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UpdateUpdate

California’s Game Wardens delivered an explosive Exposé toGovernor Schwarzenegger and others in March 2006. Learn what

happened to the Wardens and California’s wildlife.

2007 California Fish & Game Warden2007 California Fish & Game Warden

exposÉ

exposÉ

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To All Californians . . .California State Game Wardens protect and preserve California’s naturalresources through effective and professional law enforcement. Wardens regularlyencounter dangerous, armed criminals who have no regard for human safety, andpoachers who are nothing more than wildlife thieves. Poachers’ actions adverselyaffect California’s fish and wildlife populations, and threaten the future ofoutdoor opportunities.

In addition to protecting the public safety, supporting homeland security, andenforcing the laws regarding our fish and wildlife, Wardens stand as guardians ofCalifornia waters, protecting them from polluters who would indiscriminatelycontaminate our waterways, affecting everyone’s well-being.

But Wardens face a threat from another direction. Efforts to trim the state’sbudget have hit Game Wardens directly through staff cuts, salary shortfalls andequipment reductions, effecting the safety of all Californians – including themost defenseless – our fish and wildlife. All inhabitants, those with fins, feathersor fur as well as humans, fall victim to these cuts – wildlife and water belong tous all. Today, California has fewer Wardens than 30 years ago while ourpopulation has nearly quadrupled. Fewer than 200 field Wardens patrol theentire State of California. We patrol 159,000 square miles of land, more than29,000 miles of streams and rivers, and 220,000 square miles of ocean from theshore to 200 miles out, serving more than 36 million people with a staffing level

equal to the 1950s. Reduced law enforcement results in irreparable harm to fish and wildlife populations, theenvironment, local economies, and people’s confidence in the ability of the state to protect the publictrust.

Game Wardens and the natural resources they are sworn to protect need your help.

The Department of Fish and Game no longer has the ability to recruit and retain qualified Game Wardens.The dangers of the job, the long hours without overtime compensation coupled with some of the lowestsalaries as compared to other law enforcement agencies around the state makes the noble career of a GameWarden unattractive. Recruitment and retention of officers is at a historic low, applications have droppedsignificantly despite how the state’s population has increased. The crisis now leaves the Department withmany Warden vacancies, and our state without the officers needed to protect its natural resources.

There is no exaggeration in this. The situation must be remedied, but to date, no significant action has yetstopped or reversed this tragic trend. The solution to properly manage and appropriately protect ourresources and the human population now and for the future is to hire more Game Wardens. Many people ask“Why? Why has this happened and why does it continue?”

The state must pay competitive wages – like pay for like work. All law enforcement work is dangerous, butas a Game Warden, the remote area patrols without backup places us at the top for risk.

Five years ago, the California Legislature supported a request for salary and benefit parity with other lawenforcement agencies because of significant recruitment problems. Yet, over that 5-year period, theDepartment literally lost one-third of its entire Warden force. In 2006, Wardens testified before theLegislature, explaining our situation and they listened. The Legislature acted by including money in thebudget to specifically address the dire situation and fix the Warden recruitment and retention crisis. TheLegislature instructed the situation be fixed, but through the state bargaining process and otherbureaucratic issues, the contract offer failed to meet the Legislature’s intent. Many of the issues were notaddressed, and the Department lost more Wardens. Where do the Wardens go? Some retire, but others arewooed away by better offers from other law enforcement agencies where the pay is higher, the hoursshorter, and staffing stronger. Meanwhile, the poaching escalates.

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The California Fish and Game Warden’s Association assembled the “Game Warden Exposé” in 2006 to educategovernment leaders and Californians about this serious problem. Created with the utmost care to present factsand truth, the Exposé has been embraced enthusiastically. This 2007 edition includes updated materials andinformation. The Wardens would ask that you take time to consider all of the information we have assembled inour best effort to provide the facts about our situation.

The Game Wardens want to thank all who support us and offer help. As individuals come to understand ourplight, we find support growing. The people of California truly feel it is important to have their fish, wildlife,landscapes, and drinking water protected. We ask you for help, guidance, and leadership to remedy a wrongthat for too long has been ignored, bypassed, or dismissed. This situation threatens our citizens, our familiesand our future. It is in everyone’s power to stand up and lead the change. We encourage you to follow your heartto endorse all that is necessary to protect what is yours.

Sincerely,

Jerry Karnow, Jr.

Legislative Liaison

CFGWA

*FACTS:

40% of those wardens from the last police academy in 2006 quit and have been lost to other jobs. 60% fewer peopleeven applied to be wardens in 2006 compared to last year. About 50% fewer candidates were even placed on a hire listthan last year. The state is expected to lose 40% of its Wardens over the next 3 years to retirement.

Of calls from the public to our 24-hour dispatch centers and CalTIP, only 1 out of 3 calls even get answered. Manytoxic pollution cases do not get investigated. Many new unfunded mandates continue to be placed uponCalifornia for Wardens to enforce, placing more restrictions upon outdoor pursuit opportunities. California has less than1/3 the number of wardens as Florida (750) and less than that of Texas (500). Both states have fewer people and lesswildlife diversity than California.

Over1,100 miles of coast, 220,000 square miles of Ocean, and 159,000 square miles of California land mass are safeguardedby a mere 190 Wardens. From toxic spills into our waterways, drug interdiction, homeland security, search & rescue,natural resource management, vehicles stops, stakeouts, undercover investigations, Game Wardens are there.

Because of the dangers and complex responsibilities of working this specialized law enforcement field coupled with thecurrent pay scale, the Department of Fish and Game no longer has the ability to effectively recruit and retain qualifiedWardens – having a direct negative impact on public safety, our natural resources, fish and wildlife,and our water quality.

“This is for our children andour outdoor heritage; for awholesome life and healthyenvironment.”

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We wish to thank the following organizations, celebrities, law enforcement agencies, land owners,companies, California State Legislature and members of the public who contributed letters and/ortestimony of support for California Game Wardens.

California Waterfowl Association

Natural Resources Defense Council

Action For Animals

California Outdoor Heritage Alliance

Public Employees for EnvironmentalResponsibility – California P.E.E.R.

United Anglers

California Fish and Game Commission

Mule Deer Foundation

Quail Unlimited

California Farm Bureau

Defenders of Wildlife

Metropolitan Water District of California

California Sportsman’s Lobby

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsman’s Coalition

Safari Club International

San Francisco Fly Casters

National Wild Turkey Federation

California Bowman Hunters

California Foundation for North American WildSheep

California Houndsmen for Conservation

California Trout

Gold Country Fly Fishers

Grass Valley Rifle, Rod, and Gun Club

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Safari Club International – Golden GateChapter

San Diego County Wildlife Federation

Sportsmen’s Council of California

State Archery Association

United Anglers of Southern California

California Law Enforcement Fly FishingFederation (C.L.E.F.F.F.)

Northern California Council of the Federationof Fly Fishers

Taft Sportsmen’s Club

Desert Protection Council, Imperial CountyProjects and Conservation Coordinator

MYDRACO

Coastal Conservancy

California Rifle and Pistol Association

Coastside Fishing Club

California Deer Association

Lynch and Associates

Al Taucher Advisory Committee, California Fishand Game Commission

El Dorado County Fish and Game Commission

Thanks to our supporters!

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Inyo-Mono County Fish and Game AdvisoryCommission

WildAid

Cicada Productions for Animal PlanetInternational

Nevada County Sheriff/Coroner

Nevada County Undersheriff

Sierra County Sheriff

Siskiyou County Sheriff

Mariposa County Sheriff-Coroner

Oakland Police Officers Association

Sierra County District Attorney

Butte County District Attorney

Mariposa County District Attorney

Long Beach Deputy City Prosecutor,Environmental Crimes

Plumas County District Attorney

Sonoma County District Attorney

Yuba County District Attorney

Kern County District Attorney

Bishop Police Department

Foothill Fire Protection District

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, andParks

Morro Bay Police Department

Soper-Wheeler Company, Lands Administer,Timber

Western Aggregates LLC

Applied Forest Management, Timber

Western Care Construction Company, Inc.

Circle “S” Ranch

Green Gulch Ranch

Save Mount Diablo, Executive Director

Hughes Farms

Retired Kern County Deputy Sheriff, brother toslain Idaho Game Warden

UC Berkeley Professor, Wildland ResourceScience

NORCOM communications

Producer/Host of The OddBall Angler

California Hunter Education Administrator andInstructors

California State Senate

California State Assembly

Senator Dave Cogdill

Senator Sheila Kuehl

Senator Dennis Hollingsworth

Senator Denise Ducheny

Senator Wes Chesbro

Senator Dave Cox

Assembly Member Patty Berg

Like these elk, the tangled story of the Game Wardens began inthe days of the old west. It is a sad commentary that ourtreasured resources are now suffering from neglect by those whohave the ability to change the outcome, but who choose to lookaway.

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Game Wardens testified at the State Capitol about the plight ofCalifornia’s wildlife and the diminishing warden force.

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In California, a state of 37.4 million people, there are 198Fish and Game Wardens in the field working to prevent &prosecute polluters, and protect fisheries, wildlife, fauna,and our citizens. This staffing level is the same as in the1950’s in actual personnel. This state level of wardens percapita to the general populace is the worst in America.

Maryland, with 5.3million people, has 225wardens.

The impacts of thesehistoric low CA Wardenlevels can be seeneverywhere across thestate. For example,between the mouth ofthe Klamath and Yreka,a distance of nearly200 river miles; not tomention all thetributaries and riverstems in between,there are no Wardensresiding to stop brazensalmon poaching.Vulnerable salmon ontheir spawning groundslie totally exposed tocriminals. The DFGpatrol boat based inEureka to regulate commercial and sport fishermen in theocean on the north coast remains un-staffed. The result isabsolutely predictable-historic low levels of salmon thatwill only continue to decrease unless there is protection byWardens.

The catastrophic low levels of salmon in the Klamath riversystem has led the Governor to declare many countiesdisaster areas. Tourism, restaurants, local businesses andcommercial and sport fisherman all suffer.

Marijuana plantations in California have soared to recordlevels. Wardens are the environmental cops whose beat isnaturally intertwined with this drug trade and historicallycombat these traffickers. But the Warden numbers declineregardless, resulting in more and more illicit drugoperations in the wild, which not only corrupts the statebut endangers recreationists.

California is becoming internationally infamous for itsblack market in wildlife exploitation. The illegal,underground trade in wildlife flourishes in California.

The Warden CrisisThe Warden Crisis

Game Wardens have the authority to board any kind of marine vesselincluding this commercial fishing boat. Inspections for any terrorism orHomeland Security threats is a standard routine for Wardens and comesas second nature in their duties. DFG receives no funding or support forthis added vital anti-terrorism work.

Abalone, sturgeon, bear, reptiles, deer and endangeredspecies of plants are illegally obtained and sold withoutever leaving California’s borders.

International wildlife smuggling in foreign countries alsohas an end destination in the Golden State. Our ports of

entry are primedestinations forendangered speciesfrom foreign countries.The scope of the illegalunderground wildlifetrade is second only tothe drug trade. And,the two often go handin hand with GameWardens forced to dealwith both. Theinternational wildlifeblack market isestimated to range upto $20 billion a year. InCalifornia it isestimated at $100million a year.Warden ranks inCalifornia to combatthis illegal wildlife tradeare decimated. In thelast six years, theWardens in California

have lost 1/3rd of their officers. In the next 3 years, 40% ofthe current officers will be eligible for retirement. In themeantime, Warden recruitment per year lies in the singledigits. It does not take a population dynamics major to seewhat the future holds for California’s natural resources as aresult.

The founders of the State of California recognized in 1871what pollution can do to the water quality and fisheries ofthis state. Wardens were created to stop the horrificdamage from hydraulic mining in the gold fields. Wardens,in fact, were the first state law enforcement officers, wellbefore CHP came into existence in the 1930’s. To give asense of the time frame- the Gunfight at the OK corral wasin 1881.

For more than 15 years the Department of Fish and Gamehas sought to bring the salaries of its law enforcementofficers into parity with salaries for comparable lawenforcement positions. A newly-trained game wardencurrently earns about $37,000 per year – compared to new

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Foot patrol along the Central Californiacoast.

highway patrol officer’s pay of $53,808. Given the higherlevel of education and training required for wardens, it hasbeen increasingly difficult to recruit and retain the wardenscritical for both public safety and natural resourceprotection throughout the state.

Responding to an intensive grassroots educationcampaign by the CFGWA along with the publication of theWarden “Expose”; the state legislature has leapt intoaction. During the 2006-07 budget negotiations, both theAssembly and Senate budgetsubcommittees acted to addressthe dire and immediate need toaddress the fish and game wardenrecruitment and retention crisis. Atotal of $10 million was originallyincluded in the Assembly version ofthe budget for enhanced wardencompensation. The Senateproposed even more for thispurpose: $17.5 million. Ultimately, inlight of the increasing crisis; $30million was dedicated tosolve recruitment andretention problems.

While the Legislature ultimatelyagreed to the Administration’s moregeneral compromise languagepertaining to recruitment andretention of certain stateemployees, the need to dedicatesubstantial funds for fish and gamewarden compensation remained acore component of the final budgetagreement.

Despite this agreement – anddespite letters from key budget committeemembers and stakeholders to ensure that theagreement was honored – the October 1, 2006compensation “plan” developed by theDepartment of Personnel Administration (DPA)failed to devote the minimum $10 million forwarden recruitment and retention. Rather, the planallocates monies more generally to fund the BargainingUnit 7 Memorandum of Understanding ratified via AB 1373.Wardens only received $2 million after all theseefforts.

While wardens received a 15% pay increase effectiveJanuary 1, this does little to close the compensation gapwith other law enforcement agencies. CHP officers got a10% boost on a much higher base pay – so the gap haswidened, not narrowed. Consequently, warden recruitmentand retention continues to suffer. At the top end of thesalary scale, CHP officers receive an average of 70% morepay than their counterpart Wardens and often times much

more when overtime is considered. CHP and Wardensrecruit out of the same hiring pool of the population. So,the Warden recruitment dilemma starkly emerges.

Fish and Game Warden applications continue to plummet– causing vacancies to skyrocket. The continuing lack ofsufficient funding for warden pay is having devastatingimpacts on warden ranks. Applications for the state’sgame warden training academy have fallen to just one-third of last year’s levels – with only 98 applications

received for the 2008 academy,versus 300 applications received forthe 2007 academy. Only 14 of the2007 applicants passed the rigoroustesting process. Just a few shortyears ago DFG Warden applicantsranged in the thousands per year.The CHP feels that only one out ofevery 100 of their applicants willultimately be hired after goingthrough the hiring process. Thefuture is pretty clear for Wardens.Many are leaving the force to takebetter pay with city and countypolice agencies.

The Department of Fish and Game’sWardens are among the most highlytrained law enforcement officers inthe state – possessing a minimumtwo-year college degree, deputizedas federal law officers who protectmigratory wildlife, trained inenforcement of hunting and fishingregulations and prepared to handle awide range of rural crimes from drugtrafficking to pollution andhomeland security.

Given California’s long-time leadership in wildlife andresource protection – and in light of the Administration’sstrong emphasis on strong enforcement of environmentallaws and regulations – it makes little sense to fail to fundthe wardens who are on the front lines of protecting ourpublic and private lands throughout the state.

Additional mandates that this Administration has placedon the Wardens without more funding includes oceanprotection and marine mammal protection. Water qualitythreats associated with dumping and pollution increasewithout the oversight of Wardens.

If DFG wardens are to remain a viable public safety andnatural resource protection resource, it is critical for theLegislature and the Administration to ensure that the2006-07 budget agreement is honored as soon aspossible. This is a first step toward conservation of Fishand Game Wardens, the front line of conservation forCalifornia.

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Fish and Game Wardens’ AssociationBob Orange–President; Warden for 28 years, currently covering Plumas andLassen Counties. BA Geography, CSU Chico. Certified from CSUC in EIRAnalysis and Reporting. AA in Adminstration of Justice, Feather River College.Formerly employed with the US Forest Service as Fire Fighter/Apparatus Engineerfor 5 years. Former EMT; CPR and First Aid Instructor. Certified Open Water Diver,recipient of Director’s Achievement Award for environmental prosecution and the Lifesaving Award.Has worked undercover with DFG Special Operations Unit (SOU-Undercover)and Marine Patrolassignments. Second generation Game Warden, father retired after 38 years with DFG. Motherretired from US Forest Service. His sister and brother-in-law were killed by a drunk driver. Marriedwith two sons attending CSU, Chico and CSU, Sacramento. Daughter is married and teaches inPlumas County. Has one grandson. Wife has a BA in Social Studies from CSU Sacramento and is aSocial Worker.

John Wheeler–Treasurer; Warden for 9 years, currently a Lieutenant Specialist in theInvestigative Services Unit of DFG. BS in Business Administration- concentration in corporatefinance, CSU Sacramento. Worked 2 years in the Special Operations Unit and 2 years with theDelta Bay Enhanced Enforcement Team. Recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal forexceptional work performance under unusual, complicated, and hazardous conditions during acomplex commercial abalone investigation while in the SOU. Firearms Instructor, FTO, WeaponlessDefense and Impact Weapons Instructor, Shotgun Armorer, Boating Water Rescue and EnforcementCertified, Swift Water Rescue and Recovery Certified, Internal Affairs and backgroundInvestigator, Interrogator, Covert/Overt Operator and Instructor. Two brothers are Parole Agentswith the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Another brother is in the Sheriffacademy. Wife is currently in nursing school.

Nicole Kozicki–Secretary; Warden for 17 years, currently covering Alameda and Contra CostaCounties. Grew up in Oakland. Holds a BS degree in Criminal Justice from Cal State Hayward.Specializes in environmental crimes such streambed alteration and endangered species cases.Received Directors Achievement Award for environmental prosecution. Received special recognitionby Contra Costa County Fish & Wildlife Committee and Fish & Game Commission for outstandingwork in the environmental field. Warden Kozicki is married with two daughters, ages 7 and 9. Herhusband is a Captain with the Oakland Police Department.

Jerry Karnow, Jr–Legislative Laison; Warden for 17 years, currently covering Nevada, Sierra,and Placer Counties. Natural Resources Management, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Administration ofJustice, Sierra College. Prior to DFG was employed by California Dept. of Forestry and FireProtection for 6 years as Firefighter. Certified Open Water Diver. Field Training Officer (FTO) andFirearms Instructor. Served as Boarding Officer on Marine Patrol Vessel in Los Angeles and LongBeach Harbors. Worked jointly with Specialized Crime Unit, LAPD. Worked deep covert operationwith the SOU and trained as covert/overt wildlife investigator. 1994 Received DirectorsAchievement Award for exposing illegal reptile poaching as well as special Congressional Recognitionfor officer of the year Yuba-Sutter Counties in 2002. Sacramento Valley Peace Officer of the year2001. Peace Officer of the year 1999. Brother and sister were both firefighters with CDF; brothercurrently Engineer with El Dorado Hills Fire. Two uncles were LAPD Detectives until retirement after30+ years service. Married with one daughter. Wife was a CDF Engineer and currently a RegisteredNurse; she has a BS in Natural Resources Management from Chico State.

Jake Bushey, Sr–Regional Director; Warden for 28 years, currently covering Shasta, Siskiyou,& Modoc Counties. AA Shasta College, Adminstration of Justice. Prior assignments includeundercover work and marine patrol. Was recognized as DFG’s first “Warden Of The Year” in 1991.Spent time on assignment working with Montana Game Wardens. Before joining DFG he was alogger and worked on a US Forest Service Hot Shot firefighter crew for 5 years. Jake comes from astellar tradition and family of law enforcement officers. He is a Third Generation Fish and GameWarden whose father died on the job. His brother was a deputy sheriff in California and Nevada, hissister works in the California University Police system. Warden Bushey’s son, daughter-in-law, anephew, and his nephew’s wife are all officers with the California Highway Patrol. Another nephew isa city police Sergeant and other cousins work for LAPD. Bushey is a former Baton Instructor andFTO. Jake is married and also has a daughter teaching in Siskiyou County.

Ben Thompson–Regional Director; Warden for 9 years. Currently works as a Warden in theOffice of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) based in San Diego. Duties are enforcement of lawsdesigned to prevent oil spills in marine waters. Prior Warden assignment ranged from enforcingcommercial fishing regulations on the ocean to trapping laws in the desert. DFG certifiedRangemaster and Field Training Officer (FTO). Certified Open Water Diver. Married with a two-year old daughter.

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Bob Farrell–Regional Director; Warden for 10 years, Lieutenant Specialist based in HumboldtCounty. Currently a Masters Degree candidate, Emergency Services Administration, CSU Long Beach.BS Professional Studies, CSU Long Beach. AA Biological Sciences, College of the Redwoods. Assigned asthe NOAA OLE (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement) LiasonOfficer. Also assigned to assist NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Serivce) Special Agents ininvestigations of federal fisheries violations in California. Responsible for conducting investigations ofstate managed commercial fisheries. Certified United States Coast Guard licensed Master NMT 100Tons, Mate; Inspected vessels NMT 1600 Tons, Uninspected Fishing Vessels NMT 5000 Tons. Priorexperience as a Deputy Sheriff (R) Contra Costa County, Mate aboard Fish and Game patrol vessel,Commercial Fisherman in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, Foreign Fisheries Observer with the NationalMarine Fisheries Service. Certified Open Water Diver and SCUBA Instructor. Teaching credential in LawEnforcement Occupations. Glock Factory-Certified Armorer. Married with two children.

Steven Stiehr–Regional Director; Warden for 9 years, currently a member of the Delta BayEnhanced Enforcement Program. BA CSU Sacramento, and Advanced Masters Candidate CSUS. Prior towork with DFG was lifeguard and commercial fisherman in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Worked asScientific Aid with DFG for 3 years. Worked 5 years patrolling Contra Costa, Alameda and SanFrancisco. Works undercover with the Special Operations Unit. Certified Open Water Diver, BoatingWater Rescue and Enforcement Certified, Swift water Rescue and Recovery Certified, RemingtonArmorer. Recipient of Director’s Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to DFG.Commendation for professionalism and pride in training small boat handling to Fish and Game WardenCadets. Commendation for professionalism and commitment to safety of community and fire personnelduring a vehicle fire which closed Interstate 5. His two younger brothers are both in public safety, aDeputy Sheriff and a Firefighter/Engineer. Married with a 7 year old daughter and 3 year old son.

Gary M. Schales– is the newest of the DFG Air Service’s Warden-Pilots. While he is working on hiseighth year as a pilot for the department, he has been flying for over 20 years. Warden-Pilot Schalesearned his Bachelors of Science Degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University of Daytona Beach Fl.and has over 8,000 hours flying time as a Commercial Pilot flying single engine and multi engine aircraftand is a current instrument rated pilot. He has earned his flight instructor rating to teach in singleengine, multi engine and instrument flight as well as all ground instructor certificates and has taughtother pilots how to be flight instructors. As required for the position, Warden-Pilot Schales is anAirframe and Powerplant certificated mechanic (A&P). He is currently the only A&P that holdsInspection Authorization (IA) for the Department which is not a prerequisite for the position. Thiscertification saves the State of California a sizable amount of money because the inspections can bedone “in-house” and can be worked on by our own Warden-Pilots after the inspections by Gary. Thisservice is provided at no additional compensation to Warden-Pilot Schales. Gary’s wife of 12 years isKathleen; their two children are Nicholas and Katie.

Lorraine Doyle–Greenline Editor; Warden for 22 years currently covering Fresno County. Began inLos Angles County and then worked Stanislaus and Merced districts. BA in Natural Resources, CSUChico. Formerly worked for California State Parks. Worked in undercover details with SOU. CertifiedGlock and Remington Armorer, FTO. Currently in 4th year as Region 4 Director on the Board of the NorthAmerican Wildlife Enforcement Officers’ Association For this international organization she representsofficers for the states of CA, OR, WA, HI, AK, NV, UT, CO, ID, MT, WY,AZ, NM and the National ParkService. Father was a California State Park Ranger for 4 years then was with Environmental Review for 30years. Mother was a teacher. Currently divorced with two teenage sons and is heavily involved withtheir schools and activities; Boosters, PFA, Site Council, hiring panels, chaperone, etc.

Jim Solis–Greenline Editor. Warden for 18 years, currently based in San Luis Obispo. Previouslyworked the Gilroy, Carmel Valley, and San Miguel districts. BA in Natural Resources Planning, CSUHumboldt. Formerly employed with the US National Park Service as a back country Ranger, Crater LakeNP. Worked as a wrangler at Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Tetons. CIF basketball referee for the pasttwelve years and referees playoff games. Defensive Tactics and Firearms Instructor, Field Training Officer.Monterey County Peace Officer of the Year Award. Competes in mountain bike triathlons. Raised twostepchildren now in their 20’s and has one daughter age 14.

Richard Coehlo- Regional Director; DFG Warden 27 years. BS Zoology, UCLA. FormerConservation Officer/Warden with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for four years. PatrolsRiverside County based out of Big Bear Lake.

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California Fish and Game Wardens’ AssociationThe Thin Green Line

March 20, 2006

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

The law enforcement officers of the California Fish and Game Wardens Association (CFGWA)have assembled an Expose’ to educate Californians about a serious problem that affects us all. Weare crippling a critical aspect of our law enforcement as we continue to lose Game Wardens and theirpositions.

The lack of Game Wardens has created a direct, negative impact upon the quantity of wildliferesources, the viability of natural landscapes, the quality of our water, and our ability to provide forpublic safety. It has created dangerous working conditions for Game Wardens where low numbers ofWardens means higher risks to those who continue to patrol. The situation has compounded for manyyears, and can no longer be ignored. Because of the huge, ever-widening disparity between the salaryand benefits afforded other law enforcement officers and that afforded to Game Wardens,recruitment and retention of Game Wardens has plummeted to a record low. California’s GameWardens and the natural resources they are sworn to protect need your help.

The California Game Warden Expose’ documents the long history of the inequity and injusticethat spans several administrations, both Republican and Democrat. No single Governor can be heldaccountable, yet all have contributed to the continued inequity. As our current Governor committedto rebuilding California, we wanted to alert you to the inequity that we have been trying to correctfor more than a decade. Game Wardens only seek parity with CHP — like pay for like work. FewerGame Wardens means no wildlife, and less protection for the environment. Fewer resources toinvestigate pollution crimes mean poorer water quality for Californians. We are speaking out becausewe want to ensure that you and the Legislature are aware of the inequity and injustice which hastranslated into serious declines in service and protection of the wildlife, environment, and people ofCalifornia. We offer this informational, non-partisan publication to all members of your office, theSenate and the Assembly.

We ask you now for your help, your guidance, and your leadership to remedy a wrong that fortoo long has been ignored, bypassed, or dismissed. This situation threatens our natural resources andour citizens. Please let us know if you need any further information, or if there is any assistance wemight provide. It is in your power to lead the change, to right the wrong. Together we can make adifference.

Sincerely,

Jerry Karnow, Jr.

Legislative Liaison, CFGWA

This letteraccompanied the

original GameWarden Expose’

to GovernorSchwarzenegger in

March of 2006.

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Being a GameWarden is thebest job in the

world, but not ifI can’t providefor my family.

Starting Game Warden$3,570 per month

Starting CHP Officer$6,664 per month

Wage inequity hurts my family.

www.californiafishandgamewardens.com

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California’s State Law Enforcement OfficersTotal Compensation Comparison – Like Job / Like Pay

Starting Warden and CHP Officer: $3,570 $6,664

Monthly Compensation Starting Fish & Game Warden Starting CHP Officer

First Year After Police Academy: (base salary) $3,581 $4,740Employee Retirement Contribution 8%: -$286 $ 0 (State Pays 100%)

Gross Subtotal: $3,295 $4,740

Paid Lunch $0 $296 (6.25% base pay)

Pre and Post Shift Work Activities Differential: $0 $166 (3.5% base pay)

Shift Differential – Graveyard shift: $1.30 per-hr. $0 $226

Motorcycle Officer Pay $0 $190 (4% base pay)

Uniform Cleaning Allowance: $0 $25

Physical Performance Pay (PPP): $0 $65

Short Notice Court Cancellation Pay: $0 $50 (a day)

Recruitment and Retention Pay: $175 $ 0

Education Incentive for the same degree (BA or BS): $100 (Fixed amount) $240 (5% base pay)

Gross Monthly Subtotal: $3,570 $5,998

Average Monthly Overtime $0 $666

Gross Monthly Total With Overtime: $3,570 $6,664

Vacation Leave Hours Accrual Fish & Game Warden CHP Officer

Length of Service: Per Month Per Month

1 Month – 3 Years 7 Hours 20 Hrs.

3 – 10 Years 10 Hrs. 23 Hrs.

10 – 15 Years 12 Hrs. 25 Hrs.

15 – 20 Years 13 Hrs. 26 Hrs.

20+ Years 14 Hrs. 27 Hrs.

Conversion Vacation/Annual Leave to Monetary Value For Starting CHP Officers:

Gross monthly pay without overtime is $5,998 divided by 174 hours = $34.47 per hour for starting CHP Officers.

$34.47 X 13 hours of vacation pay difference per month = an additional value of $448.13 per month worth of vacationtime. 2,088 hours per year divided by 12 months = 174 hours (average hours per pay period.)

California’s State Law Enforcement OfficersTotal Compensation Comparison – Like Job / Like Pay

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Monthly Compensation Top Step Top Step

Game Warden CHP Officer

After 20+ Years of Police Service: (base salary) $5,129 $5,762

Employee Retirement Contribution 8%: -$410 $0 (State Pays 100%)

Gross Subtotal: $4,719 $5,762

Paid Lunch $0 $360 (6.25% base pay)

Pre and Post Shift Work Activities Differential: $0 $202 (3.5% base pay)

Shift Differential / Graveyard Shift $1.30: $0 $226

Motorcycle Officer Pay $0 $230 (4% base pay)

Uniform Cleaning Allowance: $0 $25

Physical Performance Pay (PPP): $0 $130

Short Notice Court Cancellation Pay: $0 $50 (a day)

Recruit and Retention Pay: $175 $ 0

Education Incentive for the same degree (BA or BS): $100 (Fixed amount) $288 (5% base pay)

Longevity Pay / Senior Officer Pay $342 (Max. 7%) $461 (8% base pay)

Gross Monthly Subtotal: $4,994 $7,734

Average Monthly Overtime $0 $666

Gross Monthly Total With Overtime: $4,994 $8,400

Conversion Vacation/Annual Leave to Monetary Value For Top Step CHP Officers:

Gross monthly pay without overtime is $7,734 divided by 174 hours = $44.45 per hour for top step CHP Officers.

$44.45 X 13 hours of vacation pay difference per month = an additional value of $577.72 per month worth of

vacation time. 2,088 hours per year divided by 12 months = 174 hours (average hours per pay period.)

Totals do not reflect additional monetary value for Annual Leave conversion.

TOP STEP Game Warden and CHP Officer: $4,994 $ 8,400

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BASE BASEWARDEN PAY CHP PAY

Cadet: $3,267/mo $3,868/mo (7 Hrs. Mandatory OT)

Beginning Pay: $3,581/mo $4,740/mo

Top Pay: $5,129/mo $5,762/mo

Warden Incentives Top Pay Officer: CHP Incentives Top Pay Officer:

Employee Retirement Contribution 8% Pay -$410 $0 (State Pays 100% / $6,472 a yr.)

Educational Incentive (AA, AS, or Intermediate POST) $50 $144/mo ($1,728 / 2.5% Top Base Pay)

**Wardens $100 max.**(BA, BS, or Advance POST) $100 $288/mo ($3,457 / 5% Top Base Pay)

Shift Differential: Swing shift $0.80 per hr. $0 $139/mo ($1,650 a yr.)

Graveyard shift $1.30 per hr. $0 $226/mo ($2,712 a yr.)

Canine Pay $0 $156/mo (1,879.80 a yr.)

Investigator Pay $0 $50/mo ($600 a yr.)

Officer In-charge pay incentive (5% per day) $0 $13.09 per day ($287.98 a month)

Uniform Allowance $640 $770 a yr.

* Recruit New Officer Incentive 40 Hrs. leave/Max.120 Hrs. $0 3 Weeks of Pay Equivalent ($5,336.46)

Annual Leave Accrual: Warden CHP Warden/CHPDifference

7 months to 3 yrs. 11 Hrs. 24 Hrs. = -13

37 months to 10 yrs. 14 Hrs. 27 Hrs. = -13

121 months to 15 yrs. 16 Hrs. 29 Hrs. = -13

181 months to 20 yrs. 17 Hrs. 30 Hrs. = -13

241 months (20 yrs.) and over 18 Hrs. 31 Hrs. = -13

* CHP Officer Recruiting Time Off Incentive (RTO):

40 hrs. of recruitment time off (RTO) for one CHP recruit who completes the CHP Academy.

120 RTO hrs. maximum.

174 hrs. – 120 hrs. = 54 hrs. ; 54 divided by 174 = 31% minus 100% = 69%

69% multiply $5,998 gross monthly pay for starting CHP officer = $4,138.62 . This represents the monetary value ofCHP recruitment time off. $4,138.62 divide by 12 mos. = $344.89 per month for starting CHP officer.

69% multiply $7,734 gross monthly pay for top step CHP = $5,336.46. This represents the monetary value of CHPrecruitment time off. $5,336.46 divided by 12 mos. = $444.71 per month for top step officer.

No recruiting time-off incentive for Game Wardens!

Data Obtained:

http://www.dpa.ca.gov/jobinfo/pay_scales/section_17/PS_Sec_17.pdf

http://www.chp.ca.gov/recruiting/images/recruit_salary_benefits_Rev.0906.pdf

http://www.dpa.ca.gov/collbarg/contract/BU5Contract2006-2010Final.pdf

http://www.dpa.ca.gov/collbarg/contract/BU7Contract2005-2008Final.pdf

EXTRA PAY AND COMPENSATION DETAILSNOT PREVIOUSLY LISTED

EXTRA PAY AND COMPENSATION DETAILSNOT PREVIOUSLY LISTED

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At time goes by, Wardens areforced to accept additional dutiesand challenges in addition totheir core mission. Technologicaladvances in DFG patrol vesselsallow them to range farther thanever into the marine environment.However, chronic short staffinglevels keeps them in port moreoften than on patrol.

Since 1871, Wardens haveenforced the laws of the Stateof California. Their knowledgeand inspection of firearms isunparalleled.

