Sportsmans channel hunt host charged with illegal hunting in Alaska
09-15-2015, 06:17 AM
#1
Boone & Crockett
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Sportsmans channel hunt host charged with illegal hunting in Alaska
Another expert caught violating hunting laws.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The host of the Sportsman Channel hunting show "The Syndicate" was charged Monday with two felonies related to poaching in northwest Alaska.
Karen Loeffler, the U.S. attorney in Alaska, said at a news conference that grizzly bears, moose, caribou and Dall sheep were illegally killed in the Noatak National Preserve with the illegal kills ending up on the cable television show.
"The charges show five years of documented, illegal take of wildlife involving over two dozen big game animals," Loeffler said.
There were at least four hunts conducted for the show in Alaska over that time span, said Steven Skrocki, the lead prosecutor.
"All of the Alaska hunts that appeared on his show were conducted illegally," he said, adding they "were edited to appear not illegal."
Loeffler noted that various types of hunting, including commercial and subsistence hunting, is allowed in the preserve, north of the Arctic Circle.
"This is an amazing state, and what we have here is very inviting to people from outside and should be," she said. "We just want people to do it legally."
Prosecutors charged a host of the show, Clark W. Dixon, 41, of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, with two felony violations of the Lacey Act. The others who were charged, from Alaska, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Nevada, face misdemeanors or ticket offenses.
A message left by The Associated Press at Dixon's home Monday evening was not immediately returned. Sportsman Channel spokesman Tom Caraccioli said the channel has no comment.
Among those charged is Dixon's father, Charles W. Dixon, 70, of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and authorities are seeking forfeiture of his aircraft.
Clark Dixon is charged with taking a grizzly bear for a fee in 2010 without being a licensed and registered big game hunting guide. He's also charged with conducting an illegal outfitting operation since 2009. Prosecutors say he also lied about Alaska residency to take advantage of hunting privileges for locals.
Two production companies and another individual were cited for filming and airing video without a commercial permit.
Several personalities associated with Alaska-based reality or outdoors television shows have had brushes with the law, including former rock star and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent.
In 2012, Nugent paid a $10,000 fine and was placed on two years' probation for transporting a black bear he illegally killed. The kill occurred in 2009 during a bow hunt that had been filmed for Nugent's Outdoor channel television show "Spirit of the Wild."
Former Miami Dolphins running back Larry Csonka was fined $5,000 in 2006 for filming his "North to Alaska" cable television outdoor show on National Forest Service land without obtaining a special use permit.
More recently, Jim West, a hunting guide who appeared on Animal Planet's "Wild West Alaska," pleaded guilty last year to four misdemeanor hunting or guiding violations.
And the family associated with the Discovery Channel's "Alaskan Bush People" face residency problems on two fronts. The state has cited the six family members for illegally applying for the yearly oil revenue check residents receive once they meet certain requirements, such as living in the state for a certain amount of time. The family members also face minor citations for not meeting residency requirements for resident hunting and fishing licenses.
———
AP Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The host of the Sportsman Channel hunting show "The Syndicate" was charged Monday with two felonies related to poaching in northwest Alaska.
Karen Loeffler, the U.S. attorney in Alaska, said at a news conference that grizzly bears, moose, caribou and Dall sheep were illegally killed in the Noatak National Preserve with the illegal kills ending up on the cable television show.
"The charges show five years of documented, illegal take of wildlife involving over two dozen big game animals," Loeffler said.
There were at least four hunts conducted for the show in Alaska over that time span, said Steven Skrocki, the lead prosecutor.
"All of the Alaska hunts that appeared on his show were conducted illegally," he said, adding they "were edited to appear not illegal."
Loeffler noted that various types of hunting, including commercial and subsistence hunting, is allowed in the preserve, north of the Arctic Circle.
"This is an amazing state, and what we have here is very inviting to people from outside and should be," she said. "We just want people to do it legally."
Prosecutors charged a host of the show, Clark W. Dixon, 41, of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, with two felony violations of the Lacey Act. The others who were charged, from Alaska, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Nevada, face misdemeanors or ticket offenses.
A message left by The Associated Press at Dixon's home Monday evening was not immediately returned. Sportsman Channel spokesman Tom Caraccioli said the channel has no comment.
Among those charged is Dixon's father, Charles W. Dixon, 70, of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and authorities are seeking forfeiture of his aircraft.
