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| chatnoir... |
 Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:54 am |
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http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/933556.html
Eight charged in Point Hope caribou slaughter
WANTON WASTE: At least 37 of the herd were left to rot on tundra
..
By JAMES HALPIN
Eight people have been charged with indiscriminately gunning down
dozens of caribou on the Arctic tundra near Point Hope last summer,
sorting through the carcasses and salvaging meat from only the most
pristine animals, according to documents filed in Kotzebue Monday.
Court records describe an opportunistic hunt, with groups of young
adults out collecting bird eggs or hunting over the Fourth of July
weekend opening fire with .17- and .243-caliber rifles when crossing
paths with animals from the massive Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
More than 100 animals were apparently killed. But Alaska Wildlife
Troopers traversing the 40-mile Suicide Trail about 25 miles east of
town found 25 distinct kill sites in which the meat from at least 37
caribou had been left to rot, with some calves still trying to suckle
milk from the decomposing cows.
The number of wasted animals may actually have been higher, but
evidence from bones and remains documented on the tundra weeks later
was inconclusive.
"We just couldn't determine whether or not they were properly salvaged
or not because they were badly decomposed or they were scavenged by
predators," troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said. "This was a lot of
kill sites, widely scattered along a 40-mile trail system. Some were
found in singles or pairs and they were all located within a short
distance of the trail."
The discovery and a subsequent lack of cooperation from community
elders launched an eight-month investigation, replete with phone taps,
undercover operations and examination of Pepsi cans left in the area.
Confronted by mounting evidence, many of the suspects eventually
opened up to investigators and offered a litany of excuses for the
kills and wasted meat, the charges say.
In one case, a hunter dressing his kill nicked the animal's stomach,
spilling its contents onto the meat and apparently ruining it in the
hunter's view, the charges say. Other hunters killed caribou only to
find they had been previously shot, or had lumpy livers, or had been
hit in an undesirable location like the back. Sometimes, the hunters
simply killed more caribou than they could haul back on their ATVs,
which were already loaded up with murre eggs.
None of the excuses was good enough, according to troopers, who at one
point called the killings "by far the worst case of blatant waste"
they had ever seen.
"Alaska law requires all hunters to salvage the edible meat of the
animal and does not allow for hunters to leave edible meat in the
field based on speculation that the meat is inedible or ruined," the
charges say.
Charged with wanton waste, failure to salvage meat, or both are Point
Hope residents Lazarus C. Killigvuk, 25; Randy John Oktollik, 26; Roy
Oktollik, 18; Brett Oktollik, 20; Koomalook M. Stone, 18; Chester W.
Koonuk, 29; Aqquilluk Hank, 30; and Roy A. Miller, 20.
Troopers first learned about the slaughter from an anonymous tip and,
after verifying the death toll in late July, approached village
officials in the community of 700 people about 330 miles southwest of
Barrow. Instead of cooperation, however, troopers got stonewalled.
Many leaders in the Inupiat Eskimo village were skeptical of the
reports, saying details of the killings had been exaggerated and that
troopers were handling the case unprofessionally.
They launched their own investigation in which they were unable to
find evidence of slaughter or waste, Jack Schaefer, the president of
the Native Village of Point Hope, told the Daily News in August.
Elders were convinced no wrongdoing had occurred, he said.
As a result, troopers recruited an informant charged with illegally
importing alcohol who agreed to help in exchange for a reduced
sentence, according to the charges. With troopers listening in, the
informant called Koonuk and others, who then discussed the hunt, the
charges say.
"Koonuk stated that his grandparents told him that if anything was
wrong with the organs to leave the caribou in the field," he told
troopers in a subsequent interview, the charges say.
In late July, Schaefer sent a letter to Gov. Sarah Palin regarding the
"caribou die off" in which he accuses troopers of handling the case
poorly and asks for the village council to be able to handle the
necessary punishment, if any.
The Department of Law responded in an August letter that the
investigation was ongoing and no decision would be made until it was
completed. On Monday, Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said the
request was still pending.
"Talking about potential punishment before any trial would be
premature and unfair to those involved," Leighow said in an e-mail.
Schaefer and other officials did not return calls to the Native
village and city offices Monday. Attempts to reach the defendants were
unsuccessful.
Andrew Peterson, an assistant attorney general at the state's Office
of Special Prosecutions and Appeals, said he couldn't comment
specifically on the case, which could be tried in either Kotzebue or
Point Hope itself, because it is ongoing.
"This is still an open investigation," Ipsen said. "It could go even
longer, because we still believe there's more people involved."
Wanton waste is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one
year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Failing to salvage at least the
hindquarters carries a mandatory penalty of at least seven days in
jail and a fine of at least $2,500 |
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| chatnoir... |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:56 am |
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On Oct 29, 4:54 am, chatnoir <wolfbat3... at (no spam) mindspring.com> wrote:
Quote: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/933556.html
Eight charged in Point Hope caribou slaughter
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/933560.html
Case of caribou killings approaches standstill
POINT HOPE: Elders refuse to cooperate, state troopers say.