DFG Patrol vessel Swordfish, Ventura

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It has been estimated that annual profits from illegalcommercialization of California’s fish and wildlife is wellover one hundred million dollars. This black market issecond only to the drug trade. The individuals andgroups responsible for these resource violations cause amuch greater impact to fish and wildlife than sportviolators because of the shear volume involved.

Profits from thisillegal tradewould besubstantiallyhigher andnegative impactsto California’sresources wouldbe paramount ifaggressiveenforcementmeasures werenot implemented.Because of thesefacts a members’request from thelegislature washanded down toinitiate theformation of apermanent teamof wardenswithin theDepartment of Fish and Game to target illegalcommercialization of wildlife.

The Special Operations Unit (SOU) of the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game was formed for thepurpose of investigating, infiltrating and apprehendingthose who steal California’s natural resources for profit.

The SOU has conducted many successful operations,bringing to justice high profile, large scale poachingrings operating in and around our state. Thesesuccesses have not come without intensive training,resources, flexibility, support from the Department andefforts from members of the unit.

The SOU focuses their efforts on priorities set by theDepartment. Investigating illegal commercialization offish and wildlife is high priority. In addition,investigations are directed by the Supervisor of the SOUand those investigations focus on fragile species highlytargeted by the black market.

The duties of an SOU warden are in much contrast to auniformed warden. Much of the SOU’s time is spenttraveling extensively to different areas of the statewherever commercial cases occur. The duties includelong term investigations required to successfullyapprehend and prosecute the worst of the worst abusersof California resources

The current SOUhas taken manysteps to enhancetheir investigativeabilities withtraining in a widevariety of topics.Technology hasmoved to theforefront of manyinvestigationswith equipmentsuch as GPStracking units,infrared scopes,pen registerphone taps, andmuch more. Insome cases, theuse oftechnologicalequipment save

many personnel hours in an investigation, however,circumstances in other cases still require time intensivemoving and stationary surveillance techniques, coupledwith short and long term undercover infiltration ofsuspects.

The SOU wardens are also members of the WesternStates Wildlife Investigators (WSWI). WSWI membersare made up of Wildlife Investigators from California,Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Colorado,Wyoming, New Mexico and Idaho. California SOU hasalways been looked upon by these other states as beingon the cutting edge in investigations and a unit to tryto emulate.

Supervisors of SOU are current members of a steeringcommittee from WSWI responsible for the creation ofan eighty-hour Covert Wildlife Investigators Academy.This course was created to alleviate liability concern forthe above-mentioned states Fish and GameDepartments regarding putting covert officers in thefield without proper training.

Striped bass found in a backyard commercial poaching operation – the Delta.

WHY A SPECIAL OPERATIONS WHY A SPECIAL OPERATIONS

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California SOU was selected to conduct the first academyin 2002, held at the Presidio in San Francisco. SOUaccomplished Peace Officers Standard and Training(POST) certification prior to the first academy held in2002. This academy was deemed such a success theWSWI steering committee asked California SOUmembers to again sponsor the academy in 2003. Thisacademy was also a success and SOU has been requestedto help instruct and facilitate the 2004 WSWI CovertWildlife Investigators Academy in Colorado. All of theseaccomplishments were met without the use ofdepartment funds.

With the Department in such financial dire straights,there has never been a more appropriate time forprograms to justify their existence. Nothing justifiesthe existence of a program more than being able toproduce extremely successful results. The SOU has anexemplary track record with quantity, quality andsuccessful prosecutions with major commercial wildlifecases. The SOU has a one hundred percent caseacceptance rate by the various District Attorney’sOffices utilized throughout the state as well as a onehundred percent conviction rate.

In a very conservative estimation of court dispositions andresource savings from the SOU cases in the past five years(court dispositions available to back up theseestimations), the following is true:

� Over $1,000,000.00 in fines and penalties� Accumulatively over one hundred years in state

prison and county jail terms� The forfeiture of over twenty vehicles and boats� Over twenty-five life time revocations of fishing

licenses, and numerous one to five year fishinglicense revocations.

� MOST IMPORTANTLY a noted drop in illegalcommercialization of wildlife crimes. (Numerousobservations and facts available to back thisstatement.)

Next; a few examples of substantial cases the SOU hasinvestigated and has had adjudicated in court.

Hopefully these facts will assist in decisions regardingretention of valuable, successful, result producingprograms designed to uphold and act on theDepartment of Fish and Game’s purpose of existence;protecting and preserving California’s natural resources.

Bear gall bladders – sold for high dollars on the blackmarket.

Search warrant briefing from undercover SOU detail.

UNIT? UNIT?

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ILLEGAL COMMERCIALIZATION OFWILDLIFE CASES

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIT

ILLEGAL COMMERCIALIZATION OFWILDLIFE CASES

DISPOSITION EXAMPLES

Operation Deep Down – Sonoma County Superior Court – 1997Investigation into the illegal sales of large quantities of sport taken north coastabalone. Suspects were shipping abalone overseas for higher profits. Chris Doan,Jason Deip, Lou Deep all convicted of felony conspiracy to sell sport taken abalone.Sentenced to three years in state prison (suspended) served 12 months county jail.Each fined $40,000, search & seizure, 3 years probation

Operation Night Air – Sonoma County Superior Court – 1998Investigation into the illegal take of abalone at night with scuba gear. Suspectsclaim to employ college students to assist in take. SOU inserted undercover officerwho purchased large quantities of abalone on three occasions while confirmingother illegal sales.Van Ky Do, Doanh Thi Nguyen, Nam Huu Ngo convicted of felonyconspiracy to harvest and sell sport taken abalone. Sentenced to 16 months county,$20,000 fine, vehicle forfeited/60 days county, $5000 fine, S&S, /6 months county,$10,000 fine, S&S respectively.

Operation Red Hat – Sonoma County Superior Court – 1999Large group of subjects from Oakland and San Francisco diving on the north coaston a daily basis and selling their harvest in the bay area to various businesses andindividuals.Van Hy Vi, Queyen To Huen, Raymond Tich, Phuc Ky Luong, Mei Mei Huong, HinHuong, Kong Le, Peter Gee, Randy Ou all convicted of conspiracy to harvest and sellsport taken abalone. Sentenced to 1 year county, $12,500, vehicle forfeited, S&S/120 days county, $3000/1 year county, $11,500, vehicle forfeited, S&S/1year county,$10,000,S&S/90 days county,$10,000, vehicle forfeited, S&S/6 mo.County,$10,000, S&S/90 days county,$2,500/6 mo. County,$5,000, S&S/13 dayscounty,$3,500 respectively.

Operation Headlands – Mendocino County Superior Court – 1999Investigation into a large group of subjects from Sacramento diving frequently on the north coast for abalone andselling their harvest in the Sacramento area. Caught with 69 abalone in possession on the coast. Benson Le, NghiaThi Le, Cong Van Le, Ming Van Le all convicted of conspiracy to harvest abalone for commercial purposes. 90 dayscounty jail, vehicle forfeited, $2,500/dismissed (5150)/9 mo county,$2,500/6 mo county, $2,500 respectively.

Operation Three Muskateers – Sonoma County Superior Court – 2000Investigation into a large group of abalone divers frequenting the north coast and selling their harvest to variousbusinesses and individuals in the bay area.Nam Nguyen, Peter Gee, Richard Gee, Chingpin Ou, Sau Van Pham allconvicted of felony conspiracy to harvest sell and purchase sport taken abalone. 3 years state prison,$15,000,license revoked for life/3 years state prison,$15,000,license revoked for life/3 years state prison,$15,000fine, license revoked for life/16 mo county,$10,815,license revoked for life/16 mo. County,$10,815/vehicle forfeited,license revoked for life.

Operation Snailtac – Sonoma County Superior Court – 2000An ex commercial abalone diver and board member of the Abalone Advisory Committee who betrayed hisconstituents by making numerous night time trips to the north coast and illegally harvesting hundreds of abalone

Suspected sturgeon poacher about tobe arrested by game wardens.

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with scuba gear. Roberts continued to sell the illegally taken abalone to Jimmy Fong, his old fish buyer from SanFrancisco who is also awaiting trial. Joel Roberts, John Funkey convicted of felony conspiracy to harvest abalone forcommercial purposes. 3 years state prison,$20,000/license revoked for life/6 mo. County,$2,500, testimony against 3rd

defendant, revoked for life.

Operation Seapups – Sonoma County Superior Court – 2001A sport dive, Phil Murphy and Jimmy Fong conspire again to sell sport taken abalone. Both are arrested for felonyconspiracy to harvest abalone and sell illegally. Both convicted of charges, Murphy spends 60 days in jail, fined$15,000, all dive gear and his truck are forfeited and he is suspended for life for sport and commercial take. Fongsentenced to 90 days in jail, fined $20,000 and his sport and commercial license suspended for life, which results inthe close of his ‘Goldmine Seafood’ business on pier 45 in San Francisco.

Operation 2nd Time Around – Marin County Superior Court – 2001A renewed investigation into a known suspect illegally taking and selling sport abalone. SOU inserted undercoverofficer for the second time in five years and she purchased large amounts of abalone on two occasions as well asconfirming other independent illegal sales. Vu Truong, Bich Chi Thi Tran, Tung Thanh Duong, Than Chi Luong allconvicted of felony conspiracy to harvest and sell sport taken abalone. 1 year county, $30,000, license revoked forlife, S&S/90 days jail, $15,000,vehicle forfeited/license revoked for life/40 days county,$15,000,license revoked forlife,S&S/90 days county,$15,000, vehicle forfeited, license revoked forlife.

Operation Vung Tau – Santa Clara County Superior Court– 2002A spin off case from Operation 2nd Time Around. This was arestaurant the main suspect admitted to undercover officer of sellingabalone to over a period of time. SOU again inserted an undercoverofficer into this restaurant and sold large amounts of abalone torestaurant on three occasions. (seized abalone from other cases, nofurther damage to resources.) Duc Huu Huynh, Nhan Thi Huynhconvicted of purchasing sport taken abalone. Owners of the VungTau Restaurant in San Jose. Fined a total of $96,000. Search andseizure probation terms.

Operation Poacher Valley – Mendocino County SuperiorCourt – 2002Larry St. Clair arrested for illegal take of 68 abalone along the northcoast with scuba gear. This activity had been ongoing and he wasselling his harvest in China Town, San Francisco. St. Clair pled guiltyon October 5, 2002. He was sentenced November 5, 2002 andreceived 365 days in jail, $15,000 fine, his Zodiac boat, trailer and divegear forfeited to the Department and a life-time revocation of his fishinglicense.

Operation Kennel Wasp – Kern County Superior Court –2003Illegal guides and taxidermist operating in Kern County and violatingnumerous fish and game violations and killing many bear illegally. SOUinserted undercover officers who accompanied illegal guides andtaxidermist on two occasions while bear taken out of season and atnight while trespassing on private property. All done for profit. MikeMilam, Jesse Merrill, Ron Huckaby convicted of felony conspiracy totake bear out of season, after hours, illegal guiding. 60 dayscounty,vehicle forfeited,$10,000,hunting/guide license revoked for life/60 days county,vehicle forfeited,$10,000,huntinglicense revoked for life/no jail due to terminal illness.

Operation Hound Master – Kern County Superior Court – 2003Houndsman suspected of killing numerous bear and selling bear parts. SOU inserted undercover officers who spentnumerous days and nights with suspect witnessing many Fish and Game violations and confirming information.Lodis Williams, Ray Galindo, convicted of felony conspiracy to take bear illegally, etc. Pled guilty to all counts andsentenced to 120 days in jail, vehicle forfeited to department, three years probation, hunting license revoked for

Jars of caviar ready for the black markettrade intercepted by Game Wardens.

Headless, tailless sturgeon carcass seized duringsearch warrant.

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life. An additional six defendants pled guilty to various related misdemeanor Fish and Game charges and were jailed andfined various amounts.

Operation Storm – Tulare County Superior Court – 2003Investigation into guide taking bear illegally. SOU inserted undercover officer who witnessed illegal take of bear. Threesuspects pled guilty in Tulare County Court to illegal take of bear. Fined $1000, jail time and guide licenses revoked.

Operation Delta Beluga – Sacramento County Superior Court –2003Several month investigation into the illegal take and sales of sturgeon andcaviar. SOU inserted undercover officer into main suspects. A large scaletake down conducted where 22 suspects arrested for various charges,including felony conspiracy to buy and sell sport taken sturgeon.Connections made to Oregon and Washington suspects where SOUfollowed large shipments of illegal white sturgeon caviar from SacramentoDelta to Washington state. Joint investigation with Oregon, Washingtonand US Fish and Wildlife Service. Agent in Washington inserted into theirsuspects who purchased California caviar for $5000. A total of 28defendants in entire case. Various sentences ranging from $15,000 pluspenalty assessment ($45,000)120 days in jail, search and seizure, to $3000fines and probation.

Operation Bohemian Back Roads – Sonoma County SuperiorCourt – 2003Investigation into two abalone divers harvesting abalone almost daily on thenorth coast, failing to punch cards and selling abalone. SOU surveillanceconfirmed activity and discovered main buyer is associate of suspects inOperation Night Air from 1998. SOU covertly observed sale of abalone tobuyer and is prepared with search warrants and takes down all threesuspects. Thousands of abalone shells discovered in main divers residenceand admission of on going sales for past five years. Three vehicles seized, allthree jailed. Case pending in Sonoma County.

Operation “Tales of the Fish Patrol” – Contra Costa CountySuperior Court – 2004Investigation into two sturgeon fishermen harvesting white sturgeon from the Carquinez Strait and selling their catchto two individuals from San Jose (Santa Clara County). Those individuals would in turn, re-sale the fish to individualsamongst the community of San Jose. Felony conspiracy charges against two fishermen and two brokers from San Joseto sell and purchase white sturgeon are being charged in Contra Costa County. In addition, Contra Costa County ischarging the buyers in San Jose with illegal purchase of sport taken fish (7121). Five buyers pled guilty to illegal purchaseof sport taken sturgeon. Fines ranged in amounts from $200 to $2000. The two fishermen pled guilty to illegal sales ofsport taken fish. Both of their vessels were forfeited to the Department, one received a fine of $1000 as the other mainfisherman received a fine of $6400, his fishing license suspended for three years.

Operation Chen Sac – San Francisco County – 2004Investigation into the illegal harvest and sales of north coast red abalone. A core group of three divers from SanFrancisco would travel to Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts and dive for abalone. They would then sell their catch in andaround the city of San Francisco for $50 each. In September four subjects were arrested and charges pending againstseveral more. Case is pending in San Francisco.

Operation Delta Beluga II – Sacramento County – 2005Investigation into the illegal sales of white sturgeon/caviar involving suspects from the Sacramento and San Franciscoareas. Six individuals arrested. Five have pled guilty to charges and fines ranging from $800 to $8,000, probation andrevoked licenses. Main suspect is scheduled for jury trial in May 2006.

Operation Deep Down II – Sonoma County – 2005Three individuals arrested in the middle of the night on the North Coast with a load of abalone for sale in the bay area.A two month investigation led to arrests and search warrants being served at residences. Trial pending for June inSonoma Court.

Bear poaching suspect in custody.

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Oil Spill Prevention and Response - OSPRThe 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was a wake-up call for the United States. Itclearly identified the need to develop a comprehensive oil spill prevention andresponse program. In no place, outside of Alaska, was that call heard louder than inCalifornia. Public concern hit a threshold, in February 1990, when the tanker vesselAmerican Trader discharged 10,000 barrels of oil into Southern California waters, oilingan estimated 3,400 birds and forcing the closure of 25 kilometers of prime beach for fiveweeks. As a direct result of the public’s demand for action, the California legislaturepassed the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1990 thatestablished the OSPR. OSPR, as a division of the CDFG, is the lead state agency chargedwith the mission:

“…to provide the best achievable protection to California’s natural resources bypreventing, preparing for, and responding to spills of oil and other deleteriousmaterials, and through restoring and enhancing affected resources”.

OSPR, and its mission, is unique in that it is the only state agency in the United Stateswith combined regulatory, law enforcement, pollution response and public trust authorityalong the coast or within tidally influenced waters. Thus, OSPR’s dual regulatory / trusteeauthority assures that oil spill prevention and response to spills will safeguard wildlife andthe ecosystems in which they live and restore these resources when injured by pollutionincidents.

The Enforcement Program within OSPR enforces laws that prevent oil spills, dispatchespersonnel, and investigates spills. Fish and Game Wardens are sworn peace officers withthe authority to enforce both criminal and civil statutes. Wardens conduct spillinvestigations and gather and prepare evidence that is essential to any court case

During a spill response, the State On-Scene Coordinator (or Incident Commander) isusually an OSPR Warden. The OSPR Enforcement Programincludes the Department’s 24-hour Communications Center,which received more than 3300 spill reports in 2004. There areapproximately 30 officers (Captains, Lt’s, Wardens) assigned tothe Enforcement Program in California.

The Incident Commander for the SS Palo Alto project was an OSPR GameWarden.

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The Wildlife Forensics Laboratory (WFL) is the scientificportion of Fish & Games Enforcement Division backing upthe Wardens. For more than 35 years this lab has helpedsolve thousands of crimesagainst wildlife; bringingcriminals who illegally killand poach wildlife tojustice-protecting wildlifefor all Californians..Considered one of theearly pioneers in wildlifeforensic biology, this labonly has a staffing ofthree scientists.

Wildlife forensics and thisprofession evolved withthe use of DNA. Thistechnology in the mid-80’s went from solvingcrimes against people toalso being used for crimesagainst wildlife. Thisevolution required DFG’scollection of thousands of animal samples over the yearsto be used to solve such puzzles. The WFL was one of thefirst in the country to have the capabilities of prosecutingcriminals who poached deer. Using the DNA technology,they were able to identify individual animals from specificherds through theircomponent parts, such asmeat, fur or a few dropsof blood.

These scientists do notstrap on a gun and abullet proof vest everyday like the typical GameWarden, they make thecase in the lab. Theselaboratory Wardens musthave a background inclinical medicaltechnology and animalcomparative pathology.Experience working in theCalifornia Department ofJustice crime labs workingon human pathology andforensics is also a given.Many suspects haveconfessed to a poaching incident in the field after they aretold by a Warden that we have the best wildlife forensicscientists in the nation who will be able to tell the exact

sex and the number of animals represented by a bloodsmear or meat samples.

Wildlife forensics includesa variety of techniques tolink an animal to a suspectand vice versa. Thescience can also be usedfor investigating the rareoccurrence of a wildlifeattack on a human. Thesescientists can be foundmost days working in thelaboratory peeringthrough the microscope,writing reports, andphotographing animals &animal parts. Courts nowexpect this science inorder to make aconviction. But thescience goes beyond itsuse of seeking convictionsillegally killing deer and

elk; the wonton waste of wildlife includes all sorts ofanimals.

From elk poaching cases to waterfowl and upland gamebird cases, black bear to abalone and sturgeon, crimes

against wildlife covers allspecies. In California,more than $100 million isgenerated annually bycommercial poaching, theillegal sale of wildlifeparts and products. Anelk head with animpressive set of antlersmay be marketed for$20,000. Bear galls arealso highly prized and areoften used as aningredient in traditionalmedicines, considered tocure all types of ailments,from backaches to heartdisease. The WFL isinstrumental in analyzingsamples to prove thesecrimes.

Thousands of cases have been investigated by senior WILsupervisor Jim Banks, and he has testified in court morethan 400 times on behalf of California’s wildlife. For hiswork Banks was awarded Shikar-Safari Club International

The use of DNA in unraveling wildlife crimes is an essential toolfor Game Wardens.

The science of working with DNA is coupled with the job ofdetective; giving Game Wardens the evidence they need toprosecute wildlife crime.

Wildlife FWildlife FWildlife FWildlife FWildlife Forororororensics Lensics Lensics Lensics Lensics LaboraboraboraboraboratatatatatoryoryoryoryoryWildlife FWildlife FWildlife FWildlife FWildlife Forororororensics Lensics Lensics Lensics Lensics Laboraboraboraboraboratatatatatoryoryoryoryory

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Conservation Officer of the Year in2006, an award bestowed upon onlythe very best in wildlife conservation inthe nation.

The WFL has gone beyond California asBanks and members of his team haveassisted other fish and game agenciesin solving wildlife crimes using DFG;sstate-of-the-art technology.

Why should people care if wild animalsare taken illegally? Poaching thesespecies can have a profound impact onthe overall health of wildlifepopulations. We are a society of laws,not only designed to protect peoplebut to regulate and protect wildlife. Ifwe don’t respect and uphold theselaws, then we revert back to the daysof the Wild West, and that’s when thevery survival of wild species comes intoquestion. The best case in point beingthe California Grizzly Bear whichbecame extinct. This bear adorns our state flag and thestate seal. Jim Banks is assisted by two additionaldedicated forensic scientists, Dr. Jeff Rodzen and ErinMerideth, both experts in the field of DNA technology.

However, staffing shortages and tremendous workloadplaque this portion of DFG’s Wildlife Enforcement Division.Currently their case backlog is over six months, severelyimpacting the ability to timely prepare and prosecutepoachers inthe state.Wildlife andcourt casessuffer as aresult.Wildlife diewithout avoice, notbeing able totell others oftheir plight. Ifthey couldtalk Wardensphones wouldbe ringing offthe hookreportingmurders.These threewildlife CSI’sare the onlyvoices fromthe dead thatCalifornias’great wildlifeheritage has.

Jim Banks is honored by wardens who he has helped solvehundreds of poaching cases.

Shikar-Safari Club International honors Jim Banks asthe 2006 Wildlife Conservation Officer of the Year.

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Most people probably don’t know that the Departmentof Fish and Game (DFG) has an Air Services Unit staffed byGame Warden Pilots. DFG has eight Warden Pilot positions atfull staffing, and they maintain seven airplanes from fourbases statewide. This DFG wildlife protection unit mightpossibly qualify as the world’s smallest air force. Air Servicesis self sufficient andextremely versatile. WardenPilot’s duties varyenormously. DFG WardenPilots fly airplanes on lawenforcement patrols overland and water, day andnight, in single and multi-engine and turbine poweredairplanes; conduct aerialfish planting in high sierralakes, provide personneltransport, and assist allmanner of scientificresearch. These dutiesinclude ocean fisheriesenhancement and patrol,pollution prevention andinterdiction, night poachingpatrol, illegal streamdiversions enforcement,locating marijuanaplantations, oil spillprevention and response, aerial fish dropping, waterfowlcounts and radio collared-mammal locating, just to name afew. Warden Pilots also work in close conjunction with federalagencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NationalMarine Fisheries Service, and Homeland Security when calledupon.

Warden Pilots are a unique breed indeed and must wearseveral hats. All Warden Pilots must be commercial pilots,qualified to fly multi and single-engine airplanes in visual andinstrument conditions. Many of the pilots hold FAA airlinetransport pilot licenses, the most advanced type of pilotcertificate available. All the Warden Pilots are experiencedand licensed Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) airframeand power plant mechanics (A & P Mechanic) as they mustmaintain their own fleet. The FAA Airframe And Powerplantlicense is not an easy certificate to earn. The regulationsrequire a minimum of three years experience working as amechanic on aircraft airframes and power plants, or

graduation from an FAA approved curriculum. An example ofthe second option would be the Sacramento City College(SCC) Aeronautics Program. The SCC - FAA approvedcurriculum requires the student to pass four semesters ofstudy at 17 units per semester. After either case, thedocumenting the 3 years of experience or, graduating from

the approved curriculumsuch as SCC the applicantstill is not qualified to bean A & P Mechanic. Thelast step in the process isto take and pass the threeFAA written exams and topass the practical test inareas of operationspecified by Federalregulations. One of thepilots said that if he hadknown in advance howmuch work getting theA&P was going to involvehe probably wouldn’t havedone it.

Some of the Warden Pilotsposses, an additionalrating, an inspectionauthorization (IA) on theirA & P mechanic’s license

This additional rating requires more study and more testing.It enables that person to inspect the aircraft sign-offrequired maintenance such as annual inspections. It enablesthe person to approve major repairs and alterations. Fish andGame benefits when Warden Pilots are IAs, it saves thedepartment lots of money. Just like Game Wardens who arefield training officers or firearms instructors there is noadditional financial benefit to the officer with the inspectionauthorization.

The State gets plenty of “ bang” for their bucks fromWarden Pilots. Why is it beneficial for Warden Pilots to bequalified to work on their own airplanes? The short answer isthat it saves the Department of Fish and Game lots of money.Some of the reasons for the savings are easy to see, othersare not quite so obvious. Shop rates for aircraft maintenanceare about $100.00 per hour. Except for simple preventivemaintenance, pilots without an A & P Mechanic’s certificate,and most pilots are not A&P mechanics, are not authorized

Patrol over the rugged Sierra Nevada.

Fish and Game Warden PilotsMOTTO: As Fish and Game management issues gain complexity intoday’s political climate, the California Warden Pilot in his trusty

airplane will adjust and respond.

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to work on airplanes. Therefore, if DFG pilots weren’t alsomechanics the airplanes would have to be maintained by anon-department personnel. In this situation maintenancecontracts would be needed, that’s what CHP does. HighwayPatrol’s 3year contract just for thair Beechcraft King Air aloneis $1 million that’s about equal to DFG’s total operatingbudget, except salaries, for the same time period for allairplanes including a King Air. Just imagine what it would belike if Warden Pilots weren’t A&Ps. Every time an Aircraftneeded a periodic inspection like the type done every 50hours of flight time the aircraft would have to be relocatedto a contract facility. Depending where the aircraft is basedthat could involve a flight. Some periodic inspections takeseveral hours, some operations like an engine change take upto a week. Even if the inspection only took half a day or lesslike 50 or 100 hour inspection the pilot would need to deliverthe aircraft. If the delivery was to a remote location he wouldhave stand by. After the inspection, assuming nothing wasfound wrong (that would require more time) he would returnthe aircraft to base.Speaking of things goingwrong, airplanes like allmechanical devices break.Suffice to say, theconsequence of amechanical glitch in anaircraft is somewhat moredire than say a pickup truck.Repairing worn-out aircraftcomponents is both timeconsuming and, if done outof house, expensive. Thinkabout the $100/hr. shoprate. What if a tire goes flatat some remote location,Warden Pilots fly intoremote places, late at night, or with a load of trout? Thistype of thing has happened the Warden Pilot fixed theproblem and completed the mission. The importance ofpainstaking maintenance becomes even more critical whenone considers vintage of the Air Services fleet. On a veryintrinsic level the officer who both “ wrenches on “and pilotsthe airplane day after day develops a rapport between theperson and machine. The Warden Pilot knows his airplane farbetter than a mechanic, regardless of his mechanical skill,who works on so many different types of aircraft.Additionally, who would be more meticulous about his workthe mechanic in some aircraft repair facility or the personwho has to fly what he works on?

Warden Pilots also conduct some of the mostchallenging type of flying as well. Much of the airborne workdone is at low altitudes, so Warden Pilots are all experiencedin low level aviation. They must pass check flights annually onlow level operations from the Federal Office of AviationSafety, and internal and recurring check rides by their owncheck pilots. Warden Pilots are experts at vertical and obliqueaerial photography, as well as airborne radio telemetry.Telemetry is used in biological research and law enforcementmissions.

As the name implies, Warden Pilots are also GameWardens and graduates of Peace Officer StandardizedTraining certified academies. Warden Pilots are full peaceofficers and have been in existence in that role since 1950.They must maintain currency on all the training required forpeace officers.

Like their terrestrial and aquatic Game Wardencounterparts, DFG Warden Pilots face disparity in salarycompared to CHP pilots – only in their cases, the disparity iseven greater. In addition to having greater minimum hiringstandards and qualifications, Warden Pilots are required tomaintain their own airplanes. CHP pilots are not. WardenPilots are required to be rated to fly single and multi-engineaircraft as an experienced commercial pilot prior to applyingfor the job. Warden Pilots maintain and operate an older fleet(the majority of their planes were built in the 1980s – most ofus don’t have cars that old). The CHP pilots fly much newerequipment. Warden Pilots must fly long, single pilot patrols

at altitudes of 200 feet andeven lower, over the ocean,often out of sight of land.They fly lengthy nighttimepatrols over some of themost rugged terrain in theUnited States while locatingpoachers whose activitiesoccur frequently at night.Warden Pilots fly at lowaltitudes while diving intosteep canyons in a multi-engine turbine poweredairplane in order to plant fishin high sierra lakes. Andexcept when conductingfish planting, they do thisalone.

CHP pilots normally fly with a two man crew fromstaffed bases. Warden Pilots staff a single pilot base,coordinating and conducting their own flights, performingmaintenance and training, with a minimum of supervision.

Warden Pilot salaries range around $60,000 a year. TheirCHP counterparts make an average $90,000 per year, andthey receive overtime pay which isn’t normally available toWarden Pilots, or to Game Wardens in general. CHP officersand pilots merit the salaries they receive as they do aphenomenal job. The question the situation begs is whyGame Warden Pilots, who serve and protect the citizens ofCalifornia in a similarly phenomenal fashion , get paid so muchless.

In 2006, the Department of Fish and Game tried to hirereplacement pilots to fill two positions after two WardenPilots retired. They were unable to fill the positions due to thequalifications required and the low level of pay.

These positions remain vacant creating a large gap inenvironmental enforcement and conservation activities.

Enforcement planes are also used for other functions such asplanting trout.

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The California Department of Fish andGame has state-of-the-art vessels thatpatrol our ocean waters, 220,000square miles of the Pacific Ocean outto 200 miles off the coast, and 1100miles of coastline, including every cityport. These are not biological researchboats, they are law enforcement tools.Game Wardens run these boats and runacross anything and everything. GameWardens operating multi-million dollarvessels come with great responsibility.These boats belong to the people ofthe state of California. Here are somefeatures of the boats Wardens use toprotect fisheries and the public:

DFG feels they have a full crew when they have a Lieutenant assigned as skipper of the vessel, andtwo Warden boarding officers. Two Wardens launch off the larger ship in a rigid hull inflatableboat (RHIB); one Warden stays on the RHIB and either hangs on to the vessel being boarded, ormore commonly because of large waves, loiters away from the boarded vessel. That makes justone Warden onboard inspecting the contents, gear, firearms, hull, ship log, paperwork, landingreceipts, species/fish, crawl spaces, cabin, etc.

Fish and Game’sPATROL VESSELSFish and Game’sPATROL VESSELS

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The five specialized vessels specially built for DFG are 58feet long, high speed, foil supported catamarans. Theycarry an 18 foot zodiac Hurricane skiff with an A-framelaunch system which allows deployment with fewer staff inmost weather conditions. They have a cruise speed of 25knots, from their twin Caterpillar engines and they alsohave twogenerators forauxiliary power.They carry 1200gallons of fuel andhave a range of over500 miles. Theycarry 330 gallons ofwater and have 7bunks. One of thevessels even has awater maker whichis useful if out formultiple days orrunning numerousdive operations.They are equippedwith state-of-the-art Furunoelectronics at bothupper and lowerstations. Theirelectronics areintegrated andallow for linking withcomputer runnavigation andtracking systems.Theircommunicationequipment includesthe most advancedDigital SelectCalling (DCS)scramble able VHFradios with GPSinput IndividualMarine MaritimeSafety IdentificationSystem (IMMSIS)which allows eachvessel to send outan exact location atthe push of button.The skiffs are alsoequipped with thisfeature. Some of thevessels have aircraftradios as well whichallow them to speakto USCG or DFGplanes. The vesselsalso have DFG low band radios and a SSB (Single Side Band)which allows communication for 1000’s of miles. Eachvessel is equipped with night vision and in addition to theweapons the officers have, carries a police shotgun andM1-A assault rifle. Each of the five vessels are designed toallow mobile pods to be placed on deck in front of theskiff (research labs or whatever if necessary) and ifnecessary the skiff and chocks can be removed and the

entire deck can be used to transport equipment orpersonnel.

Each vessel has standard safety equipment to carry up to16 people, but some vessels are prepared to carry 25. All ofthe skippers are USCG licensed and certified 100 ton

masters and some of thecrews are trained at thatlevel. Each vessel isassigned a PatrolLieutenant supervisingboarding officers to safelyrun the boat. Most of theboats have speciallytrained divers assigned tothem. Each diver mustattend and complete adifficult diving “academy”sponsored by NAUI divers,usually at a researchfacility on Catalina Island.Much of this training mostpeace officers do nothave. The Game Wardendoes not receive anyadditional pay for workingon patrol boats.

The patrol boats are partof the States assets forMarine Patrol capabilitiesas well as part of theongoing HomelandDefense assets to theState of California. Rightafter 9-11 we had three ofthe vessels workingdirectly with the USCG inLA/LB and San Franciscoas part of the HomelandSecurity efforts. Weworked 24 hours a dayfor several monthsproviding necessaryfunctions as needed.(vessel escorts, targetprotection, patrolfunctions and visibility,etc.) Unless somethinghas changed, we are stillthe largest State ownedmarine port and offshoreasset for State HomelandSecurity.

The State of California,with these vessels, hasthe best state-of-the-art

equipment and best trained peace officers to protect theocean from Oregon to Mexico. The loss of Game Wardenpositions has now rendered our patrol boats ineffective.Already they are in dock more than they are out on patrol;a tragic loss of opportunity for Homeland Security, publicsafety, and not fair to that which has no voice – ournatural resources and fisheries.

Illegal aliens and drugs are not an uncommon occurrence.Commercial fishing boats usually have at least three crewmembers who have access to knifes, gaffs, hooks, cables,and any number of items that can be used as weapons ona slippery fish scale/slimy deck. There is always at leastone firearm on these vessels. The Warden boardingofficer on these vessels does all this inspection andwrites tickets, alone.

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Imagine living in a city of 37 million people with less than300 cops trying to keep the bad guys from taking thingsthey shouldn’t.

Instead of banks or fancy carsor Grandma’s antique jewelry,imagine those cherishedthings as being clean water,migratory waterfowl orancient sturgeon more than100 years old.

Then mix in the fact a lot ofpeople don’t like to pay thosecops, complaining, forexample, whenever licensefees go up a few dollars.

I think I’ll call that cityCalifornia, and the cops …game wardens.

Compare those numbers, say,to the city of Anaheim wherejust a couple of years ago,according to FBI statistics,some 333,776 residents wereprotected by 397 policeofficers.

Right now, says SteveMartarano, a spokesman forthe California Department ofFish and Game, there are onlyabout 200 on-the-groundgame wardens in the entirestate, with 60 positionsunfilled for budgetary reasons.

