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Acclaimed backcountry skier Andrew McLean faces charges

Tricia

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Coming from an avid hunting family, this irks me. What in the heck was he thinking?
 

coskigirl

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I saw this on FB and while I can respect someone's belief that hunting is bad (I don't agree) this was absolutely the wrong way to handle. If you believe there was a legal issue with where the blinds are etc then take it up in the legal system. I won't be surprised if the wife loses her job and potentially her bar license.
 

jmeb

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Coming from an avid hunting family, this irks me. What in the heck was he thinking?

There was a facebook post from someone involved that the McLean's believe the stand was illegal due to its proximity to trails/homes and because the hunter was baiting with salt/corn. So they removed it. All items have been returned.

I have no idea on what the restrictions are on stand placement. They are limited to 30 days in Utah, so if it is up past that it could be considered "abandoned". But I can imagine if someone is hunting dangerously close to trails that even if they are within the letter of the law, they may not be within the spirit of it.

So while the McLeans probably screwed up here, I'd wait to hear more about the situation before passing complete judgment.
 

jmeb

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I saw this on FB and while I can respect someone's belief that hunting is bad (I don't agree) this was absolutely the wrong way to handle. If you believe there was a legal issue with where the blinds are etc then take it up in the legal system. I won't be surprised if the wife loses her job and potentially her bar license.

Was talking about this event with my avid hunter friend last night. He pointed out to me that while this would likely work in CO, he doubts it would be very effective in Utah in actually solving the problem. He's been hunting in both states for over a decade, every season elk hunting in both. He says basically every single year he's had his license checked in CO, but never in Utah. It seems like Utah Fish & Game is relatively under-funded to handle enforcement.
 

Wilhelmson

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Being an attorney for Park City, the wife would have already looked into the legal options and determined that a vigilante approach was more appropriate, most likely becuase the hunter was within the law. Bad move in the age of cameras are everywhere.
 

Lorenzzo

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It's the prime topic of discussion here now overtaking pre-season workout routines and hiking fashion although maybe not yoga. The greater SLC Metro media has a pattern of convicting innocent people at the outset, some of whom have cleared their names, without media retraction, after the story's gone away. The DA is often trying to counter that whereas traditionally they encourage it to some extent to further their case. I'm not saying no crime was committed or that Fox 13 is misreporting but I'm going to wait until someone credible has something to say to form an opinion.

My takeaway is it's the time of year to start routinely ducking and finding cover when I'm hiking, biking or driving through hunting country (pretty much all of UT, WY and MT) particularly if there's a pickup truck parked in the vicinity.
 

Tricia

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There was a facebook post from someone involved that the McLean's believe the stand was illegal due to its proximity to trails/homes and because the hunter was baiting with salt/corn. So they removed it. All items have been returned.

I have no idea on what the restrictions are on stand placement. They are limited to 30 days in Utah, so if it is up past that it could be considered "abandoned". But I can imagine if someone is hunting dangerously close to trails that even if they are within the letter of the law, they may not be within the spirit of it.

So while the McLeans probably screwed up here, I'd wait to hear more about the situation before passing complete judgment.
You don't tear the blind down and steal the materials. You report it to the authorities, like the hunter did when he found the blinds destroyed or missing.
 

Tricia

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My takeaway is it's the time of year to start routinely ducking a lot when I'm hiking, biking or driving through hunting country (pretty much all of UT, WY and MT) particularly if there's a pickup truck parked in the vicinity.
When I lived in Michigan I recall mt bike and hike trails were closed for usage during specific times of the day as soon as hunting season started.
 

jmeb

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You don't tear the blind down and steal the materials. You report it to the authorities, like the hunter did when he found the blinds destroyed or missing.

The hunter also posted it on FB rather than taking it to authorities which lead to numerous threats on the suspect in this case. Meeting vigilantism with vigilantism is hardly a noble approach.
 

