A family from Michigan is accused of illegally hunting deer in Iowa for nearly 16 years.
The investigation started last year when Eric Wright, a DNR conservation officer in Cedar County, noticed a trophy-sized buck in the area suddenly disappeared.
*
That’s when he began to review local landowner tenant deer tags. Wright noticed members of a family had been purchasing licenses since the early 2000s – but they were people he had never seen hunting, specifically bow-hunting deer.
*
The investigation eventually revealed, since 2002, a Michigan family was supplied with lodging and tags for any deer they harvested on the Iowa farm – and in return, the Iowa family was given fishing opportunities in Michigan. The family in Michigan is paying $51,000 in fines for illegally killing 19 Iowa deer.
Wright said three Iowans, accused of aiding the Michigan poachers, are paying fines totaling $780.
…….