Man pleads guilty to shooting wolves
By GARY JAHRIG of the Missoulian
Taxidermist facing one-year sentence, fine
A 58-year-old Darby taxidermist pleaded guilty in Missoula federal court
Tuesday to charges he illegally shot two wolves in December 2001 in the
Big Hole Valley.
Wayne Rose entered guilty pleas to two counts of taking an endangered
species in violation of the Endangered Species Act at a hearing in U.S.
District Court before Magistrate Bart Erickson. Rose, who will be
sentenced Sept. 10, faces a possible penalty of one year in federal prison
and/or a $100,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kris McLean said Rose came to the attention of
federal authorities in March when a confidential informant told them that
Rose had been bragging about shooting two male wolves in the Big Hole
Valley, about 10 miles north of Jackson.
According to federal court documents, one of the wolves was found by Joe
Fontaine, a federal wolf biologist, on Feb. 7 in a pasture about five
miles north of U.S. Highway 43 on the Upper North Fork Road in the Big
Hole. Fontaine was alerted to the dead wolf’s location by a radio collar
it was wearing.
An autopsy conducted by the Bozeman Wildlife Lab, showed the wolf, found
in about 1 1/2 feet of snow, had died from two gunshot wounds – one flesh
wound and one wound that broke the animal’s back.
In March, state game wardens received information identifying Rose as the
person who shot the wolves. The body of the second wolf was recovered
March 10 by search dogs and game wardens, court documents state. An
autopsy also confirmed that the wolf had been shot with a rifle.
In an interview March 13, Rose admitted to shooting the animals from the
driver’s side of his pickup truck. He said he first thought they were
coyotes, but then realized they were wolves, according to court documents.
McLean said when authorities asked Rose where the rifle he used to shoot
the wolves was located, he told them he had buried it in his septic tank.
A search of the septic tank turned up a rifle capable of firing the
bullets used to kill the wolves, McLean said.
Rose is free pending sentencing.