Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2019)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019 Halibut poachers sentenced to jail time Brothers also receive fi nes, boat ban By NATALIE ST. JOHN Chinook Observer LONG BEACH, Wash. — Robert and David Gud- gell, former fi shing boat operators for Pacifi c Salmon Charters, will need to update their resumes. At a sentencing hear- ing on Wednesday in South District Court, Judge Nancy McAllister delivered a sting- ing rebuke to the brothers, who were recently convicted of numerous halibut-poach- ing charges. “I really hope your selfi sh actions do not taint the repu- tation of the other fi shermen in this area,” McAllister said before sentencing the Gud- gells to jail time, hefty fees, probation and a one-year ban on being on boats. At the conclusion of a two-week trial in late Febru- ary, Robert Gudgell, 57, was found guilty of eight counts of second-degree unlaw- ful recreational fi shing, a misdemeanor . David Gud- gell, 58, was found guilty of nine counts of second-de- gree unlawful recreational fi shing . He was also found guilty of one count of waste of fi sh and wildlife, a gross misdemeanor. The charges stem from a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife inves- tigation opened in spring 2017 after customers on a halibut fi shing trip said the crew caught more than the limit, stored extra fi sh in a “livewell,” then cher- ry-picked the largest fi sh at the end of the day. They also alleged the crew dumped the unwanted fi sh, some of which were dead, over- board. An undercover offi - cer allegedly observed sim- ilar behavior on a June 2017 trip. {span}Deputy Prose- cutor Ben Haslam{/span} asked the court for stiff pen- alties in part because he did not believe the defendants had shown any contrition or taken responsibility for their actions. “We understand this is their livelihood,” Haslam said. “They’re gonna have to fi nd something else to do.” Defense attorney Nate Needham called it “a case Natalie St. John/Chinook Observer National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Lt. Greg Bush and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Tony Leonetti reviewed records at Pacifi c Salmon Charters in the Port of Ilwaco. about catching fi sh and releasing fi sh.” He said his clients were actually con- scientious stewards of their industry and the environ- ment who were tripped up by “gray areas” in the law. “No one wants to see dead fi sh released,” Need- ham said. “It’s not the way they were raised, it’s not the way they were brought up and it’s not the way they want to be remembered.” He argued that the laws did not provide clear enough rules for situations where multiple passengers are pull- ing in fi sh at the same time, and did not specifi cally mention livewells. Need- ham said the Gudgells had no previous violations, and were never over limit when they returned to port. “Everyone who went fi shing was licensed,” Need- ham said. “They fi shed with the right gear, they fi shed in the proper place, during the proper time.” Needham asked Judge McAllister not to impose the boat ban, saying that after more than 20 years each in the industry, they had few other job prospects. He said the Gudgells would likely have no way to pay their fi nes and might end up serv- ing additional jail time as a result. “If the court hands down a sentence that takes away their ability to earn a live- lihood, it will be an irrepa- rable, almost unrecoverable circumstance,” Needham said. “For these two gen- tlemen that’s a huge, huge consequence.” When it was time to deliver her sentence, McAl- lister did not mince words. “You testifi ed that you were concerned about the resources, and I simply do not believe that is true,” she said. During the trial, both brothers said they came up with the idea of install- ing livewells to hold fi sh because they thought it was better for the fi sh. McAllis- ter said she didn’t think the law had any “gray areas” where livewells were con- cerned, and didn’t think they would have kept the livewell idea to themselves if it had actually been good for the fi shery. “You knew your tactics were questionable, and you knew those tactics would affect the fi sheries that you were fi shing in,” McAllister said. “I’m troubled by the 20 years of experience that you have in the industry, and that this is your life, and yet you would do this to your own industry.” McAllister sentenced David Gudgell to 55 days in jail , a $15,000 fi ne, two years of probation and a one-year ban on being on any boat but a ferry . She sen- tenced Robert Gudgell to 40 days in jail , an $8,000 fi ne, two years probation and a boat ban. The judge agreed to let the brothers serve up to half of their time as community service . However, she said the service would have to involve preservation of nat- ural resources, and would have to be approved by the prosecutor’s offi ce. She also specifi ed that the jail time was not to be served on