SUMMARY: Wyoming Game & Fish Annual Law Enforcement Report

Wyoming game wardens patrolled more than 600,000 miles and took 3,102 law enforcement actions statewide in 2024.

The annual Wyoming Game and Fish Department Law Enforcement Report details key statistics, operations, accomplishments and highlights the department’s law enforcement program.

Law enforcement focused on protecting big game on winter ranges, monitoring shed antler collection closures, and ensuring compliance with aquatic invasive species requirements.

"Overall big game seasons were impacted by hot, dry weather and severe wildfires that burned more than 460,000 acres in the Sheridan Region and other parts of the state, significantly reducing hunting access. Wardens in affected areas provided extensive logistical support to firefighting crews and big game herds, particularly deer and pronghorn, continued to recover from the severe winter of 2022-23, leading to conservative license issuance and fewer hunters in the field" wrote Game & Fish.

The public played a vital role in game wardens’ work and investigations throughout the state. Last year, 235 tips were received from members of the public and game wardens followed up on all of them. These tips led to 28 citations and 16 warnings being issued to violators.

NOTABLE CASES:

Boysen Fishing Over-limits

On October 13, two Riverton game wardens received a call from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) special agent regarding a report of anglers below the dam at Boysen Reservoir potentially keeping an overlimit of oversized fish. The wardens located two vehicles and six anglers matching the description given in the violation report. They contacted the group of anglers, who claimed to have been fishing that afternoon and were there together. During the investigation, the wardens determined the group possessed 23 rainbow trout, 22 of which were over 16 inches in length. The possession limit of trout per person in this area is three, with only one exceeding 16 inches. Based on the investigation, four of the anglers were cited for taking over-limits of game fish and taking fish in violation of size limits. Three of the suspects pleaded guilty and paid fines totaling $960. The fourth suspect did not show up to court and a warrant for his arrest has been issued.

Dubois Illegal Deer

In early 2024, a case from the previous hunting season was adjudicated in the Fremont County Circuit Court. In October 2023, the Dubois game warden received a trespassing complaint about two individuals who had harvested deer from an area just west of Dubois. The game warden responded to the site and was able to get security camera footage of the suspects. The game warden interviewed witnesses in the area and was able to locate the sites where the deer were killed. He was also able to follow drag marks from those locations toward a neighboring property. The game warden used the security camera footage to match up the suspects and their ATVs to two individuals associated with the neighboring property. During interviews with the suspects, the game warden learned that after the deer were killed, one of the suspects traveled to Dubois to purchase a license after the fact. One suspect was issued a citation for trespassing to hunt and the second suspect was issued citations for trespassing to hunt and taking a deer without a license. The first suspect was fined $300 and the second was fined $920 and lost all of his license privileges for one year.

Illegal Outfitting Case

A cooperative investigation between three law enforcement agencies led to the conviction of a woman for illegal outfitting. The investigation began on September 18, 2023, as the South Cody game warden and an investigator from the Wyoming Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides prepared to depart for a patrol trip into the Thorofare near Yellowstone National Park. A truck and horse trailer arrived at the Deer Creek trailhead and the driver told the officers that she was going to pack an elk out for a friend. The game warden recognized her from previous contacts and had seen her vehicle parked at the same trailhead the week before. After returning from their pack trip, the warden and outfitter investigator checked to see if the woman had an outfitter or professional guide license and authorization from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to conduct outfitting activities on the Shoshone or Bridger Teton national forests. She did not have any permits and the USFS law enforcement officer told them that the woman had been cited for conducting commercial activities on a national forest without a proper permit in 2021. Further investigation revealed that the woman had charged a group of hunters $3,600 to pack them into and out of their hunting camp with llamas and another $1,000 to pack out an elk using horses. In October 2024, the woman pleaded guilty to outfitting without a license and was fined $1,850.