Clark Dixon is charged with taking a grizzly bear for a fee in 2010 without being a licensed and registered big game hunting guide. He's also charged with conducting an illegal outfitting operation since 2009. Prosecutors say he also lied about Alaska residency to take advantage of hunting privileges for locals.
Two production companies and another individual were cited for filming and airing video without a commercial permit.
Several personalities associated with Alaska-based reality or outdoors television shows have had brushes with the law, including former rock star and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent.
In 2012, Nugent paid a $10,000 fine and was placed on two years' probation for transporting a black bear he illegally killed. The kill occurred in 2009 during a bow hunt that had been filmed for Nugent's Outdoor channel television show "Spirit of the Wild."
Former Miami Dolphins running back Larry Csonka was fined $5,000 in 2006 for filming his "North to Alaska" cable television outdoor show on National Forest Service land without obtaining a special use permit.
More recently, Jim West, a hunting guide who appeared on Animal Planet's "Wild West Alaska," pleaded guilty last year to four misdemeanor hunting or guiding violations.
And the family associated with the Discovery Channel's "Alaskan Bush People" face residency problems on two fronts. The state has cited the six family members for illegally applying for the yearly oil revenue check residents receive once they meet certain requirements, such as living in the state for a certain amount of time. The family members also face minor citations for not meeting residency requirements for resident hunting and fishing licenses.
———
AP Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Associated Press
09-15-2015, 06:49 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Onslow County, NC
Posts: 1,856
While he is a "professional" I do have to ask why so many violations have occurred in Alaska. Not saying they weren't wrong but something must be going on of information not being clear or something.
Experienced something like this in the Fl. Keys. I knew the regulations front and back and even talked to several dive shops including making a couple calls to the Fish and Game to ask the Marine Patrol a question. They all said you are good if you go spearing below a particular island as anything above was considered a preserve. What do you know get asked out of the water by a Marine Patrol Officer and find out we just so happened to go far enough south that we went back into a preserve about 5 acres big, not on any of the states maps. Luckily the officer understood and just confiscated the fish as he called back to base and they confirmed we had been calling about where we could legally go. So it was an oversight I suppose.
Can't say this is the case but far too many incidents occurring for people and businesses like this that should know all the information before going.
Experienced something like this in the Fl. Keys. I knew the regulations front and back and even talked to several dive shops including making a couple calls to the Fish and Game to ask the Marine Patrol a question. They all said you are good if you go spearing below a particular island as anything above was considered a preserve. What do you know get asked out of the water by a Marine Patrol Officer and find out we just so happened to go far enough south that we went back into a preserve about 5 acres big, not on any of the states maps. Luckily the officer understood and just confiscated the fish as he called back to base and they confirmed we had been calling about where we could legally go. So it was an oversight I suppose.
Can't say this is the case but far too many incidents occurring for people and businesses like this that should know all the information before going.
09-15-2015, 07:11 AM
#3
Boone & Crockett
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Salty, I suspect that Alaska is so huge and WCOs so few that it would be pretty easy to get away with violating game and fish laws. Any professional who is worth their title would make sure they knew the laws in the areas they want to hunt in, that is why they have staff. People do make mistakes, however I doubt these people are making mistakes, I think they are more than likely on purposes. As far as that bunch of idiots called the Alaskan Bush people, they are just a bunch of frauds who couldn't live on their own anywhere, much less in the wilds of Alaska, a tribe of bums.
Last edited by Oldtimr; 09-15-2015 at 07:16 AM.
09-15-2015, 11:08 AM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Posts: 6,357
I don't know what the facts are in this case. I read a little about this on another hunting site, and it looked like some of the rules they were in violation of were sort of persnikkety rules. For example, I think they were sited for not hunting with a guide or with an Alaskan resident. That may be a rule, but I'm not sure I would characterize that as "poaching." The term "poaching" is an inflammatory and emotional term. Another thing I saw was that they were in trouble for not obtaining the proper permits for filming their hunts. If all these guys did was hunt without a guide and without an Alaskan resident and didn't get permission for filming . . . I wouldn't beat them up too much about "poaching."
On the other hand, I didn't study all of the charges against them. I don't watch hunting shows and don't know who these people are so didn't care enough to read the information thoroughly.