weekends. “Jail time is to start May 1 ,” McAllister said. “To coincide with the halibut season.” US moves to lift remaining gray wolf protections By MATTHEW BROWN and JOHN FLESHER Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — Gray wolves in the U.S. would be stripped of fed- eral protection and subject to hunting and trapping in more states under a proposal released today that declares the predators recovered fol- lowing a decadeslong resto- ration effort. The U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service wants to revoke the wolves’ endangered and threatened species status and put them under author- ity of state wildlife agen- cies across the Lower 48 states. The Associated Press reported last week that the proposal was in the works. Wildlife advocates and some members of Congress said the move is prema- ture because wolves occupy only a fraction of a histori- cal range that once stretched across most of North America. But Acting Interior Sec- retary David Bernhardt said it was “indisputable” that wolves had recovered enough to meet recovery goals. He said the agency could now devote more work to species in greater need. Livestock interests, hunt- ers and offi cials in some states have wanted the gov- ernment to make it easier to kill wolves. The pred- ators periodically prey on livestock such as cows and sheep and have been blamed for declining numbers of elk, moose and other big game in some areas. “We need to take control of these wolves,” said Tony Demboski with the Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alli- ance in Michigan, where there are an estimated 660 of the animals. “They’re clean- ing up our deer herd, we’ve got people scared to go for a walk in the evenings. We’ve just got too many wolves.” Those who want more The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. eomediagroup.com U.S. Forest Service A female gray wolf and her mate with a pup born in 2017 in the wilds of Lassen National Forest in Northern California. wolves in more places say such fears are overblown. Wolves very rarely attack people, and far more live- stock are killed by other causes, including coyotes and disease. “It doesn’t have to be either or — we have live- stock or we have wolves,” said Kate Dylewsky with the Animal Welfare Institute. “Co-existence with wolves is very possible.” Trapping, poisoning and hunting campaigns early last Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! ing that returned them to the endangered list. In other areas, such as the Pacifi c Northwest, wildlife offi cials say they have no immediate plans for hunting but could consider it in the future. Aside from Alaska only three states — Mon- tana, Idaho and Wyoming — allow the public to hunt wolves. More than 600 were killed in the northern Rock- ies states during the most recent hunting and trapping seasons. Court rulings delayed hunting in the northern Rockies for years after wolves reached the gov- ernment’s benchmark for recovery in the early 2000s. Members of the region’s congressional delegation ultimately inserted a provi- sion into a budget bill that forced the animals off the endangered list. Protections will be retained under today’s pro- posal for two small popula- tions of related species — the Mexican gray wolf in New Mexico and Arizona and the red wolf in North Carolina. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Clatsop Post 12 Friday, March 15 th Locals get $ 00 8 $10 off! Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner & Cake 4 pm until gone American Legion 100 th Birthday 6PM - “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION 1132 Exchange Street • 325-5771 Please Join us for THE ASTORIA RESCUE MISSION’S ANNUAL TALENT SHOW Use your Zip code for Discount Code SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2019 Make a Joyful Noise unto the lord Psalms 98:4 OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER century exterminated wolves across most of the Lower 48 states by the 1930s. More than 6,000 of the animals now live in portions of nine states, offi cials say. A fi nal decision on lift- ing protections will follow a public comment period that begins Friday and runs through May 14. Government offi cials said their goal was to protect wolves from extinction, not return them to everywhere they were once found. The Endangered Species Act is not “a means to keep species from being hunted in perpetuity once they’ve met the threshold of recovery,” said Gavin Shire, spokes- man for the Fish and Wild- life Service. Environmentalists and animal advocacy groups have pledged to challenge in court any action to ease or eliminate protections. Putting gray wolves under state control would allow Minnesota, Mich- igan and Wisconsin to resume hunting and trapping blocked by a 2014 court rul- Sat. • March 16 @ 3:00pm 1 st Baptist Church 349 7 Street • Astoria • Oregon Refreshments to follow th #runontheriver Registration and prices at astoriaparksfoundation.com