A red helicopter flying low over Idaho sagebrush country in 2023 wasn’t just sightseeing.⁠ ⁠ It was part of an illegal poaching operation that recently landed Karl Studer, a 43-year-old electrical co-op executive, some hefty fines, five years of probation, and a lifetime suspension of his hunting license. Witnesses first drew attention to Studer when they reported the chopper buzzing mule deer at low altitudes on multiple days in 2023. Investigators with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game confirmed the chopper’s activity using cellphone data and flight logs. A 66-page affidavit from an IDFG senior conservation officer details a slew of allegations, including the purchase of hunting tags from multiple individuals for a total of $153,000. Hunting tags in Idaho are non-transferable. In exchange for pleading guilty to a single felony of illegally killing a bull moose, he accepted the sentence and a lifetime hunting ban, 50 hours of community service, five years of unsupervised probation...