4 Minnesotans fined for shooting owls

Article Date: 2005-09-21   Source: http://www.startribune.com   Comments: 0

By Larry Oakes

Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A. - Turns out that wildlife photographers weren't the only ones taking aim at the great gray owls that migrated into Minnesota by the thousands last winter.

Officials said Tuesday that four men from central and northern Minnesota paid heavy fines recently for shooting owls during an unusual invasion of the birds prompted by a rodent shortage in Canada.

In unrelated incidents, the men killed more than a dozen of the protected owls, and state conservation officers say they have other suspected violators they'd like to charge if they get more evidence.

One blamed the winged predators for a dip in the ruffed grouse population; another said owls attacked his pheasants.

"They're federally protected -- you can't shoot them for any reason," said Jeff Humphrey, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation officer.

People who saw or heard about the poaching tipped off conservation officers, according to a DNR news release.

"Most people enjoyed driving around and seeing the owls," said Scott Staples, a DNR conservation officer in Carlton County. "So some people got pretty upset when they found out owls were being shot."

In January, Staples got a tip naming Jacob R. Line, 20, of Cromwell. Staples notified Brad Merrill, a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Line confessed to Merrill that he'd shot an owl feeding near Cromwell, and he paid a fine of $850, the DNR release said.

"The owl killed a couple of pheasants; that's why he did it," Jacob Line's father, Roger Line, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "He told that to the DNR, but the DNR wasn't very understanding, I guess."

A similar tip in February led Staples to the nearby residence of Roy Line, 25, who reportedly shot an owl that attacked his chickens.

Like his relative, Jacob Line, Roy Line eventually confessed and paid an $850 fine, Staples said.

That same month, a tipster fingered Tyson Warner, 30, of rural Tamarack. Warner confessed to Staples and Merrill that he'd shot eight of the birds with small-caliber rifles.

When the DNR searched his fields with a dog, they found 10 owl carcasses.

Unlike the other violators, who received citations and did not have to appear in court, Warner was formally charged in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis with violations of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

He pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 24, the DNR reported.

He faces fines and restitution of $6,800 and a potential two-year suspension of his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges, the DNR's news release said.

Neither he nor Roy Line could be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a tip to conservation officer Humphrey in March led him and agent Merrill to Ronald J. Mlaskoch, 54, of rural Willow River.

Mlaskoch confessed to shooting four owls in Pine County, and paid fines and restitution totaling $3,400, the DNR reported.

In an interview Tuesday, Mlaskoch said he knew that the birds were protected but that he shot them because "there's no grouse around here anymore; I took it upon myself to address the problem."

Humphrey said several people besides Mlaskoch have complained to the DNR that they believe the owls depressed the grouse population.

"My understanding is that's absolutely false," Humphrey said. "The owls are mousers. The reason people are seeing fewer grouse is because they're at a low point in their [population] cycle right now."

Scientific articles on great grays said that while they will eat grouse and other birds, they seldom succeed in catching them and subsist almost exclusively on small rodents.

Anyone with additional information or incidents can call the DNR at 1-800-652-9093.

Related Articles:
2004-12-29 - Northern owls, driven south by shortage of prey, continue to arrive in Minnesota by Sam Cook - Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A.
2004-12-03 - Northland Nature: Owls descend on area as northern food supplies dwindle by Larry Weber - Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A.
2004-11-28 - One man's mission: to band the boreals by Sam Cook - Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A.

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