Michael Walz of Zimmerman was sentenced to losing his hunting privileges for three years after he plead guilty to poaching 13 deer from the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge this week.

 

Walz confessed to killing the deer illegally in 2014. In addition to losing his hunting privileges, he must pay court costs amounting to approximately $3,200, perform 80 hours of community service, write a public apology letter in Minnesota Outdoor News and may not enter the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge or the Sand Dune State Forest for two years while he is on probation.

 

MN. DNR Officer Mitch Sladek of Big Lake became suspicious when he found a woman and her daughter entering the Refuge through a locked gate with a two-wheel deer cart. The woman said her husband had shot a deer and they were going to help him bring it out.

 

The woman said she didn’t know if the deer was a buck or a doe. She also said she did not bow hunt, although records showed a number of bucks registered in her name which had been killed with a bow.

 

Sladek followed the woman and the girl to where he found them with  Michael Walz and a dead six-point buck, not tagged and removed illegally from the kill site, Sladek said.

 

When asked to produce his hunting license, Walz, produced a number of them, his friends, his father’s, his daughter’s and his own. Walz then validated and tagged the 6-point buck.

 

Later Walz and his wife admitted using borrowed tags in an attempt to pass the deer off as legally killed animals.

 

When they investigated his home, the DNR found six mounted deer heads and seven antlered deer plaques. Walz admitted to killing and transporting the animals illegally from the SNWR and the Sand Dunes State Forest.

 

Walz was charged in Sherburne County Court with two counts of transporting illegally taken big game and two counts of soliciting/borrowing the big game hunting license of another person.

 

All of the mounts, plaques, a pickup truck and a bow were seized as evidence. Walz pled guilty to the charges July 30.

 

Citizens can help protect Minnesota resources by reporting game and fish violations to the Turn In Poachers (TIP) hotline at 800-652-9093. Cell phone users can dial #TIP. Informants can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.