AUGUSTA — As a result of a call to the Maine Operation Game Thief tip line, four Midcoast residents were summonsed recently for a spate of deer hunting violations.

According to the Maine Warden Service, Donald Fogg, 55, of Searsmont was charged with three counts of possession of anterless deer without a permit and one count of illegal transportation of deer.

Adam Crabtree, 30, of Appleton, was charged with night hunting, exceeding the bag limit on deer, hunting after having killed one, shooting from a motor vehicle and two counts of possession of unregistered deer.

Laura Webb, 33, was charged with possession of antlerless deer without a permit and false registration of deer in 2014 and 2015. Andrew Webb, 36, was charged with night hunting and possession of unregistered deer. Both Webbs live in Hope.

Maine's Operation Game Thief began in 1989, modeled after New Mexico's successful version of the program to stem poaching, and to help law enforcement catch other wildlife violators.

Operation Game Thief is a private, nonprofit organization that works with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Maine Warden Service, the Department of Marine Resource, Marine Patrol and Wildlife Crime Stoppers. If requested, citizens who turn in poachers or individuals unlawfully introducing non-native fish species to Maine lakes, ponds and streams, according to the OGT website.

Calls to the OGT hotline, which is answered 365 days a year, 24/7, are taken by a local county dispatch. All of the information about the suspected poaching or wildlife violation is taken and the caller is assigned a code number.

In addition to poaching, which is considered a serious and costly crime that affects sportsmen and sportswomen, businesses and taxpayers, and everyone who enjoys the beauty of Maine's fish and wildlife resources, the illegal introduction of non-native fish species is also considered a serious crime. According to OGT, it has become the "resource crime of the century," as the ramification of introducing non-native fish has had, and will have, disastrous effects on Maine's native fisheries.

Law enforcement personnel evaluate the information, and investigations are begun immediately, and follow the same rules and state guidelines as any law enforcement investigation. If an individual is arrested or issued a summons on the basis of the information provided by the caller, a reward is authorized if asked for previously by the caller, If paid a reward, the caller's anonymity remains protected, according to the OTG website.

To report a violation online, click here. To report a violation by phone, call 1-800-253-7887. To contact the Maine Warden Service for general inquiries, call 207-287-8000

FMI: maine.gov/ifw/warden_service/thief

Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com and 207-706-6655.