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KANAB — A Kane County commissioner and former member of the Utah Wildlife Board — a commission that reviews some hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related regulations in the state — is now facing nearly a dozen charges after prosecutors allege his company illegally baited big game for hunting purposes.
Wade Raymond Heaton, 51, of Alton, Kane County, was charged in the 6th District Court Friday with pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony; six counts of wanton destruction of protected wildlife, ranging in severity from a third-degree felony to class A misdemeanor; three counts of conspiracy, a misdemeanor; and taking, transporting, selling or purchasing protected wildlife, a class B misdemeanor.
Six other Utah men, all guides for the hunting business that Heaton owns, were charged with some of the same poaching-related charges stemming from an investigation that began last year.
"Baiting — when food or nutrient substances are placed to manipulate the behavior of wildlife for the purpose of taking or attempting to take big game — is illegal. The investigation found evidence that several deer appear to have been taken using bait by hunters during the 2022 and 2023 hunting seasons," a Utah Department of Natural Resources spokesperson said in a statement to KSL.com.
According to court documents, the investigation began in August 2023 when the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources received multiple tips about possible big game baiting. A state conservation officer visited the site on private land, which is a part of the Limited Entry Paunsaugunt Deer Unit, and found corn "spread across the ground" and no signs of cattle, a possible sign of baiting, the document states.
Officers also found a game camera mounted on a board that, through the use of Google Earth imaging, "appeared to be consistent" with a hunting blind, the report adds. The state obtained a warrant to fly an unmanned aircraft over the property which officials said confirmed the findings.
"The investigator saw copious amounts of corn scattered on the ground, as well as a feed bucket, a trail camera and a tank with water in it," officers wrote in a report included in the charging document.
A few days later, conservation officers said they spotted two men, later identified as guides for the Color Country Outfitters company that Heaton owns, "cut limbs with a saw, seemingly to improve shooting lines from the blind to the bait," the report states.
This sparked a deeper investigation into the baiting claims, which included a review of trail cameras seized from the property and messages between Heaton and employees dating back to 2021. The Utah Legislature approved a law banning the practice of baiting for big game hunting, which went into effect in May 2021.
According to the documents, Heaton referenced feed and cows in written and photo messages between employees at times between 2021 and 2023.
Clients told investigators they were provided photos of deer they'd like to hunt and paid $3,000 to $40,000 to hunt the deer. One client said they were directed to "cattle stations" where a guide told them not to worry about the scattered corn because the stations "had been approved by the Division of Wildlife," the document says.
Officers wrote in the charging document that the client was captured on a video shooting a deer with an arrow shortly after the deer was "standing at the feed bucket and eating out of it."
The report also outlines similar stories other clients told investigators. Evidence collected during the yearlong investigation led investigators to believe bait was illegally used at least during hunts in 2022 and 2023, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources. which oversees the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
The Utah County Attorney's Office, which was handed the case, ultimately reviewed the report and filed charges against Heaton and six of the employees.
It wasn't immediately clear if Heaton or any of the employees had obtained legal representation in the case.
Heaton is listed as a member of the Kane County Commission, but he was also a member of the Utah Wildlife Board at the time the baiting rule changed and when the investigation began. He abruptly resigned from the board near the end of last year.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources director Justin Shirley acknowledged Heaton's resignation during a board meeting on Nov. 28, 2023.
"He spent 4½ years of his time devoted to trying the make best decisions for Utah's wildlife and we really appreciate Wade and his efforts," Shirley said at the time.
