National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Three Montana Army National Guard members face trespassing charges after authorities said they landed a Black Hawk helicopter in a mountain pasture on a private ranch to take several elk antlers before flying away.
A witness saw the May 4 landing and the person who owns the property reported it to officials, who tracked down the three guard members, Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg said Thursday.
The guardsmen had been on a training flight from the city of Billings to Helena, the state capital, said Major Ryan Finnegan with the Montana National Guard. The helicopter landed briefly in the pasture located in the foothills of the Crazy Mountains, where the crew members picked up two individual antlers and an old elk skull with antlers still attached, the sheriff said.
Elk antlers — which grow and drop off male animals annually — are highly prized and can be sold by the pound. They also are collected from the wild as keepsakes.
https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-helicopter-trespass-elk-antlers-montana-2127e7eae5433d5fca3c369d7c40d7c9
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