Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Trail cams stolen from I-90 wildlife collision study

Washington Department of Transportation officials say this man is a person of interest in the theft of nine remote cameras being used for a study of wildlife-vehicle collisions along Interstate 90. (Washington Department of Transportation)
Washington Department of Transportation officials say this man is a person of interest in the theft of nine remote cameras being used for a study of wildlife-vehicle collisions along Interstate 90. (Washington Department of Transportation)

WILDLIFE -- I don't have numbers, but I have enough information from hunters, wildlife watchers and wildlife researchers to confidently say that theft of trail cameras has reached epidemic levels.

I've seen posts from a few anonymous thieves rationalizing their behavior by saying they don't want people snooping into land they love or they don't want other hunters figuring out what they already know. 

But the greedy creeps are still thieves, any way you look at it.

Here's news of another assault on ethics, research and public safety.

Nine wildlife cameras used to track elk near North Bend have been stolen.

The Transportation Department was using the cameras in a project to prevent elk collisions on Interstate 90.

Workers noticed nine of the project's 18 Reconyx cameras missing on November 10th. The cameras had protective steel boxes, media cards, and shielded padlocks. Some were camouflaged into their surroundings to deter people from stealing them.

Crews removed nine other remaining cameras as a precaution.

One of the cameras took a picture (above) of a possible suspect, a man with a bandanna over his face.

"These cameras were doing important work that were able to help us build something that could really stop these collisions from happening," said Harmony Weinberg, DOT public information officer. "It was really crucial work."



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

Follow Rich online:




Go to the full Outdoors page