Neighborhood Deer Poacher

Over a five-year period, at least five deer were shot and killed in a Green River neighborhood. During their investigation, game wardens and the Green River Police Department responded to numerous calls about dead or injured deer and recovered bullets from three of the deer. The investigation began in August 2018 when game wardens were called to a home on Arkansas Drive to investigate a doe deer that appeared to have been shot. Witnesses heard what sounded like shots from a small caliber rifle in the early morning hours and later found the doe deer dying near a home. Witnesses also reported a bullet hole in their garage door. Game wardens analyzed the scene to determine the trajectory of the bullet and interviewed neighbors but were unable to identify a suspect. Nearly three years later, in August 2021, wardens were called to Arkansas Drive to investigate a deer that was suspected to have been shot and a bullet was recovered from the buck deer that appeared to have come from a small caliber rifle. Wardens learned from an animal control officer that another buck deer had been removed from the neighborhood by city workers that morning and taken to the landfill. A game warden went to the landfill and necropsied that buck deer and determined it had been shot as well, though the bullet had passed through the animal and was not recovered. In September 2022, students at Harrison Elementary School found an injured buck deer near their playground, not far from Arkansas Drive. At first glance, the deer appeared sick, but during a necropsy, a bullet was found lodged beneath the animal's skin. In August 2023, wardens were called again to the neighborhood on Arkansas Drive for a report of a doe mule deer believed to have been shot, and wardens recovered a bullet from that deer as well. Game wardens and Green River Police Department officers executed two search warrants at a residence on August 17, 2023. Officers seized several firearms, ammunition and a homemade suppressor from the residence. Three bullets were sent to the DCI crime lab in Cheyenne, along with firearms seized under the search warrants. Ballistics testing confirmed that bullets recovered from the buck deer in 2022 and the doe deer in 2023 had been fired from the same .22 caliber Marlin rifle seized during the search. The bullet recovered from the buck mule deer in 2021 was too degraded to positively identify or eliminate that it had come from the same rifle. In October 2023, a Green River man was charged with five counts of wanton destruction of a big game animal and four counts of using a suppressor to wantonly destroy a big game animal. In February 2024, the suspect pleaded guilty to five counts of wanton destruction of a big game animal. The charges of unlawfully using a suppressor were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. In April 2024, the Sweetwater County Circuit Court sentenced the man to 15 days in jail for each count, served concurrently, with credit for three days served after his arrest in October 2023. In addition, his hunting privileges were revoked for ten years and he forfeited the .22 Marlin rifle with scope and a homemade suppressor.

Stuck While Hunting in the Wrong Area

On the night of October 31, 2023, Carbon County Search and Rescue received a report of a missing elk hunter south of Rawlins. Members of the hunting party reported that their truck had broken down and was stuck near Littlefield Creek. One individual had attempted to walk north to Rawlins. The remaining party members were picked up, but searchers could not locate the individual who took off on foot. The search and rescue operation continued throughout the night and the Carbon County Dispatch Center received a call from another elk hunter just after daybreak on November 1, who reported finding a disoriented person near Miller Hill who matched the description of the missing individual. During the search, the hunters made statements that made the search and rescue crew suspect that the hunters were involved in illegal activity. They reported this information and game wardens from Baggs and Rawlins responded to the scene. The game wardens located a gut pile from a bull elk within 100 yards of the stuck truck. Both the truck and gut pile were located in Elk Hunt Area 108. The carcass, head and antlers from the bull elk had been removed from the scene before the arrival of the game wardens. The owner of the stuck vehicle told the search and rescue crew that he killed a bull elk in general Elk Hunt Area 21, approximately 2 miles away, on October 31. Game wardens learned that the man only possessed a general elk license and did not possess a limited quota elk license as is required for Elk Hunt Area 108. As time passed, photos of this individual posing with a bull elk were seen on social media and passed along to a game warden. Wardens returned to the location where the truck had been stuck and matched the photos of the man posing with the bull elk to the same location. Through the ensuing investigation, subjects from the hunting party were interviewed, and evidence was gathered showing that the man had indeed illegally killed the bull elk in Elk Hunt Area 108, not Elk Hunt Area 21 as he had previously claimed. On February 5, 2024, the Rawlins man was charged with intentionally taking an antlered elk without a proper license under W.S. 23-3-102(d). On May 15, 2024, the man pleaded guilty to the charge. He was fined $1,570 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 82 days suspended and credit for eight days served in the Carbon County Detention Center. He also received a five-year suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges in Wyoming and all member states of the Wildlife Violator Compact.

