As shed hunting grows in popularity out West, so does the potential for trespassing, leading some Western landowners to get creative. In one recent case in Wyoming, as reported by Cowboy State Daily, a rancher with trespasser problems agreed to let game wardens plant elk sheds with tracking devices on their property. A seven-year-old boy found one of those sheds and brought it home, which led to a trespassing citation for his father.
The elk shed sting took place on the LU Ranch in Hot Springs County, and the father of the young shed hunter, Miles Galovich, was cited on April 19, according to CSD. The Galoviches own land neighboring the LU Ranch, where the ranch owners had reportedly asked game wardens to bring in trackable elk sheds and place them around their property. The neighboring properties are intermixed with public land, and the Galoviches have an easement to use a road that passes through the LU ranch as well as public ground, according to CSD.
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The Wyoming Game and Fish Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment, so it’s unclear what kind of tracking device was used or how it was attached to the shed that Galovich’s son picked up.
Galovich told CSD that he and his son were driving near the ranch last month on a section they thought was state land when the seven-year-old boy spotted the five-point elk shed roughly 20 yards from the road. Galovich let his son out of the vehicle to go pick up the shed, and they brought it home, where game wardens arrived later to issue the father a trespassing citation. The young boy returned the shed to game wardens.
Galovich claimed that the area wasn’t posted or fenced off, and he questioned the exact placement of the shed.
“It feels kind of like entrapment,” he told the news outlet.
According to court records acquired by CSD, Galovich faces a fine of up to $1,000 for the trespassing charge, as well as a potential loss of hunting and fishing privileges. His court hearing has been set for May 15.
An email inquiry that Outdoor Life sent to LU Ranch on Monday did not receive a response as of press time. The ranch owners told CSD, however, that they’ve had problems with shed hunters trespassing in years past and they called it a “chronic problem” on the ranch.
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One of the ranch owners also said that they’d heard of at least one other case this spring where Wyoming game wardens used a trackable shed antler to catch a shed hunter who was trespassing. It’s not clear how common this practice is, or if there are other sheds with tracking devices scattered around other private parcels in the state. But with shed hunting season peaking in the region, even the mere thought of an elk shed with a tracking device should have antler collectors thinking twice before stepping onto private ground in Wyoming.
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