A former state lawmaker from Southern Arizona faces misdemeanor charges over over allegations he was hunting in a closed area on Fort Huachuca.
Former Republican state Sen. Frank Antenori attended an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tucson on Wednesday on the charge he unlawfully entered military land to hunt game.
The state charge against Antenori is a Class 2 misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of four months in jail, two years’ probation and $750 in fines. The matter is being handled in federal court, however, because it occurred on federal land.
“This is clearly, in my opinion, payback for my creating headaches for the environmental folks at Fort Huachuca,” Antenori told the Arizona Daily Star on Thursday.
Antenori said the issue began in early 2014 when he drew a tag to hunt bear on Fort Huachuca.
Hunting is permitted and common on the fort and other expansive military installations.
But the hunt was called off, Antenori said, because biologists working on the fort found female bears with cubs in the area.
Antenori said this, and subsequent closures, were done arbitrarily and counter to established cooperative agreements between the states and the Army for wildlife management on military property.
“Some biologist on the fort loves little bears and doesn’t want anyone hunting bears on Fort Huachuca,” he said.
So Antenori took his complaints first to the Arizona Game and Fish Department and later to Congresswoman Martha McSally’s office and the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake.
“This set the fort off now because I dragged Congress into this,” he said.
Flake’s office provided a correspondence it had with Fort Huachuca officials discussing Antenori’s concerns between May and July of last year.
Army officials responded, in part, noting areas on base had been closed as result of safety concerns.
“Range Control recommended and the Garrison Commander approved closing several training areas due to Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) contamination, not funding issues,” the response from Fort Huachuca officials read.
Army officials were less specific when asked about Antenori’s claim that base biologists harbor anti-hunting sentiment, saying their staffers work closely with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in making decisions about wildlife management.
The Arizona Daily Star also contacted McSally’s offices and Fort Huachuca’s public information office requesting comment but did not hear back by the end of the day Thursday.
The incident for which Antenori was charged occurred in August when he was bowhunting for deer.
Antenori said military police made a routine contact to check his hunting license and confirm where he had been.
It wasn’t for weeks after the hunting trip that Antenori received notice of any alleged wrongdoing when Fort Huachuca police called him and asked that he meet with them. He declined the invitation on the advice of his attorney.
Then in December, Antenori said, he received notice in the mail that he had been charged and was required to attend an initial appearance in district court.
While court documents say Antenori “did take wildlife” or used “devices in a manner that may have resulted in the capturing or killing of wildlife” he said he killed no game in the hunt.
“I didn’t even release an arrow,” he said.
Instead, Antenori said, he’s being prosecuted for walking through an area normally open to hunting that was closed, without his knowledge, on the day he was there.
Antenori said he’s certain the case will be dismissed when the U.S. magistrate judge hears the facts of the case.
He pleaded not guilty at Wednesday’s hearing. He has another court appearance scheduled for March 7.