Illegal Trail Camera Cases

The South Jackson game warden investigated several instances of violators unlawfully using real-time photography "cell cameras" to aid in the taking of big game. Three of the four cameras were found and reported by other sportsmen in the field. The reporting parties in each case felt the actions of the cell camera users were cheating in the hunting process, making the scouting/hunting planning much too easy. Of the four violations, only two have been resolved through court in 2024. One case involved a Wilson resident who purchased a cell camera to help him in the scouting process. The camera was placed over an elk wallow with a tree stand alongside it. At this location, the game warden confirmed there was indeed a cell phone signal, leading him to believe this particular cell camera was fully operational. This site was located in Teton County within Elk Hunt Area 78. The warden found a green light was on indicating it was in wireless transmitting mode. A warrant was secured through a Teton County Circuit Court judge to look at the photos on the SD card within the cell camera. While examining the photos, game wardens noticed the same individual in several photos, in addition to several photos of trophyquality elk. One warden recognized and helped identify the individual from Wilson, WY. This individual held a valid hunting license and was seen hunting from the blind with a bow and arrow. A game warden contacted the camera owner and he was honest about the camera and tree stand belonging to him. The warden explained the regulations limiting the use of certain specialized hunting technologies and equipment. The Wilson hunter admitted he broke the law and didn’t realize it. This hunter was issued a citation for the use of real-time photography/cell camera and paid a fine of $550. Two other investigations involving the use of real-time photography/cell cameras included violations for illegal baiting of big game. The suspects in those cases were issued must appear citations and their cases will be resolved in early 2025.

Illegal Moose Sheds

In early 2024, the North Jackson game warden assisted Grand Teton National Park rangers with an illegal antler hunting case involving a Kelly resident who collected a set of moose paddles from within the Park. When the game warden contacted the suspect at their residence, he discovered several untagged elk heads. The suspect claimed to have picked up one of the recently collected heads on national forest land. The game warden had contacted the suspect years before in that same area and issued an interstate game tag for the collection of a dead head. The game warden issued the suspect a citation for transporting the bull elk heads without interstate game tags and a park ranger cited them for illegal antler collection in a national park. He was fined $150 for the game tag violation and faced additional fines in federal court for the national park violation.

Misguided

During the summer, a young guide leading a youth group through the Teton Wilderness was turned in for killing a ruffed grouse. When contacted, the guide stated he captured the grouse by fashioning a noose at the end of a fly rod and slipping it over the bird's head. Somewhere between tightening the noose and collecting it in hand, the guide reported that the grouse's neck broke and it died. The guide told the game warden he burned the grouse after it was dead to keep from attracting bears to the group’s camp. The guide was cited for taking a grouse out of season and fined $150.

Backcountry Fishing Violators

Over the last couple of years, the Alpine game warden has wanted to ride in and check Bailey Lake over the Labor Day weekend. He noticed a lot of activity at the trailhead over that holiday, particularly from nonresidents. He had a hunch there was a group fishing without licenses. Bailey Lake is about four miles in from the trailhead. This year, the warden took a trainee with him and they contacted eight people at Bailey Lake. They observed two adults and one teenager fishing from the southern side of the lake. When they got over to the northern shore, they observed a fishing pole and tackle box by the water’s edge, and a group of four men were sitting in chairs by the lake, approximately 75 yards from the pole. They all claimed to have not been fishing, and that a different group had left a pole there. After some investigation and interviewing several of them, it was discovered none of them had fishing licenses. The wardens observed two other individuals from the same group fishing, and neither of them had licenses either, though the teenager claimed that he just hadn't brought it with him. One individual made some comments leading the wardens to believe this group had been doing this annually for years and they finally got caught. One adult finally confessed that he had been fishing and would take the fall for the rest of the group. Citations were issued to two adults for fishing without licenses. They paid a total of $500 in fines.

