A federal court in Benton, Illinois has ordered three southern Illinois men to pay fines totaling $3,000 and serve terms of probation totaling two years for violating federal and state hunting laws. Clyde W. Woodrow of Enfield, Darin L. Rose of McLeansboro, and Paul Trainor of Buncombe, were sentenced on November 4th by U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert after the three pled guilty to illegal hunting charges.
Woodrow pled guilty to the charge of placing bait for the purpose of hunting migratory game birds and was sentenced to a12-month term of probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. As a condition of probation, Woodrow is not allowed to apply for or otherwise obtain a hunting license. Rose and Trainor pled guilty to the charge of hunting migratory game birds over a baited area and were sentenced to a 6-month term of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine. As a condition of probation, Rose and Trainor are not allowed to apply for or otherwise obtain a hunting license.
The sentences come as a result of a 2002 investigation by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. State investigators, responding to complaints from citizens in White County, Illinois, learned that cracked corn was being used as bait during the annual dove hunt at Woodrow Farms in Enfield. The corn was spread on a section of the property in a strip approximately three feet wide by 30 yards long. Woodrow later admitted to placing the corn on the property. Rose and Trainor admitted to hunting on what they should have known to be a baited area.
The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the direct or indirect placement, scattering or other distribution of salt, grain, or other feed to lure or attract migratory game birds to any area where hunters are attempting to take them. Violation of the baiting provision of the MBTA is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to a 12-month term of imprisonment and a $100,000 fine. It is also unlawful to hunt migratory game birds on or over any area where grain has been distributed in a manner inconsistent with normal farming practices. Hunting over a baited field is a Class B Misdemeanor punishable by up to a 6-month term of imprisonment and a $15,000 fine. Hunters are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the area they choose to hunt to determine if seeds are present or if migratory birds in the area are feeding in a particular place in unusual concentrations and display a lack of caution.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