Tricia

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The hunter also posted it on FB rather than taking it to authorities which lead to numerous threats on the suspect in this case. Meeting vigilantism with vigilantism is hardly a noble approach.
Don't get me wrong, I am not *for* vigilantism, and I didn't say the hunter was/is noble.

And, I haven't said that they should hang the MCLeans in town square, but the hard fact is, there is video evidence that they vandalized two blinds. Whatever the reasons are, and if they believe the hunter was doing something wrong, there was a better way of going about it.
 

jmeb

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Don't get me wrong, I am not *for* vigilantism.
And, I haven't said that they should hang the MCLeans in town square, but the hard fact is, there is video evidence that they vandalized two blinds. Whatever the reasons are, and if they believe the hunter was doing something wrong, there was a better way of going about it.

There is video evidence that they removed the blind. You are convicting them before hearing their story. Unless you happen to know backstory and all the local regulations regarding placement/duration of stands and rules around removing illegally placed property.

There was a better way of doing it, or less controversial. The hunter also had an option of a better way of handling this situation rather than posting it to Facebook for internet vigilantism.
 

Philpug

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Forget that this is a deer blind...he distroyed/stole someone else's property. This could just as easily been some BMX jumps that cyclists built in the same area or a half pipe that skaters built and they took the wood..or messed with and stole the machinery that was used to build it.
 

coskigirl

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Was talking about this event with my avid hunter friend last night. He pointed out to me that while this would likely work in CO, he doubts it would be very effective in Utah in actually solving the problem. He's been hunting in both states for over a decade, every season elk hunting in both. He says basically every single year he's had his license checked in CO, but never in Utah. It seems like Utah Fish & Game is relatively under-funded to handle enforcement.

I don't mean hunting license, I mean bar license. She's an attorney and works for Park City.
 

Lorenzzo

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Forget that this is a deer blind...he distroyed/stole someone else's property. This could just as easily been some BMX jumps that cyclists built in the same area or a half pipe that skaters built and they took the wood..or messed with and stole the machinery that was used to build it.
You're making assumptions here that simply are not supported legally at this point. Another media conviction.
 

jmeb

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I don't mean hunting license, I mean bar license. She's an attorney and works for Park City.

I was referring more to the fact that the idea that reporting an illegal stand to the authorities as a way of getting it removed may not be a very viable (i.e. effective) option in a place that does not have resources to enforce the current regulations.
 

jmeb

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You're making assumptions here that simply are not supported legally at this point. Another media conviction.

To expand on this: it is not legal to simply have a deer stand, or any personal property, left on public lands for an indefinite period of time. BMX ramps, tents, hunting equipment, cars, whatever. Even if you're "using" it. There are numerous regulation around this including when the property is determined in the eyes of the law to be abandoned. Abandoned property cannot be stolen.

Since we do not know the specifics of any of this -- the timing of the stand, the precise location, the various jurisdictions and regulations that may govern this space -- probably best to not convict people.
 

Lorenzzo

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To expand on this: it is not legal to simply have a deer stand, or any personal property, left on public lands for an indefinite period of time. BMX ramps, tents, hunting equipment, cars, whatever. Even if you're "using" it. There are numerous regulation around this including when the property is determined in the eyes of the law to be abandoned. Abandoned property cannot be stolen.

Since we do not know the specifics of any of this -- the timing of the stand, the precise location, the various jurisdictions and regulations that may govern this space -- probably best to not convict people.
We don't even know whether in some way they were acting as officers of the court which as a city attorney she had the right to do. I can create other possible scenarios where they are innocent. At this stage words like allegedly are useful particularly when SLC tv "news" and FB have been involved.
 

coskigirl

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We don't even know whether in some way they were acting as officers of the court which as a city attorney she had the right to do. I can create other possible scenarios where they are innocent. At this stage words like allegedly are useful particularly when SLC tv "news" and FB have been involved.

While I can understand the argument that this may not have been illegal, I really doubt they were acting as officers of the court. If they had been why wouldn't that already be reported?
 

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