Southern Idaho men accused of selling hunting tags
TWIN FALLS — An electric company executive and a pilot have been charged after they reportedly harassed wildlife with a helicopter, illegally sold hunting tags and much more.
According to court filings, Karl Studer, 43, was charged with three felonies: one count of unlawful possession of wildlife, and two counts of felony unlawful killing or wasting wildlife. He was also charged with 17 misdemeanors and several violations of Idaho hunting regulations.
Police reports say Studer owns 3 String Cattle Company Ranch and is the president of electric at Quantra.
Kevin Sielaff, 48, was charged with eight misdemeanors for molesting game animals or birds with a motorized vehicle or unmanned aircraft, hunting to spot or communicate the location of wildlife from an aircraft, and interference with hunting, fishing and predator control. Sielaff flies for Alpine Aviation LLC, according to court documents.
In a probable cause affidavit, a senior conservation officer with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game says Sielaff and Studer “hunt(ed), scouted for wildlife with the helicopter and during numerous scouting trips molested wildlife with said helicopter.”
It says there is evidence that Studer was involved with “the unlawful marketing, sale, and solicitation for Landowner Appreciation Program (LAP) tags involving two men named Rodney Gonsales and Ryan Smith, marketing and selling tags and Studer soliciting those tags.”
According to the report, Studer paid at least $153,000 to multiple people for hunting tags, which are nontransferable and illegal to sell.
Officials also say Studer “killed two trophy bull elk” and “failed to immediately tag them as required by law.”
Studer also allegedly “continued to hunt after killing the two elk, taking a third, and continuing to hunt even after that, attempting to overlimit on elk.”
Several other people were also charged with misdemeanors related to the allegations.
This story was originally published on EastIdahoNews.com and has been edited for length.
