Dane Landon Nelson went into the woods on opening day of Minnesota's firearms deer season and came out with a yearlong big-game hunting ban.
The Duluth hunter was sentenced April 15 in St. Louis County District Court to one year of unsupervised probation and a one-year prohibition on big-game hunting after pleading guilty to illegally killing a moose while deer hunting last November. The judge also ordered restitution and fines tied to the illegal kill.
Nelson, 38, pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor and was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution to the state plus $390 in fines and fees, for a total of $1,390. The Department of Natural Resources confiscated his rifle; he may be able to buy it back for $500, according to the Star Tribune.
According to the criminal complaint, conservation officers were alerted about 9:15 a.m. on Nov. 8, the opening day of the firearms deer season, to reports of a moose being shot near Melrude in St. Louis County. Nelson told officers he believed he was shooting at a six-point whitetail and later texted a companion, "I f---ed up and shot a moose," the Duluth News Tribune reported.
Officers wrote in their reports that Nelson's eyes were bloodshot and watery and that he smelled of alcohol. He told them he had been drinking beer the night before. A preliminary breath test registered 0.01%, which is below the legal limit for deer hunting. The moose fell about 110 yards from his deer stand; officers seized his rifle and turned the carcass over to the 1854 Treaty Authority, according to the Star Tribune.
Why Moose Are Protected
Minnesota's moose numbers are a fraction of what they were at their mid-2000s peak, and the Department of Natural Resources' most recent surveys put the northeastern herd in the low thousands. The agency lists the species as one of special concern and has sharply limited harvests while it works on recovery.
The DNR cites ongoing research and management efforts aimed at stabilizing the herd, including work with tribal partners on stewardship and limited tribal harvests, according to the Minnesota DNR.
Legal Consequences
Under Minnesota law, unlawfully taking a moose is a gross misdemeanor. It can carry penalties of up to 364 days in jail and fines up to $3,000, although hunting cases typically result in restitution, fines and license suspensions rather than lengthy jail time.
Administrative rules set the restitution value for a moose at $1,000, and state statutes allow prosecutors to seek restitution and revoke hunting privileges after a conviction, according to Minnesota statutes and the state's restitution schedules in Minnesota administrative rules.
