LANDER (WNE) — After multiple years, careful forensic investigation, and assistance from High Plains Power, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department brought poaching charges against a Lander man for the illegal taking of deer, elk, and one moose.
Dakota Jordan entered a guilty plea on eight wildlife charges and has subsequently been sentenced to approximately three months in jail, an $18,000 fine, and a lifetime suspension of his hunting and trapping privileges.
Some of the incidents involved in the case stem back to 2021.
Investigation into the case and eventual prosecution involved nearly every game warden in the Lander Region in addition to WGFD wildlife investigators, members of the public, High Plains Power employees, and the Fremont County attorney’s office.
Across a span of several years, investigators collected DNA samples from headless carcasses of poached animals – including one elk WGFD personnel reportedly found while conducting routine winter elk classification flights. Wardens returned to the site and took DNA samples, which were later matched to DNA collected from elk ivories seized while executing a search warrant on Jordan’s property.
After Jordan entered a guilty plea, Judge Jefferson Coombs ordered a series of penalties including the confiscation of vehicles, weapons, and wildlife parts used in the execution of the crimes; an $18,000 fine; 96 days jail time, which Jordan began serving immediately following his court appearance; and a lifetime revocation of his hunting and trapping privileges in Wyoming. Due to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, that lifetime suspension is also valid in all 49 other U.S. states.
Anyone with information about illegal wildlife activity is encouraged to report tips by calling the Stop Poaching Hotline at 877-WGFD-TIP (877-9433847), texting 847-411 with the keyword “WGFD” followed by your message, or going to wgfd.wyo.gov/stop-poaching.
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