Reward Increased by $2,000 in Pair of Illegal Elk Killing Cases Along Nevada-Utah Border

Nevada game wardens are hot on the case of a pair of illegal elk killings that took place along the Nevada-Utah border. According to reports from Nevada’s Department of Wildlife, the killings are believed to have taken place over the Labor Day weekend and early December of last year, respectively.

As the investigation kicked into high gear following the December incident, Nevada officials are under the belief that at least one of the killings was done by a resident of neighboring Utah.

According to the Department of Wildlife, the details of the two killings are as follows:

The First Incident

A bull elk was shot and killed in Lincoln County on Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30 – Sept. 1). The elk was discovered with its head removed in an area known as Uvada, approximately 1.5 miles from the Utah border along the railroad tracks in Hunt Unit 242. The animal was left to waste with no other part of the animal removed. Game wardens believe the animal was shot on the night of Aug. 30 using a spotlight and suspect it may have been poached by someone living in Utah. While there were no open elk hunts in the area, there was an open archery bull elk hunt less than two miles away in Utah. This area of Nevada has been a problem location in the past during the Utah hunts.

The Second Incident

A bull elk was shot and left to waste between the night of Dec. 5 and the morning of Dec. 6 in the area of Reed Cabin Summit in Unit 231 in Lincoln County, about .75 miles from the Utah Border. Injuries on the elk lead investigators to believe this was not a wounding loss and the bull died where it was shot, about 30 yards off Reed Cabin Road. Game wardens also believe the antlers were removed from the animal between the evening of Dec. 6 and the morning of Dec. 7. The animal was killed the day after the close of the 231 Resident Antlered Elk Hunt and on the first day of the 231 Resident Antlerless (cow) Elk Hunt. There was also a rifle cow elk hunt, and an archery bull elk hunt open for the Indian Peaks hunt unit in Utah during the same time frame.

With very little information to go on in both of these cases, the NDOW is pleading with the public for more information. 

“These crimes should upset everyone. It’s a waste of Nevada’s wildlife,” John Anderson, game warden lieutenant for NDOW, said last week. “Let’s be very clear, these were not legitimate hunters. In both cases these people blatantly stole a mature bull elk from the people of Nevada and then left it to waste.”

The illegal killing of a big game animal without a valid tag is a Class E felony in the state of Nevada and the incident has since captured the attention of the hunting community, including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Stepping up to lend a hand, the organization has since committed to a $2,000 reward that would be paid out to anyone that offered information that would lead to solving these egregious poaching cases.

“Stories like these two cases should upset hunters and non-hunters alike. To not only illegally kill these animals, but then to leave them to waste is disgusting and we at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation want to help in finding these criminals and bringing them to justice,” Deanna Ackerman, Regional Director for RMEF said.

“Our hope is that the reward helps motivate someone to tell game wardens what they may know. We need to find the persons responsible for these senseless acts.”

As of late last week, the Nevada Department of Wildlife has admitted that they have very few leads in the cases and is continually asking for the public’s help to catch the people responsible

Anyone with information can call the OGT hotline at (800) 992-3030 or use the new NDOW Tip app.