MEEKER I A prominent poaching case solved by CPW in 2013 has yielded a $10,000 donation to the Meeker Sportsman’s Club. The club will use the funds to augment current programs to promote shooting sports and the purchase of associated equipment. District Wildlife Manager Jon Wangnild of Meeker, who died in a horseback riding accident in 2013, worked diligently to bring Anthony Bauer, 37, of Palm Desert, Calif., and his co-conspirators to justice. After a three-year investigation beginning in 2011, the poacher pleaded guilty to willful destruction of big game wildlife, four counts of hunting without a proper and valid deer license and illegal take of a mule deer. He paid $5,754 in fines and was ordered to donate $10,000 to the Meeker Sportsman’s Club. Wangnild was instrumental in making the $10,000 donation a part of the penalties. “Here we are three years after Jon’s passing and his work as a wildlife officer lives on now, and into the future with this donation,” said Bill de Vergie, CPW’s area wildlife manager from Meeker and Wangnild’s supervisor. “This money will have significant benefits to our community and that is exactly what Jon wanted when he requested that the money go the club.” The Meeker Sportsman’s Club provides the residents of Meeker and the surrounding areas a place to learn about the safe use of firearms, hunter education, the development of shooting and archery skills and access to a variety of outdoor related education. “This is great news for our club and the money will certainly help us continue to offer a very valuable service to this community,” said John Taylor, Meeker Sportsman’s Club treasurer. “We give much credit to CPW for their hard work in tracking down these poachers. This was a bad poaching case but at least some good came from it, thanks to Jon Wangnild.”
For more information about the Meeker Sportsman’s Club, visit them on Facebook.
