A man from Kentucky will pay nearly $8,000 in fines for his part in the illegal take of a cow elk. Bryan Delong of Pilgrim, Ky., pleaded guilty to guiding elk hunters without a commercial guide license, using bait and assisting a hunter with an at-large permit to hunt in a limited entry area. The court judgement in Martin County also stripped him of hunting privileges for three years and probated his 60-day jail sentence.
“Kentucky’s elk herd has grown into the nation’s largest east of the Rocky Mountains,” said Law Enforcement Division Director Col. Rodney Coffey. “We will celebrate the 20th anniversary of our restoration of free-ranging wild elk to east Kentucky this year. Our elk have become a year-round economic engine to our state, and we will continue our vigorous prosecution of those who illegally pursue this great resource.”