GF&P pulls plug on Adam Vinatieri's resident hunter stat

[Liberty Belle]

I guess Vinatieri isn't as important as Daschle aide, Eric Washburn, huh? How many of you know about GF&P Sec. Cooper and Washburn breaking the law and getting away with it on this same issue?

GF&P pulls plug on Vinatieri’s resident hunter status
By Kevin Woster, Journal staff

Super Bowl champion Adam Vinatieri has a house, a driver’s license, a licensed vehicle and his voter registration in South Dakota, but the state Game, Fish & Parks Department says he can’t have a resident hunting license.

GF&P officials announced Wednesday that Vinatieri may not continue to buy resident pheasant-hunting licenses, as he has done in the past. Nor may he continue to apply for preference points that increase his chances of receiving a license in big-game-hunting seasons that are open to South Dakota residents only.

After months of discussion and negotiations, lawyers for GF&P and Vinatieri have reached a settlement that will not include criminal charges against the 34-year-old graduate of Rapid City Central High School. Instead, Vinatieri has agreed to forfeit all of the preference points he has accrued in past big-game license drawings and obtain non-resident licenses to fish and hunt in the state.

GF&P spokesman Emmett Keyser of Pierre said Vinatieri’s doesn’t qualify for resident-hunter status because he doesn’t actually live in the state. But the Rapid City native’s situation creates is unusual because he clearly meets most of the legal criteria for residency. And even his status regarding the main residency requirement is unclear, Keyser said.

“The one key criterion in the law is whether he has lived in the state for 90 days before making a license application,” Keyser said. “Well, he met the 90 days by the fact that he was previously a resident. That’s kind of the pickle were in.”

That first residency requirement, as written in the GF&P hunting handbook, says a person must “actually live within or be a bona fide South Dakota Resident for 90 days with the intent to make it home.”

Others require a South Dakota driver’s license or expiration-dated ID, motor-vehicles registration in the state and make no claim of residency in other states. Vinatieri clearly meets those requirement, Keyser said.

Keyser said Vinatieri had taken a number of steps to maintain his resident status and considers himself to be a South Dakota resident. He licenses vehicles in Pennington County and has a valid South Dakota driver’s license. He also is registered to vote in Pennington County, using his parent’s address in Rapid City, where still receives mail there.

Vinatieri also owns a house south of Rapid City that is typically rented out.

Because of the Vinatieri case, it is likely that that the residency statutes will be clarified to include reference to maintaining a “domicile” or being “domiciled” in a state.

“We’re going to be looking at those statutes there in the next couple of months, and hopefully will make some clarifications to that residency issue,” Keyser said.

GF&P records indicate that Vinatieri bought a resident small-game hunting license in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.He also applied as a resident in 2005 and 2006 for preference points for seasons on Black Hills bighorn sheep, mountain goat, elk, prairie elk, Custer State Park antlerless elk and Custer State Park firearm elk.

In applying for and buying hunting licenses, Vinatieri used his parents’ address in Rapid City. Although Vinatieri is a regular visitor to the city, he doesn’t live here. He owns property in several states, including homes in Florida and Indiana.

Family and friends say Vinatieri, an avid outdoorsman, intends to return to South Dakota after his NFL career.

It is illegal to make “false representations on application.” And applicants for licenses are required to provide an address that represents their “places of residence.”

License application fraud can lead to penalties of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Keyser said there was no indication that Vinatieri was intent on breaking the law. Beyond that, it wasn’t completely clear whether he did, Keyser said.

“It’s kind of an odd situation,” he said

Rapid City lawyer Curt Jensen represented Vinatieri in negotiations with GF&P. Jensen declined comment this morning.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com
May 9, 2007

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/05/09/news/top/news00d_viniatieri_ruled_nonresident.txt

[Draggin "N"]

As I read that post , I thought of all the Pipeline, Construction hands and others that travel with their jobs, and no one ever questions their status of residence, even when they live in an area, for several years!
As long as a person has "one" home state, and one dirvers license, and meets the requriments of "car tags" and "votes" and pays taxes...it looks like he (who ever he or she is) would have a right to decide what state he lives in?
This country is full of people that have to be gone more than they are at home, in order to make a living. Truck drivers, Tug boat , river boat workers, Off Shore oil workers...Pipeline hands, construction workers, most are away more than they are home. Does the FG&P take their hunting privilages away?
I would have to look at the situation this way. If it was a "crime" to be a resident of SD, is there enough evidence to convict Vinatieri of being a resident? (I think he would be in jail before dark!) If the GF&P had that much evidence that Vinatieri had commited a game violation, would he be arrested?
I have been to SD, and I like the state very well, but if an avid hunter was going to "FAKE" a residence for the hunting and fishing oppertunities, is there not other states that offer more, with less restrictions, and hassels than SD?
I am not saying that Arkansas has a better GF&P by any means. Our Game and Fish Commission in Arkansas got out of hand years ago, and gets worse all time! There are many, many fine people that work for the Game and Fish, but the Commission, the regulating body, Is way out of hand! They only answer to the Governer. The "people" have little or no say in anything the Game and Fish commission does. That needs to be fixed here in Arkansas and it sounds like it needs to be fixed in SD also!
Ross

[Southdakotahunter]

heres the scoop. The guy is not a resident of SD. He was originally from SD. thats it. so he owns property....big deal. So does ted turner. Where this would becoume a problem is with those who buy land here just for hunting and all ranchers and farmers will tell you that land is skyrocketing all because some come from out of the woodwork with open checkbooks and buy land for hunting. Adam says he dont live here. He rents out a house and uses his folks address for tax purposes. He lives in FL and IN.

Its a crock of crap what cooper did before also LB. I have 10 years preference for alot of those licenses that are for resident only. No one else should be given a free ride if they dont live here. Go to colorado and hunt elk if you want, but what cooper did was wrong back then LB. I agree!

[publichunter]

Adam isnt a resident and should not have the priveladges that we residents have when it comes to hunting and fishing.
Cooper didnt create the tag for Washburn to go hunting Gov.Janklow did, Coop just took him hunting. Isnt it time to let Coop off the hook? He was a great leader of GF&P.

[P Joe]

[katrina]

Pjoe,
Are you guys getting dried out?? How's the farming in your area??

[P Joe]

[katrina]

Ok........

[Liberty Belle]

[SJ]

[P Joe]

[SJ]