Idaho Fish and Game commissioner pleads not guilty to poaching bull elk

St. Anthony, Idaho — Brody Harshbarger, a sitting member of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, has pleaded not guilty to seven hunting-related misdemeanor charges following a poaching investigation.

Investigators allege that Harshbarger, along with another suspected poacher, illegally shot and abandoned two elk in December 2025.

The Fremont County, Idaho, Prosecutor’s office charged Harshbarger with three counts of unlawful taking of game, and one count each of hunting without an appropriate tag, hunting from a motorized vehicle, shooting across a public highway and trespassing on private property to hunt.

Charging documents say Harshbarger was hunting near Spring Hollow boat ramp in Fremont County on Dec. 20, 2025, when they were reported to the citizens against poaching hotline. Conservation officers and a Fremont County sheriff’s deputy responded, and found that Harshbarger or a second man, identified in court documents as Eric Murphy, had shot and killed one bull elk on private property and a second bull elk on federal land nearby.

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Harshbarger did not have a valid elk tag at the time, according to charging documents, because he had filled it the weekend prior. Murphy lacked a valid tag for hunting on federal land. The pair also did not get permission to shoot onto private property, leading to the trespassing charge, and made no attempt to retrieve the bull elk shot on private property.

Charges state Harshbarger was driving Murphy, obtained permission for the hunters, and was directing where to shoot. Harshbarger is not specifically accused of shooting the animals himself, though prosecutors have asked to analyze his weapon.

Idaho law prohibits both the direct poaching of wildlife and aiding or abetting the poaching of wildlife.