowner permission, with the confiscated mule deer being a consequence of the violation.