(TELLER COUNTY, Colo.) — A Kansas man was convicted of illegally poaching a moose and “leaving it to rot,” according to Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW).
On Monday, July 10, 33-year-old Steven Samuelson of Oakley, Kansas, pled guilty to a felony charge of willful destruction of wildlife and misdemeanor charges including hunting without a valid big game license, aggravated illegal possession of wildlife, failure to prepare wildlife for human consumption, hunting in a careless manner and illegal take of wildlife.
Samuelson received a two-year deferred jail sentence on the felony charge. It will be waived if he meets the terms of the plea agreement and two years of unsupervised probation.
In addition, Samuelson was fined nearly $20,000 and required to surrender the bow used to poach the moose among other property containing evidence of the crime. He was also assessed 65 points against his hunting license – 20 points short of having hunting privileges suspended.
CPW’s Area Wildlife Manager for the Pikes Peak region, Tim Kroening, praised the public for calling CPW when they suspected the poaching incident back in September 2021.
“Our officers are determined to stop people like Mr. Samuelson who think they can simply go kill any animal they like. I want to make it clear: Mr. Samuelson was not a hunter. He is a poacher,” Kroening said.
In September 2021, CPW received a report someone had illegally shot a mature bull moose with an arrow in an area north of Divide. CPW Officers Aaron Berscheid, Travis Sauder and Ben Meier were led to the remains by reporting parties.
CPW concluded a suspected poacher had shot the moose and then attempted to remove the head. The suspect laid tree branches and sticks across the carcass in an attempt to hide it, per a press release.
“This moose was treated unethically and that is something we take very seriously,” said Sauder, Assistant Area Wildlife Manager for the Pikes Peak region. “We are fortunate members of the public share our passion for wildlife and helped us catch the poacher.”
CPW said its officers used “old-fashioned” police work to track Samuelson. CPW Officers Sauder and Meier drove to Kansas where they worked with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to confront Samuelson at his work and execute a search warrant of his Oakley home.
“We rely on honest sportspeople to help us solve these types of cases,” stated CPW Officer Sauder.
If you have information about a possible crime against wildlife, call CPW or report it anonymously to Operation Game Thief (OGT) at 1-877-COLO-OGT (877-265-6648). Verizon users can dial #OGT or email CPW at [email protected].
A $500 reward is offered for information on cases involving big game or endangered species, while $250 is offered for information on turkeys and $100 for fishing and small game cases. The board may approve rewards of up to $1,000 for flagrant cases. Rewards are paid for information that leads to an arrest or a citation being issued.
