# How to report incidents to the Fish and Game



## maffleck (Jul 23, 2015)

So I have called the authorities over an area I archery hunted without a single response from them. Three "friends" without a tag were hunting with a "friend" with a tag in a limited entry archery unit. We had sat in this spot all day because we knew elk were there and these guys came in drunk and with firearms and started yelling and threatening us if we didn't leave their "honey hole." It appears someone was being paid to help this guy and they were going to do anything required to hunt this area. We conceded as our lives seemed more important than any elk. However, we have their names and it seems there should be some mechanism to make sure they have some incentive to never do this again. I can give more details, but does the Fish and Game even care? I called the Fish and Game officer over the Northern Wasatch front 15 times last year about extended archery and he never called back once. I called the person over the unit I was hunting this year 10 times without a return call. Should I let it go or is there something that should be done?


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Something is off, I reported an incident near Strawberry and the guy came from Duchesne within the hour. I wonder if they have placed you in the "cry wolf" category after making that many reports. Similar to people complaining about posts on here, as soon as I see it is from this certain member, since 90% of reports come from him/her I don't even bother reading it. Just trying to think of what might be going on, I certainly dont really know, just speculating.


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## maffleck (Jul 23, 2015)

Nice assumption. I haven't made any reports. I simply said I tried to get information about the extended archery and left 15 messages without a return call. I tried to get information about how to hunt a limited entry unit and ask questions about the indian reservation boundaries which aren't mapped on the BLM maps and was warned to not go on Indian land. Also multiple calls all summer with no return call. Its not uncommon. Ask anyone who calls to ask for general questions, they do not respond. Now for actual incidents, I am sure they respond. Mine isn't really a poaching problem. I just want to go through a channel that forces these fools to be discouraged when trying to "own" public land that they don't even have tags to hunt. So answer the question not attack me without basis. Who gets things done at the Fish and Game. Local officers do not respond unless its poaching.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I have called the hotline a couple of times. Both times the dispatchers were more interested in getting my personal information than quickly sending a LEO out to investigate. The first time I played their silly game, the second time after several minutes of irrelevant questions I hung up. I won't bother calling anymore unless it directly affects the safety of myself or others. 

The first time I called was for the safety of hunters at Farmington Bay. 3 guys walking down the dike with high power rifles, blazing away at everything. They did get caught.


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## maffleck (Jul 23, 2015)

We didn't know what to do really as the guy was carrying a firearm during archery season and was absolutely blitzed drunk. He kept touching it with his hand and we had no idea what he would do. We played nice and played along and let them do their thing. They started yelling, "we will blow this place up" meaning if we don't get to hunt here, you certainly won't. We were also in an area with no cell service and no satellite phone. There wasn't anything we could do but just play along and let them push us out of our hunt.

Its frustrating because they expect you to stay within boundaries but they don't actually have maps of some of those areas. We went to the BLM office and they don't have them either. So you call the main office, they give you the local officer. You call the local officer over and over and over. Then they wonder why we don't exactly think the world of them? The long and the short is, three guys without tags were guiding a guy with a tag and they would do anything to get the job done. Except they aren't licensed guides and they don't own the mountain. They come with guns and booze and threaten you. I don't want to do anything but file a report so that if these guys are ever reported again (which seems likely), the Fish and Game has a history. But the local officer will now be trying to cover his butt for not ever calling me back all summer.


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## Mtnbeer (Jul 15, 2012)

I would call the land managing agency where the incident occurred, not DWR (if it was on public land, as it sounds like it is). Brandishing a firearm while issuing threats is a crime and the land management enforcement officers generally have jurisdiction. That should be easy enough to prove if you have witnesses. However, it may be hard to prove that the one with a tag is paying the others to help though. That is a situation that is really hard to enforce, but as with brandishing a firearm, illegal guiding is more the purview of the land management agency than DWR.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Call the local sheriffs office and tell them that you are being threatened to be shot while hunting...they don't take kindly to folks threatening to shoot someone else.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Did you call 911 and report that your life is being threatened? That is what I would of done and then stayed in the area until a county sheriff showed up. 