These men and women are watching out for more than1,000 species of native fish and wildlife species, 6,300species of native plants and some 360 combined plant andanimal species listed as endangered or threatened by thestate and federal governments.

Throw in non-native species like wild pigs, turkeys, shadand striped bass, and that’s a lot of critters struggling tolive amid the millions of California residents who take upspace in what used to be wilderness.

Game wardens play crucial roleBy GEORGE SNYDERBEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: March 8, 2006, 05:40:42 AM PST

Since most Californians, by the way, don’t hunt or fish,most don’t pay the wildlife freight.

If you don’t buy a hunting orfishing license, or don’t donateor volunteer directly to helpkeep and restore wildlifehabitat — like DucksUnlimited, the CaliforniaWaterfowl Association, theRocky Mountain ElkFoundation and any number ofconservation groups do — youmay not think you are part ofthe problem but you surearen’t helping to be part of thesolution.

Game wardens are paid by thepeople who buy those licenses— even if a lot of them gripeand moan about doing it.Wardens get no money fromthe state’s general fund.

I had the privilege the otherday of attending a functionover at the New MelonesReservoir Visitors Centerwhere Tuolumne CountyWarden Josh Nicholas gave atalk about the challengesfacing game wardens.

Josh and his fellow Calaverasand Tuolumne Countywardens, John Winings and

Steve Marino, patrol somewhere around 3,000 squaremiles of territory between them.

“It’s a very interesting job,” he said, “but dangerousbecause pretty much everyone we encounter has aweapon. We are three times as likely to be killed as aCalifornia Highway Patrolman.”

The presentation was sparsely attended, mostly, I’d like tobelieve, because of the downpour that night. Nonetheless,the room was alive with the talk of hunting, fishing anddoing the right thing in the woods.

Warden with K9 in aircraft during training exercise.

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Most of us there knew about the effects of poaching onwildlife populations, negligence in using firearms, badsportsmanship and the like.

There are other problems, likethe proliferation of secondhomes in the mountains andfoothills that interrupt thenatural migration patterns ofdeer, or even worse, cause themto stick around lush residentialneighborhoods like geese ongolf courses, where they attractmountain lions or become sopopulous they begin to die ofdisease, or cars.

Nicholas also talked aboutthings most of us hope we won’tencounter in the woods, like potgardens and meth labs that addtheir bit to the pollution andpoisons seeping quietly out ofeveryday industrial life into ourwatersheds.

And, just as people like Nicholastry to keep the environmentfrom getting too dirty, they alsotry to keep our noses assportsmen and women clean.

“I’m as much interested in keeping the image of huntingstraight as I am in keeping hunters straight,” he said.“Without hunting there will be no wardens, andwithout wardens, there will be no hunting.”

No truer words were ever said.

SPEAKING OFCONSERVATIONISSUES,California’s Fishand GameCommissionruled late lastweek to restrictthe size ofsturgeon anglerscan take fromstate waters.

The emergencyregulations,which will be inplace for 120days, areexpected tocome into effectMarch 17.

They reduce the slot size of white sturgeon that can bekept to 46 to 56 inches. Previously, the white sturgeon

keeper slot was 46 to 72 inches.Regulations allow keeping onefish a day.

The old regulations will be inforce after June but DFG isexpected to hold additionalhearings this year and revisit theissue again in December to set apermanent rule.

The emergency regulation wasadopted in the hopes of reducingthe take of white sturgeonbrood stock during peak springspawning months after DFGbiologists reported thatnumbers of the prized fish hadfallen to historic low levels in theSacramento and San Joaquin riversystems.

The taking of any greensturgeon, one of the state’s twonative sturgeon species, isprohibited.

Game Warden on patrol in open ocean, patrollingmany miles off-shore.

Pollution investigation – all too common in Californiawaterways.

Had any clean water lately?

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BURNEY, CALIFORNIA MARCH 29, 2006

Adding fuel to the fire,the Governor’sproposed 2007 budgetincludes an increase of278 more CHP officersover 2005 levels.

“That is morepersonnel than theentire Warden force,”the directors said.

Taylor bristled at StateAuditor Elaine Howle’s

recent charge that DFGoffices are costing thetaxpayer thousands ofdollars by allowing gamewardens to live rentfree instate housing.

He said some may be abusingthe system, but he’s not. Helives at the Cassel Lake FishHatchery and pays rent. Hesaid he wishes he could buy ahouse.

“I’m 62 and can’t afford tobuy a home in today’s market because I elected to putthree kids through college rather than buy a home.”

The CFGWA “after a series of long, hard discussions” isbacking the Governor’s proposal to combine all statelaw enforcement into a single agency. “This seemed theonly way to receive proper treatment and appropriaterespect,” according to the CFGWA.

Bushey had hoped his son, Jake, Jr., would follow in thefamily’s footsteps, but supports his decision to becomea CHP officer.

“I’m a third generation game warden and my son wouldhave made a decent warden,” he said.

Taylor advised his youngest son to become a CHPofficer, rather than the game warden he’d hoped to be.

Game Wardens testify before the California State Senate.

Game wardens say their jobs at bottom ofpay scale with peers

Fewer applicants for open DFG positionsBy MEG FOX

Department of Fish and Game Warden Jake Bushey Sr., ofBurney, said he and the state’s 192 other wardens areprotecting California’s natural resources, but the stateisn’t doing much for them in return compared to theirpeers in other law enforcement careers. Both he andWarden Ken Taylor, of Cassel, said the DFG is at a pointwhere recruitment and retention are at an all time low,mostly because salaries are not competitive.

“We’re down 55 positions and 20 more people areretiring this year,” said Bushey.

Today, most people considering work as a game wardenwould rather earn $20,000 more annually as a CaliforniaHighway Patrol officer, plushave a career with paidovertime, less requiredschooling, and enoughother officers around forbackup.

Bushey and Taylor eachhave about two yearsbefore retirement.

“Whoever retires first, hisposition won’t be refilled.There will be one wardencovering Lassen Peak to Mt.Shasta and Montgomery Creek to Big Valley Mountain.We can’t even do it combined,” Bushey said.

Bushey is on the board of directors of the California Fishand Game Warden’s Association (CFGWA). TheAssociation just published a 92-page Expose anddelivered it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office andto other legislators last week in Sacramento.

“If something’s not done, I don’t know where the nextgeneration will come from,” Bushey said.

“This Expose is too late for us, but I’m concerned aboutfuture game wardens,” Taylor said. “A game warden islike a referee in football. We throw the red flag. If weturn our backs on wildlife, it will disappear.”

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“If I can’t convince my son to be a game warden, how can Itell someone else it’s a good idea,” Taylor said.

The Expose makes it clear whytheir sons chose riding onhighways instead of forested dirtroads.

CHP Office Jake Bushey, Jr., 26,and DFG Warden Kyle Kroll, 26,are compared. They have bothworked in the Bay Area for thepast four years. Officer Bushey’sgross pay was $92,000 in 2005,with a 7.5 percent increasepromised this year. Warden Krollgrossed $48,000 in 2005 and hasno promise of a raise. OfficerBushey works with a partner after10 p.m. with increased pay and hegets time and a half on holidays.

He needed a high school diplomaor GED for the job. His vehicle ismaintained by CHP mechanics.Kroll was required to complete atleast two years of college. Heworks alone. He receives noincrease for working at night oron holidaysand there is no overtime pay. He isrequired to maintain his ownvehicle.

Wardens receive CTO with a47-hour limit and most don’tlike to take it. “It leaves theresource unprotected and ripefor the poachers to attack,”said a DFG warden quoted inthe Expose.

Both law enforcement officersprovide Homeland Security.

The CHP covers state highwaysand state buildings andproperty.

Bushey, Sr., said that DFGwardens not only coverwildlands and highways and200 miles out to sea, butmonitor, board and inspectincoming ships and routinelycheck chemical plants, refineries, dams, bridges, powerplants and transmission lines.

They have yet to receive any of the millions of dollars ofHomeland Security funding allocated to states.

The report includes the wages earned by other officers, asof April 2005, although does not indicate years employed:

Redding Police Officer, $61,392;BART officer $79,224; ContraCosta Sheriff’s deputy, $74,928 plusa $1,000 signing bonus, LA AirportPolice $67,312. Bushey earns $5,014a month. “That’s less than $60,200a year. It’s hard to whine because inthe Intermountain area, $60,000 ayear is a comfortable life.”

But it’s not enticing to anyonedeciding which career in lawenforcement to choose.

“When someone is hired as awarden, they’re not going to starthere. They start in Marin County,where the cost of living is muchhigher, and work their way north,”Bushey said.

Both Bushey and Taylor know thatother law enforcement officers havedangerous jobs.

“And they work hard. But a warden’sjob is also dangerous. I’m earning itat 3 a.m. in the brush in Iron Canyondealing with poacher and they allhave guns and it’s just (me) with no

back-up,” said Bushey.

“People think a game warden is aguy that checks to see if he hasa fishing license,” said Taylor.“That is true. And this deerseason, out alone in the woods, Iarrested three convicted felonsand in another case, arrestedsomeone on a $50,000 warrant.

“The other day Jake and I wereout at 4 a.m. in the rain andthunder and lightning gettingsoaked to the bone onsurveillance,” Taylor said. Hesaid they are Haz Mat trainedand when freight trains andtruck tankers tip over and spilltheir loads into state waters,“we’re the lead agency.”

Bushey said he and the state’sother warden’s want to “get the word out.” They’ve askedfor parity many times before. The Expose includes some ofthose requests.

“We’ve had it,” Bushey said.

Father and son. Law enforcement is a way of life.A brotherhood like no other.

Game Wardens frequently uncover methoperations and pot farms in remote locations

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California Department of Fish and Game wardens, alsoreferred to as the “Thin Green Line,” protect the state’s379,000 square miles of beautiful but fragile lands. Resultsfor the latest applications of people seeking to becomeFish and Game wardens are very disheartening.

Only 244 applicationswere filed to take a writtentest to fill 55 vacancies. Bycomparison, from 1975 to1978, 3,000 applicantsapplied for just 24available warden positions.

In Northern California, 144applicants applied to beFish and Game Wardens,but only 94 actuallyshowed up for an interview.Five of the candidates hadbeen previouslydisqualified. Of the 89remaining, only between 1and 3 percent will be hired.

The Fish and GameDepartment has a budgetfor 352 wardens, yet only 280 are actually on duty, and thenumber of on-the-beat wardens is at 192. It does not takerocket science to figure out that declining wardenresources are stretched pretty thin these days.

So what is happening to cause such a radical shift in thenumbers?

The biggest single factor is the lack of recognition thatthe members of this force are actually sworn peaceofficers. As such, their jobs should mean that their wagesshould be on a par with surrounding local governmentagencies as well as their state counterpart, the CaliforniaHighway Patrol.

The reality is that they are woefully under compensatedcompared to their local law enforcement counterparts,even though their education, training, job responsibilitiesand the risks that they take daily dictate a similar salary.

Thin Green Line dwindlingCalifornia Department of Fish and Game losing wardens

By Bruce AjariApril 6, 2006

According to CAUSE, a statewide law enforcementassociation, “Fish and Game Wardens are sworn peaceofficers who make arrests, use firearms, do under-coverinvestigations, control crowds, and perform the samefunctions as their highly trained colleagues in police andsheriff departments. They also are a vital component in

the nation’s homelandsecurity, patrolling as far as200 miles off the coast ofCalifornia, interdicting drugrunning and searching forcriminals and terrorists.Because of the bad pay andantiquated overtime rules,we estimate that within afew years, every newapplicant accepted will goon to work for anotheragency. What will it take forpolicymakers to act?”

At a recent meeting of theTahoe Truckee Flyfishers,new State Fish and GameCommissioner CindyGustafson, of Tahoe City,requested those in

attendance to write their legislators regarding the issue ofequity in wardens’ salaries with other law enforcementjurisdictions. The trend of losing wardens to otherjurisdictions and not be able to recruit an adequate pool ofcandidates needs to be reversed. The only way to do so isthrough the legislature.

For more information, you may want to check out theCAUSE Web site at www.cause7.com/index1.asp. At thissite you can view a document that the California Fish andGame Wardens Association produced to show thedisparity between wardens and other officers. It iscertainly an eye opener.

If you appreciate the outdoors you will write thatletter to your legislature as soon as you finishreading this piece. It is probably one of the mostimportant things that you can ever do.

Bruce Ajari is a Truckee resident and regular fishing columnist forthe Sierra Sun and other area newspapers.

Newly established “Resources Agency” police academy gets offthe ground.

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SACRAMENTO — Anessential corps of Californiacops has dwindled by nearlyhalf — to 1950s levels — in acrisis that is leaving gaps ineverything from homelandsecurity to protectingendangered species, stateofficials haveacknowledged.

The wardens call themselvesthe “thin green line” that isgrowing thinner all the time.

The Department of Fish andGame blamed the problemof not being able to fillauthorized warden positions— or even keep goodofficers — on low pay and inadequate benefits.

Then there’s the new and deadly perils in populousCalifornia that have forced them to carry assault rifles.Statistics show that per capita wardens and U.S. DrugEnforcement agents have the highest risk of death on thejob.

“The inability of the department to recruit new gamewardens and retain experienced officers because of thepay disparity is affecting all Californians,” said RyanBroddrick, department director.

Broddrick is cheering efforts by the Statewide LawEnforcement Association to gain “appropriatecompensation” for wardens, some of who qualify forgovernment social service programs.

After three decades, third-generation warden Jake Busheymakes $60,000 a year.

“But don’t look for Jake Jr. to follow in this father’sfootsteps and carry the torch through a fourth

An essential corps of California cops has dwindled bynearly half.

Gaps pleasepoachers, polluters

Article Launched: 4/08/2006 03:50 PM

By STEVE GEISSINGER/MediaNews GroupOroville Mercury Register

generation,” said the seniorBushey. Jake Jr. became aCalifornia Highway Patrolofficer and after four years,is paid $90,000 annually.

A major factor in whatunion officials call“discriminatory practices”is that wardens don’t getpaid overtime as doHighway Patrol officers,instead receivingcompensating time off forlong hours on boats orplanes and diving or driving.

Not only is the diminishedwarden force straining topatrol 220,000 square

miles of ocean, out 200 miles, against terrorists and drugrunners, but the officers also enforce endangered specieslaws on 159,000 square miles of land. There are also30,000 miles of rivers and 4,800 lakes.

Tim Fries, of the statewide law enforcement association,said that as a result of California’s thinning green line, thestate “has become a poacher’s paradise” and life hasbecome easier for environmental polluters.

“When you consider that California is second only toHawaii in the number of endangered and threatenedspecies that wardens have to safeguard, it is noexaggeration to say the state is failing to protect itsenvironmental heritage,” said Fries.

In California, Fries said there are about 190 wardens.Department spokesman Troy Swauger said if you countsupervisors trying to spend as much time in the field aspossible, the figure rises to more than 280.

But the state is authorized to have about 350 wardens,they said.

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In 2001, before a series of budget cuts and hiringfreezes, the state was authorized to have more than400 wardens and was able to fill about 350 of thosepositions.

A smaller state such as Florida, by comparison, has 750wardens. Texas has 500.

“Whichever numbers you use, it comes out to being halfor only a third of the amount of wardens in Texas andFlorida,” Fries said.

With no proposed spending increases for wardens, thenumber of applicants for job openings in Californiacontinues to drop significantly.

“And the quality of the few who do apply is cause forconcern,” said Jerry Karnow of the California Fish andGame Warden’s Association.

California Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger vetoed adepartment request for$5 million in additionalfunds for 40 morewardens last year, in whatunion officials call anapparent conflict with whatthe governor calls hisstrong stances on publicsafety and the environment.

In his veto message,Schwarzenegger said “thedepartment has 352 wardenpositions available to

enforce California’s fish and game laws.”

“While I am supportive of enforcing California’s Fishand Game Code, I am unable to concur in thisspecific augmentation because of the need toensure a prudent reserve for economicuncertainties,” the governor said.

With talks looming with unionized state workers, topadministration officials remained mum on wardens’ pay.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation issuffering much the same circumstances with its underpaidrangers, who also are sworn peace officers.

Underlying the entire fiscal issue, officials andunion representatives agree, is a much morepersonal matter for the officers and theirfamilies.

Game wardens play a major role in homelandsecurity, protecting endangered species andlaw enforcement. But low pay has led to asharp decline in the number of Californiawardens. (STATE OF TEXAS)

Governor of Californiaspeaks at the Resourcesoffice in Sacramento.

California Game Warden Expose’Here is the link to get an electronic copy ofthe original California Game Warden Expose’.

http://www.californiafishandgamewardens.com/index-5.html

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When Abe Karajerjian applied for a permit to turn hisbackyard into a retirement home for seven former show-business orangutans, the neighbors howled in protest.

Residents of this desert community worried about arepeat of last year’s horrifying chimpanzee attack, inwhich a man nearly died. “I feel that my children ... will beput at extreme risk if these animals escape,” neighborGrant Torkelson wrote in a letter to Kern County officials,pleading with them to deny the application.

Karajerjian’s application was delayed after game wardensinspected his property and found 28 snapping turtles andtwo gila monsters all illegal without a permit. But if hemeets conditions set by state and county officials, theorangutans will soon take up residence in a giant cagewhich, judging by Department of Fish and Game recordsobtained by The Associated Press, will be subject toinfrequent inspections and little oversight.

Californians own at least 250,000 so-called exotic animals,ranging from hedgehogs and ferrets to cobras, lions,tigers, bears and elephants, according to a Fish and Gamedatabase created for the AP after a California PublicRecords Act request.

Yet despite having some of the strictest laws in the nationregarding the possession of such animals, experts sayCalifornia does a poor job regulating the facilities thathouse them.

“It essentially suffers from lack of enforcement,” saidNicole Paquette, director of legal and government affairsfor the Sacramento-based Animal Protection Institute,who has examined exotic animal laws in all 50 states.

___

The Fish and Game department has no central listing ofexotic animals and their owners, spokesman SteveMartarano said. Nor is there a reliable accounting of

Spotty oversight forCalifornians who own exotic

animalsPublished: Saturday, April 15, 2006 11:15 PDT

By KIM CURTIS

The Associated Press, RIDGECREST

incidents deaths, escapes, substandard conditions andhow they were resolved.

According to the records, 16 “enforcement actions”involving exotic animals were reported among 250 facilitieswith active permits as of last August. No permits wererevoked and only one violation resulted in a criminalconviction.

But even Martarano acknowledges the data isdisorganized and incomplete. For example, the 16enforcement actions do not include two highly publicizedincidents last year.

In July, John Weinhart ofRiverside was sentenced totwo years in prison afterauthorities found 11 newborntiger and leopard cubs in theattic, 58 dead cubs in afreezer and the rotting andmummified carcasses of atleast 30 exotic cats.

And last February, a 425-pound tiger was shot and killed in Moorpark after it wasspotted slinking through backyards. The big cat had beenon the loose for more than a week after it escaped whileits owners were illegally moving it. The couple faces federalcharges, including obstructing justice and submitting falserecords.

Many home menageries are in remote locations and seefew, if any, visits from state inspectors once the rigorousinitial permitting process is complete. Annual renewals aregenerally granted without an inspection.

Martarano says Fish and Game has about 200 fieldwardens who are responsible for everything from huntingand fishing license enforcement, to investigating poaching,

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to inspecting the facilities that house exotic animals.That’s down from about 300 wardens five years ago, hesaid.

The department did just 14 “restricted species”inspections out of the 300 or so that were required in2004, he said. The restwere done by USDA-approved veterinarians,an alternative allowedunder California law. Theveterinarian then submitspaperwork to the state,vouching for the facility.But the state makes noeffort to verify thatinformation, a major kinkin the system, accordingto some animaladvocates

Pat Derby, who runs thePerforming AnimalWelfare Society inSacramento County,wants inspectionresponsibilities put in thehands of local animalcontrol officers.

“The problem is that Fish and Game never wanted thatjob,” she said.

Martarano admits the department is stretched thin, buthe doesn’t think that puts Californians at risk.

“Obviously, some things fall through the cracks,” he said.“It’s enforced in big part by those people doing thatbusiness. They enforce each other. Most of the complaintswe get are from other facilities. They know whensomething happens there’s a black eye on all of them.”

The biggest black eye the one that makes Grant Torkelsonnervous about his children’s well-being occurred in March2005, when a couple visiting their pet chimpanzee at ananimal sanctuary outside Bakersfield was attacked by twoother chimps. The man, St. James Davis, lost most of hisface, a foot and his fingers before the animals were shot todeath.

Yet Virginia Brauer, who runs Animal Haven Ranch, was notfined, sued or charged with a crime. She still cares for fivechimps and a spider monkey and her permit was renewedlast month, according to Fish and Game.

“We felt there were misdemeanor violations, but the DAdisagreed,” Martarano said. “We went back and looked atthe record of the facility, the nature of what happened. Itwas an accident. She had a clean record all the way up tothat point.”

Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels said there was noevidence Brauer had left the cage unlocked and the chimpshad simply learned to open it.

Brauer turned down several requests for an interview. TheDavises also declined to speak with the AP.

Singer Michael Jacksonhas also been criticizedfor his Neverland Ranchzoo, which includesgiraffes, orangutans,elephants and dozens ofreptiles. His veterinarianhas sued, claimingJackson owes him morethan $90,000.

Another well-publicizedincident involved heiressParis Hilton and her petkinkajou. The tiny,racoon-like pet attackedher in a Las Vegas lingerieshop. Afterward, Hiltonillegally brought BabyLuv into Californiawithout a permit which,

as an untrained person with no compelling interest inkeeping exotic animals, she probably wouldn’t havereceived. But Fish and Game did nothing.

“It’s not one of our highest priorities to hunt downeveryone with restricted species,” Martarano said. “Youhave to weigh the public safety issue against everythingelse.”

___

Abe Karajerjian’s would-be orangutan sanctuary sits amid acluster of about a dozen modest homes along a narrowdirt road adjacent to acres of uninhabited desert ownedby the Bureau of Land Management.

Torkelson says he and other neighbors felt “blown off” bycounty officials who ultimately approved Karajerjian’spermit.

Ted James, secretary for the county planning commission,said the permit was granted with several conditionsregarding water supply, fencing and cages, and wasteremoval. He also said the commission was satisfied withKarajerjian’s explanation of the animals’ nature.

“Orangutans are docile,” James said. “Chimps are not.”

But Torkelson says his fears have not been allayed.

“Some people say it’s a perfect place because it looksempty,” Torkelson said of the cactus- and sagebrush-dotted landscape. “It doesn’t look empty to me. I grew uphere.”

A tragic waste of majestic cats.

40

Karajerjian did not return repeated phone calls, nor was hehome when a reporter recently visited.

To get a restricted species permit, potential owners needto have at least two years’ experience with such animals.Along with a $30 application fee to Fish and Game, theymust provide an animal inventory, certification from aveterinarian that the animals are immunized and properlycared for, and a current license from the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture. They also must submit a letter ofrecommendation from an animal facility operator wherethe applicant has worked. Additional county or citypermits may also be required.

But after the permit is granted, a facility can operate foryears without receiving an inspection by Fish and Gamewardens, as long as a USDA-approved veterinarian submitsa report twice a year.

Steve Martin, who runs a Kern County home for animalactors called Working Wildlife, said when he opened a newlocation inspectors from Fish and Game came to examinethe compound. They haven’t been back since.

“That was 18 years ago,” he said. “We’re a small entity andit’s irritating that they have to deal with us.”

Charlie Sammut, who runs Wild Things Animal Rentals inSalinas, believes tighter enforcement is needed to preventanother dangerous incident.

“When tigers get loose in California and get shot andkilled, our industry gets demolished,” he said. “Isympathize with Fish and Game. I think they’re doing theonly job they can do. Their budget has been cut in half.They used to have four or five wardens in one area, nowthey have only one for three areas.”

Martin agrees.

“A lot of us out there reallylove animals,” he said. “Wehave a right to be in thisworld and have ourcreatures that we spendour lives with. And Fish andGame needs to stay ontop of it and get rid ofthese people who aretotally illegal.”http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California2/CA_Exotic_Animals_233143CA.shtml

Unfortunate victims of human selfishiness. Tigers belong in the wild.

41

THE “thin green line” of the state’s game wardens,who protect endangered species and play a rolewith homeland security, is getting thinner.

California’s Departmentof Fish and Game is unableto fill its quota of gamewardens because of whatit says are inadequate payand benefits. In addition,statistics show that gamewardens and DEA agentshave the highest risk ofdeath per capita, andgame wardens oftenpatrol in remote locationswithout backup.

The state is authorized tohave 350 wardens, butonly has 190. Supervisorstry to spend some time inthe field, which effectivelymakes the force 280strong.

By comparison, Florida has750 wardens and Texashas 500. Tim Fries of the Statewide LawEnforcement Association said, “Whichevernumbers you use, it comes out to being half oronly a third of the amount of wardens in Texas andFlorida.”

California’s wardens are responsible for patrolling220,000 square miles of ocean, 159,000 squaremiles of state lands and 30,000 miles of rivers and4,800 lakes.

Fries said California’s thinning green line hasturned the state into a “poacher’s paradise,” andhas made things easier for environmentalpolluters.

More wardens needed to protectenvironmental treasures

Article Last Updated: 04/16/2006 09:45:58 AM PDT

With the state being only second to Hawaii in thenumber of endangered and threatened species, it’sfailing to “protect its environmental heritage,”

Fries said. Sacramentobureau chief SteveGeissinger’s story last weeksays that a third-generationgame warden makes$60,000 after 30 years,while his California HighwayPatrol officer son makes$90,000 after just fouryears on the job.

Before a series of cuts andhiring freezes, 400 wardenswere authorized in 2001,but the trims have left thestate unable keep anywherenear the authorized 350.

Last year, Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger vetoed aFish and Game request for$5 million to add 40 morewardens. And without payand benefits comparable to

those of other state law officers, its quotalanguishes.

Does California, an environmentally-consciousstate, need to make raise pay for state wardenscomparable to that of other state lawenforcement officers as well as beef up thenumbers?

Based on our reporting, we need more wardens topolice our large state and vast outdoor recreationareas.

If the pay scales are seriously out of line, then theyshould be made more comparable to that of otherstate law enforcement agencies.http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_3716950

Bishop, age 47 is accused of catching a 200 poundblack bear in a stolen trap, then penning it up in itsown waste for 8 days, feeding it only hot peppers andno water. The bear was being held until the openingday of the 1999 bear archery season.

It was torturous in that trap for the bear day afterday in the heat. The bear was in good enough shapeto begin with and was able to run off into the woodswhen the trap was opened by game wardens.

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One of the most frustrating things I’ve ever seen waswatching dozens of poachers lined up on the shore,casting out and snagging giant salmon — and thenwhen I called theDepartment of Fish andGame’s poacherhotline, nobodyresponded. Thepoachers got awaywith murder. Not justonce, but several timesover several years.

What is worse? Thesnaggers? Casting out,ripping back with theirrods, and then tearingtheir giant hooks intothe backs, fins and tailof 20-to 40-poundsalmon on the SmithRiver, the salmon killedwhile trying to headupriver to spawn? Or isit the zero response?The owner of theproperty adjacent tothe snag hole told mehe’d give gamewardens access tohide, film and thenarrest all thebootleggers. But nobodyshowed up.

Turns out the lack ofenforcement by the DFG iseven more frustrating tothe game wardens chargedto protect fish, wildlifeand the wildlifeenvironment. Both DFGDirector Ryan Broddrickand the state’s Fish andGame Wardens’Association areaggravated and feelthwarted.

That is because thenumber of game wardensin California is now thelowest per capita inhistory, 190 game wardensin the field for 37 million people. That’s 1 warden perevery 195,000 people.

Stretched-thin wardens arelosing the numbers game

Tom StienstraSunday, April 16, 2006

While another 90 supervisors occasionally get fieldtime, the truth I’ve seen in the field is that vast areasget no wildlife enforcement at all. And with the ease of

networking with e-mail, I get manyreports from fieldscouts in many areaswhere illegal activityis witnessed andreported, and there isno response becausethere are no gamewardens in the area.

Here’s why:

● 55 vacantpositions forskeleton-levelenforcement numbersare unfilled.

● Game wardens,despite routinelyfacing violators withknives and guns, arepaid $30,000 less peryear than a highwaypatrolman, so thosewith enforcementskills work elsewhere.

● Gov. ArnoldSchwarzeneggervetoed a bill thatwould have funded $5million for 40 newwarden positions.

● Game wardens saythat the amount ofpaperwork,environmental reviewand response to spills,endangered speciesand permit appealsgets in the way of fieldwork, so patrol timecan amount to lessthan 10 to 20 hoursper week.

● Game wardensoccasionally pool their

numbers to create strike teams, but that can leaveentire counties without a single game warden.

In an effort to augment the diminishing warden force, an innovative SeniorVolunteer Program was created in Southern California. The senior volunteersbrought their lifetime of experiences to the department and assisted thewardens in many duties that could have never been accomplished otherwise.The program also attracted this retired Game Warden who worked more than45 years in law enforcement then returned in his retirement years to help hiscolleagues.

They could be cruising, but they chose something different for theirretirement years. Helping California’s wildlife is a common motivationfor Senior Volunteers.

43

“Just as we support our frontline warriors in the war onterror, so must we cherish ourfront line officers who preserveand protect our naturalresources.”

Patrick KilpatrickActor

www.californiafishandgamewardens.com

● Eraser● Minority Report● The X-Files● “24”● Star Trek

44

Help wanted:Fish and Game workersWardens an endangered species

By Zeke Barlow, zbarlow@VenturaCountyStar.comApril 17, 2006

Jason Kraus pulled his truck up to Silver StrandBeach, raised his binoculars and scanned thehorizon for lawbreakers.

The California Department of Fish and Gamewarden was looking for anyone poachinglobster, fishing without a license or takingmore fish than allowed. It was a gloomyweekday and nobody had lines in the water, soKraus headed south along Ventura County’slong stretch of coastline.

He was not only the lone warden on the coastFriday, but the only one in the county tomanage all the natural resources, from themountains to the sea.

“It’s hard for one or two wardens to handle it all,” Kraus said.

Ventura County is not alone in its shortage of wardens. Across the state, the number of wardensis as low as it was in the 1950s, leaving a gap in the protection of California’s vast naturalresources, wardens say. The last few years have been especially hard as the number of fieldwardens has declined from 260 to 192. Few people are going through training, virtuallyguaranteeing that a bad problem will get worse in the future.

In the 1950s, there was one game warden for every 55,000 people, compared to today, whenthere is one warden for every 181,000 people, according to Tim Fries, a law enforcement lobbyist.The state has lowered the total amount of warden positions from 300 in 2001 to 250 in 2006, hesaid.

Too few people are entering the profession because of low pay relative to other law enforcementagencies, said Mike McBride, assistant chief of the department’s southern district.

The high cost of living in Southern California is also deterring the few wardens who do applyfrom working in the southern part of the state, where the majority of the population lives andinteracts with nature.

Santa Barbara-based state game Warden Jason Kraus asks afisherman, left, for his license along the coast just outsideVentura County.

45

“We have one of the best jobs in law enforcement,” McBride said. “But when it comes to salaryand monthly wages, that is where we are at a disadvantage compared to most other agencies.”

A starting warden makes about $37,000 a year, compared to a freshman California Highway Patrolofficer, who makes about $54,800, said Steve Martarano, Fish and Game Department spokesman.

Wardens are also not able to earn overtime pay as easily as CHP officers, Martarano said. Instead,wardens are given compensatory time for extra hours worked. When they take thatcompensatory time, it further diminishes the number of available wardens, exacerbating theproblem, he said.

Wardens throughout the state monitor commercial and sport fisheries, stop poachers, protectstream habitat and endangered species, clean up chemical spills, and monitor the interaction ofhumans and wildlife, among other activities. Having fewer wardens in the field means that manyof the jobs are not getting done, McBride said.And sometimes, poachers know there are fewerwardens to make arrests.

“Much of law enforcement takes place throughthe good will of people and the deterrence ofgetting caught —and that element has beentaken away,” said Lt. Chris Long, supervisingwarden in Ventura County.

In the last few years, the number of wardensassigned to Ventura County has gone fromseven to two, Long said. There are some dayswhen there isn’t a warden on duty in the entirecounty, he added.

Kraus isn’t even normally assigned to work inVentura County, but fills in from Santa Barbara when there is a shortage, which is often.

“It’s a very hopeless feeling,” Long said.

California’s 159,000 square miles of land and 220,000 square miles of ocean patrolled by wardensare home to the second-highest amount of endangered species in the country.

Only Hawaii has more. Still, there are fewer wardens in California than there are in the muchsmaller state of Florida, which has 700 wardens, according to Fries.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a Fish and Game Department request for $5million in additional funding for 40 more wardens.

Fries said that while other governors in recent years also denied requests for more money,wardens were at least able to discuss the issue with them. Fries said he’s never been granted ameeting with Schwarzenegger.

Kraus has noticed the shortage of wardens over the past few years, too. He’s received calls aboutmountain lion sightings, but couldn’t respond because he was tied up with other duties. He saidhe’s bothered by the pay differential, but despite it all, he wouldn’t trade his profession.

“I love my job,” he said.

On some days, Jason Kraus, driving near Point Mugu, is theonly game warden on duty in Ventura County.

46

April 28 (Bloomberg) —California’s sea lions, eagles anddesert tortoises are among the308 animals at risk for extinctionin the state. Jake Bushey saysthey may as well add his kind tothe list.

“There’s more bald eagles inCalifornia than there arewardens,” said Bushey, a Fishand Game Warden for 28years.

As low salaries push candidatesto better-paying police work,

the number of wardens who patrol California’s 379,000square miles (985,000 square kilometers) of desert,mountains and ocean has dropped to its lowest level since1965. The state, second only to Hawaii in the number ofendangered and threatened species, has fewer than 200wardens on duty.

Florida, half the size of California, has 750 wardens. Texashas 500. Conservation groups including California Troutand the Sierra Club say the lack of wardens puts thestate’s $1 billion-a-year fishing and hunting industry at riskfrom illegal dumping, habitat destruction and poaching.

“If we don’t have enough game wardens out therepatrolling the streams, all kinds of bad things can happento fish,” Brian Stranko, executive director of CaliforniaTrout, said in a telephone interview.

For less money, game wardens have jobs that arejust as dangerous as those of local police officers,said warden Jerry Karnow. Game wardens patrolisolated areas, make drug arrests, serve searchwarrants and even set up sting operations.

