Second Man Charged for Illegally Hunting in Grand Teton National Park

Date: September 30, 2011
Contact: Public Affairs Office, 307.739.3431

A second hunter in less than two weeks was issued a citation for illegally hunting in Grand Teton National Park. Rangers charged Wayne Boydstun, 51, of Layton, Utah on Thursday, September 29 with a mandatory appearance for the taking of wildlife in the park.

Two rangers on a routine backcountry patrol near Mount Reid on the Arizona Creek Trail heard a gunshot just after 10:00 a.m. While investigating the source, they encountered a hunting guide who reported that his client had shot a bull elk in the park. The guide was on his way up a hill to place a call notifying authorities of the incident when the rangers met him. The guide then took the investigating rangers to the location of the elk kill, and rangers determined the elk had been taken 40 yards inside of the park boundary. All parties involved fully cooperated with rangers.

Rangers remind individuals hunting near the park boundary with the Bridger-Teton National Forest to be especially diligent in locating the park's boundary prior to hunting, and to be sure that they are outside park lands before taking wildlife. It is the individual hunter's responsibility to know where they are and where the park boundary lies. Hunting is prohibited in Grand Teton National Park. Only those who have been issued a permit to participate in the park's Elk Reduction Program can lawfully take wildlife in Grand Teton National Park. The Elk Reduction Program is a cooperative management tool used to regulate elk population numbers and was established by Congress in the 1950 enabling legislation that created Grand Teton National Park.

Visitors and park users are reminded that rangers are consistently on patrol, monitoring activities to ensure the safety and well being of visitors and the park's cultural and natural resources. To report an incident, please call the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center at 307.739.3301.