State
posted
Sep 13, 2012
Two men, one from Vermont the other from New York, made a costly
mistake in August by mining quartz on a state Wildlife Management
Area.
On August 26, Vermont State Game Wardens Robert Sterling and
Justin Stedman found Robert J. LaPorte of Shaftsbury, Vt. and
Philip G. Yerke of Waterford, NY digging and extracting quartz
crystal rock material from an area on Bird Mountain Wildlife
Management Area (WMA) in the towns of Ira, Castleton and
Poultney.
The 770-acre WMA was purchased in 1976 with funding from the
sale of hunting licenses and federal taxes on hunting equipment. It
is managed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department as public
hunting land and for its unique wildlife habitat qualities,
including a cliff section on Birdseye Mountain that is used by
nesting peregrine falcons.
LaPorte and Yerke were charged with willful and careless
destruction of state property under 10 V.S.A. Section
4517. Each man is subject to a fine of $2,500 and loss of
their licenses to hunt, fish or trap in Vermont for one year.