They are routinely exposed to other dangers such aspoison oak, rattlesnakes, West Nile virus, animal bites andarmed citizens. Fish and game wardens inspect and seizemore weapons than any other law-enforcement agency inthe state.

“When people do see a game warden, they tend to believethat we’re not real law enforcement,” Karnow said. “Theythink that all we do is give campfire walks and talks andthat kind of stuff.”

Ted Nugent’s Support

Rock star Ted Nugent, an outdoorsman who travels toCalifornia several times a year to hunt, says wildernessareas attract criminals like methamphetamine makersunless wardens are there to intervene.

“We’re talking about a resource that is in dramatic need ofmonitoring and policing,” Nugent said in a telephoneinterview. “The wild ground that fish cops run is a meccafor lawbreakers because they feel they’re out of the viewof typical law enforcement.”

Few Takers for Jobs

The California Department of Fish and Game says it has280 wardens. Of those, just 192 have full-time patrolduties. The rest are managers and administrators whopatrol part-time. While the department has a budget for80 more officers, it can’t find enough candidates to fill thejobs.

In 1978, more than 3,000 people applied for 24 openings.This year, 244 candidates took the written test for 55positions, said Tim Fries, senior legislative advocate forCAUSE Statewide Law Enforcement Association, a gamewarden labor union. About 7percent of applicants usuallyqualify.

The problem is money.Starting pay for a state gamewarden is $37,000. Acandidate could make$67,000 a year as a SanFrancisco police officer and$53,800, plus $10,000 inovertime, as a CaliforniaHighway Patrol Officer. As aresult, there has been a“wholesale decimation of theranks of fish and gamewardens,” Fries said.

“Short of some nut massively killing endangered species ordumping toxic pollutants in California’s rivers and streams,I can’t think of a louder alarm bell to sound for legislatorsand the administration,” he said.

In Florida, a starting fish and wildlife law officer can make$31,000 to $41,000. It pays a cost-of-living adjustmentbased on where wardens are stationed. In Texas, wardensstart at $36,000.

California Game Wardens Are EndangeredAlong With Sea Lions

Game Warden Jake Bushey.

Game Warden Jerry Karnow.

47

Reluctant Defector

“I’d always wanted to be a game warden and I was able todo it for two years, but I just couldn’t afford to do itanymore,” said 38-year-old Scott Spain, who last weekleft his job as a warden for a better-paying position as adeputy with the Napa County Sheriff’s Department.

“It was the best job I ever had and I loved it,” hesaid. “I just wish I could have kept it longer.”

Department of Fish and Game Director Ryan Broddrick, aformer game warden appointed by Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger in January 2004, said state budgetdeficits are an issue.

Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget for the yearstarting July 1 would cut the department’s fundingby $75 million, to $387 million. Last year,Schwarzenegger denied the department’s requestfor an extra $5 million to increasesalaries.

“The inability of the department torecruit new game wardens and retainexperienced officers because of thepay disparity affects all of us,”Broddrick said in a statement.

California wardens can’t fatten theirpaychecks by working longer hours.They are compensated for overtimewith days off. And the wardens mustcontribute 8 percent of their pay topensions.

End of the Line

Bushey said his own son is an example of the recruitmentchallenge. The older Bushey is a third-generation warden.Jake Jr. decided to become a California Highway Patrolofficer instead. After just four years on the job, he ismaking $90,000, as opposed to the $60,000 hisfather earns after almost three decades as awarden.

“From the time he was a little kid, every chance he couldhe rode with me,” Bushey said. “He caught poacherswith me. He turned bears loose with me, he watchedpeople snagging salmon and doing all the things that Idid with my dad that lit the fire in me to become agame warden.

“He really wanted to do it.”

To contact the reporters on this story:Michael B. Marois in Sacramento atmmarois@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 28, 2006 00:03 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=ajpbW0PlHYTM&refer=us#

Fish and GameDirector L. RyanBroddrick. Conducting an abalone check station, wardens find a rare

opportunity to work together.

K9 officers aretrained to findhidden abalone andare one of the bestanti-poaching toolswardens have.

Keeping them honest, checkpoints make poachers think twicebefore diving and driving.

48

SAN ANDREAS - Anthony Marrone grew up in San Andreasand spent much of his childhood roaming the forests andriverbanks of Calaveras County. That’s why he’s choosing arelatively low-paying, dangerous career protecting thoseareas where he wanders.

”I got kind of tired of seeing all my hunting and fishingspots degraded,” Marrone said.

Marrone, 26, has a bachelor’s degree in environmentalstudies from Sonoma State University. Last month, he alsoearned a badge and graduated at the top of his class atthe Ione academy that trains state game wardens - theofficers who patrol state forests, parkland andwaterways. He didn’t consider taking a more lucrative jobas a California Highway Patrol officer or with a local policedepartment.”There’s just not enough wardens out there,” Marrone said.

There are few like Marrone.

The number of California game wardens is shrinking everyyear. Just 192 wardens now patrol the state. The CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game has immediate openings forboth the 10 new graduates and another 50 officers, said L.Ryan Broddrick, director of the agency.

Wardens and the union that represents them are asking theLegislature for higher pay in next year’s state budget.

”We are probably going to have 25 guys a year retire forthe next three years,” said Jake Bushey Sr., a warden for 30years and a member of the board of the California Fish andGame Wardens Association.

Tim Fries is the chief lobbyist for the CAUSE StatewideLaw Enforcement Association, the union that representsthe Wardens Association and several other state employeegroups. He estimated it would cost the state about $10

million a year to bring the pay of wardens up to the level ofCHP officers, fill all vacant positions and add back another50 warden positions that Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggervetoed from the budget last year.

The base salary for a starting warden in California is$39,228 a year, while a starting CHP officer gets a basesalary of $52,952. Because of built-in overtime and extrapay for night and holiday work, CHP officers take homeanother $10,000 a year on average.

At the time, Schwarzenegger wrote that he was makingthe veto to help the state maintain a “prudent reserve foreconomic uncertainties.”

Fries and legislative staffers said the Senate NaturalResources Committee put language in the Senate’sproposed budget to give wardens pay parity with CHPofficers. The Assembly’s version of the budget so farincludes some help for wardens but not full parity.

Department of Fish and Game Lt. EricVielhauer calls into dispatch before hestarts a recent patrol along the Delta

Credit: DOUGLAS RIDER/The Record

State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, chairwoman of theNatural Resources Committee, said she’sconfident this is the year wardens will get morepay.

”There are more bald eagles in California thanthere are game wardens,” Kuehl said.

Wardens’ salaries are paid from money that comes fromhunting and fishing license fees. Kuehl said increasingwardens’ pay means finding other funding sources andacknowledging that all Californians - not just hunters andanglers - benefit from game wardens’ efforts to protectwildlife and control environmental dangers, such as oilspills.

Article published May 7, 2006

The thin green lineCalifornia struggles to recruit game wardens

Game warden cadetstake the oath of officeafter graduating fromthe Department of Fishand Game academylast month.

Credit: DOUGLASRIDER/The Record

49

One possibility is to tap the money the state gets for oilproduction leases within three miles of the Californiacoastline, Kuehl said. Thanks to high oil prices, the leaseswill yield the state $350 million this year, compared with$16 million the state received in 1988-89.

Five years ago, Texas legislators confronted the same issueand decided to boost game wardens’ pay. Now, wardensget the same base salary as the state troopers who patrolhighways.

Texas, a state with fewer residents than California, has 491game wardens on duty and this year will fill all vacantpositions to bring the total to 510, said Col. Pete Flores,head of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Law EnforcementDivision.

Royce Wells, a Texas game warden, visits college campusesto recruit wardens. Texas requires wardens to have a four-year college degree - more education than required for anyother state law enforcement job in that state. Having payequity with state troopers helps when Wells tries topersuade college grads to do a job that pays less thanothers they could take outside law enforcement, Wellssaid.

”The fact that our state has chosen to give us all equal payis a big deal,” he said.

Although the base salary for a Texas game warden is only$37,572, that goes far in a state where it is still possible tobuy a house for $125,000 even in urban areas like Austin,Wells said.

In both Texas and California, the pay difference isn’t just amatter of base salaries. In both states, highway patrolofficers get overtime that isn’t granted to wardens.

Wardens don’t get overtime pay, even though they usuallywork weekends and other odd hours to mesh theirschedule with that of hunters, anglers, poachers andsmugglers.

An analysis by the Wardens Association found that twoBay Area officers with very similar backgrounds - both 26years old and both with four years on the job - haddramatically different incomes in 2005. Game Warden KyleKroll had gross pay of $48,000; CHP Officer Jake Bushey Jr.(the son of wardens union official Jake Bushey Sr.) earned$92,000.

Both wear badges and guns, and both face the dangersinherent in being a law officer. Last year, Kroll was shot inboth legs during a raid on a marijuana farm in the hills nearLos Gatos.

Kroll was one of a half-dozen officers from severalagencies on their way to eradicate a farm with 10,000plants when they came under fire from two armed menwho were guarding the farm. One of the men guarding thefarm was killed in the resulting shootout.

Fourteen California game wardens have died in the line ofduty since 1913. Although none has been shot to death by

a criminal since the 1970s, wardenshave historically been three times aslikely to be gunned down asHighway Patrol officers, according to the WardensAssociation.

The actual number of CHP officers killed is higher, but thestate has more than 7,000 officers in that agency. Becausethere are fewer wardens, they have a higher rate of on-the-job deaths.

Eric Vielhauer is a patrol lieutenant who supervises fivewardens in Calaveras and San Joaquin counties. LikeMarrone, Vielhauer grew up hunting and fishing and has afour-year science degree.

Like other fish and game administrators, Vielhauer spendsas much time as possible on patrol himself to compensatefor the shortage of front-line wardens.

He enjoys talking to anglers and hunters who share hisinterests. And some of his time is spent on sunnyriverbanks checking fishing licenses.

Yet the work can abruptly turn dangerous. Wardens oftenwork alone and run into people who are armed.

Vielhauer’s hand went to his holster and his voice turnedsharp last week during what started as a routine check ofa fishing spot at New Hope Road and the Mokelumne River.Instead of anglers, Vielhauer came upon two peoplesitting in a green van who began making rapid, furtivemovements when they saw his patrol truck.

The van driver started his motor and revved it as Vielhauerwalked up to the passenger window. Vielhauer ordered theengine off and the occupants out of the vehicle.

Before the incident was over, Vielhauer had collected a tinyplastic bag with drug residue but had to release the manand woman because he couldn’t prove they’d thrown itfrom the van.

”It’s not what I signed up to be a game warden for,”Vielhauer said. “But you have to be a police officer some ofthe time.”

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 754-9534 ordnichols@recordnet.com

http://stocktonrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060507/NEWS01/605070331/1001

California Department of Fish andGame Lt. Eric Vielhauer checks afisherman’s catch during a patrol alongthe Delta last week. The number ofgame wardens in the state is shrinking,with just 192 officers on the job

Credit: DOUGLAS RIDER/The Record

50

The name of this column is “In The Trenches.” Nowhereelse is this name more appropriate than when using it todescribe the job of Department of Fish and Game (DFG)wardens. They are oftenalone in what must seemlike a very large andtreacherous trench. Awarden, more than anyother enforcement agentI’m personally aware of, isrequired to stand alonewhen other lawenforcement agentswould call for backup andwait.

Think about city andcounty police officerswho have a radiostrapped to theirshoulder and can expectbackup within a shorttime. Game wardens inthe field can only dreamof such support, as they walk into a scary-lookingsituation and face down the bad guys. Sure they worktogether when safety requires it, but they often walkinto situations alone with no backup nearby.

Why is it such a thin green line? Look at the numbers. InCalifornia, with 159,000 square miles of area that offershabitat and wildlife diversity unequaled by any otherstate, the average warden has a patrol district of morethan 600 square miles. The state has more than 1,100 milesof coastline, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, 4,800lakes and reservoirs, and 80 major rivers. The state hasthree of the four North American desert habitats andscores of high mountain peaks. Fewer than 300 fieldwardens and supervisors guard California and spearheadthe state’s response in all off-highway toxic spill disasters.

Other duties besides patrol and enforcement come alongwith the job. A warden often acts as an arbitrator forissues involving conflicts between wildlife and people.

They recommend recreational activities and serve aseducators to the public by speaking at schools, servicegroups and with the media.

The green line is spreadeven thinner than thenumbers indicate. Majormetropolitan areas haveconcentrations ofwardens because of thehigh level of anglingactivity. Many of us whofish out of major harborssee wardens quite often.

This concentration skewsthe average patroldistrict of wardens inoutlying areas. I’mguessing that sometracts of 1,000 squaremiles are patrolled by anaverage of one warden.That makes it too easy

for poachers to get by with activities that ruin fishingand hunting for the rest of us.

As a society, we justifiably place greater budgetarypriority on our personal safety and property value thanwe do on the safety of our wildlife and other naturalresources. That philosophy explains why we have tensof thousands of police, sheriff and California HighwayPatrol officers in our state, while we support only a fewhundred game wardens.

According to a recent news release dated April 24, 10new game wardens are joining the “thin green line,”which is a term often used to describe the enormity ofthe job wardens do with severely limited resources.These new wardens graduated from the ResourcesAgency in Ione (in Amador County). This is somethingfor the DFG to celebrate, because it really needs help inthe trenches defending the state’s natural resources andwildlife.

In The Trenches - Measuring theThin Green Line

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

By Capt. David Bacon

Game Wardens patrol hidden, remote areas sometimes longdistances from their patrol vehicles.

51

DFG Academy Coordinator Lt. John Lawson applauded thecadets on the successful completion of their work. Hecommended the nine men and one woman as the newestmembers on the front line of protection of California’soutdoor heritage.

“I’m confident the cadets who graduate from thisacademy will improve the quality of sporting life forCalifornians through the day-to-day performance of theirduties,” Lawson said. “The determination of these cadetsto earn this graduation is matched only by the dedicationof those wardens already in the field protectingCalifornia’s natural resources.”

These new wardens are not yet finished with theireducation. To be accepted into the academy, they wererequired to have a minimum of two years college with amajor in law enforcement, wildlife biology or a closelyrelated field. After graduating from the academy, the nextstep for the new wardens involves six additional weeks ofenvironmental-specific law enforcement training at theacademy along with law enforcement officers from theranks of police and sheriff’s departments and park rangers.

Have you thought about earning the green uniform of awarden and working for the state? It is an admirable careerchoice. Wardens ensure the future of wildlife resources forthe people of California through responsible enforcementof appropriate laws, regulations and rules. They protectthe safety of the public and work in the homeland securityarena, respond during natural disasters, investigate illegalcommercialization of wildlife, investigate pollution andenforce habitat protection laws. Annually, wardens makecontact with more than 295,000 people and issue morethan 15,000 citations.

Many anglers have stories of stern wardens who treatedthem more harshly than they thought was called for, duringthe course of routine encounters. I won’t argue that. Butthere are many more stories of wardens doing good deeds.

I recall when a local game warden was checking my boatand discovered that I had injured my finger pulling ananchor. That warden put everything aside, patched up myfinger (more professionally than Icould have done) and did everythingpossible to be helpful. I also knowthat I can call on wardens and theirsupervisors whenever I have aquestion or need some insight on asituation. I doff my renowned hat tothe men and women of the thin greenline, and I wish the 10 new graduatesgreat success in their careers.

Capt. David Bacon

http://www.thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=184872

Harbor seal caught in illegal trap. It drowned.

“Warden Gomeswith the largestprocessedmarijuana casein ColusaCounty history.”

The demise of amajestic elk;Shasta County.

52

There are more than 500,000 local law enforcementofficers in the United State, and 72,000 cops in New Yorkalone.

Nationwide, there are around 7,000 game wardens, orabout as many cops as the New York Police force assignedto cover its New Year’s Eve celebration.

In other words, that’snot a lot of gamewardens. The situation isespecially bad inCalifornia, and man andnature are paying a price.

With 159,000 squaremiles of land, Californiahas 36 million people,1,100 miles of coastline,about 222,000 squaremiles of ocean waters,30,000 miles of riversand streams, 4,800 lakesand reservoirs and 80major rivers, in additionto deserts, mountainsand, of course, urbanareas, all of which gamewardens cover.

Game wardens areresponsible forprotecting more than1,000 native fish andwildlife species, more than 6,000 native plant specie, andapproximately 360 endangered species; yet, at any giventime, there are about 200 wardens on patrol in California.

In 1950, there was one game warden for every 54,845people in the state. Today, there is one warden for every180,288 persons.

For California to be comparable to Florida or Texas in itsfish- and game-policing force, it would need to have 750wardens. That ain’t gonna happen anytime soon … unless alot of things change.

For perspective, let’s compare two law enforcementofficers, both 26 years old and employed for four years bytheir respective California state agency. One is a gamewarden; the other is a highway patrolman.

Both are sworn peace officers. The game warden’s beat isthe highways and all the physical landscape and the ocean

waters of the state. Thehighway patrolman’s beat isthe highways, statebuildings and stateproperty.

The game warden musthave completed at leasttwo years of college. Thehighway patrolman needseither a high school diplomaor a GED (generalequivalency diploma).

Game wardens usually workalone, in remote locations,without backup. They donot get extra pay forholidays, night shift orovertime. Highwaypatrolmen get increasedpay for night work, time-and-a-half pay for holidays,and overtime, and they have7,000 fellow CaliforniaHighway Patrol membersfor backup.

Game wardens usually work out of a home office with adispatcher hundreds of miles away and are on call 24/7.The California Highway Patrol has regional officesthroughout he state.

The game warden is issued four firearms: a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol; a .40 caliber semi-auto undercoverpistol; a 12-gauge riot shotgun; and a .308 semi-automilitary rifle. The California Highway Patrol officer is issueda .40 caliber semi-auto pistol; a 12-gauge riot shotgun;and a .223 semi-auto rifle.

The game warden:an endangered species

The “thin green line” that defends fish and wildlife is underfunded andlargely unheralded, and nowhere is this more evident than in California

By James A. Swan, Ph.D.Author of “In Defense of Hunting”

Illegal undersized “short” abalone.

53

Both drive marked vehicles, but game wardens mustmaintain their own patrol car, many of which have morethan 100,000 miles on the odometer. The CaliforniaHighway Patrol officer’s car is maintained by CHPmechanics on a regular basis and has low mileage.

Since 9/11, homeland security has become part of the jobof every law enforcement officer. The CHP officer’sresponsibility covers highways, state buildings andstate property. The game warden monitors all wildlandsof the state, as well as highways, plus incomingshipping, chemical plants, refineries, dams, bridges,power plants and transmission lines, as well as oceanpatrols out to 200 miles offshore.

Game wardens also operate their own crime-sceneinvestigations. California game wardens are federallydeputized. They are authorized to enforce federal fishand wildlife laws in California and participate in actionsin 20 other states.

And did I mentioned that game wardens regularly workwith the U.S. Coast Guard on search and rescuemissions.

Wardens routinely become involved with shuttingdown marijuana plantations and meth labs. Organizedcrime is often involved in poaching and theinternational black market trade in wildlife and plants.And it goes almost without stating that every hunter isarmed and most fisherman have at least a knife.

Federal statistics show that game wardens and DrugEnforcement Administration agents have the highestrisk of death on the job. The game warden is three timesmore likely to be killed in the line of duty than theCalifornia Highway Patrol officer.

So what do the two law enforcement officers — thegame warden and the highway patrolman — get paid?

The California game warden’s expected annual grosspay is $48,000, with no raises promised. The CHPofficer can expect $92,000 and has a 7.5 percent payraise promised.

A game warden pilot can expect about $60,000 a year,while the CHP counterpart makes about $90,000.

A state prison guard with the same number of years ofexperience makes upwards of $60,000.

And vacation-time accrual? For the same two officers,the game warden gets eight hours a month, while theCHP officer gets 15 hours per month.

Game Wardens are almost always the lowest paid law-enforcement officers. Nationwide, warden salaries rangefrom the upper $20,000s to the low $60,000s. Californiais not the worst in game-warden salaries, but the cost ofliving in the Golden State is especially high.

More than 2.4 million Californians purchase fishing licensesof some kind, and about 275,000 hunting licenses are soldevery year. In 2004-2005, hunting and fishing licensesrevenues brought in $56.1 million.

Hunters and anglers spent more than $3.1 billion a year inthe California, or more than the cash receipts from thestate’s grape crop.

Game wardens perform an important function ofprotecting the state’s natural resources. If the naturalresources are exploited, state revenues go down; andCalifornia definitely has problems with declining revenues.

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took over the helm ofthe state, he inherited a huge, $21 billion budget deficitthat has impacted all government agencies.

Yet, as we look toward 2007, the Schwarzenegger isasking for 278 additional California Highway Patrolofficers and no increase in game warden funding. Thetotal yearly budget for California game wardens is $47million, which, check this out, is less than a third of theproposed increase in the CHP budget for 2007.

The facts for this article come from CAUSE — TheStatewide Law Enforcement Association, in a reportcompiled by the California Fish and Game WardensAssociation, which can be studied online. Read it.

Before leaving the subject of game wardens, I want to addone item to the list of sad things that have happened toCalifornia game wardens as a result of budget cuts.

Law enforcement is not just about catching and punishingpeople for committing crimes. The best law enforcementseeks to prevent crime by setting community standards ofbehavior that do not tolerate criminal activity.

Several years ago, California Fish and Game wardens issuedcitations for doing good things, in addition to distributingviolations.

If a warden gave a “Caught Doing Good” citation tosportsmen for special acts of outstanding ethics, therecipient became eligible for a special season-enddrawing and valuable prizes. This program has gone bythe wayside due to lack of funding.

The removal of positive reinforcements, coupled withfewer wardens in the field, means that the game wardenis as endangered a species as some of the critters theyprotect; man and nature are both hurting as a result.

James Swan — who has appeared in more than a dozen featurefilms, including “Murder in the First” and “Star Trek: FirstContact,” as well as the television series “Nash Bridges,”“Midnight Caller” and “Modern Marvels” — is the author of thebook “In Defense of Hunting.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunting/columns/story?columnist=swan_jame%20%20s&page=g_col_swan_endangered_game-wardens

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TULELAKE - Third generationFish and Game warden JakeBushey from Burney has beena warden for 28 years but thetradition stops there.

“Although our resources andhomeland security are injeopardy,” said Bushey, “fewpeople want to be wardens.We are unable to recruit andretain officer because of thesalary disparity betweengame wardens and other

state and local agencies. The difference between being awarden and being a California Highway Patrol officer for 30years stands at approximately $1,000,000.”

Bushey’s 27 year old son Jake Jr. became a CaliforniaHighway Patrolman instead; after just four years on the jobhe makes $90,000, as opposed to dad’s $60,000 afternearly three decades as a Fish and Game Warden.

Law enforcement officers in other state agencies maketime and a half overtime, however Fish and Game wardensare off the job for an hour and a half for every hour ofovertime they work. Warden staffing is at the 1957 levelwith just 192 wardens in the State of California. Thatmeans for every 197,000 people there is one warden.

176 people showed up this year to take the Fish and GameWarden test, the lowest turnout in 30 years, and only sixpeople qualified. There are currently 64 vacant positions,and in the next four years, 25 percent of the wardens willretire.

Game Wardens are in Troubleyou can help

Endangered Species and Homeland Securityare not protected

By Jacqui Krizo, Klamath Courier Reporter 6/6/06

Fish and Game Wardens are sworn peace officers whopatrol and protect 159,000 square miles of land and220,000 square miles of ocean. They also have a mini navywith state-of-the-art patrol boats which go as far out as200 miles from the California coast line and work withagencies from the Department of Homeland Security.

Bushey said, “What about Robbie Robison, retired gamewarden from Tulelake. He gave his lifeblood to protectingresources. He worked full time, getting calls night and day,missing barbecues, birthday parties and holidaycelebrations. What do we tell him now that there are nogame wardens in these areas; do we tell him his job was notimportant?”

Tule Lake, the most important feeding stop for waterfowlon the Pacific Flyway, has not had a warden since 2000.

This effects all the Klamath River water users

“This affects you and all the Klamath River water users!”said Bushey. “ The green sturgeon in California south of theEel River will be listed as threatened on July 1, 2006 by theUS Fish and Wildlife Service. If the green sturgeons in theKlamath River are listed as threatened it will be one morereason to cut water supplies in the Klamath Basin. At onetime there were two wardens in Happy Camp to protectthe sturgeon in the Klamath River between Orleans andWeitchipec. Now there are no wardens between Yreka andCrescent City.”

Bushey was a warden in Happy Camp for eight years andwas busy all the time. He said it is legal for Indians to gillnet a certain amount of fish for subsistence, but there isno enforcement on the reservation.

Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis -- Upholding rural Americans’ rights to grow food,own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.

Jake Bushey

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Bushey seized dozens of salmon taken illegally. In one yearhe seized 13 illegally-taken sturgeons, and he said wardensonly catch ten percent of the culprits. That means 130sturgeons are being taken illegally every year, causing theremaining sturgeons to become endangered.

Species listed as endangered including plants, animals andbugs, have caused water and property rights to be taken,and millions of acres of land to be eradicated of Americansby their government. They also are expensive to thetaxpayer.

According to the Government Accountability Office, sincethe Endangered Species Act’s inception, 1300 domesticspecies have been placed on the list of threatened andendangered species. Estimated cost for recovery of eachspecies averages $15.9 million dollars. This does notinclude impacts to communities. In 2001 there was $200million dollars of impact in the Klamath Basin alone duringthe water shutoff.

You can help wardens protect you

Bushey and other representatives of the California Fish andGame Wardens’ Association have spent a lot of time latelyin Sacramento lobbying for equal pay for game wardensand California Highway Patrolmen. $17.5 million dollarswould give parity with CHP’s and would fill their vacancies.

Bushey and the wardens’ association ask you to help themprotect your homeland security and natural resources.Please write before June 15th to Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger, State Capital Building, Sacramento, CA95814, or email www.govmail.ca.gov . Tell him you supportFish and Game Wardens’ parody with CHP., and tell himwhy.

You can also write California Assemblyman Doug LaMalfabecause he his supporting the wardens in their request forhelp. State Capitol, Room 4177, P.O. Box 942849,Sacramento, CA 94249-0002, Phone: (916) 319-2002, Fax:(916) 319-2102

Game wardens are the oldest law enforcement agency inCalifornia; in 1870 the agency was created to protectresources.

The use of decoys help wardens detect illegal hunting practices.

The tools of the trade; Game Wardens use high powered binocularsand scopes to observe illegal wildlife crime.

Every California Game Warden is issued this card tocarry in their wallet/purse to present to physiciansupon medical treatment. Avian influenza is being addedto the list.

Unique hazards for Game Wardens

http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/articles06/gamewardens060606.htm

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SACRAMENTO - Nevada County is a popularrecreation magnet stretching from California’sfoothill region east of Sacramento to beyond theSierra summit, with vast swaths of park and forestland within easy reach of state highways and amajor interstate.

Yet the state Department of Fish and Game hasjust one warden assigned to a territory thatincludes 20 major boating and fishing lakes, theBear and Yuba rivers, and wild lands that attracthunters as well as poachers.

Jerry Karnow, a 17-yearveteran, said there is noway he can effectivelypatrol all that terrain.

”The word is out -there are no wardensout there investigatingthese wildlife crimes,”Karnow said.

Karnow hopes that willchange under a dealannounced Tuesday bylawmakers and Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration. Theyagreed to include $30 million in the next fiscalyear’s budget to boost pay for wardens and fillvacant positions, a move officials hope will easean acute staffing shortage.

Recruits and veterans alike can earn far moremoney working for other law enforcementagencies.

The number of budgeted game warden positionshas dropped from 402 in 2002 to 352 today. Ofthe current positions, 288 are filled. But only 192

Push on to boost game wardens’ payas patrol coverage dwindles

DON THOMPSONAssociated Press

Posted on Tue, Jun. 20, 2006

wardens are actually out patrolling California’sforests, parks and waterways, a territory thatincludes coastal waters extending 200 milesoffshore, department spokesman Steve Martaranosaid. The rest hold supervisory positions.

Some of the $30 million will go to otherdepartments where pay scales also are lagging.Those agencies include the California Departmentof Parks and Recreation for rangers, theDepartment of Justice for special agents, and theDepartment of Forestry and Fire Protection formanagers and supervisors.

”It’s pure economics. We just have this crisiswhere we can’t hire people to do the job,” saidKarnow, who spent Tuesday lobbying the issue forthe California Game Wardens Association.

The Department of Fish and Game two years agobegan shifting wardens between geographicregions in a stopgap move to deal with years ofattrition and hiring freezes.

The department hasn’t been able to fill 64 wardenvacancies. As many as 25 wardens are expected toretire this year, and the department could fill onlyhalf the 20 openings in its training academybecause a starting pay of about $37,000 couldn’tcompete with the pay scales of other police

forces. Veteran wardens earnabout $53,000.

”We recognize theproblem, and we’veworked to address it,” saidH.D. Palmer, spokesmanfor Schwarzenegger’sDepartment of Finance.

57

Complicating things is that the two-yearcontract for the union representing wardensdoesn’t expire for another year. Until then, theadministration wants to use most of the $30million to boost wardens’ pay through monthlystipends, retention bonuses, overtime pay andhigher starting salaries.

How the money would be paid and how it wouldbe split between the wardens and the employeesof the other agencies has yet to be worked outand approved by lawmakers. That concerns theassociation representing game wardens, whichwants $17.5 million guaranteed for warden salaryincreases.

”We haven’t seen where we’re going toget a penny of it. There’s nocommitment,” said Bob Orange, asecond-generation warden and vicepresident of the wardens association,after meeting Tuesday with Schwarzeneggerspecial assistant Terry Tamminen.

The wardens also were worried by statementsmade by Schwarzenegger during a Web castquestion-and-answer session Tuesday, when hesaid the state has enough wardens and thatmoney is too tight to hire more. Schwarzeneggervetoed $5 million last year that was intended tohire more wardens.

After the Web cast,Schwarzeneggerspokeswoman MargitaThompson said thegovernor recognizes thereis a problem despite hiscomments.

”We have to find a wayto recruit and retainworkers who arealready in the budget,”she said.

The Legislature’s budgetconference committeeshave agreed to theadministration’s plan.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14863598.htm

Chronicle photo by Kat Wade

A dangerouspredator, yetmajestic. Anunfortunateclash betweenhumans andlions. CaliforniaGame Warden inPlumas County.

Even though the demand for Game Wardens is high, this photorepresents an entire Fish and Game Academy of only a few cadets.Ironically, this 2006 academy class is expected to fill vacanciesthroughout California. Why wouldn’t our government fix a problemthat has been obvious for many years? Why would someone begin acareer that paid only half of what they could make working foranother agency?

Similar toCalifornia’s extinctgrizzly bears andtimber wolves, GameWardens are rapidlyapproaching thepoint of no return.

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Game wardens feel they’reunder the gun

Inside a giant freezer in RanchoCordova, state game wardenAlan Weingarten combs throughthe gruesome evidence.

A pair of pheasants, stillbeautiful in their showyplumage. Bags of illicit salmonroe. Severed fish heads the sizeof basketballs. A whole femaledeer, solidified in death’s icyclaw.

Each carcass and body part is evidence in anunsolved crime against the Golden State’s naturalresources, a violation of hunting or fishing lawsthat game wardens are hired to prevent.

But those carcasses also prove another problem: asevere shortage of California game wardens. Thefrozen gore might not be here if the state hadenough wardens to investigate these crimes.

“All we need to do is follow up — find blood on avehicle, blood in someone’s residence,” saidWeingarten, who patrols Folsom Lake andSacramento County. “But wardens just don’t havetime because we’re always working new cases.”

The Department of Fish and Game has 192 fieldwardens on the job to protect an area spanning159,000 square miles, alandscape second only to Hawaiiin wildlife diversity.

But hiring is difficult becausea starting warden earns$37,000 a year, said NancyFoley, the department’s chiefof enforcement. That is two-thirds the pay of a startinghighway patrol officer.

At least 40 wardens are expectedto leave this year because ofretirements and low pay, said BobOrange, vice president of the California Fish andGame Wardens’ Association. The state already has64 warden vacancies that are difficult to fillbecause of the pay inequity, he said.

“We’re losing the battle big time, quite frankly,”said Eric Mills, coordinator of Action for Animals,a Bay Area animal-rights group. “Morale is waydown (among wardens) and there’s majorpoaching going on all over the state right now,

Published 12:01 am PDT Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Game warden AlanWeingarten holds up a frozendeer stored as evidence.Sacramento Bee/Bryan Patrick

Chief of Patrol Nancy Foley.

Warden Alan Weingarten

59

everything from deer to crab, surf perch, all kindsof stuff. It’s a nightmare.”

A few areas, including the imperiled Klamath River,have no wardens on duty. Many others have bare-bones coverage, notably the Bay Area.

Only one-third of calls from the public on thewardens’ enforcement hotline, (888) 334-2258,get a response.

“It is a critical timefor game wardens,”said Foley. “Therereaches a levelwhere we can nolonger be effectivein the fieldanymore. I’m afraidthat if somethingdoesn’t happen toallow us to recruitand retain ourofficers, theenvironment willsee some seriousimpacts.”

California has onewarden per185,000 residents,one of the lowestratios for a stateits size.

Texas has 491 wardens, or one per 46,500residents. Florida has 722, or one per 24,600residents.

Budget troubles partly explain California’sproblem.

Before a hiring freeze from 2001 to 2004,California had 450 warden positions, some ofwhich were supervisors, said departmentspokesman Steve Martarano. As vacanciesoccurred, those positions not only didn’t getfilled, they also were eliminated.

Fish and Game now has 352 sworn officerpositions, of which 288 are filled, Martarano said.Of those, 192 are field wardens who do thelegwork to protect California’s wildlife.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday thatCalifornia doesn’t need more wardens.

James Banks, left, a forensic specialist with the stateDepartment of Fish and Game, examines a bear rug fromOakland that was seized as evidence. As agency spokesmanPatrick Foy watches, Banks notes that the bear was under 50pounds, too small to be legally hunted.

Sacramento Bee/Bryan Patrick

“I think we have a lot of them,” he said during anonline forum in which the public asked questionsvia e-mail. The warden question came from awoman in Selma.

“I think we have enough, but I think that as wehave more money available we can have more,” hesaid.

The governor’sstaff said laterthat he meant thetotal of 352 swornpositions isenough, and thathe wants to fillvacancies.

