Dean Bortz: Campbellsport, Wis., citizens look ahead after poaching, animal-cruelty case rattles community

I bet the fabric of the Fond du Lac County town of Campbellsport, Wis., can be found in every small Wisconsin community. That fabric is woven, over time, by the people who live in those small towns.

People who care. People who volunteer. People who take on projects – new parks, new schools, filling the rank and file of civic groups – to make their towns just a little bit better every year.

Campbellsport had a population of 1,907 during the 2020 census. It’s a small town that serves a large, rural geographical area that includes the upper reaches of the Milwaukee River and part of the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest. Many of the citizens in that area are farmers, or they know farmers. People help people in Campbellsport.

Every once in a while – thankfully it doesn’t happen often – someone decides to color outside the lines and tries ripping a community’s fabric. That happened in Campbellsport this fall when it was discovered that four persons – an adult female and three 16-year-old teens – were linked to an ongoing deer poaching case that also included instances of animal cruelty to deer and other forms of wildlife.

The illegal shooting of deer had been going on for at least a year and a half, potentially longer. The adult female allegedly encouraged the teens to shine and shoot deer, leaving all of the carcasses to rot. The teens cut the heads off the bucks, but left the rest of the carcass.

The teens often shot video of their misdeeds and posted some of them of social media. One video allegedly shows the teens firing a flare gun at an opossum released from a live trap. The flare hit the opossum, setting it aflame, with the video showing the animal running off on fire.

MORE COVERAGE FROM WISCONSIN OUTDOOR NEWS:

State Roundup: Tough hunting for northern hunters, but ready to see what Wisconsin’s 2024 gun deer season brings

Wisconsin’s sandhill crane hunt future rests with legislators

Wisconsin bear hunters see a big rebound in harvest from poor 2023 season

Jessica Jill Kroening, 36, of Brownsville, was charged Oct. 23 in Washington County Circuit Court with contributing to the delinquency of a child, the illegal shining of deer or bear, and obstruction of a conservation warden, according to the criminal complaint. Those three misdemeanors could potentially result in $22,000 in fines and two years in jail for Kroening if she is found guilty and maximum penalties applied.

The charges stem from statements of three juvenile witnesses, who also were involved in the deer poaching incidents, and one adult witness. The witnesses related stories of alleged deer poaching in July and August to sheriff’s department deputies, local police officers, and DNR conservation wardens.

As of Nov. 21, Kroening is scheduled for an initial appearance in Washington County Circuit Court on Dec. 2 at 8:15 a.m. before Judge Sandra J. Giernoth. The prosecuting attorney for Washington County will be District Attorney Mandy A. Schepper.

Any charges filed against the three male teens will be handled through juvenile court in Fond du Lac County because they reside in Campbellsport, even though many of their alleged violations also took place in Washington County.

Word reached Wisconsin Outdoor News that more than a handful of Campbellsport citizens have been contacting court officials in both counties in an effort to emphasize just how – what, offended? – citizens are of the behavior and decisions made by these four individuals.

John Plenke is a retired DNR game warden who worked the Fond du Lac station for 31 years – 1979 through 2010. He now lives in Germantown and continues to volunteer as a hunter safety instructor.

“In those 31 years of working as a game warden I had never seen that kind of a situation. The truly sad part is the role the adult played in this scenario,” Plenke said.

“This is not hunting. This is just a wanton waste of a resource. I’ve been a hunter safety instructor for 43 years. I have never seen anything like this. This behavior is not a reflection of our hunting community. I just worked a class in Saukville with 36 kids. I did mention this case. I said we have to be as ethical as we can because we are under the microscope. How can there be a 36-year-old adult condoning this kind of activity?

“I have sent letters to the courts. No fine is going to do it. They should have to work it off. If they don’t respect animal life, how can you respect human life?” Plenke said.

Burt Bushke, of Mayville, is the executive director for Wings Over Wisconsin (WOW). The Eden Chapter of WOW bought an 80-acre property about 10 miles north of Campbellsport. Volunteers restored habitat on that parcel that’s used for youth hunts and other outdoor class sessions. Bushke said some of the alleged violations occurred in that area.

“Conservation groups like ours spend a lot of time, money, and resources working on wildlife habitat, improving the habitat for future generations,” Bushke said. “When we see things like this, it’s just … it’s just. I don’t even know what it is. For our members to go through so much effort to improve that land and then something like this happens. Those kinds of efforts get undermined by poaching – not just here, but anywhere.

“We don’t do this work just for the hunting community,” Bushke said. “A lot of people just like to view wildlife. This kind of activity just gives us a black eye.”

