Forest Hill Man Sentenced for Wildlife Poaching

A Forest Hill man was one of two people sentenced this week for violating Maryland’s black bear hunting regulations.

Wallace A. Harward, 58, of Forest Hill, pleaded guilty to violations including using bait to lure black bears, which is illegal in Maryland; and failing to stay within view of the man with whom he shared his permit, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Harward and Larry Eugene Harding, 57, of Friendsville, were commercial guides who partnered together from 2008 to 2010, leading others, sometimes people from out of state, on hunting expeditions for black bears in which they baited the animals to make them easier to kill, the statement said.

Officers from Maryland Natural Resources Police and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service went undercover, signing up to go on their commercial hunting expeditions, and discovered the violations, according the statement.

The men were using apples and molasses to attract the bears, then taking photographs and videos as their clients killed the animals, their plea agreements state. Before going out on a commercial hunting expedition, they would cover the apples with leaves, then lead their clients to the spot where they had put the bait so the clients could kill the bears, according to the plea agreement.

It is illegal to feed bears in Maryland and state regulations prohibit using bait, scent attractants or electronic calls for black bear hunting.

See Also:

• Bears Make Themselves at Home in Fallston
• Multiple Bear Sightings Reported in Howard County

Most of the hunts were in Garrett County, where Harding runs a business called Wild Mountain Herbs and in which agents found five 25-gallon garbage cans filled with apples and cores to use as bear bait. Harward runs a business called Timber Creek Services in Forest Hill.

Harward was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Harding was ordered to pay $8,000, the statement said.

Each man must perform 25 hours of community service for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources; may not commercially hunt or guide during a five-year probation; and is barred from personally hunting for three years, according to the statement. They are also banned from hunting or guiding in 44 states during their suspensions, the statement said.

Harward will lose his waterfowl outfitters license and he may not apply for renewal until his suspension is up.

“The combined penalties in this case represent one of the most substantial sentences for a Maryland wildlife poaching case in more than two decades,” Col. George F. Johnson of the Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

Black bear hunting is regulated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The season lasts for several days each year. According to the department, there were 94 bears killed in the six-day season in 2013. There were 69 bears killed in the four-day season in 2014, the department reported.

See the Department of Natural Resources for more information about black bears in Maryland and for details on bear hunting in the state.

File photo of black bear from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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