Three men convicted of violating moose permit
Toolbox
By Carla Occaso Times Argus Staff - Published: July 27, 2006
GUILDHALL – A jury convicted three men of violating their moose permit on Tuesday by using portable radios to aid in the hunt last October in northern Essex County.
Judge Robert Bent levied a $252 fine and assessed five points each against the hunting and fishing licenses of John Glodgett, 43, of Barton, his brother William Glodgett, 51, of Brownington and David Valley, 58, of Barton, according to prosecuter Vincent Illuzzi, Essex County state's attorney.
State regulations forbid walkie talkies and cell phones to help in moose hunting, but those devices are allowed in deer hunting, said Cedric Alexander, moose team leader and wildlife biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife Northeast Kingdom regional office.
"Moose hunting is restricted to only those who have permits," Alexander said. When regulations were implemented for the first moose hunt in 1993, only 30 moose permits were issued, and "there might have been a temptation for all of the members of a (hunting) camp to go in and try to help their one member who was lucky enough to get a permit. We adopted regulations New Hampshire had in place in 1988, and one was prohibition on use of electronic transceivers or cell phones."
Alexander said people had concerns about if it was fair chase to have all these scouts out and about radioing the permitted hunter, so the armed hunter was allowed to have one other companion with a gun and a third, unarmed, person who could act as a guide. Also, since moose are slower and apt to linger in the same area longer than a deer might, hunters are likelier to sneak up on a moose, Alexander said.
Game wardens discovered the violation as they patrolled the area and heard the hunters talking to each other on radios, Illuzzi said in a press release. State game wardens Sean Fowler and Stephen Majeski were on patrol in the Granby and Maidstone area on Oct. 19 monitoring two-way radio traffic when they heard two people, later identified as John and William Glodgett. Wardens determined the Glodgetts' location from the chatter, Illuzzi said.
After finding and separately interviewing the men, wardens determined John Glodgett had shot at, and believed he had wounded, a moose the afternoon before, but could not find it by dusk. Illuzzi said the jury found it to be a violation of fish and wildlife regulations because the men used portable transceivers to find the wounded moose the next day.
Hunters are only legally permitted to use radios once the moose is in possession of the permit holder. The restriction becomes tighter this 2006 moose season when using radios will only be approved after the animal is "legally tagged," Illuzzi said.
Alexander said the moose population is increasing in the Northeast Kingdom, so the number of permits will also go up. Last year the state issued by lottery 1,046 permits and 640 moose were taken. The number of permits will increase to over 1,100 in 2006, Alexander said, because the moose population is growing faster than is comfortable in coexisting with the human population.
"The moose herd continues to grow, we will have over 5,000 this moose in fall," Alexander said. That number is up from around 1,500 in 1996, he said, adding, "It was doubling its population every five years through the 80s and most of the 90s."
The Department of Fish and Wildlife is trying to bring the numbers back down to around 1,400 in Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties because of "conflicts with humans," ranging from moose-automobile fatalities to damage to maple sap tubing, cattle fencing and other concerns.
Most of the state's moose population lives in the Northeast Kingdom, especially in Essex County. Moose predators include man and wolves.
"Currently we have 3,000 moose in Essex County and they cause excessive over browsing of forest regeneration," Alexander said. "We feel it would be irresponsible of us not to get population down to initial goal sooner rather than later, to about 1,000 in Essex."
Illuzzi said it is important to enforce moose hunting laws to regulate the herd.
"Although fish and wildlife violations are considered by some to be relatively minor, these cases must be prosecuted to maintain the integrity of the state's moose management plan," Illuzzi said. The plan was first adopted in 1992.
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