01-02-2020, 10:32 PM
[#0000FF]A good story...and illustrates that most of our DWR folks are pretty decent. But I am aware of another incident that could have been handled differently. A trusted friend was on his way to Mammoth/Huntington...up on the skyline. He came upon a badly injured deer flopping beside the road. A quick inspection revealed some major injuries...ones that the deer would surely not survive. He humanely dispatched the suffering doe with his pistol...just as a DWR officer drove up.
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[#0000FF]You guessed it. Citation. Plus confiscation of both his gun and his fishing gear...so he did not get to go fishing either. The good news is that he eventually got his gear back but still had a hefty fine...just for doing what the officer would probably have done a few minutes later.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Over many years I have had a lot of interaction with various folks affiliated with DWR. Almost universally I have found them to be honest, hard working people who were doing what they liked and tried to do a good job. For most of them they take on the personal responsibility to simultaneously protect Utah's wild critters while helping insure that licensed hunters and fishermen have success in the field...and enjoy their sport. And most of the regulations are geared toward that dual purpose. They want the public to have a good time, but not to wantonly destroy or waste any wild resources.
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[#0000FF]You guessed it. Citation. Plus confiscation of both his gun and his fishing gear...so he did not get to go fishing either. The good news is that he eventually got his gear back but still had a hefty fine...just for doing what the officer would probably have done a few minutes later.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Over many years I have had a lot of interaction with various folks affiliated with DWR. Almost universally I have found them to be honest, hard working people who were doing what they liked and tried to do a good job. For most of them they take on the personal responsibility to simultaneously protect Utah's wild critters while helping insure that licensed hunters and fishermen have success in the field...and enjoy their sport. And most of the regulations are geared toward that dual purpose. They want the public to have a good time, but not to wantonly destroy or waste any wild resources.
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