CRAIG, Colo.—A Moffat County rancher convicted of illegally killing elk on his property has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of probation.
Forty-one-year-old Rodney Culverwell was also sentenced Tuesday to $16,440 in fines and fees and 196 days of community service. A jury convicted him in September of willful destruction of big game, illegal possession of wildlife, hunting without a license and other charges.
Culverwell will be released to work on his ranch during his jail sentence.
The charges stemmed from a Colorado Division of Wildlife investigation last winter, when officers reported finding 18 dead elk on the rancher’s land. Culverwell was convicted of killing only four of the elk. He said he shot them because they were caught in his fence.