That may bedifficult, despite a$7.5 billion budgetsurplus this year.Wardens hoped for$17.5 million in thenew budget forhigher pay, andhiring andretention bonuses.

But in a June 10budget hearing,the Legislaturejoined theGovernor’s Office

in approving $15 million to be shared with statefirefighters, park rangers, CHP dispatchers andothers.

“We believe this will allowFish and Game to attractqualified candidates and fillvacancies,” said H.D. Palmer,deputy director of the stateFinance Department, whichrepresented the governor inbudget talks. “What we’vedone is to deal with anidentified issue in the shortterm.”

Labor negotiations are the proper forum for long-term solutions, he said. The wardens’ laborcontract comes up for renewal in mid-2007.

A warden carries full police powers, and many haveleft the force for better pay at other law

60

enforcement agencies. Replacing them is difficult,because few recruits sign up for the state’swarden academy. In April, 10 warden cadetsgraduated.

An average warden patrols 600 square miles andrarely has backup or evencontact with a dispatcher.Wardens also enforce waterquality and invasive specieslaws.

“I will always miss being agame warden. It was thebest job I ever had,” saidScott Spain, 36. “But I’vegot to think first about myfamily — putting food onthe table and shoes on mykids.”

Spain wanted to be a gamewarden so badly that he firstworked as a Vacaville cop foreight years to afford a house.He became a warden in 2004,taking a pay cut from $100,000 a year to$52,000.

He could make it work only two years, andrecently became a Napa County sheriff’s deputy.

“I did it as long as I could, and the salary didn’tpan out,” he said.

Josh Nicholas began his wardencareer in pricey Marin County in1998. His home was a 32-foot traveltrailer in Novato. Renting a place topark the trailer consumed half hissalary.

“I could go to the state ofWashington and be a gamewarden, and I could actuallymake more money and lowermy cost of livingconsiderably,” said Nicholas,29. “I’ve looked at this. It’sreally attractive.”

He transferred to Tuolumne County in 2000, butwonders how he will put his two children throughcollege. After topping out on the warden pay

scale, he now earns the same as a starting CHPofficer: $55,000 a year.

The San Francisco Bay Area has been hit hard bythe warden shortage. It is a global shipping port, amajor entry point for invasive species, a hub for

commercial and sport fishing.

But the Bay Area, with 6.7million people, has two gamewardens on duty at any giventime.

The Klamath River has none. Thechinook salmon populationthere has plunged to dangerouslows, prompting cutbacks incommercial fishing. Revivingthat fishery depends, in part, onstopping poachers.

Charles Bucaria of the NorthernCalifornia Council of Fly Fishersis trying to protect theadjacent Smith River. Its healthysalmon runs are threatened bypoachers who catch migrating

fish in nets, or snag them with hooks in shallowwater.

“All the laws in the world don’t do any good if youdon’t have enforcement,” Bucaria said.

Sierra County went without a state game wardenfor a year after the previous wardendied of cancer. The county has 20unsolved bear poaching cases overthe past two years.

“The word on the street amongpoachers is that there are no gamewardens: ‘You’re not going to getcaught, so you might as well just killeverything you can get your handson,’” said Jerry Karnow, a NevadaCounty game warden.

“We have to fix the money issue. It isall about the money, period,” Karnowsaid.

About the writer:· The Bee’s Matt Weiser can be reached at (916)321-1264 or ·mweiser@sacbee.com.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/v-print/story/14269991p-15080924c.html

Warden Josh Nicholas.

Warden Scott Spain recently left Fish andGame to work for Napa County SheriffsDepartment.

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Behind the Game Warden Shortage

Nicole Kozicki is leadingdeputy district attorneyLon Wixson through thewoods where the victimdisappeared. She’swearing heavy blackboots, her hair is tied

back in a ponytail, and she has a Glock pistol strapped toher belt. She finally stops at a 15-by-35-foot pit filled withloose dirt. Judging from theforensic evidence — the colorof the soil, the trees halfwaysubmerged in silt, the amountof vegetative regrowth — she’scertain the victim was buriedhere.

The grisly crime scene is worsethan Wixson had imagined. “I’mglad I came out,” he saysthoughtfully, mentallycalculating the criminalcharges he will file. Luckily,Kozicki thinks that this victim,although buried for severalmonths, could still beresuscitated with the aid of abackhoe, some grass seed, adecent soil engineer, and a couple of permits.

Kozicki is a warden with the Department of Fish and Game.The victim is a creek that mysteriously disappeared lastsummer. What used to be a tributary of Moraga’s LasTrampas Creek is now a trickle of muddy water making itsway downhill through a giant pile of loose dirt. Kozickibelieves the offender was an uphill landowner who dumpedsoil into the creek so that he could drive a drill rig across it.The fill had clearly come from the path he’d cut into thehillside. He hadn’t gotten any permits, and hadn’t built aretaining wall to prevent rainwater from washing the looseearth into the creek.

Behind the Game Warden ShortageBecause of chronic understaffing due to poor pay,

warden Nicole Kozicki covers half of Contra Costa County

by herself.By Kara Platoni

Last October, Kozicki ordered the landowner to removethe fill and stabilize the sloping riverbank by plantinggrass seed and installing matting before the winter rainscame. But he hadn’t — at least, not very well. During lastwinter’s epic downpours, the creek had burst through themanmade blockage taking everything with it — the silty fillsoil, chunks of wood, the matting that was supposed tobe holding up the riverbank — blocking culverts andflooding over them, and eventually burying the downhill

neighbor’s barnful of antiquecars in mud up to mid-axle.The course of the creek hadchanged, and the hillside isnow riddled with six-inchcracks where the soil ispreparing to flake away anddrop fifteen feet into thewater.

Summer — constructionseason — is Kozicki’s busiesttime of year. While gamewardens elsewhere focus onhunting or poaching, in theEast Bay wardens mostlyprotect the environment fromunscrupulous developers andother polluters. In this case,

the muddy fill could kill off waterlife by making breathingdifficult, or suffocating eggs laid underwater. The loss ofwaterlife could also affect other creek-dependent animalssuch as the red-legged frog, a threatened species. Kozickiwas showing Wixson the site so he could file charges ofwater pollution and modifying a creek without a permit.

And the more developers build out into former wildlands,the harder the wildlands push back. By noon, Kozicki willhave worked another missing creek case and conducted asearch for an aggressive deer, most likely a doe defendingher offspring, that had attacked a pet dog so ruthlesslythat its frightened owner now refuses to walk to themailbox without a frying pan in hand. Summer also means

She’s got a lot to do.

Boat patrol alone, in the many miles of the backwatersof the delta.

62

an uptick in such homeowner run-ins with wild animals —mountain lions and coyotes that threaten pets and people,wild pigs and raccoons that root up yards, wild turkeysthat destroy roofs and automobile paint jobs.

And that’s only the beginning of Kozicki’s day, because dueto her department’s chronic and profound understaffing,she covers half the county by herself. Of the four gamewarden positions in Contra Costa County, two have beenvacant for years. Ditto Alameda County. San Francisco hasa vacancy, and another position was simply eliminatedbecause the agency despaired of ever filling it. Threepositions are open in the South Bay. Statewide, only 192 of352 positions are filled, and that’s excluding fifty jobs thatwere recently deleted from the budget. Why can’t theagency stay fully staffed? It’s simple: The pay stinks.

The Department of Fish and Game was the state’s first lawenforcement agency, and until the early 1980s, it paidsalaries commensurate with other state agencies, such asthe California Highway Patrol. After all, their officerscomplete the same Peace Officer Standards and Trainingacademy courses, carry similar weapons, and face similarphysical danger. (In fact, game wardens are three timesmore likely than CHP officers to be killed by gunfire, largelybecause they routinely deal with armed poachers.) ButCHP rookies start at nearly $54,000, while new wardensmake only $37,000 a year, not a princely sum in the BayArea, which bearsthe brunt of theunderstaffingbecause newwardens can’tafford to live here.Game wardensdon’t get paidovertime, whichat other agenciescan considerablyplump up anofficer’s salary.Veterans such asKozicki, who’sbeen on the forcefor seventeen years, top out around a more respectable$60,000, but with such low starting salaries thedepartment has trouble getting anyone to stay that long,or even to apply. In decades past, thousands of candidatestested for the job every year — this year, only 178 did,which will probably result in only ten hires. That won’t evenreplace the twenty veterans who are expected to retirethis year.

Even when the agency recruits new hires, they’re oftenlured away by higher-paying law enforcementorganizations which value wardens for their education.(Unlike some other peace officers, game wardens musthave at least two years of college.) After four years on thejob, Kozicki, for example, nearly defected to the East BayRegional Park District, which offered a pay increase of

about $1,000 a month, butdecided to stay because she’dalready accrued some seniorityand enjoyed the more flexiblehours. Nevertheless, manyothers jump ship. “In the last sixyears we have lost one third ofthe total number of gamewardens in this state,” says JerryKarnow, the legislative liaison forthe California Fish & GameWardens Association. This haseroded staffing to 1950s levels,although the state’s populationhas more than tripled since then.More people mean morepoaching, more pollution, more development encroachingon wild habitat, and therefore more calls for service. Yetdue to understaffing, the association estimates that onein every three calls to wardens goes unanswered.

So Kozicki keeps blowing off the poor guy out in Byronwho’s been calling to report people who are catching over-limit and undersized striped bass. Each time he’s phoned,she was on the other side of the county, more than an houraway, and couldn’t get there in time to bust anyone. “I’msure he’s frustrated that he keeps calling and there is noone to respond,” she sighs. “It’s not that we don’t want to;

we’re just not always in a position to do that.”And while a filled-in creekbed can wait for afew days, other environmental crimes — forexample, dumping chemicals into publicwaterways — have to be caught in the act.“Because it’s a crime, you have to getevidence,” Kozicki says. “In those cases, thepollutant is gone by the time you get there.”The price of all of these small, uncaughtinfractions shows up in places like your drinkingwater. “This has a direct negative effect onyour natural resources,” Karnow says.

Help may be on the way. The Californialegislature and the governor’s office recentlyagreed to a $30 million funding boost in the

next fiscal year. However, that sum isn’t earmarked solelyfor the Department of Fish and Game — it’ll have to splitthe pot with the departments of Justice, Park andRecreation, and Forestry and Fire Protection. Whether thegame wardens’ share will be enough to bring them payparity with comparable law enforcement agencies andhelp fill in those job vacancies is yet to be seen.

Until then, if you have an enviromental crime to report inthe Bay Area, well, just keep calling back.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2006-06-28/news/cityside2_print.html

From eastbayexpress.com Originally published by East Bay Express 2006-06-28©2005 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved.

Everyone has a gun!

Nicole Kozicki

63

Ride along with game wardenan eye-opener

Game wardens are among the least-appreciated links in wildlifeconservation. To fully understand their job, go for a ride along

By James A. Swan, Ph.D.Author of “In Defense of Hunting”

I recently wrote a column about the plight of Californiagame wardens — underfunded, undersupported andunderappreciated.

My article was prompted by a reportsuggesting the 200 California gamewardens are paid about half of what theirCalifornia Highway Patrol counterparts arepaid, despite having a much largerjurisdiction to police and little or nobackup.

After the article came out, I was invited toSacramento to meet with some of the so-called ThinGreen Line.

While we were sipping coffee, their lobbyist came in toreport there were proposals in both the Assembly andthe Senate to raise funding for game wardens. Crossyour fingers.

After a celebration, I was invited to spend the afternoonriding along on patrol with warden Lt. John Laughlin.

After filling out the paperwork, I hopped in the cruiserwith Laughlin, who was working a patrol along theSacramento River in and near the state capitol, where,incidentally, the shad are running like gang-busters,stripers are passing through in waves, sturgeon arealways possible and the first chinook salmon of theseason are beginning to appear — all within view of thebusiness district.

We began the patrol in Miller Park, on the west side oftown. Sitting in the patrol car, we marked peoplefishing along the bank. Then Laughlin set off on foot tocheck licenses and catches.

The river level was downsome, so when we walkedup to the first fishermanwhat we initially hadthought was one manturned out to be sevenHmong men fishing for shad.

I hung back a little asLaughlin walked up the firstman, who I noted had a filletknife laying on top of histackle box. No doubt they allwere carrying knives and wewere outnumbered seven totwo.

This situation is par for the course with game wardens.Everyone is presumably armed.

As Laughlin began to check licenses, one of the menquickly reeled in and set off for his car at a brisk pace.Suspecting the man had something to hide, Laughlinfollowed and caught up with him before he could driveaway.

The man had a fishing license hanging on a stringaround his neck, which is the law in California, but itwas for 2005. He insisted that his 2006 license was athome.

Laughlin listened patiently and said that the law said hewas supposed to have a current license with him.

I got my first taste of police paperwork, as I assistedLaughlin in writing up the ticket and calling in theman’s name and driver’s license to see if he had anyoutstanding warrants.

Lt. John Laughlin.

64

The guy had a clean record. Laughlin told him how torespond to the ticket, and we returned to checking fishand licenses.

Remember, if a warden does stop you, he does not needprobable cause or a search warrant to conduct a searchof your property — unlike other police.

Also, if you are carrying a gun when the wardenapproaches you, don’t start unloading it. Ask him whathe would like you todo with the gun.

Next we checkedfour Russiansfishing for stripers.Lt. Laughlin is 6-foot-2, playsfootball in a policeleague and is aweight lifter. Threeof these guys werebigger than himand, again, all werecarrying knives.

You try hard not tostereotype people,but when we metthe Hmong, I admitthat the memory ofthe Hmong man inWisconsin who was convicted of killing six people in adeer hunting dispute came to mind. And with theRussians, it’s common knowledge the Russian mafia isvery involved in poaching sturgeon for caviar.

Indeed, for your own safety, you must be on thedefensive when you think like a game warden.

But all these guys were very nice. Laughlin gave a youngboy with the group a Deputy Game Warden sticker towear.

We continued along the bank in the park, checkinglicenses, catch numbers and lengths of fish. People werefriendly. No other tickets were issued.

We could see people fishing and hanging out along thebank on the opposite side of the river. One groupappeared to be littering beer cans and cardboard cases.We headed for a bridge to cross over.

The litterbugs must have seen us coming. They weregone by the time we got in position.

We did engage a couple that were taking some R&R andfishing for stripers. The woman had picked up a big bagof trash. We thanked her profusely for doing this.

Unfortunately the Caught Doing Good program, whichwas aimed at issuing positive citations and a chance at

valuable prizes to people found performing exemplaryconservation work, has been scrapped in budget cuts.Surely this woman would have received such an award.

The riverbank along the west side of the SacramentoRiver near Raley Field is a disgusting mess. Laughlinchecked a couple of more fishermen, then we cameupon a car with expired plates in a brushy area. He calledin the car’s plates. It was stolen. We picked up on

footprints that ledto a cane thicketwhere drug dealersare known tofrequent.

Laughlin told methat if I wanted tofollow him, I shouldstay back a fewpaces; if anythingdangerous was totranspire, I shouldrun to the car toradio for backup.

With gun drawn,he approached anobvious squattercamp, completewith fire pit and atarp shelter. No onewas there. There

was evidence of a lot of nasty stuff going on, however,and the warden radioed in his findings to the sheriff.

As I told Laughlin afterward, I’ve worked with other lawenforcement officers who would have waited forbackup before making a move on a place like that. Hisresponse was that the closest warden for backup was atleast 30 minutes from responding. It’s what heexperiences daily, he explained.

We stopped at a convenience store to pick up somebottled water. Without any prompting, the clerk askedLaughlin how much game wardens make. “About$2,700 a month,” Laughlin replied. The clerk broke outlaughing and said that his brother, who was a prisonguard, earned more — which happens to be true.

After a few more fishing licenses were checked, westumbled on to a seemingly depressed homeless manwho was living out of his car along the river. Laughlintalked with him for some time to see if the guy wassuicidal.

The transient was down to his last few bucks, butcoping. Laughlin reported him to the local dispatcher tocheck him out later, and we drove off.

This was a fairly quiet day.

Warden meet before the takedown.

65

But Laughlin showed me a place along a deserted stretchof river where many people gather at night to fish, drinkand sell drugs. He said that almost every time he checkedthat area at night he made at least one arrest.

Realize here, folks, that a game warden covers wildlife law,plus regular criminal issues. Their beat takes them to out-of-the-way places, which is where criminals often hide todo business. This is a tough, risky job.

On the way back to the office, Laughlin told me aboutsome of his recent more exciting days: Russian caviarpoachers snagging sturgeon; a group smuggling abalonesout of California to sell to the Mexican mafia; some guysusing ATVs to chase down sturgeon stranded in shallowwater after a flood and shooting them with shotguns; ameth-lab bust in a wildlife area; and some very suspiciousguys in camouflage training with military weapons in aremote area.

You’ve got to respect the Thin Green Line for putting their

Lt. Laughlin shows off his shooting skills.

necks on the line. Game wardens deserve a lot moresupport in the form of personnel, resources and funding.

I’d encourage you to get to know your local game warden.Better still, do a ride along with them, if possible. You willnever forget it.

Forever after, when you’re out hunting or fishing andsomeone says, “Here comes the warden,” you’llunderstand what kind of difficult job these guys and galsdo to protect our wildlife resources, as well as keep thepeace.

They need all the help they can get.

James Swan — who has appeared in more than a dozen featurefilms, including “Murder in the First” and “Star Trek: FirstContact,” as well as the television series “Nash Bridges,”“Midnight Caller” and “Modern Marvels” — is the author of thebook “In Defense of Hunting.” Click to purchase a copy. To learnmore about Swan, visit his Web site.

66Fish and Game Wardens’

67an endangered species

“The ultimatetest of man’sconscience maybe his willingnessto sacrificesomething todayfor futuregenerationswhose words ofthanks will not beheard.”

— Gaylord Nelsonformer governor of Wisconsin, co-founder of Earth Day

68

In the biggest single-day bust of suspected poachers instate history, California wildlife officers on Thursdayarrested 17 people in three cases threatening nativesturgeon and abalonepopulations.

With 85 state game wardensinvolved, the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Gamecalled the roundupunprecedented. Arrests weremade in at least eight Californiacities. One arrest occurred inOregon, and three more inCalifornia are pending.

The sturgeon poaching ring,unconnected to the abalonecases, was centered on an illegalcaviar-producing operation inSacramento.

It involved six Bay Area menwho allegedly caught the fishillegally in the SacramentoRiver, authorities said. Fourothers in the Sacramento areaprocessed the fish roe, or eggs,into caviar.

Arrests in that case includeAlexandr Krasnodemsky, 25, ofOrangevale, whom authoritiescalled the ringleader, and his brother Oleg, 27, of CitrusHeights.

A third man, Kaofey Saechao, 26, was arrested at hishome on 47th Street in Sacramento.

All have links to prior Sacramento sturgeon poachingcases.

A third Krasnodemsky brother, Nikolay, 35, was arrestedlast year for allegedly processing and selling at least 120pounds of poached caviar.

Saechao and 19 others werearrested in 2003 for poachingsturgeon, and authorities saidhe is still on probation for hisrole in that case.

Fish and Game Lt. Kathy Pontingsaid the group arrestedThursday had a sophisticatedoperation.

“I think it’s a really developedcore group,” Ponting said.

“We’re staring to see a dramaticincrease in the poaching of ourwhite sturgeon. The demand ishigh.”

California white sturgeon canlive for up to 100 years or moreand reach more than 500pounds and 10 feet long.

Like salmon, they spend most oftheir lives in the ocean, thenmigrate up freshwater rivers tospawn.

Ponting estimated the poaching ring may have taken100 of these fish illegally.

Caviar made from sturgeon roe can fetch up to $165 perpound on the black market and much more inrestaurants. With an average of 8 pounds of roe per fish,that amounts to caviar worth at least $132,000.

At one point in the case, said Ponting, investigatorstracked a single 42-pound delivery of roe.

Poaching probe nets a big haulAuthorities arrest 17 people on suspicion of illegally

taking sturgeon and abalone.By Matt Weiser — Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:01 am PDT Friday, June 30, 2006Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1

On display, a variety of products sold by blackmarket poachers.

69

Six of Thursday’s arrests were of Bay Area men whocaught sturgeon illegally, Ponting said, using bannedfishing gear or exceeding catch limits.

These suspects, all Oakland residents, are AyfouSaephan, 21; San Saefong, 28; Kaochoy Saefong, 43; JerrySaechao, 20; Nhut Thi Truong Dang, 43; and Nai ChoySaefong, 34.

These men allegedly sold the fish or their roe toSacramento distributors, even though selling thesturgeon is illegal.

The Krasnodemsky brothers are alleged to be theprocessors who turned the roe into caviar for sale.

Sturgeon poaching became a concern in California afterthe collapse of the belugasturgeon population in theCaspian Sea.

Prized for its caviar, thebeluga was nearly wiped outby poachers after theunraveling of the SovietUnion.

Eastern European nationshave since clamped down onthat illegal trade in hopes ofsaving the beluga.

Those restrictions, however,put at risk other species,including the California whitesturgeon.

The state Department of Fishand Game this year estimatedthe spring run of CentralValley white sturgeon couldnumber only 2,000spawning-age females.

As a result, the state Fish andGame Commission imposednew restrictions on this year’ssturgeon fishing season.

And for the first time, it allowed only catch-and-releasefishing for green sturgeon, which was listed asthreatened this year under the federal EndangeredSpecies Act.

“We’re hoping to stall that decline among the sturgeonfishery with the arrest of these individuals today,” saidFish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy.

Thursday was the third major sturgeon poaching bust inthe Sacramento area in four years. Wardens arrested sixsuspects last year, and 22 in two operations in 2003.

Most of those suspects pleaded guilty and receivedprobation and fines ranging from $3,000 to $5,000.

Some of Thursday’s arrests include felony conspiracycharges, which may bring stiffer penalties.

The unrelated abalone cases involve 10 additionalsuspects.

In both of those cases, authorities say, divers illegallyharvested abalone from the Mendocino and Sonomacounty coasts, then sold them to black-market brokersor directly to restaurants in San Francisco andBurlingame.

Arrests in the abalone cases include Lance Robles, 43, ofFort Bragg; Leroy Robles, 41, of Fort Bragg; Marty

Holloway, 44, of BeaverMarsh, Ore.; Bao Zhang, 53, ofSan Francisco; Bing Wei, 36,of Concord; Kalen Tanaka, 42,of Hayward; ChadrickCrowell, 23, of Hayward; andJeff Chow, 35, of Alameda.

Wardens also served sevensearch warrants in the threecases, and gathered evidenceincluding sturgeon roe andmeat, abalone, shark fins andcaviar processing equipment.

Foy said the unrelated caseswere combined into a singlearrest operation to simplifyplanning.

The Department of Fish andGame has only 192 fieldwardens to cover the entirestate, and Thursday’soperation involved nearly halfof those officers.

The department has 64vacant warden positions thatare difficult to fill because the

starting pay is only $37,000 per year — far below mostother law-enforcement agencies.

As a result, many areas of the state were left withoutwarden protection during Thursday’s arrests.

“It has literally taken most of our resources to put theseinvestigations together,” said Nancy Foley, thedepartment’s chief of enforcement.

About the writer:

The Bee’s Matt Weiser can be reached at (916) 321-1264or mweiser@sacbee.com.

One of 17 people arrested in a recent sturgeon/abalone bust.

70

Market hunting is long gone, thanks toTeddy Roosevelt, right?

Wrong.

That was the old market hunting, in which people openlyshot wild game for food, hides, horns, feathers and, in thecase of buffalo, maybe justtongues.

The original Lacey Act of 1900,subsequent amendments andthe establishment of statewildlife agencies stopped openmarket hunting more than acentury ago.

The new market hunting —illegal black-market trading infish, wildlife and plants — is alltoo alive, especially inCalifornia, where the state’sbeleaguered game wardensrecently took bold steps tocombat illegal commercialwildlife harvest and sales.

On June 28, a swarm of greentrucks descended on the firestation in Cordelia, Calif., as85 sworn law enforcementofficers — state gamewardens, prosecutingattorneys from four countiesand federal special agents —and 12 support staff, cametogether for a briefing on threecases involving illegal take,possession, distribution andsales of sturgeon and abalone.

Nancy Foley, the Department of Fish and Game Chief ofEnforcement, greeted the group, which included somemedia, yours truly among the reporters.

She reminded us that 10 years ago it was estimatedillegal wildlife trafficking in California was worth $100

Taking on the new market huntersBy James A. Swan, Ph.D.

Author of “In Defense of Hunting”

Thursday, August 3, 2006Updated: August 4, 11:10 AM ET

million a year. She sighed, then said, “And it’s gettingworse, exponentially,” in large part because the stateDepartment of Fish and Game is hit hard by budget cuts.

Species like sturgeon and abalone are especiallyvulnerable; they are slow to reproduce, which results intheir numbers being decimated more easily. And they

are both worth a lot of money.

For example, earlier this yearthe DFG recommended thatthe state enact emergencyregulations after a survey lastfall showed legal-sizesturgeon were at a 50-yearlow of about 10,000 in theSacramento River and thosenumbers might not increasefor the next 10 years.

The regulations, approved bythe state Fish and GameCommission last March,retained a one-fish daily bagand possession limit butreduced the maximum sizelimit that may be taken orpossessed from 72 inchestotal length to 56 inches.

It is illegal in California to sellsturgeon or sturgeon parts.Sturgeon often is poached forthe eggs, or roe, andprocessed into caviar.

“Caviar can fetch up to $165per pound on the blackmarket,” Foley said.

In high-end restaurants, this same sturgeon caviar canretail for more than $100 an ounce, she added. Add inthe value of the meat, and a poacher can get $2,000 fora big female with roe.

The Sonoma-Mendocino coast has one of the last viablepopulations of red abalone in the world, but continued

Off to jail – one suspect of many.

71

poaching has put great pressure on these dinner-plate-sizemollusks.

The abalone sport season is open only north of SanFrancisco Bay, from April 1 through June 30 and Aug. 1 toNov. 30. The legal bag limit has been reduced to three perday and 24 per season for abalone 7 inches and longer.

Wild abalone cannot be soldcommercially in California, yet theycan fetch between $60 and $100 eachon the black market, depending onthe size.

As an illustration of what happenswhen wardens are scarce, DFGoperated two vehicle checkpoints onHighway 128 in Mendocino Countyand Highway 1 in Sonoma Countyearlier this summer, inspecting a totalof 552 vehicles. Wardens issued atotal of 107 citations, andconfiscated 144 illegal abalone.

Chief Foley then introduced membersof the undercover S.O.U. (SpecialOperations Unit) task force whobriefed us on the three cases —Operations Dos Robles,Mahalo, and Delta Beluga III —and showed surveillance videoand still shots of the 20 peoplewith arrest warrants, sevenplaces targeted for searchwarrants and another dozen“people of interest” to beinterviewed.

It was noted that since thesecases involved groups ofpeople interacting to commit acrime, these were conspiracyfelonies, which could counttoward California’s “threestrikes” program. This meantharsher penalties for offenders,but also raised the stakes ofpeople resisting and eludingarrest.

After the briefing, the groupbroke into 29 teams of wardensthat would be deployed toSacramento, Oakland, SanFrancisco, Hayward, Fort Braggand Mission Viejo. We also weretold about another suspectwho would be arrested in Oregon.

It’s important to note here that because wardens arespread so thin — 200 in the field for the state —

coordinated efforts like this take time, planning and a lotof cooperation, as wardens normally work alone.

And the operations have to be done in secrecy both tocatch the criminals and to not alert people in the wardens’regular districts that no one will be around on such andsuch a day.

For each targeted suspect, the teamreceived a lengthy folder thatcontained photos, videotape, floppydiscs, maps, warrants and staginginstructions. Four hours later, theteams headed out to do surveillanceof the locations they would targetthe next morning.

After a very short night at a motel inOakland, the team I was assigned tomet at its staging area — a reservoirfor the Oakland Municipal WaterDistrict — which just happened to beabout six blocks from the homes oftwo suspects for which we hadwarrants.

The reservoir provided a convenientcover. Several early-morning dog

walkers passed by and askedwhy game wardens were here.Lt. Jerry Karnow, my ride-alongwarden, replied that we werehere to check on fish in thereservoir. Great ruse. Karnowcould be a good actor.

At precisely 7, the “time ofaction” call came over the radiofrom the central commandpost and our three green pick-ups sped off.

All 29 teams began actionsimultaneously to preventpeople making calls to warnothers of the takedown, asmost of these scofflaws kneweach other and one has toassume most everyone has acell phone.

Our two suspects lived rightnext door to each other insouth Oakland, which wasconvenient, as well as risky. Astwo wardens began knockingof the door of each house, I

could see shades going up in the houses upstairs, as well asin surrounding neighborhood homes. You hope for the bestand keep alert for anything else at times like this.

Finning of sharks. Shark fins fetch a priceworth a black market trade. Often, onlythe fins are used while the rest of the sharkcarcass rots at the bottom of the ocean.

Cavier, sold to the highest bidder, taken from thebelly of ancient sturgeon caught in the SacramentoDelta. Orange jars contain roe from salmon.

72

The two suspects surrendered quietly. One of them had aprior felony conviction for assault with a deadly weaponand making terrorist threats, so all of us breathed a sighof relief as they stood quietly to be searched andhandcuffed. But then people started pouring out of thehouses. The daughter of one of the men started yellingand swearing.

Three Oakland Police cruisers arrived for backup. Theofficers told us that just a few blocks away an Oaklandpolice officer hadrecently shot andkilled someone inan arrest, sotensions werealready high in theneighborhood.

After the twomen were on theirway to the jail, wewent after thethird person onthe list, a person-of-interest, to beinterviewed. Helived only about ablock away.Unfortunately, hehad “just left toplay tennis” hissister told thewardens. I noticeda large landingnet tucked in acorner beside thehouse. This guywas laterimplicated by one of the arrestees as a supplier.

En route to the jail, the results came in fromthe Incident Command Center. Teams hadbagged 17 of the 20 with arrestwarrants, and several more offenderswere implicated in interviews withthose arrested. No one was hurt.

Two restaurants in San Francisco —Bob’s Sushi House and the ChinaHouse — were searched with TV newscameras watching. The effect this willhave on their business may be fargreater than the penalties they mayreceive for illegal purchase of abalone.

At a press conference that afternoon Foley said, “Today,we took a step toward knocking down the significantamount of poaching that continues to imperil sturgeonand abalone in California. We will continue to send themessage that DFG has zero tolerance when it comes to

the illegal commercialization of fish and wildlife resources.”

Since conspiracy is involved in these three cases, some ofthose arrested can expect fines upward of $40,000, jailtime, forfeiture of vehicles and equipment and loss of theirsport licenses.

While executing the arrest and search warrants, the DFGseized a variety of evidence, including salmon andsturgeon roe, sturgeon meat, abalone, shark fins, sea

cucumbers andcaviar processingmaterials.

As the operationwound down, Iasked Foley abouther feelings. Shewas very happythe operation hadgone so smoothlyand no one hadbeen hurt. The sadthing, she said,was that this wasreally just the tipof the iceberg.

Not only doesFoley have only200 wardens forthe entire state,but because ofbudget limitationsthere is only oneSpecialOperations Unitfor the entirestate. She said she

could easily use a half-dozen such units, as well asmany more wardens to protect the state’s

natural resources.

The next time you go out fishing forabalone or sturgeon and you getskunked, don’t blame the weather orthe phase of the moon. Know that thechances are that you did not catchanything because the poachers got

there first.

The Thin Green Line of California gamewardens needs more people and better

pay. No wardens, no wildlife; it’s thatsimple.

One final observation is that the state’s secret-witnessprogram, Cal-Tip, was invaluable in the success of thisoperation.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2538729&type=story

A family affair; the teenagers in this family were involved in the sale anddistribution of illegal drugs while the parents were arrested for their involvement ina black market poaching operation.

73

Be worried, be very worried.

Without Game Wardens, there can be nohealthy environment.

Leslie EasterbrookActress● Police Academy Movies

● Murder, She Wrote

74

Medal of Valor Award

It is a privilege to join the governor inrecognizing Fish and Game Warden MatthewShanley for his heroic and selfless act, an acttruly deserving of this high honor.

As peace officers, Fish and Game Wardens facewide-ranging and extreme situations. Theypatrol alone, often in remote areas, whileprotecting California’s diverse landscape andcitizenry; primarily engaging hunters and anglersand school kids on field trips who are learningabout the state’s natural resources, yet preparedat any time to encounter wildlife poachers,operators of mobile methamphetamine labs thatpollute waterways, and marijuana growers thatdestroy habitat. Fish and Game Wardens mustcontinuously hone their skills through daily on-the-job experiences and specialized training toensure that they make it home safely at the endof these patrols and that the public and resourceis well-served.

I am proud to say that California Fish and GameWardens are recognized as the foremostresource law enforcement officers in thecountry, and it is with great pride and respectthat I stand here today on behalf of WardenShanley’s fellow officers and colleagues at theDepartment of Fish and Game to congratulateand thank him for exemplifying the true meaningof public service.

Governor, will you please do the honor ofawarding the Medal of Valor to Warden MatthewShanley?

L. Ryan Broddrick, Director

Two officers with well deserved Medals of Valor.

75

Shown from left to right; Lt.Don Richardson, Chief ofPatrol Nancy Foley, Wdn JimJones, and Assistant ChiefCarmel Babich.

Warden is awarded heroism medalArticle Launched: 4/18/2006 05:31 AM

TheReporter.Com

A Solano-based Fish and Game warden has been awarded thedepartment’s Distinguished Service Medal for heroism exhibited inaiding a California Highway Patrol officer in December 2003. Jim Jones,38, an 11-year department veteran, was patrolling the Green Valley areawhen he joined a vehicle pursuit initiated by a CHP motor officer. Thesuspect, later identified as Vallejo resident Kasimah Darice El-Amin,tried to ram the CHP officer with her car and shots were fired. As thepursuit continued, Jones blocked the suspect’s vehicle with his own andthen fired twice as she barreled toward him and the officer, officialssaid. “Without hesitation, Jones provided assistance to an allied agencyand helped bring a dangerous situation under control,” said thedepartment’s Assistant Chief Carmel Babich in a prepared statement.

http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_3722898Game Warden Jim Jones.

76

As its cost in dollars and lives mounts, the fightagainst methamphetamine now invloves sportsmento a degree no one predicted a handful of yearsago. Across the rural countryside, meth labs haveinvaded the lands where we fish and hunt.