By JAMES HALPIN
Published: 10/28/09 4:51 pm
Clashing visions of justice between Alaska Wildlife Troopers and
elders from the Inupiat Eskimo village of Point Hope threaten to stall
progress in finding hunters responsible for massacring 120 caribou on
the Arctic tundra this month.
Meat from at least 60 animals was left to rot as still-nursing calves
were stranded nearby, and troopers now say village officials are
refusing to cooperate as they probe what one investigator called the
worst, most blatant case of waste he has ever seen.
"We just really felt like we were doing the right thing and wanted to
get them involved. And it just fell flat," said wildlife trooper Sgt.
Scott Quist, who is supervising the case. "Basically, they decided
that they're not going to help us and that they wanted to deal with it
in the community in their own manner."
Quist, who is stationed in Fairbanks, said troopers bent over backward
trying to accommodate village elders, taking the unusual steps of not
immediately going public with the case and meeting with them in
advance of the investigation to foster cooperation, he said.
So far, troopers have identified five suspects from Point Hope -- a
community of 700 people about 330 miles southwest of Barrow -- through
their police work, but they think there are many more.
Village officials say they are being kept out of the loop with the
investigation and they have a hard time believing the offenders are
from Point Hope in the first place.
"This is the first time it's happened. It's very strange, and so, with
that said, it's very hard to believe that that was done, especially in
our community, being as poor as it is," said Jack Schaefer, president
of the Native Village of Point Hope. "Food is valued very much."
Schaefer said he is frustrated that the case was made public before
the facts were known, especially after troopers had promised to keep
it quiet during the course of the investigation. Facts are limited, he
said, and it's too early to be casting blame.
"We feel that we should be the ones to handle it after the
investigation is done," Schaefer said. "We feel that we need to know
the reasons behind it, and we need to try them in our own way and the
state will be satisfied with the results."
He would not elaborate on what the tribal council's proceedings might
look like; nor would he say what the punishment might entail: "That's
up to the council, and they're not lenient."
Schaefer said he did not know who was responsible for the killings.
Asked whether villagers would report the culprits to troopers if they
did know, Schaefer said, "I am sure that we can handle it in our own
way."
NO TRIBAL COURT
However, as far as Quist was aware, there is no established tribal
court system in Point Hope, and everyone is required to follow state
law, he said. Troopers planned to "regroup" in coming days while they
write reports, submit forensic evidence and contact prosecutors, Quist
said.
"The last thing we want is to cause a rift between state troopers and
the Native community up there, but we still have to conduct this
investigation and we will to the fullest," Quist said. "This is a very
sensitive issue because it involves subsistence in an area that
doesn't get a lot of enforcement. It's a shame that things have
happened the way they did."
The dispute centers on carcasses that were found scattered along a 40-
mile trail about 25 miles east of Point Hope. Troopers say it appears
word got out that the caribou were moving in and villagers rushed to
the scene between July 4 and July 8 to conduct an otherwise legal
harvest. What went wrong remains to be seen.
"I can tell you generally there was some talk of them shooting caribou
and not having room to carry them home. That was one of the excuses we
heard," Quist said. "I haven't heard one good explanation yet."
Investigators are focusing on villagers from Point Hope, although they
have not ruled out residents of Kivalina, about 60 miles to the
southeast, troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said.
"It's always sad to hear something like this because we do try to
promote the subsistence life," said Kivalina Mayor Burt Adams. "We do
depend on the Western Arctic Caribou Herd."
The herd numbers about 377,000 animals that are a major subsistence
food source in the Bush, said Jim Dau, Kotzebue-area wildlife
biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Area residents
are allowed to take five caribou per day, but troopers say it appears
likely that some hunters did not have valid hunting licenses.
During the calving period there are restrictions on taking cows with
calves, but none was in effect at the time of the killings, Dau said.
The orphaned calves that remained in the wake of the massacre were
left in the field because collecting them would be prohibitively
costly and time-consuming. They were about a month old and only a few
might have been strong enough to survive, he said.
Western Alaska communities were still in shock from the crime, he
said.
"There's still a lot of raw nerves," Dau said. "I think people out
here are still trying to get their heads around this. Everybody I've
talked to is just really saddened by this whole thing."
Andrew Peterson, an assistant attorney general at the state's Office
of Special Prosecutions and Appeals in Anchorage, said he is working
with troopers and will decide on charges in a timely manner. Such
crimes can draw charges including wanton waste and failure to salvage,
he said.
State officials are continuing to ask for the public's help.
The state is getting some help from the Humane Society of the United
States' Wildlife Abuse Campaign, which has pledged a $2,500 reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of the responsible
parties, campaign director Andrew Page said.
To be eligible for the reward and to submit tips anonymously, call the
Alaska Wildlife Safeguard hotline at 1-800-478-3377. Troopers in
Kotzebue can be reached at 1-907-442-3222. |
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