I looked at this article. Look carefully at the charges that are leveled against these people. I didn't see anything consistent with hunting outside of legal seasons, hunting outside of legal light, hunting with illegal weapons, hunting without a license. The charges seem to center on the issues of (1) hunting with a guide or Alaska state resident and (2) obtaining a permit for filming a hunting trip. Again, I'm not sure I would refer to those as "poaching."
I note that Larry Czonka was fined $5000 for a hunting offense, as reported by this article. His offense? He didn't obtain a permit for filming a hunting trip. Hmmmm. Sorry if I don't feel that is something to get my undies in a twist about.
Read the article closely and the offenses identified. When they say "illegally took animals," best I can tell what made them illegal was these other things (1) no guide or state resident and (2) no permit for filming.
On the other hand, I didn't study all of the charges against them. I don't watch hunting shows and don't know who these people are so didn't care enough to read the information thoroughly.
I looked at this article. Look carefully at the charges that are leveled against these people. I didn't see anything consistent with hunting outside of legal seasons, hunting outside of legal light, hunting with illegal weapons, hunting without a license. The charges seem to center on the issues of (1) hunting with a guide or Alaska state resident and (2) obtaining a permit for filming a hunting trip. Again, I'm not sure I would refer to those as "poaching."
I note that Larry Czonka was fined $5000 for a hunting offense, as reported by this article. His offense? He didn't obtain a permit for filming a hunting trip. Hmmmm. Sorry if I don't feel that is something to get my undies in a twist about.
Read the article closely and the offenses identified. When they say "illegally took animals," best I can tell what made them illegal was these other things (1) no guide or state resident and (2) no permit for filming.
09-15-2015, 12:37 PM
#5
Boone & Crockett
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Well illegal is illegal and they were probably lucky they didn't get knocked off under federal lacy act as well if they brought the game back to the states. There are reasons why states require a guide or a resident to be with a non resident hunter, that is their law and if you are going to hunt there you better know what the laws are, especially if you consider yourself a professional hunter with a TV show. I suspect these "expert" hunters suffer from the same ego that TV and movie celebrities suffer from. They consider themselves different than the average Joe hunter and think they can get away with stuff the average guy can't. They make us all look bad when they get caught so I won't try to minimize their violations.
09-15-2015, 12:49 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Illinois
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Well Alsatian, if he is lying about his residency, then all tags he got were obtained under false residency claims, therefor invalid. Invalid tags= poaching. Wouldn't that be a fair assessment? As far as the filming stuff, that's just retarded and nit picky. I'm 100% with you on that front but getting tags under false pretenses is pretty much the same thing as going after an animal with no tags whatsoever in my poor old opinion.
09-15-2015, 03:30 PM
#7
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 23
Residency makes a big difference in tag cost, season dates, bag limits, and guide requirements in Alaska. Fraudulently claiming residency is a huge violation and renders any game taken "poached", regardless of what rules they did choose to follow. Illegal guiding and transporting are likewise major violations.
09-17-2015, 09:13 AM
#10
Giant Nontypical
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Well Alsatian, if he is lying about his residency, then all tags he got were obtained under false residency claims, therefor invalid. Invalid tags= poaching. Wouldn't that be a fair assessment? As far as the filming stuff, that's just retarded and nit picky. I'm 100% with you on that front but getting tags under false pretenses is pretty much the same thing as going after an animal with no tags whatsoever in my poor old opinion.
The same goes for not applying for a permit -- paying several pounds of flesh in the process -- for the privilege to film a hunt. You can call that "poaching" if you want, but I don't agree.
Again, I myself would follow the law. I don't want to pay the high fines those other guys were stuck with. But I am NOT filled with moral outrage because (1) Larry Czonka didn't apply for a permit and pay a high fee for the privilege of filming a hunt on public ground (probably US federal ground for that matter) or because (2) a non-resident hunter with a legal non-resident hunting license didn't engage a guide before he went to the woods to hutn with his legal non-resident hunting license.
The issue here is whether moral outrage is due. I didn't see anything to suggest it was.
OK. I stand partially corrected. The article stated Clark Dickson lied about Alaska residency to take advantage of hunting privileges for locals. That sounds like what you all were talking about above. OK. I concede on this point.
However, look closely at the article. There are a lot more people identified than Clark Dickson. It isn't very clear what these guys did wrong. Larry Csonka, the article says, didn't apply for a permit to film. Really? That is poaching? I'm just urging some restraint before painting ALL of these people with the ugly brush of "poacher."
Last edited by Alsatian; 09-17-2015 at 09:21 AM.