September 2006

One December evening in 2004,Wildlife Officer Amy Snyderheard shots after legal shootinghours in a popular duck-huntingarea in Madison County, Tenn.She put on hip boots and set outinto the marsh. But when shearrived at the blind where shethought the shooting hadoccurred, she found itunoccupied.

Then Officer Snyder noticed achemical odor in the air. Sheshined her light around and in thegrass saw a large glass mason jarfilled with what looked like cornhominy. She kicked over the jar,saw rubber hoses coming out of the top and panicked.

“It was a meth lab, actively cooking,” Snyder recalls.“What I’d done was extremely dangerous. The stuffcould have exploded, not to mention what might havehappened if I’d surprised the cookers at work.”

Snyder had reason to be unnerved. The February beforein Greene County, Ind., Conservation Officer MikeGregg got a report of suspicious activity deep inside theHillenbrand Fish and Wildlife Area. Gregg went in aloneto investigate on a cold winter day and caught theunmistakable acrid tang of anhydrous ammonia, a liquidfertilizer and key component in the manufacture ofmethamphetamine. He got closer and, to his surprise,noticed a man trying to hide beneath the root ball of afallen tree.

“He took off and I chased him through the snow,” Greggsays. “When I caught up to him, he pulled a 9mm pistolon me. I had to shoot him in the leg to subdue him. Hewas typical of the methers we see: paranoid, armed andviolent.”

The prior March, Alabama conservation officer JimmyHutto learned just how paranoid, armed and violentmeth cookers can be. While arresting a man for fishingwithout a license, he found meth and soon was involved in

serving a search warrant on the suspected cooker. But theman’s property was wired to detect intruders. And whenHutto broke down the door to the lab, the cooker waswaiting and shot the conservation officer in the abdomen.Hutto died two weeks later.

A Rural ScourgeThese incidents are not isolated.Law enforcement andconservation officials wecontacted across the countrydescribe a wave ofmethamphetaminemanufacturing activity that hascrashed across the ruralcountryside in the last five years,causing a dramatic change in theway game wardens operate andin the way hunters, anglers andother recreationists shouldconduct themselves afield.

“The landscape is changing,”says Keith Aller, deputy directorof law enforcement for the U.S.Bureau of Land Management.

“Twenty years ago meth was an outlaw biker thing, anurban thing. But in the past five years we’ve seen cookerstake their labs to the forests and rural areas to avoiddetection and to dump the toxic by-products of theirwork. We’ve also seen meth addicts exploiting public landsto pay for their habits. I don’t want to sound alarmist, butpeople need to understand what we’re up against thesedays and what they might encounter when they headoutdoors.”

Meth’s HistoryMethamphetamine was first synthesized in Japan in 1919and was widely prescribed to Allied and Axiscombatants to keep them awake during protractedWorld War II battles. Marketed as Benzedrine in the1950s, it was the drug of choice for people who wantedto lose weight. A decade later, outlaw biker gangs in theUnited States learned the so-called “Birch” or “Nazimethod” of manufacturing the drugs from over-the-counter cold medicines, and created the market forspeed.

Congress made the drug illegal without a prescription in1970, but by the early 1980s new recipes had made metheasier to cook and more potent, offering the user a 6- to24-hour high that also damaged the brain.

Meth Wars in Deer Country

Hazardous materials from drug labs that leech intoour public waterways affecting human drinkingwater and aquatic life.

Meth Wars in Deer Country

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This super-meth took off in Hawaii and Southern Californiafirst, manufactured by Mexican drug cartels. But soon thedrug was being manufactured by mom-and-pop cookers,and within 20 years it spread eastward through the RockyMountains, into the Midwest and onto the East Coast. Anurban phenomenon at first, it turned rural as the rankodors associated with its production caused cookers toset up in less populated areas to avoid detection. Thatpractice has placed some meth labs in the same woodsand waterways as hunters, anglers and otheroutdoorsmen.

Consider that in 2003 the greatest number of reportedmeth lab seizures on Department of Interior landsoccurred on those managed by the Fish & WildlifeService (38 laboratories), followed by the Bureau of LandManagement (31 laboratories), National Park Service (8laboratories) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (6laboratories). That same year, the National ForestService discovered 56 working labs on its land.

Hunters and MethBut those numbers are believed to be only a fraction ofthe activity on federal land, not to mention state andprivate property. And anecdotal evidence of methinvading the outdoors is easy to come by.

In November 2004, for example, deer hunters on stateland near Reelsville, Ind., came upon a duffel bagcontaining an actively cooking meth lab. They wiselybacked away from the potentially explosive situationand notified the local police, who quickly dismantledand removed it.

Twelve months earlier in Ashley County, Ark., deerhunters tipped sheriff’s investigators to the fact thatmethamphetamine manufacturers had taken overremote deer blinds and were using them as labs.Narcotics detectives ended up finding four cookingoperations set up in Ashley County deer blinds. InWright County, Minn., four years before, cookersdecided to use ice- fishing shanties to manufacturemeth on Waverly Lake. Game wardens notified Sheriff’sSergeant Todd Hoffman of the activity. When Hoffmanarrived to investigate, he noticed a solvent smellseeping from one of the shacks.

Some of the more dangerous ingredients found in methlabs include lithium battery acid, charcoal lighter fluidand paint thinner. But the most common component—other than cold and allergy medicines that contain thedrug pseudoephedrine—is anhydrous ammonia. Cookerssometimes steal this fertilizer from storage tanks onrural farms, ranches and supply stores.

Needing more evidence to justify a search, Hoffmansifted through a nearby trash pile. When he picked up athermos, anhydrous ammonia gas erupted from thevessel.

“My face began to burn, and for five or ten seconds Icouldn’t breathe,” Hoffman told the Minneapolis CityPages newspaper. “I thought my face was dissolving.”

Hoffman was lucky not to have been seriously injured:When anhydrous ammonia contacts skin, it formsammonium hydroxide, a highly caustic liquid that burns.Exposure to low levels of some meth ingredients likeanhydrous ammonia can cause flu-like symptoms. Higherlevels of exposure can cause lung and eye damage,chemical burns and even death.

Idaho Fish and Game officer Clint Rand was involved in ameth-related theft in 2000. Rand pulled over to help adisabled vehicle only to be shot at four times by theoccupants, who had recently stolen anhydrous ammoniafrom a fertilizer supply store in Farmington, Wash., atgunpoint.

“Rand was very lucky not to have been hit,” says IdahoFish and Game law enforcement bureau chief JonHeggen. “But they blew out his windshield. It affectedhim and his family greatly. He recently decided to retire.That said, we’re not experiencing the level of activityseen in other parts of the country. We’ve found labs inabandoned mines and dumps in the forest, but it’s notwidespread. However, it only takes one to get yourattention. Meth goes beyond the bad guys trying toharm you. The stuff they leave behind in those dumpscan kill you.”

Toxic Waste DumpsIndeed, as any law enforcement or conservation officerfamiliar with meth will tell you, one of the trulyinsidious aspects of the drug is that the wasteassociated with its manufacture is as dangerous as thedrug, the labs or the users.

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center,every pound of meth creates 5 to 7 pounds of toxicwaste. Of the 32 chemicals required to make meth bythe Nazi method, for example, a third of them are sopoisonous that cleanup workers have to wear biohazardsuits and respirators.

The chemical residues of meth manufacture can includelye, phosphorous, hydrochloric acid and iodine. Dumpsites can include contaminated coffee filters stained redfrom the dye in cold medicines, mason jars or Pyrexbaking dishes, rubber and plastic hosing, plastic bottles,salt, industrial solvent tanks, discarded methanol oralcohol bottles, white gas containers and propane tankswith the brass fittings stained blue or green fromcontact with anhydrous ammonia.

According to congressional testimony, it can take up toeight hours and $5,000 to $20,000 to clean up a methlab. Depending on its size, the manpower and moneyrequired to clean up a meth dump site are less. But whenthe lab or the dump is outdoors, there are hidden costs,

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such as contamination of groundwater and the potentialpoisoning of game, hunting dogs or humans—all thingsthat law enforcement officers who patrol the greatoutdoors are forced to keep in mind these days.

Law Enforcement’s New Burden

“Before 2000, we’d be hard-pressed to find a meth dump.Now it’s not uncommon to find two or three a week,” saysPatrol Captain Dennis Whitehead, who oversees lawenforcement in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest.“Drug crimes have come to the forest in a big way. We’renot just squirrel cops anymore. Sometimes forty percent ofour job is associated with drugs.We’ve had cookers use campsites.We’ve had them drive roads withthe stuff cooking in their cars.We’ve even had a ring of poacherswho were shooting deer andtrading the meat for meth. In thelast five years, being a forestranger has changed one hundredand eighty degrees, and it’s all dueto that drug.”

Indiana conservation officer Greggagrees: “Meth has changed myjob. It’s gotten to the point whereas a conservation officer thesedays you’re better off going into asituation thinking you may bedealing with meth rather than agame violation.”

The state-by-state statisticsback up Gregg’s grim assessment.The Drug EnforcementAdministration reports that in 1999 in Indiana, there were151 methamphetamine incidents where law enforcementofficials, including conservation officers, had to deal withlabs, dump sites or disposal of cooking chemicals orequipment.

The following year the incidents in Indiana more thandoubled to 353. By 2004, the latest year for whichnumbers are available, the state reported 1,074 cases inwhich law enforcement officials had to confront methlabs or dumps in the course of their work.

The situation was even worse in Missouri, where thenumber of meth incidents jumped from 439 in 1999 to2,885 in 2003 before falling slightly (to 2,788) in 2004.In those years nearly 70 percent of the dumps werefound in the Mark Twain National Forest, one of thebest places to hunt in the state.

Sportsmen WarnedIowa had the second-highest number of meth-labincidents in 2004. Like several other states, includingMontana, South Dakota and Tennessee, Iowa has takento informing hunters and other outdoor enthusiastsabout the threat.

The Iowa Division of Natural Resources, for example, nowposts warnings on its Web site and at its offices aroundthe state, alerting hunters to the potential hazards theyface from meth when afield.

“It’s sad to say, but many of our best hunting and fishingareas are conducive to cooking and dumping meth,” saysLowell Joslin, chief of law enforcement for the Iowa DNR.“We’ve found as an agency that one of the best things wecan do is put information out to sportsmen. We want toeducate them about meth so they know for their ownhealth what to do when they encounter a lab or a dump,and also to have them report what they find to the nearest

law enforcement agency.”

Like many rural states these days,Iowa provides its conservationofficers with extensive training indrug enforcement and drug lab/drug dump recognition andmanagement. The state alsoincludes a methamphetamineawareness component in itshunter-safety courses.

“In every hunter-ed course I teach, Italk about meth,” says Iowaconservation officer Kirby Bragg.“It’s just a smart thing to do. For awhile there out in the field I wasrunning across active labs or theremnants of labs two to five timesa week. The most memorableincident occurred opening day ofdeer season in 2003. I spotted aguy in a van parked with his motorrunning on a road adjacent to one

of our more popular hunting areas. I didn’t know if he washunting or what. When I tried to approach him, he tookoff and we ended up in a high-speed pursuit. Turns out hehad an active lab going in the back of the van. Movingmeth labs are essentially moving bombs. We never had todeal with that kind of thing ten years ago.”

Nor did outdoor law enforcement officials have to dealwith the kind of random paranoid violence that BLMranger Steven Martin faced in California in 2003.

“He was driving on a remote section of BLM land andhappened on two guys sitting in a car,” says BLMdeputy director Aller. “When he approached, theyimmediately opened fire and then took off into the hills.These were young kids, eighteen to twenty, with nohistory of violence. But meth was found in the car andwhen they were finally apprehended, they toldinvestigators they felt their best option was to kill theranger when he stopped them. That’s extreme, butthat’s what meth does to people.”

Another incident Aller cites shows how far meth addictsare willing to go to support a habit, and how that can leadto the destruction of property and murder.

California Game Wardens must investigatethese environmental hazards; pollutants fromgrows that impact entire watersheds and deershot and killed for grazing on valuablemarijuana leaves.

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“The BLM administers two hundred and sixty million acresout west, and that land includes all sorts of recreational,archeological and paleontological resources that can beand have been stolen by addicts and sold to buy moremeth,” Aller says. “In early 2005, for example, one of ourspecial agents in Oregon got word that a group of methaddicts were dismantling a BLM bridge and selling it asscrap aluminum. It sounds screwy, but that’s what theywere doing. Anyway, our bridge was disappearing, so theagent began to investigate, and he identified the peoplehe thought were responsible and started doing interviews.It turns out that the suspects believed one of their ownwas cooperating, so they killed him. Because of a bridge.Again, extreme, but that’s what meth does.”

Fighting BackThankfully, there is somegood news on theprevention front: In the pastyear, many of the ruralstates hit hardest by thedrug have passed stronglaws limiting access to over-the-counter cold and allergymedicines that containpseudoephedrine. Many arebased on a law first passed inOklahoma that resulted in an80 percent reduction in methlab seizures in that state sinceApril 2004.

The laws require productscontaining pseudoephedrineto be sold behind the pharmacy counter. They also limitthe purchase of pseudoephedrine products to 250 thirty-milligram pills a month and require buyers to present I.D.and sign for the medicine at the time of sale.

Iowa, one of the hardest-hit states, has gone several stepsfurther, requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrinemedicines. And some Iowa counties have starteddistributing locks that prevent anhydrous ammonia frombeing stolen from retailers.

“It’s helped,” says Iowa conservation officer Kirby Bragg. “Ihaven’t run across as many labs or dumps this year as I didjust two years ago.”

Indiana conservation officer Mike Gregg has seen a similardrop but cautions all outdoor enthusiasts to be careful inthe woods and on lakes.

“It has slowed a little,” Gregg says. “The new laws aregood and so are ideas like locking up anhydrous tanks.But meth cookers are clever. We’ve already seen themshifting from using anhydrous ammonia to using redphosphorous in their labs. We’re also hearing about themexperimenting with cold alcohol as a component. When itcomes right down to it, meth is highly addictive and highlylucrative, and it isn’t going away anytime soon. People

who live or recreate in rural areas need to be aware of itsdangers.”

What To Do If You Encounter a Meth LabOkay, so you come across what looks like a high schoolchemistry experiment that stinks or a pile of trashdumped somewhere in your hunting woods orstreamside of your favorite trout river. What do you do?

First, err on the side of caution. Meth labs and methdumps are dangerous places. If actively cooking, meth labsare highly volatile and can explode. And meth dumps arefilled with toxins. So get back. If you’re hunting with dogs,get your dogs back, too. If you’ve got a binocular, use it to

confirm what you’relooking at.

With an active lab or adump, you’ll see acombination of theseitems: glass jars, rubbertubing, thermometers,aluminum foil, blenders,cheesecloth, coffeefilters, funnels, gas cans,hot plates, paper towels,propane, Pyrex dishes,rubber gloves, strainers,duct tape and clamps.

The chemicals involvedare harder to identifyunless they’re labeled. Butexpect that any lab or

dump might contain the following: acetone; isopropyl orrubbing alcohol; cold pills containing ephedrine orpseudoephedrine; drain cleaner (sulfuric acid); enginestarter (ether); iodine; HEET gasoline additive; lithiumbatteries; matches for red phosphorous; muriatic acid,anhydrous ammonia; Red Devil lye; salt; ortrichloroethane, which ironically is a common gun-cleaningsolvent.

If, based on what you can see from a distance, you believeyou’ve stumbled onto a lab or a dump, back completelyout of the area and contact the closest law enforcementdepartment, including rangers and conservation officers.They’ll get hazardous-materials experts to dismantle andclean up the mess.

“We don’t want hunters or anglers to get hurt, but if theylocate some of the meth activities and report them, it’s abig help to us,” says Lowell Joselin, chief of lawenforcement for the Iowa Division of Natural Resources.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/hunting/article/0,19912,1177136,00.html

Twelve kilos of cocaine seized in a remote area of NorthernCalifornia.

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Sophisticated poaching rings areannihilating striped bass in the Bay-Delta, selling their illegally caughtbounty for large sums of money andleaving the resource in shambles.

Recently, 14 suspects in a Sacramento-based Asianpoaching circuit were arrested, but California Departmentof Fish and Game wardens fear this case represents onlythe tip of a very large iceberg.

”When we spent time and watched what was going on, itwas shocking,” said warden Steven Stiehr, a member of theDelta-Bay Enhanced Enforcement Project, a special forceaimed at reducing the illegal take and sale of gamefish.“Trust me, if we watched other groups, we would havefound other groups of poachers. It’s going on everywhere.”

In fact, when Stiehr’s nine-member squad was told to focuson the Sacramento poaching ring, it was pulled away frominvestigating yet another suspected group of poachersfrom San Jose and Stockton. He said charges soon may befiled against them, too.

But the truth be known, there are too many outlaws andnot enough wardens. Currently, there are 198 Fish andGame field officers, but there are 65 vacancies, accordingto Bob Orange, vice-president of the state wardensassociation.

”Poaching isrampant,” he said. “Ifonly we had themanpower to dealwith it.”

According to Orange,inadequate pay, poormorale and lowretention are majorissues facing Fish andGame and its efforts to recruit and retainwardens. Meanwhile, the declining Bay-Delta striped bass fishery is under siege.

The Sacramento bust culminated a two-month investigation when 60 wardenstook part in a takedown that seized fivefishing boats and arrested suspects at asupermarket, a restaurant and at individual

residences, including husband-and-wife teams. Almostone-third of the wardens in California took part in theoperation.

By Peter Ottesen, Record Outdoors ColumnistDecember 27, 2006

Hooking poachers a mustdespite long odds of success

“Warden explains hidden compartment on boat as seen in drug smuggling cases.”

Warden Bob Orange

The sad outcome of selling fish purchased from black marketpoaching operations.

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”It makes us feel good,”said Orange, who lefthis Plumas County beatto be part of the bigroundup. “We workalone so much, it isgreat to work with agroup of officers to tryand make a dent in thecriminal activity. To takedown thecommercialization ofwildlife is reallyrewarding, though werealize it is just a dent.”

The poaching ring metits downfall because ofa citizen’s phone call toCalTip - (888) DFG CalTip - the statewideconfidential witnesshotline that goesdirectly to wardens. Theanonymous callercomplained about groups of fishermen taking overlimits ofstriped bass in the Rio Vista area. That triggeredundercover wardens to start observing the suspiciousactivity, then move upriver, following the migratory bassand the poachers, as they moved toward Sacramento.

On the day of the takedown, Stiehr wasdirected to contact suspects under thecode name, operation “Speedy Delivery.”

His squad went to the upscale southSacramento residence of Ly Van Nguyen,49, and his wife, Cuc Thi Nguyen, 45, andserved arrest and search warrants.

”The Nguyens seemed shocked when wetook them into custody,” Stiehr said.“However, they knew why we were there.They’d been catching and selling stripedbass for so long and were part of anetwork, with a system for getting rid ofthe fish. They did deliveries andexchanged money. People would drive totheir house and buy fresh fish from them.”

At operation “Farmer’s Market,” Kiem VanNguyen, 50, and his wife, Luyen Thi, 45, were charged withmaking mass sales of fish to the SF Market, a Vietnamese-styled supermarket in Sacramento that sells everythingfrom commercially reared live frogs, turtles and blackbass, as well as illegal fish, such as striped bass. It is illegalto sell any fish that is taken under a sport fishing license.The bust also included additional suspects on unrelateddrug charges.

Other suspects set up temporary shop in a parking lot,complete with fish scales. Striped bass sold for up to$2.50 per pound. On one occasion, 10 fish sold for $300.

Others arrested were Luan Van Dao, 44, and his wife,Mung Thi Bui, 42; Tuan Anh Dao, 22; Thuan Nguyen, 29;

Chichi Peng, 25; Dong Van Doan, 66; andHop V. Doan, 29, all of Sacramento. Alsotaken into custody was Tung Van Nguyen,80, of Elk Grove.

Each suspect faces felony conspiracycharges, as well as counts ofillegal salesof sport-caught fish and overlimits ofstriped bass. They also will forfeit fishinggear and boats, some with custom-madesecret compartments.

Wardens, though severely understaffed,have made other major poaching casesthe past year, including a San FranciscoChinatown abalone ring and a WestSacramento Russian immigrant sturgeoncaviar operation. They fear such illegalactivities will continue unabated, untilmore wardens are put into the field.

”On a day-to-day basis, the average person doesn’t seewhat is going on,” Stiehr said. “But in the long term, whenthey see the effects of these tenacious opportunists, itwill be too late for our natural resources. Striped basspoaching is out of control, and these groups are out doingit.”Contact outdoors columnist Peter Ottesen at pottesen@recordnet.com http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20061227/A_SPORTS03/612270312

Where reality reaches the un-suspecting public. Game Wardens are responsible for inspecting 66,000fish businesses every year and oversee more than 300 million pounds of commercial fish landings.

Live sturgeon from the SacramentoDelta being sold illegally as adelicacy.

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administration on what will actually happen with thefunding which is also available to other Departmentsto tap . “The problem is everyone says they want togive you the funding, including some folks who workfor the Governor, but right now we have no idea whatconcrete actions they intend to take. A lot of us arealready planning on leaving, now that the budget haspassed there isn’t any reason the Governor can’t let us

know if we shouldmove forward ornot”, said Bushey,who is a boardmember of theCalifornia Fish andGame WardensAssociation..

Right now aWarden canlateral to anylocal police orsheriffsdepartment andmake double, ormore, what theyearn now. In factthe hiringrequirements forFish & GameWardens are muchhigher, including

college requirements, than most other peace officerpositions. “That makes us prime recruitment materialto other agencies”, added Bushey

California has fewer than 200 Wardens in the fieldwhile states like Florida have 700 and Texas has 500Wardens. California is second only to Hawaii in thenumber of threatened and endangered species.

“What the Governor and the public need tounderstand is that without Wardens there will be nowildlife. The federal government will shut down otherfisheries if they aren’t protected, that’s what’shappened for salmon. The fisheries and wildlife cannotbe protected by a handful of wardens”, said Bushey,“We have lost 1/3rd of our officers over the past sixyears and it’s only getting worse. 2 out of 3 poachingcalls go without response due to the lack of GameWardens. I’m calling on the Governor to takeemergency action to solve this staffing crisis andprotect the state’s great natural resources.”

The Schwarzenegger administration announced plansfor a $35 million relief package to help Californiafishermen hurt by recent restrictions placed on salmonfishing – in response to dangerously low salmon runs.Yet no word from the Governor on what will be doneto stop the escalating crisis over California Fish &Game Warden shortages. Fish & Game Wardensregulate the fishing and marine wildlife industries, buta staffing crisispersists as thenumber of officershas now plummetedto its 1950’s levels.Wardens claim thatsevere staffingshortages are asignificant factor inaccounting for thelow fish numbers.

“We understand theplight of fishermen,their communitiesand wholeheartedlysupport thegovernor in creatingthe relief package toassist them, but Iwant everyone toknow that havingWardens out in thefield is an undeniable part of any solution. Here we aretalking about a salmon disaster on the Klamath and wedon’t even have a Warden on duty there becausenobody would take the job”. “As a result highlyvulnerable salmon in their spawning grounds are beingwiped out by poachers, critically injuring the sport &commercial salmon fishing industry” said Jake Bushey,3rd generation Warden. “Their is no doubt in our mindsthat a significant cause of these dangerously lownumbers of salmon is poachers, and the lack of GameWardens to arrest them. How can one go aboutjustifying an emergency $35 million relief packagewithout taking immediate steps to solve a clearlyidentifiable problem which helps create the crises inthe first place? This is like giving shots for the painwithout even so much as putting a band-aid on thewound!”.

While money was put into the State’s Budget by thelegislature with the intent of ending the Wardenstaffing crisis; there has been no clear sign from the

NO LINE ON WARDEN FUNDING,$35 MILLION FOR FISHERMEN

Salmon are awesome and worth protecting.

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Two Quincy men were arrested on suspicion ofpoaching, carrying concealed weapons andpossessing drugs early Sunday morning in a“spotlighting” incident that involved a high-speedpursuit that injured a game warden.

Gary Miller, 51, and Jack MacLean, 56, both ofQuincy, were arrested at about 2 a.m. in an isolatedsection of the Plumas National Forest, said PlumasCounty Game Warden Zeke Aubrey of the StateDepartment of Fish and Game.

Just after midnight Sunday, a Fish and Gameairplane crew observed the men “spotlighting” —sweeping the area with a bright light — from an all-terrain vehicle.

The men were in an area known to have trophy deer,bordering the northwest side of the Dixie MountainGame Refuge, said Aubrey, who was first to beginfollowing the ATV.

He was joined by Warden Bill Miller of Downieville,Nevada County Warden Jerry Karnow, Plumas

Game wardens nab two suspectswith guns in ‘trophy deer’ area

By Barbara Barte Osborn - Bee CorrespondentPublished 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, September 13, 2006

County Warden Steve Ulrich and a Plumas Countysheriff’s deputy.

They followed the ATV with their vehicles blackedout. When they turned on lights and sirens, onesuspect darted into the woods carrying abackpack, and the other sped away, Karnow said.

Karnow received a gash in his head when hefollowed the first man offroad and hit a deepswale. He was treated at Eastern Plumas HealthCare in Portola and released.

Miller and MacLean were booked at the PlumasCounty jail in Quincy for investigation ofspotlighting and of possessing concealed, loadedweapons, methamphetamines and marijuana — allmisdemeanors, said Aubrey. They were released onbail.

Miller was also booked on suspicion of evading apeace officer, a felony, Aubrey said.

The men were not in possession of any deer,Aubrey said. Deer season opens Oct. 7 in thatzone, he said.

WardenJerryKarnow,injuredwhilechasingpoachers.

Wardens from three counties form a task force to address therampant poaching in the Sierras.

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“We are environmental cops for thestate,” said Bob Orange, CaliforniaFish and Game warden in PlumasCounty and president of the state’sGame Wardens Association.

In a letter to Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger and the CaliforniaLegislature in March 2006, Orangeexpresses the need for more gamewardens and for an increase in their

pay scale, which falls well below other law enforcementagencies in the state.

“Fish and Game wardens,empowered by the law, protectthe state’s natural resources,”he writes.

Orange, a resident of PlumasCounty whose father was also agame warden, has watched thenumber of Fish and Gamewardens dwindle to threepatrolman who protect thewildlife and natural resources inPlumas and Lassen counties. Inthe late 1970s, the areaboasted a total of eightwardens with five reservewardens.

Orange also emphasizes in hisletter that “as critical a role as we have, wardensthemselves have become a vanishing force, marginalized bypolitical whims … and victimized by economic pressure. Aswarden numbers diminish, so do the wildlife, fisheries, andenvironment in California.”

Sacramento politics

A proponent for an increase in game wardens for the stateof California, Assemblyman Dave Cogdill (R) of the 25thDistrict put it best when he wrote a July 18, 2006 op-edpiece titled “California’s Game Wardens An EndangeredSpecies.”

According to his editorial, “The Department of Fish (and)Game currently has just 192 game wardens out on fieldpatrol.” These 192 game wardens cover the entire state.

Cogdill emphasizes that “the lack of wardens also placesCalifornia’s economy at risk.”

He writes, “Many rural communities depend upon outdoorindustries such as boating, hiking, and camping as thebackbone of their local community.”

In a state with one of the most diverse wildlifepopulations, the increased amount of poaching andpolluting, due to lack of field patrol by game wardens inCalifornia, has taken an economic toll on the state’senvironment and economy, Orange said.

Since there is such aconsiderable lack of fieldpatrol and subsequentlicensing enforcement,licensing money that thestate depends on to protectwildlife and the environmenthas dwindled. The state’swildlife has been at the mercyof poachers, Orange said.

Cogdill points out that in thecourse of their duties Fishand Game wardens “routinelyencounter and shut downdangerous drug operations,such as meth labs, andincreasingly play a part inhomeland securityoperations.”

Schwarzenegger proclaimed himself to be a supporter ofthe environment when he stated at the WorldEnvironment Day Conference on June 1, 2005, “Growing upin Austria, I was surrounded by clean air, crystal clearstreams and lakes, magnificent mountains and much more.

“And I found all this beauty also when I came to California.In fact, I’m like so many people who immigrated here. Icame for the opportunity and stayed for the beauty.

“And today here in California we continue to do everythingit takes to protect our environment and keep that beauty.

“Because our environmental heritage is just as strong andimportant as our legacy of opportunity.”

California game wardens arefew and far between

By Mary Carpenter, Staff Writer

1/17/07

There is no substitute for experience when handling theseocean going patrol vessels.

Bob Orange

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Despite this professed dedication to environmental issues,the governor “vetoed adding 50 additional game wardens.And in this year’s budget for 2006-2007 that was justsubmitted by Schwarzenegger, he has not provided for anyincrease of game warden positions,” said Orange. “As oftoday, we have also lost 11 more wardens to other agenciesand occupations, which actually leaves us with fewer gamewardens to patrol the entire state’s natural resources,wildlife, environmental pollution (some of which is due tooil refinery pollution) poaching and illegal commercialfishing operations as well as undiscovered drugtransportation and distribution operations.

“Consequently, game warden staffing levels remain thesame as the number of wardens in the 1950s — not percapita, but the actual number of wardens across the state.As of now, California’s ratio of game wardens to the state’sgeneral population is most likely the worst in the 50states, a particularly sad state of affairs considering thefact that California contains some of the most diversewildlife and fisheries resources in the nation.

“The governor has vetoed increasing warden positions inthe last six years and we have lost one-third of the gamewardens in the state due to retirement, other agencies andthe fact that we can’t recruit because we can’t competewith other law enforcement pay scales,” emphasizedOrange.

“Because of these factors, our level of service to the publicis pathetic. We do not have the manpower to respond tothe necessary issues in all areas and two out of three callsthat come into our dispatch center do not receive a timelyresponse.”

In 1967, there were six game wardens patrolling Lassen andPlumas counties plus five reserve wardens. Today, there areonly three game wardens in this area, and one of thosethree is on medical leave, which leaves only two gamewardens to patrol both counties. Considering thecontinued growth in these two counties, that leaves alarge gap for poachers to monopolize.

“We went to the legislature asking them to fix theproblem. The legislature asked us to give them an amount,and although we never gave them a specific amount, weasked them to bring us up to parity with other lawenforcement agencies,” said Orange.

The Assembly had proposed a $10 million budgetdesignated specifically for DFG to enhance wardencompensation, recruitment and retention. The Senate“proposed even more for this purpose … $17.5 million,”writes Sheila James Kuehl, chairwoman of the SenateCommittee on Natural Resources and Water.

“While the legislature ultimately agreed to theadministration’s more general compromise languagepertaining to recruitment and retention … it was with theimplicit understanding that the needs of the wardenswould be satisfactorily addressed.”

Kuehl also called for a “report of plans to address moregeneral recruitment and retention issues,” which isrequired as part of the budget process. She also asked

that “one such study focus on the chronicinsufficient funding, understaffing, andinadequate compensation that have decimatedthe ranks of DFG wardens.”

“To date, those studies have not been conducted,”said Orange, “and, in fact, a bipartisan committeelooked at the situation closely and agreed on $30million to fix Fish and Games problems and then deal withother CAUSE (parent employee union) issues. After closed-door negotiations between CAUSE and DPA (Departmentof Personnel Administration), we subsequently receivedonly two million of the total $30 million approved budget.

“We have had outstanding bipartisan support in thelegislature, but at the end of negotiations, thedisbursement of these funds were not the way thelegislature intended,” said Orange. “If we had received $10million, we would not have the retention problem we havenow. As it is, we cannot keep our staffing levels from goinglower.”

Despite many letters sent to Schwarzenegger’s attentionin the past two years by other Department of Fish andGame wardens within the state, as well as from Montanaand Texas, the Plumas County district attorney, DavidCogdill and other California legislators, and lobbyists,DFG is at a stage that is almost fatal to the organizationas well as to the environment, according to an article inthe publication, California Fish and Game Warden Expose.

“I will be going to Sacramento for the next few months towork with the Legislature and the governor’s office tospecifically address this issue of the inadequatedisbursement of funds that were specifically intended todeal with the problems of the DFG,” said Orange.

“Basically, we have launched a grassroots campaign whichhas taught a lot of DFG wardens how the governmentoperates in its budget processes not only for gamewardens, but also for other state employees. It has beenwith the help of sportsmen and our constituents that wehope to reverse this loss of wildlife protection in thestate,” said Orange.

“If DFG wardens are to remain a viable public safety andnatural resource protection agency, it is critical for theLegislature and the administration to ensure that the2006-07 budget agreement is honored as soon aspossible.”

Orange said he never thought he would be involved at thislevel of politics in government. However, after enforcingwildlife laws for the past 28 years, and seeing the rapiddecline of the marine environment, Orange said he knewhe had to do something to stop poaching and reverse thenegative impact on the natural resources in the state ofCalifornia.

mcarpenter@plumasnews.com

Editor’s Note: Next week, Bob Orange, president of theCalifornia Game Wardens Association discusses how wildlife,inland and on the seas, has suffered from a lack of protectionand enforcement.

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The California Highway Patrol on Monday unveiled $6.4million worth of new vehicles and a team of speciallytrained officers to respond to disasters and securitythreats across the state.

Called a “mobile fieldforce,” the team of 200officers will be split intotwo groups to coverNorthern and SouthernCalifornia. Their primarytool will be a fleet of ninespecially equippedChevrolet Tahoe SUVsthat cost $230,000 each.

The entire cargo area ofeach truck is loaded to theceiling withcommunications gear, andeach rooftop bristles withantennae forcommunication bysatellite, radio, television,telephone and globalpositioning systems.

CHP Commissioner KevinGreen said the equipment,purchased with federalHomeland Security anddrug enforcement money,grew out ofcommunications lessonslearned in HurricaneKatrina.

“It’s not ‘if’ there will be another disaster in California,”Green said. “It’s simply a matter of ‘when.’ “

The department also purchased a new Cessna aircraft anda Eurocopter helicopter at a cost of $4 million. These willbe assigned to Southern California to provide expandedpatrol of state infrastructure.

CHP unveils officers, vehicles to respondto disasters, security threats

By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer

Published 7:50 pm PST Monday, January 29, 2007

Finally, the agency is buying two high-speed, tacticalboats, called Special Action Vessels, made by USIA ofOregon. The boats, $289,000 for the pair, will bestationed in the Bay Area to protect bridges and water

supply infrastructure,Green said. They may alsobe used in drugenforcement.