Deer Poachers Caught

On October 14, the Moorcroft game warden received a Stop Poaching tip about two individuals who the caller believed had poached an antelope near Rozet.The game warden responded to the location and identified a man and woman from South Dakota, who were butchering a buck mule deer, not an antelope. The man told the game warden that his son-in-law had killed the deer and they were just taking care of it. During the conversation, the game warden remembered another Stop Poaching tip he had received earlier in the year, regarding a South Dakota man who was illegally killing deer in Wyoming without licenses. Believing this might be the same individual, the game warden dug deeper into the investigation. The man admitted to the game warden that he had not only killed this buck, but also killed another mule deer buck in 2023 without a Wyoming deer license. The man was issued two citations for taking deer without licenses and the woman was cited as an accessory to taking a deer without a license. They both pleaded guilty, were fined $2,460 and paid $4000 in restitution.

Platte Valley Mule Deer Wanton Destruction

On October 22, 2023, the Saratoga game warden received a report stating that a mule deer buck had been shot by a Saratoga man in Deer Hunt Area 80 on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. Hunt Area 80 is a limited quota area open for rifle hunting from October 1 through October 14. Participants in the poaching knew it was illegal and did not want to get in trouble, and had left the deer in the field to waste. Based on the information provided, the game warden located and investigated the mule deer carcass, a large 5x5 buck, at the kill site. The information in the tip identified the shooter and two other participants in the poaching, and game wardens interviewed them. Based on the interviews, game wardens learned that the three had been driving in the Pick Bridge/Sanger Public Access Area north of Saratoga three days after the deer season closed. When they saw the buck deer bedded near the road, the shooter stopped the vehicle, grabbed a rifle and shot the buck, wounding it. The shooter and another passenger ran after the deer and killed it with another shot. They returned to the truck and told the third person they were leaving the deer because it was gutshot and “not worth it.” The shooter was issued a citation for wanton destruction of a big game animal. On October 22, 2024, he pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $70 in fines and $4,000 in restitution. In addition, all hunting, trapping and shed hunting privileges were suspended for three years.

Fishing Mentor or Repeat Offender ?

Following a Laramie Region investigation that began on May 26, 2022, a Cheyenne man was cited for transporting and releasing live fish (smallmouth bass) into Sloan’s Lake without authorization. The man, an avid fisherman and local popular social media personality, was sentenced for those crimes on January 4, 2023. His sentence included a fine, one year of unsupervised probation and a thirty-day suspended jail sentence. He was also sentenced to a 10-year suspension of his fishing privileges in the 49 member states of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. On January 11, 2023, a Stop Poaching report indicated the man had been fishing on Sloan’s Lake the previous weekend and a new case was opened. The subsequent investigation documented the suspect fishing in multiple states, including Wyoming, while suspended. The man was arrested on multiple counts of fishing without a valid license and taking wildlife under suspension, as well as a bench warrant for violations of his probation, after being pulled over for speeding on January 16, 2024. While in jail, the man was served citations from Nebraska and Alabama for similar violations.

On December 18, 2024, the man pleaded no contest to one count of fishing without a license and one count of taking wildlife while under suspension. This time, the Laramie County Circuit Court judge sentenced him to pay $70 in court costs, $150 to the Victims Compensation Fund, and added nine more years to his game and fish license suspension. The man was also ordered to complete another year of unsupervised probation, a violation of which will require him to serve 210 days in jail. For the probation violations already documented, the man was sentenced to thirty days in jail, with credit for eight days already served. Barring any future violations, and assuming the outstanding charges from other states are taken care of in the meantime, the man will regain his fishing privileges in early January 2042, equating to a 19-year suspension.

