Daniel Titus, 55 of Oregon, on June 16 plead no contest to a charge of unlawful harvest of a black bear on Kupreanof Island on June 6. The court hearing was held in Wrangell because the city’s new state wildlife trooper, Chadd Yoder, had issued the citation.
Yoder explained that the defendant did not have the required permit to hunt black bear on Kupreanof. However, he said it was an innocent mistake and that Titus didn’t know he had made a mistake until he reported where he had harvested the bear.
“You need a drawing permit to harvest bear on Kupreanof, and that means you would have had to go in previous to the hunting season — probably in December — and fill out a drawing tag,”Yoder said. “Let’s say there are 500 people that want 100 tags, so it’s a lottery system. If you don’t get it, the only way you can hunt black bear on Kupreanof as a non-resident is with a relative within second-degree of kindred, or with a guide.”
Following a recommendation by Yoder, Judge Kevin Miller ordered Titus to pay a fine of $300, plus a $20 surcharge. Titus was also ordered to forfeit the bear’s hide and meat.
“Is there anything you would like to say?”Miller asked Titus before reading the sentence.
“There are many things I’d like to say but I don’t think I will,”Titus responded.
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