WOW chapters own 11 properties throughout the state that are managed for all wildlife. One parcel, 130 acres is managed for monarch butterfly habitat.

Rory Thelen, of Ashford, retired from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and did a lot of teaching during his career.

“I think there is a level of disgust. Some of us are ticked off, but there’s not a vindictive tone in the community,” Thelen said. “People just want to see justice done and that the kids and the adult lady are held accountable.

“I really have an issue with an adult facilitating some of the stuff that they did. I’ve been involved in so many things within this community – a lot of us have great respect within the community for the amount of volunteerism we see here. We respect the outdoors and don’t want to see it treated like this. At some levels, our society, our parents don’t hold their kids accountable for what they do. I don’t want to see these kids or this lady feel like they got away with something and go out and do it again. I don’t think there’s a vein of vindictiveness out there where people want them strung up, they just want them to be handled firmly, but fairly, by the courts.

“How is this going to affect our small town? I think we will move forward and all will be positive. I’d like to see this become a learning moment,” Thelen said. “The animals they tortured – I’m glad I don’t understand that mindset. But now, how can we hook them up with the right people to mentor them? I have seen good things happen when someone who has made a mistake meets up with the right people. If there is a perception they can get away with this, they can keep doing it. I’m always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but, wow, in this situation, they have a lot to make up for,” Thelen said.

Andrea Dowland serves as the Campbellsport chief of police, and has for almost two years. Prior to that she was a patrol deputy for Fond du Lac Sheriff’s Department from 2015 into 2023.

“I have never seen anything like this. The Campbellsport area is filled with a lot of outdoors people – male, female, kids – who were upset when the news came out for various reasons, one being that these people who live in our community. They had the ability to do this to animals, to kill deer and leave them rot in the fields. People are also upset about the animal cruelty part of it – citizens are upset for multiple reasons,” Dowland said.

“This can happen anywhere at anytime. We must be vigilant and aware of things that seem out of the norm. Contact law enforcement. I know most hunters have good intentions. They hunt to build memories with their families while enjoying the outdoors. This is not normal behavior.”

Dowland said the courts have been receiving many contacts from citizens asking that the alleged offenses not be taken lightly.

Fr. Mark Jones, has been the pastor at St. Matthew Catholic Church for more than eight years. Joan Schlaefar is the principal at St. Matthew Catholic School and Day Care, where she’s worked for 27 years. Both are non-hunters. Rick Heisler has spent 45 years as a hunter safety instructor, teaching more than 4,000 students. He has 11 junior hunter safety instructors. He’s also a volunteer football coach. He started the local seventh and eighth grade football program in 1970.

“Most of our parishioners hunt, farm, fish – they are outdoors people. Whenever you have an abuse of an animal, or any life, it rips from the vision that everyone has about what wildlife is all about. Hunters, farmers, you use what you gather or raise to sustain the community,” Jones said. “No one minds hunting at all, as long as its done (with) respect and human, but what these people did … people are disappointed, sickened that three young people and an adult would find pleasure in abusing animals in this way.

“The Bible always talks about the beginning of Creation – humankind is in charge of the world. That doesn’t mean abuse, it means you take care of God’s creation to make sure everything thrives. It’s never OK to abuse any living being.

“My hope is they charge these three young men as adults. They knew very well what they were doing. I hope all four will be mandated psychological evaluation and counseling,” Jones said.

“We’re in a very small rural area that I always consider a very safe space. To hear of such horrendous crimes to such magnitude, shakes my sense of security,” Schlaefar said. “I walk every morning in the dark. It’s absolutely beautiful out there and I respect what we have here.

“We had no idea this was going on or for how long. It really shakes our sense of safety and community. I have the utmost respect for hunters. I live in an area with a lot of hunters. They’re very respectful, not reckless – then hear of this kind of abuse. I agree with Pastor Mark – they need serious counseling so it doesn’t continue into their adulthood.”

Heisler is well known as a “get it done” kind of guy in his community. He has fielded dozens of calls from residents on this subject.

“All I know is if I had done something like this when I was a kid, Pa’s size 12 would still be up my ass,” he said.

“One of the biggest things is it’s very hurtful to see just what our environment and our community is being exposed to here. I hope these kids are properly brought to justice, but that they are also properly treated for whatever it is that made them do this in the first place,” Heisler said.

All agreed Campbellsport won’t let these four individuals tell the town’s story, or pull apart the community. If anything, they said the local residents will work even harder to continue building Campbellsport.