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Thread: ex-DU Prez guilty of baiting ducks

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    Default ex-DU Prez guilty of baiting ducks

    Ex-Ducks Unlimited president in Idaho sentenced for baiting ducks with corn while hunting

    By JOHN MILLER Associated Press
    December 10, 2012 - 6:56 pm EST

    BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho man who once was the local leader of a national group dedicated to conserving ducks is being punished for using illegal methods to hunt them.

    Charles D. Steele of Hagerman was sentenced Monday to a year of supervised probation, a $2,000 fine and 25 hours of community service in U.S. District Court. While on probation, Steele is also forbidden to hunt in the United States.

    The 48-year-old Steele is the former volunteer president of the Hagerman chapter of Ducks Unlimited, whose motto is "filling the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever."

    But on Sept. 25, he pleaded guilty to violating federal bird-protection laws by baiting ducks by placing corn on private farmland near Gooding to attract waterfowl — and enhance hunting opportunities.

    Efforts to reach Steele on Monday were unsuccessful; his phone number in Hagerman was disconnected.

    However, Idaho Ducks Unlimited leaders said their group condemns Steele's hunting tactics, not only as a violation of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act but also the ethics of fair-chase that govern hunting.

    Mond Warren, the group's regional director in Nampa, called corn baiting akin to using salt to lure big game such as elk nearer to hunters' scopes.

    "We have a zero tolerance for any type of game violation," Warren said. "It's a very stringent policy, there's no wavering on it. Our job is waterfowl conservation and wetland conservation."

    Warren said Steele resigned from Ducks Unlimited about a year ago, but wasn't sure if it was before or after he was cited on Jan. 12.

    On that date, Steele and two companions were hunting from a duck blind near where he'd strewn large quantities of whole corn, prosecutors said.

    "The defendant knowingly spread whole corn that he knew would attract ducks and geese to the area in anticipation of enhancing hunting opportunities for himself and others," according to federal court documents. "Law enforcement personnel observed the defendant shoot at several ducks over the baited area."

    The two people who were with Steele at the time so far haven't been charged, said Pamela Bearg, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Boise. She declined to say if the agency planned to eventually charge them.

    Steele has been in trouble with authorities before.

    He was convicted in 2000 on drug possession and assault charges.

    In addition, he was arrested the following year in a second-degree kidnapping and assault case. He eventually pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order as part of a plea deal.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...iting-Sentence

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    Quote Originally Posted by JABIII View Post
    Ex-Ducks Unlimited president in Idaho sentenced for baiting ducks with corn while hunting

    By JOHN MILLER Associated Press
    December 10, 2012 - 6:56 pm EST

    BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho man who once was the local leader of a national group dedicated to conserving ducks is being punished for using illegal methods to hunt them.

    Charles D. Steele of Hagerman was sentenced Monday to a year of supervised probation, a $2,000 fine and 25 hours of community service in U.S. District Court. While on probation, Steele is also forbidden to hunt in the United States.

    The 48-year-old Steele is the former volunteer president of the Hagerman chapter of Ducks Unlimited, whose motto is "filling the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever."

    But on Sept. 25, he pleaded guilty to violating federal bird-protection laws by baiting ducks by placing corn on private farmland near Gooding to attract waterfowl — and enhance hunting opportunities.

    Efforts to reach Steele on Monday were unsuccessful; his phone number in Hagerman was disconnected.

    However, Idaho Ducks Unlimited leaders said their group condemns Steele's hunting tactics, not only as a violation of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act but also the ethics of fair-chase that govern hunting.

    Mond Warren, the group's regional director in Nampa, called corn baiting akin to using salt to lure big game such as elk nearer to hunters' scopes.

    "We have a zero tolerance for any type of game violation," Warren said. "It's a very stringent policy, there's no wavering on it. Our job is waterfowl conservation and wetland conservation."

    Warren said Steele resigned from Ducks Unlimited about a year ago, but wasn't sure if it was before or after he was cited on Jan. 12.

    On that date, Steele and two companions were hunting from a duck blind near where he'd strewn large quantities of whole corn, prosecutors said.

    "The defendant knowingly spread whole corn that he knew would attract ducks and geese to the area in anticipation of enhancing hunting opportunities for himself and others," according to federal court documents. "Law enforcement personnel observed the defendant shoot at several ducks over the baited area."

    The two people who were with Steele at the time so far haven't been charged, said Pamela Bearg, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Boise. She declined to say if the agency planned to eventually charge them.