Green said the CHP did notbuy the new vehiclesthrough competitive bids.Instead, it used a U.S.General ServicesAdministration programthat Green said arrangesgood deals withcontractors.

The CHP has never ownedboats or patrolled thewater, and it does not havelegal authority to boardand inspect vessels.

As a result, Bob Orange,president of the CaliforniaFish and Game WardensAssociation, wonderedwhy wardens aren’t gettingadditional funding formarine patrol.

State game wardens, hesaid, have equivalent lawenforcement training, morethan 100 years of marine

patrol experience and a fleet of more than 30 vessels thatpatrol inland waters and up to 200 miles offshore.Boarding and inspecting vessels is a routine part of theirwork.

But many warden vessels are in poor repair andunderstaffed because the state Department of Fish and

California Game Wardens train for multi-agency, homelandsecurity drills. Game Wardens routinely operate all types ofocean-going, marine vessels.

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Game doesn’t have enough moneyfor its program, Orange said. Hewondered why, if the CHP isconcerned about communication, ithasn’t worked closely with Fish andGame.

“As far as maritime security goes,Fish and Game continues to be inthe thick of it, but we’re basicallybeing ignored,” said Orange. “Andwe’re not being included in thisprocess of receiving funding forhomeland security even thoughwe’re part of protecting the state.”

Green said that the CHP wouldsimply seek to stop a suspectvessel and then summon anotheragency to board and search it, suchas the U.S. Coast Guard, Customsor Fish and Game.

“We’ll be working in partnershipwith them,” he said.

Green hopes the new SUVs solvethe communication problems thatarise in a disaster. Using computersand radio interoperability devices aboard each truck, aCHP officer can establish up to seven conversations withas many as 12 communications channels each, whether byphone or radio.

The trucks can also receive aerialvideo photography from aircraft,broadcast that video by phone,satellite or email, or record it totape or DVD.

One of the trucks will beassigned to CHP headquarters,and the others will be assignedto each of the CHP’s eightdivisions.

The 200 officers assigned to themobile field force assume thoseduties on top of their regularpatrol responsibilities.

Green said they trained for thenew task for 18 months. Theirprimary duties will be search andrescue and response to civilunrest.

About the writer:

· The Bee’s Matt Weiser can bereached at (916) 321-1264 ormweiser@sacbee.com.

Game Wardens participate in multi-agency training aboard the patrol vessel Steelhead.

Marine Wardens are a unique blend of law enforcement officer and sea captain. Many years ofexperience taught these officers the lessons of the sea. They are mother nature’s irreplaceableassets protecting the marine environment.

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“A hunter is a person who engages inlawful activity, and a poacher is acriminal who steals your naturalresources,” said California Departmentof Fish and Game Warden Jerry Karnow,legislative liaison for the statewidegame warden association. A little-known aspect of Fish and Gamewarden work is night-flightsurveillance. Last September, Fish andGame Warden-Pilot Bob Morgan and

Warden Bob Orange, were flying Eastern Plumas County.Orange, who is the president of the game wardenassociation, observed spotlights and directed Karnow andWardens Zeke Aubrey and Bill Miller to drive in and makecontact with the suspects.

“When we approached, one ofthe suspects ran, carrying abackpack,” said Karnow.Following the suspect, Karnowdrove off the main dirt road. Itwas dark and he was hamperedby trees and bushes. “I hit a divotin the ground, and when Ibounced up, I hit my head on theroof-mounted spotlight handle. Icontinued on to where I last sawthe suspect disappear into thetrees. At that point, I felt a heavyrush of blood over my right eyeand couldn’t see, although itreally didn’t hurt. I put my lefthand over the wound and couldtell it was a horrific head injurybecause there was a lot of bloodinside the vehicle and covering the lenses on the binocularsthat were hanging around my neck,” said Karnow. Thesuspect was finally located in the woods. In Awbrey’sopinion, “It was a scary moment. He could have killed uswhen he came out of the trees in the dark. He fought withus, was resisting arrest and appeared to be going for thegun that was behind his back that I could see the butt of.We put him in a control hold, handcuffed and disarmedhim. He was also carrying a backpack withmethamphetamine inside.” Karnow’s injuries required 33internal and external stitches “because the skin was split

so wide,” he said.

This is just one example of the risks game wardens assumewhen they approach hunters, who are always carryingloaded weapons, sometimes legal and sometimes not. “Amajority of the times when we have a night flight, we makearrests in PlumasCounty. The factthat we don’teven have enoughpilots to man theplanes means thatwe can’t performnecessary nightflights to locatespotlighters,which is one ofour mostsuccessfuloperations,” saidOrange, a veteran of over 150 night-flight operations.

Another successful operation uses a deer decoy. Accordingto Fish and Game protocol, “to run a robotic deer, ordecoy, operation there has to be at least three wardenspresent, and to have a good safe operation, you shouldhave four,” said Orange. “To get four wardens in one placeis extremely difficult considering the fact that there are sofew wardens in the state. Although, when we ran theseoperations last fall in Shasta County, we made arrests 100percent of the time,” he said. Night-flight operations haveat least a 50 percent success rate; however, “there arealways at least two persons per vehicle that arespotlighting. That means that in each rig is at least twoarrests or more,” said Orange, “which averages out to atleast one arrest or more per night flight.” According to Fishand Game statistics, both methods are effective tools.

Protecting wildlife from poachers is a primary concern forwardens. When wildlife goes unprotected, it is at themercy of poachers, and poaching becomes prominentwhen there is a lack of patrol by wardens. “The EasternTehama deer herd populations in Plumas County havedropped tremendously due in part to a lack of wardenenforcement. In the last 20 years, the deer herd hasdecreased by more than half,” said Orange. “We use thedecoy on traditional hunting roads and after legal hunting

Decline in game wardens putswildlife at risk

By Mary Carpenter, Staff Writer

1/31/07

Warden Jerry Karnow

This 24-year-old Partenavia Observer is theworkhorse of the DFG’s maritime and nightpoacher patrols. However, saltwater corrosion istaking its toll, reducing its structural integrity,and no funding is available for replacement.

Warden Karnow, afterpursuing poachingsuspect who was alsoarrested for weapon anddrug violations.

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hours or in illegal hunting zones. We also put them(decoys) in game refuges, and they are catching hunterswho are predisposed to taking deer inside refuges,” hesaid. “Some of the time they are hunting with the wrongdeer tag and shoot because of the opportunity.”

Bear poaching is also a major problem for game wardensin Plumas County. While there are specific rules thatgovern the taking of bear, they must be monitored.

In August 2006, a Plumas County houndsman reported toFish and Game that he had found the carcasses of twoinfant bear cubs in thewoods of Poplar Valley. Bothcubs were shot in the head.Awbrey investigated andconcluded, “It was someonefamiliar with the area,” hesaid. “It was an old railroadtrail that usually only localswould be familiar with.”

During his investigation,Awbrey interviewed manylocals and sat out near thesite at night “because I feltthat the subject who shotthe cubs would come back,which he did the followingweek.” “He was hunting deerwhen I contacted him in the same location where the cubswere found, and at that time I noticed blood on the backof the pickup truck he was driving. “I asked him somesimple questions and checked his tag, which did notinclude a bear tag number on the license. I then asked himif he shot a female bear, and he answered yes. I asked him ifhe was using a 30-30 Winchester caliber, the same thatwas found at the scene with the cubs, and he said he wasusing that type of rifle.“I asked him, ‘Why didyou shoot a female withtwo cubs?’ And hisanswer was that he wasdefending himself. “Heshowed me where heshot the bear, whichwas about 50 yardsfrom where the cubswere found, and then hetook me to where hegutted the bear. It hadbeen boned out andskinned as if he wouldeat it. “He also claimedthat he did not shoot the cubs, although three shellcasings were missing from his box of ammo, which was abrand-new box. “We have three dead animals, and his shellcasings are the same caliber as those found at the site,”concluded Awbrey. Legitimate bear hunters and otherlocal hunters in the area were “livid,” said Awbrey, “that amother and her cubs were shot.” This particular incident isstill under investigation while officials wait for DNAsamples and forensics to match the mother with the cubs.

This brings up another majorproblem with Fish andGame’s enforcement branch.“Our wildlife forensicslaboratory in Sacramentocurrently has a backlog of atleast six months because oflack of funding and staff,”said Orange. Although manyanimal rights activists wantto make bear hunting illegal,

it is poachers who will continue the activity “becausethere will not be watchdogs monitoring those illegalactivities,” said Karnow. Karnow maintains, “The vastmajority of bear hunters are legal, provide millions ofdollars supporting conservation,and we depend on them to reportbear poaching.” Species that arefully protected by state andfederal laws, such as the baldeagle, are also killed illegally everyyear. Mountain lions, which are alsofully protected, are sometimessubject to depredation permitsthat are occasionally issued whenthe lions take livestock or pets.

Bald eagles, however, are not one ofthese species, and are generallyshot for the value of their clawsand feathers. In one of Karnow’scases, a woman driving the roadalong Bullard’s Bar Reservoir nearthe eagles’ winter roost found abald eagle on the side of the roadthat was shot, although still alive,and contacted Fish and Game.

Karnow captured the eagleand, “The next day I gothim to the veterinarian, who found three pellets inthe bird,” he said. “A significant infection had setin his neck from a pellet and he ended up dying.The eagle was then taken to a forensics lab sothat we could try to locate persons of interestand possible suspects to make comparisons,” saidKarnow. “Resources are our natural heritage,”emphasizes Karnow. “Legal hunters and fishermenspend millions of dollars to protect thatresource.”

Game wardens are conservationists, and like manyother conservationists, they continue to sparwith political and economic stability that may bein contention with human need. “If game wardens

aren’t out there protecting the resources of this state,nobody else will,” said Orange. “Because of the lack ofwardens, many of our environmental regulations have notbeen enforced. “When these regulations are not enforced,there will continue to be a decline in wildlife populations aswell as in the quality of the environment in California,which possesses some of the greatest biodiversity in theworld,” said Bob Orange.mcarpenter@plumasnews.com

Poached baby bear cub.

Warden investigates the illegal poaching ofa baby bear cub.

Our national symbolreceives less protectionthan in other states.Warden staffing inCalifornia, per capita, isamong the very lowestin America.

The Wildlife Forensics Lab has overa six month backlog investigatingsubmitted evidence from Wardens.

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“Game wardens are so few and far between that they mustdrive hundreds of miles to assist each other,” said Fish andGame Warden Bob Orange, “leaving their own areasunprotected against poachers.”

Like many inland game wardens, Orange and Zeke Awbrey,who patrol Plumas and Lassen counties, spend time on theocean to provide backup for wardens assigned to work themarine environment, investigating illegal commercialfishing activities and homeland security issues.

Game wardens in California are dwindling to the point ofdevastation. With them go the state’s diverse wildlife,unprotected and at the mercy of poachers, trophyhunters and black marketers.

Not enough patrol

Low wages and the high cost of living incoastal areas make it difficult for Fish andGame to keep marine wardens.

Lt. Keith Long, skipper of the patrolvessel Marlin in San Francisco, will soonlose his only boarding officer because ofthis.

“It’s a zoo out here,” said Long, “and nowI’m losing one officer because of the costof living in the Bay Area. His family justhad a baby and combined with the costof living are the baby-sitting expensesthat can’t be met.”

Although the issue has been brought tothe attention of Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger, he vetoed 50 newwarden positions that would barely bringFish and Game the numbers it needs to properly handle itsjob responsibilities.

When wardens board a vessel, they almost always do sowith a single boarding officer who must go alone on thefishing boat to check holds and compartments. This putsthem at the risk. At times, they face commercialfishermen, some illegal, who have a wide collection ofweapons at their disposal — handguns, rifles, gaffs, hooks,knives and nets — that can be used against the officers.

If that weren’t dangerous enough, many times wardensmust work and board in rough water. This puts the officers

at the mercy of fishermen who are at timesconfrontational when they are caught breaking the law.

In addition to these hazards, there are constant problemswith prosecuting these criminals who have stolen valuableresources and committed crimes against protectedspecies.

Long reports that “We usually have about eight to 10 sealions shot a year, and some people try to catch greatwhites, which are also protected. We had two people on asalmon troller shooting at sea lions, although there arepermits for seal bombs to scare seal lions from taking fish.This will only scare the sea lions, not kill them, but thefishermen don’t like filling out the logs, so they just shootthe sea lions, assuming no one will find out.”

“DFG has seven long-range patrol vessels based along theCalifornia coast, which often patrol three to five days at atime. They are responsible for monitoring the incrediblydiverse fisheries along the 1,100-mile coastline up to 200miles out to sea,” said Orange. “As dire as the wardenshortage is inland, it is even more critical in patrolling ourocean resources,” added Orange.

These vessels routinely find approximately 25 to 30commercial fishing violations a month, although thisnumber fluctuates between “boats we check versus boatsthat go unchecked,” said Lt. John Suchil, of the patrolvessel Swordfish out of Ventura.

Danger on the high seasBy Mary Carpenter, Staff Writer, 2/7/07

A total crew of 3 officers is unsafe and inadequate when boarding vessels 100 milesout at sea during commercial fishing and homeland security inspections.

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Money lost in dismissals

In San Francisco, commercial fishing is a multi-million dollarindustry. The state is losing valuable dollars and resourcesthat will lead to the decimation of the industry, wildlifeand environment because of poaching, according to Long.“Since Dec. 1, 17 of 25 violations have been dismissed.Poachers are winning the battle in the court system,” hesaid.

Violations amount to approximately $500 per citation butcan go to a maximum of $1,000. Combined with penaltyassessments, which is money tacked onto the fine by thecourt used for court costs, court-building constructionfunds, district attorney training, record keeping, theseindividual violations can bring the fines to approximately$1,400 — $2,800.

“If we had court liaison officers checking court events andcitations, and assigned to six to nine counties, wewouldn’t be having so many cases dismissed,” said Long.“We simply don’t have the time to deal with these issues ifwe are to patrol the waters looking for these violators.”

“In September, the governor signed an act on marineprotection areas, which are game refuges in the ocean,”said Long. “But we aren’t able to patrol these refugesenough because of low staffing. There are legitimate andlaw-abiding commercial fisherman who are very upsetbecause poaching commercial fishermen will go in andhave an unfair economic advantage over legitimatefishing.”

There are approximately 66,000 fish businesses inCalifornia. Tasked to regulate and monitor this industry arefewer than two dozen marine wardens. In addition, inlandwardens such as Awbrey and Orange are detailed to assistthese officers, which means they must leave their ownpatrol area to the mercy of inland poachers.

“The staffing shortages aboard these vessels result inover-fishing and devastatingly low salmon and oceanfisheries,” said Orange.

In December, Orange was on board the patrol vessel Marlinwith Long in San Francisco. Currently, the Marlin is workingthe crab, herring and sturgeon commercial fishingviolations, in addition to pollution and homeland securitypatrol.

“These patrol vessels routinely patrol the salmon, halibut,squid, herring, tuna, abalone, crab and other valuableocean catches,” said Orange.

Hazardous detail

“The work on these boats is very dangerous. Many peoplehear about commercial fishermen having one of the mostdangerous jobs; however, what needs to be remembered isthat the wardens working these details share the samedangers and more,” emphasized Orange.

“Vessels that are monitoredand boarded mayhave foreignregistry. Thisrequires additionalspecial knowledge toefficiently handle thoseissues.

“These boats also workwith our warden-pilots whomust patrol alone over theocean. They are lookingfor commercial boatsinside restrictedareas, illegal gear,and pollutionfrompetro leum productsthat leak from the boats, among other violations,” he said.

In addition to monitoring illegal fishing activity, the planesmonitor oil tankers to make sure they stay far enoughoffshore in case of spills.

“These planes routinely fly below 200-foot altitudes to beable to identify, accurately, the violations and the vesselsthemselves. When violations are observed, they dispatchone of our long-range P/Vs to board and investigate,” saidOrange.

Other things the planes monitor are any odd or unusualactivities that may pose a threat to homeland security aswell as crimes against protected species.

This type of work requires very specialized knowledge andpersonnel.

Low staffing levels put remaining personnel at a severedisadvantage in reducing dangerous confrontations withviolators. An example of this is Awbrey’s recent situationon the Thresher that occurred just before he transferred tothe Plumas County district.

Confrontation

“We boarded a boat because of a tip from a scuba diverwho saw nets out just before white sea-bass seasonbegan,” said Awbrey.

“We went out the following day, which was the day beforethe season began, because they were reportedly gillnetting the bass early. We didn’t think we were going tomake contact until we got a return on the radar and founda commercial boat gill netting 90 miles offshore at theCortez Banks.

“We videotaped the activity and watched them for a whilebefore making contact. They were upset because we wereseizing their fish but were compliant at the time,” he said.

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“We photographed and counted the fish that were in theholds and in the freezers. Then during the night while beingescorted back to the mainland, they began throwing fishoverboard to destroy evidence. We saw a trail of fish, sowe netted them and boarded the boat again, at night.”

Awbrey relates that during the night the crew was upsetthat they were caughtagain and from thenon it was a tensesituation.

“Our inflatable haddeveloped a holeduring the time weboarded them the firsttime, so we pulled theThresher alongsideand one boardingofficer went on boardthe commercial boat,”he said.

“Although they wereobviously upset thatthey were caught inthe act, they seemedcompliant until thecaptain turned hisback on the boardingofficer to go into thecabin where there were two firearms inside that I could seefrom where I was at on top of the Thresher. I pulled my rifleon him and told him to stop, and he backed away from thefirearms. I really thought I might have to shoot someonethen because of the rifles and handguns that were within

reach of the crew and because of the fact that they hadbecome confrontational.”

Regardless of this activity and the fact that the boatyielded not only illegal catch but nine guns that includedtwo high-powered rifles, 38-, 45- and 22-caliber pistols,the San Diego court system reduced the violation and

returned the boats, nets,equipment, fish andfirearms.

“22s are routinely usedby illegal commercialfishermen to shoot seals,dolphins, pelicans andsea lions (all fullyprotected species) thatgo after their catch,”said Awbrey.

“When guys hunt and fishillegally, then pay penalviolations but do not payFish and Game violations,they can get new licensesand tags,” said Awbrey.“A lot of money was loston that operation inaddition to wildlifebecause we can’t patrolenough.”

Because of the complacency on the part of some courts,violators do not take these citations seriously and willcontinue their illegal activities; heedless of the destructionof the environment and wildlife.

I think theenvironment should beput in the category ofour national security.Defense of ourresources is just asimportant as defenseabroad. Otherwisewhat is there todefend?

Robert Redford, YosemiteNational Park dedication, 1985

This calm water boarding is not the norm; more are done indangerous, rough seas. California has over 900,000 registered vesselsand approximately 300 million pounds of commercial fish landings peryear. There are less than 2 dozen marine wardens dedicated toenforcing these laws.

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“THE NUGENT FAMILY STANDS SOLIDLY FOR the protectionof California’s natural resources, its wildlife, and theDEDICATED PROFESSIONAL GAME WARDENS that protectthem AND THE GREAT SPIRIT OF THE CALIFORNIA WILD.

No Wardens = No Wildlife”

TED NUGENT & FAMILY-Hell yes!!

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Big $

“I think we have run silent and deep so many yearsbecause we don’t need glory or recognition,” said Lt.Kathy Ponting, a Special Operations Unit leader for theDepartment of Fish and Game.

“But in doing so we shot ourselves in the foot becauseof our low numbers and low wages. We have dedication,experience and talent butwe’re lacking in numbers. Weneed to get the story out tothe public and legislators sothey know what we’re aboutand what we’re trying todo.”

Ponting comes from afamily of game wardens andalthough she hunts andfishes she has spentextensive time in the fieldtraining game wardens whodo not hunt or fish andbecome excellent wardens.

“It’s a mindset,” she said. “Most of us have a passion toprotect wildlife and some of us hunt and fish. The mostimportant thing is to protect these resources. It’s in yourheart and gut and you have to have the ability to enforcethese laws. A lot of work goes into protecting theseresources and we’re running complex investigations thatare extremely interesting and new every day.”

That candidates truly care for and respect theresources and in enforcing the laws is most important, therest they will learn through training and experience. Ourfield officer training program has very high standards.”

Ponting regularly conducts surveillance on abaloneand white sturgeon-for-caviar poaching as well as locatingsuppliers of bear bile that is processed as an Asianmedicinal utilizing the bile stored in the gall bladder.Although bear hunting is legal it is controlled and the saleof the parts of bears and mountain lions is a felony.

“We recently conducted an undercover operation inSan Francisco’s China Town. We went into four herb shopsand three of the four sold us bear bile.”

“Not of all the bear parts stay in California,” saidPonting. “China and other Asian countries buy bear partsfrom California because bear bile has been used by theChinese for traditional medicines dating back centuries.”

Right now there is huge money in abalone and whitesturgeon caviar because those species are slow growing

and fragile and it takes them along time to reach maturityand reproduce.”

The caviar is a delicacy boundfor Eastern Europe most of thetime and the North coast ofCalifornia holds one of the lastpopulations of Red abalone inthe world. They were inAustralia and Africa but sincethey allowed commercialfishing of these species theywere decimated. The prices onthe black market are huge.”

Ponting recently went toCambodia to instruct personnel from several agencies onhow to conduct investigations and evaluate crime scenes.Wildlife protection agencies learned interrogationmethods and raid planning on poachers as part of acollaboration of law enforcement agencies through tencooperating countries hoping to preserve their exoticwildlife that is dwindling because of poaching and blackmarket activity.

Through the ASEAN-WEN Project, an integratednetwork among law enforcement agencies, customs, thepolice, prosecutors, specialized governmental wildlife-lawenforcement organizations and other relevant lawenforcement agencies work to protect the illicit hunting,harvesting and transnational trade of rare and endangeredspecies of animals and plants.

“Ten or so East Asian countries signed an agreement asa wildlife enforcement network to put forth the effort tocontrol the poaching and sale of tigers, bears, elephants,toucans, parrots and other animals that have medicinalvalue and are species that are poached and exported outof the country,” said Ponting.

Ancient Chinese remedies sold in Chinatown and otherplaces have an untold cost on our wildlife resources.

in black market ofendangered species

By Mary Carpenter, Staff Writer, 2/21/07

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The class we put on was focused on nature crimesinvestigation which I conducted with another gamewarden named John Nores.”

As part of the global concern of illegal trafficking ofendangered or protected species, Ponting and Noresinstructed 34 students from agencies such as the ForestryAdministration, customs police, a French civilian-militaryagency, and other wildlife agencies and law enforcementon how to conduct crime scene investigations andcollection of evidence, raid planning, and interrogationprocedures because these agencies had not had training indealing with poachers or the black market in protectedand endangered species.

“On a request fromWild Aid we took someof their representativeson a raid with us in SanFrancisco and they sawhow adept we were atdoing this business andsaw how our talentscould be used in theseprojects,” said Ponting

“We went over toCambodia to trainwildlife enforcementagencies to handle theproblem of poaching aswell as black markettrade nationally andinternationally,” she said.“and we went over therefeeling comfortable withthe subject matter.”

“At first the training was very basic and in theclassroom,” said Ponting. “Then we ran them throughsome scenarios and made it seem as realistic as possible.”

While teaching these agencies techniques in dealingwith poachers Ponting realized how advanced, thoroughand highly trained that the Department of Fish and Gamecompared to other agencies who were responsible forwildlife protection and enforcement, globally. Countriesare now dealing with the issue of international traffickingof exotic and protected species and their parts.

“I am so proud of our department,” she said, “and Ithink we are one of the best agencies trained to deal withthis issue. We have some very dedicated wardens and Ithink we are on the cutting edge with investigationtechniques and skills.”

Wardens in the United States agree that thetemptation to take more than the legal limit of fish or toshoot a deer, bear or mountain lion illegally sometimes isto great for a lot of people. Other departmentsexperience the same problem with poachers. Three years

ago Colonel Herb Foster of the Virginia Department ofGame and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) concurred, telling anAssociated Press reporter, “We’ve learned over the yearswhat the impact of commercialization is. The temptationis to overharvest. Wildlife species generally can’t sustain acommercial market,” and in the Anchorage Daily NewsStan Pruszenski, a US Fish and Wildlife Service SpecialAgent in Alaska said that the danger of a bear poachingoperation is that it “can make a significant impact [to thebear population] in a small area.”

Ponting believes that it is not too late to turn the tideaway from the decimation of some species and thedestruction of an environment that is constantly being

flooded by urban growthand commercialization.

“If you give up and saywe can’t fix it then that’sthe way it will be. Wemust look at the progresswe’ve made and focus onthe fact that we havemade a difference inprotecting theseresources. I am anoptimist and believe wecan put the environmentback on course. We havethe dedication andprofessionalism andthrough time andeducation people will seewhat the warden force isabout and what we’retrying to accomplish.”

“Most of us who get into this career could be makingmore money for another agency,” she said, “the low wagesare what has hurt our numbers.”

“We’ve made good efforts towards changing that thisyear. We have a problem and we have to find a way to fix it.We are really proud to be a part of an agency that is sounique because of what we’re protecting and it’simpressive the people we have because of what theybelieve in and how they work. People need to understandthat these resources and species need protection andenforcement through us and through the judicial system. Itis the only deterrent to stopping this activity thatdestroys this environment, the fear of getting caught.”

The producer and director of an Animal Planet episodethat will air on the Discovery Channel in September 2007had recently sent a crew to film and document thepoaching issues in northern California.

“Just this past fall an Animal Planet crew came out androde with myself, and game wardens Jerry Karnow, ZekeAwbrey and Bill Miller as well as ride with a warden pilot onpatrol,” said Plumas County Game Warden Bob Orange.

Two California Game Wardens provide training for an Internationalcollaboration of wildlife investigators to help stamp out globalpoaching at the Nature Crime Investigation Course in Cambodia inJanuary 2007.

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“We started early in the morning one weekendconducting surveillance on a bear bait pile,” he said.

Bait piles are illegal and made up of what is consideredjunk food for bears and draws them into a clearing forhunters to shoot them. Since bears generally like to buildup their fat for hibernation in winter this has become avery effective tool for poachers.

“We also worked on illegal bear and deer hunterschecking for violations and found three illegal bear kills injust one weekend in Plumas County.”

What it boiled down to was that the crew of AnimalPlanet wasamazed withthe amount ofcontacts wemade witharmed huntersand poachersand the amountof violations wewrote in oneweekend.”

Producerand DirectorAmanda Feldonof “Crime SceneWild”, a seriesthat is aired onthe DiscoveryChannel’sAnimal Planetrecently wroteGovernorSchwarzeneggerto express heramazement atthe “frightening lack of resources and support faced bywardens whom I consider to be one of the most skillful,vital and devoted services I have encountered during themaking of the entire Series.”

Feldon also goes on to state that “(a)ll the peopleinvolved in the production of the Series are truly appalledat the evidence we have uncovered and saddened to learnof the crucial staff shortages your Service (CaliforniaGame Wardens) is encountering, which threatens theefficacy of this vital work.”

Feldon’s crew also filmed in Cambodia when Lt. Pontingand Lt. Nores were training agencies to deal with wildlifecrime.

Feldon praises the California Department of Fish andGame instructors, saying, “The Cambodian police and

customs officers participating in the course have beengreatly impressed by the knowledge and expertise of theCalifornian counterparts and there can be little doubt thatsharing such invaluable knowledge and experience will beof long-term benefit to the survival of the planet’sendangered species.”

It is very upsetting to learn that at a time when theconservation of animals is uppermost in people’s minds,key services (DFG) like these are being allowed to dissipate(due to being under-funded and under-resourced),” saidFeldon in her letter to the governor…It seems that the Fishand Game Wardens in California are of the highest caliberin the world.”

Feldon alsoexpressed herincredulity tothe fact thatthis “istolerated inthe State ofCalifornia and Iam sure it willcause greatconsternationwhen theprogramme iseventuallywatched by aworld-wideaudience.”

This is also thefilm crew thatwent with Lt.Ponting on thesurveillance ofherb shops inSan Francisco

selling bear bile and were able to document so many of thevarious duties that are part of game wardens’responsibilities.

Bob Orange related that the crew was “amazed at thediversity of wildlife in Plumas County alone which theyhighlight in the film…but also they were very upset withthe lack of resources and personnel to combat thepoaching that they personally experienced.”

For more information about California Game Wardenslog onto www.californiafishandgamewardens.com and forrecruitment and job opportunities, resources and projectslog onto www.dfg.ca.gov. By calling1-888-DFG-CALTIP (1-888-334-2258) to report poachers and polluters callerscan remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cashreward.

Filming on location with Cicada Productions for Animal Planet International. Takingtime out in between a CSI bear poaching investigation in Sierra County.

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“THESE ARE MARVELOUS CREATURES

OF EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS. THESE

FISH ARE GORGEOUS. THEY’VE BEEN

DESCRIBED AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

FISH.” Phil Pister, Retired DFG Biologist

In 2003, the State completed a massive facelift to safeguard what remains ofCalifornia’s diminishing official state fish, the California golden trout. It involved yearsof meticulous planning and precise implementation in the Kern River watershed in thesouthern Sierra Nevada backcountry.

The golden trout is native in Golden Trout Creek, a tributary to the Kern River and theSouth Fork Kern River, which empties into Lake Isabella. Southern California Edisonawarded the DFG over two million dollars earmarked for golden trout, millions werespent by the State, and many hours of labor was endured to enhance golden trouthabitat. Helicopters made over 950 round trips to deliver materials on just oneproject.

To this date, due to staff shortages and lack of appropriate funding, the Golden TroutWilderness where the remaining pure stocks of golden trout exist has been without apatrolling Game Warden for six years. Damage to the habitat, litter, over fishing,unlawful transporting of trout, and inappropriate deposit of human waste areproblems which have historically plagued the Golden Trout Wilderness. We are foolingourselves if we think no one is illegally taking the valuable resources from this area anddestroying those resources.

T R O U TT R O U TThe California State Legislature designated the golden

trout as the official state fish in 1947.

NO WARDENS

N O

Golden’s need the helping hand of Game Wardens..

“We in fly fishing cherish our wild and heritage state fish - The California GoldenTrout. To discover that they have no protection from abuse is not only discouraging,it’s a disgrace.”

Dr. C. Mark Rockwell, D.C. V.P. Conservation, Northern California Council, Federation of Fly Fishers

Without Game Wardens to patrol this area, ourCalifornia State Fish, the Golden Trout, may perish.

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“How many people in California know that commercialpoaching of wildlife and resources was second only to the drugtrade?” asked Nancy Foley, chief of the California Departmentof Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division.

“Reptiles, plants, fish, abalone, bears, deer, mountain lions;people are always trying to take a specific kind of animal orplant for profit. It always amazes me what people will pay toown or eat these animals, and I’m in this profession,” she said.

“Wardens are in this profession because they believe inthe department’s mission and the resources,” Foley continued.“Currently, we cannot be as responsive to the public and theresources as we would like to be, but it isn’t because thewardens we have aren’t working.

“It’s because there are 37.4 million people, diversity in theecosystems, huge land and sea responsibilities, and 200 gamewardens to meet the needs of the people and the resource.”

Contract renegotiated

Recently, the California Department of PersonnelAdministration has renegotiated the game wardens’ contractwith their parent union, CAUSE.

Originally, the renegotiation of the contract for all CAUSEmembers was not due until the 2007-2008 budget process.

“As a result of an intervention for the game wardens onbehalf of the state Legislature, and because the shortage ofgame wardens was too severe to wait a year for the nextbudget process, it allowed us to reopen the contract to meetthe Legislature’s intention,” said DPA Communications DirectorLynelle Jolley.

“We (DPA) got them a 10 percent raise immediately, and 5percent more a year at the top steps of the pay schedule.”

“Retiring wardens may also be inclined to stick aroundanother year or two with the raises at the top steps,” saidJolley.

Captain Dennis DeAnda, president of California Fish andGame Warden Supervisors and Managers Association,disagrees. “Veteran wardens more than likely won’t see thebenefit of sticking around another five years without paritywhen they can go onto another job that pays better.”

When asked how the pay raise affected the overallstaffing of the department, game warden Bob Orange,president of the Game Wardens Association, said, “Theincrease, which brings the starting pay for wardens to$42,800, does not match most, if any, other law enforcementwage schedules in the state of California.

“Even with this pay raise, our applications for gamewardens have actually dropped to historically low candidatenumbers. Both houses of the Legislature and the governorapproved $30 million to address recruitment and retentionproblems; however, DFG only received $2 million after closed-door negotiations with DPA and our parent union, CAUSE,” saidOrange.

“As far as the CFGWA is concerned, the new contract didnot meet the legislators’ intent to bring game wardens intoparity with other law enforcement agencies, which is the maincause of our inability to recruit and retain wardens.”

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, like DFG,requires at least 60 semester units of college, but pays astarting wage of more than $65,000 a year.

Other departments, like the California Highway Patrol,begin at approximately $57,000, and San Francisco PoliceDepartment starts at more than $64,000. The two agenciesdo not require college degrees or units.

Other law enforcement agencies award candidates withwage increases for having degrees.

When asked why the wardens don’t enjoy parity with theircounterparts, Jolley said, “Parity is an issue that has been goingon for some time with the game wardens. It’s a market issue.We bargain for the employees with their union. Until paritycan be justified legally, it would not be considered.”

Justifying parity

Jolley explained that justifying wage parity with other lawenforcement officers would mean making a comparison withother agencies and proving, in a court of law, that DFG has ascritical a role as other agencies in law enforcement and publicsafety.

“We are always conducting investigations that deal withpublic safety,” said DFG legislative liaison Jerry Karnow, “thathave come in as a complaint from a neighbor and involvewater pollution or habitat destruction or poaching.”

According to the DPA, salaries that are too low arereflected by “small candidate pools … (and) low qualitycandidates … As incumbents leave for better paying jobs, staffretention problems may arise … (and) employees will feel thattheir services are not valued and will seek salaryenhancement” and consequently “excessive resources will bespent to address” the issues.

Orange said, “Ms. Jolley states that wardens must make acomparison and justify we are law enforcement. Besides thefact that wardens have been arresting armed criminals for wellover 100 years and are the oldest state law-enforcementofficers, here are the latest statistics.

“From January to October 2006, fewer than 200 fieldgame wardens in California made 315,000 contacts, issued55,000 warnings and made over 14,000 arrests. In virtuallyevery one of those arrests, the person was armed,” saidOrange.

Karnow agrees, “There is a complete misconception ofwhat wardens do. The public believes we’re not cops at all.

