Public helps CPW capture, charge man in moose killing investigation
A private game camera video in the rural woods of Teller County often captures what Denver residents do not always get to see: the calmness and beauty of Colorado's wildlife.
"In Colorado, we have roughly about 3,000 moose," said Travis Sauder, Assistant Area Wildlife Manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "But the opportunities to hunt these animals is extremely limited."
Sauder handles the Pikes Peak region of CPW out of an office in Colorado Springs.
"When someone does something like [poaching], it's taking an opportunity way from our ethical and legal sports people," said Sauder.
This month, one such poaching investigation finally ended after nearly two years, when an Oakey, Kansas, resident pled guilty to killing a bull moose in Teller County back in September 2021.
The man, 33-year-old Steven Samuelson, pleaded guilty on July 10 to willful destruction of wildlife, which is considered a felony, and several lesser charges.
"It was a lengthy investigation," said Sauder.
CPW tells CBS News Colorado that Samuelson used a hunting bow to take down the moose and attempted to remove its head.
Hunters in the area later found the full carcass laying under tree branches and sticks and reported it to CPW.
"In this particular instance, there was an open moose season, but by law, you're required to take all of the edible portions of that animal out of the field, and whoever this person was had not done that," said Sauder.
He says CPW used all sorts of digital and forensic measures, as well as canine dogs to investigate this poaching incident, but was through the public's help the agency was ultimately able to track down Samuelson.
This included using the game camera footage provided by one of the parties who reported the incident.
"And then the general public came forward when we released those photos, we had multiple [reporting parties] come forth to identify Mr. Samuelson, which was our next big break in the case," said Sauder.
He says similar cases are often harder to solve in some of Colorado's more rural areas, which is why CPW really relies on the public to say something when they see it.
"The most important thing that I want to put out there is we rely on ethical sports people," said Sauder. "We understand that mistakes can happen in the heat of the moment, but doing the right thing helps us set that on the right course."
Samuelson was fined nearly $20,000 and is now 20 points away from having his hunting license suspended. His two-year jail sentence is deferred so long as he meets the terms of his plea agreement, which includes two years of unsupervised probation.
Anyone can report a crime against wildlife to CPW or by sending an anonymous tip to Operation Game Thief at 1-877-COLO-OGT (or 877-265-6648) or email game.thief@state.co.us.
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