13-06-2006, 01:34 AM
Pennsylvania Game Commission: Bedford County Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Great Blue Herons
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Edward Sponsler, of Everett, recently pled guilty to five charges of unlawful taking and possession of protected birds (great blue herons) and one charge of using illegal shot while hunting turkeys for an incident on May 6. All charges were filed by Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Jonathan Zuck, of Bedford County, in magisterial District Judge Kathy S. Calhoune's office
in Everett.
Fines and costs totaled $708.50 for the violations. Each charge of
unlawful taking of a protected bird also carries along with it the
possibility of a one-year license revocation, which means Sponsler may lose his hunting and furtaking privileges for up to 5 years.
WCO Zuck noted that on May 6, he received a call from Game Commission
Land Management Group Supervisor David Koppenhaver regarding the unlawful taking of blue herons on State Game Land 97 in Monroe Township, Bedford County. Koppenhaver informed Zuck that, after hearing multiple shots on a wooded ridge-top along Elk Lick Creek on SGL 97, he walked to the location of the shooting.
"While closing in on the shooting, LMGS Koppenhaver noticed great blue herons flying from the treetops after each shot, and then land again," WCO Zuck said. "When he arrived on scene, he observed Mr. Sponsler, holding a 12- gauge shotgun, looking skyward at the herons flying above him.
"Also, one dead and one injured blue heron were lying on the ground within 12 yards of Mr. Sponsler, who had three shotshells in his firearm. Two of the shot shells contained #2 shot and the third shell contained #6 shot. Sponsler denied to Koppenhaver that he was shooting at the herons."
Later that same day, LMGS Koppenhaver and WCO Zuck performed necropsies on the herons in search of the shot. From one bird, Koppenhaver recovered #2 shot, which was the same size and type found in the shells Sponsler was carrying.
On May 7, Koppenhaver revisited the site and found three additional
birds that had been killed but were not found the day before.
On May 11, continuing his investigation, WCO Zuck interviewed Sponsler, who continued to state that he was turkey hunting and saw a coyote, so he placed the #2 shot in his firearm.
"Mr. Sponsler stated he had heard some shooting in the area where he
met LMGS Koppenhaver later that morning, but that 20 minutes had passed since he had heard the last shot until Koppenhaver came on scene," WCO Zuck said. "This conflicted with what LMGS Koppenhaver stated to me, that one and one- half minutes passed from when the last shot was fired until he saw Mr. Sponsler standing in the woods with his shotgun.
"Mr. Sponsler also stated the only bird he saw was a 'buzzard' and that he 'wouldn't waste a three-inch magnum shell on a heron.' Mr. Sponsler also denied seeing the herons lying on the ground, even though they were within 12 yards and directly in front of where he was standing."
On May 26, Mr. Sponsler pled guilty to all charges. While the great blue heron is not a listed endangered or threatened species in Pennsylvania, any rookery -- which is a nesting area of one or
more nests -- is considered critical and unique wildlife habitat and is protected.
"Protection of great blue heron nests, as well as the birds and their
offspring, are afforded by the state Game and Wildlife Code and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act," said WCO Zuck. "Pennsylvania has fewer than 100 great blue heron rookeries. They are a fragile resource."
Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.
The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.
.....nu OGSÅ ejer af en 243win :-)
Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Edward Sponsler, of Everett, recently pled guilty to five charges of unlawful taking and possession of protected birds (great blue herons) and one charge of using illegal shot while hunting turkeys for an incident on May 6. All charges were filed by Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Jonathan Zuck, of Bedford County, in magisterial District Judge Kathy S. Calhoune's office
in Everett.
Fines and costs totaled $708.50 for the violations. Each charge of
unlawful taking of a protected bird also carries along with it the
possibility of a one-year license revocation, which means Sponsler may lose his hunting and furtaking privileges for up to 5 years.
WCO Zuck noted that on May 6, he received a call from Game Commission
Land Management Group Supervisor David Koppenhaver regarding the unlawful taking of blue herons on State Game Land 97 in Monroe Township, Bedford County. Koppenhaver informed Zuck that, after hearing multiple shots on a wooded ridge-top along Elk Lick Creek on SGL 97, he walked to the location of the shooting.
"While closing in on the shooting, LMGS Koppenhaver noticed great blue herons flying from the treetops after each shot, and then land again," WCO Zuck said. "When he arrived on scene, he observed Mr. Sponsler, holding a 12- gauge shotgun, looking skyward at the herons flying above him.
"Also, one dead and one injured blue heron were lying on the ground within 12 yards of Mr. Sponsler, who had three shotshells in his firearm. Two of the shot shells contained #2 shot and the third shell contained #6 shot. Sponsler denied to Koppenhaver that he was shooting at the herons."
Later that same day, LMGS Koppenhaver and WCO Zuck performed necropsies on the herons in search of the shot. From one bird, Koppenhaver recovered #2 shot, which was the same size and type found in the shells Sponsler was carrying.
On May 7, Koppenhaver revisited the site and found three additional
birds that had been killed but were not found the day before.
On May 11, continuing his investigation, WCO Zuck interviewed Sponsler, who continued to state that he was turkey hunting and saw a coyote, so he placed the #2 shot in his firearm.
"Mr. Sponsler stated he had heard some shooting in the area where he
met LMGS Koppenhaver later that morning, but that 20 minutes had passed since he had heard the last shot until Koppenhaver came on scene," WCO Zuck said. "This conflicted with what LMGS Koppenhaver stated to me, that one and one- half minutes passed from when the last shot was fired until he saw Mr. Sponsler standing in the woods with his shotgun.
"Mr. Sponsler also stated the only bird he saw was a 'buzzard' and that he 'wouldn't waste a three-inch magnum shell on a heron.' Mr. Sponsler also denied seeing the herons lying on the ground, even though they were within 12 yards and directly in front of where he was standing."
On May 26, Mr. Sponsler pled guilty to all charges. While the great blue heron is not a listed endangered or threatened species in Pennsylvania, any rookery -- which is a nesting area of one or
more nests -- is considered critical and unique wildlife habitat and is protected.
"Protection of great blue heron nests, as well as the birds and their
offspring, are afforded by the state Game and Wildlife Code and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act," said WCO Zuck. "Pennsylvania has fewer than 100 great blue heron rookeries. They are a fragile resource."
Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.
The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.
.....nu OGSÅ ejer af en 243win :-)
Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)
.....ualmindelig velinformeret i forhold til min alder ... :-)
Favourite Quote: En humlebi ved ikke, at den ikke kan flyve......Gå ud på terrassen og vift med armene...hvis du letter må du være uvidende ;-)
Favourite Quote: En humlebi ved ikke, at den ikke kan flyve......Gå ud på terrassen og vift med armene...hvis du letter må du være uvidende ;-)
]), mens jeg fiskede laks i Alaska. Det var lige på og hårdt - ikke noget med katten om den varme grød... Har du licenserne i orden ellers får du en kæmpebøde nu med det samme og må forlade elven omgående.. (Hertil skal siges at vi var 45 minutters flyvning fra nærmeste hus....)
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