Last month, it was reported that a Pendleton, OR, outfitter and guide was found guilty of illegally hunting a bighorn sheep with dogs and leaving another sheep’s quarters to waste while guiding clients.
In 2021, Todd Dean Longgood—a co-owner and guide with Sheep Mountain Outfitters—was hit with a Class C felony for unlawful hunting with dogs. As the story goes, they brought out the canines two days after a client shot a bighorn sheep in the leg to try and track it down. It’s unclear from reporting whether that sheep was ever recovered.
The wildlife violation for waste of a game mammal, which Longgood also received during the trial, was for a separate incident. In that case, Longgood’s client legally killed a sheep, and as the guide, it was Longgood’s responsibility to get the rest of the meat out of the backcountry. Instead, the front and hindquarters spoiled after Longgood took his sweet time getting it out.
As reported by the East Oregonian, Longgood was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 18 months of supervised probation.
As part of that probation, he is not allowed to possess weapons, firearms, or ammunition. He also cannot hunt, accompany anyone hunting, assist others in a hunt, or camp with firearms.
His hunting license and his outfitter/guide license were revoked for five years. He was fined $25,000 for assisting in the unlawful take of the bighorn sheep using a dog, and another $6,250 for the waste of a second sheep.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, maybe the fines aren’t high enough.
Now, I could see the argument that charging someone with a felony for trying to recover a wounded ram using dogs is a bit harsh. And while letting big game meat spoil is deplorable, some might argue that mistakes happen in the backcountry.
But when you stack this on top of Longgood’s history, it becomes pretty clear that rule-bending for a trophy wasn’t exactly out of his playbook.
Back in 2014, Longgood illegally took two mule deer bucks in Baker County, OR. The first—presumably a respectable buck taken with a bow—was tagged appropriately. But when he came across a 200+ inch bruiser, he killed that one too. Then he allegedly tried to stash it in the freezer until the following fall, slapping a new season’s tag on it in 2015.
For that stunt, he received three years of probation and was ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and $7,500 in restitution.
Add it all up, and Longgood’s fines across both incidents still total under $40,000. When a Governor’s mule deer tag or a bighorn sheep hunt in Canada goes for two or three times that, it raises the question: are the fines really enough of a deterrent?
A felony isn’t a slap on the wrist—but for law-abiding hunters, it leaves you wondering if there aren’t better ways to make the consequences really stick.
Should we hold guides and outfitters to higher standards?
In Longgood’s case, his guiding and hunting days are over—for now. He’s also barred from owning or using firearms, which is a massive blow to someone whose income likely depends on guiding clients in the field.
As a licensed guide in Wyoming, I’d argue yes—we should be held to a higher standard.
If you’re making a living off wildlife, you should know the rules better than anyone. Guides like myself are expected to know regulations inside and out—not just to stay legal ourselves, but to keep our clients on the straight and narrow too.
And sure, accidents happen. I’m not immune. But I believe guides and outfitters should lead by example when they do—by owning up and working with game wardens to fix the mistake. The stakes are higher when your paycheck is tied to your conduct.
The future for Longgood – and other poachers
Most folks don’t become outfitters because they hate wildlife. Longgood even served on the Mule Deer Foundation board at one point, and I’m sure he’s done some good in his career.
So maybe there’s a future where this second conviction lights a fire in him to do right by the game and the fair chase principles that protect it.
Maybe there’s a world where hunters—true hunters—can help bring poachers back into the fold.
Then again, maybe that’s just pie-in-the-sky thinking.
2 comments
Well, at least he did get some jail time which is rare. But 10 days is laughable, especially for a felony offense. With his track record, he should have received a sentence involving months of jail time, not a measly 10 days. Once again, the courts not taking seriously poaching crimes.
I know for a fact that Sheep Mountain Outfitter cut ties with this person found guilty in 2021. With a hunting name as big as Eastman’s, you would of think a quick follow up would of prevented this article from being written the way it was, implicating that a well respected name such as Sheep Mountain Outfitter would ever be involved in a situation like this.