Poachers take some of Montana’s biggest and best game specimens, robbing others of the opportunity to see or legally harvest those animals. "There are cases where wealthy poachers pay great sums of money to be illegally guided to trophy animals and others where poachers simply have a total disregard for property or wildlife law," said Jim Kropp, FWP Enforcement Division chief. Big money is also a motivation. Kropp said a record-book deer or elk mount can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. FWP game wardens have broken several major poaching rings in recent years. But with just 74 wardens each covering an average of 1,800 square miles (or a state the size of Delaware), they can’t put a major dent in poaching without help. Recent cases have included illegal outfitting in Seeley Lake, a man in south Missoula taking game with a .22 rifle modified to shoot an arrow up to 100 yards; a Maryland man illegally outfitting in Montana, and a large poaching case in the Lincoln area. There are also numerous cases of people illegally obtaining duplicate licenses or fraudulently claiming Montana residency. "TIP-MONT, our 1-800 hotline for reporting wildlife and related crimes is essential to our enforcement operations in Montana," Kropp said Since the program began in 1985, FWP has received thousands of calls, many resulting in wardens catching and judges convicting poachers. During the typical hunting season, TIP-MONT may receive 50 calls just on opening day of big game season and average about 500 calls in November alone. "TIP-MONT receives roughly 1,300 calls each year," Kropp said. If you see or learn about any illegal or suspicious activities involving Montana’s fish, wildlife or state parks or that occur on USFS, BLM or other public lands, please call 1-800-TIP-MONT. For more information, visit FWP’s Poaching web page. Callers may remain anonymous.
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