SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) – An Idaho woman was charged in connection with the illegal killing of a trophy bull elk in Summit County.
Crystal Alsbury, 35, of Rigby, Idaho was charged on March 17 with wanton destruction of protected wildlife, a third-degree felony, and failure to wear hunter orange. Alsbury is set to appear in court on May 18.
On January 31, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources received a call about a possible poaching incident at the Henefer-Echo Wildlife Management Area in Summit County. A DWR officer responded to the area and found Alsbury with three men.
The group stated that Alsbury had a bull elk permit issued by the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and that she had killed a bull elk in the area.
However, the woman’s permit was only valid for hunting on unoccupied federal property. The land she shot the bull elk on is currently owned by the State of Utah. The land has not been unoccupied federal land at any point in the past.
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None of the people in Alsbury’s group were wearing hunter orange which is required by law for this type of elk hunt.
Because the 6×6 elk is considered a trophy elk in the State of Utah, the minimum restitution value for the trophy elk is $8,000.
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If Alsbury is convicted and sentenced when she appears in court on May 18, conservation officers will also recommend a hunting license suspension.
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