[mou] Men caught shooting owls
Mike Hendrickson
smithville4@charter.net
Tue, 20 Sep 2005 22:07:10 -0500
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This was in the first page of the Duluth News-Tribune paper this =
morning.
Four men fined for shooting owls
WILDLIFE: State and federal officers join ranks to catch the shooters.
BY JOHN MYERS
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Four Carlton County men have been fined after separate incidents of =
shooting owls that migrated into the region during last winter's owl =
irruption.
The shootings were unrelated but occurred when thousands of great gray, =
boreal and northern hawk owls moved into the region from Canada looking =
for small rodents to eat.
Ronald J. Mlaskoch, 54, Willow River; Tyson Y. Warner, 30, Tamarack; Roy =
A. Line, 25, and Jacob R. Line, 21, both of Cromwell, all were charged =
with killing the federally protected birds.
The federal charges and ensuing fines were the result of joint efforts =
by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and =
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Citizen tips to local conservation officers played a key role in all of =
the charges, the DNR said Monday in releasing the information.
In the cases:
. Jacob Line admitted to federal agent Brad Merill that he had shot an =
owl that was feeding near Cromwell in January. Line was fined $850.
. Roy Line admitted to shooting and destroying an owl and also was fined =
$850.
. Mlaskoch admitted to shooting four owls and will pay fines and =
restitution totaling $3,400.
. Warner admitted to shooting eight owls with .22 and .22-250 caliber =
rifles. Warner later pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird =
Treaty Act for his role in killing great gray owls and faces fines and =
restitution totaling up to $6,800. Warner will be sentenced Oct. 24 in =
U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, and his hunting, fishing and =
trapping privileges could be suspended for two years.
DNR conservation officer Scott Staples of Cloquet said public outrage at =
the shootings led to the investigations.
"Most people enjoyed driving around and seeing all the owls last winter, =
so I think people were pretty upset when they saw or heard about the =
shootings," he said. "We know of several more owls that were shot but, =
as of now, we don't have enough information to prove any more than these =
four cases."
Experts say more than 5,000 owls may have been in Northeastern Minnesota =
last winter looking for food after Canada's small-rodent population hit =
a low part of its cycle. Many owls settled into the Meadowlands area =
northwest of Duluth, but some also migrated to Carlton, Pine and Aitkin =
counties.
Most of the owls that wintered in Minnesota were in good condition, =
although several boreal owls starved to death and nearly 1,000 owls -- =
mostly great grays -- were found dead after being hit by cars. Great =
grays hunt in the open, often near roads, and generally don't fear =
people, making them vulnerable to humans.
Anyone with information on owl shootings can contact Staples at (218) =
879-9434
Michael Hendrickson
Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota Birding Treks
http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/
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<DIV><FONT face=3D"Comic Sans MS" size=3D2>This was in the first page of =
the Duluth=20
News-Tribune paper this morning.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Comic Sans MS" size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<H1>Four men fined for shooting owls</H1><IMG height=3D5=20
src=3D"http://www.duluthsuperior.com/images/common/spacer.gif"=20
width=3D1><BR><B><SPAN class=3Ddeck>WILDLIFE: State and federal officers =
join ranks=20
to catch the shooters.</SPAN></B><BR><IMG height=3D10=20
src=3D"http://www.duluthsuperior.com/images/common/spacer.gif"=20
width=3D1><BR><B><FONT size=3D-1><SPAN class=3Dbyline>BY JOHN=20
MYERS</SPAN></FONT></B><BR><IMG height=3D1=20
src=3D"http://www.duluthsuperior.com/images/common/spacer.gif"=20
width=3D1><BR><B><FONT size=3D-1><SPAN class=3Dcreditline>NEWS TRIBUNE =
STAFF=20
WRITER</SPAN></FONT></B><BR><IMG height=3D1=20
src=3D"http://www.duluthsuperior.com/images/common/spacer.gif" =
width=3D1><BR><SPAN=20
class=3Dbody-content><!-- begin body-content -->
<P>Four Carlton County men have been fined after separate incidents of =
shooting=20
owls that migrated into the region during last winter's owl =
irruption.</P>
<P>The shootings were unrelated but occurred when thousands of great =
gray,=20
boreal and northern hawk owls moved into the region from Canada looking =
for=20
small rodents to eat.</P>
<P>Ronald J. Mlaskoch, 54, Willow River; Tyson Y. Warner, 30, Tamarack; =
Roy A.=20
Line, 25, and Jacob R. Line, 21, both of Cromwell, all were charged with =
killing=20
the federally protected birds.</P>
<P>The federal charges and ensuing fines were the result of joint =
efforts by=20
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and the =
U.S.=20
Fish and Wildlife Service.</P>
<P>Citizen tips to local conservation officers played a key role in all =
of the=20
charges, the DNR said Monday in releasing the information.</P>
<P>In the cases:</P>
<P><SPAN class=3Dbox_solid>=95 </SPAN>Jacob Line admitted to =
federal agent Brad=20
Merill that he had shot an owl that was feeding near Cromwell in =
January. Line=20
was fined $850.</P>
<P><SPAN class=3Dbox_solid>=95 </SPAN>Roy Line admitted to shooting =
and=20
destroying an owl and also was fined $850.</P>
<P><SPAN class=3Dbox_solid>=95 </SPAN>Mlaskoch admitted to shooting =
four owls=20
and will pay fines and restitution totaling $3,400.</P>
<P><SPAN class=3Dbox_solid>=95 </SPAN>Warner admitted to shooting =
eight owls=20
with .22 and .22-250 caliber rifles. Warner later pleaded guilty to =
violating=20
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for his role in killing great gray owls =
and faces=20
fines and restitution totaling up to $6,800. Warner will be sentenced =
Oct. 24 in=20
U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, and his hunting, fishing and =
trapping=20
privileges could be suspended for two years.</P>
<P>DNR conservation officer Scott Staples of Cloquet said public outrage =
at the=20
shootings led to the investigations.</P>
<P>"Most people enjoyed driving around and seeing all the owls last =
winter, so I=20
think people were pretty upset when they saw or heard about the =
shootings," he=20
said. "We know of several more owls that were shot but, as of now, we =
don't have=20
enough information to prove any more than these four cases."</P>
<P>Experts say more than 5,000 owls may have been in Northeastern =
Minnesota last=20
winter looking for food after Canada's small-rodent population hit a low =
part of=20
its cycle. Many owls settled into the Meadowlands area northwest of =
Duluth, but=20
some also migrated to Carlton, Pine and Aitkin counties.</P>
<P>Most of the owls that wintered in Minnesota were in good condition, =
although=20
several boreal owls starved to death and nearly 1,000 owls -- mostly =
great grays=20
-- were found dead after being hit by cars. Great grays hunt in the =
open, often=20
near roads, and generally don't fear people, making them vulnerable to=20
humans.</P>
<P>Anyone with information on owl shootings can contact Staples at (218) =
879-9434</P></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Comic Sans MS" size=3D2>Michael =
Hendrickson<BR>Duluth,=20
Minnesota<BR>Minnesota Birding Treks<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/">http://webpages.chart=
er.net/mmhendrickson/</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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