No Fishing License, Interference with a Peace Officer, and Stolen Vehicles

On March 8, the Torrington game warden saw a darkcolored van occupied by two men driving around Packers Lake and into Nebraska. The game warden ran the license plate on the van, which did not come back to any registered vehicle. On the morning of March 9, the game warden was back at Packers Lake and saw the van from the previous day parked next to a silver SUV. He parked next to the vehicles and saw a man and woman sleeping in the back of the SUV. There was a fishing line leading to the lake coming out of the front passenger door and trash, including a freshly burnt can, behind the SUV. The game warden contacted the occupants and asked them about fishing. The man admitted to fishing and told the game warden he didn’t have his fishing license or ID with him. He gave the game warden his name and date of birth and asked to use a nearby bathroom while the game warden contacted dispatch to check his fishing license. After several minutes, the man did not return to the campsite. The game warden determined that the man had fled the area on foot and had given him a false name and date of birth. The game warden contacted deputies in Goshen County and Scottsbluff County, Nebraska and learned that the van had been stolen from Harrison, Nebraska the previous day. After several hours, the suspect was located and arrested in Lyman, Nebraska. He was rushed to the emergency room after arresting officers learned that he had ingested over three grams of methamphetamine before he was caught. The game warden cited the suspect for fishing without a license, unattended fishing pole, interference with a peace officer and littering. He pleaded guilty in Goshen County court and was fined $930. In addition, the suspect has been charged with felonies related to the stolen van, eluding peace officers and narcotics crimes. The owner of the stolen van was grateful to have her vehicle and property returned.

Upper North Platte River Over-limit

On November 12, 2024, a game warden learned of numerous large brown trout that had been gutted and frozen in vacuum-sealed bags in a freezer belonging to a Saratoga resident. The resident said some friends of a friend from California were in the Saratoga area elk hunting and fishing and utilizing his shop space to process their meat. They had been storing their fish in his freezer, but he was unaware that they had been harvesting so many fish. The vacuum-sealed bags were labeled with names, and the resident stated that he believed that four or five individuals had been fishing the North Platte River off Veterans Island. The daily and possession limit for trout on the North Platte River at Veterans Island is three trout, one of which can be more than 16 inches in length.

The game warden counted 32 brown trout, 18 of which were over 16 inches in length, and one rainbow trout. These fish appeared to be shared among three different anglers. The game warden seized all the trout and proceeded to Veterans Island, where he located the group of anglers. The anglers explained that they had been in town hunting cow elk and fishing, using a friend’s shop to process and store meat. The anglers claimed they knew the daily limit for trout but seemed to be confused about the possession limit. The game warden explained that the possession limit cannot exceed a daily limit and that fish at home or in a freezer count toward the possession limit. 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. In total, the three suspects had kept 33 trout, 18 of which were brown trout over 16 inches in length. They were each cited for taking an over-limit of game fish and taking fish in violation of size limits. All three pleaded guilty in court. Combined, they paid $1,140 in fines, $1,500 in restitution and all three had their fishing privileges suspended for one year.

Halfmoon Antler Poachers

During April, the South Pinedale game warden received a tip of a possible human presence violation on the Halfmoon Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA). Investigation revealed that three individuals entered the Halfmoon WHMA during the seasonal closure on foot. While in the area and on adjacent USFS lands, the group collected a few elk and deer antlers during the seasonal antler closure. One subject took full responsibility for the crimes as his friends were unaware of the regulations and acting under his advice. The subject was cited for violating the human presence closure on Department-administered lands and for violation of the antler collection regulation. Fines totaled $600 and the antlers were confiscated.

