Vandals Strike Again on Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area

Vandalism and destruction of informational signs and other customer service oriented amenities such as portable toilets is an ongoing issue that the Idaho Fish and Game needs your help in preventing. "These structures are designed, purchased, installed, and maintained for the benefit of recreating public and are paid for with funding from hunters and anglers," says Craig Mountain Wildlife Manager, Justin Barrett. Repairing and replacing the damaged items represents license dollars unnecessarily spent from an already depleted budget. In some events, there is insufficient money to replace the items resulting in a continued loss of services. Multiple interpretive/information signs on Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area have been ruined by someone taking the malicious act of shooting them. The signs at Kruze Meadows have been completely destroyed by someone shooting at them with a shotgun. These signs have now been removed, and no longer provide a service to the recreating public. Whatever sense of satisfaction the vandal gained by shooting these signs comes at the expense of $700 per sign to replace; money that could be spent more productively on another project. The enforcement program relies heavily on the willingness of citizens to do the right thing and make the call when they observe or hear about violations. Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) is a private organization that pays rewards for information that leads to an arrest or a citation being issued based on information provided by the caller. In the most recent case of vandalism to the signs at Kruze Meadows on Craig Mountain, the CAP board approved an enhanced reward of $500 to help identify the responsible violator. If you have knowledge of who is responsible for this vandalism or any other wildlife crimes, we encourage you to call the CAP hotline anytime day or night at 800.632.5999 or the Clearwater Regional Office at 208-799-5010.