2 Accused of Illegal Quartz Mining in Vermont

Two men have been charged with illegally digging and extracting quartz from a wildlife management area in Vermont.

Robert LaPorte of Shaftsbury and Philip Yerke of Waterford, New York, were charged with willful and careless destruction of state property. Each man is subject to a $2,500 fine and loss of their licenses to hunt, fish or trap in Vermont for a year.

The 770-acre Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area was purchased in 1976 with funding from the sale of hunting licenses and federal taxes on hunting equipment. It is managed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department as public hunting land and for its wildlife habitat, including a cliff section on Birdseye Mountain used by nesting peregrine falcons.

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