Mar 03, 2006 - 02:06:19 CST
Bismarck Tribune
By LAUREN DONOVBy LAUREN DONOVAN
A Dickinson man who shot and killed two elk inside the boundary of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora last fall was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bismarck.
Michael Renner, 46, was ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and serve two years' supervised probation, during which time he loses his hunting privileges in North America. He also was ordered to serve 80 hours of community service.
He had been charged with three violations of National Park Service regulations and the Lacey Act, a federal law that protects game animals.
Renner and his wife had both been drawn for once-in-a-lifetime elk hunting permits in a unit in the Badlands.
An investigation found that Renner hunted a number of eligible locations, including along the park boundary, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
At the boundary, he observed a cow elk inside the park boundary fence, followed by a six-by-six bull elk.
He was alone at the time and took two shots at the bull elk, which ran further into the park and disappeared from sight.
Renner moved to a new location and fired at the cow elk, dropping it inside the park boundary.
The investigation found that he dragged the cow elk out to adjacent Forest Service land and field-dressed it. While returning to his vehicle, he saw the bull elk and attempted to drag it under the park fence, but was unable to because of the size of the animal and the terrain.
The investigation by the National Park Service and its rangers, North Dakota Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retraced Renner's steps and concluded both elk were shot inside the park, and Renner admitted he planned to fill both his tag and his wife's tag if possible. Renner was not available to comment for this story.
He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland.
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