Also calling the regional biologist at times can be worthless. They have other jobs besides answering questions on where the best place to hunt is and your calls may of gotten lost in the shuffle depending on when you called them. I called one once a month before the season started for antelope and he finally got back to me during the season.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

If you want land ownership and boundary info then you need to pony up a little cash and buy a decent GPS like the Garmin 62S and then get the Utah hunting gps maps chip. you can view it on your PC or use it with the GPS while in the field. It really is the best option rather that using maps and trying to have authorities tell you where you can hunt. You need to take ownership of this problem and this is the best solution: http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/?gclid=CO2QpNui78cCFY8ojgodN7UEJw

As for folks threatening you with a firearm--as was said, I would be trying to record the incident with my phone if possible and then calling 911 as soon as I had service. It's amazing how you can change peoples' behavior by telling them that you are recording their actions. There are free apps out there that instantly upload your recordings so even if your phone is destroyed the video is in the cloud. This is also a good thing to mention to anyone threatening you-->"I am recording your actions and the video is instantly being recorded to an offsite server". Makes folks think twice about their actions--of course if the person is crazy or on drugs I suggest RUNNING LIKE HELL! then calling 911.


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## ram2h2o (Sep 11, 2007)

If anyone threatens you with a weapon you should notify 911 as soon as you can. Also if you have ID of their vehicle(s) get description and lic.#. Better yet take a picture. Don't worry about DWR contact 911 and let them send whomever they feel is needed.
If they were drunk with firearms they need to be wearing S/S bracelets and booked.


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## maffleck (Jul 23, 2015)

Excellent advice. Thank you. I get a bit left behind with technology and don't even realize what is available. Still the question remains. Who do I call? Do I just try to local guy again even though he hasn't responded with 10 calls over 4 months? I was hoping someone would know someone who gets things done.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

If someone threatened you with a weapon or was behaving in an unsafe manner(i.e. carrying firearm while intoxicated), it is not a wildlife issue. Call any and every authority until you get someone that picks up their phone. It sounds like the alleged wildlife violations here were tangential at best to the bigger issue which should be reported.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

maffleck said:


> Excellent advice. Thank you. I get a bit left behind with technology and don't even realize what is available. Still the question remains. Who do I call? Do I just try to local guy again even though he hasn't responded with 10 calls over 4 months? I was hoping someone would know someone who gets things done.


Just like kwalk says--call the sheriff and file a report


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Airborne said:


> If you want land ownership and boundary info then you need to pony up a little cash and buy a decent GPS like the Garmin 62S and then get the Utah hunting gps maps chip. you can view it on your PC or use it with the GPS while in the field. It really is the best option rather that using maps and trying to have authorities tell you where you can hunt. You need to take ownership of this problem and this is the best solution: http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/?gclid=CO2QpNui78cCFY8ojgodN7UEJw
> 
> As for folks threatening you with a firearm--as was said, I would be trying to record the incident with my phone if possible and then calling 911 as soon as I had service. It's amazing how you can change peoples' behavior by telling them that you are recording their actions. There are free apps out there that instantly upload your recordings so even if your phone is destroyed the video is in the cloud. This is also a good thing to mention to anyone threatening you-->"I am recording your actions and the video is instantly being recorded to an offsite server". Makes folks think twice about their actions--of course if the person is crazy or on drugs I suggest RUNNING LIKE HELL! then calling 911.


That's some excellent advice, though I'd be one for defusing the situation by doing whatever it is an armed drunk is asking me to do. Once safely out of sight/range, the problem then becomes the sheriff's problem, not fish and game. Someone drunk with a gun is a class B misdemeanor, whether they're firing it, pointing it or using it as a walking stick.

http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE76/htm/76_10_052800.htm


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## maffleck (Jul 23, 2015)

Thanks for the tips both related to the question and others that would have made the situation better. I have begun the process of at least trying to get the DWR to look into it. If they don't, I will either contact the county DA or file something in a civil manner. I appreciate the network and the advice.


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