Just when we are tempted to think that all in the outdoor world is sweetness and light we are revisited with the lurid case of Kirt Darner. Or shall we say, the cases of Kirt Darner.
As we’ve perhaps tried to forget, Darner, 69, from Crawford, has been involved in various big game shenanigans over the years, ranging from illegal possession of wildlife to license fraud.
The latest incident involves an eight-year investigation involving the theft of wild sheep heads — one Rocky Mountain bighorn, the other desert — from a Montrose taxidermist. The heads were the property of the Colorado Division of Wildlife and were valued at more than $20,000 each.
Darner was charged with receiving stolen property when New Mexico authorities found the heads at a New Mexico location owned by Darner and his wife, Paula. New Mexico authorities indicted the Darners in 2006 on 41 felony and misdemeanor charges, including illegally moving three elk. Charges against Paula Darner are pending.
A sentencing hearing has not been set, but Darner could serve four years in jail and pay a minimum of $10,000 fines. As part of a plea agreement, he agreed never to hunt, fish or possess a firearm in Colorado or New Mexico.
Darner had worked in Colorado as a guide and outfitter. In 1999, Division of Wildlife officers observed a Darner client shoot at an elk decoy in a game management unit for which he had no license. Darner was charged with evidence tampering. A Boone & Crockett Club mule deer record claimed by Darner was proved to have been tampered with, and subsequently was removed from the record book, as were several other Darner entries.
All of which brings us back to the sad fact that there are more outdoor charlatans out there than you can imagine. We increasingly become aware of fish and game achievements that either have been exaggerated or outright falsified.
So if your mother says she loves you, check it out — and make sure she has proof that she actually caught or shot what she said she did.
