I am glad to see some people don’t get away with the things they do. I strongly disapprove of baiting deer so it does not bother me that this guy does not get away with this. Granted it wasn’t a huge conviction but a conviction none the less.

By Gordon Dritschilo Rutland Herald
A former member of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board from Northfield was convicted Tuesday of baiting deer.

Michael Popowski, 65, pleaded no contest in Vermont District Court in Barre to the misdemeanor charge, according to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. He was sentenced to pay a $200 fine and had five points levied against his hunting license.

Under state law, accumulation of 10 points in five years results in a one-year suspension.Popowski was appointed by Gov. James Douglas to represent Washington County on the 14-member board. He resigned earlier this year, following the incident that led to the charge. He was the third member of the board in four years to resign following a citation for a hunting violation.

Assistant Attorney General John Treadwell said the charge stemmed from a Nov. 14 incident in which Popowski fired at a deer “in an area where various fruits and vegetables had been placed” somewhere in Northfield.

Popowski told investigators he thought he missed the deer, according to a press release.

Popowski’s shot also came nine minutes after the close of hunting for the day, Treadwell said, although that was less of a factor than the baiting charge.

“Clearly, there are more and less egregious facts to a charge of hunting in a closed season,” he said. “As I understand the season, it closes 30 minutes after sundown, so it varies by minutes, day to day.”

However, Treadwell said Popowski’s membership on the board was an aggravating factor. Otherwise, he said Popowski might have faced a noncriminal charge — such hunting violations can be handled civilly rather than criminally.

“There’s a broad range of violations that could be brought,” Treadwell said.

Treadwell called the fine standard for someone facing such a charge on a first offense and said Popowski had no prior record.

Calls to Popowski’s home went unanswered Tuesday.

Kermit Spaulding, who represented Lamoille County, resigned from the Fish and Wildlife Board in 2003 after pleading guilty to a charge he shot at a deer decoy in Stowe. Spaulding was cited again in 2005, this time for baiting deer, and again pleaded guilty.

In 2005, then-board member Susan Winter of Chittenden County was cited for two violations — shooting at a Canada goose out of season and using a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells. Winter resigned and was later convicted.