Idaho Fish and Game commissioner charged with poaching bull elk

IDAHO FALLS (Idaho Statesman) — An Idaho Department of Fish and Game commissioner has been charged with multiple game violations after alleged involvement in illegally killing two bull elk in the region he represents, according to court records.

Upper Snake Region Commissioner Brody Harshbarger was charged with seven misdemeanor violations: three counts of unlawful taking of game animals, one count of hunting without an appropriate tag, one count of hunting from a motorized vehicle, one count of shooting across a public highway, and one count of trespassing on private property to hunt.

Each charge carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. Several of the charges also carry possible $750 civil penalties and hunting license revocations of one to three years.

Harshbarger has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Idaho Fish and Game Conservation Officer Bryce Fogleman said in a deposition that he and another conservation officer responded to a Citizens Against Poaching call about “a group of individuals” shooting at elk near Spring Hollow boat ramp in Fremont County on Dec. 20, 2025. A Fremont County sheriff’s deputy also responded, the affidavit said.

Fogleman said the person who called Citizens Against Poaching reported a dead six-point bull elk on their property across from where the shooting was.

The conservation officer said Harshbarger and another man were shooting at elk and killed the six-point bull on private property and an antlerless bull on nearby Bureau of Reclamation property. The other man faces the same charges as Harshbarger, except for the count of hunting from a motorized vehicle.

The court document said Harshbarger fired across Spring Hollow Road from the driver’s seat of his vehicle.

According to Fogleman’s deposition, Harshbarger had filled his elk tag the previous weekend and did not have a valid tag. The other man had a tag that was not valid for the public Bureau of Reclamation property, and neither man had permission to shoot onto the private property, which prompted the trespassing charges.

The probable cause affidavit said there were “deep hoof marks” in the private landowner’s field that were “consistent with the bull elk being hit and beginning to run after the bullet impact.” Blood was also found on the property.

Fogleman said in his deposition that neither man contacted the landowner to get permission to retrieve the elk from the private property, in violation of Idaho law that requires hunters to make a reasonable effort to retrieve harvested game.

It’s unclear from court documents which man is suspected of killing the animals. The Fremont County Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to a request for more information on Friday.

Fogleman’s deposition said Harshbarger “advised” the other man of where he could and could not shoot and aided in the harvest of the animals. The criminal complaint against the commissioner says he unlawfully took a big game animal and/or aided another in doing so.

The Fish and Game Commission consists of seven commissioners from each region who are appointed to four-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the Idaho Senate. Harshbarger, whose term ends in June 2027, represents a region that covers a portion of eastern Idaho and is headquartered in Idaho Falls.

The commission establishes hunting and fishing regulations, sets seasons and budgets, and oversees other administrative duties for the department.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game spokesperson Roger Phillips told the Idaho Statesman in a text that the department has no comment “because it’s an active case and the commissioner is not an employee of the agency. He’s an appointee of the governor.”

Gov. Brad Little’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

It’s not the first time a high-ranking Fish and Game official has been accused of wrongdoing. In 2010, former Fish and Game Director Cal Groen was cited for trespassing while hunting near Elk City. And in 2018, Southwest Region Commissioner Blake Fischer resigned over “intense criticism” following a hunting trip to Africa where he took photos with a “family of baboons” he shot there.