Moose Poaching Nets Prison Terms

By Phil Cooper, Panhandle Region Conservation Educator Four men have discovered the hard way that the Idaho judicial system takes a tough stand on moose poachers. Each received substantial time in the state prison system for their involvement in the illegal taking of moose. In early January of this year, conservation officers in the Idaho Panhandle received tips from confidential informants that two brothers, Richard Seibers and Paul Seibers, had illegally taken a moose in the Idaho Panhandle in the vicinity of Samuels. The two men were recent transplants from southern Idaho's Boise Valley. The information received was that the brothers and their brother-in-law, Jimmy Williams, were attempting to sell or trade some of the meat. None of the people who had been approached by Seibers or Williams accepted any of the meat, nor did they want to testify against them. Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers began an investigation. The Seibers brothers and Jimmy Williams were eventually located at the Williams residence in Samuels. Officers discovered a small quantity of moose meat along with meat from an unlawfully taken deer at the Williams residence. At the time, all of the suspects claimed that the moose meat was from a moose killed legally by a friend with a permit. As none of them had a proxy statement as is required for possessing game parts taken legally by another person, and because none of the men could provide the full name of the hunter friend they claimed had taken the moose, Williams was charged with unlawfully possessing the meat. Paul Seiber was charged with failing to tag the deer. The incident didn't end there. Further investigation led officers to additional witnesses and the recovery of more moose meat. A search of the Williams property in early March led to recovery of a calf moose carcass and hide. With the additional evidence, felony poaching charges were filed against both Paul Seibers and Richard Seibers. Taking a Ôtrophy' animal is a felony in Idaho, and all bull moose are classified by law as trophies. Warrants carrying a $5,000 bond were issued for each man's arrest. The Seibers had returned to the Boise Valley, but they were subsequently arrested by Fish and Game officers in Canyon County. Both brothers were arraigned in Bonner County in July, 2002. Each entered guilty pleas to the felony charge of taking a moose during closed season. Sentencing was set for August 29. At sentencing, Judge James Michaud sentenced the pair to up to four years in the state penitentiary as well as ordering that $1,500 be paid to the state of Idaho as restitution for the moose. Michaud also suspended the men's hunting, fishing and trapping licenses for 10 years. Williams entered a guilty plea on a misdemeanor charge of possessing the meat and lost his privileges for two years. A completely separate investigation of the illegal taking of another moose took more than a year to complete because the suspect fled the state. In October of 1999, Fish and Game Officers received a tip from a confidential source that a Ronald Chappel had killed a moose in northern Boundary County. Sources also said that Chappel had also attempted to take a second moose. Rumors circulated that another individual had recorded a video-tape of portions of the incident. Later, a tape was turned over to an Idaho conservation officer. Officers viewed the video tape, but found it contained little actual evidence of poaching. However, the tape did show all of the people involved as well as the license plate of the vehicle. After several interviews, Conservation Officers obtained a search warrant in Boundary County for the residence of Wolf Harris. In the search, conservation officers recovered meat from the poached moose as well as deer meat and a deer hide from a deer that Harris had killed during the closed season. Wolf Harris was charged with taking a deer during closed season. After entering a guilty plea, he was fined $700 and lost his hunting license for one year. Chappel was charged with one felony count of taking a moose during closed season. Chappel fled the state prior to his arraignment and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested on the outstanding warrant more than a year later by a Bonners Ferry police officer. He appeared in court and entered a guilty plea to the charge in Boundary County court in August 2001. Chappel was sentenced to 12-18 months in the State Penitentiary for the crime. In another case in January of 2002, residents of the Ruby Creek vicinity of Boundary County reported their suspicions that Daniel Wise had killed a cow moose. The reports indicated that a cow and a calf moose had been frequenting the area, that shots had been fired near the Wise residence, and that the calf was soon seen wandering around without its mother. During the investigation, conservation officers discovered moose meat buried in snow on the Wise property. Additionally, Officers received further information from anonymous citizens that Wise and others had been consuming the meat at a mobile home in Naples. Aided by Boundary County deputies, Fish and Game officers served search warrants at the Ruby creek residence of Daniel Wise as well as the Naples residence of Christopher Carpenter. Officers were unable to locate Wise during the search, but additional moose meat was recovered at his Ruby Creek residence. Officers searching the Naples residence found evidence of illegal drugs and arrested California resident Chris Hamblin for possession of a controlled substance. Hamblin gave statements to officers implicating Wise in the taking of the moose and said that he had helped consume the meat from the poached animal. Wise was charged with a felony in Boundary County for taking a moose during closed season. Judge Justin Julien issued a warrant for Wise's arrest and set bond at $10,000. Wise was subsequently arrested on the charge in Thompson Falls, Montana and was extradited back to Boundary County. He entered a guilty plea to the charge in March and was sentenced by Judge James Michaud to three years in the state penitentiary. Michaud retained jurisdiction of the case and further sentencing will take place after Wise has completed a portion of his sentence at the state correctional facility at Cottonwood. Moose hunting in Idaho is restricted to those who apply for and are drawn in a lottery for a limited number of tags. Applicants who are drawn and then harvest a moose can only take one Idaho moose in their lifetime. Every illegal killing of a moose takes an opportunity away from a legal hunter who would like to have the rare once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Moose poaching in Idaho has been a significant problem in the past few years, especially in the Panhandle. Anonymous callers to the Citizens Against Poaching hotline (1-800-632-5999) can be rewarded $500 for information leading to the conviction of a moose poacher in most of the state. The reward has been raised to $1000 in the Panhandle because of the extent of the problem in northern Idaho. While some moose are mistaken for elk in the dense cover of the Panhandle, others are taken intentionally because moose are not wary of humans and they tend to provide easy opportunities for those people willing to break the law.