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PARK CITY — An Idaho woman was charged with a felony count in relation to a trophy elk illegally killed in a Summit County wildlife management area earlier this year, according to charging documents.
Crystal Alsbury, 35, of Rigby, Idaho, was charged with wanton destruction of protected wildlife, a third-degree felony, and failure to wear hunter orange, a class B misdemeanor, in Utah’s 3rd District Court on March 17.
The incident in question occurred at the Henefer-Echo Wildlife Management Area in Summit County on Jan. 31. According to charging documents, Alsbury was with a group of hunters who were stopped by a state wildlife conservation officer responding to a report of a possible poaching in the area.
The group told the officer that Alsbury had a valid bull elk permit issued by the Northwest Band Shoshone Nation and killed the elk in that area before moving the carcass down a canyon to field dress it. The charging document states such a permit is "only valid for hunting on unoccupied federal property as permitted by the 1868 treaty of Fort Bridger."
After further investigation, the conservation officer determined the elk was killed on land owned by the state, which made the permit invalid, the document continued.
Poaching charges in Utah range in severity based on the species or size of an animal. The charges state the elk killed in Summit County was determined to be a trophy elk, which bumped it to a felony-level case. Utah Division of Wildlife Resource officials said the minimum restitution for a trophy elk is $8,000.
Alsbury is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 3rd District Court on May 18, according to court records. Those records didn’t list legal representation for her.
If convicted, state wildlife officials said Wednesday they will recommend a hunting license suspension. Due to Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, that suspension would apply to all states but Hawaii.
2 deer illegally killed in Carbon County
Poaching continues to be an issue that the division is bringing to light. On Thursday, state wildlife officials said they are seeking public information on two does illegally killed near Helper and Price in Carbon County.
In both cases, both deer were shot in the head and wrapped in tarps, officials said. One of the deer was likely killed during the winter months while another was likely killed in March, according to the agency.
Anyone with information about the deer killed is encouraged to call the UTIP Hotline at 1-800-662-3337 or report it online at the agency’s website. They said they will honor all requests for confidentiality.
Earlier this week, state wildlife officials announced that charges were filed against an East Carbon man in relation to another poaching case in the county that occurred in January. That case remains ongoing in the 7th District Court.
