Bear shooting gets jail sentence
Richard Smith
Steven Louis Broom, of Cullowhee, and Bobby Allen
Gibson, of Tuckasegee, sentenced to federal prison in Blue Ridge Parkway bear
shooting
By Josh Boatwright
A federal judge Monday sentenced two Jackson County men to 10 months in prison for shooting a Black Bear along the Blue Ridge Parkway and leaving its carcass near the road.
Steven Louis Broom, 31, of Cullowhee, and Bobby Allen Gibson, 24, of Tuckasegee, used hunting dogs to chase the bear to the top of a bluff near Milepost 429 in Haywood County in July 2008, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Thorneloe said.
“Eventually, in the early morning hours, Mr. Gibson shot the bear and it fell down right next to the road,” he said.
A park ranger found the dead bear later and caught one of the men returning to the scene to recover the hunting dogs, said Tim Francis, Pisgah district ranger for the parkway. Rangers also recovered one of the rifles used in the shooting, he said.
The hunters pleaded guilty to one count each of attempting to transport the bear in violation of the federal Lacey Act, which prohibits illegally taking wildlife from federal lands.
Broom and Gibson were also sentenced to one year of supervised release after their prison term, during which they will be banned from federal lands, with no hunting, fishing or firearms possession allowed. Broom is also prohibited from possessing or owning a dog during that time.
Bear populations have grown to a record 10,000 in the mountains this year, according to biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Bear hunting season in Western North Carolina ends Saturday and continues Dec. 14-Jan 1.
Hunting on national park service property is illegal, though some federal game lands can be lawfully accessed through the parks, Francis said.
Though most hunters obey the law, illegal hunting along the Blue Ridge Parkway is a constant challenge for rangers, he said.
“It’s not rare that they’ll actually hunt on the parkway; that means either shooting one from the motor road or within the boundaries of the park service or actually starting hunts on the parkway itself,” Francis said.
Parkway rangers investigate several illegal hunting cases each year, but with such a large area to monitor many poachers evade arrest, he said.
“There’s probably more people who get away with than actually get caught,” he said.
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