    Steele has been in trouble with authorities before.

    He was convicted in 2000 on drug possession and assault charges.

    In addition, he was arrested the following year in a second-degree kidnapping and assault case. He eventually pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order as part of a plea deal.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...iting-Sentence
    Why weren't the other two charged?
    “We as a group now have a greater moral responsibility to act than those who live
    in ignorance. Once you become knowledgeable, you have an obligation to do
    something about it.”—Ron Paul

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    Chances are, the government couldn't prove that the other two knew that the corn was there. If they were not observed placing the bait, could not see the bait from where they were shooting, and did not admit to knowing that the bait was there, the government has no case. I am sure that they had DUboy on video distributing the corn.

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    I had no idea it was there. We were completely caught off guard.
    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn View Post
    Does Elton John know you have his shotgun?

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    16 years ago it wouldn't have mattered. Under strict liability, just hunting over bait was illegal whether you knew it was there or not. Then the Feds changed the law. Dumbest thing they ever did from a law enforcement standpoint. Many a seasoned Federal Agent retired because of it.

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    Corn IS the best decoy of all...

    Just sayin...

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    It is a bit ridiculous to be be liable for hunting over corn because some peta lovin freak dumps corn 30 yards from where you are hunting in the cover of darkness. makes a lot of sense to me.
    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn View Post
    Does Elton John know you have his shotgun?

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    First...
    Please note some BS in the article...

    "Ex-Ducks Unlimited president" - Makes him sound real important. Eh?

    Underlying fact:
    "volunteer president of the Hagerman chapter of Ducks Unlimited"

    So basically, this dude was an "Area Chariman"...
    I guess "President" draws more readers?

    Don't ya just love the media.

    T.
    William Gettys Smart
    1830-1906
    Company A
    49th NC Infantry
    CSA

    Remember....

    http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...&GRid=12958647

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    He must of had some Sumter blood in him

    Last edited by GobblerHntr; 12-11-2012 at 10:50 AM.
    You've got one life. Blaze on!

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    But its legal to grow corn, with the express purpose of artificially flooding to the ears, in order to kill ducks: THIS is definition of "fair chase"? It's like shooting welfare recipients in the free cheese line. lol
    Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cajunwannabe View Post
    But its legal to grow corn, with the express purpose of artificially flooding to the ears, in order to kill ducks: THIS is definition of "fair chase"? It's like shooting welfare recipients in the free cheese line. lol
    It's not about that. It's about all the hours spent planting, bleeding, and tearing up over the love of waterfowl, that makes flooded corn,....not baiting. It's the habitat created. Those that plant are the reason we have what ducks we do have. If it weren't for the selfless acts of impoundment owners, the poor birds would starve. Lord knows how they made it before.
    Be proactive about improving public waterfowl habitat in South Carolina. It's not going to happen by itself, and our help is needed. We have the potential to winter thousands of waterfowl on public grounds if we fight for it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BOGSTER View Post
    It's not about that. It's about all the hours spent planting, bleeding, and tearing up over the love of waterfowl, that makes flooded corn,....not baiting. It's the habitat created. Those that plant are the reason we have what ducks we do have. If it weren't for the selfless acts of impoundment owners, the poor birds would starve. Lord knows how they made it before.
    Don't forget DU! they have "filled our skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and"........................ah, forget it.
    Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.

    "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" Sir Winston Churchill

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    Quote Originally Posted by BOGSTER View Post
    It's not about that. It's about all the hours spent planting, bleeding, and tearing up over the love of waterfowl, that makes flooded corn,....not baiting. It's the habitat created. Those that plant are the reason we have what ducks we do have. If it weren't for the selfless acts of impoundment owners, the poor birds would starve. Lord knows how they made it before.
    Not to mention those who tear up writing a check to those who do it for them.
    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn View Post
    Does Elton John know you have his shotgun?

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    They guy took "more habitat on the ground means more ducks in the sky" a bit to literal!
    You've got one life. Blaze on!

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    Or the ones who just go out to Arkansas and pay for a blind in someone else's flooded field.

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    I smell bitterness.

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    They done stole all my ducks, bo.
    "Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration" -Izaak Walton

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigBrother View Post
    They done stole all my ducks, bo.

    Bingo

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigBrother View Post
    They done stole all my ducks, bo.
    mine too, damn evil corn ponders.....

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    There is something about killing a duck that makes a man do crazy things. If you are not killing a duck you do crazier things.
    Either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.

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