Elk Over-limit

In November, the South Pinedale game warden received reports of multiple shot and left elk near the Muddy Creek elk feedground. Subsequent investigation revealed that two elderly hunters had killed seven elk during a 12-hour period in Elk Hunt Area 98. Four of the elk were taken on private lands without permission and recovered from the field by the suspects; however, the landowner did not wish to pursue trespassing charges. One of the hunters had mistakenly shot three additional elk, including a spike and a five-point bull. The season was only open for antlerless elk at the time. None of the three additional elk were recovered from the field and unfortunately wasted. The investigation revealed that the elderly hunter was not following up on his shots due to his assumption that an elk would go down with the caliber of rifle he was using and his physical inability due to his age and condition. Ballistic evidence from the wasted elk matched a rifle confiscated from the suspect. The elderly hunter was appalled and apologetic to learn that he had killed so many additional elk and that two of the elk were bulls. He was cited for three counts of over-limit of elk and two counts of taking the wrong sex of elk and was fined nearly $2,000.

Man Loses Big Game Privileges for Life

On opening morning of the 2021 deer season, the Cheyenne game warden contacted a man who had just killed a large mule deer buck. The deer wasn’t tagged and the shooter claimed he planned to tag it at home, only a short distance up the road. When the man couldn’t seem to find his license, the game warden contacted dispatch to verify his license information. The game warden learned that the man’s current deer license was a sought-after limited quota license for Deer Hunt Area 78, which had been carried over from 2020 due to the extensive Mullen Fire. The license was not valid in Deer Hunt Area 61, where the deer had been killed. The man was cited for taking a deer without a license. The deer was seized and the meat was cared for so it could be donated. Days later, the game warden located the suspect’s social media presence and noted photos of a trophyclass mule deer buck, which appeared to have been taken in 2020, the year the suspect had turned his Wyoming license in due to fire activity. The game warden worked with WIU investigators as he realized the case was going to entail far more than it first appeared. Further investigation found photos of pronghorn bucks taken in years when the suspect had no hunting licenses and photos of multiple mule deer bucks and bull elk from the same year. No license records from Wyoming or other states seemed to match up with many of these animals. Additional evidence revealed the suspect was applying for resident Wyoming licenses while also enjoying resident goose hunting and salmonfishing opportunities in Washington State. 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. Eventually, an additional 90 charges were filed against the suspect, including numerous counts of false claims of residency for Game & Fish license purchases, take of multiple animals without licenses, accessory to the illegal take of animals without licenses, transfer of licenses, trespassing, utilizing a device to muffle the report of a firearm during the illegal take of big game, acting as an accessory to the take of wildlife at night with artificial light and importing illegally-taken wildlife parts into Wyoming.

Following a jury trial in April 2022, the man was found guilty of killing the initial buck mule deer without a valid license and served four days in jail, with 300 more days in jail suspended, pending a year of unsupervised probation, with a $220 fine, $4,000 restitution, and a three-year suspension of hunting privileges. Two accomplices, who had killed a trophy-class bull elk with the man in September 2021, entered guilty pleas in Albany County Circuit Court on September 27, 2022 for the intentional take of antlered big game without a license and accessory after the fact, respectively. They were each sentenced to pay $5,000 in fines, jointly pay $6,000 restitution for the elk, and forfeited a crossbow used in the poaching. One of these accomplices also entered a guilty plea for a trespassing charge in Laramie County. On January 2, 2024, the main suspect entered a nolo contendere plea, as part of a plea agreement between his attorney and the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office, to one count each of intentionally taking an antlered game animal without a license, accessory to intentionally taking antlered game without a license, trespassing to hunt, and importing illegally-taken wildlife into Wyoming. Under the plea agreement, the suspect was sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine. He was ordered to forfeit numerous seized wildlife parts, a Christensen Arms rifle with attached accessories, a Marlin 1895 rifle with accessories, a Bowtech compound bow with accessories and a seized cellular phone. He was also sentenced to a lifetime ban on hunting big or trophy game animals. His small game and bird hunting privileges are suspended until all fines are paid in full.

Read the Full Report Here.