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Three Charged with Conspiring to Provide Illegal Hunts in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
- Key Facts

Three Charged with Conspiring to Provide Illegal Hunts in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Anchorage, Alaska – In a shocking turn of events, three individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide illegal big game hunts in the protected Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

According to the indictment, Jeffrey Harris, 44, from Poulsbo, WA, Dale Lackner, 72, from Haines, AK, and Casey Richardson, 47, from Huson, MT, orchestrated and participated in numerous illicit hunts, targeting Dall Sheep at the Ptarmigan Lake Lodge.

The indictment alleges that Harris and Richardson, neither Alaska residents nor registered guides, conducted numerous unaccompanied hunts, violating park regulations. Lackner, a registered guide in 2015, conspired with Richardson to conduct an illegal hunt.

Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Harris and Lackner created false State of Alaska hunt records to cover their tracks, while Harris later made false statements to law enforcement during the investigation.

The indictment also accuses Harris of engaging in illicit predator control by setting up bait piles, which Richardson and Harris then laced with xylitol, a substance toxic to wolves and coyotes, in an attempt to poison them.

Under federal sentencing statutes, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both, with the actual sentences determined by the seriousness of the offenses and prior criminal history.

The investigation, led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, State of Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, highlights the gravity of the situation.

An indictment is merely a charge and does not prove guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, where the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.