Morrow County, Ore. (Oct. 22, 2025)- The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division is asking for the public's assistance in identifying individual(s) involved in the unlawful take of a branch bull elk near Heppner, Oregon.
On Friday September 19, 2025, at approximately 7:30 am, individual(s) illegally harvested a bull elk on private ranch property, near the intersection of Forest Service Road 21 and Sunflower Flat Road, in Morrow County. A majority of meat was taken from the scene, while some meat was also left behind or wasted.
The Turn In Poachers (TIP) program is a collaboration between the Oregon State Police, Oregon Hunters Association, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Wildlife Coalition, Oregon Outfitter and Guides Association, and the Oregon State Marine Board.
The TIP program offers preference point rewards for information leading to an arrest or issuance of a citation for the unlawful take/possession or waste of big game mammals.
The TIP program also offers cash rewards for information leading to an arrest or issuance of a citation for the unlawful take/possession or waste of the following fish and wildlife species. Cash rewards can also be awarded for habitat destruction, illegally obtaining hunting or angling license or tag, lending or borrowing big game tags, spotlighting, or snagging.
$200 for illegally obtaining an Oregon hunting or angling license or tags
Rewards for Game Fish & Shellfish and Snagging/Attempting to Snag are sponsored, in part, by Northwest Steelheaders Association and Coastal Conservation Association.
$500 Cougar, Bobcat, Beaver (public lands only), Black bears, Bighorn Sheep, Marten, Fisher, Sierra Nevada Red Fox
$1,000 Species listed as "threatened" or "endangered" under state or federal Endangered Species Act (excludes fish)
$10,000 for Wolves east of Highway 395 and $11,500 for Wolves east of Highway 395 and north of Highway 20
Oregon Outfitters & Guides Association (OOGA) Cash Rewards:
$200 Acting as an Outfitter Guide for the Illegal Killing of Wildlife, Illegally Obtaining Oregon Hunting or Angling Licenses or Tags, or Illegally Offering to Act as an Outfitter Guide as defined in ORS 704.010 and 704.020.
How to Report a Wildlife and/or Habitat Law Violation or Suspicious Activity:
For more information, visit the Oregon State Police Turn-in-Poachers (TIP) web page.