“Game wardens enforce state laws that have stiffpenalties, they take people to jail for violating those laws, andthe suspects are generally armed, most likely with a firearm.They make arrests without backup at all, and they work closelywith prosecuting district attorneys throughout the entirecriminal justice process.”

Legislative intent

“In the Senate and Assembly, the Democrats andRepublicans addressed the problem of the wardens in the formof the budget to get DFG enough additional money toincrease salary and benefits and to recruit and retain,” saidKarnow.

Politics versus California’s WildlifeBy Mary Carpenter, Staff Writer

2/28/07

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A letter from the California Legislature signed bySenators Dennis Hollingsworth, Wes Chesbro and DeniseMoreno Ducheny and addressed to Director of PersonnelAdministration David Gilb asked that a “minimum of $10million of these funds ultimately be dedicated for the purposeof compensating fish and game wardens in a manner thatreflects their status as highly trained law enforcementofficers, and provides for adequate retention of the existingpersonnel.”

“The Department of Personnel negotiated with our union,but the majority of the money went to our union affiliates,”said Karnow.

In May 2006, Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, now a statesenator, wrote the Budget Conference Committee prior tothe last budget process. Cogdill requested that the committee“retain $17.5 million in budget funding for Department of Fishand Game” which would bring “wardens up to par with theirlocal and state counterparts and provide funding to help fillcurrent vacancies.”

Sixty-eight Democratic and Republican representativessigned Cogdill’s letter.

“The California Legislature put the money in the budgetfor game wardens,” said DeAnda, “but the parity issue wasn’ttaken care of, and the money was spread out over the entiremembership of CAUSE, which was not the intention of theLegislature. The intent was to fix the parity issue.”

The chairwoman of the Senate Committee on NaturalResources and Water, Sheila Kuehl, wrote David Gilb, DPAdirector, in July 2006 to request an allocation of $10 million “ofthe employee retention and compensation funds … for theexclusive purpose of compensating fish and game wardens … ina manner that reflects their status as highly trained lawenforcement officers who focus their efforts on illegalactivities that adversely affect the state’s wildlife and naturalresources.”

Senator Kuehl also requested that development reportsfor the budget “address more general recruitment andretention issues … (and) that one such study focus on thechronic insufficient funding, understaffing and inadequatecompensation that have decimated the ranks of DFGwardens.”

“To my knowledge, to date that study has never beenconducted, and it is a requirement for the budget,” saidOrange.

What’s at stake

One of the most important resources is drinking water,which is increasingly at risk from pollution and environmentalhazards.

“People take for granted that tap water is always safe,”said Karnow. “What we are finding is that people don’tunderstand that we investigate water pollution. That’s ourjob.”

Karnow believes it is a case of “not if, but when drinkingwater becomes unsafe because there is not enough protectionof waterways … especially if you don’t have state resources toinvestigate hazardous materials and pollutants in drinkingwater.”

Karnow feels that given the state’s continued growth,California won’t be able to keep up with the need for potabledrinking water unless the resource is managed properly.

“Unless you had enough game wardens to educate thepublic, legislature and the court systems about the integrityand protection of drinking water resources, we are going to beunable to keep up with the progression,” said Karnow.

“Fish and Game investigates any activity thatcompromises the public’s trust in our drinking water,” henoted. “That’s pretty big.”

Wildlife CSI

DFG has a full range of law enforcementduties besides protecting California’s naturalresources.

Because wildlife species do not havevoices and because the environment can’ttestify as to who dumped hazardous materials into awater source, the department employs forensicwildlife biologists.

“We routinely collect evidence in crime scenes of complexpoaching cases,” said Karnow.

The Wildlife Forensics Laboratory is strictly forinvestigation into wildlife crimes, and not for research. Theequipment in the lab is used strictly for the unique crimeinvestigations that are demanded of DFG. The WFL must meetstrict quality assurance and quality control protocols.

Forensic scientists, depending on their specific duties, arealso members of the Northwest Association of ForensicScientists, the American Society of Crime Laboratories andthe American Association of Clinical Pathologists as well as theCalifornia Association of Criminalists.

Other organizations participate in the quality control andquality assurance of the lab, and they and the lab are expectedto fulfill many requirements that determine credibility.

Fighting the fight

“No additional laws, refuges, resource protectionmeasures, habitat enhancement or restrictions will enhanceour natural resources, fish and wildlife without additional gamewardens to protect them by enforcement,” said Orange.

Jake Bushey said, “If they (DPA) are saying that theproblem has been solved, it has not been. And it will only getworse in the next couple years.”

“What we are looking at is a train wreck,” emphasizedBushey. He points to the lag time between one warden retiringand a replacement being recruited, tested, hired and trained.“It can’t wait two years,” he said.

The need for qualified applicants and warden candidates iscritical at this time because of the many wardens who will beretiring in the next two to three years.

“We need people with skills that can get into the complexinvestigations concerning pollutants, habitat destruction,wildlife, extremely complex crimes,” said Karnow. “You can’tjust throw somebody out there.”

With many wardens approaching retirement, it will bedifficult to fill the positions unless parity is reached soon.

“Fifty-four percent of the game wardens will be retiringwithin the next 10 years,” said DeAnda. “Twenty-four percentcan retire now if they want to, and 173 of the approximately200 game wardens are over 40.

“If this (parity) doesn’t get fixed I think there will be amass exodus of game wardens. Young wardens that don’t havemuch time on the job that are marketable will work foranother law enforcement agency that pays better.”

“The problem is that California is such an expensive placeto live now that wardens can’t afford to stay at such lowwages,” said DeAnda. “In the past, believing in what you didgot you through. But when the median home price is over$400,000 making 42,800 isn’t cutting it.”

DeAnda also said, “To most people, dumping a can of gas inthe ground or creek is trivial, and to many, over-huntingwildlife is trivial. People live for today and don’t think aboutthe future of the resources. That’s the reason why we exist.This is a truly honorable profession; we enforce laws that inmany places people don’t think of.”

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AssemblyCALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE

DAVE COGDILLASSEMBLYMEMBER, TWENTY-FIFTH DISTRICT

JULY 18, 2006

CALIFORNIA’S GAME WARDENS – AN ENDANGERED SPECIESAn Op-Ed by Assemblyman Dave Cogdill

As Californians, we’re blessed to live in nature’s playground - 1,100 miles of coastline, 30,000 miles of streams and rivers,80 major rivers, countless mountain and desert trails, and the second most diverse wildlife population in the nation.California is second only to Hawaii in the number of threatened and endangered species. So, who is protecting these vastand valuable natural resources? The answer may surprise you.

The Department of Fish Game currently has just 192 game wardens out on field patrol. That’s one warden for every180,288 people in the state, the lowest staff ratio in the nation for a large state. Staffing levels haven’t changed muchsince the 1950’s, despite a huge boom in population and increase in criminal activity, such as poaching and rural drugoperations.

The implications of the warden shortage are dramatic. Leads on poaching, a $100 million industry in California, often gouninvestigated because of high caseloads. Two-thirds of calls to the wardens’ enforcement hotline go unanswered due tostaffing shortages, and many areas go completely unpatrolled.

It’s not just wildlife who suffers without wardens. Game wardens are often the primary law enforcement in rural areas,providing emergency assistance to hunters, hikers, and anglers. They routinely encounter and shut down dangerous drugoperations, such as meth labs, and increasingly play a part in homeland security operations.

The lack of wardens also places California’s economy at risk. Many rural communities depend upon outdoor industries,such as boating, hiking, and camping, as the backbone of their local economy. Hunting and angling retail sales alone top$3.1 billion annually. Without warden enforcement, exploitation and criminal activity threatens businesses, just as it doeswildlife.

So why doesn’t the state just hire more wardens? Lower pay and lesser benefits in comparison with other lawenforcement agencies make it hard to recruit and retain wardens. Starting salary for a game warden is $37,000, a meretwo-thirds the pay of a new highway patrol officer. And the average warden salary is $48,000 a year, compared to$92,000 annually for a CHP officer.

The disparity is so great that the Department of Fish and Game is unable to fill its 64 current vacancies and stands to losean additional 40 wardens due to retirement and salary concerns. Many recruits who initially train to be wardens are luredaway by other law enforcement agencies offering a meatier salary, increased vacation, and better retirement.

Throughout my career in the Legislature, I’ve fought to better the fishing experience, one aspect of which is increasedmoney for game wardens. While budget funding earmarked for wardens was vetoed last year, I’m optimistic about $30million in the 2006-2007 State Budget for game wardens and other employees such as State Parks rangers, through theDepartment of Personnel Administration. This funding can and should be used to bring wardens closer to parity with otherlaw enforcement agencies. Only through parity can DFG address its difficulties with attracting and retaining gamewardens.

The preservation of our natural resources, and the many small businesses which rely upon them, depend upon asuccessful and well-staffed force of game wardens. I am thankful that Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 7, theInland Fisheries Restoration Act of 2005, which will go a long way toward bringing back the proud sportfishing legacy inCalifornia by dedicating a portion of fishing license fees to fishing-related activities, and the warden funding in the statebudget is a critical component in this endeavor. It would be wisely spent increasing the number of field patrol wardensand making compensation competitive with other law enforcement agencies.

STATE CAPITOLRoom 4117Sacramento, CA 95814(916) 319-2025FAX (916) 319-2125

DISTRICT OFFICE1912 Standiford Ave., Ste. 4Modesto, CA 95350(209) 576-6425FAX: (209) 576-6426

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Tuesday, 06/20/2006 3:53 pm

Schwarzenegger Launches First-EverOnline Video Q & ABRIGHTWELL: Good morning, and welcome to Ask GovernorSchwarzenegger. This is a live video Internet forum, the first of its kind forGovernor Schwarzenegger, where citizens can have the chance to askquestions directly of Governor Schwarzenegger.

I’m News 10’s Marcey Brightwell, and my role here is very simple. I’m themoderator. I’ll be asking and posing your questions to the Governor. I’vegone through hundreds of questions already that have been submitted.I’ve chosen some that we will be asking, but you can still submit yourquestions live, and we’ll be going through those this morning.

<Snip>

BRIGHTWELL: Well, let’s start the conversation. We have a number of questions from peoplesubmitted all over California.

<Snip>

BRIGHTWELL: I’ll move on to a question from Kathleen. She is in Selma. I got a lot of questions fromthe game warden community, we can tell. She says her family and friends spend a lot of time inthe outdoors camping and she’s concerned about the lack of game wardens in the State ofCalifornia.

GOVERNOR: Of game wardens?

BRIGHTWELL: Mm-hmm.

GOVERNOR: I don’t know there is a lack of it. I think we have a lot of them, but maybe she wantsto see more of them. I don’t know.

BRIGHTWELL: They haven’t reduced over the years? A lot of folks say that there aren’t enoughgame wardens out there to really protect California’s (SS)

GOVERNOR: Well, you know, I think we have enough, but I think that as we have more moneyavailable we can have more. But, I mean, you run the state, and when you take over a situationthat we have taken over, which is a $22 billion debt and a structural deficit of $16.5 billion, thenyou cannot just go and hire more people in every category. I mean, there is the police that theywant to staff more, and the sheriffs, they want to have more sheriffs, they want to have morejudges, we want to have more teachers, we want to have more nurses, we want to have more

game wardens. We want to have more of everything.

And I think it’s a valid thing to say, because we have an increase inpopulation. The only thing is that we have to be fiscally responsible, so wecan only spend the money that we have, and we also at the same time arepaying down debt. So therefore we cannot grow as quickly and expand asquickly as sometimes people want us to because we have to still pay down alot of debt, and that is the right thing to do.

http://gov.ca.gov/index.php/print-version/speech/1022/

To watch the video: http://gov.ca.gov/ask/

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California Fish and Game Wardens’ Association The Thin Green Line

Game Warden’s – Conserving California’s Wildlife Since 1870

California’s North Coast

Wardens bust poachers;

$10 million at stake!Navarro, CA – California Fish and Game Wardens arrested Marty Holloway, 43, of RedBluff and Lance Robles, 43, of Fort Bragg on suspicion of conspiracy to harvest abalonefor commercial purposes. In April, 2006, the two poachers were arrested after GameWardens observed them taking abalone over the past several days. When arrested, thesuspects were in possession of abalone with a black-market value in excess $2,600.Abalone removed are highly valued and illegal to sell. A single abalone on the black marketcan bring between $50 and $100.

The sport abalone fishery is estimated to be worth over $10 million per year to the NorthCoast economy. California Fish and Game Wardens understand the economic and intrinsicvalues of the abalone fishery. Without Wardens, the abalone fishery would be non-existent. Due to poor pay and benefits, the Department of Fish and Game has beenfinding it increasingly difficult to attract qualified applicants. Currently there are inexcess of 65 vacancies. In the most populous State in the union, there are only 192wardens to protect California’s Fish and Wildlife resources. If current trends continue, itcan be expected there will be less then 100 Wardens in the state in the near future.

California is second only to Hawaii in the number of threatened and endangered species;yet California has only has half the number of Game Wardens as in Texas and only onethird of the number of Game Wardens as in Florida.

“The Department can no longer recruit or retain qualified Game Wardens due to low pay,” saidBob Orange, vice president of the California Game Wardens Association. “We have lost a third ofour officers over the past six years and the trend continues. The situation has reached a crisis.Our Warden numbers are dangerously low; and without us, environmental crimes of all typesfrom poaching to polluting will run unchecked. This has a direct negative effect on our naturalresources, fish, wildlife, and water quality. It affects everyone.”

Contact: Jake Bushey (530) 604-2693; Jerry Karnow (530) 682-2387; or Bob Orange, (530) 284-7592

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California Fish and Game Wardens’ Association The Thin Green Line

Felon Convicted of Firearms Charges in Poaching CaseFish & Game Wardens, the oldest uniformed law enforcement officers in state service, aremore than likely to confront armed and dangerous individuals in the normal course of theirduties. One such instance happened to Warden Brett Gomes, who had received informationthat a convicted felon had been taking deer out of season. Gomes learned that the suspectwould be hunting on a particular night. He sought the assistance of an allied agency and set atrap for the poacher. Colusa Police Officer Troy Oliver and Warden Gomes observed BryanCarrion, a career criminal, on an all-terrain vehicle while illegally in possession of a firearm andan illegally harvested deer. Officer Oliver ordered Carrion to stop. Carrion defied the orderand accelerated, driving past the officer. Warden Gomes ordered Carrion stop, but Carrionaccelerated again, but this time directly at Gomes. Warden Gomes barely had time to use hispepper spray as he jumped aside narrowly missing being run over by Carrion.

Gomes requested a search warrant for Carrion’s residence, and with the help of other GameWardens and deputies from the Colusa County Sheriff’s Department, the officers descendedon Carrion’s home. The search revealed Carrion to be in possession of seven firearms, manyof them loaded. Carrion was arrested and booked into Colusa County jail. He was arrested forbeing a felon in the possession of firearms, taking deer out of season, hunter trespass andthreats to a peace officer. A subsequent investigation revealed Carrion was not only a careercriminal, but a career poacher. The search warrant revealed Carrion had been poaching deernot only on California, but in other western states as well.

Following the arrest, Carrion threatened to catch up with Gomes later, so the charges wereamended to include threats to a peace officer. On May 15, 2006, Carrion was sentenced tofour years and eight months in state prison in Colusa County Superior Court. “We work alonein remote areas with folks who are facing a second or third strike for being in possession of afirearm,” said Warden Gomes. “We can never be sure who’s who. If you’re a felon, and youget caught with a firearm because you’re hunting illegally, or because you went out into thewoods to fire off an assault weapon, what do you do when you’re facing a second or thirdstrike? I can tell you that if you’re facing 20, 30, or life in prison, you will shoot first and askquestions later.”

“The Department of Fish & Game can no longer recruit or retain qualified Game Wardens due to lowpay,” said Bob Orange, vice president of the California Game Wardens Association. “We have lost athird of our officers over the past six years and the trend continues. The situation has reached a crisis.Our Warden numbers are dangerously low; and without us, environmental crimes of all types frompoaching to polluting will run unchecked. This has a direct negative effect on our natural resources,fish, wildlife, and water quality. It affects everyone.”

For additional information contact: Jake Bushey (530) 604-2693; Jerry Karnow(530) 682-2387; or Bob Orange, (530) 284-7592

Game Warden’s – Conserving California’s Wildlife Since 1870

104

California Fish and Game Wardens’ Association The Thin Green Line

Game Wardens face high-seas dangerswhile protecting California’s shores!

About 90 miles off the coast of California, and south of San ClementeIsland, is Cortes Bank. With high offshore winds, sudden storms, deepswells, and strong currents, it is a magnet for fish and fishermen.Poachers, too, are not far behind.

In 2005, the Department of Fish and Game’s Patrol Vessel Thresherreceived a tip that a commercial fisherman was illegally netting WhiteSeabass. The Thresher made short time of the distance between thecoast and Cortes Banks, arriving in time to contact the illegalcommercial fisherman. In order to keep the commercial fishermen fromdumping their illegal cargo, Game Wardens swiftly boarded thecommercial net boat. They successfully stopped the disposal of 100White Seabass, the illegal catch, and seized the illegal net. Wardenssearched the vessel and seized four firearms as well.

As night began to fall, the Wardens aboard the Thresher started toescort the commercial fishing boat back to port. The load of illegalfish would need to be weighed and documented, and the expensivefishing nets were to be seized. The skipper of the commercial vesselattempted to destroy the illegal catch as the boats lumbered toward

the shoreline. Fish and Game Lieutenant Eric Kord ordered the commercial vessel to stop and Warden Sean Moeboarded the vessel in darkness in the open sea. As Warden Moe boarded the vessel, the commercial vessel skipperbecame verbally aggressive and advanced towards Warden Moe, his fists clenched. The skipper failed to heed WardenMoe’s commands. Warden Zeke Awbrey, armed with an M-14 rifle, and monitoring the altercation from the deck ofthe Thresher ordered the commercial skipper to stop. The skipper, realizing he was out gunned, turned and ran towardthe cabin of the vessel. Believing additional weapons may be hidden on the vessel, Warden Moe drew his duty weaponalso. The skipper finally halted. Warden Awbrey boarded the vessel and placed the skipper in handcuffs. A search ofthe cabin revealed two additional firearms only two feet away from where the captain stopped.

The skipper was arrested and charged with 100 counts of the illegal take of White Seabass and several additionalviolations. The arrests were on June 15, 2005 and the case was adjudicated in San Diego Superior Court on Jan. 30,2006. Given that the skipper was faced with the loss of his livelihood and a very expensive net, it was highly likely hewould have used deadly force to get out of his predicament. Game Wardens are faced with type of situation all toooften. Many poachers faced with jail time and the loss of their livelihood would not hesitate to act in a violentmanner.

“The Department can no longer recruit or retain qualified Game Wardens due to low pay,” said Bob Orange, vice president ofthe California Game Wardens Association. “We have lost a third of our officers over the past six years and the trend continues.The situation has reached a crisis. Our Warden numbers are dangerously low; and without us, environmental crimes of all typesfrom poaching to polluting will run unchecked. This has a direct negative effect on our natural resources, fish, wildlife, andwater quality. It affects everyone.”

For additional information contact:

Jake Bushey (530) 604-2693; Jerry Karnow (530) 682-2387; or Bob Orange, (530) 284-7592

Game Warden’s – Conserving California’s Wildlife Since 1870

“Commercial fisherman breaking the lawattempting to destroy evidence by tossingthis large white seabass into the ocean as wardensboard.”

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California Fish and Game Wardens’ Association The Thin Green Line

Game Warden patrol fleet docked inwake of low staffing

Californians’ safety and homeland security compromised as fewer boats patrol

Game Wardens operate seven state-of-the-art vessels that patrol California’s 220,000 square miles of ocean up to 200miles off the coast. Equipped to 660 horsepower engines with a range of over 500 miles, these high speed enforcementvessels come with 18 foot Zodiac Hurricane skiffs. When fully crewed, this fleet enforces California’s fishery and pollutionlaws, assists with search and rescues, participates in scientific research efforts, and provides Homeland Security supportfor the many cities and ports along California’s 1,100 miles of coastline.

But California has all but lost this tremendous public safety asset. Severe shortages in the Game Warden staffing levelsleave many of these vessels docked more often than out on patrol. The state legislature appropriated $30 million to fixthe crisis, but it is yet unclear what the governor will do to solve the problem.

Each vessel has a crew of four, a Game Warden lieutenant as skipper, two Game Warden boarding officers, and a motorvessel engineer (U.S. Coast Guard licensed). Most of the crewmembers are specially trained divers which providesadditional underwater enforcement capabilities for a variety of illegal activities.

Serving on a patrol vessel requires a highly trained crew willing to face the dangers of working at sea, conducting openocean boardings, with little backup when confronting armed criminals. Since 9-11, several of these vessels have alsoworked directly with Homeland Security efforts, providing additional support and patrol. But current Game Wardencompensation cannot compete with packages offered by CHP or local sheriff and police departments, especially inhigh-cost-of-living locations like Los Angeles and San Francisco which leaves vacancieshigh, and staffing inadequate for the boats.

The vessels are stationed at:

❆ P/V Marlin, Berkeley - San Francisco Bay to Fort Bragg, as well as offshorewaters and the Farallon Islands.

❆ P/V Steelhead, Monterey - Monterey to San Francisco, including theFarallon Islands.

❆ P/V Swordfish, Ventura - San Luis Obispo County waters in the north to Los Angeles County in the south, aswell as around the Channel Islands.

❆ P/V Coho, Long Beach - Los Angeles basin including the Channel Islands.

❆ P/V Thresher, Dana Point - All ocean waters from the California/Mexico border to Point Conception, and outto Catalina and San Clemente Islands, as well as all offshore waters.

❆ P/V Albacore, based out of Eureka and covering the waters from Crescent City to Fort Bragg.

❆ P/V Bluefin from Morro Bay, which patrols the waters from Monterey to Pt. Conception.

High-tech equipment with global positioning system capabilities allows each vessel to send out an exact location at thepush of button; communicate with aircraft patrols from the Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Coast Guard,low band radios for extended communication coverage, night vision equipment and additional weapons including an M-14.

“Game Wardens provide a vast array of law enforcement for California on the land, in the air and on the sea,” said JerryKarnow, Game Warden and spokesperson for the California Game Warden’s Association. “The breadth of our dutiesrequires special training, special skills, and advanced education, yet we are among the lowest paid law enforcementofficials in the state. This fact compromises California’s safety because we cannot recruit and retain enough qualified,dedicated officers to fill our ranks.”

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Al Taucher Advisory CommitteeCalifornia Fish and Game Commission

June 14, 2006

The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger, GovernorState of CaliforniaState Capitol, First FloorSacramento, CA 95814

RE: Funding for Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Wardens

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

The member organizations of the Al Taucher Preserving Hunting and Sport Fishing Opportunities AdvisoryCommittee to the California Fish and Game Commission, which collectively represent hundreds of thousands ofsportsmen and women in California, strongly urge you to support increased funding for Game Wardens.

Five years ago the California Legislature supported a request for salary and benefit parity with CHP because ofsignificant recruitment problems. Since that time, the Warden force has continued to shrink with an additionalone-third loss of their officers. This is dismal and tragic. At this time, the staffing level for Game Wardens isequal to that of the 1950s.

The lack of Game Wardens has created a direct, negative impact upon wildlife resources, the viability of naturallandscapes, the quality of our water, and our ability to provide for public safety. It has created dangerousworking conditions for Game Wardens where low numbers of Wardens means higher risks to those who continueto patrol. The situation has compounded for many years, and can no longer be ignored. Because of the huge,ever-widening disparity between the salary and benefits afforded other law enforcement officers and thatafforded to Game Wardens, recruitment and retention of Game Wardens has plummeted to a record low.Through attrition and loss of Wardens transferring over to other law enforcement jobs for higher pay, it ispredicted that if parity is not reached now, in less than three years there will be fewer than 100 Wardensstatewide. California’s Game Wardens and the natural resources they are sworn to protect need your help.

As our current Governor committed to rebuilding California, we want to alert you to a situation that people inCalifornia have been trying to correct for more than a decade. Game Wardens only seek parity with CHP — likepay for like work. Fewer Game Wardens means no wildlife, and less protection for the environment. Fewerresources to investigate pollution crimes mean poorer water quality for Californians. We are speaking outbecause we want to ensure that you are aware of the inequity and injustice which has translated into seriousdeclines in service and protection of the wildlife, environment, and people of California.

We ask you now for your help, your guidance, and your leadership to remedy a wrong that for too long has beenignored, bypassed, or dismissed. This situation threatens our natural resources, outdoor heritage, and ourcitizens, their children and grandchildren. It is in your power to lead the change, to right the wrong. Weencourage you in the strongest manner to endorse efforts to give our Game Wardens the compensation theydeserve.

Sincerely,Bill Gaines, ChairLegislative Subcommittee

cc: The Honorable Don Perata, Senate President pro TemThe Honorable Dick Ackerman, Senate Minority LeaderThe Honorable Fabian Nunez, Assembly SpeakerThe Honorable George Plescia, Assembly Minority LeaderMr. Dennis Albiani

Cal. Bowman HuntersCal. Foundation for North American Wild SheepCal. Houndsmen for Conservation

Cal. TroutCalifornia Waterfowl AssociationMule Deer FoundationQuail UnlimitedRocky Mountain Elk FoundationSafari Club International – Golden Gate ChapterSan Diego County Wildlife FederationSportsmen’s Council of CaliforniaState Archery AssociationUnited Anglers of So. Cal.Wild Turkey Federation

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● Eraser● Total Recall● Robocop

Protecting California’s wildlife and fisheries resourcesshould be our top priority. Without a clean, wholesomeenvironment, what do you have?

I support our Game Wardens.

Michael Gregory, Actor

www.californiafishandgamewardens.com

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Golden Trout, California’s State Fish.

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NEVADA COUNTYSHERIFF’S OFFICE

KEITH ROYALSHERIFF/CORONER

May 23, 2006

Honorable Governor SchwarzeneggerState Capitol BuildingSacramento, Ca 95814

Re: California Fish and Game Wardens ( DFG) pay issue

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

As Undersheriff for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, I have had over my 30 plus years of local lawenforcement experience, many opportunities to work closely with our local game wardens. I wasgreatly disturbed when I learned of the critical shortage of qualified wardens within our great state. Iam equally troubled when I am shown the ever increasing pay inequity between the DFG Wardensand their counterparts with the California Highway Patrol (CHP). I know in this time of dwindlingrevenues we all must be ever vigilant of our taxpayer based money. However, with the pay so reducedfor our brothers in the DFG, and the numbers of current wardens at an all time low, we must act now tofix a problem that unfortunately has been left unchecked for many years. As I know you are aware, withnon-competitive pay and benefits, the recruitment effort has dismal results. With this compoundingfactor, the work load on local law enforcement now has increased.

My department, like many local agencies, experience the need to respond to many calls for service,that historically are within the jurisdiction of the DFG. However, with so few wardens to coverthousands of square miles of land, we, the local cop must handle the call. This must be reversed. Weat the local level are experiencing our own fiscal crises. We face increasing calls for service in ourown communities every year. To add calls for service that the DFG should handle, but are unable to doso due to critical staff shortages, only exaggerates an already over burdened law enforcementresponse.

I would encourage you in the strongest manner, to help our local wardens achieve parity with theircounterpart in the CHP. This will bolster recruitment, and help take work load off local agencies. Isupport the game wardens, because they have always been there to help the local sheriff office.

Keith RoyalSheriff/Coroner

John TraunerUndersheriff

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Former Game Warden Joe Pecsi

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July 25,2006

Dear Mike Chrisman,

I am writing this letter to introduce myself andexpress my deep concern for what I see as a veryserious problem. The problem being the lack ofenforcement officers in the field necessary toprotect and manage our states resources.

My name is Eddie Pogue, now retired, I worked 28yrs as a Kern County Deputy Sheriff. My years ofexperience in law enforcement and professionalassociation with Fish Game Wardens along with mybrother, who was a Game Warden for the State ofIdaho Fish and Game, has given me a deepappreciation and respect for the valuable role theseWardens play in public safety.

Unlike other areas of law enforcement, GameWardens ,in the enforcement of public safety, spend much of their time in remote areas.Sometimes many miles from the nearest backup. While in the field they often come incontact with not only legitimate hunters, fisherman, and sportsman, but also the criminalelement. Some of which are extremely dangerous and violent offenders that are oftenarmed. These officers are alone in an extremely dangerous environment.

I am personally aware of how dangerous their job is. In 1981, in the state ofIdaho, my brother and another Game Warden were murdered whileattempting to arrest a poacher and illegal trapper. I personally feel the fearthese officers are confronted with on a daily basis.

As a lifetime resident, I have been a sportsman and outdoor enthusiast inthis state for more than 50 years. I must tell you in the last few years therehas been a very noticeable and obvious lack of enforcement officers,”Game Wardens”, in the field.

After doing a little research I have discovered there are only approximately 200 fieldenforcement officers in the entire state of California. These officers are responsible for themanagement of state lands, water ways, oceans, fisheries, public safety, and lawenforcement.

With no disrespect to our officers now employed, I think it is ludicrous for the state ofCalifornia to expect less than 200 field officers to effectively protect this states naturalresources. Unless something is done about the shortage of officers, it’s just a matter oftime before we get one of there fine officers hurt or killed.

Through research I have discovered State Fish and Game Wardens are required to have thehighest education standards and training levels of any state law enforcement agencies. YetState Fish and Game Wardens are paid approximately $2,000.00 per month less thanCalifornia Highway Patrolman and State Correction Officers.

If there is a future for wild things, then it is theburden of those who have reached farther than me,to save them for the rest of us. It will be done bythose whose convictions were forged in campfires.Bill Pogue, on left with friend retired officer JerryThiessen

Warden Bill Pogue

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It is imperative that State Fish and Game salaries and benefits be in parity withCalifornia Highway Patrol Officers, and all other state enforcement agencies. This isextremely important so that it is possible for the State Fish and Game to attract andrecruit new qualified applicants. It is equally important to retain the Game Wardensnow employed. Young people today, interested in entering law enforcement, areelecting to take positions with State, County, and City agencies that offer pay andbenefit packages at a much higher level than the State Fish and Game.

It has been brought to my attention the State Legislator, in its last budget, hasallocated 30 million dollars directed specifically for State Fish and Game Wardens. Iam asking that you please give strong consideration that this 30 million dollarallocation be directed specifically for the enhancement of State Game Wardensalary and benefits. It’s extremely important the funds allocated by our legislatormake it to its intended destination, State Fish and Game Wardens. We must havemore Game Wardens in the field not only for officer safety, but also for theeffective enforcement of laws protecting our natural resources, which once gonecan never be replaced.

Thank you so much for you help and consideration.

Respectfully,

Eddie Pogue

January 5, 1981, a poacher killed Idaho ConservationOfficers Bill Pogue and Conley Elms.

This story, which has become legendary in thewildlife protection profession, stands astestimony to the dangers Conservation Officersface and the ultimate sacrifices made by manyin this profession.

The Pogue family authorized prints of Bill’s originalartwork, “The Trapper” to be made available forpurchase to help support the North American GameWarden Museum’s efforts to honor fallen officers.

I would like to purchase a print.View a chronology of the tragedy “Pogue and Elms:A Tragic Loss,” as published in International GameWarden Magazine, Spring 2001

http://www.gamewardenmuseum.org/fundrasing.php

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Karen SchambachCA Coordinator

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www.wildaid.org

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http://wildaid.org/globalpledge/

ACAP and WildAid are working with the governments, media, celebrities, non-profits, communities, and corporate leadersof the world to create a comprehensive and coordinated effort to stop the illegal wildlife trade for good.

Most importantly, ACAP is working to educate and engage consumers - the most crucial constituency of this campaign,since consumer demand for endangered species products is ultimately what drives the illegal trade.

Please join us in our fight to end the illegal wildlife trade by personally pledging never to knowingly purchase or consumeendangered species products. We are seeking 25 million signatures worldwide by 2008 to urge our leaders to work togetherto preserve our world’s wildlife and habitats.

There is nothing more important in this campaign than your voice - please make it heard by signing now and by helping us getthe word out to your friends and local community.

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The Interstate Wildlife ViolatorCompact establishes a process bywhich member states participate in arecipricol program to recognize thesuspension of wildlife licensepriviledges of both resident and non-resident wildlife violators for inclusionin the Interstate Violator CompactDatabase. Any person whose licenseprivileges are suspended inany member state of the U.S. wouldalso be suspended in California.

Wildlife law violators will be held moreresponsible due to the fact that theirillegal activities in one state can affecttheir privileges or rights in allparticipating states. This cooperativeinterstate effort enhances the Divisionsability to protect and manage ourwildlife resources, while increasing theefficiecy of investigations conductedby Game Wardens.

WILDLIFE COMPACT MEMBER STATES

In a dire attempt to maybe help curbpoor recruitment and retention of

California Game Wardens, a group ofdedicated conservationistsfounded the California GameWardens Foundation as anonprofit public benefitcorporation. The CGWF can helpeducate the public about GameWardens in their effort to protect

wildlife and the natural resourcesof our state, promote sound

conservation, and promote ouroutdoor heritage.

Motto: “Protecting those who protect the resource”

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K-9s Brett, Lekso and Kodiak made such a positive impact toward protecting our wildlife resources. These threedogs demonstrated their abilities to over 50,000 people during their careers and made many outstanding cases.We will forever be in awe of their dedication, protection, intelligence and enthusiasm; and will cherish theirmemories forever.

K9 LeksoK9 Brett K9 Lekso K9 Kodiak

The non-profit, Fish and Game K9 Program is funded almost entirely through donations.

To make a tax-deductable donation, please send your check to: CalTIP K9 Program, 417 Mace Blvd., Suite J, PMB125, Davis CA 95618. Checks should be payable to: CalTIP K9 Program. CalTIP is a 501(c)(3) California Non-ProfitCorporation.

and to a new generation of Fish and Game K9sand to a new generation of Fish and Game K9s

A Tribute to Our K9 PartnersA Tribute to Our K9 Partners

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Time is running outTime is running outfor California’s Fish and Game

Wardens and wildlifeWatch the upcoming series called Crime Scene Wildpremiering on Discovery Channel/Animal Planet. Find outwhy so few Game Wardens exist in California and how theirdeclining numbers parallel the decline of wildlife lawenforcement and environmental protection.

www.californiafishandgamewardens.com

Help us stop thedestruction of ournatural resources.

Get involved.

Demand answers.