Man Receives Jail Time After Failing to Meet Wyoming’s Residency Requirements

According to a press release, WDFG warden James Hobbs initially received an anonymous tip in 2019 that Gilstrap was falsely claiming Wyoming residency to acquire big game hunting tags there while living and working in Idaho Falls.

WDFG wardens coordinated with their counterparts in Idaho to execute a search warrant on his home there in March of 2022. They confiscated the antlers of four mule deer bucks, two bull elk, and one pronghorn. Further investigation found all the animals were taken in Wyoming, where Gilstrap had illegally purchased resident tags.

Gilstrap initially faced 22 charges for his wrongdoings, but took a guilty plea and was convicted for three counts of making false statements to procure Wyoming resident deer and elk licenses and three counts of killing deer and elk without the proper licenses. He was sentenced to serve 21days of incarceration and pay $10,000 in restitution and $17,905 in fines. He also forfeited the antlers of the animals from the search warrant and was suspended from hunting in Wyoming and any state in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact for 18 years.

A recent article in the Jackson Hole News & Guide details some of the specifics of the case, particularly that Gilstrap was considered “an aspiring hunting influencer” by WDFG wardens for regularly posting trophy shots of his kills on social media and that he had a Wyoming driver’s license and car registration at the time of the wildlife violations. He also rented a mobile home in Afton, Wyoming. But he never met the WDFG’s residency requirements, which include living there for one full year and then spending at least 180 days there each year after that. Gilstrap, however, was only in the state during the hunting season, according to Hobbs.

Gilstrap claims that he fully thought he was a Wyoming resident—and didn’t know he was breaking the law. “Playing dumb is not an excuse, and I know that. The fact that I didn’t do the research I should have, that’s on me,” he said, noting that he never considered himself an influencer, either. “I’ve posted a picture here and there of a deer, but I’m not a social media guy…why the hell would anybody in their right mind post a picture of something they shot if they were poaching?”

Regardless of intentions, Gilstrap’s case underscores the importance of understanding and abiding hunting regulations, including residency requirements. In fact, Gilstrap’s case isn’t the only one involving fraudulent residency claims in Wyoming; Meateater recently reported on an outfitting operation that falsified residency claims in the state and an influencer who failed to meet residency requirements. Western states often favor residents in big game draws and sell them far cheaper tags than nonresidents.

“This case shows the extent some poachers will go to circumvent Wyoming’s residency process to obtain over-the-counter general deer and elk licenses that nonresidents must have a minimum of 4-8 preference points to draw,” wrote a WDFG spokesperson in a possible explanation for Gilstrap’s illegal behavior. “Not only that, but Gilstrap killed four large buck mule deer over a 4-year period, ranging in antler size from 180 to 220 inches, and three large bull elk at the expense of Wyoming’s law-abiding hunters. The buck mule deer Gilstrap illegally killed would have been a once-in-a-lifetime harvest for most of Wyoming’s legal hunters.”

Feature image via WDFG.