Posted on Thu, Jan. 19, 2006
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. - Eight Wisconsin men are facing charges in Barnes and
Griggs counties after a coyote hunt last week, a game warden says.
One man, Francis Stockheimer, of Stratford, Wis., was charged with
criminal trespass, harassing wildlife and driving on PLOTS land, all
misdemeanors. PLOTS stands for Private Lands Open to Sportsmen, a
program that offers payments to landowners who agree to keep their
property open to public hunting
Charles Regele, of Marshfield, Wis., was charged with trespassing and
harassing wildlife. Ronald Wells of Stratford and Daniel Frey, Dustin
Bodendorfer and Daniel Steffen, all of Marshfield, face trespass
charges, said Dick Knapp, a game warden supervisor in Jamestown.
Donald Schueller and John Sikora, both of Marshfield, are charged in
Griggs County with hunting without a license, Knapp said. They are
scheduled in court Feb. 6, unless they decide to post $450 bond, he
said.
Fines on the other charges range from $100 to $250, with $225
administrative fees.
Knapp said the men jumped coyotes in pickups, chased them until they
got in range, then shot them. Pursuing furbearers in a motorized vehicle
is illegal.
State Game and Fish Department game wardens said they seized 37
coyotes in the case. The coyotes were sold, and the $471 proceeds went
to the North Dakota Wildlife Federation's Report All Poachers program.
"They were having a good time chasing coyotes," Knapp said. "They had
the idea that every landowner in the country liked what they were doing,
but they ran into landowners that didn't like what they were doing."
Separately, a Streeter man was cited for littering in a public area
after dumping an estimated 1,000 bird carcasses on PLOTS land in
Stutsman County, Knapp said.
Sheldon Schlecht could pay a $250 bond or contest Game and Fish
Department infraction in court, Knapp said. He is scheduled in court
Jan. 25.
"They were birds that came from the guiding operation, and it was
their method of getting rid of the remains," Knapp said. Although the
birds were dumped in November, the citation was issued Tuesday.
"We felt there was the possibility of more serious charges and took
it to the state's attorney's office in Stutsman County. They felt it was
no violation," Knapp said.
Fritz Fremgen, the Stutsman County state's attorney, said the
landowner called Schlecht, who cleaned up the mess, and the landowner
did not want to press charges.
Schlecht had been charged 12 times earlier with game and fish
violations and had 10 convictions, Knapp said. In South Dakota, he
recently was sentenced to 50 days in prison, time he already had served
in federal custody, as well as a $250 fine and $1,000 in restitution, in
a case involving hunting violations on the Standing Rock reservation.
Court documents say he also was barred from possessing a firearm or
ammunition for a year.
